[System] SoundTools

[Magtheridon96]

Actually, I realized that my run function returns the sound played O-o
You can do this:

local sound s = MySoundObject.run()
call SetSoundPitch(s, 0.8)
call SetSoundVolume(s, 0.2)

Those values in the struct aren't constants, just default values

edit
I have an idea, I can write a function called runEx() and give you the ability to pass in custom sound data so you don't have to waste performance with the sound function calls

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I have an idea, I can write a function called runEx() and give you the ability to pass in custom sound data so you don't have to waste performance with the sound function calls

Neat.

Wow, haven't noticed that Run returns the sound played. That makes stuff a lot easier.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Updated. \o/
You can now write an awesome Music System

I also removed some unnecessary function calls.
When a system is going to be used as the basis of another complex system, speed is crucial.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Thanks. Now I can just hope I won't get trouble with WC3 limitations in sound channels. :/
I will look into it on weekend.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Updated again.
Members are now readonly.
Now it's possible to write a SoundPlayPosition tracker

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Due to my findings of limitations in:
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...do-midi-engine-215282/index3.html#post2141105
you might want to consider some changes to your system (for example the max instance limits of 16 and 4 and removing the sound channel parameter of your RunSoundEx().

 

[Magtheridon96]

Awww :C

edit
I updated this hours ago, but I forgot to say so, so:

Updated.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Due to the limitation of 4-of-the-same and 16-all-together sound instances, can you possbly write a tracker that returns how many instances of the same sound are currently playing and how much are currently played all together?

something like .getInstanceCount() or such.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Of course, anything to get that Music system up and running

edit
Updated.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Awesome stuff. Almost done btw.

EDIT: Okay, one problem: I want to know how many instances of that sound are playing before I use NewSound (makes sense, doesn't it? ;D ). So it would be better if input parameter is the filepath string, not the actual Sound.

 

[Sephalo]

I'm trying to use this in my map, but it doesn't want to save.
I get this error. And who knows there is another error after I fix this.
Am I doing anything wrong? Or did I miss a requirement or someting?

 

[Luorax]

You have to update your Table. What version are you using? It requires the latest one, made by Bribe, which isn't backwards compatible, nor is it with the old one, made by Vexorian.

 

[Sephalo]

Hmm I had Table 3.0 in the map already. But that might be like 2 years old by now.

Doesn't it fckup other things in the map if I update Table right now?

 

[Luorax]

I presume that's Vexorian's Table - well, it won't screw up anything, though if you use it often like I do, it'll take you some time to update all of your resources. But at the end of the day it's worth it, as it's cleaner, and propably faster as well.

If I recall correctly there's a backwards compatible module attached to its post though, so if you implement that as well you won't have to change anything.

 

[Sephalo]

Alright, thanks alot. Gonna try that out.

 

[Sephalo]

I'm using this system at the moment and learning how to work with it.
I got a spell in my map that will let the hero do 5 melee swings within 1 second while he is paused with increased animation speed. So I want to put the sound inside the timer, and I would like it to play one out of three random combat sounds; medium axe chop flesh.
I thought I had it already, but for some reason it doesn't play the sounds anymore if I use the skill a second time.

This is what I've got in the init trigger of the spell: (Sound1, Sound2 and Sound3 are private global integers)

set Sound1 = NewSound("Sound\\Units\\Combat\\MetalMediumChopFlesh1.wav", 522, false, true)
set Sound2 = NewSound("Sound\\Units\\Combat\\MetalMediumChopFlesh2.wav", 720, false, true)
set Sound3 = NewSound("Sound\\Units\\Combat\\MetalMediumChopFlesh3.wav", 723, false, true)

This is what I've got inside the loop:

if GetRandomInt(1,3) == 1 then
    call RunSoundOnUnit(Sound1, Dat.t)
elseif GetRandomInt(1,2) == 1 then
    call RunSoundOnUnit(Sound2, Dat.t)
else
    call RunSoundOnUnit(Sound3, Dat.t)
endif

 

[Magtheridon96]

Okay, it seems that SoundTools fails to play the same sound instance twice.

I don't know how this just came up.

._.

edit
Updated to v3.0.0.0:

• Fixed sound playing bug.
• Added extra debug message.
• Changed system structure.
• Removed functions that counted the number of currently playing sounds. (Completely useless)

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Okay, it seems that SoundTools fails to play the same sound instance twice.

I don't know how this just came up.

._.

edit
Updated to v3.0.0.0:

• Fixed sound playing bug.
• Added extra debug message.
• Changed system structure.
• Removed functions that counted the number of currently playing sounds. (Completely useless)

Hmm... I don't know how you do it, but I had trouble with all the sound limitations when creating my TabReader aswell.

Those were my observations and workarounds:

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow to play the same sound filepath (regardless of handle) twice in less than 0,1 seconds (only different paths). This is hardcoded and can not be avoided.
Fix: There is only one way to partially fix this: by taking the old sound and using SetSoundPosition to put it back to the beginning.

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of the same sound handle.
Fix: Simply create another soundhandle (up to 4 sound handles of the same filepath possible).

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of the same filepath more than 4 times.
Fix: Only possible solutions is importing the same sound again on a new filepath.

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of more than 16 sounds altogether.
Fix: None. I've tried everything.

Problem: Pitch shifting is buggy as hell.
Fix: Check out my pitch shifting function in the tab reader - it works 100% of the time, even if it looks weird.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow to play the same sound filepath (regardless of handle) twice in less than 0,1 seconds (only different paths). This is hardcoded and can not be avoided.
Fix: There is only one way to partially fix this: by taking the old sound and using SetSoundPosition to put it back to the beginning.

Actually, that is a pretty good solution. This kind of behavior is present in a lot of applications.
I'd be adding more overhead (an extra timer), so I guess I might make this optional :/

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of the same sound handle.
Fix: Simply create another soundhandle (up to 4 sound handles of the same filepath possible).

Well, this problem is fixed here, as I'm using one sound handle recycler for each sound type. I didn't know there can only be 4 of them =O

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of the same filepath more than 4 times.
Fix: Only possible solutions is importing the same sound again on a new filepath.

Problem: WC3 doesn't allow simultanous running of more than 16 sounds altogether.
Fix: None. I've tried everything.

Problem: Pitch shifting is buggy as hell.
Fix: Check out my pitch shifting function in the tab reader - it works 100% of the time, even if it looks weird.

You know, these should be documented somewhere.
At home, a few days ago, I started putting together some documents to contain all the Warcraft III knowledge that we have accumulated over the years.
I guess I could add these =o

 

[Mr_Bean]

Hi. Just a question that should be obvious; when I use something like this:

local Sound mySound = Sound.create(...)
mySound.runPlayer(Player(0))

Do I have to use mySound.release() or will it be cleaned up when it's finished playing?

 

[PurgeandFire]

It will automatically recycle it after the sound duration if it is not a looping sound.

 

[Mr_Bean]

Thanks, I suspected that may be the case.

 

[BPower]

Whne i'm trying to save Soundtools inside my map it says:"Undeclared function NewTimerEx"

Its starts the recycle if not looping.

I'm using Jnp 1.5e.

 

[Anachron]

Well, you need TimerUtils for this to work:

library SoundTools requires Table, TimerUtils

 

[Zwiebelchen]

You should replace all SetSoundPitch() natives in your system by this, as SetSoundPitch() is bugged when it is applied while the sound is running.

    function SetPitch takes sound s, real pitch, real lastPitch returns real
        //due to the bugged pitch native, we need this workaround snippet in order to make it work
        if GetSoundIsPlaying(s) or GetSoundIsLoading(s) then
            call SetSoundPitch(s, 1/lastPitch)
            call SetSoundPitch(s, pitch)
            return pitch
        else
            if pitch == 1 then
                call SetSoundPitch(s, 1.0001)
                return 1.0001
            else
                call SetSoundPitch(s, pitch)
                return pitch
            endif
        endif
    endfunction

The real returned is the new pitch value of the sound. Store it to your specific sound instance to be able to pass it the next time this function runs.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Ah yes, thank you for reminding me about that bug.
It was awesome that you were able to find all those bugs through your production of that Tab Reader ;D

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Ah yes, thank you for reminding me about that bug.
It was awesome that you were able to find all those bugs through your production of that Tab Reader ;D

Yeah it gave me a hell of a headache.

And in the end, the poor sound engine of Warcraft III defeated the whole purpose of TabReader, as most of the mp3 compression is lost after importing a sound.
(WC3 doesn't support all sampling rate+quality combinations. Only a few are supported. If you happen to import a sound that is inbetween one of the supported combinations, the quality is reduced to the lower one, usually resulting in unwanted audio fragments - which means all imported sounds need to be high quality)

 

[Magtheridon96]

Updated!

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Updated!

Hmm, I'm a little bit confused about your implementation, I gotta say.
Why is the setSoundPitch method static? It should clearly be an instanced struct member as the method only makes sense for existing structs and when making it non-static, only the new pitch value needs to be passed.

 

[Magtheridon96]

I see what you mean. Currently, it's static because I treated it like a utility function rather than something associated with any of the struct instances directly.

edit
How does this look? <:

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Looks better. Not that the static method would have been useless, but assuming someone uses SoundUtils, I think there is no real reason why someone would still want to use wc3 sound handles.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Fixed a bug with setSoundPitch method :v

 

[ScorpioT1000]

Where is a wrapper for the most useful thing for sounds

// the following method must be called immediately after calling "StartSound"
native SetSoundPlayPosition takes sound soundHandle, integer millisecs returns nothing

With this native and pitch you can synthesize sustained oscillations with custom frequencies! The audio lib in wc3 can do powerful things

 

[Magtheridon96]

With this native and pitch you can synthesize sustained oscillations with custom frequencies! The audio lib in wc3 can do powerful things

Sounds awesome, maybe a library could be made for that using this resource to do all the dirty work (managing the handles and shit)

 

[ScorpioT1000]

I mean, split the wave into extra-small equal pieces and do the pitch, other words, make granulizer. The feature is to change tone without changing duration of any sound.

To slow down we also should make interpolation, it's better to make besier and I have a code how to do that if somebody want ...

Check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIicn7ncQCw

 

[Magtheridon96]

Speaking of sound awesomeness, check this shit out

 

[ScorpioT1000]

Synthesizer by itself is not so useful.. but for the game (ex. generate tones depending on the car tachometer) would be really awesome. Because simple pitch changing sucks...

 

[BPower]

call ReleaseSound(MySound) --> Syntax error: Cannot convert integer to sound.

function ReleaseSound takes sound s returns boolean

 

[PurgeandFire]

^ You have to input the sound itself instead of the struct instance. The method create will return the sound instance (integer), but you can get the actual sound object through any of the following methods:

/*
*           method run takes nothing returns sound
*               - Plays the sound.
*           method runUnit takes unit whichUnit returns sound
*               - Plays the sound on a unit.
*           method runPoint takes real x, real y, real z returns sound
*               - Plays the sound at a point.
*           method runPlayer takes player whichPlayer returns sound
*               - Plays the sound for a player.
*
*           method runEx takes integer volume, integer pitch returns sound
*               - Plays the sound. This function allows you to pass in extra arguments.
*           method runUnitEx takes unit whichUnit, integer volume, integer pitch returns sound
*               - Plays the sound on a unit. This function allows you to pass in extra arguments.
*           method runPointEx takes real x, real y, real z, integer volume, integer pitch returns sound
*               - Plays the sound at a point. This function allows you to pass in extra arguments.
*           method runPlayerEx takes player whichPlayer, integer volume, integer pitch returns sound
*               - Plays the sound for a player. This function allows you to pass in extra arguments.
*/

Or the wrapper function equivalents.

 

[BPower]

Thank you. Problem solved

 

[pred1980]

Soundtool bug?

Hi guys,

i have a problem in my map "Forsaken Bastion's Fall". I use your Soundtools and it works great BUT i spend a lot of time to check why "RunSoundForPlayer" in a loop does not work. I stopped it and created a small testmap.

Take a look and tell me why the loop don't play the sound for each player.
Start map in "debug mode".

Please help!

Reg.

 

[Magtheridon96]

It would be nice if you posted the code. I lost access to an editor half a year ago.

 

[pred1980]

1. Trigger:

scope GameSounds initializer Init

	globals
		integer GLOBAL_SOUND_1 = 0
	endglobals

	private function Init takes nothing returns nothing
		set GLOBAL_SOUND_1 = NewSound("Sound\\Interface\\Hint.wav", 2006, false, false)
	endfunction
	
endscope

2. Trigger:

scope Test1 initializer Init

	private function Actions takes nothing returns nothing
		call RunSoundForPlayer(GLOBAL_SOUND_1, Player(0))
	endfunction

	//===========================================================================
	private function Init takes nothing returns nothing
		local trigger t = CreateTrigger()
		call TriggerRegisterPlayerChatEvent( t, Player(0), "sound 1", true )
		call TriggerAddAction( t, function Actions )
	endfunction

endscope

3. Trigger:

scope Test2 initializer Init

	private function Actions takes nothing returns nothing
		local integer i = 0
		loop
			exitwhen i > 10
			call RunSoundForPlayer(GLOBAL_SOUND_1, Player(i))
			set i = i + 1
		endloop
	endfunction

	//===========================================================================
	private function Init takes nothing returns nothing
		local trigger t = CreateTrigger()
		call TriggerRegisterPlayerChatEvent( t, Player(0), "sound 2", true )
		call TriggerAddAction( t, function Actions )
	endfunction

endscope

auf typing "sound 2" you see that:

 

[Cokemonkey11]

This is my snippet for sound that I used in the past -

library Sound requires Table
    private struct slop
        string snd
    endstruct
    
    struct Sound
        private static HandleTable preloadDB
        
        private static method preloadAfter takes nothing returns nothing
            local timer time=GetExpiredTimer()
            local slop s=preloadDB[time]
            local sound sd=CreateSound(s.snd,false,false,false,12700,12700,"")
            call SetSoundVolume(sd,1)
            call StartSound(sd)
            call KillSoundWhenDone(sd)
            call s.destroy()
            set sd=null
            call DestroyTimer(time)
            set time=null
        endmethod
        
        public static method preload takes string str returns nothing
            local timer time=CreateTimer()
            local slop s=slop.create()
            set s.snd=str
            set preloadDB[time]=s
            call TimerStart(time,.01,false,function thistype.preloadAfter)
            set time=null
        endmethod
        
        public static method play3D takes string str, real pitch, real x, real y, real z returns nothing
            local sound s = CreateSound(str,false,true,true,12700,12700,"")
            call SetSoundPosition(s,x,y,z)
            call SetSoundVolume(s,127)
            call SetSoundPitch(s,pitch)
            call StartSound(s)
            call KillSoundWhenDone(s)
            set s = null
        endmethod
		
		public static method playForPlayer takes string str, real pitch, player who returns nothing
			local sound s = CreateSound(str,false,false,false,12700,12700,"")
			if GetLocalPlayer()==who then
				call SetSoundVolume(s,127)
			else
				call SetSoundVolume(s,0)
			endif
			call SetSoundPitch(s,pitch)
			call StartSound(s)
			call KillSoundWhenDone(s)
			set s = null
		endmethod
        
		public static method play takes string str, real pitch, integer vol returns nothing
			local sound s = CreateSound(str,false,false,false,12700,12700,"")
			call SetSoundVolume(s,vol)
			call SetSoundPitch(s,pitch)
			call StartSound(s)
			call KillSoundWhenDone(s)
			set s = null
		endmethod
		
        private static method onInit takes nothing returns nothing
            set preloadDB=HandleTable.create()
        endmethod
    endstruct
endlibrary

All you have to do is preload the sound once. Why should I use your massive library?

 

[Magtheridon96]

Massive? It's mostly comments and wrappers.

Also, why are you looping and playing the sound once for each player when you can play it for everyone? :v

 

[pred1980]

In my map i start tutorials for each player when a player picks a hero. To pick a hero he needs to run with his peon in a circle and after he do this a cinematic starts for this player and in this cinematic i play a sound for this player.

And as you can imagin not all player select its hero to the same time. So if the second player select the hero 10s later the sound needs to play later and only for him. Every player see its own Cinematic with this played sound.

You understand me?

 

[Cokemonkey11]

Massive? It's mostly comments and wrappers.

If you remove all the comments and inlineable wrappers it's still 236 lines. My snippet is 70, without TimerUtils.

Also, why are you looping and playing the sound once for each player when you can play it for everyone? :v

I'm not.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Yes, but is this problem occurring in a real situation in your map? :|

I'm not.

Not you, I mean pred1980.

 

[pred1980]

yes.

edit: I have a flag called "MAP_HOSTED_BY_BOT" and if this is true, i start the tutorial (cinematic) for all players to the same time and i think exaclty this is the point where the sound does not play (for nobody). This is exactly the same thing like in the test map.
But i use the same tutorial fore the case if MAP_HOSTED_BY_BOT == false, where the tutorials starts if the player do someting ( like the pick hero i mentioned ).

 

[pred1980]

Any Suggestions how to handle this problem?