RMMV English to IPA Translator

[Doechano]

Edited Post:

I thought that it would be beneficial to everyone if they knew the details of what I was working so I compiled all of my posts into this one.

I am currently writing a plugin for RPG Maker MV that takes a string of English text, translates it into IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and then a Show Text with the untranslated input syncs with changes mouth shapes to show the pronunciation. I would appreciate any help I could get as this is the first RPG Maker MV plugin I am developing.

Landmarks reached:

- Translated a string of text.
- Changes mouth shape accordingly to the inputted translation.

Current Problems:

- Untranslated text doesn't sync with changing mouth shapes.

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Previous Posts on this Matter:

Checking for Individual Characters

Two Textboxes at Once

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Original Post:

Hello everyone! I was wondering if it were possible to stop the text being drawn on screen during a Show Text until a switch is turned off.

Example:

The Switch is turned on just after the "a" is drawn:

"Hello this a" (Text has stopped being drawn)

The Switch is turned off and rest of the text can now be drawn:

"Hello this is a test."

Ideally I would need a solution that could turn on the switch multiple times during a show text to stop it and not inside of the show text itself.
Thank you.

 

[Andar]

why would you need this? Can you please give a full example including what and why such a switch is needed from the outside?

Because this souns suspiciously as if you have timing problems with chained events in a cutscene and try to hide them instead of solving them. There is a reason why we always says that the most important rule of any cutscene programming is to have all commands inside a single controlling event.
And by that rule there is no "outside event" that would control the show text - and no need for it either.

 

[Doechano]

why would you need this? Can you please give a full example including what and why such a switch is needed from the outside?

Because this souns suspiciously as if you have timing problems with chained events in a cutscene and try to hide them instead of solving them. There is a reason why we always says that the most important rule of any cutscene programming is to have all commands inside a single controlling event.
And by that rule there is no "outside event" that would control the show text - and no need for it either.

No it's nothing like that, its actually a really specific issue that I can't think of any other easy solutions for. I am developing an English to IPA translation system for my game to have realistic lip syncing. It's is almost completely finished but I just need to have a way to match the drawn text to the changing mouth shapes from the phonetic translation. The reason I need something like this is because most of the time the translated string is either longer or shorter than the text being drawn on screen. Turning off or turning on a switch after each change in mouth shape would sync the two aspects up with each other.

 

[Shaz]

This seems to be the same thing you were trying to solve here and here. Is it? What happened with those?

Basically, you can't control this by using a switch - once you do the Show Text command, you lose control (no more commands are executed) until the text is fully shown and the window is closed.

The best approach is probably using escape codes to change the face at the appropriate time. I thought I had a message plugin that lets you do this.

I've moved this thread to Plugin Requests. Thank you.

 

[Doechano]

If it isn't possible to stop the execution of a Show Text while it's being drawn, I'll just try to think of another solution.
I'll update those other threads once the entire system is done, since all of these problems are entirely different aspects from one another. I'll also look into that plugin you recommended, but since I'm not using faces for the mouth shapes it might not work. Thank you both for the help.

 

[Shaz]

What are you using, if not faces?

 

[Doechano]

What are you using, if not faces?

I'm using pictures.

 

[Shaz]

So a text message plugin that would allow you to use escape codes within the message to change the picture that is being displayed?

 

[Doechano]

So a text message plugin that would allow you to use escape codes within the message to change the picture that is being displayed?

I've already solved that issue, I just need to sync the text being drawn on screen to the changing mouth shapes. I thought that temporarily stopping the text being drawn might allow it to catch up to the translation but it doesn't seem to be possible. Also, the reason these two aspects don't sync up is because phonetic translation don't always have the same number of characters as its untranslated version in English.

Example:

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

ðə kwɪk braʊn fɑks ʤʌmps ˈoʊvər ðə ˈleɪzi dɔg

 

[ATT_Turan]

I've already solved that issue, I just need to sync the text being drawn on screen to the changing mouth shapes.

Sorry, I don't understand this. If you have escape codes that draw the new pictures, then you just put those in the appropriate places in the message.

the reason these two aspects don't sync up is because phonetic translation don't always have the same number of characters as its untranslated version in English.

That should have nothing to do with it if you place the codes correctly. I don't know how specific your pictures are, or what the escape code is, but:

\face[1]ð\face[5]ə \face[18]kw\face[10]ɪk \face[70]b\face[8]r\face[22]a\face[18]ʊn...

 

[Doechano]

Sorry, I don't understand this. If you have escape codes that draw the new pictures, then you just put those in the appropriate places in the message.

That should have nothing to do with it if you place the codes correctly. I don't know how specific your pictures are, or what the escape code is, but:

\face[1]ð\face[5]ə \face[18]kw\face[10]ɪk \face[70]b\face[8]r\face[22]a\face[18]ʊn...

I see what you mean, but the problem is that I'm not showing the translation through the Show Text. The translated text is just for the mouth shapes, in the actual game it uses the untranslated text in the Show Text. The system is just for realistic lip syncing so the player should never see the translated text string in a text box.

 

[Andar]

The system is just for realistic lip syncing so the player should never see the translation in a text box

that doesn't matter - what you're missing is that if you do the commands correctly it will be the show text that has the timing control and the show picture should follow the timing given by the show text, not the other way around as you try to handle it.

trying to sync the textflow to a show picture sequence is much more difficult than trying to sync a picture sequence to the flow of the show text command.

 

[Doechano]

that doesn't matter - what you're missing is that if you do the commands correctly it will be the show text that has the timing control and the show picture should follow the timing given by the show text, not the other way around as you try to handle it.

trying to sync the textflow to a show picture sequence is much more difficult than trying to sync a picture sequence to the flow of the show text command.

I know that it is easier to sync the pictures to the text flow, but if it isn't possible to show the untranslated text while doing this process it defeats the purpose of the system.

 

[Andar]

then show the untranslated text in pictures as well.

you don't need any information in the show text - but the show text should have the control what is displayed when, because it's extremely difficult to control the text from outside.

if you don't like that, then don't use any show text at all but have everything handled by show picture - even showing pictures of letters instead of the show text.
But you cannot control the text inside a show text from outside of it - not without completely rewriting the way the show text display is programmed.

 

[Doechano]

then show the untranslated text in pictures as well.

you don't need any information in the show text - but the show text should have the control what is displayed when, because it's extremely difficult to control the text from outside.

if you don't like that, then don't use any show text at all but have everything handled by show picture - even showing pictures of letters instead of the show text.
But you cannot control the text inside a show text from outside of it - not without completely rewriting the way the show text display is programmed.

Thank you. I will look into trying to do something like that.