Out Loud

Out Loud brings spoken narration to World of Warcraft, allowing players to listen to quest dialogue, NPC conversations, Quest Log descriptions, and readable in-game items.

The addon integrates with Blizzard's standard interface and uses World of Warcraft's built-in text-to-speech (TTS) system. It supports both World of Warcraft: Forever and Retail, with separate packages for each client.

Video Demonstration

See Out Loud in action with English and Spanish quest narration, voice configuration, and custom voice creation using the optional companion applications.

Features

Quest Dialogue

Listen to quest descriptions, progress dialogue, and completion text directly from NPC conversations.

Quest Log

Replay the description of a selected quest at any time using the Out Loud button. Quest objectives are not included.

NPC Conversations

Listen to NPC greetings and dialogue responses through the standard Gossip interface.

Books and Readable Items

Read books, letters, scrolls, and other supported items aloud. Narration automatically continues through multi-page items, advancing to the next page when the current one finishes.

Talking Head Interface

A custom Blizzard-style Talking Head displays a 3D character portrait, speaker information, and the current sentence being narrated. Longer passages support automatic text scrolling.

Voice Configuration

Out Loud offers two voice modes:

• Single Voice – Uses one selected narrator for all supported narration, with optional character-specific voice assignments.
• Multiple Voices – Allows separate male and female voices to be assigned to different character families. When an NPC can be identified, the addon selects the corresponding configured voice.

Multiple Voices is enabled by default. Voice assignments can be managed through the addon's settings.

Playback Settings

Out Loud provides several options for customizing narration:

• Auto Play – Automatically starts narration for selected quest dialogues, NPC conversations, and readable items.
• Auto Play Delay – Sets a delay before automatic narration begins.
• Auto Close – Controls whether narration stops when the associated game window closes.
• Speech Rate – Adjusts narration speed.
• TTS Volume – Adjusts the game's text-to-speech volume.
• TTS Separator Sound – Controls the separator sound used by World of Warcraft's TTS system.

Auto Play is disabled by default, and each supported source can be configured independently. Quest Log narration remains manual.

TTS Volume and TTS Separator Sound use World of Warcraft's global text-to-speech settings.

Getting Started

After installing Out Loud, open Settings → AddOns → Out Loud in World of Warcraft.

1. Select Single Voice and choose a Narrator Voice, or use Multiple Voices to configure voices for individual character families.
2. Open a supported quest, NPC conversation, or readable item.
3. Click Out Loud to begin narration.

Automatic narration can also be enabled in the addon's settings.

Important: Out Loud requires at least one compatible text-to-speech voice recognized by World of Warcraft. The addon does not include a speech engine or voice models.

Custom Voices and Related Tools

Out Loud can also be used with two optional Windows applications for creating and using custom voices:

• Out Loud – TTS Engine – Integrates compatible Pocket TTS voices with Windows SAPI 5, making them available to applications such as World of Warcraft.
• Pocket TTS Studio lite – Creates custom voice profiles using Kyutai's Pocket TTS technology. Compatible profiles can be imported into the Out Loud TTS Engine.

Together, these applications provide an optional workflow for creating custom voices and using them for in-game narration.

Neither companion application is required. Out Loud also works with other compatible voices recognized by World of Warcraft.

Multilingual Narration

Out Loud can narrate supported game text in different languages when a compatible speech engine, language model, and voice are available.

For example, when World of Warcraft displays quest dialogue in German, a compatible German Pocket TTS model and voice can narrate that dialogue in German.

The addon passes the original game text to the TTS system. It does not translate text, automatically detect languages, or switch between language models.

Speech quality and pronunciation depend on the selected engine and voice.

Compatibility and Limitations

• Separate addon packages are provided for Forever and Retail.
• The addon depends on World of Warcraft's supported TTS APIs and available voices.
• Multiple Voices relies on predefined character-family mappings and may not recognize every NPC.
• Narration is limited to supported Blizzard quest, gossip, Quest Log, and readable-item interfaces. General chat messages, tooltips, and arbitrary game text are not supported.
• Compatibility with third-party addons that replace Blizzard's standard dialogue interfaces is not guaranteed.
• Speech playback and cancellation behavior may vary depending on the game client and selected TTS engine.

Development Status and Feedback

Out Loud is fully functional in the tested scenarios on both Forever and Retail, but the project remains under active development. Further improvements, compatibility updates, and refinements are planned as development continues.

Feedback from players is welcome. If you encounter a bug, experience a compatibility issue, or have a suggestion for improving the addon, please share it in the CurseForge comments.

When reporting an issue, including your game client (Forever or Retail), addon version, and a brief description of the problem will help with troubleshooting.

Documentation

For additional information, configuration details, and documentation, visit the Out Loud – WoW Addon Overview on Nendis.com.