Why do we have text messages in game instead of voice?

[ozlizard]

The comms consist of a primitive text box. This sort of thing has been better handled in games from 20 year ago.
How difficult would it be to have a voice (even just a computer voice like the Windows one) reading the messages from NCPs?

This would really add to the immersion and actually feeling as though you are participating in a real populated world. I mean even robots can talk.
I mean there are no humans to talk to so this would be something......

 

[coffeecup]

Same reason telco's can slag you $1 a text message on the wrong plan? Would not surprise me if this service is provided by AT&T, BT or Telstra...

 

[hologramix]

Yea, this relates to a thread I made a while ago about text.
Like News bulletin too

I do enjoy reading the news bulletin but I could imagine main headlines being presented on an LED screen in or just outside star ports.
I know for a fact, many are not interested in reading the news but to hear main stories as well as see it could grab peoples attention.
Let alone add a little bit more immersion in the very quite galaxy of Elite.

 

[Katkon]

While it doesn't address your concern directly, the game does support voice comms as long as you can target another player. It's actually done well - your voice sounds synthesized and faintly scrambled - as if your communicating, well, in space.

 

[BACKER#50040]

I think the voice thing would get repetitive extremely fast. I prefer the text. maybe some stylized raster imagery in the UI color could perhaps be a nice addition. I really like how Elite has kept many things simple and to the point whilst focusing on making flying around in space feel good and making space look good!

 

[rumtruffle]

Yea, this relates to a thread I made a while ago about text.
Like News bulletin too

I do enjoy reading the news bulletin but I could imagine main headlines being presented on an LED screen in or just outside star ports.
I know for a fact, many are not interested in reading the news but to hear main stories as well as see it could grab peoples attention.
Let alone add a little bit more immersion in the very quite galaxy of Elite.

i agree. +rep

 

[erxcwrestler]

I agree with the OP. And I understand that it would take a lot of time and money to have actual voice actors, but it seems that they could potentially let the ED community contribute a significant portion of the voice content... Just an idea

 

[Darkwolf]

If we had NPCs talking to us, I would want a way to turn it off and revert back to text. See, I can read dozens of times faster than I can understand speech (I'm a fast reader and having hearing difficulties doesn't help).

There's a good reason why I usually turn off voice in any games I play and turn on subtitles.

 

[ozlizard]

it would take a lot of time and money to have actual voice actors

Yes it would but they could implement a simple text to voice function that would be easy to do and wouldn't cost much. They could also have a wider range of random messages so it wouldn't get too repetitive. Anyway in real life, aircraft comms are repetitive simply because what they are saying is related directly to the functions they are performing eg landing, requesting clearance etc.

Also with the Galnet news you could use an animated video that simulates the text to voice function. This has all been done many times before, no need to re-invent the wheel.

 

[sutex]

While it doesn't address your concern directly, the game does support voice comms as long as you can target another player. It's actually done well - your voice sounds synthesized and faintly scrambled - as if your communicating, well, in space.

Would like Proximity Chat , it works well in Planetside 2 , In ED proximity chat would mainly be uses around stations & in close air wings, stray too far and you'll have to target to Talk

 

[ozlizard]

There's a good reason why I usually turn off voice in any games I play and turn on subtitles.

Each to their own, though I suspect you would be in the minority.

I don't have the time or the inclination to read text. I am playing a simulation video game not reading a text adventure!

 

[Dabba]

While that would be nice, Id much rather see them spend money on fleshing out the actual game mechanics and content than wasting dev time and capital on voice acting. Pretty low on my list of priorities at the moment.

 

[ozlizard]

While that would be nice, Id much rather see them spend money on fleshing out the actual game mechanics and content than wasting dev time and capital on voice acting. Pretty low on my list of priorities at the moment.

I would appreciate it if you took the time to actually read the thread before making unrelated comments.

 

[RealNC]

The reason is that they didn't have enough time (and probably enough money left) to finish the game prior to release. Voice actors cost money.

 

[Darkwolf]

Each to their own, though I suspect you would be in the minority.

Not arguing that. However, consider that text-to-speech is still pretty well horrible, and if you've played games that use it, they only succeed in seeming even more artificial than games that don't even bother.

So the only solution here is to pay actual voice actors to the do the voicing. And you'd better have a LOT of alternate voices for each phrase, otherwise it will get extremely repetitive very quickly (which is also immersion-breaking).

This amounts to a lot of money. Personally, I'd much rather it was done properly rather than half-baked and be terrible.

But I still want to be able to turn it off and have text.

 

[ozlizard]

Before anyone else gets the wrong end of the stick, I am not referring to voice acting at all, just a simple text to voice application similar to the way Voice Attack works where you can input a response using one of the Window voices. It actually sounds just like the in game computer voice.

This is a very simple yet effective solution.

No voice actors required.

 

[Dabba]

I would appreciate it if you took the time to actually read the thread before making unrelated comments.

Yeah sorry if I missed the part about them having a magic wand they could magically wave to add voice without any additional dev time or capital then my mistake. Im all for the magic wand approach if that is available. Even a text to voice program would need licensing and a lot of coding to implement properly. Just not a priority with all the other things that they could be doing.

 

[ozlizard]

However, consider that text-to-speech is still pretty well horrible

No it's not. It is actually very good, go and have a listen.

 

[erxcwrestler]

Yes it would but they could implement a simple text to voice function that would be easy to do and wouldn't cost much. They could also have a wider range of random messages so it wouldn't get too repetitive. Anyway in real life, aircraft comms are repetitive simply because what they are saying is related directly to the functions they are performing eg landing, requesting clearance etc.

Also with the Galnet news you could use an animated video that simulates the text to voice function. This has all been done many times before, no need to re-invent the wheel.

Yup, like I said, I agree with the OP...

 

[Darkwolf]

Before anyone else gets the wrong end of the stick, I am not referring to voice acting at all, just a simple text to voice application similar to the way Voice Attack works where you can input a response using one of the Window voices. It actually sounds just like the in game computer voice.

... except text to speech typically has terrible cadence and completely lacks emotion and context.

Try and put phrases like "HAHAHAHA!" and "I'm gonna boil you, greenhorn!" into the Text to Speech configuration test box on a Windows box and see how it copes with that. The first one is pretty funny, actually.

It's not a good solution. It's a half-baked one that's going to sound terrible, be terrible, and be a hell of a lot slower than just reading what's said. The only real way to do this properly is with actual voice actors, and that's expensive.

Edit: Some other common phrases that don't exactly turn out right (mostly cadence and tense is completely wrong);

"I consign your remains to the void."
"No crimes detected. You're free to go, Commander."
"I want it all!"
"Must... escape!"

You see the idea.