Users have the ability to add their own Space Chatter dialogue, by creating entries in custom files. This article explains the format and tokens you can use when creating these files.
Note: This article covers Space Chatter only, which are conversations between simulated characters in and around your ship. Not to be confused with ChitChat, which are phrases EDCoPilot may say if things have been quiet for too long.
To customise your ChitChat phrases, see this article here
Space Chatter types, custom file names and characters used
Station Chatter
Simulates chatter you may hear around a station, such as ships requesting docking, or preparing for departure
Custom file name : EDCoPilot / User Custom Files / EDCoPilot.SpaceChatter.Custom.txt
Characters you can use:
Random ships: <Ship1>, <Ship2>, <Ship3>, <Ship4>
Station control : <Stationname>
Crew Chatter
Simulates chatter from a simulated bridge crew, which you may hear whenever you are onboard your ship
Custom file name : EDCoPilot / User Custom Files / EDCoPilot.CrewChatter.Custom.txt
Characters you can use:
<Number1>
<Science>
<Helm>
<Operations>
<Engineering>
<Helm>
<EDCoPilot> - the Ship's computer : this will always use the same voice as your main EDCoPilot voice to make it sound as if EDCoPilot is responding to crew requests
Deep Space Chatter
Similar to Crew Chatter, but will only fire when you are > 5000 ly from both Sol and Colonia. You can use this type of chatter to focus conversations more on exploration, crew morale, ship maintenance, unexplained phenomena
Custom file name : EDCoPilot / User Custom Files / EDCoPilot.DeepSpaceChatter.Custom.txt
Characters you can use:
Same as Crew Chatter, PLUS
<Ship1>, <Ship2>, <Ship3>, <Ship4> - for the occasional ship encounter!
Format of conversation entries:
Each conversation should begin with [example] and end with [\example]
Each line in the conversation should begin with [<charactername>]
Lines can contain TOKENS which will be replaced by the relevant string at usage time (see list of available tokens below)
Lines can contain CONDITIONS which will tell EDCoPilot not to use that conversation if certain conditions are met (see list of available conditions below)
Blank lines left for spacing (between examples) will be ignored
Once you have updated the custom chatter files, restart EDCoPilot. It will read in the files and report in the Voice Log if there is any issue with syntax
Tokens you can use
<cmdrname> - your Commander's name (without the "Commander" at the beginning)
<cmdraddress> - will be replaced by Sir, Ma'am or Commander based on the gender you have set in Settings
<myshipname> - the name of your active ship
<fuellevels> - will be replaced by your current fuel level percentage number
<starsystem> - name of your current system
<randomstarsystem> - name of a random populated system
<stationname> - name of the current station you are at
<fcCaptain> - name of your Fleet Carrier Captain
Conditions you can use
(not-station) - will not pick this conversation if you are currently at / around a station
(not-planet) - will not pick this conversation if you are currently on or approaching a planet
(not-deep-space) - will not pick this conversation if you are currently out in deep space (> 5000 ly from Sol and Colonia)
Example conversation entries
(Station Chatter example)
[example]
[<ship1>] o7 Commanders! Did you see that Commander <cmdrname> is here with us today! Wow, a celebrity in our midst!
[<ship2>] o7 Commander <cmdrname>, We are grateful for your contributions in the Thargoid war.
[<ship3>] Please extend our gratitude to your crew there aboard <myshipname>
[\example]
(Crew Chatter example)
[example]
[<Helm>] (not-station) (not-planet) Hey Computer, can you plot a course to that nearby star system?
[<EDCoPilot>] Affirmative, plotting a course now.
[<Engineering>] Are we fully fueled for the trip?
[<Operations>] Our fuel levels are at <fuellevels> percent.
[\example]
USING CHATGPT TO GENERATE DIALOGUE
I used ChatGPT to generate many of the built-in SpaceChatter phrases, then edited them to include tokens or conditions. Here are the instructions I gave to ChatGPT, if you would like to modify them for your own use:
Station Chatter instructions:
Hello, i would like you to roleplay a character from the computer game Elite Dangerous
You are my intelligent CoPilot, an AI that is installed in my spaceship that can speak to me and tell me information as i explore the galaxy, and help me find items and report on things happening around us.
While we are waiting to dock at a station we can hear radio transmissions from other ships around us who are either requesting docking, waiting to dock, or are inside the station preparing to leave. Their requests may be replied to by the Control Tower in the station. Please give me 5 examples of short conversations between the Control Tower and the other ships that we might hear. The conversation may include up to 3 different ships. Prefix each ship portion of the conversation with either [<ship1>], [<ship2>] or [<ship3>]. Please prefix the Control Tower responses with [<stationname>]. Each conversation can be 2 to 5 transmissions in length. You can generate a name for each of the ships if you wish to refer to them in the dialogue but do not use Elite Dangerous ship models as names. Please start each example with [example] and end each example with [\example]
Crew Chatter instructions:
Hello, i would like you to roleplay a character from the computer game Elite Dangerous.
You are my intelligent CoPilot, an AI that is installed in my spaceship that can speak to me and tell me information as i explore the galaxy, and help me find items and report on things happening around us.
While onboard our ship, we may hear our crew talking among themselves . They may be discussing ship operations, making small talk, or talking about places of interest in our vicinity.
Can you generate 10 examples of these conversations between random crew roles, selecting from the AI computer (referred to by the crew as “Computer”), Operations, Helm, Comms (responsible for monitoring for incoming transmissions and signals), Engineering, Number 1 (second in command) and the Science Officer. Prefix the Operations portion with [<Operations>], the Helm portion with [<Helm>], the Engineering portion with [<Engineering>], the Comms portion with [<Comms>], the Number 1 portion with [<Number1>], the Science Officer portion with [<Science>], the AI with [<EDCoPilot>].
Please begin each example conversation with the exact string [example] and do not number the examples. Please end each example conversation with [\example]. Each example should be between 3 and 6 speaking parts in length.
Specifying specific voices for bridge crew
By default, EDCoPilot will select a voice for each of the simulated bridge crew based on which "Include xxx voices" options you have set on in Settings -> Space Chatter
If you wish, you can override this selection to use a specific voice provider and specific voice.
Steps are as follows:
Close EDCoPilot
Edit the file EDCoPilot / working / EDCoPilot.SaveData.<your-commander-name>.LIVE.TXT
Create the following entry as a new line, anywhere in the file:
Character:<crewposition>="voiceprovider|voicename|US|0.0|"
where
<crewposition = <Number1>, <Helm>, <Operations>, <Engineering>, <Science> or <Comms>
voiceprovider = Edge, Amazon, Azure, GTTS, ElevenLabs or WinTTS
voicename = the name of the voice as selectable from the EDCP main voice selection menus (in Settings -> Voice Settings)
Save the file and restart EDCoPilot
Note: For Edge, Amazon, Azure, GTTS and ElevenLabs, the override will only work as long as the voiceprovider is enabled in the "Include xxx voices" in Settings -> SpaceChatter, otherwise EDCoPilot will default back to selecting from the available provided where the include option is set to ON
Example entry :
Character:<Science>="Edge|en-CA-LiamNeural|US|0.0|"
this will use Edge voice en-CA-LiamNeural for <Science> as long as Use Edge Voices is ON in Settings -> Space Chatter, otherwise it will pick a random provider and voice from its available selection