===[TASK]=== Ambiance SFX

[Samulis]

Hi all,

For the past few months, I've been working on taking stock of the existing sound effects in the game and recording some new material. I currently have generated a catalog of about 10 GB of raw recordings to go through, and I've been making slow but steady headway editing this material to get down to final sound effects that can go into the game (cut, process, clean, convert). That probably sounds like a lot, but after all the editing and converting from 48kHz/24-bit .wav to the .ogg vorbis format, the end result is maybe going to be 150-300 MB total.

This first set will mostly be ambiance sound effects, spurred on by @stanislas69. I currently have 83 sound files in this category, which I've temporarily placed in a public dropbox folder (click the link below, then click 'download' in the top right corner of the page to download it all in one go). All of these sounds are from my own recordings, most of which were specifically recorded for this project.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7m5tg9ln1xjmlnw/AAD2hD-Aorl1YkYXPqcgJpUea?dl=0

I don't have XML files generated yet, but the naming convention (a subtle but clearer evolution upon the original convention) should be more or less finalized, based on one discussed in my application thread, implemented here for feedback with revisions proposed by GunChleoc-

 

With the naming convention, we basically inserted two extra underscores, so the values are [name]_[type]_[intensity]_[variation]. Type is like the difference between two different birds or microphones, while variation is two different takes done by the same bird or microphone setup. Within a type and intensity you are essentially guaranteed a certain degree of similarity. Intensity is how much of whatever is going on, for example, some calm, sparse waves versus stronger, more stormy waves, or one person walking versus 20 people walking. The thunder sounds are a good example of the difference.

I think Implementation would probably be to make one .xml file for each name_type (e.g. bird_1.xml, bird_2.xml, etc.).

I have temporarily organized the files into six categories under 'Ambiance'-

• Forest
• Plains
• Swamp
• Thunder
• Water
  • Coast
  • Flowing (e.g. streams, rivers, waterfalls- encoded in the intensity parameter of the name)
  • Rain
• Wind

I would also like to reiterate that this is just the beginning, and that over time more files and likely categories will be added (e.g. 'desert', 'Mediterranean', etc.).

 

With that in mind, I am looking for people interested in recording ambiances for the game, specifically those living in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East who have access to quiet, un-populated areas (e.g. natural parks, rural areas, etc.). As I live and work in New England, I do not exactly have an easy way to record all the different climates of the world, as much as I would enjoy a vacation. 

 

You don't need much in terms of equipment, just a little hand-held device like a Zoom H1 with a windscreen would do just fine (a cell phone's built-in mic isn't quite good enough). Find a quiet spot (edit: by that I mean as far away from any sound of human activity as possible, not really 'quiet'), move the dial until the sound is between -24 and -12 on the display, press record while holding it (or mounting it on a tripod/stand) towards the sound source (and away from any unwanted sound), remain very quiet and still for a minute or two, then stop the recording. I can take care of the rest!

 

Anyway, let me know what you all think, if you have any feedback, questions, or concerns, it is all welcome (especially before I edit too many of these!).

 

A quick preview of what I have coming up next to edit. I plan to make new tasks for each of these sets for clarity, but continue using the same dropbox-

• Horse, chicken, and cow sounds (walking, vocalizing, eating)
• Loads of foley, movement, fire, and weapon sounds

Edited September 6, 2018 by Samulis

[Stan`]

Hey @Samulis

3 hours ago, Samulis said:

For the past few months, I've been working on taking stock of the existing sound effects in the game and recording some new material. I currently have generated a catalog of about 10 GB of raw recordings to go through, and I've been making slow but steady headway editing this material to get down to final sound effects that can go into the game (cut, process, clean, convert). That probably sounds like a lot, but after all the editing and converting from 48kHz/24-bit .wav to the .ogg vorbis format, the end result is maybe going to be 150-300 MB total.

This first set will mostly be ambiance sound effects, spurred on by @stanislas69. I currently have 83 sound files in this category, which I've temporarily placed in a public dropbox folder (click the link below, then click 'download' in the top right corner of the page to download it all in one go). All of these sounds are from my own recordings, most of which were specifically recorded for this project.

Thanks for the heads up and the amount of work you put into this. It will certainly come in handy !

 

3 hours ago, Samulis said:

I don't have XML files generated yet, but the naming convention (a subtle but clearer evolution upon the original convention) should be more or less finalized, based on one discussed in my application thread, implemented here for feedback with revisions proposed by GunChleoc-

With the naming convention, we basically inserted two extra underscores, so the values are [name]_[type]_[intensity]_[variation]. Type is like the difference between two different birds or microphones, while variation is two different takes done by the same bird or microphone setup. Within a type and intensity you are essentially guaranteed a certain degree of similarity. Intensity is how much of whatever is going on, for example, some calm, sparse waves versus stronger, more stormy waves, or one person walking versus 20 people walking. The thunder sounds are a good example of the difference.

I think Implementation would probably be to make one .xml file for each name_type (e.g. bird_1.xml, bird_2.xml, etc.).

I have temporarily organized the files into six categories under 'Ambiance'-

• Forest
• Plains
• Swamp
• Thunder
• Water
  • Coast
  • Flowing (e.g. streams, rivers, waterfalls- encoded in the intensity parameter of the name)
  • Rain
• Wind

@OmriLahav What is your opinion on said naming conventions ? Would you like to change some things ? In the end this should be written in a design document (Maybe @Itms's)or some wiki page called SoundNamingConventions.

 

3 hours ago, Samulis said:

A quick preview of what I have coming up next to edit. I plan to make new tasks for each of these sets for clarity, but continue using the same dropbox-

• Horse, chicken, and cow sounds (walking, vocalizing, eating)
• Loads of foley, movement, fire, and weapon sounds

Those will be easier to implement I believe so we'll be able to test them in game This would be nice to have for A24;

Keep up the good work , and thanks for contributing.

 

[Imarok]

13 minutes ago, stanislas69 said:

In the end this should be written in a design document (Maybe @Itms's)or some wiki page called SoundNamingConventions.

I'd say a Wiki Page is always good. And I'd rather do it know that later, as you always can change it later, but will not be forgotten.

Edit: I just created a page for you @Samulis I'd would be great if you could populate the page: https://trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki/SoundNamingConventions

[Stan`]

3 minutes ago, Imarok said:

'd say a Wiki Page is always good. And I'd rather do it know that later, as you always can change it later, but will not be forgotten.

I'm not familiar with how you create pages ? Doesn't one need to make a wrong link then follow it and ask to create the page ?

[Imarok]

4 minutes ago, stanislas69 said:

I'm not familiar with how you create pages ? Doesn't one need to make a wrong link then follow it and ask to create the page ?

As stated in my edit (I know, not that obvious place), I created a page for you, as I know this process isn't that straight forward.

[Stan`]

4 minutes ago, Imarok said:

As stated in my edit (I know, not that obvious place), I created a page for you, as I know this process isn't that straight forward.

Thanks ! I forgot you're as fast as me

@Samulis Once we have settled on a convention, we will be able to edit that page  to reflect it. All changes there are versionned, so you can see what changed every time

[Samulis]

8 hours ago, stanislas69 said:

Thanks ! I forgot you're as fast as me

@Samulis Once we have settled on a convention, we will be able to edit that page  to reflect it. All changes there are versionned, so you can see what changed every time

Thanks guys!

If anyone has any feedback on the naming format, please feel free to share it. Otherwise, we should be good to publish (I assume I need to set up an account on the Wiki to edit?).

Timeline for getting the horse/cow/chicken samples up is probably 1-2 weeks. Unsurprisingly there's a lot of background noise (birds, crickets, cars, etc.) that has to be cleaned out for the sounds to be usable.

[Imarok]

1 hour ago, Samulis said:

If anyone has any feedback on the naming format, please feel free to share it. Otherwise, we should be good to publish (I assume I need to set up an account on the Wiki to edit?).

Yes, you need a trac account.

[OmriLahav]

17 hours ago, stanislas69 said:

@OmriLahav What is your opinion on said naming conventions ? Would you like to change some things ? In the end this should be written in a design document (Maybe @Itms's)or some wiki page called SoundNamingConventions.

Hey, it looks good to me!
Well done, @Samulis!!

One thing that comes to mind - in some cases (strong vs. soft waves) the "intensity" variable is fairly obvious.
However with the person walking example, it could be interpreted as number of people walking, hard or soft sounding terrain, walking / running etc... so not always straightforward.

I think it'll be fine so long as the "name" variable is specific about some things - i.e. "person_walking_dirt" vs "person_running_sand" or "people_walking_swamp".

O

[Samulis]

7 minutes ago, OmriLahav said:

Hey, it looks good to me!
Well done, @Samulis!!

One thing that comes to mind - in some cases (strong vs. soft waves) the "intensity" variable is fairly obvious.
However with the person walking example, it could be interpreted as number of people walking, hard or soft sounding terrain, walking / running etc... so not always straightforward.

I think it'll be fine so long as the "name" variable is specific about some things - i.e. "person_walking_dirt" vs "person_running_sand" or "people_walking_swamp".

O

Thanks Omri!

That's the idea, indeed. Something non-specific but different (e.g. different shields made of wood) can be encoded in the 'type' number, but for anything that is very likely to have a specific, unique end use that should be made clear, such as footsteps on different material, will have a clear, verbose name as you suggest.

shield_hit_wood_1_...
shield_hit_wood_2_...

[Stan`]

Looks like you can update that page then