Missing Sounds Petition

[Dahak]

I was going through the BoA Sounds via Resedit for my script (see bottom), and I was looking for the animal sounds that existed in BoE. It seems many of them are missing. Out of curiousity I decided to find all the BoE sounds "missing" from BoA.

 

As follows:

20000 Boing Up

20001 Boing Down

20003 poison cough

20004 Bottles II

20005 SFX_PlasmaExplode.cvt

20006 chomp 2

20007 gain level

20008 Untitled 7

20010 sensitive

20013 party dead c

20016 town entry

20019 swish 2 (19)

20020 yawn (20)

20021 pc dead

20022 startup music

20023 out combat

20024 priest spell (24)

20025 mage spell (25)

20026 ghost with stomach ache

20027 monster uh (27)

20028 wfall.1

20032 slay other #2 (32)

20033 slay squeal (33)

20040 thanks

20042 acid (42)

20043 petrify (43)

20044 breathe.c

20045 on.who

20046 see growl (46)

20048 splashing.c

20051 blotto

20052 phased

20053 vibrating strike

20054 scream (54)

20059 door close (59)

20060 little boom

20062 mmm.c

20065 drain (65)

20066 disease (66)

20067 huh.c

20075 cold damage.c

20076 chirp (76)

20077 chirp 2 (77)

20079 drip 2 (79)

20082 baa (82)

20085 horse Step (85)

20087 attack - bite (87)

20090 laser 2

20091 chirp 3 (91)

20092 chicken (92) c

20095 enter dungeon (95)

20097 monst.dead

 

I know it is easy to add sounds to the Mac version of BoA, but I do not know about the Windows version. Also, I do not feel that we are allowed to modify and distribute the sound file (we could also modify the window's sound?).

 

I want collect "signatures" of people who feel that the next release of BoA shoudl have these missing sounds. I know some of them (chirps, baa, thanks) would be very useful. If you think Jeff should add them, just post. Also, let others know. If I get enough responces, I'll e-mail Jeff.

 

Also, I wrote this script to create alternate ambient sounds. Please critique

Code:

// sound.txt - This is a terrain script that can be placed to to add realism to a town// By:  Dahak (pat.s.j@att.net)// Please let me know of any errors.//// Due to the limit of terrain scripts placeable, and processor time, be careful to not abuse this.//// I designed this because I was having a problems with multiple background sounds.// This works by ponly playing those sounds NEAR the party and only every 8 turns.//// You may it use up to 7 different sounds// Cell 0 - 6 contains the number of a sound you specify// Cell 7 controls the random factor.  Enter a percentage (1% = 1, 100% = 100)// When a sound is randomly picked, the random factor is applied.// If the random factor is <= cell 7, then play picked sound.// If you wish to make one sound more common, then enter it into multiple cells.//// The following is the sound list// It is copied direct from the BoA Editor Appendix// When entering a value in the memory cells, use number + 1.// Therefore 'high beep', #0, is entered as 1 in a memory cell and NOT 0.// Sounds shoudl range from 1 - 174 for the cells.// This script DOES check, and will ignore bad values//// Why sound + 1?  This is because the default cells are 0.// Do you always want to edit the values?//// This script may be "turned off" by setting cell 7 to 0.// This is how I switched between one background sound to another.// Tip:  You MAY play ambient sounds, but they play for so long that they may overlap.//       The effect is cool, but it may slow down the system.// 0 - high beep// 1 - low beep// 2 - weapon swish 1// 3 - cough// 4 - magic sound (blessing)// 5 - small explosion// 6 - chomping noise// 7 - magic sound (slowing)// 8 - making a potion// 9 - unlock click// 10 - teleportation sound// 11 - flying fireball// 12 - magic sound (haste)// 13 - party dead// 14 - thrown missile// 15 - cash register ding// 16 - enter town// 17 - poison squish// 18 - drawing sword// 19 - weapon swish 2// 20 - yawn// 21 - female human dying 1// 22 - starting music// 23 - outdoor combat starts// 24 - magic sound (generic priest)// 25 - magic sound (generic mage)// 26 - gain level chime// 27 - humanoid dying// 28 - magic sound (generic beneficial)// 29 - male human dying// 30 - female human dying 2// 31 - generic death// 32 - lizard dying// 33 - beast dying// 34 - click// 35 - high-pitched "Hi"// 36 - high-pitched "Hello"// 37 - button click// 38 - coin hitting counter// 39 - jingling coins// 40 - undead dying// 41 - failure "Ungh"// 42 - acid hiss// 43 - magic sound (stoning)// 44 - breath weapon// 45 - stone sliding on stone// 46 - magic sound (curse)// 47 - footstep on gravel// 48 - magic sound (going berzerk)// 49 - footstep 1// 50 - footstep 2// 51 - magic sound (shooting flames)// 52 - magic sound (ice)// 53 - magic sound (magic bolt)// 54 - magic sound (lightning)// 55 - footstep (squish)// 56 - swallowing sound// 57 - special encounter chime// 58 - door opening sound 1// 59 - door closing// 60 - magic sound (angelic)// 61 - magic sound (summoning boing)// 62 - magic sound (long zap)// 63 - "Owwww!"// 64 - spit// 65 - magic sound (draining)// 66 - disease gagging// 67 - light torch flames// 68 - magic sound (identification peeyoop)// 69 - sword blow 1// 70 - sword blow 2// 71 - pole weapon 1// 72 - club/punch blow// 73 - fire blow// 74 - magic sound (fireball)// 75 - magic sound (cold damage)// 76 - clunk// 77 - equip/get armor// 78 - water drip// 79 - slide and clunk// 80 - equip/get weapon// 81 - tiny poink sound// 82 - open backpack// 83 - close backpack// 84 - male human dying 2// 85 - rowing// 86 - clawing sound// 87 - bite sound// 88 - slimy blow// 89 - magic sound (magic zap)// 90 - magic sound (laser zap)// 91 - arrow sound// 92 - humanoid dying// 93 - sword sheathed// 94 - level clunk// 95 - long enter dungeon sound// 96 - long yawn// 97 - generic monster death// 98 - missile blow// 99 - rattling chain// 100 - waterfall// 101 - dropped item thud// 102 - magic sound (big zap)// 103 - slith dying// 104 - magic sound (fast magic missile)// 105 - nephilim death// 106 - latch sound// 107 - box opened// 108 - crumbling rock// 109 - magic sound (small fire boom)// 110 - vahnatai door opening// 111 - vahnatai killed// 112 - magic sound (smite spell)// 113 - talking skull 1// 114 - talking skull 2// 115 - talking skull 3// 116 - horse moving// 117 - mounting a horse// 118 - large blow// 119 - demon dying// 120 - digging// 121 - bug dying// 122 - slime attack// 123 - slime dying// 124 - equip/get pole weapon// 125 - equip/get thrown weapon// 126 - equip/get bow// 127 - equip/get potion// 128 - equip scroll// 129 - equip/get /get wand// 130 - equip/get tool// 131 - equip/get pants// 132 - equip/get shield// 133 - equip/get leather// 134 - equip/get chain// 135 - equip/get plate// 136 - equip/get helm// 137 - equip/get gloves// 138 - equip/get boots// 139 - equip/get cloak// 140 - equip/get ring// 141 - equip/get necklace// 142 - equip/get bracelet// 143 - equip/get arrow/bolt// 144 - ambience - city background noise// 145 - ambience - village background noise// 146 - ambience - dungeon background noise  (bats, hisses, fewer drops, clangs)// 147 - ambience - machinery background noise// 148 - ambience - outdoor, day background noise, first half// 149 - ambience - outdoor night background noise, first half// 150 - ambience - spooky chanting/clanking background noise// 151 - ambience - outdoor, underground background noise (water drops)// 152 - big explosion// 153 - ambience - outdoor, day background noise, second half// 154 - ambience - outdoor night background noise, second half// 155 - ambience - winds// 156 - ambience - creepy woods// 157 - kick attack// 158 - pole weapon 2// 159 - door opening sound 2// 160 - door opening sound 3// 161 - meow// 162 - odd, magical chime// 163 - magical whoosh // 164 - lightning strike // 165 - magical conjuration // 166 - blessing sound // 167 - fiery breath weapon // 168 - bubbly magic sound // 169 - gassy, fiery boom// 170 - fast, magic zap // 171 - quick lightning zap// 172 - moo// 173 - dog bark// This sound list is LIMITED in usefulness.// I want some of the BoE (Blades of Exile) sounds incorporated for improvement// I will contact Jeff.// Sounds I'm hoping to get are the Baa, Chirps 1 & 2, Whinny, Horse Clop, etcbeginterrainscript;variables;short play_cell;string buffer;body;beginstate INIT_STATE;	set_script_mode(0);break;beginstate START_STATE;	//Plays a random sound from cell 0 - 6	play_cell = get_ran(1, 0, 6);	//Test for invalid values, and report them	if ((get_memory_cell(play_cell) > 174) || (get_memory_cell(play_cell) < 0))	{		clear_buffer();		append_string("Invalid sound to be played in cell #");		append_number(play_cell);		append_string(" at X = ");		append_number(my_loc_x);		append_string(", Y = ");		append_number(my_loc_y);		get_buffer_text(buffer);		print_str_color(buffer, 1);		end();	}	//Determine if chosen sound is played	if ((get_memory_cell(7) != 0) && (get_ran(1,1,100) <= get_memory_cell(7)))	{		//Do not play 0 values		if (get_memory_cell(play_cell) != 0)			run_animation_sound(get_memory_cell(play_cell) - 1);	}break;

[Kelandon]

Heck, I'd like support for custom sounds in general, since it would be pretty easy for Jeff to do. I mean, we can have them already in theory, but it'd be nice if Jeff made the Windows side of it a tad more easy.

[Dahak]

I just want Jeff to tack these sounds into the "Blades of Avernum Sounds" file.

 

edit:

What, that is it? No one else wants Jeff to add these sounds so all can enjoy?

[Poit]

Count me in

[KernelKnowledge12]

Me too.

[ef]

Me too. And it's not that difficult to have custom sounds with Windows. You have to put a few empty folders into the .exe directory, but once that's done, they can be used eternally.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

Sure.

[Toenail Returns]

I'm in.

 

YAY FOR SPIDWEB

[Dahak]

Yay for names! I'll let this go for a week or so, and then I'll e-mail Jeff.

[Donald Hebb]

I'm in. That aside...

Would it be possible to allow for CUSTOM sounds? Ya know, like .wav files taking their own sound slots?

 

(I really want to make music as town incidental noises!)

[Smoo]

I'm in too.

[Lilith]

I'm in, assuming there's no good reason why the sounds can't be used in BoA.

[Sarachim]

I'm in, but I also agree with TM. Proper custom sounds would be more interesting.

[Lynkfox]

Weeeeeeeeeeeee! Tacos!

 

yeah im in

[KernelKnowledge12]

Quote:

Originally written by Solomon Strokes:

Would it be possible to allow for CUSTOM sounds? Ya know, like .wav files taking their own sound slots?

(I really want to make music as town incidental noises!)

From what I understand of the game's engine, it is possible, but would mean a change in the engine, specifically the scripting engine. JV most likely would not do this. At least not right away.

BoA is the first game in the avernum series that makes use of a scripting engine. Since JV is planning to create Avernum 4, he will most likely use this scripting engine to make it. He will also (as he did with every other game) improve the engine. If he allows for custom sounds, I'd think he'd do it here, and then I guess with enough support from the community, he might apply those changes to BoA.

[Kelandon]

He's making a brand-new engine for A4, though, and A4 won't have custom sounds anyway because -- because it's not a scenario design system.

[KernelKnowledge12]

Will he be using a scripting engine for A4?

[Notus]

I'm in too.

 

As for CUSTOM sounds, they should be directly written to .exe file as resources on the current version on Windows.

Assuming the code for sound resource on the editor was ripped from BoA application itself, it uses LoadResource(). This API can only retrieve resources in the .exe file. ( load_sounds() in sound.c(pp) )

 

Custom sound is implemented by almost the same method as custom graphics. To realize custom sound file like graphics, external sound files should be searched when a sound resource isn't found on .exe as he coded on load_pict() in Graphutl.c. That is, already the logic is established on graphics.

 

Or use PlaySound() after checking existence of the custom sound file.

So, it isn't hard to implement it to Windows.

 

[EDIT]

On Mac, it is far easy, only expand the allowed resource ID range for the custom sound.

 

Anyway, currently known method is 'hacking', not the actual custom sounds, because it replaces built-in sounds.

[Lilith]

Apparently, it's already possible for BoA to use scenario-specific custom sounds, but it's an undocumented and unsupported feature.

[Donald Hebb]

How?

 

And is there any way to turn MP3/WAV files into BoA sounds?

[Dahak]

Quote:

Originally written by Thuryl:
Apparently, it's already possible for BoA to use scenario-specific custom sounds, but it's an undocumented and unsupported feature.

It is possible, but I would not recommend it.

The BoA engine uses sounds 0 through 174. The games only comes with 0 through 173 used. You could add 1 sound without replacing the others if you added that sound resource to the *.cmg file.

Of course, this method only works for Mac.

I get a Debug 000 1 - # error when I call any sound outside of the 0 - 174 range. # is number of the snd resource called by run_animation_sound().

[Overwhelming]

Count me in too.

[Notus]

Quote:

How?
And is there any way to turn MP3/WAV files into BoA sounds?

I also would not recommend it. I'll write the process, but I want to let you know why it is not recommended.

0. Resource ID
As Dahak said, the resource IDs from 0 to 174 are used on BoA application on both platform. And to use sounds, the resource ID should be within this range. That is, we should replace original sounds to install custom sound.
For Macintosh, replacement is temporary because .cmg file can be used for replacement. But on Windows, custom sounds should be installed into the BoA application itself replacing the original sound as follows. The replacement is permanent otherwise you don't recover it. And you should distribute customized BoA application with scenario.

1. On Macintosh
1.1 For Mac scenario
1.1.1 Make Mac sound resource ('snd ')
Convert sound file to 'snd ' resource using such as SoundApp

SoundApp is an old freeware, most of link are lost.
I found it http://www.mp3-mac.com/AppsDload/SoundApp.html
It works on classic environment.
For MP3 conversion, you may need QuickTime Pro is installed.
Conversion is done using File > Convert...
Select "System Sound"
As 'snd ' resource is limitted to 16kBytes, it doesn't accept long sound file.

1.1.2 Attach 'snd ' resource to .cmg file
Use ResEdit or other resource editor.

1.2 For Win scenario
1.2.1 Prepare .wav file
You can also use SoundApp to convert MP3 to .wav
Use "Windows WAVE" as the format.

1.2.2 insert .wav file to .exe file using resource editor
No simple method on Macintosh to do this process. Use Windows machine.

2. On Windows
2.1 For Mac scenario
2.1.1 Make Mac sound resource ('snd ')
2.1.2 Attach 'snd ' resource to .cmg file
There is no simple way to do this process on Windows, because of handling resource fork. Use Macintosh.

2.2 For Win scenario
2.2.1 Prepare .wav file
To convert MP3 to WAV, you can find many application on internet.

2.2.2 insert .wav file to .exe file using resource editor
Use resource editor such as "PE Resource Explorer"
http://www.wilsonc.demon.co.uk/d7resourceexplorer.htm

Open BoA application, "Blade of Avernum.exe", with resource editor.
Open Sections - .rsrc - 100 folder
You'll find folders numbered from 1 to 174. This is the original sound resource. The actual resource number has greater number by one than resource ID selected in the script.
Open one of the sound folder you want to replace it.
Select resource itself and execute "import user resource" from .wav file over it.

---- end of procedure ----

Technically, we can make a patch to support TRUE custom sound on both platform, analyzing disassembly list of the BoA application. But it is the same procedure to make an unprotect version of BoA. I can do it, but I don't want to do.

[Donald Hebb]

EDIT: Okay, I managed to get background music. Thanks alot!