undercity_tweaks #1111

Dokimi commented 2025年02月18日 11:40:14 +01:00

Some minor adjustments for the undercity.

• Reduces frequency of haunting sound effect (I forget which issue raised it, but I agree it was too much)
• Adds void space into the undercity, so it's not just in Mt Meru (something I should've done originally)
• Adds sound effect for void space (so you don't randomly fall down black holes of doom without warning)

I haven't play tested it. Seems okay from some testing while making it.

Some minor adjustments for the undercity. - Reduces frequency of haunting sound effect (I forget which issue raised it, but I agree it was too much) - Adds void space into the undercity, so it's not just in Mt Meru (something I should've done originally) - Adds sound effect for void space (so you don't randomly fall down black holes of doom without warning) I haven't play tested it. Seems okay from some testing while making it.

Dokimi commented 2025年02月18日 12:07:21 +01:00

The new sound effects add a lot more ambience than expected. Makes the undercity feel a bit more lively and/or unsettling and creepy.

I think I'll leave it at that.

The new sound effects add a lot more ambience than expected. Makes the undercity feel a bit more lively and/or unsettling and creepy. I think I'll leave it at that.

TPH commented 2025年02月18日 14:16:47 +01:00

Ooooo

I've been a strong proponent against the undercity noises lol - their frequency. Idk about other folk. I know DanS would mute his game because of their frequency - I just never went to the undercity in survival - only in creative.

I feel like you could also add some pitch or volume variation to them as well;

I made a minimal.sound_play function that lets you do it:

minimal.sound_play(name, {pitch={0.7,1.2}, gain={0.8,4}}) for example, can do the same with max_hear_distance IIRC
this'll make it not seem so dull if you've heard it once before and could be used to horrifying effect if you randomize to lower pitches.

On that note, I was planning to organize the sound effects into categories - applying different pitch ranges depending on the type they are. I haven't looked at the sounds though so I can't tell yet where what should be or how it should function. Only hypothetical.

Ooooo I've been a strong proponent against the undercity noises lol - their frequency. Idk about other folk. I know DanS would mute his game because of their frequency - I just never went to the undercity in survival - only in creative. I feel like you could also add some pitch or volume variation to them as well; I made a `minimal.sound_play` function that lets you do it: `minimal.sound_play(name, {pitch={0.7,1.2}, gain={0.8,4}})` for example, can do the same with `max_hear_distance` IIRC this'll make it not seem so dull if you've heard it once before and could be used to horrifying effect if you randomize to lower pitches. On that note, I was planning to organize the sound effects into categories - applying different pitch ranges depending on the type they are. I haven't looked at the sounds though so I can't tell yet where what should be or how it should function. Only hypothetical.

Dokimi commented 2025年02月19日 03:08:51 +01:00

I've been a strong proponent against the undercity noises lol

They were always very experimental, and I never playtested them much. I was playing undercity for first time and ages, and went, "Yeah... that needs to change!"

I'm liking the new exotic physics so far. Maybe the void spaces could be rarer. Maybe? So far it feels like it's at the level of minor tweaks, like everything else.

I made a minimal.sound_play function that lets you do it

I had the exact same thought! I'll give a try to see if I can figure it out.

> I've been a strong proponent against the undercity noises lol They were always very experimental, and I never playtested them much. I was playing undercity for first time and ages, and went, "Yeah... that needs to change!" I'm liking the new exotic physics so far. Maybe the void spaces could be rarer. Maybe? So far it feels like it's at the level of minor tweaks, like everything else. > I made a minimal.sound_play function that lets you do it I had the exact same thought! I'll give a try to see if I can figure it out.

Dokimi commented 2025年02月19日 04:31:24 +01:00

Okay, I'm at the point of trivial changes that don't do much.

Haunting sounds are now very rare, and low pitch. Their sounds have been largely replaced by exotic physics sounds. Given the haunting wasn't well loved, this is likely an improvement.

The undercity is still in need of overhaul anyway, so consider this another experiment (hopefully a marginally better one).

Check it for bugs etc, and it should be good enough now.

Okay, I'm at the point of trivial changes that don't do much. Haunting sounds are now very rare, and low pitch. Their sounds have been largely replaced by exotic physics sounds. Given the haunting wasn't well loved, this is likely an improvement. The undercity is still in need of overhaul anyway, so consider this another experiment (hopefully a marginally better one). Check it for bugs etc, and it should be good enough now.

TPH commented 2025年02月19日 06:39:19 +01:00

Well the sounds weren't bad themselves, just too frequent and without variety - so it got dull fast and annoying in some circumstances. Certain sounds IMHO work at higher pitches - like that woman crying - it scared izzyb :D
It's why I wanted to go through reorganizing sounds - to see which ones work and could be given unique attributes. E.g. sounds like the woman crying or any talking could only vary by a little bit - while coughing or mucus-clearing sounds could have much deeper variation.

By "deeper variation", I had meant like, pitch={0.3,1} and not pitch={0.01,0.4}, I think a pitch of 0.01 might actually be too low loool. Though I haven't tested this PR so I can't say I know how it applies - and if it actually works really well at such pitches. All I know is that certain sounds kinda go through an unrecognizable form when at certain pitch extremes - e.g. 0.3 and lower, 1.85 and higher. Do you notice if those pitches work well when you're in the undercity?

Well the sounds weren't bad themselves, just too frequent and without variety - so it got dull fast and annoying in some circumstances. Certain sounds IMHO work at higher pitches - like that woman crying - it scared izzyb :D It's why I wanted to go through reorganizing sounds - to see which ones work and could be given unique attributes. E.g. sounds like the woman crying or any talking could only vary by a little bit - while coughing or mucus-clearing sounds could have much deeper variation. By "deeper variation", I had meant like, `pitch={0.3,1}` and not `pitch={0.01,0.4}`, I think a pitch of `0.01` might actually be too low loool. Though I haven't tested this PR so I can't say I know how it applies - and if it actually works really well at such pitches. All I know is that certain sounds kinda go through an unrecognizable form when at certain pitch extremes - e.g. `0.3` and lower, `1.85` and higher. Do you notice if those pitches work well when you're in the undercity?

Dokimi commented 2025年02月19日 07:04:11 +01:00

I haven't tested them enough. I wasn't too concerned if I'd accidentally killed the haunting sounds.

The code does work (as far as I can tell), but the frequency is now very rare. Maybe the ultra-low pitch breaks some of them? I was trying to achieve semi-human distorted sounds, more than recognizable "people at a cafe/person crying".

Honestly, in the long run I am inclined to swap them out for general "cave ambience" (I think Skyrim does something like that). The echoey sounds fit that vibe. I do like the sense of memory the haunting sounds have, but I suspect another method may be needed ultimately (the aim is to build up that sense of a city full of people, now vanished).

I'll leave it as is for now, unless something is actually broken. Feel free to adjust it later if you like. I've done a fairly quick job here.

I haven't tested them enough. I wasn't too concerned if I'd accidentally killed the haunting sounds. The code does work (as far as I can tell), but the frequency is now very rare. Maybe the ultra-low pitch breaks some of them? I was trying to achieve semi-human distorted sounds, more than recognizable "people at a cafe/person crying". Honestly, in the long run I am inclined to swap them out for general "cave ambience" (I think Skyrim does something like that). The echoey sounds fit that vibe. I do like the sense of memory the haunting sounds have, but I suspect another method may be needed ultimately (the aim is to build up that sense of a city full of people, now vanished). I'll leave it as is for now, unless something is actually broken. Feel free to adjust it later if you like. I've done a fairly quick job here.

Dokimi commented 2025年02月19日 08:42:42 +01:00

Done some minor play testing. Seems good.

Done some minor play testing. Seems good.

TPH commented 2025年02月19日 08:48:46 +01:00

@Dokimi wrote in #1111 (comment):

I haven't tested them enough. I wasn't too concerned if I'd accidentally killed the haunting sounds.

The code does work (as far as I can tell), but the frequency is now very rare. Maybe the ultra-low pitch breaks some of them? I was trying to achieve semi-human distorted sounds, more than recognizable "people at a cafe/person crying".

Honestly, in the long run I am inclined to swap them out for general "cave ambience" (I think Skyrim does something like that). The echoey sounds fit that vibe. I do like the sense of memory the haunting sounds have, but I suspect another method may be needed ultimately (the aim is to build up that sense of a city full of people, now vanished).

I'll leave it as is for now, unless something is actually broken. Feel free to adjust it later if you like. I've done a fairly quick job here.

Skyrim cave ambience? :thonk:

And yus, I don't think the sounds themselves are bad at all. They do work :D and could be a unique element of Exile

@Dokimi wrote in https://codeberg.org/Mantar/Exile/pulls/1111#issuecomment-2843986: > I haven't tested them enough. I wasn't too concerned if I'd accidentally killed the haunting sounds. > > The code does work (as far as I can tell), but the frequency is now very rare. Maybe the ultra-low pitch breaks some of them? I was trying to achieve semi-human distorted sounds, more than recognizable "people at a cafe/person crying". > > Honestly, in the long run I am inclined to swap them out for general "cave ambience" (I think Skyrim does something like that). The echoey sounds fit that vibe. I do like the sense of memory the haunting sounds have, but I suspect another method may be needed ultimately (the aim is to build up that sense of a city full of people, now vanished). > > I'll leave it as is for now, unless something is actually broken. Feel free to adjust it later if you like. I've done a fairly quick job here. Skyrim cave ambience? :thonk: And yus, I don't think the sounds themselves are bad at all. They do work :D and could be a unique element of Exile

Mantar commented 2025年03月13日 00:50:51 +01:00

This code all looks fine

This code all looks fine