[MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

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Xriah
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[MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Xriah » Mon May 06, 2013 11:08 pm

Receiver is a great, atmospheric, tense, immersive game. It's impressive to think that it was made in only seven short days. However, one of the contested topics about this game is the voice over. Some people like it. Some people don't. (At least on the steam forums)

I felt that I could improve upon the original, and give the material the attention and time it deserves, so I did. If you were one of the people that did not like the voice over work, or if you're curious, I invite you to download this mod and see if my interpretation adheres to your tastes better.

Download can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/?cj7ww2un3u2o1jy

UPDATE: I have uploaded the raw sound files in case anyone would like to use the alternate VO in their own mods.

Downloads can be found here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?s8gxhai0eidqaix
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?e1d6dtx9vlgpx1b
Last edited by Xriah on Tue May 14, 2013 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Anton
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Anton » Mon May 06, 2013 11:53 pm

So, first, on the technical side, this mod works perfectly well with a Mac (which means it probably will on Linux as well). :) You just need to know how to install it. The process is essentially the same, just with a different location.
To install it on a Mac, locate the actual application, then right click on it and choose "show package contents". Then navigate to Contents/Data/ - from there the steps are the same. Replacing the file "sharedassets1.assets" with the new file will install this mod. (As stated in the provided readme, be sure to back up the original file.)

So, on to content: Surprisingly, the first game I played with this mod, I beat the game, so heard every tape. Overall, the vocals are very clear, and recorded consistently. I liked some of the changed text, but some of it felt a little removed from the heart of the context. Also, the approach to the tapes felt very much like a series of tapes of provided to give information, like learning a language, or something like that. If you haven't already, I suggest you read the blog post on the "Story of Receiver". Some of the word choices are very specifically chosen to follow specific patterns when dealing with "mentoring" or "enlightening" followers. The tapes need to be more than just information, although they need to appear that way to the casual listener.

The music in the game is dynamic, and as you progress and collect more tapes, there is a chanting voice that grows louder with each tape, and only plays while the tapes are playing. Somehow, when I reached the 11th tape, the chanting was loud enough that it actually covered some of your dialog. If you're using a compressor or limiter on your voice, you might want to kick up the gain another 1-3 db, just to make sure it isn't drowned out.

Overall, cool mod, and I hope to see more work like this.

Xriah
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Xriah » Tue May 07, 2013 12:03 am

Thanks for the feedback and the information about the mac version.

I was battling the compressor the whole way. Originally, I had it compressed way too hard, and it was clipping. I think I overcompensated the second go around. I noted that it was a little hard to hear when i tested it, but I was very eager to get the first version out there. I will play with the compression next version.

I did read the story of receiver, and did my best to stay true to the original content. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't gone to the extremes I did on the second tape. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get free studio time again for a while, so I probably won't be able to make any extreme edits.

Also, first try? I still haven't beaten the game!

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Anton
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Anton » Tue May 07, 2013 12:17 am

Xriah wrote:Thanks for the feedback and the information about the mac version.

I was battling the compressor the whole way. Originally, I had it compressed way too hard, and it was clipping. I think I overcompensated the second go around. I noted that it was a little hard to hear when i tested it, but I was very eager to get the first version out there. I will play with the compression next version.
I totally understand you about the compressor. You "should" only start clipping if your ratio is too low (depending on the compressor you were using). A good choice for really leveling a dialog part would be an opto compressor. They have the ability to keep everything very consistent, without going over, and live somewhere between a compressor and a limiter.
Xriah wrote:I did read the story of receiver, and did my best to stay true to the original content. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't gone to the extremes I did on the second tape. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get free studio time again for a while, so I probably won't be able to make any extreme edits.
I don't think you were off base with the presentation, it just felt more informational to me, rather than being a "guru" and showing a path to self improvement. But, admittedly, I'm a little biased having worked so closely with Aubrey on it.
Xriah wrote:Also, first try? I still haven't beaten the game!
I've had a lot of practice... and it was still just total luck. I found tapes in almost every other room... it was pretty crazy. (Also, I've been playing it off and on since the middle of the game jam, so I'm quite familiar with it.)
The first time I played the completed version, I played with the god mode on, just so I could double check how all the music worked, and that the ending played correctly. I'm pretty sure that cheat is still in the game, and that way you can double check all the levels through out.

Xriah
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Xriah » Tue May 07, 2013 12:38 am

Anton wrote: I don't think you were off base with the presentation, it just felt more informational to me, rather than being a "guru" and showing a path to self improvement. But, admittedly, I'm a little biased having worked so closely with Aubrey on it.
Did you direct him? I'm curious as to some of the directions that were taken.

The impression I got from that article is that, despite the cult like nature of the tapes, the beings talking to the receivers are, in fact, acting in the best intrests of humans. It seems odd to me, that they would employ more controlling mainipulative techniques for their followers, when the threat posed is quite real and apparent to the receivers after the mindkill event.

I took a more informational tone for a few reasons.
1) It's more dramatic to listen to. Trying to pull off the energy needed for a narrative performance of this nature while maintaining a more hypnotic dronish quality to the voice is close to impossible for even the most seasoned actors.

2) I felt the content itself made the "guru" element very apparent. The writing contains an authoratative tone on the current situation. It is the only guide in a sea of killdrones and dark corridors. To me, a more informational tone would be more seductive in a crisis like this.

3) I wanted to do a slightly different take, while staying true to the content.

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TehEpic
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by TehEpic » Tue May 07, 2013 12:45 am

Seeing as this is a sound mod, would it be possible to change the sound of weapons firing add or change ricochet sounds and reloading sounds? I’m utterly incompetent at coding and I was wondering if somehow, someone could change the revolver sounds to the generic cowboy film ones. It would be so glorious.

Also, I’ll try out the mod when I manage to get to my computer, the current voiceover gives me the creeps when playing in the dark ;-;

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Anton
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Anton » Tue May 07, 2013 12:57 am

Xriah wrote:Did you direct him? I'm curious as to some of the directions that were taken.

The impression I got from that article is that, despite the cult like nature of the tapes, the beings talking to the receivers are, in fact, acting in the best intrests of humans. It seems odd to me, that they would employ more controlling mainipulative techniques for their followers, when the threat posed is quite real and apparent to the receivers after the mindkill event.

I took a more informational tone for a few reasons.
1) It's more dramatic to listen to. Trying to pull off the energy needed for a narrative performance of this nature while maintaining a more hypnotic dronish quality to the voice is close to impossible for even the most seasoned actors.

2) I felt the content itself made the "guru" element very apparent. The writing contains an authoratative tone on the current situation. It is the only guide in a sea of killdrones and dark corridors. To me, a more informational tone would be more seductive in a crisis like this.

3) I wanted to do a slightly different take, while staying true to the content.
I did not direct him on it, but I did write the music for the game. So, we had a lot of conversations about the context and the meaning. You would need to talk to him directly if you wanted to find out more about some of the directions. (He and I are both usually in IRC, so feel free to swing by...)

I definitely don't mean to sound negative about your take on the performance, so I hope it didn't come across that way.

I think in terms of the "guru" aspect, all the tapes would have been recorded before the mindkill, and so most people would still be doubting the authenticity of the tapes. But again, the idea is to guide people who want to learn, and change, but as with all difficult ideas, many people will resist it.
Anyway, I think what you did was awesome, and I'm really glad that people enjoy the game enough to make this kind of mod. It's actually pretty exciting for us to see that/hear that. :)

Xriah
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Xriah » Tue May 07, 2013 1:20 pm

TehEpic wrote:Seeing as this is a sound mod, would it be possible to change the sound of weapons firing add or change ricochet sounds and reloading sounds? I’m utterly incompetent at coding and I was wondering if somehow, someone could change the revolver sounds to the generic cowboy film ones. It would be so glorious.

Also, I’ll try out the mod when I manage to get to my computer, the current voiceover gives me the creeps when playing in the dark ;-;
There was no coding involved in the changes I made. I simply changed the currently existing sound files in the source code, opened it in Unity, and recompiled it. Granted, I used my IT experience to determine which file needed to be replaced after compiling (and why it wouldn't work at first), but I imagine most people could figure it out easily enough.

Changing sounds should be pretty painless. Adding new sounds would probably be a little trickier. I toyed with the idea of doing some additional foley work (mainly for the casette player), but decided to focus on the voice over. Besides, I think the current foley is perfectly serviceable. The only real abscense I felt was the lack of a spinning cylinder sound for the revolver.
Anton wrote: I did not direct him on it, but I did write the music for the game. So, we had a lot of conversations about the context and the meaning. You would need to talk to him directly if you wanted to find out more about some of the directions. (He and I are both usually in IRC, so feel free to swing by...)

I definitely don't mean to sound negative about your take on the performance, so I hope it didn't come across that way.

I think in terms of the "guru" aspect, all the tapes would have been recorded before the mindkill, and so most people would still be doubting the authenticity of the tapes. But again, the idea is to guide people who want to learn, and change, but as with all difficult ideas, many people will resist it.
Anyway, I think what you did was awesome, and I'm really glad that people enjoy the game enough to make this kind of mod. It's actually pretty exciting for us to see that/hear that. :)
I love the dynamic music for the game. Having the scoring react to the action in game is always a wonderful treat, and your music rides the rising and falling excitement levels amazingly well.

I didn't take your analysis as negative and I appreciate all your constructive feedback.

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TehEpic
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by TehEpic » Wed May 08, 2013 5:59 am

Thanks for the reply

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liampieman
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by liampieman » Wed May 08, 2013 10:19 am

since this is the first MOD for this game that I have seen, I think it is cool :mrgreen:

Hexicube
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Hexicube » Fri May 17, 2013 10:37 am

Xriah I could use some help setting up unity if you can, just want to know what kind of things you did.

Do you use the free or full version, what folder did you pick as the project, stuff like that. I can load the game source fine but when I build the game the data files aren't compatible with the steam version of the game so it's really annoying as I can't distribute mods without distributing the whole game, which isn't allowed.

Xriah
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Xriah » Fri May 17, 2013 11:11 am

I used the free version of Unity.

In order for the game files to be compatible, you HAVE to use Unity version 3.5.5f3 (find it Here). Keep in mind, I only tested this with the windows verison. I was told that the same files should work for mac, but I haven't personally verified it. If you're trying to make a linux build, I was told that requires a different version of unity.

If you're using that version of unity, and are still having trouble, let me know. But, I suspect that's your problem.

Hexicube
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Re: [MOD] Receiver Alternate Voiceover MOD

Post by Hexicube » Fri May 17, 2013 11:18 am

Xriah wrote:I used the free version of Unity.

In order for the game files to be compatible, you HAVE to use Unity version 3.5.5f3 (find it Here). Keep in mind, I only tested this with the windows verison. I was told that the same files should work for mac, but I haven't personally verified it. If you're trying to make a linux build, I was told that requires a different version of unity.

If you're using that version of unity, and are still having trouble, let me know. But, I suspect that's your problem.
Aah damnit, used 3.5.7...also turns out, because I only edited scripts, I only actually modified some DLL files which I could just distribute for insertion. I'll just quickly pack it up...

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