I am a big fan of the original Spider-Man and regretted not purchasing one when they first came out.

Recently I purchased a new Spider-Man Vault Edition. Like the original, it's a great game and I appreciate the art, upgrades and LEDs. I've written my likes and dislikes, compared to SM on other forum threads.

One of my main complaints is the call outs on the new VE. All call outs appear to be done by the same voice actor. The recorded quality is better on the VE but the original SM had better variety, including the J.K. Simmons recordings for the game (the voice clips on the original SM were undersampled, most likely to save memory).

I miss the JKS call outs and the enthusiastic "Wooo-hooo" of Tobey Maguire on the ramps and wanted to see if it was possible to modify or replace the callouts on the SMVE.

I pulled the code off of the SMVE (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/backing-up-settingsscores-to-usb-stern-sam-machines#post-3111799) and compared it to the last revision of SM on Stern's site using OGA83's great Pinball-Browser software.

SM contains 593 sounds (music, movie clips, voices, sounds, etc.) and SMVE has 1637.

The SM ramp call outs numbered 6 (http://www.wanderwheels.com/pinside/smve_remix/request109SM.m4a) compared to 12 on the SMVE (http://www.wanderwheels.com/pinside/smve_remix/request118SMVE.m4a).

Unfortunately, the really great "wooo-hooo"s on the SM were much longer than any of the call outs on the SMVE and couldn't be mapped over directly without running through some audio software to shorten them. I ended up with a mashup of SM and SMVE (some weren't so bad, others were too short to modify a SM call out) for the ramp call outs (http://www.wanderwheels.com/pinside/smve_remix/mashupSMVE.m4a).

I imported the modified SM audio files into the SMVE code and loaded it to my SMVE as a proof of concept (Note: this will clear any high scores you may have). For a first pass, it worked. I'll probably go back and tweak the audio from SM and start adding JK Simmons callouts to the code of SMVE - "Eight Arms? He should be playing this game!".

Enjoy the proof of concept: https://vimeo.com/164501323

Yes, my flipper skills are only marginally better than my ability to roll balls up a ramp.

Agreed the mode call out's could be stronger

"Power of the sun" - That is an amazing call out! It's one I never forget from SM (SM sound request 162 / SMVE equivalent sound request 185).

I had good results running the SM call outs through a "vocal booster" or "spoken word" module on my sound software before importing them into SMVE code. If you want to swap specific sound sound request module files as you go along to save some time (like the ones I have linked above), send me a PM.

Something that doesn't work well is pulling clips from the movies because of the layered tracks (vocals with music, background action, etc. are mixed). With SM Stern had access to the vocal tracks.

I'll probably start working on some JK Simmons' next. I haven't decided if it will be the villain defeat call outs (for example JKS Doc Ock "Why are the best scientists always mad?/Can't these scientists get one experiment right?/If a scientist invites you to a demonstration, don't go/8 arms? He should be playing this game") or start replacing SMVE callouts with other JKS' taunts (for example from the Bonesaw sound requests JKS callout "Don't worry, I'll write you a nice obituary"/"If I don't see blood, I want my money back") or using TM's "That's a cute outfit, did your husband give it to you?" taunt from the bonesaw module for Green Goblin, since the Ultimate Spider-Man's GG is wearing hulk pants.

Good luck!

Actually, it wasn't me, I hired Minnie Mouse to star in the video

Call out modification continues

Working through some of the call outs before the player shoots:
SMVE original call outs (http://www.wanderwheels.com/pinside/smve_remix/20160429pre.m4a)

Modified SMVE call outs (lo-fi, need to be cleaned up still) with SM JK Simmons call outs (http://www.wanderwheels.com/pinside/smve_remix/20160429post.m4a)

In addition to

Also been modifying the graphics. Here's a quick clip
https://vimeo.com/165958817

In addition to call outs, I was able to mix the SMVE's instrumental theme music track with the TV show's:
https://vimeo.com/165963527

SM shooter greetings and ball save added to SMVE call outs:
https://vimeo.com/165963432

That one didn't even make it into the original SM. Found more clips from SM and SMVE that are not in the games and have used them in my mod.

SMVE also includes a limited number of movie clips from The Amazing Spider-Man movies. I suspect the VE was potentially movie-themed before becoming the current Ultimate Spider-Man theme.

Started modifying the in-game graphics. Here's an homage to the backstory of Spider-Man's black suit from Marvel Secret Wars #8.

The quote "Well, I'll be an eight-ball's uncle" is first time Spidey's in the new black costume. The modified speech bubble replaces the original Keanu inspired "Whoah". Not exactly in the best spot. I will probably bump the bubble upwards so that it is visible when the graphic stops scrolling in the future.

https://vimeo.com/166158909

Call out modification (inclusion of JK Simmons call outs from the original SM among others) is almost complete.

Up next, colorizing for pin2dmd? My spider-sense is tingling.

Working on coloring graphics. Thinking about picking up pinballsp's hardware (https://pinside.com/pinball/biz/directory/1103-pinballsp) + pin2dmd software.

GGcolorProofConcept_(resized).jpg

ColorDMD announced SMVE color today. I've been working on a SmartDMD version and hope to have it completed soon.

https://vimeo.com/169616284

The call-out mods are on hold for a bit while I complete the SmartDMD color version of SMVE (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spider-man-ve-smve-smartdmd-colorization).

Will return to them when the new beast of a project is complete. Here's a taste:

splash_(resized).jpeg

I don't think it is possible to load the SMVE binary on the original SM.

Either game is great. The SMVE is just beautiful to look at. Yes, the voice actor sucks. Working on the call outs...slowly...but other priorities right now.

I've been busy with raising a family and just finished months of developing the Sasquatch Signal (Bigfoot Spotlight) for White Water.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-white-water-bigfoot-spotlight-mod-with-hot-foot-mode#post-4782571

SMVE call-outs re-visit is on the docket. Makes the game soooo much better.

Just donated to Pinball Browser for the second time to get the latest version so things are in progress ...

77d7cfe247da4c1118cfa05c38a3e6a9af2ab8ae (resized).jpg

Lots I agree with here:
• The repetition is incredibly annoying. I think the voice actor had a script with 4 lines for each character and just kept saying them over and over.
• "power of the sun" is back in on my machine doesn't sound that bad.

I haven't done any updates to my machine since the original work 2 years ago.

What I have done is:
• I believe I've found every single JK Simmons J Jonah Jameson character voicework (video games, movies & television shows). I've hours of dialogue to pull from. There's some wonderful stuff that'll fit into the game

• Many actors & voice actors have played SM and the supporting cast of villains and friends. So providing a wide variety of call-outs becomes a problem because the voice is inconsistent.

The only depth I have is with JK Simmons. I won't be including any other voice actor for call-outs if I can help it. Where there is not a suitable substitute, I'll be using the stock voice actor.

So questions for this forum:

Would you prefer a variety of call outs for each character even though the voice actor would change, or a more limited range with a single voice actor?

What would be your level of support for this herculean effort (combing through 100+ hours of movies, video game files, and television shows; pulling out the sound clips, cleaning them up and leveling the sound volume before adding to the game)?

1. Give it to me free, peasants are never a problem until they hit the Ugly Riot right before Peasant Madness.
2. Freemium - give me a limited file to get a taste and then I'll decide if I want to cough up the cash for a full version
3. You'll take a Sacagawea dollar and like it.
4. I can't believe they put Hamilton on the $10 bill - the Broadway play must be doing phenomenal
5. Jackson wasn't a bad guy ($20) but he was less than half the man Grant ($25) was
6. I have a Spider-Man topper that just sits there and doesn't really interact with the game. A re-vamp of the call-outs is totally interactive! $50
7. I'm Bruce Wayne, $1 million is chump change.

Sound mods do not interfere with and DMD, ColorDMD, homebrew kit.

Life - a toddler, a move across country, a hard drive crash, 2 X pin rebuilds, fixing up a house (multiple cacked/broken rafters, insulation, replacing plumbing), designing and building a Bigfoot spotlight and hotfoot mod, starting a company and other priorities.

I hope to revisit this project someday.

In the meantime grab a copy of Pinball browser, pull the call outs from SM and import the ones you want into SMVE.

Thanks for checking in.