RevEng Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 One of these days I will be making a Mac app for the AtariVox. If you base it on Speakalator you'll probably only need to redo the serial routines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I am keen to make speech strings for games. I may have given away all my AtariVox USB adapters, although I could probably build some new ones with the spare boards I have. I think if there's still a niche left for me in the hobby going forward, it's going to be the speech synth stuff. It's something I'm still interested in. However, my specialty is carefully riding the pitch and speed to try to make it sound more natural and I'm not sure if that's really desirable for games that are intended to mimic the old coinop games that had a monotone sound to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 (edited) If you base it on Speakalator you'll probably only need to redo the serial routines. I have a run of the mill USB->Serial adapter. I can't remember whether I plugged this into the AV or not at one time, or used the special USB adapter. Can a DB9 serial go straight into the AtariVox and be used with PhraseALator? EDIT: I've done some searching and realized that it's not as simple as that. I need to get a real Atarivox USB adapter going again. (I used to know all this stuff but enough time goes by and you forget it.) Edited August 8, 2014 by mos6507 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 If you base it on Speakalator you'll probably only need to redo the serial routines. That could prove to be very useful, thanks! I am keen to make speech strings for games. I may have given away all my AtariVox USB adapters, although I could probably build some new ones with the spare boards I have. I think if there's still a niche left for me in the hobby going forward, it's going to be the speech synth stuff. It's something I'm still interested in. However, my specialty is carefully riding the pitch and speed to try to make it sound more natural and I'm not sure if that's really desirable for games that are intended to mimic the old coinop games that had a monotone sound to them. Frantic needs to be robotic sounding, but a more natural voice would probably be fine for Draconian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Glad to share. If you're going for a Bosconian type voice, just make sure its natural but very unintelligible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 EDIT: I've done some searching and realized that it's not as simple as that. I need to get a real Atarivox USB adapter going again. (I used to know all this stuff but enough time goes by and you forget it.) If you don't mind not having access to the atarivox eeprom, a cheapie USB TTL serial port works just fine too. (you'll need to make the DE-9 adapter bit) I picked mine up on ebay for under $5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 The voice I added to Juno First is a good indication of how I like the speech to sound. For instance, the "You Lose! Good Day, Sir!" being my approximation of Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka. I don't know how many people play Juno First with speech but if you don't you're missing out because the taunting really adds to the experience. I think doing robotic speech strings just isn't challenging enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 If you don't mind not having access to the atarivox eeprom, a cheapie USB TTL serial port works just fine too. (you'll need to make the DE-9 adapter bit) I picked mine up on ebay for under $5. So just to be absolutely clear, the *Vox needs TTL signal levels and NOT RS-232 levels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Correct. RS-232 actually doesn't have a standard voltage levels for lo/hi as such. TTL 5v is what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDS Games Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) AtariVox+ will be available again soon. This looks like a damn cool hack! It would be nice to make it available in the store. ..Al Nice! That's great news. I wonder how many people like me who don't have the AtariVox would consider getting it for this game. And if a bundle would be worthwhile. I don't know why I keep putting off making speech strings. Maybe because there are so many, and I am only 1/3 done? Maybe it is because I have a Mac and I have to fight with VMware Windows to hear AtariVox speak ? It IS getting easier because the more I do, the more words I can reuse because they are already done. I am thinking this will be a "must have" for AtariVox+ owners! I wish I could help as well. Don't get me started on the Mac problem! Been Mac since the late 80s and I've just about had it. Looking ahead, if we can get a final push going on the AtariVox then it'd be good to move forward on the label. And a manual and whatever else Al needs to get this in the store. I'll post what I have when I get the chance. Edited August 11, 2014 by CDS Games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Alexander Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 AtariVox+ will be available again soon. This looks like a damn cool hack! It would be nice to make it available in the store. ..Al 1 AtariVox+ and Wizard of Wor 2: The Arena on cartridge please & thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I uncovered my AtariVox USB adapter so I can build speech strings with PhraseALator. Could someone provide an update on how much speech has already been done for it and what kind of stuff is still wanted for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I uncovered my AtariVox USB adapter so I can build speech strings with PhraseALator. Could someone provide an update on how much speech has already been done for it and what kind of stuff is still wanted for it? The txt file in this post has all the phrases:http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209266-wizard-of-wor-2-the-arena/?p=2886253 The zip file in that thread has the sound samples I'm trying to match. The last thing I worked on was going over the first 28 and shaping them to sound like the arcade. That is in this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209266-wizard-of-wor-2-the-arena/?p=2901082 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 The txt file in this post has all the phrases:http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209266-wizard-of-wor-2-the-arena/?p=2886253 The last thing I worked on was going over the first 28 and shaping them to sound like the arcade. That is in this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209266-wizard-of-wor-2-the-arena/?p=2901082 So anything after #16 in "Dungeon start ups" is not done, beginning with: Bonus player awarded : onward... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Alexander Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Here are the completed first twenty-eight Wizard of Wor sentences for AtariVox+. The Wizard of Wor Vox Data.txt Read the text file, I like to variety of speech. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 The samples just sample a single word. Is the phrasing of each word in the coinop always the same? It would be easier to match the coinop if the samples were entire phrases and not just single words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDS Games Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Finally had the time to mock up some more cartridge art. Hoping we can get this onto a CBS cart eventually because...well just because that'd be awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 It would be very cool to offer at least some copies in CBS carts. Not sure how plentiful they are in order to do so, 50 or 100 of them like this. Plus, a new board would likely need to be designed, although I haven't opened a CBS cart to see what the board looks like. Presumably it's a different shape than Atari's boards, though. The labels are probably also a unique size, so I wouldn't be able to use any of my existing label stock, necessitating additional expense. Still, it'd be fun to do if I could get my hands on enough CBS donor carts. ..Al 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Thanks for the photo. That board is about as small as they could possibly make them, very interesting. I assume some of their games use larger boards? I need to track down some CBS carts and take a look at them. Also interesting to see the use of springs for the pegs. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDS Games Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 (edited) Thanks CPUWIZ! Al, for labels, I wonder if Activision stock would work. Width looks right on or close to it. Height is hard to tell with the wraparound, but there might be 1/16"-1/8" difference between the two. But I hear ya, it sounds like if these can be made to work they'll be more like a special offering and not a regular store feature. I'd imagine the new board alone is a bit of an undertaking. Edited September 28, 2014 by CDS Games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Thanks for the photo. That board is about as small as they could possibly make them, very interesting. I assume some of their games use larger boards? I need to track down some CBS carts and take a look at them. Also interesting to see the use of springs for the pegs. ..Al 1.) I have not seen a larger board. 2.) Most of the carts are a pain in the ass to clean. 3.) Designing a board for this, is a pain too, because of the hole in the weird place. It would have to be larger. I've taken a bunch of these apart for repros of Meltdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCallister Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Thanks for the photo. That board is about as small as they could possibly make them, very interesting. I assume some of their games use larger boards? I need to track down some CBS carts and take a look at them. Also interesting to see the use of springs for the pegs. ..Al You shall have some soon. And I'll second what CPUWIZ says about them being a PITA to clean. Still, this game is too cool to not at least try to do a run in these shells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Still, this game is too cool to not at least try to do a run in these shells. I agree! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Found some of my CBS dupes tonight. If anyone has extra CBS dupes they want to sell/trade me, please send me a PM! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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