Has a FFVII Voice-Over Project ever been attempted?

[Marc]

I've been doing further testing with fice's proof of concept.  Mostly with catching dialog since I have no mic that can make me audible for now.

It works mostly well.  It actually catches dialog great although in area zz4, when vincent meets Lucrecia for the first time, it somehow didn't pick up the text but picked up the area loading.  I unfortunately didn't notice it quick enough and saved over my game file afterwards so I couldn't go back to test it a second time to see if it was a fluke or a bug with the area.

Also, I've set up a test scene during the zack flashback with a test wav and I get a weird issue.

I've created a ztruck folder (name of the field file) and copied the dialogue.txt which I then modified.

However voices picks up the field file as ztruck but then changes straight away to ACKç (always the same thing) :

Changed location: ztruck
Changed location: :ACKç

The dialogue from ztruck then goes on as if nothing happened.

I'm thinking that's a game issue though as it's been perfect for every other area so far (its allowed me to identify which area is which and to start putting together a US PC game script for recording purposes).

I've also set up a test in convil_1 and that one worked great.

Great job!

PS : You can also disregard my last post regarding the "files stopped playing".  I'm using my hdtv as my monitor and sometimes text can appear small.  I had made a copy of the dialogue.txt file to modify it and didn't restore the name properly because I saw a "y" as an "e" from my couch!  I can however say that the incompatibility between ff7music and this software is due to your wav files since my wavs works fine - I'm thinking your wavs are mp3 encoded as wavs as you mentioned earlier and since my ff7music mostly plays mp3's, I'm guessing its having an issue with playing 2 mp3 at the same time ?

[Tsetra]

Marcis, if you're interested in compiling a game script drop me a line. I've been working on that and am about at the Chocobo Farm right now. It's a lot of work, so if it's something you want to do, team work is going to save you many, many hours.

GlitterBerri/jack.o.lantern has also been doing some work on the finer points of it.

[Marc]

As I've mentioned, I've actually started my own while testing this one.

It starts when at the first Huge Materia quest and will go until the end of disc 3 (I'm currently at the end of the huge materia quest).  I've also done the Gelnika, Cloud/Zack's flashback and Lucrecia's waterfall dialogue.

I'd be glad to send you what I've got so far if you pm me your e-mail address.

How are you guys doing this ?  Are you using Cosmo or playing it ?  If you're playing it I'd suggest you try Ficedula's voices as its going to both beta test it and catch all text you see on screen!

[Tsetra]

I'm playing through in windowed mode and simultaneously using Loveless. Loveless is great for catching the text, and it's got notes on what locations are what. Play through is just to confirm what's dummied out, order of certain things, etc. The big pain in the ass is finding what's unused, along with sorting out dialog that relies on certain events and certain people in your party. There are so many "branches", and that's what makes it poke along. For me at least, maybe you've found a faster solution.

P.S. my email is in my profile. I use IM if you want to go that route as well, and we can work out how to combine what we've got so far and how to proceed. Fortunately, Midgar might have been the slowest portion there was, and it's finished now.

[Marc]

Unfortunately, your e-mail is hidden in your profile (as in mine)!

As for loveless, I've never used it.  I use ficedula's proof of concept which catches all text that gets displayed.  Works pretty well too and this way I'm somewhat beta testing the software.  My testing so far tells me the software works well and could even be used in its current state if needed.

As for catching text, I don't use windowed mode though.  Up until this point, I've also ignored most branches and just focused on the main text.  I've done a *small* portion of branching text using Cosmo but at this point I'm focusing on catching the main story and figuring out which area is which (by playing) and I plan to revisit the side-text using Cosmo.

One thing to look out for though which I've only just realized, is that Ficedula's software uses the names of the characters to sort lines.  That means that some lines spoken by a character (ex: Cloud) where his name might not be used to identify the text would be listed as "none" instead of as "cloud" (name of the speaking character not written 100% of the time).  The most prevalent place of this is in Cloud's mind on disc 2.  If you notice it happen, we need to have the real character name beside it for voicing purposes but for technical set-up reasons, we should make a special note when that happens so we know to set it up as "none" in the program set-up.

[Mesden]

you gonna join the casting call ff7heart?

[ff7heart]

Dont worry- I've been coming here every single day to see how things are going I just couldn't believe the overwhelming response! Its fantastic what everyone is doing :]
Unfortunately I dont think my voice would quite suit any of the characters-- I have an English accent, and a common one, at that xD Oh, and my North American accent is awful xDD
But I'll definitely be in Vent, filling out the comment cards and such!

[Mesden]

Ficedula, how will voice-overs be programmed into some of the battle sequences? Be it at the beginning or during the victory fanfare. Some of the battles will need to have voice-overs, and if we're throwing voice-overs into the battle, I'm thinking we could implement voice-overs at the beginning of specific battles, or when a Boss begins to cast a specifc, powerful spell, or randomly in occasional battles during specific victory fanfares.

[ficedula]

Ficedula, how will voice-overs be programmed into some of the battle sequences? Be it at the beginning or during the victory fanfare. Some of the battles will need to have voice-overs, and if we're throwing voice-overs into the battle, I'm thinking we could implement voice-overs at the beginning of specific battles, or when a Boss begins to cast a specifc, powerful spell, or randomly in occasional battles during specific victory fanfares.

Unsure. All of those things are probably possible to some extent, given enough time to hook the right parts of the engine.

Best way to proceed is probably simply to deal with each particular requirement as it occurs ... when you find a battle that needs voicing, get a savegame as close to the battle as possible, let me know what you'd like to happen (ideally) and what you could use (in the worst case) and I'll investigate what can be done next time I get a moment...

[Tsetra]

The good news is, there's dialog in the very first boss battle with the guard scorpion, so getting a save should be quick and easy.

[The Black-caped Man]

Didnt have the time to read the whole thread and havent got that much time now so:
Are you still looking for some actors? Cause I badly wanna take over the voice of Sephiroth.... Since my person is dark and creepy(after years of black-metal^^) I think I would manage to do his part......

email: [email protected]
msn: [email protected](Nickname is.....big suprise.....Sephiroth(GF-Terrabreak), cause the last is my Unreal Tournament online name^^)

[Mesden]

Sephiroth is taken, wouldn't mind hearing your VIncent though if you can jump on Vent. The vent info is in the Pre-Release Discussion Thread.

[DarkVenomandCarnage]

Can I try Vincent?
[This place is dead and I want to ressurect it! ]

[*:.Griever.:*]

WHO IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR AUDITIONS?
Godo and Shera. Many Characters also have one-liners who need to be voiced too.

Maybe you should do a search before your ressurections.

[Tsetra]

Or better yet ask in the FF7 Voice forum.

[GrammerNatzi]

To tell the truth, I'd rather not have any voices in FF7.

They'd kind of sound awkward at the perspective you see the game from.

[ModHelp]

whoever is doing barrets voice better be black or have mastered the black language   

[Tsetra]

To tell the truth, I'd rather not have any voices in FF7.

They'd kind of sound awkward at the perspective you see the game from.

Nobody is pointing a gun in your face and telling you to use the patch when it comes out.

This sort of thing is exactly why I'm freaking out about dziugo's program getting finished. Almost all of the material for Midgar is ready and it would be relatively easy for me to put together a playable demo so people could see for themselves if this is a project they'll be interested in. It's a lot better than trying to assure people the voices fit pretty well and the actors fit their roles.
And if anyone is still interested in the project, don't be afraid to ask for a role anyways. I guess a couple people flaked out and had to be replaced, so you never know.

[ModHelp]

so it was just a joke

[Tsetra]

so it was just a joke

Look at the quote. You weren't in it.

[Marc]

This sort of thing is exactly why I'm freaking out about dziugo's program getting finished. Almost all of the material for Midgar is ready and it would be relatively easy for me to put together a playable demo so people could see for themselves if this is a project they'll be interested in. It's a lot better than trying to assure people the voices fit pretty well and the actors fit their roles.
And if anyone is still interested in the project, don't be afraid to ask for a role anyways. I guess a couple people flaked out and had to be replaced, so you never know.

I think short movies should be sufficient to showcase the voices for myself.  And with Dziugo's program, there won't be an actual setup per say as it uses file names.  That's why area and line numbering info is needed in scripts from now on.  Easier for us!

Also, I'm not aware of anybody that jumped shipped yet although we do have some minor roles left to be fillled (ex: godo, tifa's father, shera, important townspeople such as the one who takes sephiroth's picture in nibelheim, etc.).  If you wish to apply, just post in the ff7voice forum.

[DarkVenomandCarnage]

I reapeat. Can I try out for Vincent

[Marc]

Vincent is not in my list and is not a minor caracther : he's filled.

You're more than welcome to try for any of the roles I just mentionned however.

[Tsetra]

Do it anyways, just in case. If nothing else, they might find your voice suitable for something else. Tifa has been a hard role to fill, I think their second person has already left. If you know anyone that might be interested in that role let them know. Doesn't hurt to be redundant.

[Marc]

I think Opine has agreed to take over Tifa after the first two scenes were completed and has been doing her lines for a few months now if I'm not mistaken.