Ernie Harwell, Baseball for Windows (Text to speech)

scootshoot · 12-26-2014, 03:47 PM

Anyone play Ernie Harwell Baseball for Windows back in the day? Play by play text to speech was amazing. Hopefully OOTP can improve upon the present text to speech option one day. Baseball for windows did not have career mode, it was just replaying seasons but the sounds were great.

Here is an example...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlsjEaqjjwo

PSUColonel · 12-26-2014, 03:54 PM

I did

Ty Cobb · 12-30-2014, 06:37 PM

Mac users don't get this option. Also, as a Tigers fan, I'd kill for an Ernie Harwell voice for my play-by-play. --Insert ramblings of middle aged guy remembering his childhood and the hot August nights with Ernie making it seem like you were there--

USF · 12-30-2014, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootshoot

Anyone play Ernie Harwell Baseball for Windows back in the day? Play by play text to speech was amazing. Hopefully OOTP can improve upon the present text to speech option one day. Baseball for windows did not have career mode, it was just replaying seasons but the sounds were great.

Here is an example...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlsjEaqjjwo

I did for many years, great game! APBA/Baseball for Windows as it was known. I assume it is still being produced... I grew up playing Strat so after a few years on BBW i switched back to Strat since I understood and really enjoyed the dice/board game. Now I play both Strat and OOTP.

The play by play by Ernie was a great feature - I believe it was called the "Broadcast Blast".. I still have the box somewhere with the 3.5" disk.
Jason

Bigrod · 01-01-2015, 01:25 AM

Still got it and still play it..just because of the real audio play by play.
They've updated it now so that it works on windows 7 32 & 64 bit machines..and they are supposed to be at some point, coming out with newer audio so they say.

RANGER11JP · 01-12-2015, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigrod

Still got it and still play it..just because of the real audio play by play.
They've updated it now so that it works on windows 7 32 & 64 bit machines..and they are supposed to be at some point, coming out with newer audio so they say.

Not only played it, but beta tested it. I think OOTP should put more energy into this aspect of the game. Radio is how many fans enjoy the game. IMHO, it would set the game apart from the graphics based games.

BigRod, I was not aware of the update. When did that happen?

JP

Bigrod · 01-12-2015, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RANGER11JP

Not only played it, but beta tested it. I think OOTP should put more energy into this aspect of the game. Radio is how many fans enjoy the game. IMHO, it would set the game apart from the graphics based games.

BigRod, I was not aware of the update. When did that happen?

JP

Pretty sure they did it early 2014 BBW 5.75 it's $20+$3 s&h
Last update (16) was 12/30/2014
6.0 is/was supposed to be when they update the audio pbp.

darkcloud4579 · 01-12-2015, 10:24 PM

Can't imagine this for a game made essentially by one developer. He'd need a team to get this right and even then...yeah. I think if it were ever on a larger stage though, absolutely.

Bigrod · 01-14-2015, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Can't imagine this for a game made essentially by one developer. He'd need a team to get this right and even then...yeah. I think if it were ever on a larger stage though, absolutely.

All we need is for Andreas to associate the pbp tokens to the "play" command. If he does that then we could build a modded pbp, audio clips and over time have audio play by play. The audio would all depend on modders though. Can't expect the devs to do it.
Trust me, I hound em every year about associating the tokens..

.

RANGER11JP · 01-14-2015, 06:03 PM

If I recall correctly, the audio used something called .vox files. This is 15 year old technology, at least. I can't imagine that there has not been advancements that could make this a possibility.

JP

rjl518 · 01-17-2015, 08:06 AM

played it all the time...loved ernie

DMN · 02-13-2015, 07:23 PM

Me too, in fact I still play in 3 BBW leagues all have been going for over 20 years.

jerryb1961 · 08-01-2015, 10:52 PM

I still play it. The new version is 5.75. It's essentially the same as the old version from the 90s but with a handful of bugfixes, and of course modernized to run on 32/64 bit operating systems. There is no better simulation out there in terms of suspension of disbelief. Statistically it does what it attempts to do pretty well, but is nowhere near as in-depth as OOTP.

On the con side: It's *hideously* complex, with a fairly big learning curve. But, close your eyes and imagine you're listening to Ernie call the shots. Just superb.

If OOTP could equal the varied play calls and in game commentary via displayed text, it'd be a short step from there to implement voice output. I know, I know... the problem is budgetary....

Beatles Eternally · 07-21-2018, 04:26 PM

I just got the game running with an XP virtual machine and man the memories!! There was a way to copy the audio files to the games C:\BBW directory such that the broadcast didn't stutter because the audio was coming from the C drive rather than accessing the CD. I can't remember where I read it and I've even tried the Internet Archive.

Anyhow if you are like me and have the Ernie Harwell version, here is the XP Virtual Machine link. The VM works very nicely except for that stuttering issue. https://www.oldpcgaming.net/how-to-r...on-win-7-8-10/

I prefer the older versions of BBW because with the Bill James Encyclopedia, you could import any season from 1871 to 1997 to create your own seasons. I wish APBA hadn't removed that. But, I have the original copies of both games so, I guess it's no big deal.

tdjenks · 07-22-2018, 01:28 AM

I agree.
OOTP 19 is best by far. The Animations are good with some timing to improve on. But to have a Ernie Harwell, or a Vin Scully voicing over the play as we watch would be great. I would turn off the text to hear and see it play out. It's just getting the license to do it. Both hall of fame announcers have there voice already recorded on files so most of the work is already done.
OOTP staff keep up the great work!

12-26-2014, 03:47 PM	#1
scootshoot Bat Boy Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 2	Ernie Harwell, Baseball for Windows (Text to speech) Anyone play Ernie Harwell Baseball for Windows back in the day? Play by play text to speech was amazing. Hopefully OOTP can improve upon the present text to speech option one day. Baseball for windows did not have career mode, it was just replaying seasons but the sounds were great. Here is an example... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlsjEaqjjwo

12-30-2014, 06:37 PM	#3
Ty Cobb Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Grayling, MI Posts: 3,950 Blog Entries: 66	Treasure it... Mac users don't get this option. Also, as a Tigers fan, I'd kill for an Ernie Harwell voice for my play-by-play. --Insert ramblings of middle aged guy remembering his childhood and the hot August nights with Ernie making it seem like you were there-- __________________ “What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?” “Everyone is an atheist until Templars begin marching in the rain.” Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder. It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance.—Thomas Sowell "Alinsky works for me now."

01-12-2015, 10:24 PM	#8
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,308 Blog Entries: 32	Can't imagine this for a game made essentially by one developer. He'd need a team to get this right and even then...yeah. I think if it were ever on a larger stage though, absolutely. __________________ Godfather of Fast-Sim OOTP My Mods: GMExcel 24 Major League Women's Baseball (OOTP24) quickstart Indian Premier League \| 300+ years of baseball quickstart \| Expatriate League quickstart \| Off-Field Injuries Update \| Women's Name File for OOTP \| My (outdated) market calculator & financial spreadsheets

01-14-2015, 06:03 PM	#10
RANGER11JP All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,352	If I recall correctly, the audio used something called .vox files. This is 15 year old technology, at least. I can't imagine that there has not been advancements that could make this a possibility. JP __________________ BASEBALL, HOCKEY AND BOXING FAN

01-17-2015, 08:06 AM	#11
rjl518 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Born in Shea Stadium, lives in LoanDepot Park. Posts: 6,240	played it all the time...loved ernie __________________ My Threads: MLB Project 32 by SFGiants58 "Colon looking for his 1st hit of the year and he DRIVES ONE! Deep left field! Back goes Upton! Back near the wall! ITS OUTTA HERE!!! Bartolo has done it!!! THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED!!! This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball! Bartolo Colon has gone deep!" ---Gary Cohen. (May 7, 2016) (Petco Park) NYM 6 @ SD 3

12-26-2014, 03:54 PM	#2
PSUColonel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 12,990 Blog Entries: 37	I did

01-01-2015, 01:25 AM	#5
Bigrod OOTP Stats Master Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Maine Posts: 3,075	Still got it and still play it..just because of the real audio play by play. They've updated it now so that it works on windows 7 32 & 64 bit machines..and they are supposed to be at some point, coming out with newer audio so they say.

02-13-2015, 07:23 PM	#12
DMN Major Leagues Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 328	Me too, in fact I still play in 3 BBW leagues all have been going for over 20 years. __________________ DMN FBA - Durham Bulls LOTG - Pittsburgh Pirates 1901 & 02 league Champs!

08-01-2015, 10:52 PM	#13
jerryb1961 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: KS Posts: 76	I still play it. The new version is 5.75. It's essentially the same as the old version from the 90s but with a handful of bugfixes, and of course modernized to run on 32/64 bit operating systems. There is no better simulation out there in terms of suspension of disbelief. Statistically it does what it attempts to do pretty well, but is nowhere near as in-depth as OOTP. On the con side: It's hideously complex, with a fairly big learning curve. But, close your eyes and imagine you're listening to Ernie call the shots. Just superb. If OOTP could equal the varied play calls and in game commentary via displayed text, it'd be a short step from there to implement voice output. I know, I know... the problem is budgetary....

07-21-2018, 04:26 PM	#14
Beatles Eternally Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 145	I just got the game running with an XP virtual machine and man the memories!! There was a way to copy the audio files to the games C:\BBW directory such that the broadcast didn't stutter because the audio was coming from the C drive rather than accessing the CD. I can't remember where I read it and I've even tried the Internet Archive. Anyhow if you are like me and have the Ernie Harwell version, here is the XP Virtual Machine link. The VM works very nicely except for that stuttering issue. https://www.oldpcgaming.net/how-to-r...on-win-7-8-10/ I prefer the older versions of BBW because with the Bill James Encyclopedia, you could import any season from 1871 to 1997 to create your own seasons. I wish APBA hadn't removed that. But, I have the original copies of both games so, I guess it's no big deal. Last edited by Beatles Eternally; 07-21-2018 at 04:28 PM.

07-22-2018, 01:28 AM	#15
tdjenks Bat Boy Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 15	I agree. OOTP 19 is best by far. The Animations are good with some timing to improve on. But to have a Ernie Harwell, or a Vin Scully voicing over the play as we watch would be great. I would turn off the text to hear and see it play out. It's just getting the license to do it. Both hall of fame announcers have there voice already recorded on files so most of the work is already done. OOTP staff keep up the great work!