vox/ai comms discussion (now featuring camera whining!)

[Deitus]

what do you guys think about changing the ai vox a little bit? i've heard that the person who did it isn't around anymore and that we used to use the announcer voice from HL1, but i think it could use a bit of a change in terms of how practical it is.

i understand that what we have is workable and the ai can usually get a point across in one way or another, but i think it could benefit from both the addition of more tgstation-centric phrases ("engineering," "bar," and general phrases for nonhumans such as lings or holoparasites...perhaps "unidentified lifeform?") and the subtraction of phrases that are rarely used (most of the greek letters, and i think "Johnson" stopped being funny after the first few thousand times). as to who would voice it we could probably find someone in the community to do so, and im sure it wouldn't be too hard to find a program to make it sound more "robotic."

as for the "communication methods" part of the title, i suggest adding an isolated comms console in the AI sat for it to use in situations where the one in cap's office/bridge are unavailable. i realize you can use the intercomms next to you even when the radio is down but i feel like some situations warrant BIG ATTENTION GRABBING LETTERS to get a message across. further, i would suggest the ability of the ai to be able to communicate with centcomm; it makes sense to me from an IC perspective that the ai would be able to communicate with it's creators. i know i could just pray as well, but it makes more sense to me from a

Spoiler:

roleplay

perspective to just ask centcomm. maybe even make it so the ai can ask for the nuke codes in the situation that they aren't asiimov.

at any rate, i'd like to get a public opinion on all my shitty ramblings if only to test the water.

EDIT:
something i'd also like to bring up is that the idea of random roundstart cameras being disabled seems kind of silly to me. i don't really get why it happens other than maybe just something about ai powercreep, but within the past few weeks/month or so i've noticed that many times even when the camera is repaired i still have no vision of the area, even when i get the camera alert, confirm with mods that the camera should be working, and relog. this can be incredibly annoying if they're in important areas like bridge, cap's office, or primary hallways. i've also noticed that many times borg vision and sec helmet vision has the same issue. can any other ai players confirm this or is it just me?

also, what do you guys think about adding a camera to the science side of the science double doors? a tiny but important blindspot on multiple occasions for me.

[Gun Hog]

We do need more obvious words such a "engineering", or commonly used areas or machines. Some words are indeed useless, and we could do without straight profanity being included. Things such as "Johnson" or "Abortions" are tame enough in my opinion to stay.

Being able to use the communication console to contact Central Command would be quite nice, and it is a self-regulating system (it is not wise to abuse a system meant to speak to admins), and for Traitor AIs, let them speak with Syndie Command. There is no need to give the AI a communications console; Let it make announcements from its Requests Console instead, the same way heads can from their office.

[MisterPerson]

I find the vox to just be a big resource hog that makes the resource downloads take longer while not actually adding anything to the game. I don't think adding more words would change the fact people just spam shit like "Report to medical bay for johnson inspection". And if the shitty ones were gone, I don't think people would use it at all.

Not that there's anything wrong with gimmicks, I just don't want annoying ones taking up a megabyte of space and extending the time between connecting and playing.

[Deitus]

i think they can be important for emergencies: i.e. death screaming operatives before a syndieborg kills you or letting the crew know there is a xenomorph infestation; times when it could cost lives to have to move all the way to a comms console to make the announcement. yeah you could use comms but really how many people will notice it if its just greenchat

heck, if we were to remove the less useful phrases, wouldnt that make downloads faster?

[lumipharon]

People spam shitty memes with it BECAUSE the vocabulary is super limited. If the vocab actually covered useful words rather then what's basically meme tier shit, AI's would totally use it, but right now it's a battle to figure out what you can and can't say.

[Shaps-cloud]

You can say "CLOWN IS ABORTION CAPTAIN IS JOHNSON" all you want but god forbid you want to say "BREACH AT MEDBAY ENGINEER TO MEDBAY"

[Sweaterkittens]

I agree with the OP and what Lumi has said. I love the idea of the Vox system but the lack of really useful phrases is incredibly irritating. You can't even tell people "Suit Sensors On" because "On" isn't in the vocab, but good thing "Fuck Your Shit Eating Abortions" is. If it got used less overall but was more helpful when it WAS used, and less full of stupid meme shit, that would be a good change in my book.

[Incomptinence]

I find the argument that the AI being able to say some antag or hazard related words would enable valids too much (hence having a discordant meme library instead) is super shaky.

The AI can broadcast announcements from coms consoles, it can set you to arrest, publish a newsletter, it can just activate a hologram or tell its borgs and this is just the stuff it can do with telecoms destroyed. If the AI is able and wants to tell someone you are super dodgy they will.

[Sweaterkittens]

@Incomptinence: I feel like you just refuted your own point. The AI can broadcast announcements from consoles, set you to arrest, publish newsletters, use comms when they're down, activate holograms, tell the borgs, all with tcomms destroyed. If they want to do nothing but validhunt there are plenty of much more convenient and intuitive ways to do that. A good vox library is just going to cut down on the goddamn memes and allow AI's that want to roleplay more opportunity to do so.

[lumipharon]

Sweater, read his first sentence again.

[Deitus]

Sweater, read his first sentence again.

in his defense it took me a third readthrough before i realized he was actually arguing FOR the vox update

also, edited op with more whining well-thought out suggestions

[Sweaterkittens]

Oh man, the parentheses totally threw me. Honk. Well I'm glad that it seems like most people are on board for a change like this. Maybe Cuboos would be up to making some new words.

[firecage]

I still want a pref to mute VOX though, because god it is so annoying. Also, feel free to expand VOX's vocabulary, as long as you then also remove the meme ones, and only add as many as you remove as not to make that folder's size EVEN larger. The VOX sounds folder is 5 MB alone.

[Cuboos]

i was dabbling around with the idea on coderbus of overhauling the AI sounds, including non-vox announcements, but it never got too far. I'd be willing to redo vox voices so they are clear or, (like make O sound like "oh" instead of "ah" ) However the voice would have to be different because i wouldn't be able to recreate the voice used exactly.

[Scott]

I find the vox to just be a big resource hog that makes the resource downloads take longer while not actually adding anything to the game. I don't think adding more words would change the fact people just spam shit like "Report to medical bay for johnson inspection". And if the shitty ones were gone, I don't think people would use it at all.

Not that there's anything wrong with gimmicks, I just don't want annoying ones taking up a megabyte of space and extending the time between connecting and playing.

This, it's like 5MB.

What could be done is trimming the vox severely and add a few useful words suggested here.

[Cheimon]

Seriously, the only thing the vox is good for is for saying "ass blast usa suit sensors abortions". It's pretty crap if I want to try and give practical messages, and for that reason I avoid it as AI.

[Atlanta-Ned]

I agree, the AI sounds need an overhaul. Can we roll the shuttle arrival + other announcements into this as well? It's always bugged me that they have a different voice.

(like make O sound like "oh" instead of "ah" )

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Deitus]

i was dabbling around with the idea on coderbus of overhauling the AI sounds, including non-vox announcements, but it never got too far. I'd be willing to redo vox voices so they are clear or, (like make O sound like "oh" instead of "ah" ) However the voice would have to be different because i wouldn't be able to recreate the voice used exactly.

you could probably just use your own voice, i doubt anyone would really care much

also yes why does "o" sound like "ah" anyway, that has always fucking bugged me

[Cuboos]

I agree, the AI sounds need an overhaul. Can we roll the shuttle arrival + other announcements into this as well? It's always bugged me that they have a different voice.

(like make O sound like "oh" instead of "ah" )

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

you mean "NNNAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH"

[tuypo1]

People spam shitty memes with it BECAUSE the vocabulary is super limited. If the vocab actually covered useful words rather then what's basically meme tier shit, AI's would totally use it, but right now it's a battle to figure out what you can and can't say.

this exactly

[Cuboos]

People spam shitty memes with it BECAUSE the vocabulary is super limited. If the vocab actually covered useful words rather then what's basically meme tier shit, AI's would totally use it, but right now it's a battle to figure out what you can and can't say.

this exactly

Best way for this is to figure out what NEEDS to be said, "traitor clown in medbay", "Plasma fire in engineering" "human harm in bar", stuff like that. THEN you can add the memes.

[Cheimon]

Well, let's see. All the names of the rooms would be useful. The phrases "hull breach" and "murder" would help too. A word for each of the antagonists, including things like "changeling" and "shadowling" and "morph" and "revenant" might work well.

[Atticat]

Let's be honest about what this is: A buff for the AI. I can't support something like that currently. Funny phrases are fine with me but anything department specific is a big no. The invisible ghost antag hunter is strong enough and could use with a few nerfs imo.

[Deitus]

its not really a buff so much as clarification. i mean the ai could literally just spell out "e n g i" but it would just be easier (and probably take less data) if we redid it to just say "engineering."

[Not-Dorsidarf]

its not really a buff so much as clarification. i mean the ai could literally just spell out "e n g i" but it would just be easier (and probably take less data) if we redid it to just say "engineering."

Or we could kill vox entirely, and use the space saved to add an OST to announcements

[Deitus]

naw i think vox is a pretty important tool, and admins always play some midis shit anyway. an ost would just get in the way of the spam

[Atticat]

I really enjoy vox tbh. The problem I have with specific vox phrases is they enable the AI to circumvent a traitor sabotaging telecommunications. But I definitely enjoy vox overall.

[Gun Hog]

The problem I have with specific vox phrases is they enable the AI to circumvent a traitor sabotaging telecommunications.

The AI has always had intercoms, which will continue to function when Tcoms is disabled. NTSL worked and could intercept them along with SBRs, but fun is illegal here, and that is gone now.

[MisterPerson]

Let's keep this related to vox and not veer off on a tangent about NTSL.

[CPTANT]

What if we use one of those voice synthesizers that just read text and compose the speech themselves?

[Deitus]

What if we use one of those voice synthesizers that just read text and compose the speech themselves?

im not sure i follow. wouldnt that just be using intercomms?

[Wyzack]

I think he means an actual speech to text program, which I think would be far too resource hungry for the server

[Cuboos]

man, i just love how discussions about the vox never gets anywhere