Age in a MOV file?

[Kiril]

I was thinking that it would be helpful for composing music bed for an age to actually see the age. Is there a way to convert an age to a mov file or something so that it can be viewed? Also, how do we sync music/sound effects to specific points in an age from a time perspective. For example, with a MOV file, I could use Pro Tools and sync using the SMPTE time codes.

What's the equivalent in creating an age given that certain sounds will only occur when the player completes a specific action correctly? How does the sound get synced to the action in the right way?

[Jojon]

Well, I assume the composer/sound designer would have a copy of the age, and probably the .blend file(s) too -- walking around, as the player would, should help induce the right mood. :7

As for snippets of quicktime, I assume you mean this for preanimated sequences. Such should be quite simple to capture with Fraps, or by rendering a MOV directly in Blender, if one need only the timing and not the full in-game experience. However, I am supposing this would be a two-way street, with the audio sometimes even fully dictating the action, rather than the other way around - the action will have to adhere to some sort of temporal measure anyway, to work with any sort of score. No doubt a storyboard is always a good start. :)

This is, of course, stuff you know infinite times better than I, so I don't know why I feel compelled to open my mouth. :)

What's the equivalent in creating an age given that certain sounds will only occur when the player completes a specific action correctly? How does the sound get synced to the action in the right way?

In other words: "can we delay the start of a preanimated sequence, so that it doesn't break the beat of the bed?", is that what you mean? Good question. :)

[Kiril]

In other words: "can we delay the start of a preanimated sequence, so that it doesn't break the beat of the bed?", is that what you mean? Good question.

Well sort of. In scoring a video, for example, you can lock sound effects and musical sequences to specific time codes using the SMPTE standard for time code. But, in a video, the frame sequences always take place the same way and in the same order, once edited.

In a game environment, however, sounds/music beds are triggered by events, and in turn, those events are determined by actions made by the player (click on this thing rather than that thing or go left and not right etc etc). So my question is how do the sounds/music beds get tied and timed to those actions? Notice, for example, in Uru, there are specific music bed loops for various ages, and even specific spots in an age (note the library music in the Ae'Gura for example -- it doesn't begin until you're IN the library and loops until you exit). Also, specific sounds are linked to specific actions such as turning the page of one of the books you encounter along the way. That's what I'm asking about: how does that syncing get accomplished? And, there's the issue of timing -- how is the length of a particular loop or sound effect determined? This sound should only be 2.367 seconds, but that one needs to be 5.896 seconds, or whatever!! Again, in video (or film) the director can say begin this sound at SMPTE code such and such and end it code such and such. What's the equivalent in creating a game environment? And, how do we communicate those specifics between the various people creating the age, since we're all in different places?

[Branan]

Generally in a game (and this may not be the case for Uru), you have two types of sounds:
[*]looping environmental sounds (music &c.)
[*]Instantaneous effects sounds

Once those sounds are started, they are left to run. Using the example of a turning page, when you click the page it starts the sounds. If something gets messed up and the page takes longer to turn than it should, the sound and the animation will be out of sync. This is only temporary, though, and only for that particular effect.

Some sounds that are "effect" sounds may actually be looped, though - the grinding of a stone door opening, for example. In that case, it will keep looping until the animation is completed, even if something goes wrong.

Some games attempt to fix the possible sync issue by using a fixed frame rate (for sound, at the very least) and playing a portion of each sound clip each frame. However, if something happens and the audio falls below its intended frame rate, it will start skipping. I don't know if Uru does this or not - I have a nice enough computer that it runs with power to spare.

Also, in Uru, you have Python scripts - instead of triggering a sound directly, you can call a Python script that starts a timer, and call trigger the sound when the timer trips.

[Nadnerb]

Well, for how the library music is accomplished, you can go look at the sound tutorial on the wiki, which explains soundregions.

There are basically two ways of controlling sounds in the game. One is to have an activator such as a button or a region start the sound from the beginning and fade in/out when activated.

The other is to have a soft volume defining where the sound is audible. In that case, the sound is always playing, but you can only hear it in specific places. The softvolume's "soft" component is the partial volume area around it, so that sounds don't simply snap on or off.

Edit: we seem to have cross posted with very similar explanations. Oh well, I'll just leave this, since we do cover slightly different ground

[Kiril]

Well, that helps me a have little better understanding of the process.

The only other part is how we see the age for which we might be writing music and creating effects. Do we need special software for that, too?

[Jojon]

Err, well, a copy of URU Complete chronicles or Path of the shell - the "old" URU, sold over counter, or, I expect, soon its relaunched "MORE" incarnation. Or did I misunderstand the question entirely?

I take it, then, that you haven't visited any user-written ages yet?

[Kiril]

No, I haven't. I'm not sure I even know how to visit a user created age. Which program(s) do I need to be able to do that?

[Kato]

At the moment, you need URU: Complete Chronicles/Path of the Shell and Uru Library Manager.

You should get CC and check our Ages out

-Kato

[Kiril]

Well, I've got both of those, so I guess I just need the latter add on.

I'll have to check some of these out.

thanks for info.