DW sounds (and nasty clicks)

[OlegM]

Hi, lately I've been experimenting with various sound mods - ie. download the sound package or "independent" sounds from somewhere and build the AGG file myself using the jsteed's Sound Editor.

But every time I build the new (or altered) AGG file unwanted clicky sound "artefacts" are introduced.

I know this is an old issue, and I know it has been discussed before, even back in the SC days. But what I don't remember is whether there were any suggestions, workarounds and/or alternative AGG-building tools to use instead of jsteeds editor?

jsteed if you're reading this, do you plan a new version of your sweet little tool (one that does away with the clicks prefarably :|\ ).

(Reason why I started playing with sounds is I wanted to use Russian voice pack - not that I am crazy about Russian voices, but the original "fake Russian Egrish" in the game is absolutely dreadful [atrocious voice acting])

Oleg

[Kapitan]

i want to use the sound patch too but i havnt a clue how to install it and yeah those voices are a bit dreadful

[SquidB]

I belive that theres a one fix version of the sound mod that means all you have to do is drop the file into your DW directory. So you dont need to use sound edit at all.

At least thats what i did.

[OlegM]

That's a neat trick Squid - thanks (and a slap on my forehead for not thinking of that myself )

I'll try it as soon as I get the chance... can we dump WAVs into any sub-directory? I know WAVs in /scenario folder are read and normally used by the game... Do we use /scenario folder, or any folder within DW directory tree? Logical place to dump sounds would be /audio folder...

Also, do we have to delete the sounds in the original AGGs to force new sounds to be used? I mean if we have XYZ.wav in DW directory, and XYZ.wav withing the original AGG file, which one will actually be used by the game?

Oleg

[OlegM]

Originally Posted by SquidB

I belive that theres a one fix version of the sound mod that means all you have to do is drop the file into your DW directory. So you dont need to use sound edit at all.

At least thats what i did.

I can't get this to work. Where exactly did you put your WAVs to make them work? And what did you do with the original AGGs? Thanks.

Oleg

[DarkShip]

Oleg,

Installing the russian voices is quite easy (I asume you are talking about Crazy Ivan's Mod).

This mod replaces the original voices of the Akula and/or the Kilo crew.
As usual, we need jsteed's Sound Editor (v1.02) to edit and modifie the .wav files in the sfx.agg files.

Follow the steps below to modifie the Akula sfx.agg file (...DW\Interfaces\AkulaII\ sfx.agg).

- First, make a backup of the original sfx.agg and store it safely.
- On your desktop, unrar Crazy_Ivans_Russian_Voice_Mod.rar; you'll get 4 files:
.Akula_.rar
.Kilo_.rar
.Rus_Subs_Voice_Common.rar (actually, there are 10 common.rar files, part 01 to 10, but as they are all the same, you'll only need one of them)
.and Rus_Voice_Patch_Instructions.rar, the readme file.

- Create a folder on your desktop and copy into it jsteed's Sound Editor and the sfx.agg file (from ...DW\Interfaces\AkulaII\).
- Now unrar the Akula.rar and Rus_Subs_Voice_Common.rar from Ivan's mod and copy from both folders all the .wav files into the above mentionned folder.

-Now the sweet step, launch jsteed's Editor:
.Hit file\open and select the sfx.agg file to be modified. (Watch the sfx.agg .wav files displayed in the editor's left window)
.Hit once again file\open and first modify the file type from .agg to .wav; then select all the .wav files and click ok. (--> the new .wav files are now displayed in the editor's central window)
.Hit "select all" below the editor's central window (this highlights the new .wav files)
.Finally, hit the "Replace files" button and watch the process in the event log window on the right.

You are done with the newly modified AkulaII sfx.agg file.
Now, copy this file into your ...DW\Interfaces\AkulaII folder.

Enjoy the new russian voices.... Thanks to Ivan!!

You may also want to keep a copy of this file; rename it (sfx_Akulla_Russian.agg for ex.) and store it with the original Akula sfx.agg file.

To modifie the Kilo sfx.agg file, go through the same process with your ...DW\Interfaces\Kilo\ sfx.agg file and use the Kilo_.rar file instead of the Akula_.rar file from Ivan's mod.

-------------------------

In my case, I don't have any strange clicks since I modified my sfx files in DW ( I did though, when I had tweaked the sfx in SC)

-------------------------

I also suggest you install Negr's great Russian Akula Panels for a really immersive DW.
BTW, Negr when will your Kilo panels be ready? I just can't wait to get those... :P

[OlegM]

No... OK...

There has been lots of misunderstanding in this thread. First of all I know how to do what you DarkShip describe, I did that, and introduced "nasty clicks" in the process.

Apparently, this is the same problems other sound modders had (read the finiteless sound mod sticky thread).

When Squid posted that "all you have to do is drop the file into your DW directory. So you dont need to use sound edit at all" I took it to mean to drop the WAV files in the directory, without ever processing them with SoundEdit and without putting them into AGG. I know WAVs dropped into sceranio directory can be used in scenarios.

But this does NOT work for original game sounds. So you have to put them in AGG files using SoundEdit. Phew.

How did you manage to put CrazyIvan sounds into AGG without introducing any clicks DarkShip is a mystery to me though...

Would you be so kind as to send me the copy of SoundEdit you're using?

Oleg

[OlegM]

Originally Posted by DarkShip

Oleg,

This mod replaces the original voices of the Akula and/or the Kilo crew.
As usual, we need jsteed's Sound Editor (v1.02) to edit and modifie the .wav files in the sfx.agg files.

This could be the solution to the mystery - you said you used Sound Edit 1.02 - latest version I have is 1.01, downloaded from Subguru.

Can you please send me 1.02 via email? Thanks.

Oleg

[DarkShip]

Originally Posted by OlegM

When Squid posted that "all you have to do is drop the file into your DW directory. So you dont need to use sound edit at all" I took it to mean to drop the WAV files in the directory, without ever processing them with SoundEdit and without putting them into AGG...
But this does NOT work for original game sounds. So you have to put them in AGG files using SoundEdit. Phew.

...Yeah, I understood it that way too... and I wonder how this can be

How did you manage to put CrazyIvan sounds into AGG without introducing any clicks DarkShip is a mystery to me though...

Would you be so kind as to send me the copy of SoundEdit you're using?

Can't say why... I remember a post a long time ago saying those clicks appeared randomly due to the agg file modification.

I can send you the file if you wish but it's approx 28 Mo... Don't know if it will go through Outlook express ?

Sound Editor v1.2 sent...

[DarkShip]

Here is the read me file for SEditor v1.02:

----------------

SubCommand Sound Editor 1.02 by JSteed

Changes since version 1.00

Version 1.02
- Added "Recent File List" to file menu. Now recently accessed agg and
wav files can be reopened without using the open file box. A file,
SCSndEdit.ini is created and contains a list of the 6 most recently
accessed files. It is located in the same directory as the executable.
- Fleet Command agg file can now be opened. A bug prevented this.
- Fixed still another problem with popping sounds heard in some files. --> this might be the answer... :hmm:
- Source code released.

Version 1.01
- Fixed bug that made modified agg files with only one table of contents
uneditable.
- Fixed problem with popping sound heard in some wav files after agg was
edited.
- Now the program can be used to edit the agg file more than once without
having to close it and then restart it.
- A few checks added to help prevent operator error.
- Button that allows the event log to be cleared.

This program will allow you to extract, replace and add new wav files to the
sfx.agg sound file.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make a copy your sfx.agg file. This program will overwrite it whenever
a wav file is added or replaced. Due to the size of the agg file, this
program creates NO backup file.

2. This program can be placed in any folder, but for ease use, it is
suggested that it be placed in the \Sub Command\Audio\Sfx folder.

3. After starting the program, load the agg table contents into the program
by pressing the open file button or using the drop-down menu. You will see
that the 'Files type:' has already selected .agg as the extension. Open
sfx.agg, and you will see all the wav files contained in it displayed in
left-most list box.

Extract Wav Files:

4. If you would like to extract one or more these wav files, highlight the
desired files and press the 'Extract Files' button. The files will be saved
to the SAME folder that contains the agg file. Any files with the same name
will be OVERWRITTEN. As this process takes place, a log of the files being
extracted is created in the right-most list box.

Replace Wav Files:

5. To replace an existing wav file with one you have created or modified, load
the agg table contents into the program as explained above. Now press
the 'open file button' again and select the .wav extension in the
'Files type:' box. Find the modified wav file(s) and open it. You may
select more than one, but they must be from the same folder. Remember,
to replace a file in the agg, it MUST have the exact same file name. The
file names will be displayed in the center list box. Highlight any and all
you want to replace. Press the 'Replace Files' button. The program will
create a temporary folder, (sfx.agg folder)\SCtmp. Next, the agg file will
be completely unpacked into the temporary folder. Then the agg file will
be repacked with the replacement file included. The original sfx.agg file
will be overwritten. A log all the events will be created in the
right-most box. After the agg file has been recreated, the temporary
directory and files inside it will be removed. This entire process is quite
lengthy and will take a minute or two, depending on the speed your hard
drive. It's a good time to get a cup coffee.

Add New Wav Files:

6. To add new files to sfx.agg, select the agg file and new wav file(s) with
the 'open file button' as described above. The name these new files must
be different from any already in the agg file. Highlight any and all files
you wish to add to the agg file and press the 'Add New Files' button. The
process will proceed exactly as above, except new files will be added to the
agg file.

Saving Table of Contents

The table of contents of the agg file, (left-most scren), as well as the
event log can now be saved as files to disk by simply pressing the Save
button. Both lists are saved to seperate files automatically to AggList.txt
and Events.log in the same directory that the agg file is located.

Cautions:
There are no known bugs in the program, but that does not mean that there are
none. This program does not have very many checks and warnings that will
prevent you from doing something illegal. There are a few, but the program
is not at all bulletproof. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! However, if you have made
a copy the sfx.agg file, you should be able to recover from a problem.

[OlegM]

Got the SoundEdit 1.02 will try if it solves the clicking problem.

Subguru Bill if you're reading this, you have 1.01 on your site, should update to 1.02.

DarkShip thanks for the offer, no need to send the AGG though

O.

[DarkShip]

NP,

[OlegM]

Didn't work.

I rebuilt the AGG using the SoundEdit 1.02 and very audible clicks/pops are still there...

Oleg

[DarkShip]

Well....
I'm sorry to read that; unfortunatly I don't have any clue.

Although I have a clean sound in DW, as I said I do have the clicks in SC since the very beginning when I first tweaked the sfx files, and never got rid of it nevertheless I rebuilt de sfx countless times...

[OlegM]

Originally Posted by DarkShip

Well....
I'm sorry to read that; unfortunatly I don't have any clue.

Although I have a clean sound in DW, as I said I do have the clicks in SC since the very beginning when I first tweaked the sfx files, and never got rid of it nevertheless I rebuilt de sfx countless times...

So what did you do differently when doing files for DW? :hmm:

O.