Want another voice actor?

[Cambridge Spy]

Okay, here they are! I hope I have delivered them right. Springheel, do you want to give your opinions on each individual sound file, please? See how I can improve on them if I can.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s8tdnlh3rddu4ai/TDMTestOggs.rar?dl=0

[Airship Ballet]

Since feedback seems to be absent, my advice would be to just act more naturally. As has been said, you sound like you're orating to a crowd rather than grumbling to yourself. It needs to be quieter and with less of your voice and more of your breath. That doesn't mean rasp into the mic, but it means stop talking as if you're reading Shakespeare and instead grumble and mumble like you're actually annoyed at the quality of food or whatever. The only time you should be talking like you do in all of your lines--most recent rar included--is when you're addressing the player or another character directly. Your conversational voice does not match the lines and mood you're trying to convey, so just be quieter, and don't be afraid to fade in and out of coherence for added effect, just not so much as to obscure what you're saying on the whole.

[Springheel]

I'm not a drama coach, but beyond seconding Merry's points above, I would say that the lines are generally lacking in tonal range. They're mostly very monotone, with only one or two small lifts or drops. Is that your natural accent? The lines have the sound of someone trying too hard to direct their voice in specific ways, losing all the natural qualities that makes dialogue sound believable.

[Cambridge Spy]

I'm not a drama coach, but beyond seconding Merry's points above, I would say that the lines are generally lacking in tonal range. They're mostly very monotone, with only one or two small lifts or drops. Is that your natural accent? The lines have the sound of someone trying too hard to direct their voice in specific ways, losing all the natural qualities that makes dialogue sound believable.

 

Yes it is my natural accent, you have a problem with having an Australian doing voicework in a game like TDM? I'll keep trying to get the idle clips right for you, meantime, I think I can best deliver my voice to conversations. Anyone got an upcoming FM that could use a conversation or too? How about the William Steele missions?

[Cambridge Spy]

Here's another attempt! This time, it's just four idle clips, intended for cooks. I have been consulted on how best to record each individual sample. Can anyone please give their verdict on each recording? Thanks!

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s8tdnlh3rddu4ai/TDMTestOggs.rar?dl=0

[Anderson]

Here's another attempt! This time, it's just four idle clips, intended for cooks. I have been consulted on how best to record each individual sample. Can anyone please give their verdict on each recording? Thanks!

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s8tdnlh3rddu4ai/TDMTestOggs.rar?dl=0

It's ok, seems like you were going for a parody or a comedy though. Or at least a very enthusiastic and emotional cook.

[Cambridge Spy]

It's ok, seems like you were going for a parody or a comedy though. Or at least a very enthusiastic and emotional cook.

I had someone with me giving advice on how best to emphasize the sentences correctly. But I'm not intending to voice cooks only, these are just some quick samples. Remember I recorded merchant and ordinary dialogue as well. Just wanted to start with the cook ones first.

[SeriousToni]

Wow the audio quality really got better and so did the voice acting! Keep on training this, maybe we get a nice hq audio set soon!

[Bikerdude]

Up untill now, I had now idea CS was an aussie...

[SeriousToni]

What do you think about the quality (technically and voice) biker?

[Cambridge Spy]

Here's another batch of voice clips, meant for merchants, inventors and mages. What do you think?

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sldh9dulol4zwyb/TDMTestOggs2.rar?dl=0

[SeriousToni]

Haha, they're really cool!

 

I like how you work with highs and lows of your voice and with pauses between sometimes. Maybe you could focus on one character later? I liked the merchant the most

About the quality the only thing that knocks me off a bit is that you hear the room around you, I mean that you're sitting in a chamber - which is normal if you speak loud. I don't know if one can reduce this effect or overlay a soft echo to make it more seamless / natural. Maybe this can't even be heard ingame - you should try it out

[Goldwell]

The general style of the mod goes for a more North American/British-ish style of accent and obviously your accent is quite a thick Australian accent which doesn't seem to fit into the world, that's not to say there is something personally wrong with your accent it just doesn't fit the style that they are going for here. It's much the same way that say an actor will train to have a specific accent for a role or a voice actor for their specified role. You can't just do your normal accent and say whatever it is, it needs to be believable and consistent with the others in the universe.

 

If we have a variety of voiced characters with a North American or British style accent and then suddenly one Australian voice actor it would became quite apparent quickly that it just doesn't fit in with the world, now of course each individual author can create whatever they want but in terms of whats put into the default mod (which is what you're aiming for) it needs to line up with the guidelines for the universe that is already set out, much the same as you wont see sci-fi/World war/modern era assets for the game because this is a medieval steam punk setting. Sure you can make your own (and I think I can safely say everyone is welcome to load up Dark Radiant and start plugging away any world you see fit) but just don't expect those oddities to be included in the core game.

 

Also I would recommend reading the Vocal Script Master found here http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/13930-vocal-script-master/ it also states the following which is important information to what you need

Tone and Attitude
Dialogue should be generally modern, North American English, but with a slight renaissance flavour. The more educated the character, the more renaissance-speak is appropriate. Avoid modern-sounding words and phrases (eg, "What's up?" "Roger that" or "I'm going to kick your ass"). But at the same time, this isn't Shakespeare--the dialogue has to sound fairly natural to modern English speakers.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Goldwell

[Cambridge Spy]

About the quality the only thing that knocks me off a bit is that you hear the room around you, I mean that you're sitting in a chamber - which is normal if you speak loud. I don't know if one can reduce this effect or overlay a soft echo to make it more seamless / natural. Maybe this can't even be heard ingame - you should try it out

Doesn't Bikerdude have the same problem with HIS Blue Yeti? We have to keep the air conditioner off during recording sessions to minimize background noise.

 

Also, if someone like Springheel can come up with a new script and tell me which accent to come up with, I'll try to do it. Maybe I can suggest a few examples I or someone else could try:

 

Pagan - maybe use a Scottish accent.

 

Menoan - since Bridgeport's rival, Menoa, is an obvious parody of Genoa, maybe use an Italian accent and utter a few Italian words, sort of like how the Moors use a few sub-Saharan slang and phrases.

[Lux]

Old refrigerator cardboard box + egg crate foam fastened to the inside = sound proof (ish) chamber! Or you can repurpose a closet for this with egg crate on the walls inexpensively.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Lux

[Springheel]

The new lines are definitely an improvement, but I have to agree with Goldwell about the accent and Toni about the hollowness of the recording. While the lines are definitely an improvement over the earlier monotone ones, there is still something about them that sounds a bit unnatural to me.

 

Menoan - since Bridgeport's rival, Menoa, is an obvious parody of Genoa

 

I'm not sure why you think that's obvious. Menoa is actually inspired by Spain and Portugal.

[Cambridge Spy]

The new lines are definitely an improvement, but I have to agree with Goldwell about the accent and Toni about the hollowness of the recording. While the lines are definitely an improvement over the earlier monotone ones, there is still something about them that sounds a bit unnatural to me.

 

I'm not sure why you think that's obvious. Menoa is actually inspired by Spain and Portugal.

Does Bikerdude have similar problems with the Blue Yeti? Also, you just replace the G with M.

[Springheel]

Does Bikerdude have similar problems with the Blue Yeti?

 

 

His recordings did not have the same problem, no. I think it has less to do with the microphone than the environment you're recording in.

 

Also, you just replace the G with M.

 

 

 

By that logic they're "obviously" a parody of the Minoans of Crete, or of Enoa Island in Micronesia.

[Cambridge Spy]

 

By that logic they're "obviously" a parody of the Minoans of Crete, or of Enoa Island in Micronesia.

Plus the similarities with Genoa - both are naval states and privateers of both states cause havoc with the trade routes of their rivals (Menoa against Bridgeport, Genoa against Pisa, Venice and the Ottoman Empire).

[Bikerdude]

Doesn't Bikerdude have the same problem with HIS Blue Yeti?

Nope, as the noise filter option filters out the sound of the fans coming from the main PC.

[Cambridge Spy]

Nope, as the noise filter option filters out the sound of the fans coming from the main PC.

So I need to check if the mic has a noise filter option? Or would noise reduction on Audacity suffice?

[SeriousToni]

I meant not outside noice, but the echo from your room you're sitting in. Sorry I should have made this more clear

One can hear that you're sitting in a chamber when you speak louder, which could be a problem ingame. You should try to play the sound ingame in a dialogue at a test map or something to see how it fits. Or you could try to give it a longer echo like they did in the original Thief series.

 

It's hard for me to tell how to reduce this "chamber effect", maybe Lux idea could help.

 

EDIT: About the dialect I can't here any difference to the current voice sets (as a non-native speaker).

Edited January 8, 2015 by SeriousToni

[Goldwell]

 

EDIT: About the dialect I can't here any difference to the current voice sets (as a non-native speaker).

 

Das wäre als würde man den Akzent aus Norddeutschland mit dem aus der Schweiz vergleichen.. Wenn man Deutsch als Muttersprache hat, hört man einen immensen Unterschied!!

[161803398874989]

 

Das wäre als würde man den Akzent aus Norddeutschland mit dem aus der Schweiz vergleichen.. Wenn man Deutsch als Muttersprache hat, hört man einen immensen Unterschied!!

Can confirm. Would also like to add that other accents in the same language can sound particularly grating.

[SeriousToni]

Ah okay I see - well.. we might have a foreigner ai speech package then...