Microsoft Agent Character Editor

Microsoft Agent

The Microsoft Agent Character Editor running on Windows 8.1.
Name	Microsoft Agent
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	1997 (27 years ago)
Latest version	2.0
Latest version release date	1998 (26 years ago)
Written in	C++
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Discontinued?	Yes

The Microsoft Agent Character Editor (Ace or MACE for short) is a program made by Microsoft to allow users to edit and compile their own Microsoft Agent character. It was first confirmed to appear in the Microsoft Agent Beta 2.0 and Microsoft Agent 1.3 and has had a release for every public Microsoft Agent version since. It allows users to create new characters with all the major technologies of the platform, including text-to-speech, animation states and lip-syncing. The user can add animations to their character from static BMP or GIF frames; they can also add sounds to the animation or assign the state that triggers the animation, such as the state "GesturingUp" triggering the animation "GestureUp" or add small mouth bitmaps to allow for lip-sync of their character's speech. Ace saves character definitions as ACD files and builds the finished characters as ACS files.

Modern usage

Ace is still currently used to make all new Microsoft Agent characters. Most modern characters do not have much animations and rarely use much of Ace's features; lip-sync was a notable example of this before being brought back to popularity in 2017. Due to the way the tool was made, a lot of modern character animations have only one frame and a sound. In the 2020's, there are some modern characters that fully utilizes Ace's features. Examples are: The latest version of Matt Cosman, Bob and Larry from VeggieTales, and Laser Boy Studios' KinitoPET.

Versions and builds

Version	Earliest compilation date	Source	Notes	Download
Ace Beta	1996/1997	Unavailable	Earliest known version of MACE, no build numbers known	N/A
Ace 1.3	1997	Unavailable	No build numbers known	N/A
Ace 1.5.0.232	August 20th, 1997	Microsoft Agent Development Kit	First public version, released alongside Microsoft Agent 1.5	ace232.exe
Ace 1.5.1.302	October 29th, 1997	Visual Basic 6	Latest pre-2.0 version of Ace available	ace302.exe
Ace 2.00.0.2115	September 15th, 1997	Microsoft Beta Evaluation Program - Volume 43		ace2115.exe
Ace 2.00.0.2124	September 24th, 1998	Formerly on Microsoft's website	The only known 2.0 Ace version and, by far, the most popular one	ace2124.exe

Gallery

• 
  Splash screen in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Character properties in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Word balloon properties in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Voice properties in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Animation properties in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Animation frame in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Animation overlays in MACE 2.0.
• 
  About dialog in MACE 2.0.
• 
  Frame window inside of MACE 2.0.
• 
  Splash screen in MACE 1.5.
• 
  Character properties in MACE 1.5.
• 
  Word balloon properties in MACE 1.5.
• 
  Voice properties in MACE 1.5.
• 
  Animation frame in MACE 1.5.
• 
  About dialog in MACE 1.5.
• 
  Character properties in MACE 1.3.
• 
  Genie in MACE 1.3.

Trivia

• It was used to create almost every Microsoft Agent character.
• The download link was formerly available on Microsoft's website.
• It is speculated that MACE is compiled with Microsoft Agent due to similar build numbers.