"Pro" Vocals

[Springheel]

Referring to the default voice for proguards and citywatch.

 

This one: http://www.mindplaces.com/save/pro_ex.wav

 

Just curious.

[Tels]

I like the voice (timbre etc), but some of the lines are a bit wooden, they sound as if they are read from a paper. For instance:

 

sound/voices/pro/tdm_ai_pro_alertdown_to_idle_seen_evidence05.ogg (all of these f.i.).E

 

Edit: Isn't it possible to change the vote from "good" to "neutral"?

[Sotha]

Not great, not bad.

They do their job, but if they would be replaced with a better set, I wouldn't complain.

 

Please do note that this is a mappers opinion. A mapper who puts AI in their map and changes the vocal sets shortly before releasing. This means the mapper is listening to pro-vocal only AI during WIP testing. This may make me biased to dislike the vocals as I'm terribly used to them.

[Bikerdude]

I have always liked them, they what they say on the tin, we just need more variation. By contrast the two lady sets, lady02 is vastly superior to lady01 but only in terms of audio qaulity. The person who did lady01 could do with a better microphone, as her lines are being ruined by said poor quality mic to the point where the lines grate.

[SiyahParsomen]

fine for me too. Good enough to keep it for variety imo.

[SeriousToni]

Imho the vocal sets are all a bit standard. I mean they're all nearly the same neutral lines just with different voices. If you compare them to the Thief vocals, which did tell little stories about the characters itself (like the pagan male who talked about the little deer and the mechanists always about some spiritual stuff). Though this is kinda hard to achieve for The Dark Mod atm because there is no real story / detailed universe going on, so I guess that's why there are so many standard lines ("what was that?" "hm maybe rats" etc.).

 

The quality of the sounds is really fine, even the vocal execution is neat for amateurs! But the lines itself aren't very lovely and refreshing

 

I'm curious for other opinions ^^

[Springheel]

If you compare them to the Thief vocals, which did tell little stories about the characters itself (like the pagan male who talked about the little deer and the mechanists always about some spiritual stuff).

 

You can have very specific stories when you know that voice is only being used once for a particular character. If you heard the same deer story over and over again you'd face the same kind of mockery Skyrim did for their "arrow in the knee" vocal.

[Bikerdude]

for their "arrow in the knee" vocal.

lol

[SeriousToni]

That depends on the variety of different barks. I never had the feeling of repeately sentences in Thief like I had in Skyrim.

[Springheel]

I never had the feeling of repeately sentences in Thief

 

That's because they could tailor their barks to specific maps in the OMs. In T2 FMs you'll hear the same barks repeatedly, just like TDM.

[nbohr1more]

I think those vocals have an inherent comic tinge to them. If you intend this mod to have a serious tone then these

vocals need to be replaced.

 

As it stands now, there is actually a nice opportunity for FM makers to make a good ole

dark comedy with these and some custom vocals.

 

That said, it's not so bad.

 

The guards are supposed to be dunder-heads compared to the protagonist (master thief) so this vocal at least

conveys how much slower the guards are mentally and that is a good narrative cue. It's a little over-the-top

but so are most archetypes\tropes.

[Springheel]

Are you sure you're thinking of the right voice? Some of the characters have intentionally humorous lines but the Pro isn't one of them.

[nbohr1more]

If there is another guard with that same voice (as the wav you posted) then I might be mistaken

but that voice (whether intentionally or not) seems to be a little goofy. It's not full-blown slapstick

mind you... and it's probably highly subjective... but I hear a small amount of dim-witted guard

in that voice.

 

(Don't make me record anything, my voice is very low, slow, and dumb sounding...

you would question my right to own a computer... but I would never recommend my voice

for anything other than comedic value anyway... So stones in glass houses and all that... )

[SeriousToni]

Don't make me record anything, my voice is very low, slow, and dumb sounding...

you would question my right to own a computer...

 

rofl Now I'm fully awake! Haha thank you !!

[Narrator]

I really hate to say this because I know how much work had to be put in recording this set (and The Dark Mod is a work of love after all), but speaking strictly from an artistically and aesthetically point of view I have to say I find the pro-lines mediocre at best.

 

They seldom live and neither feel authentic nor convincing for me. Also they were not always properly edited at the beginning or end of a file (you can sometimes hear cracks or interrupted breathings here and there).

So if there would be a realistic chance to renew them, I would certainly favour that.

 

But realistically speaking one would certainly have to say: They are usable for what they are!

[Springheel]

I'm sure people will like hearing your set when 1.08 comes out.

[DeTeEff]

Is it possible to make unique barks to an AI and set ut up via DR with spawnargs?

[Springheel]

Is it possible to make unique barks to an AI and set ut up via DR with spawnargs?

 

You have to make a soundshader for your vocal file(s). Beyond that it depends on what you want to accomplish.

[DeTeEff]

Yes, but I assume that the custom sounds in the missions is achieved by a sound emitter with a sound shader and a trigger of some sort. So there is no actual AI that says it (with animations etc)

 

What I mean is a bark that the AI will use specifically in a map, when he feels like it.

 

Example:

A pack of thieves has a stash of gold and when they see the player one may shout: "Protect the gold!"

 

This is a bark that fit this particular mission but may sound out of place in another...