Difference between revisions of "Sound and music"

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Placeholder [[voice over]] can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing [[FaceFX]] to be generated.
 
Placeholder [[voice over]] can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing [[FaceFX]] to be generated.
  
Recording real voice-over for [[conversation]]s is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames. To record your own voice-over you'll need some method for recording your voice as a wav file. Windows comes with a basic sound-recording program but other more sophisticated programs are available free for download as well. The wav file must be recorded in or converted to PCM 24 khz 16 bit mono format, otherwise the process will fail and an error message will be displayed in the log.
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Recording real [[Voice-Over] for [[conversation]]s is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames.  
 
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Real vo needs to be stored in ~installpath~\Dragon Age\addins\[moduleuid]\module\override\toolsetexport\[lineid]_m.wav - you can dump wav files anywhere under the toolsetexport directory and they will be picked up but for organizational purposes you should probably organize it into subfolders grouped by conversation.  
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For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]
 
For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: [[Preparing a dialog for recording]]

Revision as of 12:18, 16 January 2010

Sound in Dragon Age is packaged using a program called FMOD. FMOD sound banks include the audio waveform itself, and can also include settings determining how the sound is played.

Voice-over

Voice over doesn't actually require you to work with FMOD, as the tools to package VO into FMOD sound banks are built into the toolset.

Placeholder voice over can be generated automatically by the toolset (using the default Microsoft text-to-speech engine that comes with your OS). This is intended as a way to easily produce a "rough cut" of a cinematic, giving an approximate feel for how long the line will last and allowing FaceFX to be generated.

Recording real [[Voice-Over] for conversations is straightforward, though you'll need to keep track of the string IDs of the lines you're recording in order to give the wav files the proper filenames.

For generation of a dialogue script that contains both the LineIDs and the text, read here: Preparing a dialog for recording

Placeable sound resources

Other types of sound resources will require work with FMOD itself to get them into the game. See FMOD for details.

Sound events are placed in an area layout using the area editor. Details such as how the sound loops, where the sound is simulated as coming from, and so forth, are defined in FMOD.

Areas can also have audio volumes, music volumes and reverb volumes defined, with associated sound events.

Adding sounds to animations

The Blend tree editor allows sound events to be associated with an animation's timeline. So for example, an animation of a golem clapping could have a clanging sound added to the moment of impact of its hands.

Character soundsets

Soundsets for characters (the collection of lines they choose from in combat and other routine in-game activities) are created as conversation resources, and are associated with individual creatures via a character resource. This allows one soundset to be reused for multiple different creatures.