Can't get custom global audio to play louder

(G0-Gerbil) #1

Created several global speakers using /editspeakers.
I can’t seem to up their volume, and they appear to play at only half volume, even though I’ve kept upping the volume property of the speakers.
I even tried 2 identical ones to see if the volume was cumulative but no joy.

Here’s a sample of the speakers from the SPS file:

	speakerDef {
		noise "sound/multiplayer/mml_helmsdeep/horn_level_5.wav"
		origin 2400.00 -200.00 3000.00
		targetname "horn_blow_5"
		looped "no"
		broadcast "global"
		volume 511
		range 30000
	}

Any help? :slight_smile:

(Shaderman) #2

I hope I can help with my first post here :banana:

Taken from the LDR:

volume
The actual volume is defined by the sound sample and not by the game engine, the volume flag acts as an amplifier. The default volume is 127 which means there is no volume modification done to the sound file. To make a sound twice as loud (+6dB) in game you would set the volume to 255 or half as loud (-6dB) you would set it to 63. How much amplification you can use depends on the volume of the sound file, if you use too much you will notice digital clipping in which case you should reduce the volume.

Maybe you should raise the volume of your sound file with a sound editing software to almost the level you want it, so that you only have to adjust it slightly with the volume flag.

I hope you understand my 8am-still-sleeping-english :smiley:

(MadJack) #3

Gerbil, have you tried using

playsound sound/your/sound/path/soundtoplay.wav Volume_#

Note that you can’t use LOOPING and a volume at the same time though iirc.

(chavo_one) #4

Shaderman is dead on here. I have had extreme trouble in making custom sounds have the same level of loudness as the original sounds. And when I say level of loudness, I’m not talking about in game, I’m talking about in a sound editor.

Even when I amplify my custom sounds to 0db peak (the limit before digital clipping), the power of my soundfiles just isn’t the same. As an example, load up the grenade sounds in your sound editor and listen to them. They are incredibly loud.

If someone knows how to increase a sound’s apparent loudness after the sound clip is already peaked at 0db, I would love to hear it as well.

(MadMaximus) #5

the trick to maximizing a sound is compression and limiting, raising the volume does just that, but compressing and limiting will maximize the sound by bringing up the lows and clipping the high’s. when i used to play guitar, i used a compressor/limiter on a mic to see, and a whisper was loud and clear as screaming was also, with no distortion. use a sound editing program to add some compression and see how your wav’s sound after.

goldwave does compression. if you hear the sound’s for the train in pitchblack, i used compression on all those to make them sound more even.

(G0-Gerbil) #6

My sound files are all normalised (IE made to span the full range from zero to maximum), and comparitively compared to ET sounds inside my audio editing proggie are fine.
My point is the volume option in the speaker isn’t working - I hate to be annoying but in my original post:

I can’t seem to up their volume, and they appear to play at only half volume, even though I’ve kept upping the volume property of the speakers.
.
I know all about the clipping, and I’d be fine with that I’m sure (or at least do compromises) but I can’t get the volume change to have any effect.
I’ll stick in a global audio using a basic ET sound and see if I have the same problem.

Madjack - is that a script_mover thingy or can you do it from say game_manager and it’ll be global?

(MadJack) #7

@ Gerbil, I’ve used playsound in lots of scriptblocks so my guess is that it woukd work in game_manager. Though if I were you I’d try using the sound as any other and then if the volume isn’t loud enough, bring it higher.

Also note that, as I said above, you CAN’T use playsound <sound> LOOPING and volume. Volume is simply ignored with looping. I know you can tag a .wav file as looping internally so if playsound doesn’t work maybe setting that looping in the file itself would work if used as playsound <sound> <volume>

The way I used it is with custom made doors. I would call a function from a targer_script_trigger to move the door following a path, etc… here’s an exemple:



sickbay_door
{
	<snipped>
	...
	trigger sickbay_inside_door from_outside
	...
	<snipped>
	...
	trigger sickbay_inside_door open_sickbay_door // Open the sickbay door
}

sickbay_inside_door
{
	trigger from_outside // Close door before disinfection
	{
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_start_01.wav
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_loop_01.wav LOOPING
		gotomarker sickbay_in-door_closed 15 wait
		stopsound
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_end_01.wav

	}

	trigger open_sickbay_door // Open door after disinfection
	{
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_start_01.wav
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_loop_01.wav LOOPING
		gotomarker sickbay_in-door_opened 40 wait
		stopsound
		playsound sound/movers/misc/garage_door_end_01.wav
	}

}

You don’t see it above but the first scriptblock uses playsound too. It calls the second scriptblock that will move the 2nd door which will make sounds too.

Anyway, I hope it’ll help :slight_smile:

(G0-Gerbil) #8

It’s gotta be worth a try.

It’s just a music clip I play on level start. If the above fails, I’ll chuck them in as team audio that plays when you join, instead of the ‘destroy the main gate! capture the radio parts! tk with panzer! insult the noob!’ audio files you get in the official maps.