Cap covered
the details of Voice Buddy voice control in his review, so I'm not
going to duplicate that effort here. If this is your first encounter with
Voice Buddy and you want to know the whole story about this fabulous
technology and the
new Audio FX force feedback headset, I invite you to read Cap's article.
This review is the last in my series on the Voice Buddy
Flightsim Seven Editions and covers the Voice Buddy 2 Edition for Microsoft
Combat Flight Simulator 3 and 2. eDimensional developers realized that many
combat flightsimmers still use both versions of Combat Flight Simulator and
have created a double-value edition where you get voice control for two
sims, for the price of one. In these times where few add-on developers are
delivering true bundled value, it's delightful to report on a real bargain,
for a change.
Adds a new dimension to combat flightsimming
Combat flight simulation brings a very unique brand of
excitement to virtual flying. Voice control enhances those thrills
by eliminating the annoyance of typing on a keyboard while you're trying
to survive a furious dogfight. I immediately discovered that Voice Buddy
adds a new dimension to combat flightsimming with CFS3 and CFS2 just as it did for IL-2 and LOMAC. Even the older
technology of CFS2 brought new thrills. There is just something about
talking to your airplane and having it do what you tell it to do, that
makes combat flightsimming a lot more fun. It also helped increase my
kill count, as I'll explain later in this review.
Adds to the realism of flying fighters and bombers
While I love flying CFS3, one of
the things I sorely miss is actually flying the airplane using interactive
panels. I love taking my Zero, Corsair, B-25 or Black Cat PBY on island-hopping tours of the
Pacific in CFS2. If I can splash a few Zekes along the way and reduce the
Japanese target to burning rubble when I arrive at my destination -- so much
the better! The best part of those long range flights sure isn't the scenery. Not much in the
South Pacific but a lot of blue ocean and some hard-to-find islands, as
Amelia Earhart discovered the hard way. Adding voice control to these
flights makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable the very same way it
does for FS2004/FS2002.
In CFS3, we don't have the ability to actually touch the
flight controls, per se. Adding voice control is even more important in
this combat flightsim to my way of virtual flying. While I cannot click
on the controls, they do respond with accurate animations to flight
controls. So, with Voice Buddy, I can talk my way through the checklist
and watch the controls respond to my commands. It's the next best thing
to having working panels.
Whether I'm actually flying the airplane in CFS2, or
engaged in the adventure of CFS3; there is something about flying those old
warbirds, or even modern jets with some great freeware and payware add-ons
for CFS2 and CFS3; navigating to target, dodging triple-A and fighter
interceptors, managing the weapons systems and bomb payloads, lining up on
the target and blowing it to smithereens that I find both thrilling and a
real challenge to flightsim airmanship. I was certainly not disappointed by
the Voice Buddy 2 Edition for CFS3/2. It definitely added a new fun factor to my trusty old combat sims.
Aerial
combat simplified
I've been a combat flightsimmer ever since Microsoft
released CFS1. I still fly FS2004 for relaxation therapy but when I
crave that adrenaline rush only simulated combat can give, I just have
to hit the flight line in a warbird. I love the airplanes, the graphics are stunning,
the missions are challenging, plus the
CFS3/2 online community is top notch for multiplayer action. But, the CFS3/2
keyboard controls have always been a pain in the six for me. And, truth be
told, programming
commands into my CH Products Fighterstick and Pro Throttle HOTAS is a chore.
I'm not picking on CH Products, mind you, Saitek flight controller
programming is an even bigger chore. I
hated wasting time programming buttons or, even worse, typing like a maniac instead of flying the
airplanes!
I crave the simple life in my warbird. I like the trip
in the Wayback Machine that CFS3 and 2 provide. Back to a time when
aviation was still young, navigation used radio beacons and dead
reckoning instead of computers and GPS satellites -- and you could look
a pilot in the eye before blowing his sorry six to smithereens. You
know, serious fun!
Voice Buddy took away the last obstacle to that serious
fun. Simply put, it gives me instant voice and keyboard control of every single CFS3/2
command in all game versions. And, I can use the same voice commands in
either sim, or customize my commands to each sim individually. It
simplified the job of combat flightsimming by taking the work out and
putting the fun back in. Voice Buddy for CFS3/2 has made the whole issue simply disappear.
The minute I installed it, I had every single CFS3/2 control at my voice
command.
The difference between VB for CFS2 and CFS3
In addition to the fact that each version is
specifically designed to control either CFS2 or CFS3, there is another
fundamental difference that is a result of eDimensional taking advantage
of some very smart program design built into CFS3.
The CFS2 version voice commands are based on the
default CFS2 key assignments.
If you customized your CFS2 key assignments, you have two choices in order
to have accurate voice command execution:
Use the Voice Buddy Command Editor to edit the voice command key
assignments to match your customized assignments.
Or, and this is much easier, reassign all the CFS2 key assignments to
their defaults and just use voice commands instead of typing keys.
Once you start using Voice Buddy, you'll be very unlikely to ever need to
touch the keyboard very much. In either case, Voice Buddy's Command Manager
gives you total flexibility to assign keys any way you choose.
In CFS3, new advanced VBSK technology automatically recognizes all
your control configuration profiles
The CFS3 Edition is special. It uses a new technology
that takes advantage of features built into CFS3 which all the voice
command to work with any profile, regardless of how you may have
customized the key assignments. When I asked about
it, Michael Epstein told me, "We've introduced a new and highly
sophisticated technology that really shines in the CFS3 and IL-2 Editions. We
named it Voice Buddy
SmartKeys (VBSK). VBSK in CFS3 means that the voice commands work without
you having to change anything, regardless of how you may have customized
your control profile. If the
command key assignment worked in your profile, it will work the same way
under voice control. What's unique about VBSK is that you only need to learn
one voice command for each function, regardless of what key you assign that
function to."
I was glad to hear that because I certainly did not want to
do any work reconfiguring my existing pilot profiles to voice commands. When
I tested VBSK, I discovered that Michael was not kidding. No matter what key
I assigned to retract the flaps for example, when I said, "Flaps up." The flaps
retracted. This is a huge timesaver. Since I now only need
to get used to issuing voice commands and can forget about all those arcane
keyboard combos.
VB2 Help is fully integrated with the CFS3 kneeboard
browser
Combat Flight Simulator 3 has a kneeboard browser
that supports HTML files. When you press the F1 key, you see a checklist for the
aircraft you are flying. Pressing the F2 key brings up the CFS3 Help menus.
You may access Help screens either in-flight or from the main CFS3 screen. Once
the Help menus are open, you must use the keyboard and mouse to navigate and
close them.
Voice Command
This is what you say
Keyboard Command
This is the command
Voice Buddy sends
(default commands)
Voice Response
This is what Voice Buddy says to you
Display Help Menu
{F1}
Displaying the help menu
Display Quick ref
{F2}
Displaying the quick reference guide
Voice Buddy Combat Flight Simulator 3 Edition integrates its
Help pages with the CFS3 Help Menu. To access Voice Buddy Help from within CFS3,
use a voice command to open the Help Menu. Voice Buddy adds entries to both the Table of Contents page
and the Index Page. Click on either button on the CFS3 Help Menu kneeboard to
access these pages. Navigate the Voice Buddy Help page links with your
mouse.
The integrated pages duplicate the entire Voice Buddy Help
system for both the core voice engine and the CFS3 Edition.
You may also access Voice Buddy Help from the Voice Buddy
Console. Use either the integrated CFS3 pages or the standard Voice Buddy help
system to see and print reference lists for all the voice commands and VBIT
dialogs. So, when you need Help with this edition, just ask your Voice Buddy and
it will pop up in the kneeboard browser. I thought this was very cool since I
hate reading manuals.
Same voice commands across different games
I also noticed that eDimensional has maintained similar
syntax across different sims which makes learning the lingo of voice
commands a lot faster and easier. When I want to turn on the battery as
part of the pre-start process in
all the Flightsim 7 VB2 Editions, I simply say, "Battery masterswitch on."
This works in all the flightsim editions despite the fact that each sim has a different
keyboard assignment to turn the battery on and off. If you fly different
sims or play lots of different game types, this common language for voice
control is a real benefit. Now, I can switch from sim-to-sim, game-to-game,
and take control of the action very quickly, without having to learn a new
command set or reprogram hundreds of key combos. Hey, with VBSK, PC gaming
could actually become fun again.
Not all games are VBSK friendly
I discovered that VBSK is contingent upon what the
individual sim or game does to handle key assignments. For example, in
CFS3 and IL-2 the transition is seamless. "Kudos to the developers at Ubisoft and Microsoft for creating very smart
technology for handling keyboard assignment," Michael said. "Those titles
work very well with VBSK. I only wish all sims were as well designed.," he
elaborated.
Other sims such as CFS2, LOMAC, FS2002 and FS2004, use a more pedestrian
technology for handling key assignments. So, you'll have to either reinstall
the defaults, or customize Voice Buddy to match you custom key
assignments.
Flying CFS3/2 under voice control
I like flying
combat missions as realistically as possible. No arcade game follies for ol'
Mad Max. Although I do fly
without the panel when dogfighting in multiplayer missions, for bombing
runs and close air support missions I will stay in the cockpit. One of
the things that always bugged me is using the point-of-view hat in
CFS3/2 to look around. Snap mode never quite did the job as I preferred and panning
with the POV hat was never my favorite thing to do. I often got flamed just
looking around because I was fumbling with the POV.
Better
point-of-view control
I solved most of
that dilemma by adding the TrackIR3 POV controller. I put the tracking dot
on the Voice Buddy Audio FX microphone boom and it works great. The new
Vector Expansion makes things even better.
See our review of the new Vector Expansion here.
For
those of you who want a $10 POV solution instead of a $150 solution -- get the
VB2 edition. One of the first things I noticed is how easy it is to
pan around the cockpit just by saying the words: "Pan left, right, up,
down, ahead" an so forth.
Easier engine
and control surface management
Looking around
is only a small part of the challenge to fly warbirds in combat. To really feel what it was like flying and
fighting in the warbirds, you need to go for realistic settings and use
actual flight and engine controls. I never bothered doing that before in
CFS3/2 because it was such a chore to set up all those user defined
commands. When I wanted to fly for real, I climbed back into a FS2004 cockpit. Voice control gave me a whole new perspective on CFS3/2
flying since I could finally control fuel mixture, prop pitch, control
surfaces, trim, radios and more -- all with voice commands. In fact, I could
better trim the aircraft by voice than I could by hand using the thumbwheels
on my CH Products Fighterstick.
I like to
begin with a cold start, fire up the engines manually rather than using
auto-start, taxi to the runway, set flaps and trim and then takeoff. OK,
sometimes I'm in a rush, I'll cut corners on all that. But, I think I'm like
most flightsimmers and enjoy actually flying the airplane. Otherwise, I'd be
runnin-n-gunnin on XBox! All those procedures were not much fun using the
keyboard.
Once airborne, I can switch views, manage
the aircraft systems, communicate, deploy ordinance, cycle weapons store and do all the rest of my flight routine
with voice commands while I keep my hands on the stick and throttle with my
feet on the rudder pedals.
Flying the airplane stopped being a chore and became the relaxing
entertainment it was meant to be.
Gives you
individual control over multi-engine aircraft
One cool bonus feature I discovered is that Voice Buddy
extended my throttle control for twin-engine aircraft. If you have the new CH Products USB Throttle Quadrant or the
GoFlight
USB Throttle Quadrant, you have individual engine control by hand
manipulating your throttles. Both the CH Products Pro Throttle and the
Saitek X-45 and X-52 HOTAS are designed to simulate single engine control
such as the throttle on an F-16 Fighting Falcon. You simply do not have individual throttle levers to enable
you to control the left and right engines separately on multi-engine
aircraft. Voice Buddy extends individual throttle control even if your
flight controllers do not support it. In CFS3/2, I discovered that I can
select engine one through number eight by voice and then start it
individually. Voice Buddy also works with the multi-engine throttle
quadrants but I think 10 bucks is a very affordable way to provide
individual control of multiple engines for those of us who don't have the
money or the room for a quadrant. Using voice commands, you will now be able
to control left and right engine throttles, prop pitch and mixtures
individually.
Instant access
to weapons
In the heat of battle, I never want to flub my weapons
arming, much less deployment. OK, I'll admit to being a fumble fingers with
the keyboard and blowing attacks due to typos. That all disappeared with
voice control. Selecting and arming ordinance and weapons systems was both
easy and instantaneous. I just said, "Arm weapon one," through
four and fired away.
Keep hands and
feet on the controls instead of the keyboard and mouse
HOTAS means
Hands On Throttle and Stick. It does not mean, "typing furiously on the
keyboard, moving the mouse and wishing you had an extra pair of hands so you
could keep Hands On Throttle and Stick."
Improve your screenies
One of the better features of voice control
is to simplify taking screen shots. I can fly the mission profile exactly as
I want and then instantly use voice commands to get the right angle on the image and finally
grab the screenie in the blink of an eye by just saying the word.
No POV fumbling required. The creative possibilities are endless.
VBIT is like always flying with a Topgun instructor in the
right-hand seat.
VBIT is the Voice Buddy
Interactive Trainer. It's a series of dialogs that you have with the
computer. These training sessions walk you through challenging maneuvers and
more. You can also program in your own tips, tricks, notes -- anything
at all. I think of VBIT
as having an angel on my shoulder and a virtual Topgun instructor always
flying the right-hand seat. OK, I know that there is no "right-hand" seat in
a single seat fighter. That's why I called him "virtual."
As much as I
fly combat flightsims, there are still lots of ACM tactics that I'm a little
rusty on, or completely ignorant of. I didn't know this until I flew with
VBIT and said, "Teach me a Lumcevak." Now I can fly "the
ultimate hotdog maneuver..." with the best of them.
The VBIT for CFS3/2
are relevant to the capabilities of World War Two era warbirds. You won't
find heat-seeking missiles or laser-guided smart bomb training VBIT in these Editions
since warbirds didn't have missiles and only use unguided rockets and dumb
bombs. The advanced weaponry VBIT is in LOMAC's edition.
I flew all of the VBIT dialogs
interactively. It was very cool to have Voice Buddy walk me through the
finer points of Circle Fighting, Rolling Scissors, Going Vertical, how to
Rope-a-Dope and convert from being defensive to offensive. There are scores
more dialogs that cover everything from the basics of loops and breaks to
the truly advanced stuff of Yo-Yos, carrier operations, close range
gunnery, when to use the three types of pursuit and much more. It's like
having a built-in, interactive Topgun school anytime you want it. I
discovered what was wrong with how I was setting up my guns solutions. I got
much better at dive bombing and strafing. I can now turn tighter than
a tick on a hound dog. I learned how to convert a circle
fight to my advantage and when to bug out to live and fight another day. All
I can say is you guys in multiplayer better watch out for "Mad Max" Merlin
because "King Kong ain't got nuthin' on me." I've become the "terror of the
skies." Seriously now, I was just a so-so combat pilot. I owe all the
improvements to a little practice with my VBIT training sessions. This is
something that you simply have to experience for yourself. It's quite
amazing.
By the way, if you're
looking for me online as Mad Max Merlin, don't waste your time. I fly in
multiplayer missions under a different call sign to maintain anonymity
when checking out new multiplayer airplanes for review purposes and to
protect the privacy of the squadron I command.
Asynchronous Command & Control Response (ACCR)
Voice Buddy can multitask. It listens, acts and responds,
all at the same time. This is called Asynchronous Command Control Response
(ACCR). ACCR is very cool. I quickly discovered that it gives me
an edge in combat. When the action gets intense, I can quickly issue a
string of voice commands and have them all executed consecutively in the
blink of an eye. It's certainly a lot faster than pushing buttons on the Fighterstick
or typing on the keyboard. I keep my hands on the flight controls while I
flame bandits by issuing voice commands at lighting speed . The
best part is that this is not a cheat! Voice Buddy does not modify the
airplane or ordinance characteristics in any way. It just eliminates the
time wasted fumbling with the keys and helps you live to fight another
day. Another thing that is very handy is the fact that VB2 listens even
if you speak rapidly or softly. No
need to shout or change your normal rate of speech. And, it understands any
accent of spoken English. But, English is the only language that Voice
Buddy speaks.
Voice Buddy CFS3/2 Edition is fully compatible with most
VOIP clients
Cap
covered this unique feature in his review in full detail. But, it's
worth mentioning again here. Most of the thrill of combat flightsimming is
flying missions on the Internet. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP),
clients such as Ventrilo, Roger Wilco, Team Speak, Game Voice and Advanced
Voice Client enable you to talk to other people while flying multiplayer
combat missions. If you or your combat squadron uses one of the VOIP
applications to talk to other pilots, you can use Voice Buddy and the VOIP
client either simultaneously -- with both applications running under voice
control -- or by controlling either one, or both, using Push-To-Talk (PTT)
and Push-To-Mute (PTM) buttons. You can also control Voice Buddy with just
voice commands while the VOIP client is in voice activated mode.
Customizing it
As with all Voice Buddy Editions, you get a complete
built-in software developer's kit and easy access to customizing all the
voice commands, keyboard commands and voice responses.
Getting help
The eDimensional team has done an exceptional job with the
built-in help system. Printing the voice command reference chart was a snap.
I also used the print feature in the Command Manger to sort and print the
chart a variety of ways to make everything a lot easier to learn and use.
Available three ways
The
only way to get Voice Buddy is to buy it directly from eDimensional. It's
available in three different configurations:
Voice Buddy 2 CFS3/2 Core edition, Software only:
USD $49.95. You can download the small 65MB file or get it sent to you on CD.
Includes complete documentation and a built-in SDK that makes it a snap
to create custom dialogs and commands.
Voice Buddy 2 CFS3/2 Core edition, Software and
Audio FX headset: USD $79.95
Voice Buddy 2 CFS3/2 Add-on Edition (requires
Voice Buddy 2 Core Engine): USD $9.95. This, too, is available as either a
download or on CD.
For those of you in the Great Britain and the European
Union, eDimensional has a
distribution center in the United Kingdom and ships directly from there.
So simple to install even a fighter jock can handle it
While Cap dug deep into the guts of Voice Buddy 2, I'm a
simple guy and like my add-ons that way. Kick the tires, light the fires
and go. If I wanted to work hard, I'd fly as a bomber pilot, not a
fighter ace. KIS works for me every time. VB2 for CFS3/2 installed in a
couple of mouse-clicks. I already had the VB2 FS2004/FS2002, IL2, and
LOMAC editions installed. Adding the CFS3/2 Edition took just a
couple of mouse-clicks. Click, bang. Done! No hiccups. No
reconfiguring. Nothing to tweak or noodle with. Just the way I like it.
You need to also know that VB2 is only compatible with Windows XP and
Windows 2000.
After the installation was complete, I had the CFS3/2
Edition added to the VB2 pulldown menu of titles, ready-to-fly. I didn't
have to run the microphone set-up or do any training. But the easy
installation is only the beginning of the true power and cool
sophistication of this very special VB2 Edition as you'll see deeper in
this review.
Part of the Voice Buddy 2 Flightsim Collection
The Voice Buddy 2 Flightsim Collection now
includes:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (including all
freeware or payware add-ons)
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 (including all
freeware or payware add-ons)
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 (includes
Firepower and all other payware or freeware add-ons)
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 (includes
all freeware and payware add-ons)
IL-2 Sturmovik
IL-2 Forgotten Battles
IL-2 Ace Expansion Pack
IL-2 Pacific Fighters
Lock-on Modern Air Combat (LOMAC)
eDimensional also has Voice Buddy Editions for a long
list of other games. According to eDimensional executive Michael
Epstein, "Fact is, you'll soon see a VB2 Edition for every hot game on
the market. eDimensional is dedicated to bringing gamers in all genres
the very best add-ons to enhance their PC gaming thrills. That's why we
are creating Voice Buddy 2 Editions for all the hot games. There will be
scores of game editions in every genre including simulation,
first-person shooters, role playing, strategy, sports, massive
multiplayer online games and even puzzle games. Gamers have told us that
once they play with voice control, they never want to go back to the old
way."
You get both CFS3 and 2 versions in a single Voice
Buddy Edition
One of the reasons I like eDimensional as a flightsim
vendor company is that they are very generous. For example, when I read
in Cap's review that they were providing the VB2 upgrade for free to
existing VB users, I thought that was extremely generous. My faith was
rewarded with this CFS3/2 Edition. eDimensional included both the CFS3
and 2 versions in a single edition at one low price.
Core Engine or game Edition?
With, or without the force feedback headset?
The choice is simple.
Voice Buddy software consists of a core engine plus a
game edition which has the specific grammars and voice commands for each
game. You get the core software plus one free game edition for $49.95.
If you add the Audio FX headset, the price is $79.95. Either way, this
is an excellent value in my book.
Once you have the core edition installed, you can add game
editions for just $9.95 each. If all you play is CFS3/2, and you don't
already have Voice Buddy 2, then grab the core edition for CFS3/2 and you're good-to-go.
Some of the add-on editions are hot bargains. For example, you get a
double edition with both CFS3 and CFS2 for just $9.95. That saves you ten
bucks right there. But, if you fly IL-2, for example you get an even
better deal since that edition includes all four IL-2 versions which
adds up to a $30 savings. Once again, in this reviewer's opinion,
eDimensional has gone one step beyond and provided very affordable
pricing.
If you already have the core edition of Voice Buddy 2 for
FS2004, IL-2, LOMAC or any other game; all you need is the add-on edition.
At less than ten bucks, the add-ons are so low-cost that I'm adding them
to all the other games I play. I'm so hooked on voice control for
simming and gaming that I just don't touch any game that is not
supported by a Voice Buddy Edition. There are about 40 game already
produced or nearing release,
You'll need a good headset and one that is not a USB
headset. If you already have the hardware, just get the software. If you
don't have a decent headset, or yours is USB, then grab the combo version
with the Audio FX. Since top quality headsets can go for USD $50-100 alone, I
think the combo package is a pretty good deal.
See Cap's
review for the detailed story and test results on Audio FX. I thought that headset alone was
worth the price of admission. The audio force feedback effects are
incredible in combat flightsimming. Explosions and cannon fire never felt so
good!
The last word
Voice Buddy
makes combat flightsimming fun again! I
love the fact that it automatically assigns every single CFS3/2 function to
keys and then gives me voice control over them all. I also love not having
to learn different control sets for different flight sims. One voice
command that works across all sims make this hobby fun, not work. No more keyboard
confusion for me. No more wasting time
assigning keys to User Defined slots. I love it when Voice Buddy does
all the work while I fly the airplane.
Plus,
with the new VBIT system, my ACM has never been better.
Flying combat missions with Voice Buddy for
CFS3 and CFS2 is like always having a Topgun flight instructor in the
right-hand seat (even if it's a single-seat fighter!) Now I can dive
bomb, strafe and fly Yo-Yos, Rolling Scissors, Rope-a-Dopes and carrier
traps better than ever before. That VBIT feature is awesome!
And, my kill count is rising to prove it.
For
the complete scoop on what the Voice Buddy 2 core engine is and why no flightsimmer should
take to the virtual skies without it, you'll want to check out Cap Mason's
article entitled:
The State-Of-The-Art In Voice Control For Flightsimming Takes Another Giant
Leap Forward: Voice Buddy 2 Upgrade From eDimensional. 
Aerial
combat simplified
In CFS3, new advanced VBSK technology automatically recognizes all
your control configuration profiles
Gives you
individual control over multi-engine aircraft 
