MetaVoice, MetaFont

[Ling]

What do you make of this:

	<http://www.voxware.com/low/releases/97/12.17.97.gaming.html>

>From what I've gathered, the prime aim of MetaVoice is to allow people to
talk to each other while playing internet games with the usual high aims
of using low bandwidth, storage space and signal processing (help of MMX).
The twist in the technology is what they call MetaFont to allow players to
alter the resonance, pitch, timbre, timing, speed and character (don't
ask) of the voice can be altered.  Stats can be found at:

	<http://www.voxware.com/low/metavoice.htm> - interest stats here
	<http://www.voxware.com/low/voicefonts.htm> - about VoiceFont

It doesn't seem vapourware as it already has been licensed out to Blizzard
Entertainment (Diablo, Warecraft), Red Storm Entertainment, Inc.
(interactive multimedia la-de-da publisher) and Vicarious Visions, Inc.
(utter unknown from my side of the pond).

On a side note, I watched somewhere that a system to recognise faces
stored each face in a handful of bytes.  This system worked by 
superpositioning 10-ish different faces, taking a certain percentage from
each and merged them to create almost any face (although I suspect it was
geared for caucasians).  I reckon MetaVoice might use the same system, a
very layman's explanation can be found here:

	<http://www.voxware.com/low/compress.html>

The application to muds is obvious. :)

In the margin of that side note, I think you could make up npc
personalities by the same method.  First, make up a set of stereotypical
personality models/templates.  Next, create npcs with a percentage set to
each of the models.  When the npc needs to act/react, the event/info is
fed into all the models then the result is summed up with the appropriate
weighting.  Doesn't take account of mood swings though.  This model also
fits into an explanation I had for people when I was 8 years old that
everyone was made up of little voices vying for the seat of power.

  |    Ling Lo was brought up by fish (terrified of being hooked)
_O_O_  Elec Eng Dept, Loughborough University, UK.     kllo at iee.org