At the request of a few people, I've decided to write this little tutorial of how to record quality voice files for Morrowind. This tutorial will cover the very basics, with more advanced tips coming in later editions. But enough about that, let's get right to it.
To record your voices, all you need is a microphone for your computer (even a real inexpensive $10 mic will do ya just fine). Yup - that's really all you need! Most operating systems come with a program to record your voice; for instance all versions of Windows have a little program called Sound Recorder. And really, if all you want to do is record your voice for use in the game, it's all you really need.
Now, before we get all rushed into things, remember that this tutorial is to make quality recordings. Anybody can take a mic, speak into it, slap it in, and have the sound all crackly, echoey, and not good at all. There are a few things you must keep in mind in order to keep your recording as high-quality as possible. It's actually very easy to make a decent recording, even with inexpensive equipment.
First off, make sure all outside sources of background noise are turned off. TVs in the next room, radios, your mom vacuuming upstairs - all these can be picked up by the mic. If you have the ability to, shut the door to the room you're recording in. Secondly, try to keep the mic away from your computer. Not a lot of people think of this, but your mic can also pick up the whirring of your fans inside that ivory box you got there. Third, keep the gain on your mic low and hold it closer to your mouth. I've found you'll pick up on even less background noise that way, including the dreaded Room Echo.* Fourthwise, don't put the mic directly in front of your mouth. You know that popping sound you get when you record your 'p's and 't's? That can be almost, if not completely, eliminated simply by moving the mic a little bit up above your upper lip. Basically whenever you say 'p's and 't's you're expelling a lot of air, and having the mic right in front of your mouth makes it pick up all that air. Having the mic above the mouth keeps it out of the air's path, reducing greatly any popping.
Now, when it comes to making the sound file work in Morrowind, I'm no expert. I understand that you should be able to use the raw .wav file, but I've never done it. Besides, why would you want to use a .wav when you can compress the file down into an .mp3. It saves a heck of a lot of space which people love, especially when they're downloading from a dial-up connection. There are many programs you can get to convert .wav files to .mp3 files; several of which are free. One thing you MUST remember is that Morrowind places sounds itself in relation to you and, as such, really doesn't like it when sound files are in stereo. Make sure when you're saving as a .wav or converting to a .mp3 that you select mono sound, not stereo, otherwise you can get all sorts of nice errors.
Well, that's about all I got for now. Like someone probably said before, this is only the beginning. Now go out there and record some voices.
* - Room Echo, or reverb, is when your voice echoes off the walls in the room you're in. You've probably heard it best when you're in a completely empty room; the echo in one o' those is very noticable. It makes recordings sound tinny and rough. In a more advanced tutorial, I'll go into ways to eliminate natural reverb.
