VERBAL ORDERS WITH SHSPEECH 2.54

jorgegonzalito · 08-06-15, 10:20 AM

From what I've read, this mod allows you to issue verbal orders to the crew, by recording your own voice. I would like to hear those experiences and opinions of colleagues who have used this mod. Thank you very much.

Rockin Robbins · 08-06-15, 11:58 AM

I used it and enjoyed the heck out of it. But pushing buttons is quicker and eventually you'll probably go back to that. SHSpeech is a great immersion tool and I think you should try it.

jorgegonzalito · 08-06-15, 02:59 PM

Very interesting friend! Your answer leads me to another question: the two systems can be used simultaneously, that is, verbal commands and keyboard?

Rockin Robbins · 08-06-15, 03:08 PM

Absolutely! One doesn't disconnect the other.

BigWalleye · 08-06-15, 03:12 PM

shSpeech (and its counterpart SH3Speech) is a great tool for adding a sense of immersion and participation to your game. It does not involve recording your voice. All keyboard commands, mouseclick commands and click-and-drag commands in the game are implemented through a python program running in background mode. You wear a headset and speak the commands into the headset mic. The shSpeech package interprets your voice input and executes the command. For example, if you say: "Periscope depth", the keystroke "p" will be executed by SH4, exactly as if you had typed keystroke "p". If you say: "Make your depth one five zero feet", the mouse will move on-screen to the depth gauge and drag the cursor to 150, just as you would do, then release the cursor to execute the command. If the execution involves a verbal crew response, you will hear that.

A full range of commands is implemented in the stock shSpeech package. All keyboard and mouse commands are defined in .csv files, so they are easy to change. If, say, you have changed keyboard commands in the commands.cfg file, you can easily change to your keyboard mapping. Changing or adding your own voice commands is just as easy. You enter the text string into another .csv file and link it to the command that you want it to execute. If you want to be able to say: "Get us out of here!" to order flank speed, you just link that text to keystroke "5". And since you can have multiple voice commands defined for a single keystroke, you will still get flank soeed when you say: "Ahead flank."

shSpeech uses the Windows Speech Recognition program for interpretation. Since the program only has to find the best match in a fairly limited number of possible commands (I use about 5000), finding a match is fast (transparent to the user) and very accurate. My experience has been that I never get a misinterpreted command, ever, and get a "doink" (did not recognize) once every 100 or so commands.

You will need a decent headset. If you don't mind being on a leash, you can get a good wired set for about $15 which will provide all the voice fidelity you need. (I'd suggest you not try to use the area mic on a laptop. My experience is that it's OK for VOIP, but not for voice rec.) If you want wireless, a good-performing one will run about $100. IIRC, SH4 has Dolby 5.1, so if you want great sound quality, the sky and your wallet are the limits.

The orders you can give are limited by what you have predefined, of course. The program will not correctly interpret something you blurt out in panic mode! But RL shipboard voice commands are quite standardized, specifically to avoid confusion in what in RL may be a life-or-death situation. Speaking calmly and clearly and using standard phraseology are reassuring habits which are taught in every RL Officer Training School.

As Rockin" Robbins said, pushing buttons is faster. You can push "5", "]", and "d" faster than you can say: 'Ahead flank. Hard right rudder. Dive the boat." But a submarine was not a single-seat fighter aircraft. HOTAS doesn't apply. Using voice commands conveys an illusion that you are giving orders to a human crew, and not single-handedly controlling a completely automated machine. Robbins found that the speed and simplicity were more important to him. I. on the other hand, would never play any of the SH subsims without voice command. Just a persdonal preference. And for those who are clumsy like me, shSpeech can execute a click-and-drag dial setting faster and more precisely than I ever could.

shSpeech needs some adjusting of the .csv files to work with the latest version of SH4. Key commands work perfectly out of the box, but some mouse-click commands select the wrong button, and the click-and-drag commands mostly don't work. But I can supply you with a complete set of corrected .csv's if you are interested. Just drop me a PM.

And if you want to try shSpeech first, all the keyboard commands DO work fine. So you can just set it up, then say: "Take 'er down." and watch the crew dive your boat. That ought to get you hooked!

One word of caution: shSpeech is set up for English only. SH3Speech includes commands in both English and an English-phoneticized German which would could cause a fluent German-speaker problems. If your Windows Speech Recognition is preset to interpret South American Spanish phonemes. it might (or might not) have difficulties. It would be an interesting experiment.

BTW, SH5 has its own, internal voice command mod. Since it is internal, it avoids the limitations of click-and-drag input, But adding new voice commands is much more complicated.

jorgegonzalito · 08-06-15, 05:06 PM

Very interesting and detailed comment BigWalleye, thank you. No doubt that all should work in English, just as in the U-boats should use German. That puts us in climate and in the context of the submarine that we command. Some of the most used commands and knew from watching movies to American submarines in the Pacific, even before knowing Silent Hunter. My pronunciation of those orders in English is quite acceptable, so I think I will not have trouble making a test to see how it goes. We know that in these simulators almost everything is trial and error. The bottom line is realism giving such verbal orders to the crew, and that this answer repeating such orders and executing. That forces us to discipline ourselves more in the role of a commander so that in an emergency, we can shout a valid order instead of a curse or "My God, they're going to sink!" When you mention the use of headset microphone, you can use only the microphone and the sound of my computer goes through an audio and amplified to two big speakers?

BigWalleye · 08-06-15, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jorgegonzalito

Very interesting and detailed comment BigWalleye, thank you. No doubt that all should work in English, just as in the U-boats should use German. That puts us in climate and in the context of the submarine that we command. Some of the most used commands and knew from watching movies to American submarines in the Pacific, even before knowing Silent Hunter. My pronunciation of those orders in English is quite acceptable, so I think I will not have trouble making a test to see how it goes. We know that in these simulators almost everything is trial and error. The bottom line is realism giving such verbal orders to the crew, and that this answer repeating such orders and executing. That forces us to discipline ourselves more in the role of a commander so that in an emergency, we can shout a valid order instead of a curse or "My God, they're going to sink!" When you mention the use of headset microphone, you can use only the microphone and the sound of my computer goes through an audio and amplified to two big speakers?

No, I use the headset full duplex. I don't want to post an endorsement for the one I use, because it took some tuning to get the input side to work well. But the headset I use is 5.1 compliant, and gives great presence and spatial resolution.

BigWalleye · 08-07-15, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jorgegonzalito

Some of the most used commands and knew from watching movies to American submarines in the Pacific, even before knowing Silent Hunter. My pronunciation of those orders in English is quite acceptable, so I think I will not have trouble making a test to see how it goes.

Apologies for the double post, but I just noticed the lines quoted above and realized that I wasn't quite clear. I was and am not questioning your English pronunciation. You wouldn't be the first native Spanish-speaker I've known who spoke perfect unaccented English.

The problem is in the speech rec software. My Windows Speech Recognition package recognizes North American English phonemes. So when I use it to interpret my English, it has no problems. But when I use it for German, it's not as good. An example: I want to fire a torpedo using the command: "Torpedo los!" "Torpedo" is OK. But "los" in English would be pronounced "loss" and that is what the speech rec would be looking for. And I can't use "lose" or "loose' either. So I decide to say instead: "Torpedo feuer!" Oops! "Feuer" in English would sound like "fewer". So I have to write "Torpedo foyer" or even "foyah" to tell the speech rec what sound to look for.

If you have a version of Windows distributed in South America, I suspect its speech rec is loaded with American Spanish phonemes, which are definitely different from English ones. (Think "ella".) I don't know for sure, but speaking perfect English and using an English language set of voice commands might give some odd responses.

jorgegonzalito · 08-07-15, 06:37 PM

The Windows 7 ultimate versión in my computer is for Latin America in Spanish. Not if it benefits me or else I create a problem in the question of the pronunciations. I do not know which is the tolerance of this voice recognition program, and if necessary to speak as an Englishman to be properly interpreted. Either way clarify how other questions that I have about Silent Hunter and can command a submarine in a decent way, I will make an attempt with some basic commands, such as to give any captain to his crew. I wonder if it is possible to alter such orders, since in American films have seen for example: Refer to the periscope with the orders: "Up scope" or "Down scope" abbreviating the word periscope. When firing the torpedoes the commander ordered: "Fire one," someone in the control room repeats "Fire one" and press the shutter button saying then: "One fired sir" or even "One fired electrically" instead of the phrase SH "Torpedo in the water." The repetition of the phrase "Sir, yes sir" should be able to be turned off because the atmosphere of American submarines seemed to be more relaxed, just as in SH3 a mod eliminated the annoying and repetitive "Jawol Herr Kaleun". SH4 audio talking I noticed that the voices come at a very low volume, despite being the maximum forcing up the overall volume and lower individual sounds. The noise coming out of the tube torpedo almost not heard, and no cries of joy when a torpedo hits the target. When data dialing individual numbers are heard different tone of voice, which sometimes looks like a robot who speaks and you hear a human voice. This does not happen when the German language, heard with greater harmony and clarity is used.

08-06-15, 10:20 AM	#1
jorgegonzalito Officer Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Posts: 237 Downloads: 322 Uploads: 0	VERBAL ORDERS WITH SHSPEECH 2.54 From what I've read, this mod allows you to issue verbal orders to the crew, by recording your own voice. I would like to hear those experiences and opinions of colleagues who have used this mod. Thank you very much.

08-06-15, 11:58 AM	#2
Rockin Robbins Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: DeLand, FL Posts: 8,900 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 52	I used it and enjoyed the heck out of it. But pushing buttons is quicker and eventually you'll probably go back to that. SHSpeech is a great immersion tool and I think you should try it. __________________ Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks, Slightly Subnuclear Mk 14 & Cutie, Slightly Subnuclear Deck Gun, EZPlot 2.0, TMOPlot, TMOKeys, SH4CMS

08-06-15, 03:08 PM	#4
Rockin Robbins Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: DeLand, FL Posts: 8,900 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 52	Absolutely! One doesn't disconnect the other. __________________ Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks, Slightly Subnuclear Mk 14 & Cutie, Slightly Subnuclear Deck Gun, EZPlot 2.0, TMOPlot, TMOKeys, SH4CMS

08-06-15, 03:12 PM	#5
BigWalleye Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: On the Eye-lond, mon! Posts: 1,987 Downloads: 465 Uploads: 0	shSpeech (and its counterpart SH3Speech) is a great tool for adding a sense of immersion and participation to your game. It does not involve recording your voice. All keyboard commands, mouseclick commands and click-and-drag commands in the game are implemented through a python program running in background mode. You wear a headset and speak the commands into the headset mic. The shSpeech package interprets your voice input and executes the command. For example, if you say: "Periscope depth", the keystroke "p" will be executed by SH4, exactly as if you had typed keystroke "p". If you say: "Make your depth one five zero feet", the mouse will move on-screen to the depth gauge and drag the cursor to 150, just as you would do, then release the cursor to execute the command. If the execution involves a verbal crew response, you will hear that. A full range of commands is implemented in the stock shSpeech package. All keyboard and mouse commands are defined in .csv files, so they are easy to change. If, say, you have changed keyboard commands in the commands.cfg file, you can easily change to your keyboard mapping. Changing or adding your own voice commands is just as easy. You enter the text string into another .csv file and link it to the command that you want it to execute. If you want to be able to say: "Get us out of here!" to order flank speed, you just link that text to keystroke "5". And since you can have multiple voice commands defined for a single keystroke, you will still get flank soeed when you say: "Ahead flank." shSpeech uses the Windows Speech Recognition program for interpretation. Since the program only has to find the best match in a fairly limited number of possible commands (I use about 5000), finding a match is fast (transparent to the user) and very accurate. My experience has been that I never get a misinterpreted command, ever, and get a "doink" (did not recognize) once every 100 or so commands. You will need a decent headset. If you don't mind being on a leash, you can get a good wired set for about $15 which will provide all the voice fidelity you need. (I'd suggest you not try to use the area mic on a laptop. My experience is that it's OK for VOIP, but not for voice rec.) If you want wireless, a good-performing one will run about $100. IIRC, SH4 has Dolby 5.1, so if you want great sound quality, the sky and your wallet are the limits. The orders you can give are limited by what you have predefined, of course. The program will not correctly interpret something you blurt out in panic mode! But RL shipboard voice commands are quite standardized, specifically to avoid confusion in what in RL may be a life-or-death situation. Speaking calmly and clearly and using standard phraseology are reassuring habits which are taught in every RL Officer Training School. As Rockin" Robbins said, pushing buttons is faster. You can push "5", "]", and "d" faster than you can say: 'Ahead flank. Hard right rudder. Dive the boat." But a submarine was not a single-seat fighter aircraft. HOTAS doesn't apply. Using voice commands conveys an illusion that you are giving orders to a human crew, and not single-handedly controlling a completely automated machine. Robbins found that the speed and simplicity were more important to him. I. on the other hand, would never play any of the SH subsims without voice command. Just a persdonal preference. And for those who are clumsy like me, shSpeech can execute a click-and-drag dial setting faster and more precisely than I ever could. shSpeech needs some adjusting of the .csv files to work with the latest version of SH4. Key commands work perfectly out of the box, but some mouse-click commands select the wrong button, and the click-and-drag commands mostly don't work. But I can supply you with a complete set of corrected .csv's if you are interested. Just drop me a PM. And if you want to try shSpeech first, all the keyboard commands DO work fine. So you can just set it up, then say: "Take 'er down." and watch the crew dive your boat. That ought to get you hooked! One word of caution: shSpeech is set up for English only. SH3Speech includes commands in both English and an English-phoneticized German which would could cause a fluent German-speaker problems. If your Windows Speech Recognition is preset to interpret South American Spanish phonemes. it might (or might not) have difficulties. It would be an interesting experiment. BTW, SH5 has its own, internal voice command mod. Since it is internal, it avoids the limitations of click-and-drag input, But adding new voice commands is much more complicated. Last edited by BigWalleye; 08-06-15 at 03:24 PM.

08-06-15, 02:59 PM	#3
jorgegonzalito Officer Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Posts: 237 Downloads: 322 Uploads: 0	Very interesting friend! Your answer leads me to another question: the two systems can be used simultaneously, that is, verbal commands and keyboard?

08-06-15, 05:06 PM	#6
jorgegonzalito Officer Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Posts: 237 Downloads: 322 Uploads: 0	Very interesting and detailed comment BigWalleye, thank you. No doubt that all should work in English, just as in the U-boats should use German. That puts us in climate and in the context of the submarine that we command. Some of the most used commands and knew from watching movies to American submarines in the Pacific, even before knowing Silent Hunter. My pronunciation of those orders in English is quite acceptable, so I think I will not have trouble making a test to see how it goes. We know that in these simulators almost everything is trial and error. The bottom line is realism giving such verbal orders to the crew, and that this answer repeating such orders and executing. That forces us to discipline ourselves more in the role of a commander so that in an emergency, we can shout a valid order instead of a curse or "My God, they're going to sink!" When you mention the use of headset microphone, you can use only the microphone and the sound of my computer goes through an audio and amplified to two big speakers?

08-07-15, 06:37 PM	#9
jorgegonzalito Officer Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Posts: 237 Downloads: 322 Uploads: 0	The Windows 7 ultimate versión in my computer is for Latin America in Spanish. Not if it benefits me or else I create a problem in the question of the pronunciations. I do not know which is the tolerance of this voice recognition program, and if necessary to speak as an Englishman to be properly interpreted. Either way clarify how other questions that I have about Silent Hunter and can command a submarine in a decent way, I will make an attempt with some basic commands, such as to give any captain to his crew. I wonder if it is possible to alter such orders, since in American films have seen for example: Refer to the periscope with the orders: "Up scope" or "Down scope" abbreviating the word periscope. When firing the torpedoes the commander ordered: "Fire one," someone in the control room repeats "Fire one" and press the shutter button saying then: "One fired sir" or even "One fired electrically" instead of the phrase SH "Torpedo in the water." The repetition of the phrase "Sir, yes sir" should be able to be turned off because the atmosphere of American submarines seemed to be more relaxed, just as in SH3 a mod eliminated the annoying and repetitive "Jawol Herr Kaleun". SH4 audio talking I noticed that the voices come at a very low volume, despite being the maximum forcing up the overall volume and lower individual sounds. The noise coming out of the tube torpedo almost not heard, and no cries of joy when a torpedo hits the target. When data dialing individual numbers are heard different tone of voice, which sometimes looks like a robot who speaks and you hear a human voice. This does not happen when the German language, heard with greater harmony and clarity is used.