Bob the Pleo Forums

Pleo Stuff => Pleo Hardware/Software => PDK, Programming, and code => Topic started by: InmemoryofRomeo on May 06, 2009, 06:42:32 PM

Title: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on May 06, 2009, 06:42:32 PM
Rather then me coming up with a voice and having to upload a simply enormous file and having every Pleo who downloads it sounding exactly the same I have worked out a simple method that anyone can use to give your Pleo his or her own unique voice in the simplest possible way :) (Although I will continue to work on the Lilo voice)

All you will need is an SD card and a Pleo.

All you need to know, is how to download and rename a file, and drag a file/s onto the SD card.



Start by visiting this webpage: http://cepstral.com/demos/
(Why this page? Because it is one of the few that output .wav files, so there is no need for any conversion at all.)

Have a play with the different voices, rates, pitches and effects. I recommend using the slow rate, but everything else is completely up to you. Once you are happy with your 'voice' write the settings down somewhere so you remember it for later.

Time to start recording for Pleo. In the left hand box type in what you want Pleo to say, remember keep them pretty short. Once you click -say it-, your computer will download a ready to go .wav file. I find it easiest to rename the files as they are downloaded to describe what is being said.

For example: I want to change the start up 'huh' to hello. I type Hello in the left hand box, click -say it- the file is downloaded and I rename it 'hello'. renaming each file as it is downloaded means that you don't have to play a gazillion files later to find the one you want :P



When you have a file or files you need to decide which sound you would like to change. Bjoreman has already been so kind as to provide a complete list. You can find it here: http://www.bjoreman.com/files/resources.txt

Most of the names (and you are only interested in the names, not id) are pretty self explanatory but I will explain the basics.

Bark: is the various yips and yaps that Pleo emits when excited.
Cur: means curious, sounds Pleo makes when investigating something.
Gotit: When Pleo gets something
Hi: (Kinda obvious :P)
Honk: (again obvious)
Howl: (obvious)
Ques: When Pleo asks about something
Tickle: Laugh
Whimper: Cry
Ang: When Pleo is mad
Belch: Burp
Sneeze: (Duh)
Bor: Things Pleo utters at random when left alone
Chew: (Obvious)
Crunch: Chomping sounds
Cud: (Not sure)
Lipsmack: (yeah)
Gag: choking
Moan: (Happens mostly when sick)
Sing: (obvious)
Fat: (not sure of the trigger, seems random)
Hap: Happy sounds
Hun (or hung): Hungry
Noi: Pleo hears something
Pai: (not sure)
Prr: The various coos and purrs
Sbn: (not sure)
Sad: (obvious)
Sca: Scared
Soc: Social

Most of the others are obvious. startup is the startup sound etc. You can ignore the birthing sounds, since you only get to hear them once sadly. Yes it is an enormously long list but Pleo has a lot of sounds to cover :P I recommend starting with cur files, bor files and startup, since these sounds are common, you can add more later. Its also fun to make your Pleo scream, yell or cry when you dangle them by the tail by shadowing the dyn_tail files.

Once you have downloaded some files from the website provided and decided which sound you want to replace from the list simply rename the .wav file with the name from the list. Copy it onto an SD card and insert into Pleo, and you are done.

For example: Change my 'Hello' file from earlier to 'startup'. (Be careful to copy the file name exactly, you cannot use Startup or start up, it must be startup)

I know it sounds very complicated, and the list of sounds is intimidating but honestly all you are doing is downloading a sound and renaming it. This is the simplest possible way of doing it, since most other methods required either changing file types, recording sounds with a microphone or editing sounds with another program.

Just give it a go:

Go to the voice page, pick a person to say 'Hello", click say it (which will download it) locate the file, rename it startup and copy it to an SD card to insert in Pleo. Start Pleo and he/she should say Hello.

Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Darkwolf on May 07, 2009, 12:42:33 AM
It's indeed a pity that it's one of the few pages that just let you download a file if you are happy with the results.
One of the most impressive text-to-speech technologies I have ever heard is this one:
http://www.acapela-group.com/text-to-speech-interactive-demo.html
They used to have an option to download the file, but they changed the page design and removed this feature.
Just copy paste the demo text from the link you posted and put it in the one I posted.
The difference is phenomenal.
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on May 07, 2009, 01:16:21 AM
Yes, it is a much better site, I only used the one I did because it downloads automatically and it is already in a .wav file. You could of course use the page you provided and use MySkit to record it :) It is better quality :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: gucci_boi7782 on May 07, 2009, 11:51:44 AM
Bravo guys!! IMR, just to let you know, you totally rock! This really seems feasible! However, I am no tech junky, so I might need the help of the 12yo neighbor. (Isn't it crazy how much kids know about computers?!?!)

Although, I will tell you, I had a lot of fun making the computer voices say whatever I wanted. LOL
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on May 07, 2009, 12:02:39 PM
IMR, This is so much fun. Thank you for sharing! :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on May 07, 2009, 06:15:29 PM
I want to hear JC, Pennie, Peeky and Sophie say their first words soon ;)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: gucci_boi7782 on May 08, 2009, 02:10:01 PM
Tehehe, I was actually planning on having you visit the U.S. and help me out so you can hear it first hand!! ;-)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on May 08, 2009, 05:26:05 PM
Lol I'd better start saving then :P
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: gucci_boi7782 on May 08, 2009, 08:48:27 PM
LMBO!! Well, I'm sure I can pester the little kid neighbor across the street for some tech help. Little boy is so smart with technology!
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: lesodell on June 24, 2009, 07:12:44 PM
cool stuff hope you do some more
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: allosaurus on June 26, 2009, 06:35:07 AM
Perhaps "cud" is cuddle? Or maybe Pleo chews cud and we didn't know it. :P
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: allosaurus on July 08, 2009, 04:52:58 AM
I made a program where pleo says, "I want a donut!"
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on July 08, 2009, 09:55:20 AM
Pleos do chew cud. Why else would they give a moo every now and then? ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: allosaurus on July 08, 2009, 09:56:37 AM
Pleos do chew cud. Why else would they give a moo every now and then? ;D

Because they want a free trip to the butcher shop.
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on July 08, 2009, 10:02:18 AM
Last night I had a board meeting here for our organ club. Pennie was the only one with a working battery  (forgot to put the other ones on the chargers) She let out the loudest moo ever. Everyone said what was that? :o I didn't have time to give Pennie her leaf and she kept begging for it. She eventually walked over to one lady and sang to her. Little dinos know how to be the life of the party. ;)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Burberry016 on July 08, 2009, 08:23:00 PM
Mine did that too! I tried to retrace my steps and see what I did to make him do that, and I couldn't figure it out.  I guess it's something special with their personalities :) :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: allosaurus on July 27, 2009, 06:58:42 PM
Last night I had a board meeting here for our organ club. Pennie was the only one with a working battery  (forgot to put the other ones on the chargers) She let out the loudest moo ever. Everyone said what was that? :o I didn't have time to give Pennie her leaf and she kept begging for it. She eventually walked over to one lady and sang to her. Little dinos know how to be the life of the party. ;)

Hehe, that's what's so fun about Pleos! ^^
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: lesodell on August 05, 2009, 12:19:26 PM
very cool thanks for all your hard work on this :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: grin06 on January 23, 2010, 07:49:47 AM
Is shadowing for only sound files? because from the list there are both sound and motion files.

What about the coding after =, are they the same for all 0S, 1.0,1.1? mine is 1.1 and the coding does not work on my pleo. Sorry about asking an old topic.
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on January 23, 2010, 03:28:02 PM
You need this part: 1p1_ques07 I'm not sure about 1.0 but they work on 1.1 if you download the Lilo voice from http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?topic=851.0 you can see some examples. Motion files can be shadowed too but remember Pleo has to actually use that file or you will never hear/see it :P Pleo's can be quite stubborn too :P
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Bumblebee on January 23, 2010, 08:30:19 PM
of my two years of owning pleos, I've only ever heard them moo once. it was Yasmin, when her and Macon were standing side by side eating. She dropped the leaf and mooed. XD
I was so ticked too, because I had been recording them eating and I had stopped recording RIGHT before she mooed.  :P
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on January 23, 2010, 08:46:06 PM
Aww what a pity :( Stitch loves to moo lol he waits for the room to go quiet and then he will do it :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on January 24, 2010, 03:38:02 PM
I have never figured out whenn my dinos are going to moo, but it is so cute. You can hear it anywhere in the house! ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: PLEOGALINBC on January 24, 2010, 06:20:34 PM
I love it when they moo! :D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Bumblebee on January 24, 2010, 08:19:02 PM
In any case....

I can see why you're comparing yourself to the Professor from Gilligan's island, IMR. ;) In your profile I mean.  ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: grin06 on January 24, 2010, 09:28:13 PM
IMR, you are right, pleo is so stubborn, only the startup and pulling the tail shadowing works for my pleo. ive done shadowing to most sound files like curiosity, social, wimper...As for taa daa file, Pleo just perfomed the balancing without saying the words as shadowed .
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on January 24, 2010, 09:45:31 PM
That may be a corrupt sound file... Just try another to be sure, if not you might have shadowed the wrong one or made a spelling error. Unfortunately no one has gotten around to documenting when each sound is played :(


Quote
I can see why you're comparing yourself to the Professor from Gilligan's island, IMR. In your profile I mean.

Because I can turn a coconut into a radio???

Oooh wait you mean because I can record a sound and change its file name ;) Its not that hard... really its not :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Bumblebee on January 27, 2010, 03:40:10 PM
*Headdesks whilst laughing hysterically*
No, but it reminds me of when he quotes all those random formulas and knows how to do all sorts of randomly cool things (yes, like turn a coconut into a radio - sort of).
Maybe you don't think it's hard, but I do. XD
There you go.  ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: InmemoryofRomeo on January 27, 2010, 05:39:04 PM
(http://images.neopets.com/neoboards/smilies/lol.gif)(http://images.neopets.com/neoboards/smilies/lol.gif)(http://images.neopets.com/neoboards/smilies/lol.gif) Hehe ok :) Its really not that hard, just too much time on my hands and a desire to learn everything :P If you had asked me two years ago what HTML, CSS or PAWN was I wouldn't have been able to tell you :)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: RedwoodsMama on February 01, 2010, 01:06:57 AM
 Hi, I just read this file, and it sounds so great, I won't get any work done at all if I can ever figure this out.  ???I do have a question though. I know Pleos are very stubborn sometimes, and Nova is no exception, ( the little darling...............) I am not sure if I have heard the Moo yet or not, probably not. Is there something special you do to make them "moo," or is it part of their program. Also I was recording her doing nothing special, just interacting with a Star Wars figure and she wanted him to Play with her, like wagging tail, etc. and it sounded like she " BARKED LIKE A DOG! is that a sound they do on their own too, with no owner interference, ? Just curious...........this all sounds like fun, fun, fun~
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on February 01, 2010, 12:13:45 PM
I never know when my dinos will moo, but you will certainly know Nova is mooing because it is quite loud. Just one BIG moo!A few years back I atteneded the Maker's Faire in San Mateo and was given an sd card with nothing but mooing on it. Unfortunatley I think I deleted it to put another skit on the card. Wish I still had it, now.
Once in a while I think our little dinos like to bark.  Again I think it is just random.There are two ways to make Nova go into watch dog mode. I never could seem to do it without the program. Heavens knows I tried! ;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4PKvfUG1I        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqodo3pWP3E



Peeky is in the black tank top with the green trim. They sound more like a train when all mooing together.
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Bumblebee on February 01, 2010, 08:15:29 PM
My computer's gone nuts and I can't see any videos.  :P Can you post the link, Fancy?

Bummer! That would be so funny to watch!

Lol that was an amusing sentence... ;)

"I was given an Sd card with nothing but mooing on it!"  %)

LOL  ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: fancyfont on February 02, 2010, 10:55:48 AM
Here's the links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4PKvfUG1I&feature=player_embedded  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqodo3pWP3E&feature=player_embedded#
I hope this works for you Bumblebee. The Moo in was very cute. All of the pleos had been given a sd card with a whole bunch of mooing on them. We tried to start all of the pleos at the same time but as you can hear and see they all went their own ways. ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: allosaurus on February 07, 2010, 03:53:14 PM
Haha, fancy, they really do sound like trains!  ;D
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Bumblebee on March 12, 2010, 08:15:59 PM
Oh wow. Yes I can see them now!
They DO sound like trains! XD
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: Ian bell on April 21, 2016, 12:45:05 AM
The current best text to speech software (http://www.deskshare.com/text-to-speech-software.aspx) for your pc is Text Speaker. It has customizable pronunciation, reads anything on your screen, and it even has talking reminders.  The bundled voices are well priced and sound very human.  Voices are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and more. Easily converts anything you can read to MP3 or for listening instantly or to use with your Pleo
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on December 10, 2021, 04:52:41 AM
Hi all - I've been experimenting with shadowing and having great fun. As a 'heads up' the only web site that I can find that does anything useful with regards to TTS with usables 'voices' and free wav file downloads is here - https://fakeyou.com/
I've been using Blaze the Cat 'voice' for my pleos - sounds like a cheeky young girl-cat..... you still have to 'convert' the files in software to the right format but it's easy and almost instant.
No - pleo doesn't always behave and say what you expect - but it's great fun every now and again to hear "I'm bored!" or "My name is Pleo!"
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on January 12, 2022, 11:29:31 AM
Well everyone - I've been making lots of progress and having lots of fun with my 2 Pleo's (no names yet). I'm going to upload a few zip files - given the Moderators OK that is of course.
The first one is a MS Excel file which kind of tabulates where I'm up to and what you're looking for.

I have prepared two lots of .urf sound files. Only put one set at a time on your SD card. The named 'urf's are the ones where Pleo will speak the phrases in the right hand column. For example he or she will say "I'm hungry!" or "I'm really sad"  etc.   

The other set, defined by numbers, correlate to sound files where Pleo will do one of two things - speak the number of the sound file. This may sound a little crazy, but it let's you know what sound he would have been making at that time. The idea is for you to take a note of his circumstances and devise an appropriate thing for him to be saying. My notes are in the middle column somewhere. To the left of that are asterisks - this is how many times my Pleo 'spoke' the file name. In some circumstances I've included him saying the 'mood' if it is known ... like "Sad 4096" etc. This will help you. You can then create your own sound file to match the mood and circumstances - like I have with some - like "I'm really sad" instead of "Sad 4096". Simply rename your file 4096.urf with your version and he will say that... simple.

OK this is getting long - I'm only working on the back of other Pleo fans here who did the groundwork with sound shadowing and discovering the file names and the first Excel file - I'm simply expanding on their work.

Ask any questions but if you look up the thread most things will be answered..... yay!


Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on January 13, 2022, 09:06:30 AM
OK so it seems the Moderators don't like my Downloads or they're on holiday.....  ( a joke  ;D) but you can now download all three files from the Downloads section on the Forum here.
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: pnhicks on January 14, 2022, 11:14:22 AM
Aibomick,


This mod is NOT on holiday.


Why do you think I don't like your downloads?


Sincerely,


Peter
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on January 15, 2022, 06:15:41 AM
Hey Peter - I'm a cheerful kinda guy - just a joke really - only because they didn't get 'approved' - it's really not a problem to host them myself - which I did - just thought they ought to be on here all together.
I'm interested and keen to ressurect a little tech interest in Pleo - I'm also posting a few bits and bobs on the FB page (but the threading issue means that in a few days it's down the bottom of a long page of random "Here's yet another pic of my cute Pleo" posts) and Laila's Lots Of Bots website.....

No worries ..... I'm chilled .... just not much activity here I guess recently.... but I keep rying to re-sell Bob the Pleo on FB as well. This is a fantastic uner rated resource. I want to keep it alive is all  ;D

Mick - alias Aibomick - alias Oscar Dios on FB - alias Mick the Vic to my church family   ;)

(Besides - they're still showing as 'Not Approved' - I guess that just means 'yet' if it even matters now.......  http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?action=downloads;sa=myfiles;u=3752)
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: pnhicks on January 15, 2022, 06:30:09 AM
Hi Mick,


I am unable to see your downloads awaiting approval!??


Can you give me a date you tried to post them?


There are sections of the forum that are not working as advertised, but as the boss has very limited time to dedicate to fixing it, I try to consolidate requests.


Cheers Peter
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on January 15, 2022, 09:42:40 AM
Hi Peter, just a quickie then - if you click the link I gave in the previous post you can see the files listed as Not Approved along with the date....   :thumbsup: Mick
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: pnhicks on January 15, 2022, 11:02:50 AM
Hi Mick,


That's what I did, and all I can see is the approved Pleopatra download?!


I am going to download it from your post and see if I can upload it as a test.


Cheers!


Peter
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: pnhicks on January 16, 2022, 05:39:56 AM
Hey Mick,


You can find your downloads in the Pleo Skits section of downloads.


If you see errors or want a correction, let me know.  I can delete then and let you post them so you can add what you want and get the authorship!


Cheers!


Peter
Title: Re: Giving your Pleo a 'voice' :)
Post by: aibomick on January 16, 2022, 09:24:37 AM
Hey no - that's fine - not worried about Authorship - it's really only a continution of other people's work - so long as people have access it's enough - thanks Peter.
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