How to disable or control ambient sound effects for func_croc / prop_dynamic?

[Werewolf]

I've added a 'func_croc' brush to my map, and I have a few 'prop_dynamic' crocodiles (lifted right out of cp_mercenarypark) as well. They are working as intended with players dying correctly and whatnot, but my issue is with the ambient sounds they make.

My problem is that every few seconds they will growl. That in itself I don't mind, but I noticed it was quite loud and wanted to adjust the volume of it, and the frequency they growl if possible as well. The problem is that neither the func_croc or prop_dynamic entities have options for sounds, so I'm not sure how I would go about this.

Therefore my question is, how do you adjust the volume of this sound effect?

The 'func_croc' properties:

Spoiler

The 'prop_dynamic' crocodiles properties:

Spoiler

 

[Werewolf]

A couple of additional details to add here

1) I used 'snd_show 1' in the console to see the file names of any and all sound files playing, and the ones for the crocodiles are ")ambient_mp3\lair\crocs_growl5.mp3". I then used the entity report window to find any entities referencing that file name, but found nothing.

2) The sounds appear to be coming from the prop_dynamic rather than the func_croc entity, as I compile the map with each on their own and I only got the sound with the prop_dynamics enabled.
This would also explain the loudness to some degree, as I have 9 of these whereas Mercenary Park only has 2. I also only have 1 func_croc brush. 9 instances of the same sound being played at once will sound louder than just 2. If each crocodile growled at a random time it probably wouldn't seem so loud either.

 

[ficool2]

Have you tried decompiling the model and seeing what soundscript entry it uses? You can then pack a blank version of this soundscript into the map

 

[Werewolf]

Have you tried decompiling the model and seeing what soundscript entry it uses? You can then pack a blank version of this soundscript into the map

No because I don't know how to decompile models, and didn't know they could call soundscripts.

 

[ficool2]

No because I don't know how to decompile models, and didn't know they could call soundscripts.

Decompiler: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CrowbarTool

Open up the decompiled .qc file with Notepad++ and look inside the $sequence lists

You will find something similar to this
{ event 3000 AE_CL_PLAY_SOUND 0 Croc.Jump }
Croc.Jump would be the soundscript in the above example

 

[Werewolf]

OK thanks for that. It looks like the sound is tied to a specific animation, in this case 'swimming02' as the other swimming animation uses "Crocs.Hiss"

So in either case, I eventually tracked down which soundscript file "Croc.Growl" and "Crocs.Hiss" are located in ( mvm_level_sounds.txt for some reason! )

What would I need to do next? I presume I would just copy those entries into my maps soundscript file and adjust the volume? Valve had them set to "0.7" so I would probably cut them down to "0.25"

Spoiler

"Crocs.Growl"
{
   "channel"     "CHAN_STATIC"
   "volume"   "0.700000"
   "pitch"       "PITCH_NORM"

   "soundlevel"   "SNDLVL_88dB"
   
     "rndwave"
   {
           "wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_growl1.mp3"
           //"wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_growl2.mp3"
           //"wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_growl3.mp3"
           //"wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_growl4.mp3"
           "wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_growl5.mp3"
           "wave"   "common/null.wav"
   }
}

"Crocs.Hiss"
{
   "channel"     "CHAN_STATIC"
   "volume"   "0.700000"
   "pitch"       "PITCH_NORM"

   "soundlevel"   "SNDLVL_80dB"
   
     "rndwave"
   {
           "wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_hiss1.mp3"
           //"wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_hiss2.mp3"
           "wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_hiss3.mp3"
           //"wave"   ")ambient_mp3/lair/crocs_hiss4.mp3"
           "wave"   "common/null.wav"
   }
}

 

[PoFro]

Just had this issue myself and solved it with the pieces of info from this thread.

Using the sequence "swimming02" on the crocodile.mdl model, I was also having the issue of obnoxiously loud crocodile growling.

I made a soundscript that is specific to my level, that is loaded server-side (or at least that's how I interpret what is stated on the Valve Wiki page for soundscripts).

In my <game>/maps/ folder (i.e. tf/maps/), I created a <level_name>_level_sounds.txt file, copied @Werewolf's provided soundscript data in, and changed the volume. This reduced the volume of the crocodile growl!

Not entirely sure how this will get packed into the map (if at all), but it works for the time being. Thanks for the help!