Game Commander

Mindmaker Inc. Game Commander

Game Commander

Manufactured By: Mindmaker Inc.

Retail Price: $49.95

Review Date: 06-26-99

I've been talking (and shouting) in the general direction of my computer for years- "No, retreat!", "Get outta there!", "where the flaps?", plus a whole lot of swearing to heat up the room. Sometimes I think my machine just doesn't understand me. I know what I want to do but it just doesn't listen. What I hadn't realized was I was missing a piece of equipment and software. With the Game Commander your computer actually understands your verbal commands and executes them for you.

When you open the latest, greatest game box you're likely to find a keyboard "quick reference card". On this single sheet you can find all of the commands you will need to get through the game. The problem is you usually can't get anywhere in the game until you commit the card to memory. If you are anything like me you do not want to study for hours just to play the first mission or level of your latest challenge to find out your memory is not what it used to be. To further complicate the situation, the commands differ from one game to another so you have multiple configurations to commit to memory. Ouch, my head hurts...

A year or so ago I received a voice recognition program for free with the purchase of Windows 98. I installed it and had to spend 45 minutes to "train" the software how I spoke. I needed to read a passage listed in the manual to the computer a few times before it could translate my speech into text. Further, if someone else used it they needed to do the same and I would have to go back and re-train it to my voice. Needless to say- I am using a keyboard to type this review.

The face (or interface) of game has changed. Mindmaker, Inc. has been known as a leading developer of intelligent personal assistants, natural language processing and other artificial intelligence technology. Not many gamers had heard of them until the debut of the Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! cards. Bundled along with the Live! and Live! Value soundcards was an interesting program called Prody Parrot. The animated computer parrot interacted with the user and has some voice recognition capabilities. The same technology used to help Prody understand your commands is used for the Game Commander.

Before running out and a picking up this great piece of hardware/software you need to verify two things on your system:

1. You must have a full-duplex soundcard. This means that the soundcard has the capability to play and record sounds at the same time. Although the Game Commander is not recording your voice it is being input into the card and read just the same. Even if your soundcard documentation claims full duplex you should perform a test to assure it functions with the drivers you have installed.

2. You should also make sure your system has the extra capability to support the games you play AND the Game Commander. Mindmaker has set the minimum system requirements for the Game Commander at a P200 but also warn that games may have higher requirements. Since you are running a game that uses system recourses and the Game Commander that requires additional recourses they recommend having one level higher than the recommended game configuration. (i.e. Requires Pentium 233- you should have at least a Pentium 266 with the Game Commander.)

The Game Commander comes with either a VXI or Labtech noise canceling headset microphone. Both are very nice headsets that are comfortable and adjustable for optimal placement of the mic boom. The headset plugs into your soundcards microphone jack. While the Came Commander is in use other line-in sources are muted. This includes things like the Line-In, Tad-In (phone) and CD audio.

Features 95%-

• Ability to assign voice commands to a games keyboard actions
• No voice training required
• Included templates for many popular games
• Easily created templates, and downloadables

Appropriate For-

• Any Windows 95/98 game with keyboard commands.

System Requirements-

Windows 95/98, 200MHz Processor or higher, 32 meg RAM, CD Drive, Full Duplex Soundcard

Price -

At just under $50 the Game Commander is a small investment for what you receive. The included noise canceling headset alone would set you back nearly $20.

Warranty-

90 day limited warranty.

Performance 97%-

The Game Commander was put to the test with Microsoft FlightSim 98, Quake II, Total Annihilation, European Air Warrior, Mechwarrior III, Descent Freespace, Word 98 and FrontPage 2000 (yes applications!). Both preset templates and ones created or modified myself were used. I tested the Game Commander on two systems one with a SoundBlaster PCI 512 and the other a Xitel Platinum Storm soundcard. Both systems performed equally well.

I experienced very few problems. I needed to change a few commands in my user created templates because they sounded too much like each other and were confused once or twice. I also decided to try assigning some of the often used commands in Word 98 and FrontPage 2000 and it worked incredibly well. Page saves, spell checking, cut, copy and pasting on this page were all done with the Game Commander.

In games the Game Commander quickly became an asset. Flight sims became much more enjoyable because I didn't have to take my hands off the controls to find keys for some of the more advanced, infrequently used, but vital commands. I won't print what expletive I used for bailing out but it was a very natural setup- I get a fighter on my back and can't shake him. He fills me full of holes and I loose control going into a spin I can't recover from. "Oh &#*!", the canopy blows and I eject.

Mechwarrior III was great. I picked up the game and almost instantly began playing. There are over 100 actions in the game, most being controlled by the keyboard. I created a template for the commands I thought would be most useful and started playing. The game allows you to target specific body parts of opposing mechs and its great to say "target left leg" and have it do so. I felt like Captain Picard- "Make it so!".

In first person shooters the Game Commander is also very useful. You wont want to assign movements or defensive actions to a voice command. It just doesn't make sense. Where the Game Commander is useful is in using and selecting items from your inventory. In Quake II it was great to call out for the super shotgun and have it switch rather than pressing my joystick button to cycle my way through the weapons to the one I want. Other inventory items can also be called up such as that quad damage you have been holding on to for battle against an incredibly tough foe.

Its no secret that I don't like strategy games mainly because of the commands, time it takes to play one and I'm not that good at them. The Game Commander may change tow of the three issues I have. I fired up total Annihilation and created a template. It was easy to gather up my troops and order them to run away. I'm still no better at playing but I am much more efficient in how I play. Now I can last in a scenario for about 2 hours. With a little practice I may be able to make it to the end.

Setup 95% -

Setup is extremely easy. After unpacking the contents of the box you simply need to plug the headset into you soundcards mic-in jack and start your system. That is all there is to install the hardware portion of the Game Commander.

Then start your system and insert the Game Commander CD. Autoplay will bring you to the setup screen for the Game Commander. You will be asked for your name, company name and serial number. Once that information is given the program installs and you are required to restart your system. In order to make sure the Game Commander is setup properly you should run the executable and test the setup. The manual is very clear on how to setup the Game Commander and you should follow the instructions for a worry free installation and setup.

**Software 98%-

** The capabilities of the Game Commander are derived from the software. You can use almost any high quality microphone with the Game Commander but the software is the key to its operation.

The Game Commander software is easy to setup and use. The interface is almost self explanatory. In order for the Game Commander to operate it must be running in the background. I placed a shortcut on my desktop so I can easily activate it before starting a game. The software comes with preset configurations for a handful of games. Additional configurations are available for download or are easily created.

To create a template simply start the Game Commander, start the game to the point where you are actually playing and would like to use the Game Commander and hit Alt+Tab. In most instances this will bring you back to the desktop where the small Game Commander window is up. If Alt+Tab does not bring you back to the desktop you will need to create a manual association to the executable. Enter the Game Commander user interface and the executable name should be listed in the window. Select the commands button and select the executable from the drop down menu and begin entering your commands.

To enter a command I suggest having that Quick Reference Guide handy. Type in the word or short phrase you would like to say and enter the keyboard command(s) for it. Spelling does not count much as long as the word is phonetically accurate (if there is such a thing). After entering all of the commands you desire you can test them out with the test feature. This allows you to find commands that may get confused with each other and give you a feel of how you should pronounce and annunciate each command.

You may have noticed I left out the step to train the Game Commander to your voice. Its not necessary! It available if you have one or two words it has difficulty recognizing but with the first template I created, containing nearly 30 commands I was not required to train it for anything. Each command was instantly recognized.

Templates can easily be transferred from machine to machine. You can import and export game templates using the same interface you use to create them. The template files are very small and easily fit on a floppy disk and require only a minute to download from the internet. You can also create a text file to print of all of the commands and their associated keyboard command. I took the text file I created for Microsoft Combat Sim and added a description of the action to the file before I printed it out.

Documentation 98% -

The manual that accompanies the Game Commander is very non-typical of what you receive with computer hardware and software of late. The Users Guide is 48 pages thick. Not that the Game Commander package is difficult to setup or use; the manual is just very comprehensive. Every aspect is covered in great detail. Each section of the Users Guide uses images of the interface to clarify the instructions.

Included in the guide are sections on installation, getting started, optional parameters, customization, template sharing, troubleshooting and a very handy glossary. The on-line help is just as comprehensive as the printed manual and is quite handy when you have misplaced the printed guide. It also offers the benefit of being searchable; allowing you to quickly find details on your topic.

The Mindmaker website is equally packed with information on the Game Commander. It offers additional information on the Game Commander including Questions and Answers, specific soundcard FAQs, Tech Support, user feedback, downloads and much more.

Overall Rating 96.6% -

The Game Commander is one of the greatest game control innovations in quite some time. It's a great tool for any gamer looking to play and not spend time memorizing keyboard commands. Very highly recommended!

Pros-

• Eliminates the need to memorize keyboard commands.
• Great voice recognition.

Cons-

• Requires a true full-duplex soundcard.