About louder track sounds...Is everyone on the wrong track?

[troub]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-30-01 AT 09:38PM (EST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-30-01 AT 09:38*PM (EST)

Pun slightly intended :-)

Anyway, I keep seeing people talking about modifying the actual sound files (.wav's), and I think they may be barking up the wrong tree. I found a way a about a month ago to increase the volume of the track sounds. I've been away for awhile, but I'm just getting settled back in, so I haven't released anything yet. I will, however, give the basics of what I found.

Each type of track section has an .sms file in the SOUND directory (for example usatrack0ex.sms or usatrack0in.sms). The files with the 'ex' at the end are for the external track sounds. In this .sms file there is a line (actually several, most of the time) that reads Volume(.1), I think. I changed all of these in the external .sms files for each track section to Volume(1.0), and voila! The external views now have rumble, and it varies in volume and intensity with train speed. I think this is suitable, but others may disagree. Feel free to try it, please read the README.txt:
http://forums.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c2fcf2572ffe7eb.zip

troub
[link:pages.sbcglobal.net/msts-ic/|MSTS: Illinois Central]

[TrirailF40PHL]

Yes, that can be done, but the sounds are still lame anyway.

Kurt

[troub]

Hi Kurt,

I downloaded your sound.zip, and listened to the files, and they sound good. But am I correct in thinking that these sounds replace the randomly inserted sounds, like the horrible clanking sounds inserted from time to time? If so, we are really talking about two different solutions. The process I outlined increases the volume of the x_mp_rail_low**.wav and x_mp_rail_high**.wav, as well as x_mp_joint**.wav, where the asterisks are replaced by the number of the track type, which can change depending on whether you define sound regions on your track.

These sounds are different than the x_**_random.wav files, because they are played continuously as the train goes by. I agree that that horrible clanking noise is pretty nasty, and I will be replacing it with your files. I just think that we are talking not about two different solutions, but solutions to different problems. Let me know if I'm making any sense :-)

troub
[link:pages.sbcglobal.net/msts-ic|MSTS: Illinois Central]

[TrirailF40PHL]

I think the sounds are loud enough, but you said something about the sounds being constant, which sparked my interest. Is it possible to modify the sounds I have to be constant? I know it should be able to be fixed in the .sms files found in the Train Simulator\SOUND folder, but I don't know how. I also don't know why the updated sounds don't affect the TA Bethgon hoppers included in the SD70 pack.

Kurt
www.klwtrainsim.cjb.net

[troub]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-31-01 AT 07:08PM (EST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-31-01 AT 06:46*PM (EST)

Kurt,

The random sounds, which you updated with your .wav files, are defined in the genfreightwag*.sms or genpasswag*.sms files, and the .wag file for each car defines which .sms file it uses. So, the random sounds are a property of each car, and might be the reason it doesn't work with the TA stuff. The rail sounds that I'm talking about are a property of the sound region (the sound region that you can put on the track in the route editor, or a default one if you don't define special sound regions) for the track section, and the .sms file (usatrack1ex.sms, or similar) is set up to allow for looping and control of the sound based on the speed of the train. So, the x_mp_rail_low.wav, or whatever, is looped as the train moves slowly, and as the train speeds up the sound gets louder, and loops faster.

So, for the sounds you have to be constant, the easiest way might be to try replacing something like x_mp_rail_low1.wav with your file, but you might not get the desired results. The default .wav files were recorded, I think, with specific trigger points to keep the looping smooth, especially with speed differences.

troub
[link:pages.sbcglobal.net/msts-ic|MSTS: Illinois Central]

[scefhwil]

My install of MSTS isn't accessible to me at the moment so I haven't had a change to see what your've done in your upload.

If the sounds you have done are triggered in the .sms files by a Random_Trigger ie:

Random_Trigger ( Delay_Min_Max ( 30 3600 ) Volume_Min_Max ( 0.1 0.25 )
StartLoop ( 1
File ( "obj_school.wav" -1 )
SelectionMethod ( RandomSelection )
)
)

then you can vary the delay between occurances of the .wav files playing by altering the Delay_Min_Max, which are in seconds.

If its a Dist_Travelled_Trigger ie:

Dist_Travelled_Trigger ( Dist_Min_Max ( 50 50 ) Volume_Min_Max ( 0.3 0.4 )
PlayOneShot ( 12
File ( "x_steam_joint1.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint2.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint3.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint4.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint5.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint6.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint7.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint8.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint9.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint10.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint11.wav" -1 )
File ( "x_steam_joint12.wav" -1 )
SelectionMethod ( RandomSelection )
)
)

then you can vary the delay between occurances of the .wav files playing by altering the Dist_Min_Max, which are in metres.

Re the TA Bethgon hoppers it's could be that the .sms files for these don't use your revised .wav files.

Had you been more forthcoming about what exactly you were doing (as asked in your previous thread) then these sort of issues could have been resolved then, after all that what a forum like this is for, isn't it?