Half-Life VOX/HEV presets (NetTTS VOX profile); docs

README.md

@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ A short low-level leading hum (80 ms, 75 Hz, -48 dBFS) primes Discord's audio pi
 so the first word is not gated; tune with `VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_MS` (0 = off),
 `VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_HZ`, and `VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_DB`.
 
+**Half-Life presets** (Keith Bell): `VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET=vox` applies the approximated
+Valve VOX profile and enables VOX prosody; `VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET=hev` is a starting point
+for the HEV suit voice. Values are in `docs/TTS-DESIGN.md`.
+
 ## Layout
 
 - `host/sapi4host.c` — host: voice select, pitch/speed, text -> WAV

docs/NOTES.md

@@ -129,6 +129,11 @@ without them.
 - VOX mode is Flextalk-only. The wrapper enables it with `VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX=1`
   (`VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX_CLEAN=1` drops the stutter wrapper) and it takes precedence
   over `VESKSLOP_TTS_WORDS`.
+- Half-Life presets (`VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET=vox|hev`) target Keith Bell only. VOX values
+  come from NetTTS `nettts_flextalk_vox_profile.reg`: pitch 3, rate 17, prominences 22,
+  head size 52, volume 70 (factory: 27/33/17/46/100); `vox` also implies VOX prosody.
+  `hev` (pitch 15, rate 24) is an unverified starting point - HL1 credits the suit
+  sounds to Kelly Bailey with no published settings.
 - Line-leading `/rate N` and `/pitch N` controls are consumed by the wrapper
   (percent, 100 = normal; `<= 2.0` means multiplier). They override the env
   speed/pitch and are not spoken; a controls-only line yields 100 ms of silence.

docs/TTS-DESIGN.md

@@ -387,6 +387,40 @@ Other NetTTS features and their relevance:
   our prefix runs the engines with builtin Wine libraries.
 - Win32 GUI and preset sliders: Veskslop provides the UI.
 
+### Half-Life VOX / HEV presets
+
+The Half-Life announcement voice (VOX / Black Mesa Announcement System) is the Flextalk
+engine's **Keith Bell** voice with an adjusted speaker profile. NetTTS publishes an
+approximation of Valve's settings (`scripts/winetricks/nettts_flextalk_vox_profile.reg`,
+see its issues #53/#54/#67): the profile targets Keith Bell's speaker key and leaves
+Kerry Watson at factory values. The wrapper implements it as a preset:
+
+    VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET=vox   # implies VOX prosody unless VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX is set
+    VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET=hev   # HEV suit starting point (see note below)
+
+| Profile value | Factory (Keith) | VOX preset | HEV preset (approx.) |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Pitch | 27 | 3 | 15 |
+| Speaking Rate | 33 | 17 | 24 |
+| Prominences | 17 | 22 | 22 |
+| Head Size | 46 | 52 | 52 |
+| Lowering | 40 | 40 | 40 |
+| Volume | 100 | 70 | 70 |
+| Expression | 59 | 59 | 59 |
+
+- Presets apply only to `keith-bell`; every other voice keeps its defaults.
+- Precedence: preset < `VESKSLOP_TTS_PROFILE` < `VESKSLOP_TTS_EXPRESSION`.
+- Equivalent explicit override:
+  `VESKSLOP_TTS_PROFILE='pitch:3,rate:17,volume:70,prominences:22,head_size:52,lowering:40'`.
+- The NetTTS profile also sets `Gender`, `Line Mode`, and a set of text-class DWORDs
+  (address/date/money classes, abbreviation expansion, and so on). Those affect text
+  normalization rather than the audible voice, so the wrapper does not write them.
+- HEV suit: Half-Life 1 credits the suit sounds to Kelly Bailey; no settings were ever
+  published. The `hev` preset is a starting point (less extreme than VOX); tune pitch and
+  rate to taste. VOX prosody is optional there (`VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX=1`).
+- Measured with the wrapper on the same line: VOX preset 5.83 s, HEV 3.79 s, factory
+  3.35 s (the VOX preset is slower and gains the VOX cadence).
+
 ### Inline rate/pitch controls (engine-side)
 
 The wrapper consumes NetTTS-style, line-leading controls, so Veskslop and the WebUI do

setup/veskslop-tts.sh

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 #                   VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_MS       leading low hum in ms, 0 = off (default 80)
 #                   VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_HZ       hum frequency, 30-200 (default 75)
 #                   VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_DB       hum peak level, -80..-6 (default -48)
+#                   VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET       vox | hev (Half-Life profiles, Keith Bell;
+#                                             vox also enables VOX prosody)
 #
 # Output: 48 kHz mono s16le WAV, trimmed, faded, loudness-normalized.
 set -eu
@@ -55,6 +57,12 @@ WORDS=${VESKSLOP_TTS_WORDS:-0}
 WORD_GAP=${VESKSLOP_TTS_WORD_GAP_MS:-120}
 VOX=${VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX:-0}
 VOX_CLEAN=${VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX_CLEAN:-0}
+PRESET=${VESKSLOP_TTS_PRESET:-}
+# The VOX preset is the Half-Life announcement voice: it implies VOX prosody
+# unless the caller explicitly disables it.
+if [ "$PRESET" = "vox" ] && [ -z "${VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX:-}" ]; then
+    VOX=1
+fi
 HUM_MS=${VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_MS:-80}
 HUM_HZ=${VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_HZ:-75}
 HUM_DB=${VESKSLOP_TTS_HUM_DB:--48}
@@ -179,6 +187,25 @@ if [ -n "$SPEAKER_GUID" ]; then
     P_LOWER=40
     P_EXPR=""
 
+    # Half-Life presets for Keith Bell (the game's announcement voice).
+    # "vox" is the approximated Valve VOX profile published by NetTTS
+    # (scripts/winetricks/nettts_flextalk_vox_profile.reg); "hev" is a starting
+    # point for the HEV suit voice, which has no published profile.
+    case "$PRESET" in
+        vox)
+            if [ "$ENGVOICE" = "Keith Bell" ]; then
+                P_PITCH=3; P_RATE=17; P_VOLUME=70
+                P_PROM=22; P_HEAD=52; P_LOWER=40
+            fi
+            ;;
+        hev)
+            if [ "$ENGVOICE" = "Keith Bell" ]; then
+                P_PITCH=15; P_RATE=24; P_VOLUME=70
+                P_PROM=22; P_HEAD=52; P_LOWER=40
+            fi
+            ;;
+    esac
+
     if [ -n "$PROFILE" ]; then
         OLDIFS=$IFS
         IFS=','

third_party/README.md

@@ -34,3 +34,6 @@ Microsoft installers. Private archival copies; do not redistribute.
   [h4rm0n1c/NetTTS](https://github.com/h4rm0n1c/NetTTS), kept as the reference for
   validating `setup/vox_parser.py`. Upstream declares no license; these files are
   reference-only and are not linked into anything we ship.
+
+- `nettts_flextalk_vox_profile.reg` — NetTTS's approximated Valve VOX speaker profile
+  for Keith Bell (the source of the `vox`/`hev` presets in `setup/veskslop-tts.sh`).

third_party/nettss-reference/nettts_flextalk_vox_profile.reg

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
+
+[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0]
+"Default Speaker"="{11260610-C84A-11CE-AEC4-0000C0E9CB87}"
+
+[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0\Speakers\{000031CB-3699-551F-AED0-6B4893382D57}]
+"Abbreviation Expansion"=dword:00000001
+"Address Class"=dword:00000001
+"Age"=dword:0000001e
+"Alphabetic Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Case Significance"=dword:00000001
+"Date Class"=dword:00000001
+"Expression"=dword:00000064
+"Fraction Class"=dword:00000001
+"Gender"=dword:00000001
+"Head Size"=dword:0000002d
+"Line Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Lowering"=dword:00000028
+"Math Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Measurements Class"=dword:00000001
+"Mode Name"="Kerry Watson"
+"Money Class"=dword:00000001
+"Numerical Hyphen"=dword:00000001
+"Ordinal Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Pitch"=dword:00000041
+"Prominences"=dword:00000011
+"ProofRead Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Proper Names Class"=dword:00000001
+"Speaker Name"="Kerry Watson"
+"Speaking Rate"=dword:00000020
+"Spell Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Telephone Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Time Class"=dword:00000001
+"Volume"=dword:00000064
+
+[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0\Speakers\{11260610-C84A-11CE-AEC4-0000C0E9CB87}]
+"Abbreviation Expansion"=dword:00000001
+"Address Class"=dword:00000001
+"Age"=dword:0000001e
+"Alphabetic Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Case Significance"=dword:00000001
+"Date Class"=dword:00000001
+"Expression"=dword:0000003b
+"Fraction Class"=dword:00000001
+"Gender"=dword:00000002
+"Head Size"=dword:00000034
+"Line Mode"=dword:00000001
+"Lowering"=dword:00000028
+"Math Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Measurements Class"=dword:00000001
+"Mode Name"="Keith Bell"
+"Money Class"=dword:00000001
+"Numerical Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Ordinal Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Pitch"=dword:00000003
+"Prominences"=dword:00000016
+"ProofRead Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Proper Names Class"=dword:00000001
+"Speaker Name"="Keith Bell"
+"Speaking Rate"=dword:00000011
+"Spell Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Telephone Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Time Class"=dword:00000001
+"Volume"=dword:00000046
+
+[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0]
+"Default Speaker"="{11260610-C84A-11CE-AEC4-0000C0E9CB87}"
+
+[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0\Speakers\{000031CB-3699-551F-AED0-6B4893382D57}]
+"Abbreviation Expansion"=dword:00000001
+"Address Class"=dword:00000001
+"Age"=dword:0000001e
+"Alphabetic Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Case Significance"=dword:00000001
+"Date Class"=dword:00000001
+"Expression"=dword:00000064
+"Fraction Class"=dword:00000001
+"Gender"=dword:00000001
+"Head Size"=dword:0000002d
+"Line Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Lowering"=dword:00000028
+"Math Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Measurements Class"=dword:00000001
+"Mode Name"="Kerry Watson"
+"Money Class"=dword:00000001
+"Numerical Hyphen"=dword:00000001
+"Ordinal Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Pitch"=dword:00000041
+"Prominences"=dword:00000011
+"ProofRead Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Proper Names Class"=dword:00000001
+"Speaker Name"="Kerry Watson"
+"Speaking Rate"=dword:00000020
+"Spell Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Telephone Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Time Class"=dword:00000001
+"Volume"=dword:00000064
+
+[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\AT&T\Watson\2.0\FlexTalk\2.0\Speakers\{11260610-C84A-11CE-AEC4-0000C0E9CB87}]
+"Abbreviation Expansion"=dword:00000001
+"Address Class"=dword:00000001
+"Age"=dword:0000001e
+"Alphabetic Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Case Significance"=dword:00000001
+"Date Class"=dword:00000001
+"Expression"=dword:0000003b
+"Fraction Class"=dword:00000001
+"Gender"=dword:00000002
+"Head Size"=dword:00000034
+"Line Mode"=dword:00000001
+"Lowering"=dword:00000028
+"Math Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Measurements Class"=dword:00000001
+"Mode Name"="Keith Bell"
+"Money Class"=dword:00000001
+"Numerical Hyphen"=dword:00000000
+"Ordinal Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Pitch"=dword:00000003
+"Prominences"=dword:00000016
+"ProofRead Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Proper Names Class"=dword:00000001
+"Speaker Name"="Keith Bell"
+"Speaking Rate"=dword:00000011
+"Spell Mode"=dword:00000000
+"Telephone Numbers Class"=dword:00000001
+"Time Class"=dword:00000001
+"Volume"=dword:00000046