UFO:Alien Invasion
Development => Sounds and Music => Topic started by: Winter on April 27, 2007, 12:24:14 pm
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Here's the first draft of the list of needed voice samples for the game. This list will obviously be added to, but it gives a good impression of the kind of material we're after.
All of these samples should be recorded in several different voices -- as many as possible.
ALIEN SPOTTED
<whisper> "Contact."
<louder> "Contact!"
"Alien."
"Hostile spotted."
"Hostile spotted, Sir."
<panicked> "Another one!"
<panicked> "We've got to get out of here!"
REACTION FIRE
<warning> "Target!"
<warning> "Covering fire!"
INCOMING FIRE
<warning> "Incoming!"
<calm> "Under fire."
<louder> "Under fire!"
"We're taking fire, Sir. Request orders."
TROOP HIT
<pained> "Ah, I'm hit!"
"Medic!"
<pained> "It's not too bad, just a flesh wound."
"Damn, that hurt."
<determined> "Urgh . . . I'm okay. I'm okay, I can still shoot."
<fatal wound> "Took a hit, I'm in bad shape. Need medical attention."
<panicked> "Aaah! Help, help me!"
<panicked, panting> "They're gonna kill me, they're gonna kill me . . ."
TROOP KILLED
"Man down, man down!"
"God, it burns . . ."
<horrified scream>
<short, sudden cry, then silence>
ENEMY KILLED
"Target down."
<satisfied> "Target down!"
"Target is neutralised, Sir."
<cheering> "Killed one!"
"Tango Uniform."
MOVING
"Yes, Sir."
"Wilco."
"Moving."
Regards,
Winter
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Nice list. Can't wait to hear those in-game :-)
Btw. <pained> "It's not too bad, just a flesh wound." reminds me of that hilarious Monty Python scene ;-)
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One Question (And I'm not trying to slow this down, but just want to help get the end result better):
Should we first submit samples that don't have radio FX applied but are just normalized? This way the project leaders can decide what type of radio FX would work best, and then all the raw samples could be processed the same way. I say this because there are different types of radio emulation filters from different programs and plugins, and they don't all sound the same.
Audacity has several plugins available that can do this, and there are several free VST utils that can do this too. Myself, I have cakewalk FX that has different (not necessarily better) FX plugins.
If needed, I can do a little research and come up with a list of free plugins.
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One Question (And I'm not trying to slow this down, but just want to help get the end result better):
Should we first submit samples that don't have radio FX applied but are just normalized? This way the project leaders can decide what type of radio FX would work best, and then all the raw samples could be processed the same way.
Yes, absolutely. All source files should be free of effects.
Regards,
Winter
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I'm using FlStudio XXL
To make radio static theres a whole heap of filters
Plus I have the Waves suite of filters as well, all VST's I own and use...
Radio static can be made in a variety of ways... Decimate the sound and recombine with the original, with some noise generators doing filter sweeps for the classic carrier signal with inteference sound.
But if audacity has a simple click-n-go crackle sound, use that.
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Just had a go at recording some samples from Winter's list. I had to wait til I was on my own, so I could shout into a microphone less self-consciously. Unfortunately, I sound too relaxed. I am sat at a computer, and my voice sounds like I am. I tried standing up, doing some exercises. still too relaxed. I may try going for a run (to simulate running around shooting aliens - only without the aliens), and recording some samples (my MP3 player can record).
I have some whispering in fear, which are Ok, but shouting and sounding scared is hard, or shouting a warning.
Has anyone else had a go?
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I'm not much of a voice guy, but a mate has just got back from a tour with the army and he's good with impersonations and voices - I've already spoken to him and he'd be happy to have a go at recording some voices. The only trouble is I don't have any decent recording gear.
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Unfortunately, I sound too relaxed. I am sat at a computer, and my voice sounds like I am. I tried standing up, doing some exercises. still too relaxed.
Still looking for decent sound gear myself, however, some old tricks for this.
First, Tighten up your throat muscles. The reason most people sound strained is because they're tense. Try to keep your neck muscles flexed while shouting. It'll take a few tries to get used to doing it.
Second is yell from up high in your lungs. A commanding voice should be done from deep in the belly, under the diaphram, for calmness. A voice of fear or surprise should come from up high, being pulled out instead of pushed, so to speak.
No reason to run to push your breathing around, just hyperventilate yourself for about 45 seconds. Don't go longer unless you're physically fit, but this should be enough to cause a sound bite to sound 'out of breath'.
Hold the mike further away for that 'shouting' sound. It sounds like you'll have heard it from more distance. The air... does things. :)
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The only trouble is I don't have any decent recording gear.
I am not convinced expensive gear is required. It only needs to sound as if it was recorded on a small microphone on a field coms unit. i have a microphone, which we got free. (i used audacity). recording was good enough. only problem was me.
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The air... does things.
dispersion perhaps. different frequencies have slightly different speeds.
like thunder. close thunder cracks. distant thunder rolls.
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The only trouble is I don't have any decent recording gear.
I am not convinced expensive gear is required. It only needs to sound as if it was recorded on a small microphone on a field coms unit. i have a microphone, which we got free. (i used audacity). recording was good enough. only problem was me.
Ok so a cheap mic would be ok I think... Next thing is to eliminate outside noises so we can have clean samples.
Doing it in a room at home will create a mix full of reverb from walls, so every time a soldier speaks it sounds like he's in the bathroom or something :)
You could avoid this by recording outside, but then there's wind, vehicles and wildlife to deal with (nothing like hearing that cricket chirp every time the soldier says "Yes sir! *chirp*"
Um, I guess someone with a bit of soundproofing at their place, maybe some thick curtains hung from the walls will help dampen the noise. I'll see if I can get a hold of a studio for an afternoon, I know one guy in town who has a recording studio in his shop.
--That is I'll have to see if my friend has time to do a recording session - he may be too busy... Then I'd have to see if I could get the studio as a favor or if it will cost anything.
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how about under a duvet?
so we need a cheap microphone, hyperventilation and tense throat. then retreat under a duvet for sound proofing and shout.
lets hope we are not disturbed :?
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(womans voice) "Andy! It's late! Get out of here!" ;)
On a serious note, if there's going to be any vocals in the game at all, they should only be of the best quality.
I would literally put money towards hiring voice actors if thats what it comes down to.
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If it comes to that. Yeah. w can do that. I do some semi-amatuer soudn engineering. I have access to some very high quality mic's and whatnot. LEt me se what I can do.
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Okay, I sent Winter a new set of voice files, not the entire list though, as I only had so much spare time recently, but it's a start.
I found that the best way to make the samples sound better is not to worry about tightening muscles in the neck or anything, but to just close your eyes and pretend you're really in the world of the game, as the soldier. I've found that this makes the rest of the body follow with what the mind is doing automatically.
BTW, I wouldn't recommend simply making the neck tense, it could form some bad habits. (Seriously! I've heard of people who do this sort of thing for recording and then end up having to go through voice therapy to re-learn how to talk properly.)
The partial set I've uploaded admittedly has my Ohio accent included, when I get more time later I'll try to make some variations.
How are all you other contributers doing? I confess I haven't been to this site for a while as I've been ill (again), but I'm recovering now.
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The air... does things.
dispersion perhaps. different frequencies have slightly different speeds.
like thunder. close thunder cracks. distant thunder rolls.
It's called proximity effect - the same kind of issue to deal with when one needs to mic a guitar amp. Up close it has more bass, too close it is harsh and boomy with SPL overload. To explain any further would mean getting very technical.
Most professional studio vocal mic manufacturers (that I've seen, I've heard this can vary) recommend a distance of 1 to 3 (or 5, can't remember the exact amount) inches from the mouth to the mic, and also to position the mic so it directly faces the sound source (your mouth) and not held straight up. All these things vary, of course with the type and class of microphone you use and what the mic is designed for. Generally it is not recommended to "swallow" the mic (having the device close enough to touch your lips) or to point it away from your mouth at an off-angle.
There are also "shotgun" mics and microphones that are made for picking up far-away sounds, and other types, as well as how the thing works (dynamic, condenser, etc.) but I won't go there to avoid confusing people. In fact, it would be better if you simply forgot I mentioned that. (Sorry!)
OK, I think that's more than enough info, I'll stop here...
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Thought I'd post a little update here,
Some of the shorter and simpler lines are easier to do, but some of the longer ones are rather difficult to make sound convincing. I've been working over time on more samples, and I must confess it is more difficult than I thought it would be. There are still a few other problems - I'm just one person meaning one voice, and I haven't found anyone else interested who could use my recording equipment.
Do we still have others interested in doing voices who have made any progress, both male and female? If not, the talking soldier idea might not work out to well with not enough variety.
I'd really hate to kill the idea, but if we can't get enough voices perhaps we should just work on other sounds that don't actually use words (screams, dying, pain, etc.) for now.
I'm still trying to figure out where I can record a scream, as I live in an apartment building and can't irratate the neighbors. I suppose I could get in my car and drive out somewhere and reoord it in my car? (I actually tried that once for one of my songs, I found that it quickly attracted unwanted attention, although I did discover that my scream sounds like a cross between Bruce Willis (the movie actor) and Kirk Hammet (lead guitar player from Metallica).)
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Wait a sec, I just got an idea:
I've seen lots of GM sample packs for music production that include screams in their SFX kits, many of them very convincing.
Some of these packs are free, distributed under various licenses, I'll do some research into this and post again later if I find any sample packs with a compatible license - I already know of one instrument sample pack that is free with a license saying the author just wants to be emailed if it is used so he knows how many people use it, but the pack is from 2001 and I'm not fully confident the listed email address is still valid. If it isn't, it would be classified as abandonware, and the legal use of it would be too risky in my opinion.
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Um, I have a microphone, would it be convenient for me to record a few sentences and send it to you people?
I mean, which ones are the lines that you need? I'm no pro, but I definitely can do some sound. At least screaming or dying in pain...
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Hi, first post. I love the game a lot, and would be quite pleased if I could contribute.
I've also got a little home-studio, and a decent voice for acting.
Should I just post a flac of a recording of all of those lines?
I could also produce a radio effect, if necessary.
Also, I was thinking, it would be cool to have many different voices for the different sayings, and have which voice is used be specific to each of your soldiers. So, in other words, each soldier will use the same voice consistently, and (most) soldiers will have different voices. I think that would help to give a better identity to your soldiers. Just an idea. =)
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Ideally, that's what we want. But it's hard enough to even get ONE set of voices, let alone enough different ones for all the soldiers, and then half of them have to be female...
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There are no soldier sounds in trunk.
Has no one actually contributed sounds in all this time, or does someone have them, but hasn't added them to the project?
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As far as I know, they don't exist.
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OK, here's how i think it could work.
Each vocal file name has the following hierarchy of elements in order, (though "sub event" is optional). When a soldier speaks, the game will look for a file that matches as many of the elements as possible, and then if there random variations available choose one of those.
This should almost every time choose the most appropriate sound file, assuming multiple sets of sounds many of which are incomplete.
Event -> Gender -> General Voice Type -> Individual Voice -> Sub Event -> Panic Level -> Random Variation
"Panic Level" is from 1 to 5, with "1" being "out of control" and 5 being "very confident".
So a filename would look something like this:
xspotted_m_anglo_eleazar_ortnok_pl5_02.avi
which breaks down to:
Event - Alien spotted
Gender - Male
General Voice Type - Anglo
Individual Voice - Eleazar
Sub Event - specifically the alien is an Ortnok
Panic Level - 5
Random Variation - #2
I'm gonna try to record some. I have lousy equipment, but sounds will really help the game.
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I think that's not a good idea. Especially with the variations and panic levels, the amount of samples will be out of control, and it'll take ages to record all of them for just a single voice set. Not to mention that it will put a big strain on the game download size.
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I think that's not a good idea. Especially with the variations and panic levels, the amount of samples will be out of control, and it'll take ages to record all of them for just a single voice set. Not to mention that it will put a big strain on the game download size.
A sound clip saying "roger", "alien spotted", or "i'm hit!" etc. is really quite a small file. Assuming an average length of 2 seconds you can fit 90 such comments in the same number of kilobites an average 3-min song would take up.
I calculate it would take 105 comments to fill out all the talk-circumstances Winter has provided with 5 panic levels and 3 random variations of each one. Size is not an issue.
But more importantly who cares if it takes ages to record them all? This plan works even if we never get a "complete" set. We don't need them all, the filename is hierarchically organized, so the game can easily pick the most appropriate clip from those available. This approach deals gracefully with incomplete sound sets (a natural circumstance in FOSS).
Besides, i didn't think up the idea of "variations and panic levels"... it's implicit in the quotes Winter has provided. I've just provided a organized way to deal with them. It can get really annoying when the soldier says "yes sir!" in precisely the same way every time you tell him to move. Random variations in sound responses have been part of gaming since (or before) Warcraft... it's not an extravagance.
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I disagree. I don't think an average sample length of 2 seconds is a realistic assumption, given the example sentences in the first post. Also, I don't think you can realistically include 5 panic levels. It takes a very good voice artist to make the difference even noticeable with that kind of gradation, and I really don't see the added value.
And yes, size IS an issue. Remember that we need as many voice sets as possible, for both genders - and maybe in different languages too! I think you underestimate how much that will affect the download of the game package.
Here's a few figures for you, based on your own assumptions.
105 samples per voice set, averaging 2 seconds each for a total of 210 seconds (3:30). In OGG format, this would be about 10MB (based on my observations from the music folder - see David01.ogg, almost 10MB for 2:41, though there are more efficient ones in there). Let's say we want some 6 different sets for each gender. That gives us 12 sets, meaning 120MB of voices for English ALONE. And as I said, i think the 2 second assumption is too low, plus there might be voice sets in other languages. It gets out of hand real fast.
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105 samples per voice set
105 is the outside, insanely optimistic number of samples.
Also please note: you are using 2 mutually exclusive arguments.
1) there are too many samples, it will take forever to get a complete set
2) we will get too many complete sets, and the DL size will be too big.
In OGG format, this would be about 10MB (based on my observations from the music folder - see David01.ogg, almost 10MB for 2:41, though there are more efficient ones in there)
While we will want to keep a high-quality unprocessed version of the vocals samples with the project, we only need to ship reasonable quality versions (with radio effects perhaps).
I don't use OGG a lot, but it is supposed to be roughly comparable to ACC and MP3. If so, 10MB per ~3 minutes is audiophile quality, significantly better than what you would get with most downloaded music services, which would weigh in around 1MB per minute. However the human speaking voice can be compressed smaller than music without noticeable loss of quality.
The professional sounding audiobooks i listen to are generally recorded at 64pbps. I wipped up a vocal OGG at that rate and it came in at .4 MP per minute. At this size, the blue-sky scenario of 12 full sets would weigh around 17 MB.
If we ever get to the point of having sound sets in alternate languages, i think they could be downloaded separately, to avoid a game bloated with content most players won't use... but that won't be an issue for some time.
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Also please note: you are using 2 mutually exclusive arguments.
1) there are too many samples, it will take forever to get a complete set
2) we will get too many complete sets, and the DL size will be too big.
I don't follow; those statements are not mutually exclusive. Unless you took "forever" literally, in which case I must clarify. I mearely meant "a long time".
While we will want to keep a high-quality unprocessed version of the vocals samples with the project, we only need to ship reasonable quality versions (with radio effects perhaps).
I don't use OGG a lot, but it is supposed to be roughly comparable to ACC and MP3. If so, 10MB per ~3 minutes is audiophile quality, significantly better than what you would get with most downloaded music services, which would weigh in around 1MB per minute. However the human speaking voice can be compressed smaller than music without noticeable loss of quality
Well, like I said, I based the size on an observation I made on files *we are using right now*. I don't see how that is somehow comparing apples with eggs, as you seem to be implying. As for the quality, reduction is most certainly noticeable, same as with music. You may be referring to the fact that human speech remains understandable even at low quality levels.
I really think we should drop the panic levels because, as I said, I don't see the point in having them.
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I don't see how that is somehow comparing apples with eggs, as you seem to be implying.
The entirety of my last post didn't take. I edited it to include some hard numbers and other content which you didn't see before making your last post. However .4 MB per minute vs 10 MB per minute is a big difference, weather or not you consider it "apples to eggs". (Is that the normal idiom in your language? In American English we usually say "apples to oranges.")
As for the quality, reduction is most certainly noticeable, same as with music. You may be referring to the fact that human speech remains understandable even at low quality levels.
The best phone call you have ever experienced was at quality rate far below an 10MB per minute OGG. Was it noticeable?... probably if you tried to notice... but that doesn't mean it detracted from the experience in any way. Similarly the textures are noticeably pixilated at close zoom, and are models are noticeably made of polygons... is that a fatal problem? Or in the area of sound also, why shouldn't we make a reasonable compromise between quality and file-size/speed?
I really think we should drop the panic levels because, as I said, I don't see the point in having them.
Simply because it will take a kill the dramatic atmosphere, if a spooked soldier, who is on the verge of homicidal panic... sounds just as in-control as he always does. Sound is one of the most effective way to convey a mood in a game. People will instinctively believe vocal cues over the numbers.
But feel free to record/acquire samples without different panic levels. My plan can accommodate that.
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Simply because it will take a kill the dramatic atmosphere, if a spooked soldier, who is on the verge of homicidal panic... sounds just as in-control as he always does. Sound is one of the most effective way to convey a mood in a game. People will instinctively believe vocal cues over the numbers.
But feel free to record/acquire samples without different panic levels. My plan can accommodate that.
Well, I can't say I relate to this. In fact I probably wouldn't use the voices anyway, because I like the game without them. But that doesn't matter, my issues were with practical concerns, not my own preference. Even so, I maintain that *five levels* of mental disturbance are overkill. A simple panic/non-panic distinction should suffice.
As for the rest of what you said, I guess it's fair enough, though I still question the realism of having both acceptable quality and workable sizes. That's something that will have to become apparent. Either way, I guess I've said all I wanted to say on this subject. I'll leave the rest up to Winter.
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ven so, I maintain that *five levels* of mental disturbance are overkill. A simple panic/non-panic distinction should suffice.
*shrug* 5 levels is my guess at what the average person could easily distinguish between (assuming a decent amateur actor). I'd be happy with 3 levels: "confident", "neutral", & "fearful", but (i expect) the code to allow for 3 or 5 levels is about the same as the code for 2 levels. Why not provide room for the community to do better than you expect, rather than locking things down at the level of minimum functionality?
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Been playing this for a bit and figured I'd offer my help.
I think I could work with you on "combat chatter" or perhaps as the voice of one of the guys sending e-mail to phalax commander (so cmd. navarre or the docter-in-chief or...) if you want those verbose as well. At the very least I'm "one more voice".
I'm Dutch, my spoken english is reasonable but I suppose not (completely) without accent. Shouldn't bother too much however, since PHALANX is quite the international bunch.
Let me know if your interested, if so -in what-, or that you would like to hear some sound samples first.
I've read that you want clear audio to start with, which is fine to me. I'm sure there are plenty of people here that are better to add effects then I am.
BuZZeM