In-Flight Non-Musical Audio

A new item being discussed here is non-music in-flight audio. The ideas being kicked around involve making voice recordings of non-music items, to play during flight (perhaps between songs) like the pilot was listening to the radio. The key to such content would be to have it explain, amplify, or describe some aspect of the VS universe. The storm of ideas has still not settled but, while we talk through our ideas and work on details, we decided to collect the items here for later editing and recording.

what's needed for the radionet project:

• writers (commercials, DJ talk, calls, song lyrics)
• music composers (songs, jingles) not necessarily owning all that's needed to make the final ogg. In that case...
• ...music makers to make the unequipped composers' works come to life
• voice actors (everything! :D )
• post producers

As suggested by Turbo, we will begin with one station, then progressively start adding radionet stations. For starters, this will be the section for just that. Then, we will use the template I posted lower in this page. The template will also allocate music/songs, which are a little bit apart from the main idea of this project (In-Flight Non-Musical Audio duh :P), but will be there for organization's sake. Music will be "dumped" into the first sole station, where after that music will be "sorted" to the decided station (probably 50% artist decition, 50% community opinion decition). If you have any ideas/recommendations/constructive criticisms, post it in the appropiate forum thread or in the discussion page of this wiki page. --Mc707 03:35, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

See also Development:Audio

Starter Station

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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Fuzzy's Chicken Call-In Contest

DJ: OK folks, today's call-in question is "Why did the chicken jump through the unstable wormhole?" Our winner will receive chicken dinner for two at Fuzzy's Chicken. That's Fuzzy's Chicken, with locations all over the Crucible Sector. Fuzzy's Chicken, it's the best! Let's go to our first caller. Caller, what is your name?

Aera voice, with translator overlay: Leafblighter

DJ: Well Leafblighter, it sounds like you are Aeran. Before you give your answer, can you even eat chicken?

Aera: Silly monkey. While my biology is superior to yours, my nutritional needs are the same.

DJ: All righty then, what is your answer to why did the chicken jump through the unstable wormhole?

Aera: The inferior poultry always vanishes.

DJ: Judges? (whispering) We don't want to piss him off, he's Aeran for Pete's sake... (normal voice) Congratulations! Your response was very funny, in the context of your race, so you win the chicken dinner! Since you might scare the other customers at Fuzzy's Chicken, please stay on the line so we can get a location and have that Fuzzy's Chicken shipped to you right away. And please don't shoot the courier when he arrives (forced laughter) ha ha ha...

• This call introduces several things about the VS universe, in the context of a very familiar radio concept, the call-in contest. First, it has an Aera character "Leafblighter," whose name hints at their hatred for nature, who sees himself as biologically superior to humans. Second, it makes a play on words with two ship-to-ship Aera broadcasts, "The inferior opponent is always vanquished," and "Silly monkey, making monkey sounds." Third, it reminds us that Aera biology is similar to humans and therefore in competition for resources. Fourth, the DJ views the Aera as violent and unpredictable. Finally, the chicken restaurant sponsored the contest to get low-cost air time so each time the DJ says the name of the restaurant, he would say it in a positive tone.

News Items

Here we list each news item, with comments to explain it. We expect that we would have the "news" music playing in the background for the news items. Where appropriate, the "news" music might fade into other background sounds, to imply that the report is coming from the scene. For example, the graduation story might have "Pomp and Circumstance" in the background.

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News Item: Aeran Architect Humiliated

The famous Aera architect, GwukkRahrrk, was publicly humilitated today when his design for the new Central Government Archives was unconditionally rejected by the Aeran Oligarchy. He had recently gained fame for some creative designs for local planetary governments, but Minister of Public Works Khragkoohr described the proposed archive building as, "like the scribblings of a mad human, but then I repeat myself." The minister then put forth a motion that GwukkRahrrk be sterilized for the good of the species, at which point the Supreme Councilor reminded the others that the architect was, after all, mated to Lady Rglarakk, and thus there was little risk of offspring in any event. The disgraced architect departed the capitol immediately, announcing through an agent that he will retire early, and the Minister of Public Works has been charged to find a new designer.

• I envision two possible approaches to alien names in a newscast, relating to the nature of the news anchor. Either the newscast is translated by computer, in which case the names would be rendered in the original language only (remember that for the alien languages, the guideline is to make a sound file without translator overlay to use for fixers, so we could use bits of that), or there is a human reading the news in which case the voice actor could either attempt the names in his own voice. Likewise, when a news source is quoted, we have the option of having the newscaster read the quote, or doing it in a different voice like it was a recorded sound bite -- I prefer the latter.

News Item: Union Dispute Turns Violent

A labor dispute at the Jacobs docks in Bernard's Star erupted in violence yesterday, leading authorities to discover a large smuggling operation. The local dockworkers saw a Mule cargo ship unloading without the use of union labor, and when they confronted the ship's crew were fired upon by the ship's private guards. The union members returned fire and called homeland security forces, who arrived to restore order. The subsequent investigation discovered the Mule to be carrying over 100 tons of nerve stimulators, black market organs, and other medical contraband, and homeland security impounded the ship and imprisoned its crew. The dockworkers were determined to have acted in self-defense and were released at the scene. Local union leader Joey Piccolo had this to say, "Ya don't mess wit da union."

• This concept, while borrowed from a 1996 movie, is a fun story. I made it fit the VS campaign by placing the smuggling activity at the same planet to which a certain merchant, pawn of sinister forces, asks the player to make a delivery.

News Item: Spy Arrested in Regallis

The secretary of education for Mummu in the Regallis system, Ann Bates, was arrested today on suspicion of spying for an unknown alien government. Authorities started watching her after a coworker reported her frequent trips to outlying systems, strangely worded netcasts in educational forums, and a change in her financial habits. When further investigation revealed that she had gained access to information above her clearance level, the local counterintelligence branch put Bates under surveillance and observed her leaving a data chip containing some of the information at a suspected drop site on one of her trips. Bates' attorney has stated that the evidence against her is circumstantial, and that she is the victim of a witch hunt fueled by a war-worried public. Her netcast postings, if they are coded messages, remain thus far unbroken.

• Historically, Ann Bates was a school teacher who spied for the British in the American Revolution. At the time, women were not considered intelligent enough to understand military matters, so she was able to gather extensive data on American troop strength, equipment, and movements in her disguise as a peddler. The methods mentioned in this news story are all real "spy" techniques.

News Item: Hunter Griez Killed in Battle

Famed hunter Gregor Griez was killed in action today, after a bounty on a wing of Nicanders turned out to be a vicious trap laid by the Aeran Merchant Marine. Apparently, Griez had amassed enough kills to gain the attention of the Aeran guild, who set up the bounty to lure his Vendetta fighter into the Heaven's Gate system, where a fleet of dozens of Aerus waited in ambush in a nearby asteroid belt. The Hunter's Guild Memorial Fund then posted an unprecedented 1-million-credit bounty on the Aeran fleet, to be split among guild members according to kill count. A large force of Hunters Guild members responded, destroyed the Aeran fleet, and retreated to friendly space. The Rlaan Hunters' guild has protested, saying that keeping a bounty internal to one's own guild is unprofessional and disrespectful to the principles of hunters everywhere.

• I can't guarantee that any particular iteration of VS will make Heaven's Gate a system in or near Aera space, but it sounds good as the site for a Hunter's last battle. If anyone who understands how VS sectors and systems are generated can suggest a better system, please do.

News Item: Luddites Threaten to Bomb University Graduation

Graduation ceremonies at EUGENIC, the Enigma University of Genetics In Creiddylad, were marked by increased security today after University officials received a bomb threat from suspected to have come from the Interstallar Church of Man's True Form. After receiving the threat, University Chancellor Ramon Lafayette announced plans to continue with the ceremonies, saying, "Zeese terrorists, zey take ze concept of 'art critic' entirely too far, and we will not be held hostage by zer criminal threats." Authorities conduced extensive sweeps of the campus, but have declined to comment whether any explosives, Luddite or otherwise, were discovered. Aside from the heightened security, the graduation ceremonies concluded without incident.

• Don't think it was easy to find a system/sector/planet whose names allowed me to use EUGENIC as an acronym (which was how my idea for this story started) for the name for a university of genetics. Creiddylad [I think it sounds like "Crie-thi-lad" but will check with some friends who know a little Gaelic] is not specificall a university planet, it just has a university there in this news story. Even if the system in question does not end up being in Shaper space, the chancellor could still be a Shaper with appropriate (French) accent.

News Item: Buzz is Back

And now for the latest in sports. Buzz Donaldson is returning to the repulser-beam ball field this season to resume playing for the Vega sector franchise, the Fire. Buzz spent the last year recovering from cranial injuries sustained in the first half of last season's championship game against the Centauri Alphas. Buzz is reportedly performing well in preseason practice and his accuracy is said to be as good as ever. Stay tuned for more pre-season repulser-beam ball news and exciting coverage of all your favorite sports.

• The repulser beam is a ship upgrade, so maybe a smaller version could be used to throw a ball (or an opposing ball player) around a sports field. As I write this, I am reminded of the Half-Life 2 Gravity Gun, one of the coolest video game weapons ever. I have yet to try the repluser beam in ship combat, as I prefer to out-range my targets. But once I get my computer back in late August, I might build a close-range fighter (a Vendetta perhaps) so I can try it.

News Item: Fast Eddie Disqualified in Racing Scandal

In sports today, pilot Edward "Fast Eddie" Wilson won the Regallis 4000 but was immediately disqualified after it was discovered that his customized Schroedinger had been illegally modified for increased fuel capacity. Fuel management is always a concern for pilots in the racing circuit, requiring careful use of the ship's overdrive to prevent premature flame-out in a tight race. Race fans will recall pilot "Turbo Ted" Baker's embarrassment three years ago, when his fuel ran out just after he gained the lead position, leaving him stranded at the final nav point. In addition to being prohibited from racing for the rest of the year, Wilson will be fined 1 million credits, which is approximately half his winnings and sponsorship income from the season. Wilson is expected to issue a public apology later this week, and his sponsors are doubtless deciding whether to terminate their contracts.

• Here we have embedded some flying advice for the player into a sports scandal story. By the way, it would be really cool if VS could include competition racing as a mission type, like a long patrol mission that you have to finish before other AIs who spawn from the same starting point as soon as you launch. Can the mission engine do that? see discussion for more

News Item: Live Coverage of the War

Play "news" music, with voiceover: The following is a GNN special report. End news music

This just in -- fighting has broken out in <system> between the Aera and the Andolians. We now go live to our GNN correspondent in the field, Earnest Rigor. Earnest, what's going on there?

Start battlefield background noise (wind, sporadic weapons fire paired with faint explosions, faint weapons fire paired with louder explosions, thruster sounds, etc)

This is Earnest Rigor for GNN. The Aera attack took everyone here completely by surprise. The system was thought to be far from the front lines and was lightly defended as a result. The Andolians have called in all available forces and requested support from the Conderate forces as well. But, as you can hear from the fighting here on the outskirts of the capitol, the Aera have already established a beachhead on the surface.

Earnest, how did this happen?

Well it's too early to tell, and the local government is too busy with the battle to address that now. But I am sure that this incident will raise series questions about the state of the human defenses, how the Aera forces got through the detection network, and about the government's ability to protect colonies further from the front lines.

Well please stay safe, and we hope to hear from you soon.

End battlefiled sounds, then fade in "news" music, with voiceover of one of the GNN tag lines, such as: GNN -- we care.

Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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Public Service Announcements

These are similar to news, but with music other than the "news" music, or none, playing in the background. They are also similar to commercials in that every station could play them, except possibly some faction-specific stations if there were any. Therefore, they are semi-generic or fully generic, depending on if they play in every station or more specific ones, as stated above.

Generic Public Service Announcements

Generic Public Service Announcements will appear in every Radionet station.

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PSA: Say No to Biomimetic Gel

And now for a public service annoucement. "Hello, I'm ______. You may remember me from such movies as 'Perilous Frontier' and 'Ernest Goes to the Vega Sector.' But today I want to talk to you about the dangers of biomimetic gel. Except for authorized medical uses, biomimetic gel is dangerous with prolonged use and can develop into a psychological addiction. The entertainment industry, formerly the largest user of this product, is curtailing its use as the medical and psychological dangers become apparent. Even I, _______, was briefly addicted to this dangerous material. So, don't be tempted by illegal offers to improve this or that part of yourself -- just say 'NO' to biomimetic gel. Thank you."

• The PSA intro I envision as a soft dry NPR-announcer-type voice, then a different voice for the famous person doing the PSA itself. The product referenced is a type of contraband, and one of the movies mentioned is a VS splash screen, so depending on the gender of the actor who will record this spot we would pick one of the 3 names from the splash screen. In memory of Phil Hartman and his character Troy McClure's public service announcements on 'The Simpsons' TV show, the two movies mentioned contrast greatly -- an action/drama and a comedy, and the person voicing this spot would say the movie names in a tone appropriate to each. The actor admits being a victim of the product, which implies that recording the PSA may be a form of community service awarded by a judge after conviction for possession or use of the contraband.

PSA: Organ & Tissue Donation

And now for a public service annoucement. "This is _____, on behalf of the Confederation Medical Consortium. I want to urge all of you to give the gift of life in these war-torn times. Your organ or tissue donation could save someone else's life -- an innocent child injured in an Aeran attack, or a brave pilot mortally wounded while defending a critical supply convoy from vicious pirates. Last year, thousands of people died in accidents and attacks without leaving their donation consent, depriving hundreds of other victims of a second chance at life. Won't you please help? Just log your donation consent at any public BBS terminal before taking your next trip, and if the worst should happen to you, you can still be a hero and save others. Thank you so much, and stay safe."

• My intent for this one is similar to the PSAs that featured actress Sally Struthers crying her eyes out in the early 1990s for the Christian Children's Fund or, later, the Save the Children charity. A female voice actor would be best, since women tend to have a broader vocal and emotional range than men. But, a less emotional approach would also work. The ad implicitly reminds the player that space travel is dangerous.

--Station Specific Public Service Announcements--

For now they are just an idea. If we do have station specific PSA, then they should be located here. Otherwise, when the project is done this section should be deleted

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Commercials

Commercials are more generic items. They will play in every Radionet station, in a random order.

Generic/Station Independant Commercials

Generic commercials which appear in every station available. These help a LOT for bandwidth, as having ONLY station specific commercials would take a lot more disk space.

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• Hi. I'm BJ loki, tight end for the Cephid Mammas and proud proprietor of BJ's Used Ships. Ships from all over the milky way come to find a new home in Cephid 17, just like you. I moved here after I left the Forsaken, to join the pirate…brr I mean the Confed. Even though they do have a lot in common, I noticed there was one thing missing from this great system: a celebrity endorsed used ship shop. That's why I founded BJ's Used Ships. Every one of these beauties is freshly painted, they look brand new. We have new models coming in every morning, usually around 2 AM. We can get you anything! And if you see a ship of your dreams, tell us, we can acquire it for ya! I've taken the skills I've learned as a pro interstellar football player to the used ship business: snatch, grab, and run like hell. BJ's Used Ships. I'm takin low prices, with hot ships!

--Station Specific Commercials--

Maybe some members can suggest station specific commercials, I don't personally condone this but this is an open project, open for suggestions.

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Material

This is the 'main hold' of ideas for the Radionet project. Material will be added here, so then it will be 'put in crates' (sorted). You can sort this material to the relevant section, copying and pasting the material from the Material section to the relevant section. This section will probably be temporary, only for organization purposes.

Some possible types of programming mentioned include:

• • A inter gelatic ISP that support RFC 1149, RFC 1313, RFC 1437, RFC 2322, RFC 2549, RFC 2795, RFC 3251, RFC 3514, RFC 4042, RFC 4824.
  • open space map(a parody on openstreetmap.org)
  • Reprap (a 3d printer)
  • Blender 3D
• Pimp my spaceship (A holo tv show that pimp a space ship like in the "pimp my ride" but in stet the show pimp up a car the show pimp up a space ship.)
• Space busters (a Mythbusters like show that test myths like "can a human do a space walk with out a space shut" or "can your survive a Aera spasm")
• Pop Culture references:
• injokes:
  • SPAM
  • stunk-cow (a hybrid of a stunk and a cow that use for milk and very hi qalty leader. and come from a chat log Pimp my space ship)
• propaganda: agents iso, pirates, Aera and Rlaan
• Luddites and ISO breaking into the normal channels with some propaganda, followed by "we apologize for this interruption in broadcasting, we now return you to our regular program"
• radio talk show or call-in show
  • How about a call from an ISO supporter, advocating the cause, the DJ makes "casual" questions with the goal to locate him as he speaks, keyboard noises (DJ notifying security) then at some point we hear intruders, the ISO man going like wtf, brawl sounds, "help! help! I'm being oppressed!" more noise, end of call
  • talk radio ("This is Burch Lumber, of the EIB Network (that's 'Excellence in Interstellar Broadcasting'). We have Turbo from the Crucible Sector on the line; Turbo, what's on your mind? Well Burch, these Uln defy all logic. No matter what I do they attack me...are they insane, or just stupid? Well Turbo, I think it's a bit of both...") We have plenty of material for the talk radio bits right here in the forums.
• emergency broadcasts keyed to scripted events ("WARNING: <faction> ships have been sighted in this system, use extreme caution")
• generic news broadcasts on the war efforts (not tied to any specific locations)
• public service announcements

Radio Stations

Will probably start adding these once we get a good ammount of audio material.

Example Station 1

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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News Items

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Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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Example Station 2

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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News Items

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Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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Example Station 3

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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News Items

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Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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Example Station 4

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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News Items

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Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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Example Station 5

Music/Songs

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Phone Calls

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News Items

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Shows/Segments/Programs/Talk Shows

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