Embedded Files
This page shows a list of resources for navigating the NIAONiao Engine
Archive Database
You can view the full Google Sheets database here. This is a spreadsheet that our active team members regularly update with loads of information on the status of all the voicebanks we are aware of for each dsound engine. We are currently working on:
Finding LOST voicebanks
Researching voicebanks to see any potential uses and if they are on other engines
Creating demo tracks for voicebanks lacking public use cases
Replacing official DL links with archived DL links
The NNA started when the official NIAONiao website was still up and running. Now that it has been taken down, all of the original DL links need to to updated to wayback machine archive links. Please be patient with us, there are a lot of voicebanks to get to.
Translating character bios for the website
Voicebank Maker Tutorial
Hey friends, Holli here. I personally have no experience using the voicebank editor, it is a big blind spot in my knowledge of the program, but I will be asking other members of the archive to put together some tips for you!
For now, I recommend using ammamanagucci's tutorial on Youtube, or reaching out to an archive member to join the Dsound fan server for more direct help.
Getting Started With NIAONiao
You need to download the engine. You can get an unofficial English UI version of NN from Inochi-PM on Deviantart or you can download the Mandarin version of the Engine from the archive. Check the Engine Builds Page for all archived version of the engine, including Inochi-PM's English patch.
NN does not work unless your computer is in a Chinese local. This is where people tend to lose interest. Either they've already set their local to Japanese for UTAU or they just think changing the local sounds really hard and stop reading. I promise this is way simpler than you think it is for both UTAU users and people who have never changed their local. You don't actually have to change it. You just need a Local Emulator.
The Local Emulator I use can be found here and it's very VERY easy to use
Once you install and open the local emulator, this is what your settings should look like (reference image on the left). Click Save as and save these settings as "Run in Chinese" or something along those lines. It doesn't really matter much as long as the settings are correct.
Then, close your emulator. You probably won't need to actually open this app ever again. Right click on the niaoniao .exe file and you should see the local you just made in the emulator pop up. Click that. (reference image on the right). NOTE: On Windows 11 you may need to click the "Show More Options" button at the bottom of the menu to see the full menu.
It will ask you if you'd like to let the application make changes to your computer. Click yes. Then Niaoniao should open. Sometimes it take a few minutes to open, but for me it is typically pretty quick. From there it should work smoothly :) Keep in mind, even if you use the English UI you still need the Chinese local emulator for it to work properly.
Now you need voicebanks, referred to by Chinese netizens as Sound Sources. NIAONiao abbreviates this to src. Most voicebanks for NIAONiao were/are originally hosted on Baidu Netdisk, essentially the Chinese equivalent of Google Drive. This has made accessing NIAONiao a very difficult task for anyone without a Chinese phone number (necessary for a Baidu account).
You can find all the Voicebanks we have archived in the NNA Google Drive, sorted by Engine, Language, and Gender/Voice type. (This drive also contains Engine Builds and the Arpabet+ English for NIAONiao Reclist).
For a more streamlined visual and/or searching for specific names, I recommend searching through our NNA Database spreadsheet, which gives more information about a Voicebank as well as it's archival status. We are in the process of adding character pages to the website for each Voicebank, please have patience while this site is under construction.
Once you download a voicebank, it usually comes in a .zip file or a .rar file so you'll need to unzip it. There are a lot of programs you can use to do this like winzip or 7zip. In it you'll find their voicebank folder, which will contain a small handful of files (reference image on the left). All of these are essential don't get rid of or alter any of them.
Inside your niaoniao application folder there should be a folder titled src, short for Source. Place your new voicebank's folder inside this folder. Do not nest folders, this will confuse the program.
Sometimes, when downloading or unzipping a voicebank, your computer won't know how to decode the text and will default certain chatacters to Mojibake. NIAONiao cannot read files written in Mojibake, so you will need to rename the folders if they look like this (reference image left).
I typically rename my folders to be in the original language (usually Chinese so Hanzi characters), then add the Romanized (Pinyin in this case) in parenthesis, plus a version number if applicable (reference image right). You can rename your folders however you like, but keep in mind NIAONiao struggles to read Katakana/Hiragana.
NIAONiao should be ready to use now! It should look like this (reference image left).
It can read Hanzi as well as Romanized characters. If you are making a voicebank, keep in mind that it CANNOT read special characters or Katakana/Hiragana. Japanese Voicebanks should always be formatted in Romaji.
NIAONiao uses a combination of sliders and direct pitch bending for tuning. Sliders can alter things such as enveloping, portamento, and vibrato. The pitch bending tool (icon looks like a mountain range) can be used to draw pitchbends directly on top of notes, similar to SynthV's pencil tool.
To switch voicebanks, click the dropdown bar above the header image in the top right corner.
Once you've saved a file once, it will autosave for you after that. This is really handy for in case your computer crashes. It's not so handy when you forget to switch to a new file before importing a new midi/ust. I've accidentally written over my work before which sucks.
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