saxmeister

Greetings all... Saxmeister here, back from the grave. It's been quite some time since I was really involved in teh project, but glad to see how well it has evolved over the years. I missed several team members here and wanted to check in now that the world seems to be "falling apart." Hoping all of you are well...

Listening to them and hearing them over and over again you begin to notice things that you don't notice upon first listen. I think it's the right idea, but it seems overly loud and there is too much high-end of the sound. Go back and listen to Thief 2 and listen to the sounds of the sheathing (snds.crf/sfx/bj_begin.wav) and unsheathing (snds.crf/bj_end.wav) of the blackjack and you'll hear what I mean. It almost sounds like the Looking Glass team simply slid a microphone through a sock of some sort. It just sounds like dragging an item through cloth, and that's what makes it more realistic. Plus it doesn't sound so "sharp" and isn't as distracting when heard repeatedly and within the context of the game. Especially during the quiet moments! I can't remember what the blackjack sounds for TDM sound like now. I'll have to go back and give a listen...

Beautiful work! You should open a shop for all things Thief!

Hadn't done any Thief related voiceover work in a while but decided to throw some random selections from the "Pro Vocals" AI Character voiceover sample list into an audio file. Anything remotely like this you're looking for? http://www.myersmedi...ard_test_01.wav http://www.myersmedi...ard_test_01.ogg

Too much volume is being thrown at the mic and you are overmodulating it and causing clipping. Between that and the mic that you are using it seems that's where the pops are coming from. You might also try moving the mic into a position where it doesn't pick up the nasal part of your voice as much. Try aiming the mic toward your chest and see if that helps. (Man, my first post on these forums in years! It's good to be back here.)

Looks great! Sometimes the limitations force creativity that might not otherwise have reared its head. I love going back and playing the older games because the designers came up with such ingenious ways of making the games. This is yet another example of how to do that. I'm downloading it now to play!

Are you wanting to do the voice acting yourself, or do you have someone picked out that can record the parts for you? If you want to do them yourself, I can recommend some good, cheap ways to record. But, if you are looking for someone to do the voiceovers for you let me know. I have a staple of a few people that includes some former Hollywood actors (although they cost), but some local actors that are really good and won't cost a dime. Let me know if you want to pursue this.

Okay, I have included four to try. I tried to match the character's voice as much as I could although my voice is a bit deeper. But, hopefully it is close enough to not be distracting. darkmod_vox_nogrunt01.ogg darkmod_vox_nogrunt02.ogg darkmod_vox_nogrunt03.ogg darkmod_vox_nogrunt04.ogg

Try this one on for size. If you need something more specific just send me a description. darkmod_sfx_crystal.ogg

How about a non-intrusive "tone" that would let the user know that the action isn't working? Below are a few ideas (intentionally quiet so as not to disturb the player as much): darkmod_nodrop01.ogg darkmod_nodrop02.ogg darkmod_nodrop03.ogg If not we can create a typical "grunt" sound.

A few weeks late, but here are some options: drink01 (WAV) drink02 (WAV) drink03 (WAV) I'll add a GASP sound for the breath potion soon....

Greetings ShadowSneaker! Any way you could repost your work? All of the links seem to have expired. Thanks! -Sax

Dram- Happy belated birthday! I was out of town and missed the original date but wanted to wish you a great birthday nonetheless....

Is anyone else hiding behind the couch right now?

Excellent job, guys! I am constantly amazed at the programming talents on this MOD.

I haven't used Reason before but I understand the switch from Cubase. On the PC side of things I chose SONAR for its extensive MIDI capabilities. From what I've read about Reason creating soundbeds and ambient should be no problem. In fact, the nature of soundbeds and ambient tracks makes Reason a more probable choice due to its loop based approach and its wealth of virtual instruments. You should easily be able to recreate any "classic" synth sounds or any other synth based tracks with a little bit of ear work. Get to know what differentiates a sawtooth, a sine, triangle, and a noise wave. Getting to grips with these primary elements of a synth sound will get you to your first big step. Then some basics of subtractive synthesis will allow you to sculpt any of those original wave forms into the sound you want (plus some filtering and possibly some form of modulation such as FM or PWM). Patches are a good place to start but don't be afraid to "twiddle the knobs" to get the sound you want. That will get you the most unique sound instead of relying on the presets that others are already using for their compositions.

Any samples should be royalty free to be able to be used in the DarkMOD. Reason samples are generally royalty free, especially if they are instrument samples, because you have paid for the licensing to use the technology - just like you can't charge royalties for the sound of a Fender Stratocaster or a Moog synthesizer. Specific SFX are a different story, though. Sound libraries must be licensed or released as royalty free. (Saxmeister drops by to say, "Hi," to all!)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that the zombie sounds were considered part of the voice acting and were therefore coming from New Horizon. Maybe I can help pick back up again and see what can be completed from my side of things.

I definitely agree. It's been a while since I've been able to contribute and coming back to it I find it a little difficult to dig through the lists to find out what to do next.

Hey Ascottk- I know I'm a little late to the game here but I really appreciated your pieces. Utaqiliugigvin had a nice melodic-minimalistic feel to it. The Serpent sounded like it was inspired by the Hexen or Heretic series of games. Even the choice of MIDI voices and textures sounded similar. Bad Dreams was my favorite overall. I thought the melodic line on the saxophone was great (of course, I would being a saxophonist myself). But the balance of tonality with the bass clarinet and the piano were wonderful. Would you be interested in having it performed sometime? I would be up to it!

.OGG is great for the file size! There are some sound specs for the project over in the sound/sfx threads. The only place we use stereo files is for ambients (which would be considered non-directional). Everything else is in mono format.

The footsteps are awesome. I'm curious to hear the different cut on the noisemaker arrow. I liked the original you posted, but definitely agree it neede the extra "oomph" to make it more believable. Great job!

I thought so as well, but I'm glad it turned out to be wine of the drinking variety! I'm glad to hear there are so many fans of wine in TDM! Should we organize a virtual wine party?

Based on this thread I talked myself into getting some honest-to-goodness powered monitors and set up in my home studio tonight. They are the Samson Resolv 65a's and they actually sound really good! They were cheap, too! I was really surprised when I tried them out in the shop so I had to bring them home. @Schatt: Thanks for the kind words, although I always thought mixing was one of my weaker points (along with many others). I, like you, love the low end and love to feel that "rumble" as I hear an explosion or hear a Moog style bass synth line. Your stuff always has that pro-sounding bass response that is so hard to get.