VecVox samples

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

For anyone interested in what the VecVox / AtariVox sounds like, I've
put together some samples -

www.vectrex.biz/AtariVox_sounds.mp3




Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:nN2dnYL1p4_BawTfRVnyrw@pipex.net...
> For anyone interested in what the VecVox / AtariVox sounds like, I've
> put together some samples -
>
> www.vectrex.biz/AtariVox_sounds.mp3

Very nice demo! Those last sound effects sound really freaky. I wonder how
well it could emulate the voice of the computer in War Games :^)

It should be possible to make it work with an Amiga as well, it has the same
joystick connector as an Atari and the connector can be set to be an output.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>Very nice demo!

Thanks !, it's the first time I've been able to get clean sound samples from
it. I tried for ages with my PC's sound card, but it suffered badly from hum
and noise from the computer. A friend then put me onto the Griffin iMic -

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/index.php

It's a USB sound unit which gives a VERY clean recording and can sample up
to 96000 Hz - it's pretty cheap too


>It should be possible to make it work with an Amiga as well, it has the
>same joystick connector as an Atari and the connector can be set to be an
>output.

If you want to have a go at writing a driver I'll send you one ?





Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

BTW the sounds are just generated from the built-in set library, the
user-controlled 5 channel synth part of the chip has hardly been touched in
SpeakJet applications yet. It's a shame because it has a really cool 50's
sci-fi sound feel to it.

I'm currently working on some software to experiment with synth over a few
octaves -

www.vectrex.biz/VoxPlay.gif





Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:noqdnQxLVO14yQbfRVnyuA@pipex.net...
> >Very nice demo!
>
> Thanks !, it's the first time I've been able to get clean sound samples
> from
> it. I tried for ages with my PC's sound card, but it suffered badly from
> hum
> and noise from the computer. A friend then put me onto the Griffin iMic -
>
> http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/index.php
>
> It's a USB sound unit which gives a VERY clean recording and can sample up
> to 96000 Hz - it's pretty cheap too

That's a nifty looking device. I noticed bad quality recording on my PC's as
well. My Creative Jukebox 3 should be a lot better at doing that, even
directly to MP3, though it only goes upto 48kHz :^)

> If you want to have a go at writing a driver I'll send you one ?

Absolutely, that would be very interesting to do. Do you still have my
contact information, or shall I send you an e-mail?

Best wishes,
Milan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:KcKdnUPXoY2dxAbfRVnyiw@pipex.net...
> BTW the sounds are just generated from the built-in set library, the
> user-controlled 5 channel synth part of the chip has hardly been touched
> in
> SpeakJet applications yet. It's a shame because it has a really cool 50's
> sci-fi sound feel to it.

Seems like that would make a very nice addition to the Vectrex's and Atari's
built-in audio.

> I'm currently working on some software to experiment with synth over a few
> octaves -
>
> www.vectrex.biz/VoxPlay.gif

Very nice, I've always liked audio synthesis, I have a synthesizer and have
done some synthesis with software, for game sound effects.

BTW: I liked the cardboard Vectrex mock-up you did recently, I had been
working on the graphics for a cardboard Defender arcade cabinet, but never
got around to actually building it.

Best wishes,
Milan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>I had been working on the graphics for a cardboard Defender arcade cabinet,
>but never got around to actually building it.

Have you seen this ? -

http://www.wayoftherodent.com/gd101/bs_paperarcade.htm


>BTW: I liked the cardboard Vectrex mock-up you did recently,

It could be a lot better - it was my first attempt and I'm not very
familiar with rendering software.

It was done with Metasequoia (http://www21.ocn.ne.jp/~mizno/main_e.html)
imported into Pepakura (http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/) and cut-out
with a friends CraftRobo cutter (because I'm lazy !)
(http://www.graphteccorp.com/craftrobo/index.html)


Do you want to have a go at making a better rendered model ?



>Do you still have my
>contact information, or shall I send you an e-mail?

Can you Email it to me please






Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:JPydnXPbpqsT9QHfRVnytA@pipex.net...

> Have you seen this ? -
> http://www.wayoftherodent.com/gd101/bs_paperarcade.htm

Yes, that's where I got the idea, their Defender graphics are a bit grainy
though, so I had been working on improving them.

> It could be a lot better - it was my first attempt and I'm not very
> familiar with rendering software.
>
> It was done with Metasequoia (http://www21.ocn.ne.jp/~mizno/main_e.html)
> imported into Pepakura (http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/) and
> cut-out
> with a friends CraftRobo cutter (because I'm lazy !)
> (http://www.graphteccorp.com/craftrobo/index.html)

Wow, what a cool set of tools! That modeler looks quite amazing and the
paper model converter inspires a lot of neat ideas.
Never knew something like that craftrobo existed, would be handy for cutting
Vectrex overlays as well.

> Do you want to have a go at making a better rendered model ?

That would certainly be interesting to try some time.

> Can you Email it to me please

Will do.

Best wishes,
Milan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:JPydnXPbpqsT9QHfRVnytA@pipex.net...

>>Do you still have my
>>contact information, or shall I send you an e-mail?
>
> Can you Email it to me please

Hi Richard, I mailed you my address a couple of days ago, I hope the e-mail
arrived.

Best wishes,
Milan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>I mailed you my address a couple of days ago, I hope the e-mail arrived.

I got it and have shipped the VecVox - looking forward to using it with the
Amiga

BTW if you want to do TTS driver, you can put the unit into VecVoice mode
(hold down the mode-switch when powering-up), it is then is responsive to
SPO256-AL2 codes.

You can test this with Ken's 'ChipTalk' software -

http://www.speechchips.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=6&catid=3

Which is based on this algorithm -

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/blundeln/fyp/sourcecode/t2a.cpp

He's currently expanding it to incorporate the SpeakJet's extended phoneme
set, and putting it into a PIC (making it similar to the CTS256-AL2).

I'm hoping to incorporate his chip as a TTS bridge for the VecVox /
AtariVox. It'll be cool for using with text adventures.






Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:up-dnWOy-NwiQj_fRVnyuA@pipex.net...
> >I mailed you my address a couple of days ago, I hope the e-mail arrived.
>
> I got it and have shipped the VecVox

Great, I'm looking forward to receiving it.

> - looking forward to using it with the
> Amiga

Me too :^)

> BTW if you want to do TTS driver, you can put the unit into VecVoice mode
> (hold down the mode-switch when powering-up), it is then is responsive to
> SPO256-AL2 codes.
>
> You can test this with Ken's 'ChipTalk' software -
> http://www.speechchips.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=6&catid=3

I've tried that utilitiy before, it's really cool to play with.

> Which is based on this algorithm -
>
> http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/blundeln/fyp/sourcecode/t2a.cpp

This is what the Amiga's translator library can do as well (though the
phonemes probably won't be the same, it might be possible to remap them).
It's speech system can do intonation as well, but I'm not sure if the
translator library handles that, that would be really cool if it could be
used with the VecVox.

> He's currently expanding it to incorporate the SpeakJet's extended phoneme
> set, and putting it into a PIC (making it similar to the CTS256-AL2).

That's a very neat idea.

> I'm hoping to incorporate his chip as a TTS bridge for the VecVox /
> AtariVox. It'll be cool for using with text adventures.

Absolutely, that would make it much easier to use for game progammers.
Though you'd probably still obtain the best quality by choosing the phonemes
by hand.

Best wishes,
Milan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Hi Richard,

I am plugging away and I do have a prototype of a text to speech chip
driving a SpeakJet. I'm currently remapping all the codes and updating
the rules to use the new SpeakJet phonemes. IMHO, the speech quality is
pretty darn good and it's not complete yet so things look hopeful.

I was wondering if you would think it would be useful.

Thanks,
Ken
www.speechchips.com

Richard Hutchinson wrote:
> >I mailed you my address a couple of days ago, I hope the e-mail arrived.
>
> I got it and have shipped the VecVox - looking forward to using it with the
> Amiga
>
> BTW if you want to do TTS driver, you can put the unit into VecVoice mode
> (hold down the mode-switch when powering-up), it is then is responsive to
> SPO256-AL2 codes.
>
> You can test this with Ken's 'ChipTalk' software -
>
> http://www.speechchips.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=6&catid=3
>
> Which is based on this algorithm -
>
> http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/blundeln/fyp/sourcecode/t2a.cpp
>
> He's currently expanding it to incorporate the SpeakJet's extended phoneme
> set, and putting it into a PIC (making it similar to the CTS256-AL2).
>
> I'm hoping to incorporate his chip as a TTS bridge for the VecVox /
> AtariVox. It'll be cool for using with text adventures.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>I was wondering if you would think it would be useful.

Definitely ! - I'm looking forward to using it





Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Here's another MP3 of me messing around with the 5 channel synth part of the
Vox's (with a few singing pre-sets in the middle) -


www.vectrex.biz/AtariVox_sounds2.mp3




Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Milan, it was on TV over the weekend so I had a play with the Vox -

www.vectrex.biz/WarGames.mp3





Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Richard -

Are there an additional features you need in the text to speech chip?
I was going to add a SpeakJet reset and SpeakJet baud rate reset
command. Have you ever had a SpeakJet lose it's baud rate setting?

Ken
www.speechchips.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>Are there an additional features you need in the text to speech chip?

I'll have a think...

A pronunciation protocol which overrides the algorithm would be good, for
the words that are not pronounced correctly.

Of course, tweaking and storing a dictionary of these unusual words to the
chip is probably out of the question


>I was going to add a SpeakJet reset and SpeakJet baud rate reset
>command

It needs the reset, baud rate I'm not so sure


>Have you ever had a SpeakJet lose it's baud rate setting?

Yes, just one (out of about 60 chips) it jumped from 19200 back to 9600



BTW do you have any .wavs of it in action ?

Also, are you using the pitch, bend, speed and volume or have you fixed them
at the default settings.




Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

I'm working on the pununciation rules right now and my goal is to be
able to pronounce all the words in the SpeakJet dictionary correctly
without using the dictionary itself. Right now, the accurarcy is
around 90-95%. Of course, when it does mis pronounce a word it stands
out dramatically. Most of the remaining problems are due to trying to
use the entire phoneme set of the SpeakJet. It took a while to get it
to say things like "POP" instead of "PE OP". I know that's a simple
example but, trust me, it drives you crazy when you hear it.

I don't plan on adding a custom dictionary function as I don't think it
will be needed. In those odd cases where it just will not pronounce a
work correctly, you should be able to resort to creative spelling to
get the pronunciation you want. It's not perfect but it's a lot faster
than building works up from phonemes.

I'll grab a wav file in the next week or so. My plan for SpeakJet
control codes is for the TTS256 (<--- snazzy name that) to ignore
control codes and send them directly on to the SpeakJet. In theory,
that would allow you to mix in speed, pitch and volume commands with
English text. I might have to implement a pass through mode where the
TTS256 ignores all incoming text and sends it directly on to the
SpeakJet just in case you want to control the SpeakJet directly.


Richard Hutchinson wrote:
> >Are there an additional features you need in the text to speech chip?
>
> I'll have a think...
>
> A pronunciation protocol which overrides the algorithm would be good, for
> the words that are not pronounced correctly.
>
> Of course, tweaking and storing a dictionary of these unusual words to the
> chip is probably out of the question
>
>
> >I was going to add a SpeakJet reset and SpeakJet baud rate reset
> >command
>
> It needs the reset, baud rate I'm not so sure
>
>
> >Have you ever had a SpeakJet lose it's baud rate setting?
>
> Yes, just one (out of about 60 chips) it jumped from 19200 back to 9600
>
>
>
> BTW do you have any .wavs of it in action ?
>
> Also, are you using the pitch, bend, speed and volume or have you fixed them
> at the default settings.
>
>
>
>
> Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:x_GdnRubXeR9UjDfRVnygg@pipex.net...
> Milan, it was on TV over the weekend so I had a play with the Vox -
>
> www.vectrex.biz/WarGames.mp3

Hi Richard,

dread, I just discovered my rec.games.vectrex database went corrupt again,
been without any updates for over a month. I thought it was because of the
holiday season that there weren't any new posts :^)

That WarGames sample is pretty cool, they used some pretty weird intonation
in that movie. The mp3 with the audio demonstration sounds great as well,
I'm amazed at all the different kinds of audio it's able to produce (from
Roland TB-303-like sounds to radio noise).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

I read somewhere that the computer speech was done by John Wood, the actor
who played Dr. Stephen Falken in the film. They just cut up words, altered
the pitch etc and pasted them back together. Why they didn't use actual
synthesis I don't know.


BTW how's it going with the Amiga driver ?




Richard H.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Richard Hutchinson <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:
>I read somewhere that the computer speech was done by John Wood, the actor
>who played Dr. Stephen Falken in the film. They just cut up words, altered
>the pitch etc and pasted them back together. Why they didn't use actual
>synthesis I don't know.

Yes, they used a tape splicing technique along with pitch changes and
equilization to create 'Joshua' from the lines that John Wood read. I
think that the use of a speech synthesizer of the day would have made it a
bit boring and identifiable outside of the movie (they'd have probably
gone to Ti, and everyone can identify the Ti sound chip these days).
Have you ever found a speech synth that sounds like it?

For those who aren't familiar with tape splicing, loops and such, its what
we had to do way before you got your laptop with fruity loops and
pro-tools.

"protovision .. I have you now!"

--
martians@sdf.lonestar.org

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> schreef in bericht
news:goydnViD07S7AVPfRVnyrw@pipex.net...
>I read somewhere that the computer speech was done by John Wood, the actor
> who played Dr. Stephen Falken in the film. They just cut up words, altered
> the pitch etc and pasted them back together. Why they didn't use actual
> synthesis I don't know.

Yes, I noticed it wasn't a synthetic voice, too bad really.

> BTW how's it going with the Amiga driver ?

Lately most of my energy has been absorbed by working on trial for a
company, I've been pretty useless in the evenings :^)
As soon as I have some more energy I'll start looking into how I'd go about
making a driver for my Amiga.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Here's it singing a song...


www.vectrex.biz/Daisy.mp3





Richard H.

 

[jeff]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Can't wait to get my VecVox. ;o) (and I'd probably have it by now if my
head was actually screwed on straight!) LOL

-Jeff

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:0P-dnSBULNw3t03fRVnyvA@pipex.net...
> Here's it singing a song...
>
>
> www.vectrex.biz/Daisy.mp3
>
>
>
>
>
> Richard H.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

If I'm not mistaken, that version of Daisy should be credited as...

"Daisy Bell" by Harry Dacre. SpeakJet Version By Craig Iannello

Ken
www.speechchips.com