Voice Commands for SH5

[karamazovnew]

Some of us have already used voice comands in SH3 and SH4 and it was a wonderful experience. The voice recognition program was even inteligent enough to move the mouse and click.
Now, I don't expect the devs to dedicate extra time and money to implement such a feature. But with a bit of planning and little effort, they could make a control system that would allow a simple external voice->key application to achieve amazing results in the game.
Each command, button click, textbox select, practically anything you can click with your mouse should have the option of ataching a key command to it. So for example, by pressing something like CTRL-SHIFT-ALT-R would be the same as clicking the textbox for entering Course. We would link in our external voice recog program the spoken sentence "Set new course" to CTRL-SHIFT-ALT-R.

Each item, when focused, whould expect certain commands/keys. One of them is to also break focus. So, for example you can say "Nevermind or "just kidding" to break the focus on that item. So the game also needs specific control for each item. Focus on an item should be customisable like this:
- how many seconds without player control before it breaks the focus
- how many seconds without player control before it completes the order
- how many items of info (key presses) does the item expect?
- what to do with incomplete data? after how many seconds to delete the current data without breaking focus. Or, after how many seconds to convert the data into something usable?

-So, saying "Set new course to...." would focus the course textbox and only allow certain inputs.
-Saying "Set new course for London.... Just kidding, set new course for 2-2-5" would work as the textbox only expects certain keypresses and a specific number of them.
-But what if you say "Set new course for 2-2...." now the game waits. But for what? It did expect you to say "0-2-2" or "2-2-...something" because it needs 3 items, right? But after about 1-2 seconds, the game stops waiting and decides that you meant to say "0-2-2" and completes the order.
-Set new course for 2-2 rudder 10 degrees. Here, the necessity of optional parameters is underlined. Even though we did not give a complete 0-2-2 order, by saying "rudder" we have switch to another optional parameter for that order, the turn radius. But the setting of the rudder is in fact the same as setting the ruder itself. So, this order is in fact the same as "Rudder 10 degrees, to course 2-2" or "Rudder 10 degrees to bearing 9-0".
-So saying Rudder 20 degrees is actually a "Set Course" command with other parameters turned off.

Another example... the sonar station. Let's call our sonar guy Hans...
- "Hans,," this puts focus on hans
- "Fire torpedoes...." comletely ignored since Hans can't do that.
- "Repeat last report", easy...
- "Report on closest...", now he waits. Such orders whould be progressive, like functions with optional arguments. Here, the devs must think of the possibilities. One of them is that you just want him to report the closest thing, either merchant or warship. So after 1-2 seconds the order is given as it is based on Hans->ReportOrder focus settings.
- "Report on closest merchant", easy, now Hans knows what you want from him imediately
-"Report on last contact", it begins the same way but now Hans updates his report on the last contact he was given or he reported.
-"Report on contact", another progressive order. This actually selects a bearing textbox that allows you to ask him about a precise contact, that you can view through the periscope for example.
-so as before "Report on contact at 2-2" means that after a few seconds he'll try to report the contact that is closest, in terms of bearing, to 022, within a certain limit, of course.

Since voice commands only mimic actual voice orders and already most orders are in fact progressive, I believe that this can easily be done. For example, when sending data to the TDC, you can either send one item of info (bearing for ex), two (bearing and AOB) and so on... The Send TO TDC button already acts as a progressive order. The basic vanilla version only needs such a structure to exist. After that, moders, or the casual user can customize every part of it. The actual part of voice recognition training and setting the keys would be done in an external program.

[rik007]

I fully agree with you, Karamazovnew. Voice command is immersion. I always play SH3 with it. SH-5 should allow for that at least. Very important is that you could do voice command combined with key-board commands. This enables the possibility that you can do more task together. General commands I issue with voice commands while doing micromanagement by the mouse. In the heat of attack I'm able to work as if two persons operate my pc.

[Nexus7]

Dangerous Waters has this feature, on the other hand Sonalyst is also active in the music business (not sure if that matters). DW can be trained to recognize YOUR voice (and accent).

being my english very basic I didn't dive into this feature much.

I managed a few times to order course and depth changes:

Here an extract from a file found on Subguru.com (DW voice recognition commands and Syntax, www.subguru.com/DW_missions/DW_VoiceCommands.doc (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/www.subguru.com/DW_missions/DW_VoiceCommands.doc))

Make [ turns for, your speed] n [knots]
Make your course n [degrees]
Make your depth n [feet, meters]
Launch [active, passive] decoy [deep, shallow]
Designate type as [surface, subsurface, air...]
[Raise, Lower] the [radar mast, E S M mast, radio mast, periscope, snorkel mast]

[Thomen]

I wouldnt mind having the option of voice control. Played DW with it, and I like it. Had to stop tho.. Wife was giving me "the look" everytime I gave an order. :shifty:

[Nexus7]

Since the juice of sub-sims (to me anyway) is the battle, the juice is also the more stressing part of the mission.

From the little i was lucky to learn, my priorities in order of inportance into battle are:

1. communication
2. somthing else.

[FIREWALL]

Why even have a Sim ? Why not have them make a movie that you can interact with ?

That's what all these kind of posts seem to want.

[Nexus7]

?

So you would like to issue the orders with the mouse ? I don't understand your comment

[martes86]

While I also see that a voice recognition module would be off-schedule, mapping (and allowing to remap) all orders/commands would make it easier to use VR, and we'd be getting 2 requests in 1 (VR mapping ease, and key re-mapping in an options menu).


Why even have a Sim ? Why not have them make a movie that you can interact with ?

That's what all these kind of posts seem to want.

Not even close, at least not this one. Using Voice Recognition makes it easier to play, makes it more natural as we don't have to remember complicated and infinite key combinations, just remember how to spell the appropiate order. I'm 100% sure we all know how to order via voice stuff to a crew, and not many are (or have been) necessarily sailors or experienced with naval affairs outside of one's hobby, but I'm also sure that not many know 100% of all key commands for SH3 (I don't).
Does this mean that this particular post wants SH5 to be a movie? Not for me. :rock:

[karamazovnew]

When watching a movie you don't speak... you listen :har:

[FIREWALL]

I just hope you all have kids running around the house screaming and yelling. :haha:

[karamazovnew]

Girl: "Daddy, Eric is mean to me again!!!!":wah:
WO: "Yes sir, firing torpedo tube 4." :har:

[oscar19681]

Girl: "Daddy, Eric is mean to me again!!!!":wah:
WO: "Yes sir, firing torpedo tube 4." :har:

Girl: "Daddy i,m hungry again."
Cook: "Yes sir you can taste my soup sir"

[oscar19681]

But yeah if thers is one simulation that is perfect for some good voice recongnition its a subsim!!

[karamazovnew]

Not any subsim, mind you... SH5 seems to be perfect for this.

But it seems I need to underline my first post. I did not ask for a voice recognition plugin, as we already have such things, but a new order system that would allow an external voice recognition program to send in very detailed orders. For people not using it, this feature would be invisible. :up: But even people moding the interface would benefit from this. Buttons for quickly going up/down one meter, buttons for specific tracking of sonar contacts, controlling dive planes, "makeshift" separate air tanks (realeasing a certain ammount of it) etc.

Each order is a sort of "sentence", made up of an optional number of words, each "word" can have a key input or a default value. Also the sentences themselves(with some values) can be given key commands. So changing depth is in fact Change_Depth([absolute/relative], [number of meters], [how many angles on dive planes]). "Go to Periscope depth" is just Change Depth(absolute,13.5,10 bow,10 stern).

Changing course is Set_Course([absolute/relative],[how many degrees],[rudder setting]). So "Hard Left" is just Set_Course(NULL,NULL,30port).

Combined with a Focus_Settings as explained in my first post, this can mean that unless you're at the periscope station, have your tubes flooded and opened, you kids can yell as much as they want. Without saying "Fire Torpedo One" they will not fire any torpedo.

[Pisces]

If they were to include voice recognition in SH5 that would be great for immersion, especially enhancing the 'commanding' experience.

However, as it is, voice recognition support in Vista is a bit of a problem if you do not have the English language pack (or of a few other major languages) OR Vista Ultimate. Otherwise Speech is useless. Which I assume applies to alot if not most people. Microsoft claims that it's speech recognition pack is part of almost every Vista edition, even Home Basic (just not the Starter edition iirc). But for some stupid reason Microsoft forced Speech to only look for a speech-engine that matches the installed user interface language. So, for example if you installed the dutch language pack at Vista installation(like I did), it complains that you cannot use it. Even if the (game) software requires you to talk in english, the Speech software stubornly tries to find the the engine for your own language. If you want to change between language packs you need to have Vista Ultimate (or Enterprise but thats only sold to large enterprises, not to single users). Which alot of user simply do not have. The only solution out of this is to upgrade to Ultimate, as there is no way back when you made the language choice in the other editions. But since alot of users only have an OEM license of Vista it does not apply to them. They would need to buy a completely new Vista license.

The problem would be easily solved if Microsoft provided an update to Speech that is less restricting to non-english speakers. But I won't hold my breath on that.

Read:

http://blogs.msdn.com/speech/archive/2007/09/01/windows-speech-recognition-language-support-in-windows-vista.aspx

[martes86]

Girl: "Daddy, Eric is mean to me again!!!!":wah:
WO: "Yes sir, firing torpedo tube 4." :har:

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

[DigitalAura]

Seriously, this is a terrific idea. It sends shivers down my spine...is this possible to mod? Are you telling me you played SH3 with something like this? :-?

[martes86]

There's no mod for VR. You just use external programs.
Back in the times of SH2, we used something called Game Commander 2.
I rescued it to yell at my SH3 crew (and draw some attention) when I was in the Campus Party this year at Valencia (last week of july), but apart from the usual looks from the pilot buddies beside me (basically, I was in the simulators area), not much to point out.

[Platapus]

-Saying "Set new course for London.... Just kidding, set new course for 2-2-5" would work as the textbox only expects certain keypresses and a specific number of them.

Just kidding? :stare:

<Clearing Throat> Sir, the correct terminology would be "Belay that"

http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/chap2.htm#2B

Just kidding indeed! Harrumph!
:D

[Grothesj2]

Interesting idea but not one I would use. My wife wouldn't appreciate me getting excited in a tense moment shouting "Crash dive" at my computer while she's sleeping!