Request : Advice on Soundscapes

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hydragorgon

L1: Registered
Feb 20, 2011
27
8
Thank you Tf2maps community for all the good advice. I'm using Spike's Jungle Pack to make a level. The plant life props are awesome, but they're totally silent. Some of the bushes I'm using are meant to be walked thru, and I want to trigger a sound of rusting plants when players walk thru.

My question is, what is the proper way to simulate this effect. I figured on using a triggerable soundscape, but I'm just no smart enough to figure out if this is the best method. My concerns are obviously more about processing lag rather than the sounds themselves. I'm pretty good at leveling wav files already.

PLease give me some advice before I begin working.

thanks
hydragorgonm
 
grazr

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
A simple trigger_multiple and ambient_generic should be fine. Even though soundscapes are powerful, they're not a means to an end for sound in your map. Just because a solution may be simple and/or obvious doesn't make it a bad solution.

Though i'm unsure as to whether you want the sound to loop. Naturally a bush would rustle when ever you moved, but you cannot simulate such an affect in Source as far as i'm aware. You can either play the sound for the duration that the space is occupied, or once when it is entered (and maybe again when it is left).

EDIT: I guess a round about way to simulate such an affect would be to give your bush model invisible physics bones. That way you can apply a "collision" sound that is rustling leaves. When ever the bones are hit and move, the sound is played. The interaction of the player model hitbox and the model's bones would create an appropriate simulation of rustling (i guess). But of course the problem lies in the fact that loose physics bones have a habit of getting stuck in terrain and other collision meshes and spamming the collision sound (such as when ragdolls clip through the floor/walls/ceiling).
 
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hydragorgon

L1: Registered
Feb 20, 2011
27
8
Thanks for the help Grazr. You have helped make human headed turtles some of the most trusted mutants on the internet. My first thought was a trigger multiple, because I have experience with them on doors and such. I couldn't find a definitive answer on the valve wikis, so I really appreciate your experienced advice.

The sound itself is gonna be tricky. Some textures come with their own walking sounds, so I might try to loot them. I do sound engineering, so I think I can trim a wav well enough to get it to loop right. Obviously then I have the problem of having a wav file attached to map. If I can find a good valve sound to match it I'm alot better off. I might be able to use the walking thru leaf sound. If I find a good solution I'll totally post it too, because I think it might be valuable info for people using nature themes for their maps.

Thanks again Grazr
 
Yacan1

Yacan1

D I G I T A L I N F L U E N C E R
aa
Nov 7, 2010
411
793
That would be an interesting attention to detail but, if you are using a soundscape like forest life, it would be pretty hard to distinguish the rustling of a bush compared to the other sounds going on around you. If the bush is in a unique area where there isn't alot of sound, then yes I could see that being used. Cool idea.
 
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