Yo
If you attempted to login to the website within the past few weeks you may have noticed it was down. Today I finally had time to fix things, I apologize for any inconvenience this caused for anyone. As a reminder, downloads are hosted directly on itch.io and are not dependent on this website functioning.
Current Status of Z Vocal Project
To put it bluntly, Z Vocal Project is dead. I’ve been focusing a lot more on getting Team PLC Games, and have basically put Z Vocal Project on the backburner indefinitely. The truth is my interest in vocal synths has faded over the past year, the last time this happened was in 2018 and I really only got back into it because of COVID. I still try and write songs but can never bring myself to finish them, and AI has really demotivated me from recording more voicebanks.
I still want these characters to live on, and some of them already make cameos in Enzio-Ware, most notably with Ascenia showing up as an AI assistant in multiple episodes. That said, there are no current plans for them to make leading roles in any of the projects we’re working on over there.
Because I want to get better at writing, I may end up posting some short stories with the characters if the time finds me. I’m still in grad school y’know.
What about Zyocalist
Zyocalist was a hybrid concat-based TTS and Singing engine I was making to use in Team PLC Games projects, with a focus on live-rendering. It didn’t get too far, but that said I haven’t fully abandoned the idea of it, as it is meant as more of a dev tool than any kind of commercial engine. If Zyocalist does get made, it will be under Z Vocal Project, though Z Vocal Project may be renamed.
Ground Rules
People get really fucking weird when it comes to abandoned projects, so I’m going to also make some things clear at the end of this article, so that nobody stumbles upon this website and does shit I don’t want em doin. I think the chances of this happening are quite low tho. The FAQ below will be updated as needed.
FAQ
Voicebanks
Can I reupload delisted voicebanks?
No. Any voicebank that has been delisted has been either because A. me and the other VPs were minors when they were recorded or B. I no longer wanted to create AI voicebanks. Reuploading anything that has been delisted is directly going against my wishes.
Can I make new voicebanks for the characters
Please don’t. I’m fine with sharing updated configs as some of the banks never left alpha/beta stages, but like please do not make new original banks, or modify recordings to make appends.
Can I train AI voicebanks on the existing voicebanks
No. If you do this, I will immediately take legal action.
Can I use the voicebanks commercially without a license?
You are still able to purchase the commercial license, this has not been discontinued. The license restrictions are to protect my voice, and you are always free to email me if you can’t afford it, where an alternate agreement can be worked out (likely just an agreed upon rev split)
Are the voicebank Abandonware now
Abandonware is not a legal category, but to answer the question: No. Z Vocal Project is sunsetted, we are still distributing the voicebanks, and still claim copyright over them. Additionally it should be stated that, the voicebanks are audio assets, not software.
Character Usage
Are the characters public domain now?
No, we still retain all copyright. If whatever you want to use them for is non-commercial refer to the character usage policy otherwise reference the commercial license if you have it/or just email me to establish an agreement for whatever project you would like to use them in.
Can I make new designs for the characters
If you are not claiming it as official and are following the character usage policy you can draw em however you like.