Dragon Age Toolset Wiki - User contributions [en]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-25T23:47:34Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based on the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

For specific information about voiceover, file conventions, integration see here: [[Voice-Over]]

== Introduction ==

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention, but also the naming convention for the files themselves. The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

== Creating the Dialog Script ==

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=en

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:19:55Z

KingEtzel: Undo revision 9816 by KingEtzel (Talk)

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not do so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

The LineID for a distinct line of conversation is displayed in the lower left corner in the Dialog Editor, when editing a conversation.

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real voiceover recordings need to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering to the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required "24000" (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== Recruiting Voice Actors ==
Currently there are the following sources where you can get vocal support for your module:
*The Voice Actors Guild[http://social.bioware.com/group/146/]
*The Voice Acting Alliance[http://voiceactingalliance.com/board]

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:18:43Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not do so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

The LineID for a distinct line of conversation is displayed in the lower left corner in the Dialog Editor, when editing a conversation.

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real voiceover recordings need to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering to the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required "24000" (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== Recruiting Voice Actors ==
Currently there are the following sources where you can get vocal support for your module:
*The Voice Actors Guild[http://social.bioware.com/group/146/]
*The Voice Acting Alliance[http://voiceactingalliance.com/board]

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:11:58Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:06:47Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not do so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

The LineID for a distinct line of conversation is displayed in the lower left corner in the Dialog Editor, when editing a conversation.

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real voiceover recordings need to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering to the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== Recruiting Voice Actors ==
Currently there are the following sources where you can get vocal support for your module:
*The Voice Actors Guild[http://social.bioware.com/group/146/]
*The Voice Acting Alliance[http://voiceactingalliance.com/board]

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:04:19Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not do so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

The LineID for a distinct line of conversation is displayed in the lower left corner in the Dialog Editor, when editing a conversation.

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real voiceover recordings need to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering to the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T13:01:23Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

In the lower left corner of the Dialog Editor is the LineID (alternatively called "String ID") for the selected line of dialog. Each line is recorded separately.

The real voiceover recordings need to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering to the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:56:41Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real VO needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, because it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Conversation

2010-01-16T12:56:00Z

KingEtzel:

Conversations contain lines of dialogue, usually focused on one NPC and the player's interaction with him or her. Each line of dialogue can have the following associated with it:
*The text of the line, which can be displayed in-game
*The [[Voice-Over]] (for non-player characters)
*The speaker's facial performance (lip synching and expression)
*[[Stage]] information for positioning the actors and cameras in an area (optional, some conversations can occur anywhere and use default staging)
*[[Cutscene]] cinematics that can potentially override any of the above with more detailed and complex events.

A conversation is usually associated with a [[creature]], which is referred to in the conversation with the "OWNER" tag. They can also be associated with placeables, or simply used as a container for lines of dialogue used in a cutscene.

The main body of the display for this type of object is one or more tree-shaped structures containing all of the lines or actions that can be reached in the course of following this conversation. For example:

[[Image:Conversation tutorial 2.png]]

Red lines are those spoken by NPCs, blue lines are those spoken by the player (usually chosen from a group of alternatives). Grey lines are lines that are 'linked' to other lines, allowing the flow of the conversation to jump to other branches or repeat itself if needed.

Below the main display is a tabbed pane containing options that can be set on a line-by-line basis.

== Global Settings ==

The global settings tab is only present when the root node of the entire conversation is selected. This is where one can set defaults for who is listening and who is talking (in conversations with more than two individuals you'll need to override these defaults on a line-by-line basis as needed).

You can also set a number of flags involved in cinematic effects:
*Lock all gestures
*Lock all poses
*Lock all RoboBrad
*Lock all cameras
*Ambient Soundset Type

Also available in the root node are a simplified plot and scripting tab (see below for details) that allows you to modify plot flags and trigger scripts when the conversation ends; this is helpful for preventing errors and saving time when crafting a conversation that is always supposed to have the same effect on the world when it's over but that has many different conversation end nodes scattered throughout it.

The cinematics tab of the root node allows default cinematics information to be set, which is inherited by the rest of the nodes in the conversation unless overridden.

Finally, the root node has a conversation synopsis text field where a summary of the content and purpose of the conversation can be placed for ease of reference.

== Dialogue ==

[[Image:Conversation dialog.png]]

This tab contains the string of text that is displayed to the player when this node in the tree is reached.

At the lower left corner are some statistics for this line and for the conversation it's a part of.

*Player Response Length Maximum: 60 characters
*NPC Response Length Maximum: 200 characters

Also in the lower left corner is the string ID for this line of dialog, which is used when recording voice over audio.

=== Formatting tags ===

==== Emphasis tags ====

To indicate that a word in spoken text is emphasized, use <emp> tags. In subtitles, text inside the tags will be bolded.

For example: "I don't <emp>think</emp> so." appears in-game as: "I don't '''think''' so."

==== Description tags ====

Description <desc> tags are used in three ways: 1) To set apart a non-spoken sound (NPC lines), 2) To describe action that is not voiced (player lines), 2) To indicate that a persuade line is a lie or charm (player lines), 3) For text that describes an object (object lines).

In subtitles, text inside <desc> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

1) Unspoken sounds (such as a sigh, sob, or grunt of pain) - NPC lines only.

Write out the sound, not a description of the sound.
* Incorrect: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>gurgling sound as she is stabbed</desc>
* Correct: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>Aaargh!</desc>

"If only... <desc>sigh</desc> Alas, it cannot be." appears in-game as: "If only... ''(sigh)''' Alas, it cannot be."

2) Persuade lines that need to be marked as "lie" or "charm" - player lines only: When a line that has been flagged in the toolset as a "Persuade" line needs to me marked as a specific "lie" or "charm", write Lie or Charm at the line's beginning. Then, use <desc> tags around that word so that it will be set off from the rest of the line.
For example: <desc>Lie</desc> "Of course I didn't report you to the authorities." appears in-game as: "''(Lie)'' Of course I didn't report you to the authorities."

3) Text that describes an object - Object lines only: When a line is created to describe an inanimate object, such as a bookcase or chest, descriptive lines for that object should be marked with <desc> tags. The writer creates a "character" in the toolset ("bhm700_bookcase"), and writes a line to describe that object. For example, <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc> or <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

* Correct: <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc>
All such text should be written in third-person, present tense, with the player always referred to as "you".
* Incorrect: <desc> The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. I can't see any way to open it.</desc>
* Correct: <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

The tech designer will need to create a placeable in the appropriate area. The character for that placeable should be set as "null". (This indicates that no VO recording is needed for that line.) It should also be set to appear on the screen even if subtitles are turned off by default.

==== Action Tags ====

Action tags <act> describe player action. In subtitles, text inside <act> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

For example: "If that's the way you want it. <act>Kill the soldier.</act>" appears in-game as: "If that's the way you want it. ''(Kill the soldier.)''"

* Incorrect: {Owner}: "Here. Take this. <act> Opens chest, removes sword.</act> It was your father's."

=== Macros ===

The <FirstName/> macro will be replaced with the first name entered by the player for his character. Since the player character's name can be anywhere up to 20 characters long, player lines using the <FirstName/> macro can only have 40 characters (not including the macro itself).

Macros are used fairly rarely in Dragon Age since voiceovers accompany most lines and cannot be modified to match lines with variable text.

=== Other settings ===

Also on this tab are some additional flags and tags that can be set for this line.
*Skill/Icon - allows an icon to be placed next to this line indicating that a skill must be used when the line is selected by the player
*Speaker Tag and Listener Tag - defines which character is the speaker and which is the listener (can be set to default)
*Language - defines which language the line is spoken in.
*Fast Path - Any line with "Fast Path" set will be the first option presented to a player when they reach this conversation node. This can be useful if you want to provide an easy way to blow through the conversation tree without having to read it; if you mark the shortest path through the tree with this flag the player will only have to tap the "1" key to pass through it. You can also do this without the fast path flag by arranging your conversation nodes in the correct order, but restructuring an entire conversation tree for this purpose is a more complex task.

== Plots and Scripting ==

See [[conversation plots and scripting]] for details on how to use plots and scripts to make certain lines of dialog "conditional" (appearing or not appearing based on conditions in the game) and how to have certain lines cause scripted actions and change plot flags.

This tab also includes an option to easily set a line so that it appears to a player only once (either once per conversation or once per game).

== Cinematics and Animation ==

See [[conversation cinematics and animation]] for details of how to control the performance of your virtual actors. Conversations without cinematic direction set for them will use a default over-the-shoulder camera style that's serviceable for most conversations, but which might become dull when used for all of them. Adding some animation and varying the camera angles can go a long way to spicing up a conversation, and for special events you can add much more than that - even integrating full-blown cutscenes into the middle of a conversation.

== Localization and Editing ==

These two panels are used for keeping track of the status of the localization and editing process for this line. This is useful for large-scale collaborative projects, such as Dragon Age itself, but may not be of as much use for individual adventure designers.

== Slide Show ==

The Slide Show tab is used to produce a simple form of "cutscene" that consists of a pre-rendered still image that's shown while the line is displayed or voiced. Images used in a slide show can be in [[TGA]], [[TPC]] or [[DDS]] format.

== Toolbars ==

[[Image:Conversation toolbar labeled.png]]

* "Find links" generates a list of other places in the tree that have this line as their child. See the "looping conversations and re-using lines" section below.
*The highlighting toolbar is handy for rapidly finding and paging through conversation nodes with particular properties. There's forward and backward buttons for jumping from highlighted node to highlighted node, and a set of togglable highlight selection buttons that turn on and off highlighting based on node characteristics.
* "Once-per" lines include both once-per-conversation and once-per-game
* Highlighting lines with plot involvement will prompt you to select which particular plot to highlight.

== Looping conversation and re-using lines in multiple places ==

Although the basic structure is tree-shaped, the flow of the conversation can be structured to return back to previous nodes in the conversation. To cause a node in the tree to repeat:

*select the node you want to return to,
*"Copy" it (control-C, or select copy from the right-click menu),
*select the node you want the repeated response to be a child of,
*select "Paste as link" from the right-click menu (keyboard shortcut: control-shift-V)

The link node will appear in gray and cannot be edited. If you edit the original copy of the node all linked copies will reflect the change. You can only link nodes that have the same type (player/non-player), the paste-as-link option won't be available if the node currently saved to the clipboard can't be linked to a child of the currently selected node.

To find the original copy of a linked node, right-click on the grey node and select "Jump to Target".

Using the "once per conversation" or "once per game" visibility setting for the children of a repeating node is useful for preventing the player from cycling multiple times through the exact same dialogue.

== Voice-Over ==

You can use both placeholder and real recorded voiceover in your conversation, depending on what your current status on the conversation is. After you have some sort of voiceover associated to your conversation, you may run "Tools->Generate [[FaceFX]]" to add a facial expression to the NPCs performance.

All information about [[Voice-Over]] (conventions, integration, etc.) is stored at a another page to keep a central organized structure.

== Glossary of design terms ==

* Branch: A dialogue option that adds flavor to a conversation, but doesn't change the direction of the plot or story. Branches always come back together at a choke point.
* Clarification Hub: This allows a player to return to an NPC and clarify plot elements, get directions, or find out information about the current area. Generally, an single NPC line asks the player what he wants; a list of questions is then available to the player. Once the player has received an answer, the same list reappears (minus the question just asked). The player can loop infinitely through this NPC dialogue.
* Path: The dialogue options players can select that change the direction of a plot or story. For example, when a player is given the option of accepting a quest, there are two different resulting paths (based on a "Yes" or "No" answer). Unlike branches, paths never come back together. Each path has a different ending condition.
* Question Hub: A list of questions presented to a player that allows him to ask multiple questions to clarify information he's just learned. After a response is given, the player can ask the remaining questions. It's possible to loop indefinitely through a question hub, but only by asking non-critical questions. Unlike a clarification hub, at least one question drives the conversation tree forward and eliminates all remaining questions. For example, an NPC gives plot critical information; once she relates the details, the player can ask four specific questions. Three of the questions are non-critical: they give flavor and/or enhance role-playing. These questions allow for infinite looping. However, the fourth question drives the conversation forward and eliminates all other questions. This important question should always be located beneath the "lesser" questions.

== Associated Links ==

*[[Conversation cinematics and animation]]
*[[Conversation plots and scripting]]
*[[Conversation tutorial]]
*[[Voice-Over]]
*[[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:49:55Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real VO needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, becausse it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:48:27Z

KingEtzel:

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real VO needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

== Setting up Recording Programs ==

Do yourself and the producer of a module a favor and record your files adhering the right conventions, at least concerning the file convention (as mentioned above). Therefore you have to set up your audio program before you actually start recording.

=== Audacity ===

Audacity is freeware. For recording purposes it is quite handy, becausse it is not very complicated. You can get the newest version here: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/].

Recording should work right out of the box. Otherwise you have to go to "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and set up the proper audio device for recording and playback.

* To set the required Hertz and Bit, go to "Edit->Preferences->Quality".
* "Standard Sample Frequency": Select "Other", then type in the text field the required 24000 (Hertz) (=24kHz)
* "Standard Sample Format": Select "16bit"

When you now press the red recording button, Audacity records in the right file-convention. You now can trim and edit your recording until you're satisfied and then select the a region by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around the area that you want to export. Then save it by "File->Export Selection", select as filetype "WAV (microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM" and you're done.

=== Sony Vegas 7 ===

Vegas is a program, that's primarily developed for video editing, but also has a powerful audio engine, that makes editing of sound also very nice. Also, the application of VST effects and tweaks within the recording is pretty good implemented.

Old versions, like Vegas 7 should be pretty inexpensive, and even the current version in its basic package (which only is needed for audio recording/mixing/editing) is around about only 40$.

*To set the required Hertz and Bit, select the part of your recording that is going to be a line of conversation (=a LineID) and then go to "File->Render As...".
*Choose as filetype "WAV (Microsoft) (*.wav)" and click on the "Custom" button on the right hand side of the presets tab.
*Type in the name field a name for your Dragon Age preset
*Choose as format "PCM (uncompressed)"
*"Samplerate (Hz)": "24.000"
*"Bitdepth": "16"
*"Channels": "Mono"
*Press the little diskette to save your preset, then "OK" to select it

You can now save your selection as required by the toolset.

== See also ==
* [[Conversation]]
* [[Sound and music]]
* [[FaceFX]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:37:53Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:26:29Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:21:50Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:21:31Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:19:41Z

KingEtzel:

Sound and music

2010-01-16T12:18:55Z

KingEtzel:

Sound and music

2010-01-16T12:18:17Z

KingEtzel:

Sound in Dragon Age is packaged using a program called [[FMOD]]. FMOD sound banks include the audio waveform itself, and can also include settings determining how the sound is played.

== Voice-over ==

Voice over doesn't actually require you to work with FMOD, as the tools to package VO into FMOD sound banks are built into the toolset.

Placeholder [[voice over]] can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing [[FaceFX]] to be generated.

Recording real [[Voice-Over] for [[conversation]]s is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames.

For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Placeable sound resources ==

Other types of sound resources will require work with [[FMOD]] itself to get them into the game. See [[FMOD]] for details.

Sound events are placed in an [[area]] layout using the area editor. Details such as how the sound loops, where the sound is simulated as coming from, and so forth, are defined in [[FMOD]].

Areas can also have [[audio volume]]s, [[music volume]]s and [[reverb volume]]s defined, with associated sound events.

== Adding sounds to animations ==

The [[Blend tree editor]] allows sound events to be associated with an animation's timeline. So for example, an animation of a golem clapping could have a clanging sound added to the moment of impact of its hands.

== Character soundsets ==

Soundsets for characters (the collection of lines they choose from in combat and other routine in-game activities) are created as [[conversation]] resources, and are associated with individual creatures via a [[character]] resource. This allows one soundset to be reused for multiple different creatures.

Conversation

2010-01-16T12:13:59Z

KingEtzel:

Conversations contain lines of dialogue, usually focused on one NPC and the player's interaction with him or her. Each line of dialogue can have the following associated with it:
*The text of the line, which can be displayed in-game
*The [[Voice-Over]] (for non-player characters)
*The speaker's facial performance (lip synching and expression)
*[[Stage]] information for positioning the actors and cameras in an area (optional, some conversations can occur anywhere and use default staging)
*[[Cutscene]] cinematics that can potentially override any of the above with more detailed and complex events.

A conversation is usually associated with a [[creature]], which is referred to in the conversation with the "OWNER" tag. They can also be associated with placeables, or simply used as a container for lines of dialogue used in a cutscene.

The main body of the display for this type of object is one or more tree-shaped structures containing all of the lines or actions that can be reached in the course of following this conversation. For example:

[[Image:Conversation tutorial 2.png]]

Red lines are those spoken by NPCs, blue lines are those spoken by the player (usually chosen from a group of alternatives). Grey lines are lines that are 'linked' to other lines, allowing the flow of the conversation to jump to other branches or repeat itself if needed.

Below the main display is a tabbed pane containing options that can be set on a line-by-line basis.

== Global Settings ==

The global settings tab is only present when the root node of the entire conversation is selected. This is where one can set defaults for who is listening and who is talking (in conversations with more than two individuals you'll need to override these defaults on a line-by-line basis as needed).

You can also set a number of flags involved in cinematic effects:
*Lock all gestures
*Lock all poses
*Lock all RoboBrad
*Lock all cameras
*Ambient Soundset Type

Also available in the root node are a simplified plot and scripting tab (see below for details) that allows you to modify plot flags and trigger scripts when the conversation ends; this is helpful for preventing errors and saving time when crafting a conversation that is always supposed to have the same effect on the world when it's over but that has many different conversation end nodes scattered throughout it.

The cinematics tab of the root node allows default cinematics information to be set, which is inherited by the rest of the nodes in the conversation unless overridden.

Finally, the root node has a conversation synopsis text field where a summary of the content and purpose of the conversation can be placed for ease of reference.

== Dialogue ==

[[Image:Conversation dialog.png]]

This tab contains the string of text that is displayed to the player when this node in the tree is reached.

At the lower left corner are some statistics for this line and for the conversation it's a part of.

*Player Response Length Maximum: 60 characters
*NPC Response Length Maximum: 200 characters

Also in the lower left corner is the string ID for this line of dialog, which is used when recording voice over audio.

=== Formatting tags ===

==== Emphasis tags ====

To indicate that a word in spoken text is emphasized, use <emp> tags. In subtitles, text inside the tags will be bolded.

For example: "I don't <emp>think</emp> so." appears in-game as: "I don't '''think''' so."

==== Description tags ====

Description <desc> tags are used in three ways: 1) To set apart a non-spoken sound (NPC lines), 2) To describe action that is not voiced (player lines), 2) To indicate that a persuade line is a lie or charm (player lines), 3) For text that describes an object (object lines).

In subtitles, text inside <desc> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

1) Unspoken sounds (such as a sigh, sob, or grunt of pain) - NPC lines only.

Write out the sound, not a description of the sound.
* Incorrect: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>gurgling sound as she is stabbed</desc>
* Correct: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>Aaargh!</desc>

"If only... <desc>sigh</desc> Alas, it cannot be." appears in-game as: "If only... ''(sigh)''' Alas, it cannot be."

2) Persuade lines that need to be marked as "lie" or "charm" - player lines only: When a line that has been flagged in the toolset as a "Persuade" line needs to me marked as a specific "lie" or "charm", write Lie or Charm at the line's beginning. Then, use <desc> tags around that word so that it will be set off from the rest of the line.
For example: <desc>Lie</desc> "Of course I didn't report you to the authorities." appears in-game as: "''(Lie)'' Of course I didn't report you to the authorities."

3) Text that describes an object - Object lines only: When a line is created to describe an inanimate object, such as a bookcase or chest, descriptive lines for that object should be marked with <desc> tags. The writer creates a "character" in the toolset ("bhm700_bookcase"), and writes a line to describe that object. For example, <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc> or <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

* Correct: <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc>
All such text should be written in third-person, present tense, with the player always referred to as "you".
* Incorrect: <desc> The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. I can't see any way to open it.</desc>
* Correct: <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

The tech designer will need to create a placeable in the appropriate area. The character for that placeable should be set as "null". (This indicates that no VO recording is needed for that line.) It should also be set to appear on the screen even if subtitles are turned off by default.

==== Action Tags ====

Action tags <act> describe player action. In subtitles, text inside <act> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

For example: "If that's the way you want it. <act>Kill the soldier.</act>" appears in-game as: "If that's the way you want it. ''(Kill the soldier.)''"

* Incorrect: {Owner}: "Here. Take this. <act> Opens chest, removes sword.</act> It was your father's."

=== Macros ===

The <FirstName/> macro will be replaced with the first name entered by the player for his character. Since the player character's name can be anywhere up to 20 characters long, player lines using the <FirstName/> macro can only have 40 characters (not including the macro itself).

Macros are used fairly rarely in Dragon Age since voiceovers accompany most lines and cannot be modified to match lines with variable text.

=== Other settings ===

Also on this tab are some additional flags and tags that can be set for this line.
*Skill/Icon - allows an icon to be placed next to this line indicating that a skill must be used when the line is selected by the player
*Speaker Tag and Listener Tag - defines which character is the speaker and which is the listener (can be set to default)
*Language - defines which language the line is spoken in.
*Fast Path - Any line with "Fast Path" set will be the first option presented to a player when they reach this conversation node. This can be useful if you want to provide an easy way to blow through the conversation tree without having to read it; if you mark the shortest path through the tree with this flag the player will only have to tap the "1" key to pass through it. You can also do this without the fast path flag by arranging your conversation nodes in the correct order, but restructuring an entire conversation tree for this purpose is a more complex task.

== Plots and Scripting ==

See [[conversation plots and scripting]] for details on how to use plots and scripts to make certain lines of dialog "conditional" (appearing or not appearing based on conditions in the game) and how to have certain lines cause scripted actions and change plot flags.

This tab also includes an option to easily set a line so that it appears to a player only once (either once per conversation or once per game).

== Cinematics and Animation ==

See [[conversation cinematics and animation]] for details of how to control the performance of your virtual actors. Conversations without cinematic direction set for them will use a default over-the-shoulder camera style that's serviceable for most conversations, but which might become dull when used for all of them. Adding some animation and varying the camera angles can go a long way to spicing up a conversation, and for special events you can add much more than that - even integrating full-blown cutscenes into the middle of a conversation.

== Localization and Editing ==

These two panels are used for keeping track of the status of the localization and editing process for this line. This is useful for large-scale collaborative projects, such as Dragon Age itself, but may not be of as much use for individual adventure designers.

== Slide Show ==

The Slide Show tab is used to produce a simple form of "cutscene" that consists of a pre-rendered still image that's shown while the line is displayed or voiced. Images used in a slide show can be in [[TGA]], [[TPC]] or [[DDS]] format.

== Toolbars ==

[[Image:Conversation toolbar labeled.png]]

* "Find links" generates a list of other places in the tree that have this line as their child. See the "looping conversations and re-using lines" section below.
*The highlighting toolbar is handy for rapidly finding and paging through conversation nodes with particular properties. There's forward and backward buttons for jumping from highlighted node to highlighted node, and a set of togglable highlight selection buttons that turn on and off highlighting based on node characteristics.
* "Once-per" lines include both once-per-conversation and once-per-game
* Highlighting lines with plot involvement will prompt you to select which particular plot to highlight.

== Looping conversation and re-using lines in multiple places ==

Although the basic structure is tree-shaped, the flow of the conversation can be structured to return back to previous nodes in the conversation. To cause a node in the tree to repeat:

*select the node you want to return to,
*"Copy" it (control-C, or select copy from the right-click menu),
*select the node you want the repeated response to be a child of,
*select "Paste as link" from the right-click menu (keyboard shortcut: control-shift-V)

The link node will appear in gray and cannot be edited. If you edit the original copy of the node all linked copies will reflect the change. You can only link nodes that have the same type (player/non-player), the paste-as-link option won't be available if the node currently saved to the clipboard can't be linked to a child of the currently selected node.

To find the original copy of a linked node, right-click on the grey node and select "Jump to Target".

Using the "once per conversation" or "once per game" visibility setting for the children of a repeating node is useful for preventing the player from cycling multiple times through the exact same dialogue.

== Voice-Over ==

You can use both placeholder and real recorded voiceover in your conversation, depending on what your current status on the conversation is. After you have some sort of voiceover associated to your conversation, you may run "Tools->Generate [[FaceFX]]" to add a facial expression to the NPCs performance.

All information about [[Voice-Over]] (conventions, integration, etc.) is stored at a another page to keep a central organized structure.

== Glossary of design terms ==

* Branch: A dialogue option that adds flavor to a conversation, but doesn't change the direction of the plot or story. Branches always come back together at a choke point.
* Clarification Hub: This allows a player to return to an NPC and clarify plot elements, get directions, or find out information about the current area. Generally, an single NPC line asks the player what he wants; a list of questions is then available to the player. Once the player has received an answer, the same list reappears (minus the question just asked). The player can loop infinitely through this NPC dialogue.
* Path: The dialogue options players can select that change the direction of a plot or story. For example, when a player is given the option of accepting a quest, there are two different resulting paths (based on a "Yes" or "No" answer). Unlike branches, paths never come back together. Each path has a different ending condition.
* Question Hub: A list of questions presented to a player that allows him to ask multiple questions to clarify information he's just learned. After a response is given, the player can ask the remaining questions. It's possible to loop indefinitely through a question hub, but only by asking non-critical questions. Unlike a clarification hub, at least one question drives the conversation tree forward and eliminates all remaining questions. For example, an NPC gives plot critical information; once she relates the details, the player can ask four specific questions. Three of the questions are non-critical: they give flavor and/or enhance role-playing. These questions allow for infinite looping. However, the fourth question drives the conversation forward and eliminates all other questions. This important question should always be located beneath the "lesser" questions.

== Associated Links ==

*[[conversation cinematics and animation]]
*[[Conversation plots and scripting]]
*[[Conversation tutorial]]
*[[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T12:07:28Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based on the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

For specific information about voiceover, file conventions, integration see here: [[Voice-Over]]

== Introduction ==

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention, but also the naming convention for the files themselves. The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

== Creating the Dialog Script ==

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T12:06:23Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based on the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

== Introduction ==

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention, but also the naming convention for the files themselves. The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

For information about voiceover, integration etc. see here: [[Voice-Over]]

== Creating the Dialog Script ==

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T12:04:28Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based on the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention, but also the naming convention for the files themselves (see [[Voice-Over]]. The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:03:09Z

KingEtzel:

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T12:00:00Z

KingEtzel:

sflsdfln

== General information ==

Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not so, the lines cannot be integrated into the module by the toolset and an error message wil be displayed in the log.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[LineID]_m.wav" with [LineID] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Integration into a conversation ==

Real VO needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[LineID]_m.wav - you can dump .wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up; but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

== Dummy Voiceover ==

If you do not yet have real voiceover available, you can test your conversation with placeholders.

Select "Tools->Generate VO->Generate VO Local"; the toolset will first check the corresponding \toolsetexport directory for properly named files. Any .wav files that are not present will have Robo VO created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

Voice-Over

2010-01-16T11:58:52Z

KingEtzel: Created page with '== General information == Custom voiceover is stored as '''.wav''' files, '''PCM 24 kHz 16 bit mono'''. Either record in this format or convert to it afterwards. If you do not s...'

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T11:35:12Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based on the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (24kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves ('''123'''_m.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T11:28:27Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (24kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves ('''123'''_m.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-16T11:23:43Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor like MS Word and just send them those documents. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset one by one, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read your dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (22kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves ('''123'''_m.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files manually to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitute the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or " "=OWNER), and the spoken words in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

[[Category:Conversations]]

Sound and music

2010-01-08T18:32:12Z

KingEtzel:

Sound in Dragon Age is packaged using a program called [[FMOD]]. FMOD sound banks include the audio waveform itself, and can also include settings determining how the sound is played.

== Voice-over ==

Voice over doesn't actually require you to work with FMOD, as the tools to package VO into FMOD sound banks are built into the toolset.

Placeholder [[voice over]] can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing [[FaceFX]] to be generated.

Recording real voice-over for [[conversation]]s is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames. To record your own voice-over you'll need some method for recording your voice as a wav file. Windows comes with a basic sound-recording program but other more sophisticated programs are available free for download as well. The wav file must be recorded in or converted to PCM 24 khz 16 bit mono format, otherwise the process will fail and an error message will be displayed in the log.

Real vo needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[lineid]_m.wav - you can dump wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Placeable sound resources ==

Other types of sound resources will require work with [[FMOD]] itself to get them into the game. See [[FMOD]] for details.

Sound events are placed in an [[area]] layout using the area editor. Details such as how the sound loops, where the sound is simulated as coming from, and so forth, are defined in [[FMOD]].

Areas can also have [[audio volume]]s, [[music volume]]s and [[reverb volume]]s defined, with associated sound events.

== Adding sounds to animations ==

The [[Blend tree editor]] allows sound events to be associated with an animation's timeline. So for example, an animation of a golem clapping could have a clanging sound added to the moment of impact of its hands.

== Character soundsets ==

Soundsets for characters (the collection of lines they choose from in combat and other routine in-game activities) are created as [[conversation]] resources, and are associated with individual creatures via a [[character]] resource. This allows one soundset to be reused for multiple different creatures.

Sound and music

2010-01-08T18:30:57Z

KingEtzel:

Sound in Dragon Age is packaged using a program called [[FMOD]]. FMOD sound banks include the audio waveform itself, and can also include settings determining how the sound is played.

== Voice-over ==

Voice over doesn't actually require you to work with FMOD, as the tools to package VO into FMOD sound banks are built into the toolset.

Placeholder [[voice over]] can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing [[FaceFX]] to be generated.

Recording real voice-over for [[conversation]]s is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames. To record your own voice-over you'll need some method for recording your voice as a wav file. Windows comes with a basic sound-recording program but other more sophisticated programs are available free for download as well. The wav file must be recorded in or converted to PCM 24 khz 16 bit mono format, otherwise the process will fail and an error message will be displayed in the log.

Real vo needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[lineid]_m.wav - you can dump wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: [[Preparing a Dialogue For Recording]]

== Placeable sound resources ==

Other types of sound resources will require work with [[FMOD]] itself to get them into the game. See [[FMOD]] for details.

Sound events are placed in an [[area]] layout using the area editor. Details such as how the sound loops, where the sound is simulated as coming from, and so forth, are defined in [[FMOD]].

Areas can also have [[audio volume]]s, [[music volume]]s and [[reverb volume]]s defined, with associated sound events.

== Adding sounds to animations ==

The [[Blend tree editor]] allows sound events to be associated with an animation's timeline. So for example, an animation of a golem clapping could have a clanging sound added to the moment of impact of its hands.

== Character soundsets ==

Soundsets for characters (the collection of lines they choose from in combat and other routine in-game activities) are created as [[conversation]] resources, and are associated with individual creatures via a [[character]] resource. This allows one soundset to be reused for multiple different creatures.

Conversation

2010-01-05T17:11:11Z

KingEtzel:

Conversations contain lines of dialogue, usually focused on one NPC and the player's interaction with him or her. Each line of dialogue can have the following associated with it:
*The text of the line, which can be displayed in-game
*The voice over (for non-player characters)
*The speaker's facial performance (lip synching and expression)
*[[Stage]] information for positioning the actors and cameras in an area (optional, some conversations can occur anywhere and use default staging)
*[[Cutscene]] cinematics that can potentially override any of the above with more detailed and complex events.

A conversation is usually associated with a [[creature]], which is referred to in the conversation with the "OWNER" tag. They can also be associated with placeables, or simply used as a container for lines of dialogue used in a cutscene.

The main body of the display for this type of object is one or more tree-shaped structures containing all of the lines or actions that can be reached in the course of following this conversation. For example:

[[Image:Conversation tutorial 2.png]]

Red lines are those spoken by NPCs, blue lines are those spoken by the player (usually chosen from a group of alternatives). Grey lines are lines that are 'linked' to other lines, allowing the flow of the conversation to jump to other branches or repeat itself if needed.

Below the main display is a tabbed pane containing options that can be set on a line-by-line basis.

== Global Settings ==

The global settings tab is only present when the root node of the entire conversation is selected. This is where one can set defaults for who is listening and who is talking (in conversations with more than two individuals you'll need to override these defaults on a line-by-line basis as needed).

You can also set a number of flags involved in cinematic effects:
*Lock all gestures
*Lock all poses
*Lock all RoboBrad
*Lock all cameras
*Ambient Soundset Type

Also available in the root node are a simplified plot and scripting tab (see below for details) that allows you to modify plot flags and trigger scripts when the conversation ends; this is helpful for preventing errors and saving time when crafting a conversation that is always supposed to have the same effect on the world when it's over but that has many different conversation end nodes scattered throughout it.

The cinematics tab of the root node allows default cinematics information to be set, which is inherited by the rest of the nodes in the conversation unless overridden.

Finally, the root node has a conversation synopsis text field where a summary of the content and purpose of the conversation can be placed for ease of reference.

== Dialogue ==

[[Image:Conversation dialog.png]]

This tab contains the string of text that is displayed to the player when this node in the tree is reached.

At the lower left corner are some statistics for this line and for the conversation it's a part of.

*Player Response Length Maximum: 60 characters
*NPC Response Length Maximum: 200 characters

Also in the lower left corner is the string ID for this line of dialog, which is used when recording voice over audio.

=== Formatting tags ===

==== Emphasis tags ====

To indicate that a word in spoken text is emphasized, use <emp> tags. In subtitles, text inside the tags will be bolded.

For example: "I don't <emp>think</emp> so." appears in-game as: "I don't '''think''' so."

==== Description tags ====

Description <desc> tags are used in three ways: 1) To set apart a non-spoken sound (NPC lines), 2) To describe action that is not voiced (player lines), 2) To indicate that a persuade line is a lie or charm (player lines), 3) For text that describes an object (object lines).

In subtitles, text inside <desc> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

1) Unspoken sounds (such as a sigh, sob, or grunt of pain) - NPC lines only.

Write out the sound, not a description of the sound.
* Incorrect: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>gurgling sound as she is stabbed</desc>
* Correct: "No! Please don't kill me! <desc>Aaargh!</desc>

"If only... <desc>sigh</desc> Alas, it cannot be." appears in-game as: "If only... ''(sigh)''' Alas, it cannot be."

2) Persuade lines that need to be marked as "lie" or "charm" - player lines only: When a line that has been flagged in the toolset as a "Persuade" line needs to me marked as a specific "lie" or "charm", write Lie or Charm at the line's beginning. Then, use <desc> tags around that word so that it will be set off from the rest of the line.
For example: <desc>Lie</desc> "Of course I didn't report you to the authorities." appears in-game as: "''(Lie)'' Of course I didn't report you to the authorities."

3) Text that describes an object - Object lines only: When a line is created to describe an inanimate object, such as a bookcase or chest, descriptive lines for that object should be marked with <desc> tags. The writer creates a "character" in the toolset ("bhm700_bookcase"), and writes a line to describe that object. For example, <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc> or <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

* Correct: <desc>This bookcase is full of dusty, moldering books.</desc>
All such text should be written in third-person, present tense, with the player always referred to as "you".
* Incorrect: <desc> The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. I can't see any way to open it.</desc>
* Correct: <desc>The phylactery is warm to the touch and filled with a small amount of viscous, red liquid. You see no way to open it.</desc>

The tech designer will need to create a placeable in the appropriate area. The character for that placeable should be set as "null". (This indicates that no VO recording is needed for that line.) It should also be set to appear on the screen even if subtitles are turned off by default.

==== Action Tags ====

Action tags <act> describe player action. In subtitles, text inside <act> tags will be italicized and put into parentheses.

For example: "If that's the way you want it. <act>Kill the soldier.</act>" appears in-game as: "If that's the way you want it. ''(Kill the soldier.)''"

* Incorrect: {Owner}: "Here. Take this. <act> Opens chest, removes sword.</act> It was your father's."

=== Macros ===

The <FirstName/> macro will be replaced with the first name entered by the player for his character. Since the player character's name can be anywhere up to 20 characters long, player lines using the <FirstName/> macro can only have 40 characters (not including the macro itself).

Macros are used fairly rarely in Dragon Age since voiceovers accompany most lines and cannot be modified to match lines with variable text.

=== Other settings ===

Also on this tab are some additional flags and tags that can be set for this line.
*Skill/Icon - allows an icon to be placed next to this line indicating that a skill must be used when the line is selected by the player
*Speaker Tag and Listener Tag - defines which character is the speaker and which is the listener (can be set to default)
*Language - defines which language the line is spoken in.
*Fast Path - Any line with "Fast Path" set will be the first option presented to a player when they reach this conversation node. This can be useful if you want to provide an easy way to blow through the conversation tree without having to read it; if you mark the shortest path through the tree with this flag the player will only have to tap the "1" key to pass through it. You can also do this without the fast path flag by arranging your conversation nodes in the correct order, but restructuring an entire conversation tree for this purpose is a more complex task.

== Plots and Scripting ==

See [[conversation plots and scripting]] for details on how to use plots and scripts to make certain lines of dialog "conditional" (appearing or not appearing based on conditions in the game) and how to have certain lines cause scripted actions and change plot flags.

This tab also includes an option to easily set a line so that it appears to a player only once (either once per conversation or once per game).

== Cinematics and Animation ==

See [[conversation cinematics and animation]] for details of how to control the performance of your virtual actors. Conversations without cinematic direction set for them will use a default over-the-shoulder camera style that's serviceable for most conversations, but which might become dull when used for all of them. Adding some animation and varying the camera angles can go a long way to spicing up a conversation, and for special events you can add much more than that - even integrating full-blown cutscenes into the middle of a conversation.

== Localization and Editing ==

These two panels are used for keeping track of the status of the localization and editing process for this line. This is useful for large-scale collaborative projects, such as Dragon Age itself, but may not be of as much use for individual adventure designers.

== Slide Show ==

The Slide Show tab is used to produce a simple form of "cutscene" that consists of a pre-rendered still image that's shown while the line is displayed or voiced. Images used in a slide show can be in [[TGA]], [[TPC]] or [[DDS]] format.

== Toolbars ==

[[Image:Conversation toolbar labeled.png]]

* "Find links" generates a list of other places in the tree that have this line as their child. See the "looping conversations and re-using lines" section below.
*The highlighting toolbar is handy for rapidly finding and paging through conversation nodes with particular properties. There's forward and backward buttons for jumping from highlighted node to highlighted node, and a set of togglable highlight selection buttons that turn on and off highlighting based on node characteristics.
* "Once-per" lines include both once-per-conversation and once-per-game
* Highlighting lines with plot involvement will prompt you to select which particular plot to highlight.

== Looping conversation and re-using lines in multiple places ==

Although the basic structure is tree-shaped, the flow of the conversation can be structured to return back to previous nodes in the conversation. To cause a node in the tree to repeat:

*select the node you want to return to,
*"Copy" it (control-C, or select copy from the right-click menu),
*select the node you want the repeated response to be a child of,
*select "Paste as link" from the right-click menu (keyboard shortcut: control-shift-V)

The link node will appear in gray and cannot be edited. If you edit the original copy of the node all linked copies will reflect the change. You can only link nodes that have the same type (player/non-player), the paste-as-link option won't be available if the node currently saved to the clipboard can't be linked to a child of the currently selected node.

To find the original copy of a linked node, right-click on the grey node and select "Jump to Target".

Using the "once per conversation" or "once per game" visibility setting for the children of a repeating node is useful for preventing the player from cycling multiple times through the exact same dialogue.

== Recording VO ==

To record your own voice-over you'll need some method for recording your voice as a wav file. Windows comes with a basic sound-recording program but other more sophisticated programs are available free for download as well. The wav file must be recorded in or converted to PCM 24 khz 16 bit mono format, otherwise the process will fail and an error message will be displayed in the log.

Real vo needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[lineid]_m.wav - you can dump wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.

The wav file's filename must be of the form "[lineid]_m.wav" with [lineid] replaced by the ID number for the conversation line's string table entry. For example, if a conversation's line ID number is 344169, you'd save the voice over for this line as "344169_m.wav".

When you select "generate VO" from the toolset, the toolset will first check the above directory for properly named files. Any wav files that are not present will have robo vo created, and any that do exist will be used as-is.

A quick way to verify that voice over generation worked after processing: go to My Documents\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\[conversationname].fsb and play it with windows media player. You will hear all of the VO lines for that conversation packaged together with whatever combination of real and robo VO all slapped together in one file.

If you don't want to record those lines yourself, but dedicated voiceactors, it is nice to produce a script from that dialog, that not only contains the lines themselves but also the LineID so you won't have trouble renaming all files that will be returned to you: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

== Glossary of design terms ==

* Branch: A dialogue option that adds flavor to a conversation, but doesn't change the direction of the plot or story. Branches always come back together at a choke point.
* Clarification Hub: This allows a player to return to an NPC and clarify plot elements, get directions, or find out information about the current area. Generally, an single NPC line asks the player what he wants; a list of questions is then available to the player. Once the player has received an answer, the same list reappears (minus the question just asked). The player can loop infinitely through this NPC dialogue.
* Path: The dialogue options players can select that change the direction of a plot or story. For example, when a player is given the option of accepting a quest, there are two different resulting paths (based on a "Yes" or "No" answer). Unlike branches, paths never come back together. Each path has a different ending condition.
* Question Hub: A list of questions presented to a player that allows him to ask multiple questions to clarify information he's just learned. After a response is given, the player can ask the remaining questions. It's possible to loop indefinitely through a question hub, but only by asking non-critical questions. Unlike a clarification hub, at least one question drives the conversation tree forward and eliminates all remaining questions. For example, an NPC gives plot critical information; once she relates the details, the player can ask four specific questions. Three of the questions are non-critical: they give flavor and/or enhance role-playing. These questions allow for infinite looping. However, the fourth question drives the conversation forward and eliminates all other questions. This important question should always be located beneath the "lesser" questions.

== Associated Links ==

*[[conversation cinematics and animation]]
*[[Conversation plots and scripting]]
*[[Conversation tutorial]]
*[[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

[[Category:Conversations]]

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-05T17:08:15Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor lika MS Word and just send them those files. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read you dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (22kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves ('''123'''_m.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversation inside the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitue the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or ""=OWNER), and what it said in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-05T17:05:36Z

KingEtzel:

''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor lika MS Word and just send them those files. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read you dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (22kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves (123'''_m'''.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversationin the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitue the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####
SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or ""=OWNER), and what it said in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!

Preparing a dialog for recording

2010-01-05T17:05:15Z

KingEtzel: Created page with '''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)'' When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceact...'

''(this article is based off the investigations of Kaldir II and KingEtzel)''

When you successfully have created dialogs in your toolset, you may want to send it out to voiceactors for recording at a certain point.

You could do that by writing all dialogs in a textprocessor lika MS Word and just send them those files. However, you would have to copy and paste the whole tree of lines into the toolset, in order to get even the text work ingame. On the other hand you could type your whole dialog stuff in the toolset, but then - lacking a native export function - you would have to copy and paste again to get it into a form, where voiceactors can read you dialog.

Below we describe a way of creating the dialog inside of the toolset and then, by using little SQL queries, export not only the lines but also their corresponding LineIDs so that the voiceactor can not only match the format convention (22kHz, 16bit mono PCM), but also the naming convention for the files themselves (123'''_m'''.wav). The only thing for you left to do is putting those recorded files into the right folder (see [[http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/Conversation#Recording_VO]]) and everything should work. No need for you to rename thousands of files to put them into the module/game!

First of all, you need Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to be installed: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=de

Then you start the tool for administering the database with administrator privileges (otherwise you won't be granted permission to access the database).

Click on "New query" and put in the text below. "Run" it afterwards to get the results you may need.

Find the String ID from one line of your conversationin the toolset, and substitute it in this query:

SELECT [StringID],[ModuleResRefVersionID]
FROM [bw_dragonage_content].[dbo].[t_StringText]
WHERE StringID = ####

After you get the ID number of your dialog (that's what we search in this first step), open a new query and substitue the acquired number in this query as well:

Declare @ResID INT
Set @ResID = #####

SELECT A1.StringID, A2.SPEAKER, A1.Text
FROM bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_StringText A1, bw_dragonage_content.dbo.t_ConversationLine A2
WHERE A1.StringID = A2.TextStringID AND A1.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID AND A2.ModuleResRefVersionID = @ResID

What you get is a list consisting of the LineIDs in the first column, who is speaking ("PC" or ""=OWNER), and what it said in column 3. You can now mark everything and save it into csv and reopen it with Excel.

Now you can send the script to your voiceactors and you have minimized unneccessary work!