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View Full Version : Extracting the Announcer sound files from Theme Hospital

Paul.Power
5 Nov 2007, 22:12
Now, we're all familiar with the Announcer from Theme Hospital ("Doctor! Attend in Psychiatry please!"). What I want to do is find a way to get at those sound files individually. Unfortunately, the game stores its sounds lumped together in a bunch of DAT files, and when Daniel tried Cool Edit it drew a blank. The reason I want to do this is because I want to create a remix of the Announcer's dulcit Esturine tones, maybe set to the chord progression and drums of, say, Fortune (one of the game's tunes).

But, short of playing the game and muting everything except the Announcer, then hanging around waiting for her to say her lines, I can't think of a way to do this.

So I'm wondering if the clever citizens of OD can help me here. Either by finding a way to crack open these DAT files, or by pointing me in the direction of someone who's already done it and stuck the sound files up on the web.

Because the world needs a chorus of

"Nurse required in pharmacy
Nurse required in ward
Nurse required in pharmacy
Nurse required in ward
Nurse required in pharmacy
Nurse required in ward
Nurse required in pharmacy
... Doctor required in inflator room"
FutureWorm
6 Nov 2007, 04:38
oh god that voice is so annoying please don't do this
MtlAngelus
6 Nov 2007, 06:33
Maybe you should ask K^2 or something.
Babylon
6 Nov 2007, 11:12
As a bit of an audio obsessive, I took a look. But unfortunately, I don't know how to extract the sound from these files. The data in the file suggests it is a RIFF container file, so I expected each data chunk would be part of a WAV file. But on trying to work from this... I can't find any useful software to manipulate RIFF files, to begin with. Anything I do find just brings me the same "ping!" sound.

I can, however, tell you they used Sound Forge 4.0 way back when creating at least one of the audio files. Isn't that exciting? The irrelevant information these files leave kicking about is incredible. And to digress further, Theme Hospital was bloody brilliant. I still play it now and again, 10 years on.
Paul.Power
6 Nov 2007, 12:01
oh god that voice is so annoying please don't do this

Annoying, yes, but I've always thought it was hilarious as well. Good old Esturine.

As a bit of an audio obsessive, I took a look. But unfortunately, I don't know how to extract the sound from these files. The data in the file suggests it is a RIFF container file, so I expected each data chunk would be part of a WAV file. But on trying to work from this... I can't find any useful software to manipulate RIFF files, to begin with. Anything I do find just brings me the same "ping!" sound.

I can, however, tell you they used Sound Forge 4.0 way back when creating at least one of the audio files. Isn't that exciting? The irrelevant information these files leave kicking about is incredible. And to digress further, Theme Hospital was bloody brilliant. I still play it now and again, 10 years on.Thanks for trying :)
Paul.Power
7 Nov 2007, 08:56
Well, these guys (http://themehospital360.spaces.live.com/) seem to have managed it. Maybe I should ask them?
AndrewTaylor
11 Nov 2007, 22:35
That would seem sensible.

Assume you have our blessing to do so.
Paul.Power
26 Nov 2007, 13:31
Right, well here's the structure of the song laid out: http://www.mediafire.com/?3myth1cg2s1

Work now begins on making it all sound less "general MIDI"...