Author Topic: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉  (Read 5093 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Iain Baker

  • 210
  • 'Sup?
    • Steam
    • Twitter
    • NOMAD's Reviews
Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Hi there!

I’m sure we have all cringed at how poorly the text-to-speech system works in game (and in general – YouTube videos, I’m looking at you).
 
However, there are ways of improving it, and done correctly it can actually be quite effective. Feel free to take a look at my website to see examples. https://iainbakerfreelance.co.uk/
If anyone would like me to help with the text to speech optimisation of their mod please get in touch.

One question, is the text-to-speech software narrating the text that is on screen, or is it referencing a file somewhere? If so, would altering this file alter the text that appears on screen? I ask as optimising text for text-to-speech narration involves manually altering the text into a format that the software is better able to understand. This results in narration that sounds pretty decent, but if someone were to read the text it would look like gobbledygook ;-)

Ideally you would want the on screen text to be referencing one unaltered file, and the narration referencing a separate optimised file - or a pre-recorded MP3 file. You would then have on screen text that is readable and narration that is listenable.

Hope to hear from you soon  :)

« Last Edit: July 02, 2018, 01:06:19 pm by Iain Baker »
Wanna check out my video games, technology and media website? If so, visit; https://www.nomadsreviews.co.uk/

Interested in hiring my freelance writing, proof-reading, editing, SEO, TTSO, Web Development or Social Media Management services? If so, please messege me at [email protected]

 

Offline General Battuta

  • Poe's Law In Action
  • 214
  • i wonder when my postcount will exceed my iq
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Unfortunately it's reading straight off the screen.

 

Offline Mongoose

  • Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
  • Global Moderator
  • 212
  • This brain for rent.
    • Minecraft
    • Steam
    • Something
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
You can have the in-mission dialog use different text than what you're using for text-to-speech, but that would entail pre-recording the audio and bundling it with your mod.

 
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
And the benefit from having audio different from text would be... higher quality?

 

Offline General Battuta

  • Poe's Law In Action
  • 214
  • i wonder when my postcount will exceed my iq
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Yes, it sounds like you can give the TTS something closer to a phonetic script to read so it doesn't get confused.

 

Offline Trivial Psychic

  • 212
  • Snoop Junkie
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Problem is, sometimes FREDders use variables or player's name in a message content, which can't be prerecorded.
The Trivial Psychic Strikes Again!

 

Offline jr2

  • The Mail Man
  • 212
  • It's prounounced jayartoo 0x6A7232
    • Steam
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Can the TTS be altered to use the file instead?  And then to have a preference for a TTS optimized file if it exists?

Or perhaps  modify FSO to pass the contents of an optimized file instead of the normal screen content  if it exists?

Not quite sure how Windows TTS works or how much control there is over its behavior.  If it's Windows just reading off the screen, then how come it doesn't read off the ship types you're targeting?  Or are those displayed as images? 

  

Offline AdmiralRalwood

  • 211
  • The Cthulhu programmer himself!
    • Skype
    • Steam
    • Twitter
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
Not quite sure how Windows TTS works or how much control there is over its behavior.
Quite a lot of control over what's said, actually.

If it's Windows just reading off the screen
It isn't. We specifically feed message text to the SAPI.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Codethulhu GitHub wgah'nagl fhtagn.

schrödinbug (noun) - a bug that manifests itself in running software after a programmer notices that the code should never have worked in the first place.

When you gaze long into BMPMAN, BMPMAN also gazes into you.

"I am one of the best FREDders on Earth" -General Battuta

<Aesaar> literary criticism is vladimir putin

<MageKing17> "There's probably a reason the code is the way it is" is a very dangerous line of thought. :P
<MageKing17> Because the "reason" often turns out to be "nobody noticed it was wrong".
(the very next day)
<MageKing17> this ****ing code did it to me again
<MageKing17> "That doesn't really make sense to me, but I'll assume it was being done for a reason."
<MageKing17> **** ME
<MageKing17> THE REASON IS PEOPLE ARE STUPID
<MageKing17> ESPECIALLY ME

<MageKing17> God damn, I do not understand how this is breaking.
<MageKing17> Everything points to "this should work fine", and yet it's clearly not working.
<MjnMixael> 2 hours later... "God damn, how did this ever work at all?!"
(...)
<MageKing17> so
<MageKing17> more than two hours
<MageKing17> but once again we have reached the inevitable conclusion
<MageKing17> How did this code ever work in the first place!?

<@The_E> Welcome to OpenGL, where standards compliance is optional, and error reporting inconsistent

<MageKing17> It was all working perfectly until I actually tried it on an actual mission.

<IronWorks> I am useful for FSO stuff again. This is a red-letter day!
* z64555 erases "Thursday" and rewrites it in red ink

<MageKing17> TIL the entire homing code is held up by shoestrings and duct tape, basically.

 

Offline Iain Baker

  • 210
  • 'Sup?
    • Steam
    • Twitter
    • NOMAD's Reviews
Re: Optimising Text-to-Speech narration so that it no longer sounds terrible 😉
NB - I can record the TTS as an MP3 or WAV file, which you can then use in your mods in lieu of 'proper' people narration  :)

Samples can be heard by following the link: https://iainbakerfreelance.co.uk/text-to-speech-optimisation/
Wanna check out my video games, technology and media website? If so, visit; https://www.nomadsreviews.co.uk/

Interested in hiring my freelance writing, proof-reading, editing, SEO, TTSO, Web Development or Social Media Management services? If so, please messege me at [email protected]