Hi folks,

I have just released VaultVox 1.1 for Classic Fallout games on Nexusmods. It is a free text-to-speech accessibility mod for Fallout 2, and this version also adds proper support for Fallout Et Tu.

I made this originally for my wife, who has dyslexia, but I've added more accessibility features on top of that version.

EASY TO INSTALL: Download it, extract it next to the game's exe, launch the game, and Bob's your uncle.
No mod manager needed.
Fallout Et Tu players: Extract it into the Fallout1in2 folder inside your Fallout 2 folder, not the folder above it.

Download:
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout2/mods/168

Early demo video:
https://youtu.be/YCMqCFrRvAE

Fallout Et Tu gameplay using VaultVox:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR6v67YQs60

Thanks to YouTuber Magickaddict for streaming that one.

There are two big additions in this release: Fallout Et Tu support and an experimental Blind Mode that lets you control the game using the keyboard alone. There are also quite a few stability fixes, so even if you are already using VaultVox and do not need either of those features, it is still worth updating.


This is the main addition, and really the reason I started making the mod in the first place.

You can now move around the world, find things and interact with them using only the keyboard and speech. No mouse required.

While exploring, you can scan through whatever is nearby:

• . and , move backwards and forwards through nearby objects
  
• ; switches between categories such as people, creatures, bodies, doors, stairs, containers, items, exits and enemies
  
• ' tells you where you are
  
• / interacts with the selected target, depending on what it is. It can walk to something, start a conversation, open a door, loot a body, take an item or use an exit
  
• [[/noparse][/b] ends your turn
  
• ] ends combat

Looting and inventory screens now have a spoken cursor controlled with the arrow keys. Tab switches sides while looting, Enter takes an item or opens the examine, drop and equip options, and G takes everything.

I have also added keyboard navigation to the main menu, ESC menu, dialogue replies, Skilldex, companion panels, character editor and world map.

There is now optional NVDA output as well. If you already use NVDA, the main narration can be sent through your screen reader using your own voice and braille setup. Ambient speech and floating barks can still come through the game's spatial audio, so you keep some sense of where they are coming from.

NVDA output is disabled by default. You can turn it on from the MENU tab in the VaultVox settings.

I want to be upfront about the state of Blind Mode. It is still experimental.

My current target is for a blind player to complete the Temple of Trials using only the keyboard and speech. Bartering still requires the mouse, as does pickpocketing. VaultVox should tell you when you reach one of those unsupported areas rather than leaving you pressing keys and wondering why nothing is happening.

If you use assistive technology and run into something that stops you progressing, please let me know. That is exactly the kind of feedback I need at this stage.


Fallout Et Tu runs on the Fallout 2 engine, so a lot of VaultVox already worked with it. The difference now is that I have tested it properly on a real Et Tu installation instead of simply assuming everything would behave itself.

Ian, Tycho and Katja now have their own voice profiles, so they keep the same voice throughout the game rather than picking up a random one whenever you talk to them.

Katja needed a new female companion voice, because all eight Fallout 2 companions are blokes and were not much help there.

Dogmeat has no dialogue, so he just barks. As he should.

The important part is installing the files in the right place.

Et Tu normally sits inside a folder called Fallout1in2, which is itself inside your Fallout 2 folder. That folder contains the copy of Fallout2.exe that Et Tu actually uses.

VaultVox needs to go inside Fallout1in2, next to that exe. Do not put it in the Fallout 2 folder above it.

If you put it in the wrong folder, Et Tu will still launch normally, but there will be no speech. It makes the mod look broken when it is actually sitting one directory higher doing absolutely nothing.

• Fixed several stability problems, including a crash when returning to the town map
  
• Fixed some long-standing cursor weirdness where the cursor could remain stuck or clicks could stop registering after hovering over something
  
• Added Ian, Tycho and Katja to the Voice tab, so their voices can be changed like any other companion profile
  
• Documented several hotkeys that were already in the mod but had somehow escaped the readme:
  
  • F9 stops all current speech
    
  • CTRL + F8 turns text-to-speech on or off
    
  • CTRL + SHIFT + R reads the full current Pip-Boy page or character sheet again
• Corrected the scanning controls in the readme. The previous version had the keys the wrong way around, so if you tried them before and nothing seemed to work, that was why

The requirements have not changed:

• Fallout 2 for Windows, using the GOG, Steam or retail US 1.02d version
  
• sfall v4.4 or later
  
• Windows 10 or Windows 11
  
• Fallout Et Tu, Restoration Project, High Resolution Patch and Talking Heads Actually Talk are supported
  
• Optional: NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter if you want to use newer neural Windows voices
  
• Optional: NVDA if you want the narration sent through a screen reader

And before anybody reaches for the pitchforks, this is still not AI voice cloning.

VaultVox uses Windows text-to-speech.


Same request as always: if you use assistive technology, or you have dyslexia, low vision or reading fatigue, and you find a screen that does not read when it should, please report it.

I treat missing accessibility output as a bug, not as a nice-to-have feature that might get looked at one day.

Thanks, folks.

- VaultDoc

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