Speech Under WinXP

[awralls 5]

I note several people having issues with recognition of some a/p commands, mostly those beginning with 'Set...'. Add me to the list. Bryan commented that this may be related to using SAPI 5.1 under XP and that Win7 is more reliable. Like others, I am not going to go near Win7 for a while, not least because I don't think I could face another FS9 and FSX reinstall with all the trimmings.So, questions for Bryan...how much testing was done with XP? Were any testers regularly using XP and did they report these issues?And, if this can be tracked down and confirmed as an XP issue, is there any possibility to add some alternatives to the wording that is reliable under XP? I realise the latter is a lot of work, but since there will probably continue to be a lot of folks with this OS, and Bryan will want to continue to release new product, then I'd suggest confronting it sooner rather than later might be advantageous.ThanksAndy

[byork 2,258]

Hi Andy,You also own the 737 version of Voice Commander. How was voice recognition with it? I recall you telling me it was pretty good.The core components between the 737 version and the Maddog are the same.Am not sure why XP would not like phrases that begin with "Set ".I'll let other XP users chime in.If you own XP and "Set" commands work great for you, let me know also so I can try to isolate the cause.Voice is very complex, and there are a lot of user-specific factors involved, so I need to hear from all of you.Best,

[awralls 5]

Bryan,Thanks for the reply. Yep, I own and enjoy your first voice product very much, hence my slavering enthusiasm for buying this one as soon as it was released! VR with that product was extremely good. However, I note that the a/p commands don't begin with 'set' - they're just 'Heading...' and set doesn't get used. Might be a co-incidence...?I know getting the Maddog version to recognise 'set' on its own is extremely unreliable for me. I have one of those cool-looking Saitek Pro Flight headsets that make me feel like a real pilot :-) (when, in fact, they're nothing like what is worn on a commercial flight deck). I've doubts about the mic on it as it picks up a lot of ambient noise and I get spurious FS2Crw commands as a result. I've ordered a Plantronics 625 as well and we'll see if that makes any difference.I still love this stuff, but it's the first FS2Crew product that has ever left me somewhat frustrated. I realise its probably nothing you can fix, but it doesn't make me feel any better.Take care,Andy

[byork 2,258]

Hi Andy,Do any "set" commands work?What does the Green bar say?Try saying 'set' with an American accent.

[awralls 5]

Mostly, there's never any response to the 'set' command - i.e. nothing in the green bar. I get it to recognise 'set' maybe 15% of the time. Usually, nothing appears at all.Yeah, I tried the accent thing, but on such a short word there's virtually no difference in the sound between English and American.Andy

[byork 2,258]

Mostly, there's never any response to the 'set' command - i.e. nothing in the green bar. I get it to recognise 'set' maybe 15% of the time. Usually, nothing appears at all.Yeah, I tried the accent thing, but on such a short word there's virtually no difference in the sound between English and American.Andy

Hi Andy,Here's a code snippet from the Grammar file the speech recognition system uses.You're saying it exactly like this:<P WEIGHT="0.01">set heading zero one three</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">set heading zero one four</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">set heading zero one five</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">set heading zero one six</P>What about this command:"Arm flight level one two zero".Does that work for you?I can easily remove the 'Set' prefix, but I'd rather know why 'set' is not going well on your machine.Also, let's isolate it down a bit.See if these commands are detected in the green bar:<P WEIGHT="0.01">set m c t</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">select m c t</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">select maximum continuous thrust</P><P WEIGHT="0.01">set maximum continuous thrust</P>try each one and tell me if each is detected.

[awralls 5]

Well, it's not a disaster, but it's still iffy. If I turn the PC sound to nothing i.e. no ambient noise at all, it works maye 75% of the time first time. I could get nearly all of your examples recognised first time and those that didn't worked on the second attempt. If I turn the volume on the speakers up, that % drops. I run with ATC through the headset from a WideFS pc and normal flightdeck sounds on the main FS machine speakers. Is that a likely issue? Didn't seem to be a problem with the 737 version and it's never been an issue with VoxATC or VoiceBuddy when I've used those. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure this Saitek mic is noise-cancelling.Back to the subject at hand, the things that are consistently troublesome are 'Set ILS/Localiser/VOR on Nav 2' I have NEVER been able to make that work. 'Set' on it's own is working maybe 75% of the time.The other thing that has never worked is arming any flight level above 200. For example 'Arm flight level 180' works fine. But any flight level beginning with 2 or 3 and ending in zero always truncates the zero. It also often converts it to a 'No' So 'Arm flight level 250' comes up in the green line as 'Arm flight level two five' 'No'. Now, I could understand this if I was having problems with the 'zero' in other commands but something like 'set heading 250' comes up fine. It just has this problem when using the arm flight level command.One other thing Bryan so that we can determine if this IS an XP thing or not... did any of your testers run XP and did they report an issue? Because if some ran it and they didn't have issues, it makes it unlikely that the explanation is simply down to XP and SAPI 5.1.Andy

[DAL488 2]

Hey Bryan:Maybe you could make a quick test version for those of us using WinXP that changes the "Set ILS/VOR/LOC on NAV 2" to "Select ILS/VOR/LOC on NAV 2" or something like that.We could just try it and see if it helps.Like Andy, I have no intention to go to Win7 with my current PC.James

[geckuz 0]

Hi guys, Hi Bryan,Windows XP Speech engine is indeed far more limitating than the windows 7's one. I moved my fs installation to win7, reinstalled fs2crew, and now all the speech commands that create difficulties under winxp are perfectly recognized (set speed set heading and so on). Making a manual approach commanding for speeds and vertical speeds was indeed a wonderful and realistic experience ;)

[byork 2,258]

Vista and Win 7 use the same version of SAPI.I'm still not convinced this is an XP issue though as Andy also reported good results with the 737 version, and the 737 version uses the same internal code.I think I can tweak the Speech Grammer file to help Andy.Remember, though, that voice recognition is complex, and there are a lot of factors that can go into determining your voice recognition accuracy rate. Andy, you've got mail.Cheers,

[rickjake 243]

Hello BryanThought I also chime in here.First off I would like to say, Thank-You for a great product. I have purchased your FS2Crew products for the Level D. PMDG 747 and MD-11 (loved the way you did this one), Wilco and now the Maddog. This voice command sure adds to the sim experience. I'm using it with Windows Xp 64bit and it works quite well. It seams to understand all my replies to the check lists, but I do have the same problems as listed above. Not recognising at all the SET command to set headings etc. I also have the problem with the "ARM FLIGHT LEVEL" command as well. It has trouble with the number 2 and 3 and never add the zero. I'm just glad it works with the checklists. The rest is just icing on the cake for me.The only other minor problem I experience is when I'm ready for takeoff. I say "TakeOff" an my FO reply's "TakeOff. My mike picks this up and the FO thinks I've said "takeOff again, so he responds to it. So all the way down the runway I hear TakeOff, TakeOff, TakeOff,TakeOff, TakeOff etc. So I just turn the volume off after the first TakeOff response for a few seconds and all is quiet again until the FO says TakeOff power set, then he starts all over again . :( Maybe a short delay in the coding could fix this in a future update :( Anyway, I am Enjoying it alot and look forward to the PMDG J41 and the future PMDG 737NG if you make one.Rick Verhallen

[byork 2,258]

Hello BryanThought I also chime in here.First off I would like to say, Thank-You for a great product. I have purchased your FS2Crew products for the Level D. PMDG 747 and MD-11 (loved the way you did this one), Wilco and now the Maddog. This voice command sure adds to the sim experience. I'm using it with Windows Xp 64bit and it works quite well. It seams to understand all my replies to the check lists, but I do have the same problems as listed above. Not recognising at all the SET command to set headings etc. I also have the problem with the "ARM FLIGHT LEVEL" command as well. It has trouble with the number 2 and 3 and never add the zero. I'm just glad it works with the checklists. The rest is just icing on the cake for me.The only other minor problem I experience is when I'm ready for takeoff. I say "TakeOff" an my FO reply's "TakeOff. My mike picks this up and the FO thinks I've said "takeOff again, so he responds to it. So all the way down the runway I hear TakeOff, TakeOff, TakeOff,TakeOff, TakeOff etc. So I just turn the volume off after the first TakeOff response for a few seconds and all is quiet again until the FO says TakeOff power set, then he starts all over again . :( Maybe a short delay in the coding could fix this in a future update :( Anyway, I am Enjoying it alot and look forward to the PMDG J41 and the future PMDG 737NG if you make one.Rick Verhallen

Hi Rick,Regarding the "takeoff" picking up on itself... so basically the speech recognition hears the FO saying "take off" but thinks you're saying "takeoff"... and you go round and round.That's the first I've heard of that one, but I'll add safe guard to prevent that from happening.It'll be in SP1.Regarding SP1, it's basically done, but now I'm intrigued by some of these XP commands that are giving some users some grief, so I might delay SP1 a bit.PMDG J41 and 737NG2... definately on the to-do list. Cheers,

[awralls 5]

Bryan - no email recieved in my inbox or in ISPs spam filter. I've sent you a message through your contact page.Andy

[byork 2,258]

Bryan - no email recieved in my inbox or in ISPs spam filter. I've sent you a message through your contact page.Andy

Andy,Check your email again.Cheers,

[NeilC 3]

As I have just read above that the Saitek headset won't solve my problems (ordered it to replace my E-dimension one), I will have to try and find another one.Can anyone recommend a good headset with noise cancelling mic (like we use at work) and a mic mute button for turning off the mic when I have to talk to my darling wife when she comes in to interupt me.ThanksNeilps. I also have problems mostly with the Set commands, although "Set Heading xxx" seems to work. I also can't get the "Arm Flight Level xxx" to work 99% of the time.