How to Play
Once you have downloaded SS.exe, double click it to run the installer. Once installed simply double click SpeechSoccer.exe.
The game is controlled by a few simple voice commands to your footballers. Before you start playing, you just need to take a couple of minutes to train the speech recogniser.
Speech Soccer is about playing football as a team. To score goals you must move the ball quickly about the pitch to create space for shooting. When your team has the ball, say the number of your player you wish to pass to. Or, if you keep saying the number of the player who already has the ball, he will run with it. When you are in range of the goal simply say "shoot". When the opposition has the ball you need to win it back. Say the number of one of your players and he will start moving towards the ball. When you get close say "tackle" to challenge for the ball.
Warning! Tackling from behind results in a yellow card. A small yellow card will appear just to the right of the player. If that player commits another foul then a red card is given and the player is removed from the pitch.
The key to success is in developing sequences of passes that allow you to keep the ball and work it up the pitch. Once you've mastered passing you can start developing your own tactics using the formation editor.
Three levels are included with the game, so you can increase your skills. The real fun of Speech Soccer is playing against other people online.
Training the speech recogniserImproving the speech recognition
Training the speech recogniser
Before you play Speech Soccer the game needs to hear examples of your speech. To do this, click “Training” and follow the instructions.
Formation editor
The formation editor allows you to develop tactics for attacking (when your team has the ball) and defending (when the opposition has the ball).
The position of the players relative to the ball is determined by creating a set of up to 16 formations. Each formation can either be attacking or defending. To create a new formation click “Add Formation”. A new formation will be created with the ball at the kick-off spot and the players lined up to the right of the pitch - see screen shot below. Decide whether the formation is attacking or defending by clicking “Attack” or “Defend”, then position the ball and the players on the pitch.
Sometimes you might not want a player to be involved in a formation. For example, you might not want a defender to be involved in an attacking formation. To create formations using only some of your players, just leave the others on the side of the pitch or right click to return them to the side of the pitch. During play the ones not in formation will play as normal.
Once you have created a set of attacking and defending formations you can view how they move relative to the motion of the ball by clicking “Ball Move” and moving the ball about the pitch. Click “Ball Move” again to continue editing your formations.
To delete the current formation click “Delete formation”, and to navigate formations click the arrows either side of“1/16”. number of formations are included to get you started.
Playing Speech Soccer online
To play online against other people you must register and pay £5 (about US$7) for 6 months' play. Once you are registered you will be emailed a registration key. Put this registation key in the Speech Soccer folder on your computer either by downloading the text file and saving it in the Speech Soccer folder or creating a text file in the folder and copying the key into the text file. The text file must be renamed to "regkey.txt".
Once registered simply start Speech Soccer and click "Play Online". This brings up a webpage with other players that are logged in at the moment. Choose a friend or a random opponent to play. When instructed click "Play Online" again to start the match.
If you have a router at home you will need to run the PortForward.exe to allow speech soccer to communicate with the speech soccer matchmaker and opponents computers. Double click PortForward.exe and wait a moment for it to gather information about your router. Click "Add new entry ..." button located on the bottom left of the window.
In the "Port Mapping Settings"
1. Enter Speech Soccer.
2. Leave this box unchanged.
3. Enter "27035" into both the external and internal port number box.
4. Change the Protocol from TCP to UDP.
5. Click Save changes and exit.
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This now adds a mapping that lets Speech Soccer communicate with the matchmaker and opponents computers.
Improving the speech recognition
If you make a mistake or the game is not recognising your speech at all, click “Reset Speech” to start the training process again.
You can improve the accuracy of the speech recognition by repeating the training process. Your voice does change over time and is affected by many factors including mood and health. Simply repeat the training if you feel the accuracy is below par. The recognition works best if you imagine you are playing the game during training, i.e. your speaking style during training is the same as that when you playing the game.
If voice recognition is not working at all make sure your microphone is set up correctly. Check the settings in the “Sound and Audio Devices” control located in Control Panel. If you are still having problems consult Windows Help.
Speech Soccer is best played using a headset microphone. These are less sensitive to background noise than built in microphones.
