Hey everyone. This is a project that I've kept under the radar for awhile, but I'd like to talk about it today. It's called Read Books Aloud. Using this system / resource, your books can be read to you as soon as you open them for supported books. The idea for this was brought forth to me by the talented http://nikkita.bandcamp.com/ (you can hear some of her voice samples at the link), and combined I think we're going to be able to bring everyone something really special; an audiobook-like experience for Skyrim.

You can check out https://sites.google.com/site/rbaskyrim/home/overview (be warned, it's still a work in progress).

Features:

• SkyUI MCM support (actually, requirement): Required primarily to easily allow the player to set playback controls. This means that it also requires SKSE.
  
• Playback controls: Play, Stop, Next Section, Previous Section. Skipping Next or Previous skips the recording forward or backwards by 30 seconds.
  
• Up to 20 minutes of recorded audio per book.
  
• Download and install "Voice Packs" created by anyone. Instructions on the RBA site.
  
• Initially featuring voice talent by Nikkita and Gopher (of Skyrim Mod Sanctuary / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyiZ_vRBjFQ fame). We will be bringing Gopher's Youtube readings directly into the game. He wisely kept master recordings of his readings without in-game sound effects, thank goodness.
  
• Toggleable auto-start: Whether or not books will start being read to you automatically, or wait until you press your configured Play button.
  
• Supports all books, letters, notes, and other random documents, including from DLC and mods.

The primary focus of the mod will be on books; perhaps in the future, it's scope can be expanded out to all of the various letters and other writings in the game.

Support for books will be continuously added over time; since this mod uses only two scripts (one attached to a book, one for the SkyUI configuration), updating frequently should be possible and encouraged. Please note that "support for a book" and "having the book read to you" are two different things. After support is added in the master plugin, a voice pack will have to be created by a talented voice actor / actress, which you will be able to download and install.

Probably incompatible with mods that also edit books. There isn't much I can do about this.

The system is designed to be extremely flexible; you will be able to download "Voice Collections" from a single voice actor, or recordings of individual books. You will be able to pick and choose who to listen to on a book-by-book basis.

Switching which actor you are listening to in-game is too difficult; it was thoroughly investigated, but determined to be too difficult to implement in a straightforward way. I think that the "install what you want" system offers the highest level of compatibility and flexibility possible while also keeping the configuration in-game very simple.

I will be doing my first test tonight of an actual book recording, hopefully everything goes super well and I can get this in your hands soon The scripting and master plugin are done; the remaining work is to just test it, and add support for lots and lots of books.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think.

This.This should be in the next TES.

Please no. It's nice for PC users who have lots of space, but sound files are prohibitively large, especially on DVD's.

This project sounds amazing - I can't wait for Gopher's velvet tones in my ear.