Audio Format

[Muze]

"The format we are using for SFX: Ogg, 44100Hz, 96kbps, mono

The format we are using for Ambient: Ogg, 44100Hz, 96kbps, mono

The format we are using for Ambient themes (longer pieces): Ogg, 44100Hz, 160kbps, stereo"

 

I think that if longer pieces are to be higher quality (stereo, 160kbps) than there's no reason not to make short ambient loops the same quality as they will not get much larger in size. Just my $.02

[pakmannen]

The reason is the huge amount of Ambients which will be created. Stereo files are twice as large as mono, so if we have 50 megs of mono ambients that would mean 100 megs were they recorded in stereo. And that's not really necessary for sounds like rain/wind/dripping water/rustling leaves/electricity sparkling etc since they don't need to be in stereo.

 

For music however, stereo is a nice thing since you can do all sorts of nice pannings and stuff, which you of course already know so I don't know why I'm typing this.

[Muze]

I hear what you're saying about saving space, and mono vs stereo. I agree that the short ambients don't need to be stereo, and that the longer themes benefit from stereo panning. But the bit rate difference?

 

Also the way I'm creating ambients and themes is to allow for level designers to have an ambient hum loop in the background until they want a theme to come in, in which place the theme has been mixed over the same hum so as to sound seamless. There will be a noticeable difference to one's ears going from mono 96k to stereo 160k.

[pakmannen]

I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Mixing the theme with the background loop. The author could just keep playing the loop and then play the theme on top of it. That would be seamless as well, and also allow the author to play the theme without any background hum loop at all. After all, the more options the level author has, the better.

[Domarius]

All the Thief games use dynamic ambience that blends from one area to another. You have a church with a choir ambience, you walk into a hallway that leads to the crypt and you get a mix of choir and scarey ambience, and when you enter the crypt, you get scarey ambience.

 

I think the mix is done specifically, with an intermediate zone that says "play this AND this as well". But of course, you can hear the ambience from one zone playing over the current one, if you are close enough to it.

 

I think this freedom of re-usability should be maintained.

 

If someone wants to use your ambience where there is NO background hum around, well, I don't think it's so good.

Why not make the hum and the music seperate files, and let the author play them both in the level?

 

WILL there be a noticible difference when jumping from 96 to 160? Maybe if you're an audio technician. I used to fiddle with sounds a bit and I don't think I'd notice the difference even if they were overlayed, as long as they both sounded "good" quality.

(Whereas I noticed that in older games, I would get used to the 11khz sound quality and think it sounded "good" and then hear something else, like a CD play, and THEN I'd notice the difference when it was overlayed)

 

I'd be keeping the sounds seperate at any cost, just so people can re-use your media. FM authors coming up with interesting uses for the existing T2 media, including ambience, always surprised me. One particular ambience, that I thought suited a deep forest, became freaky and scarey in another mission (cause of the associated visuals of course).

 

(Sorry, usually I edit down my ramblings...)