NSRT Countdown Companion

Current version: 0.6

NSRT Countdown Companion extends Northern Sky Raid Tools with configurable countdown audio and shorter spoken ability names.

It can:

• assign BigWigs or DBM countdown voices to player spell reminders;
• override one exact reminder from the currently loaded note;
• assign countdown voices to NSRT's built-in Encounter Alerts;
• mute selected numbered countdowns without disabling the opening callout;
• mute or replace the opening TTS for one exact reminder from the loaded note;
• replace a long spell name in NSRT TTS, such as changing Beacon of Virtue in 5 to Beacon in 5;
• switch between three interface themes.

The configuration window contains five pages:

• Player Abilities for broad spell-based countdown defaults;
• Ability Rename for changing the spell name spoken by NSRT TTS;
• Current Note for exact reminders in the loaded shared or personal note;
• Encounter Alerts for NSRT's built-in boss alerts;
• Options for interface themes.

Requirements

Required:

• Northern Sky Raid Tools

Required for custom numbered countdown voices:

• BigWigs or DBM-Core; and
• a compatible numbered countdown voice pack registered with that provider.

BigWigs and DBM can both be installed. The voice picker combines voices from both providers and labels every entry with BigWigs: or DBM:.

The addon does not copy or bundle countdown audio. It reads the voices registered by the supported providers currently loaded in WoW.

Ability Rename and Current Note TTS overrides do not require BigWigs or DBM. They operate on NSRT's own TTS output.

Installation

Copy the NSRT_Countdown_Companion folder into:

World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns/

When upgrading, replace the existing addon folder. Restart WoW or run /reload, then open the configuration window with:

/ncc

/nsrtcc also works.

The addon is active whenever it is loaded. There is no global enable checkbox. Individual numbered countdowns can be silenced by assigning Mute countdown.

Player Abilities

This page creates a broad countdown default for a spell ID. It is used whenever that spell appears in an applicable NSRT player reminder, unless a more specific Current Note assignment exists.

1. Activate the character specialisation you want to configure.
2. Select the class and specialisation.
3. Select a class ability from the cached spellbook list.
4. Open the countdown picker.
5. Use the speaker icon beside a voice to preview its 3, 2, 1 countdown.
6. Select the voice or Mute countdown.
7. Click Assign.

Mute countdown keeps NSRT's opening TTS callout but suppresses the subsequent spoken numbers for that assignment.

WoW only exposes the active talent loadout reliably. To populate or refresh an ability list, switch to that specialisation and click Scan current spec.

For something outside the selected class spellbook, use Custom spell. Enter the exact spellid used in the note, click Use spell ID, then assign the countdown option. This is useful for shared items or external abilities such as Healthstone.

Ability Rename

This page changes only the spell name spoken by NSRT. It does not change the note, spell ID, icon or visible reminder text.

1. Open /ncc and choose Ability Rename.
2. Select the class and specialisation.
3. Select the ability.
4. Enter the replacement in Replacement TTS text.
5. Click Save rename.

Example:

Spell: Beacon of Virtue
Replacement TTS text: Beacon

An NSRT spell callout that would normally say:

Beacon of Virtue in 5

will instead say:

Beacon in 5

The numbered countdown remains controlled separately by Player Abilities, Current Note, or NSRT itself.

Ability Rename supports spell-ID-only note entries such as:

time:15;ph:1;tag:Alsevar;spellid:200025;

The rename applies when NSRT TTS is enabled for that spell reminder. A custom text: callout written into the note is treated as intentional note text and is not rewritten as a spell name.

Use the page's Custom spell section when the required spell ID is not in the selected class spellbook.

Current Note

The Current Note page reads the active NSRT shared and personal notes, plus enabled MRT-note sources, and lists timed reminders that apply to the current character.

It follows NSRT's player-tag matching rules, including:

• everyone;
• the character's name;
• the character's global nickname;
• tank, healer, or damager;
• the character's specialisation ID;
• the character's class ID;
• group1 through group8;
• melee or ranged.

Both spell reminders and text-only reminders can receive exact note overrides. Each reminder is configured directly in its own row, with TTS on the left and Countdown on the right. The page displays five reminders at a time; use the mouse wheel over the list to move through longer notes.

1. Open /ncc and choose Current Note.
2. Find the reminder in the filtered list.
3. Use its TTS dropdown to choose Use NSRT TTS, Mute TTS, or Custom text.
4. When using Custom text, enter the replacement phrase beneath that reminder and press Enter or Save.
5. Use the reminder's Countdown dropdown to keep the default countdown, assign a voice, or choose Mute countdown.

Changes save against that exact reminder as they are selected. Custom text uses the TTS voice selected in NSRT. The opening-TTS and countdown options are independent. You can keep, mute, or replace the opening callout while separately using NSRT countdown audio, a custom voice, or Mute countdown. The red X removes both overrides from that reminder.

For example, a text reminder such as pots and blast can keep its visible reminder and countdown while either suppressing the spoken callout or replacing it with something shorter such as pots. The normal timing suffix is preserved, so custom text can be spoken as pots in 5.

A Current Note override is tied to the reminder's encounter, phase, time and spell/text identity. Its countdown option overrides a broad Player Abilities assignment for that exact reminder only.

Use Refresh current note after changing or importing an NSRT note while the addon window remains open.

Encounter Alerts

This page assigns countdown options to NSRT's built-in boss alerts.

1. Open /ncc and choose Encounter Alerts.
2. Choose a difficulty to filter the available alerts.
3. Choose the encounter and alert.
4. Choose a countdown voice or Mute countdown.
5. Click Assign.

The difficulty selector only filters the list. One assignment follows the same internal NSRT alert across difficulties where that alert exists.

The alert must have a numeric Countdown for value enabled in NSRT's Sound tab. To test outside an encounter, select the alert in NSRT and click Preview.

Themes

Open /ncc and choose Options to select one of three themes:

• Muted Arcane, the default muted-gold and deep-purple theme;
• Warm Bronze, using restrained bronze and parchment-gold tones;
• Cool Cyan, using blue-grey controls and cyan highlights.

Theme changes apply immediately and are saved automatically. They only affect appearance.

Voice-pack compatibility

BigWigs

The addon reads the live countdown registry from BigWigsAPI:GetCountdownList() and retrieves numbered files through BigWigsAPI:GetCountdownSound().

Any loaded pack that registers standard BigWigs countdown voices should appear automatically.

DBM

The addon reads DBM's live countdown registry from DBM:GetCountSounds(). Compatible DBM count packs should appear automatically.

A normal boss-callout voice pack will only appear when it also registers numbered countdown audio.

NSRT reminder requirements

For a custom numbered countdown

The reminder must:

• contain either spellid:<id> or text:<label>;
• have a tag: that applies to the player;
• have a numeric countdown enabled, either through countdown:<seconds> or NSRT's global Spell Countdown or Text Countdown setting.

For Current Note opening-TTS overrides

The reminder must:

• appear on the Current Note page for the current character;
• have NSRT TTS enabled globally or through the note line.

A numeric countdown is not required unless you also configure a countdown override.

For Ability Rename

The reminder must:

• contain spellid:<id>;
• have a tag: that applies to the player;
• have NSRT TTS enabled for the spell reminder.

An explicit TTS:true and TTSTimer:<seconds> can control the opening announcement from the note, but NSRT's global Spell TTS settings may also provide it.

Example:

EncounterID:3183;Name:Divine Toll Test
EncounterID:3183
time:20;ph:1;tag:everyone;spellid:375576;TTS:true;TTSTimer:5;countdown:5;dur:5;DisplayType:Icon;

Reminder behaviour

When NSRT displays a configured reminder, the companion:

1. leaves the visible NSRT reminder unchanged;
2. applies the exact Current Note opening-TTS choice: normal NSRT text, muted, or custom text;
3. otherwise applies an optional Ability Rename to the opening spell TTS;
4. suppresses NSRT's normal spoken numbers when a countdown override exists;
5. plays the assigned BigWigs or DBM numbered voice, or remains silent for Mute countdown.

Countdown assignment priority is:

1. exact Current Note assignment;
2. broad Player Abilities assignment;
3. NSRT's normal numbered countdown when neither exists.

If a requested countdown is longer than the selected pack supports, the addon begins at the highest number available from that voice.

Commands

/ncc

Opens the configuration window.

/ncc test 375576 5

Tests the broad countdown assignment for Divine Toll from five seconds.

/ncc status

Reports detected voice providers, voice counts, the countdown hook, the shared TTS hook and integration status.

/ncc debug

Toggles diagnostic chat output for the current login session. Debug always resets to disabled after /reload or relogging.

Testing outside a raid

• Use NSRT's Test Active Reminders for note reminders.
• Use an Encounter Alert's Preview button for built-in alerts.
• Use /ncc test <spellid> <seconds> for a direct broad spell-countdown test.

In-game help

Open /ncc and click Help for requirements, detected providers, configuration-page descriptions and Current Note matching rules.

Current limitations

• Simultaneous reminders using different voices may produce overlapping audio.
• Old Current Note assignments remain saved after a note changes. They become active again only if an exactly matching reminder returns.
• A non-active specialisation must be activated once before its complete current loadout can be scanned.
• Ability Rename changes NSRT's generated spell-name TTS. It does not rewrite custom note text.
• Current Note opening-TTS overrides are tied to the exact encounter, phase, time and spell/text identity; editing those fields creates a different reminder.
• The addon targets the retail NSRT interface versions declared in the .toc: 120007 and 120100.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the complete release history.

License

Copyright © 2026 Alex Price. All rights reserved. See LICENSE.txt.