Voice Commander

From Dual-Boxing Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Introduction

Voice Commander is a simple, yet powerful application that allows spoken words and phrases to be translated to keystrokes. As such, it can easily be used to control games, and is especially useful for multiboxing in conjunction with applications such as Keyclone and Autohotkey. Voice Commander does not contain voice recognition software; instead, it leverages the power of the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) 5.1 SDK.

Download location for Voice Commander

http://wow-en.curse-gaming.com/downloads/details/7605/

Installation Procedure (Also found in the readme.rtf file)

  • Get the Speech API here (~70MB):
http://download.microsoft.com/download/speechSDK/SDK/5.1/WXP/EN-US/SpeechSDK51.exe
  • Install the Speech API by unpacking the self-extracting archive to a new folder and start Setup.exe. Just click “next” multiple times and that’s it.
  • Configure the Speech API:
    • Go to your Control Panel and open the Speech applet. There you have the standard text-to-speech (output) panel which you may already know and the newly installed speech recognition (input) panel. Go to speech input.
    • Configure the microphone: This assistant makes sure your microphone is working properly.
    • Create a new profile and train it: The SAPI engine needs to get used to your voice first before it can understand reliably what you say. Follow the instructions and read the text aloud in a normal tone.
    • Edit your profile’s settings: Here you can control how the engine reacts if it is unsure what you said and how long it should wait. Increase sensitivity a bit and make the response time a bit faster. Of course, you can come back here later and change settings.
  • Start Voice Commander (VoiceCmd.exe). Speak the word “test” and you should hear a beep and a voice. Leave VC running in the background, open an editor like Word or Notepad and say “cookie”. This should print the character “c”. If this works, you can start defining your own commands in the default.txt file or write an entirely new command file from scratch.

Setting up Voice Commander

In order to use Voice Commander, you must learn how to set up a configuration file. A configuration file is a text file that determines what words Voice Commander will recognize, and what keystrokes to use when those words are spoken. Remember, when Voice Commander starts it will automatically load the default.txt file, so if you only intend to have one configuration, you will want to name it default.txt.

Commands and Actions

Voice Commander configuration files operate with a simple structure that also has some complex features available. The simplest way to get your file to work is to follow the Command, Colon, Action structure. For example:

Cookie:c

This command will instruct Voice Commander that when you say the word "Cookie" it will type "c" in the foreground window. However, most users will very rarely use a "c" keystroke to control something in a game. Let's say you want to use a Ctrl-c keystroke. To do so, you will want to use a Special Action. Special Actions are enclosed in brackets - like this:

Cookie:{ctrl}c

{ctrl} is a Special Action that instructs Voice Commander to apply a ctrl modifier to the next action that is supplied. There are many Special Actions that vary in function from holding down keys, playing beeps with the speakers, setting focus to different windows, and even saying things using the Microsoft Text-to-speech engine. Open the readme.rtf and vkcodes.rtf files for more information and a full list.

Using Voice Commander

Voice Commander can be a very powerful tool for controlling games, and indeed has enough functionality to provide as much control as any gamepad. However, it is important to remember that the voice recognition engine, while much more powerful than older ones, still has limitations. Your computer may have difficulties understanding you at times. Here's some tips to help you get the most out of Voice Commander:

  • Get a good headset with a good microphone
While microphones are generally cheap, trying to use a boom microphone and a speaker system will result in very poor performance.
  • Minimize background noise
If you try and use Voice Commander in an airport lobby, or the middle of a construction site, you're going to have a bad time. While complete silence is not required, background noise (especially TVs and Radios!) will impact your performance.
  • Use complex commands
If you use one word commands, like "Mount", "Heal", and "Shield," be prepared to have trouble with misfires. Background noises may be enough to trigger them. Try to make your commands at least two words: If you're a polite individual, just adding a "Please" to every command can increase your reliability tenfold. "Mount Please", "Heal Please", or "Shield Please" are much less likely to be accidentally triggered.
  • Only make commands for non-essentials
While it's completely possible to completely control a game with voice commands, you will end up frustrated with the lack of accuracy and reliability after a short time. Also your mouth will be likely to get very dry. Instead, use voice commands to supplement your current control method. Use it for commands you seldom use, commands that aren't needed during rough situations, and trivial commands, like buffs in World of Warcraft.
  • Use a confirmation notification
When you use Voice Commander, it can be difficult to be sure if your command was accepted sometimes. To solve this, add a {beep} action at the end of each command, so you get some feedback and know the command was recognized. A more advanced and pleasing-to-the-ears alternative is to use the Say action, i.e. {say:Affirmative}


--Tehtsuo 09:35, 5 March 2008 (PST)

Retrieved from "http://www.dual-boxing.com/wiki/index.php/Voice_Commander"
Personal tools