# MicroslopSam

Run SAPI4 text-to-speech voices on Linux.

Primary approach: a **Winelib host** — a native Linux ELF that uses Wine's
libraries to load the original 32-bit SAPI4 runtime and TTS engine DLLs.

Voice targets:

- Microsoft Sam / Mary / Mike — MSTTS engine (`msttssyn.dll` + `.vce` data)
- AT&T Flextalk 2.1 — "Keith Bell" and "Kerry Watson" (`FlexTalk.dll`)

Long-term: replace Wine-provided pieces with own shims (rehost) for a
pure-native build, and keep a path to a fully portable engine.

## Status (working)

- Winelib host builds and runs: `build/sapi4host.exe` (launcher) +
  `build/sapi4host.exe.so` (native 32-bit ELF).
- Voices enumerate and synthesize:
  - MSTTS: Sam, Mary, Mike (+ telephone and effect variants)
  - AT&T Flextalk: Keith Bell, Kerry Watson
- Test output: `build/test_sam.wav` (22.05 kHz), `build/test_Keith_Bell.wav`,
  `build/test_Kerry_Watson.wav` (11.025 kHz).

## Build

Everything in one command (idempotent; sudo only for system packages):

    setup/install.sh

Manual steps, if needed:

    sudo setup/install-deps.sh     # Wine/Winelib/helpers
    setup/setup-prefix.sh          # prefix + SAPI4 runtime + MSTTS voices
    setup/setup-flextalk.sh        # Flextalk extraction + registry
    # host build:
    winegcc -m32 -O2 -o build/sapi4host-winlib host/sapi4host.c -Ithird_party \
        -lole32 -luser32 -ladvapi32
    i686-w64-mingw32-gcc -O2 -static -o build/sapi4host.exe host/sapi4host.c \
        -Ithird_party -lole32 -luser32 -ladvapi32 -luuid

## Configuration

`setup/install.sh` writes `setup/microslopsam.env` (generated, gitignored) with absolute
paths. Environment variables take precedence over the file, so anything can be relocated
without editing scripts:

| Variable | Default | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `MICROSLOP_ROOT` | repo root | project root |
| `MICROSLOP_BUILD` | `$MICROSLOP_ROOT/build` | host binaries, samples |
| `MICROSLOP_PREFIX` | `~/.wine-microslopsam` | wine prefix (exported as `WINEPREFIX`) |
| `MICROSLOP_ASSETS` | `third_party/sapi4` | SAPI4/MSTTS payloads (vendored) |
| `MICROSLOP_FLEXTALK_DIR` | `third_party/flextalk` | Flextalk cabinet/extraction (vendored) |
| `MICROSLOP_SPEECH_H_DIR` | `$MICROSLOP_ROOT/third_party` | `speech.h` include dir (vendored) |
| `MICROSLOP_DISPLAY` | `:77` | Xvfb display used for Wine |
| `MICROSLOP_WINE`, `MICROSLOP_XVFB`, `MICROSLOP_PYTHON`, `MICROSLOP_FFMPEG` | tool names | tool overrides |

Refresh the file after moving the tree: `MICROSLOP_UPDATE_ENV=1 setup/install.sh`.

## Usage

    setup/run.sh -l
    setup/run.sh -v Sam -t "Hello." -o sam.wav
    setup/run.sh -v "Keith Bell" -t "Hello." -o keith.wav -p 100 -s 150

Options: `-v` voice, `-t` text, `-o` output WAV, `-p` pitch, `-s` speed, `-V` volume
(volume is engine-specific; not used by the Veskslop wrapper).

## Veskslop integration

    export VESKSLOP_TTS_CMD="$PWD/setup/veskslop-tts.sh {out} {text_file}"
    export VESKSLOP_TTS_VOICES="$(setup/veskslop-tts.sh --voices)"

The wrapper maps voice IDs (`sam`, `mary`, `mike`, `keith-bell`, `kerry-watson`, plus the
MSTTS variants), reads `VESKSLOP_TTS_VOICE`, `VESKSLOP_TTS_SPEED` (multiplier),
`VESKSLOP_TTS_PITCH` (semitones) and `VESKSLOP_TTS_EXPRESSION` (0-100, Flextalk voices
only), starts Xvfb when `DISPLAY` is unset, and writes a 48 kHz mono s16le WAV trimmed,
faded and normalized to about -16 LUFS (-3 dBFS true peak).
Speed and pitch apply to every voice (Flextalk's numeric settings must be `REG_DWORD`,
which the setup script writes). Expression is a Flextalk profile value applied at voice
load: the wrapper writes it to the Wine registry before synthesis. `--voices` marks those
voices with `expression=NN`, where NN is the registry default. Mapping details are in
`docs/TTS-DESIGN.md`.

**VOX prosody** (NetTTS-style, Flextalk voices): set `VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX=1` in the
command environment (`VESKSLOP_TTS_VOX_CLEAN=1` omits the `\!wH1/\!wH0` stutter
wrapper). Line-leading `/rate N` and `/pitch N` controls are also handled by the
wrapper, so the WebUI does not need to implement them. See `docs/TTS-DESIGN.md`.

A short low-level leading hum (80 ms, 75 Hz, -48 dBFS) primes Discord's audio pipeline
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
- `setup/install.sh` — one-shot installer (runs all steps below)
- `setup/install-deps.sh` — Wine/Winelib/helpers (root)
- `setup/setup-prefix.sh` — prefix + SAPI4 runtime + MSTTS engine/voices
- `setup/setup-flextalk.sh` — Flextalk files + registry
- `setup/inf2reg.py` — INF AddReg -> `.reg` converter
- `setup/run.sh` — run helper (prefix + Xvfb)
- `setup/veskslop-tts.sh` — Veskslop command-provider wrapper (post-processing included)
- `setup/vox_parser.py` — NetTTS-style VOX prosody encoder (Flextalk voices)
- `docs/NOTES.md` — registry/CLSID facts, runtime RE notes, gotchas
- `docs/TTS-DESIGN.md` — integration contract with Veskslop plus engine clarifications

## Known issues

- `xvfb-run` is flaky on this host. `setup/run.sh` starts a persistent Xvfb
  (`:77`) instead; Wine needs a working X display because the runtime creates
  windows.
- Flextalk numeric speaker settings must be `REG_DWORD` (the installer script handles
  this); `REG_SZ` values cause a monotone buzz. Pitch and speed work on all voices.
- Flextalk extraction needs `unshield -O` (old compression). The installer is
  single-volume: the new decompressor reports a phantom `data2.cab`, but `-O` extracts
  all 450 entries with exact sizes and valid PE files (the original 1997 upload log lists
  `data1.cab` only).

## Reference material

- `third_party/` — vendored dependencies; see `third_party/README.md`. Everything the
  tool needs is in the repo (SAPI4 runtime, MSTTS voices, Flextalk cabinet, `speech.h`,
  NetTTS parser source).
- `/mnt/ghidra/decomp/{msttssyn.dll,speech.dll}/` — decompiled corpora (external, optional)