[?] CTD and sound modding

[bert8for3]

I just CTD'd about 20 min (RL) into a new patrol, and I'm pretty sure that it was something to do with some sound file modding I did.

I edited a few wav and ogg files, but I'm a long way from knowing much about sound stuff. My questions are: do the modded sound files have to have the same attributes (i.e. such as sampling rate, bit rate etc) as the unmodded files? Is that likely to be the problem (I know some of them have different attributes)? Does file size matter?

[Reece]

Probably the ogg files, I had that problem with a few editors/converters, even an old version of Wavelab caused CTD's till I purchased Sony Sound Forge, then all went ok! There are definitely some freeware editors out there but just can't think of a name, try a search here in Subsim.

[bert8for3]

Tks Reece, I will have a look around. Have been using WavePad, but will try something else to see if makes a diff.

[Reece]

If you run into a brick wall just send me the file/files & I will reprocess them & send em back, you can then test, atleast you will know where you stand!

[bert8for3]

Originally Posted by Reece

If you run into a brick wall just send me the file/files & I will reprocess them & send em back, you can then test, atleast you will know where you stand!

Tks

[Jimbuna]

http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/pc/pcConvert.shtml

http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/cat/FORMAT_CONVERTERS/

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows

[Sailor Steve]

And he didn't mention www.goldwave.com, which is what I used when I converted the Das Boot Sound Mod from SH2 to SH3.

Yes, the attributes should be as close as you can get them, but they don't have to be exact. One thing to watch for is stereo and mono. The .wav sound files can be in stereo, but the .ogg files must be in mono, or else. I'm betting that's where your problem is, since I had the same thing happen back when I did that conversion, three years ago.

[bert8for3]

Thanks guys .

@Steve ... as a matter fact, I'm pretty sure that I saved one or two of the ogg files in stereo, 'cause I figured it would maybe sound better, but the originals were mono. I suspect you've hit the nail on the head, and I'll have a look at that first .

edit/add: Oh, btw, one thing I was messing with was the relative volume of different sounds which play at the same time. eg background hydrophone noise and own prop noise. I was adjusting them by tweaking the volume in the sound file itself, but I'm finding that when they play in-game, they're not getting the relative volumes that I thought they would. I'm thinking that there must be a controller file which adjusts/controls the sound file volumes. What file would that be (if I'm right) and can it be tweaked? :hmm:

[Jimbuna]

Are you using the sound recorder utility that is in your accessories pack and came with your OS ?

You should be able to increase the sound level in 25% increments before saving it and placing it back to it's original location.

[bert8for3]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Are you using the sound recorder utility that is in your accessories pack and came with your OS ?

You should be able to increase the sound level in 25% increments before saving it and placing it back to it's original location.

I've been using WavePad. It lets me increase/decrease sound volumes by whatever percentage I like. So eg I've been juggling the relative volumes of ambient hydrophone and own prop sound files to get a bit less relatively of ambient and a bit more of prop. IIRC I reduced ambient by half and increased prop by half or more.

I guess I'll play with the volumes some more.

So there's no sort of master volume control file or setting in a file that dictates eg play ambient hydrophone at level X and prop at level Y that overrides the actual sound file volume properties? :hmm:

[Von Manteuffel]

There are a couple of freeware programmes I've found indispensible.

First is MediaCoder http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/ It's very easy to use and quickly converts a whole batch of files between audio formats. You can set the bitrate to determine file size. I tend to use 128 kps MP3s for gramophone files and "mid" quality .ogg for in game music files. In SH4 I go as low as 24 kbs for radio files, as I like the "low quality" feel it adds.

The other is MP3Gain http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/ This only works with MP3s, but is a very quick way of controlling, normalising and levelling out the volume of a batch of sound files.

If you want .ogg files, simply convert them to MP3s with Media Converter, normalise the level of the files as a batch with MP3 Gain - I've found that 94db works well in the game without having to fiddle too much with the sound controls - then just convert them back to .ogg. They'll keep the level you've set.

Those two plus Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ and you can do anything you want with audio. Audacity is non-destructive and can be used as a convertor, but on a single file-by-file basis. I use it to edit music and sound files and then export, or save them to the format I want.

I've found it's always best to try to have all the sound files in a particular part of the game at the same bitrate etc. but I've never had any problems with having .ogg in-game music and MP3 gramophone tracks - provided that all the in-game files, or all the gramophone tracks are in the same format and are at the same bitrate. After all, the game itself uses both .ogg and .wav files for sounds.

As far as the .wav in-game sound FX are concerned, there would appear to be some form of volume control built-in to the game, but I haven't found it yet. E.g. the sound of the torpedo-tube doors opening is always very muted, no matter how "loud" you make the actual .wav file. You can use Audacity to work on individual files, increasing their volume to try to overcome this. I've found that, for example, the "fire" sounds are too low for my taste, so I used Audacity to increase their volume. There are, of course, limits before the sound files start to "clip" but you still have a fair amount of control. I suggest using Audacity to change the volumes of the two files you mention and see how it goes by trial and error. If you copy and rename the originals, they'll always be there to revert to if it doesn't work to your satisfaction.

Hope this helps. If you need anything further, please let me know.

[bert8for3]

@ Von Manteuffel. Many thanks

[Reece]

It lets me increase/decrease sound volumes by whatever percentage I like.

Just beware of clipping!