Official forums for BZFlag.org

Iv been thinking, it would be neat if you could have different objects in bzflag have sounds, kinda like the texture matrix, but with sound.


sound_object
name example_name
file "url to the sound"
travel_dist 10
end


box
name box_name
size 10 10 10
position 10 10 10
sound example_name
end

I think it would help add neat effects to bzflag.

A lot of people have already asked similar questions like this. If take a look at older posts you can see that this is a common idea. Although this can be a problem to a few players. Maybe a few players may not like the sound or it may get annoying to many. This would be server side, correct me if im wrong, but i don't think you would be able to turn the sound locally unless you mute ur computer. This make a lot of people leave a map if they get annoyed with the sounds.

Kinda like if you had a farm map and you where by the donkyes and it plays the tk sound

Well you could have settings in the client for turning of the "map sounds" but leave the other sounds on.

I think this is a good idea...But in order for it to be "accepted" it must give the option to turn on and off via the client.

This addition would give mapmakers a much wider idea board, since I have one in mind. Being a pianist, I'd make a map like a piano, record the keys, and add the sound to the map.

Good TF!

littlelep

Then you'd have to think about the rights to the sound. Would we have to have a "Sound Submission" website just like the image submission? Of course if it gets accepted there may be some added into the data folder. Also, the download for custom sound for off a server. Where would it go? How much bandwidth?

I think the sounds would be downloaded before gameplay starts on the server, like texture downloading. The image submission system could be modified to be more of a "Data Submission System" and still have the old URL point to the new one for backwards-compatability. Sound cache would go in your .bzf directory on Linux, and the equivalents on W*****s and OS X, just like map and texture cache. As for bandwidth, sounds are played by the client. The client could decide when to play them, and as I said, they would be downloaded beforehand. That would use no extra bandwidth except for when they are being sent to the client AFAIK.

It would be MIDIs, as I don't know of anything else bandwidth/dialup friendly, and even complex midi files are smaller than many texture pngs.

Also, I think the options should include one to never download, as well as one to download but not play them.

Well the BZFlag sound system would have to be rewritten. Currently we only play files in a very specific format (The files are 22.05kHz 16 bit WAV files, stereo or mono, I believe), and anything else will not play.

Some of this is already possible. When the bzflag client loads, it loads a list of all the soundfiles and gets them ready to use. Then when your client decides or when a server sends a special message, MsgCustomSound, the client will play a sound. Sadly this only plays local sounds, in the case of the TK Donkey it would be possible.

tobylane wrote:It would be MIDIs, as I don't know of anything else bandwidth/dialup friendly, and even complex midi files are smaller than many texture pngs.

Also, I think the options should include one to never download, as well as one to download but not play them.

MIDIs are not sound. They are instructions for MIDI-enabled music instruments. If you want to really save space, you could use something like MODs, like what modtracker and other assorted trackers use, but those include the samples for stuff, so you might as well just be using WAVs anyways.

However, if there was support for OGG or MP3, that might be pretty nice.

I like this custom sound idea, it could be used to create some awesome effects in some maps (I think you could put great sounds in some of LouMan's maps).

And, of course, it would be a good idea for clients to be able to disable custom sounds.

This could be fun in a map there you need to follow directions "There's a hidden hole in this wall. Find it to proceed", "Look for the platform shaped like a head and stand in the left eye"

you could also have sounds go off when an event happens like a world weapon does, flag capture, new rabbit, team kill. of course there are already sounds for this, but instead it will be custom sounds, and everyone can here it unless they don't want to by turning off the "custom server sounds" through client settings.

FiringSquad wrote:This could be fun in a map there you need to follow directions "There's a hidden hole in this wall. Find it to proceed", "Look for the platform shaped like a head and stand in the left eye"

This could be done with a plugin and normal text. That would also be better idea for someone that doesn't speak English very well, because he could have as much time as he wants to read it.

Ratfink wrote:

FiringSquad wrote:This could be fun in a map there you need to follow directions "There's a hidden hole in this wall. Find it to proceed", "Look for the platform shaped like a head and stand in the left eye"

This could be done with a plug-in and normal text. That would also be better idea for someone that doesn't speak English very well, because he could have as much time as he wants to read it.

Well you don't have to use it for that, I meant for maybe changing the weapons sounds for every one, or having an object in the game play sounds. But of course you would be able to have default sounds set in your client, or have the server sounds off completely.