Alien Sfx Requirements

[LfO]

I'd like to fill out the requirements and recomendations for alien species' sound sets - after receiving comments on the following, I'd like to move it to the SND Wiki, modifying the Assets List. Comments?

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For each alien species, sounds must be provided for a number of events and states. Minimum quanitities of each sample type are listed - feel free to provide more variations.

 

Movement x 12

Footsteps, crawling, hovering, or whatever is appropriate for the species. If appropriate, feel free to include multiple sample types that should be played during movement (for example, breathing and footsteps).

 

Wounded x 10

When the alien is hurt, but does not die.

 

Death x 10

 

Panic x 8

The sound the alien makes when it panics or goes berserk.

 

Character x 8

This should be a sound that embodies the alien species (a battlecry, for example) - think of the great creepy sounds during terror missions in XCom.

 

Physical attack x 10

Only a few species use physical attacks - this type of sample should not be developed for the others.

 

 

Be sure to include documentation with your submission indicating how samples are to be used.

 

Though not required, it's preferable to include one or more examples of

your sample set in use - i.e., an alien moving around and dying.

[[Blehm 98]]

Also, will there be obvous words in the aliens speech as well though? Like with chrysallids, they'd just have a screech or something for everything, but with a sectoid will they have noises that have structure. Like if a sectoid is hit, it will make noises you can't understand, but there will be three distinct sounds that will imitate three distinct words.

The only problems are how complicated it would be, i don't know much of sound design so i may be asking for something very difficult

[LfO]

My task as an applicant was to make a Morlock sound set, and I didn't include any use of language in their sound set. However, yes, I think some species will speak - that's where the "Character" sample-type comes in. I've done a little concept exploration with the Vipers, and I thought that they'd say/whisper something like "For Shi-yii!" (Shi-yii being their homeworld, and substituting "for" with their equivalent word) as their Character sound/battlecry.

 

As long as you're modifying human speech, its not a particularly hard thing to do, especially if it doesn't have to be spoken clearly enough to understand it. Trying to make word-type sounds without using the human voice as the orignal source would be far more difficult.

Edited July 7, 2006 by LfO

[Guest Azrael]

According to our backstory, all Aliens are clones with no real memory of where they are from or anything of the sort, they are implanted with knowledge relevant to their areas (i.e. medicine, engineering, etc).

[[Mad]]

According to our backstory, all Aliens are clones with no real memory of where they are from or anything of the sort, they are implanted with knowledge relevant to their areas (i.e. medicine, engineering, etc).

Oh, well true, but our CT clearly states that the vipers do have memory of their homeworld...

[Guest Azrael]

According to our backstory, all Aliens are clones with no real memory of where they are from or anything of the sort, they are implanted with knowledge relevant to their areas (i.e. medicine, engineering, etc).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, well true, but our CT clearly states that the vipers do have memory of their homeworld...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is inconsistent with the backstory, now, and should probably be corrected.

[[Mad]]

I'm not sure if it is inconsistent. Look, they are clones, granted, but we didn't say expressis verbis that they aren't given any memorys of hteir homeworld. Maybe false ones, maybe right ones, but even the OM knows that soldiers (even if mindcontrolled) fighting for theit homeworld are much more powerful than simple mercenaries. He just has to give them the "right" memory and they will think what they are doing is for their HW. I think this would give the whole thing a bit color and allow for some species specific psychic touches.

[[Blehm 98]]

someone move this all to the proper thread, i do not believe this is the correct place to discuss this, but i don't know where to put it

[[Mad]]

If I thought it should be moved I would've done it already. Since this is directly concearning SND, it stays here for now. Edited July 8, 2006 by Mad

[Guest Azrael]

I'm not sure if it is inconsistent. Look, they are clones, granted, but we didn't say expressis verbis that they aren't given any memorys of hteir homeworld. Maybe false ones, maybe right ones, but even the OM knows that soldiers (even if mindcontrolled) fighting for theit homeworld are much more powerful than simple mercenaries. He just has to give them the "right" memory and they will think what they are doing is for their HW. I think this would give the whole thing a bit color and allow for some species specific psychic touches.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, doesn't sound too logical to me, but nevermind, just a minor detail, I suppose

[[Mad]]

Hmm, doesn't sound too logical to me, but nevermind, just a minor detail, I suppose 

One day you will understand, my very young padavan...

Edited July 8, 2006 by Mad

[mikker]

I have my doubt it would be relevant. I don't think the alien language is treated as a human language would. Vipers should only speak in 'hiss'es, and any 'for my homeworld' they might say wouldn't be anything else then a hiss.

 

Instead of having one sound that is race specific, have individual death sounds, and that. Of course it makes little sence for a Viper to make the same walking-sound as a muton. Or a disk.

Edited July 8, 2006 by mikker

[LfO]

I have my doubt it would be relevant. I don't think the alien language is treated as a human language would. Vipers should only speak in 'hiss'es, and any 'for my homeworld' they might say wouldn't be anything else then a hiss.

 

My intent is to have wordlike sounds, but certainly nothing in an acutal language - so, I agree that it really doesn't matter to sound development.

 

Instead of having one sound that is race specific, have individual death sounds, and that. Of course it makes little sence for a Viper to make the same walking-sound as a muton. Or a disk.

 

I'm not sure exactly what you're saying here, so I'll just try to clarify my initial post - I think we agree, but are saying it in different words. A set of samples(sounds) will be created for each species of alien - my goal in this thread is to reach an agreed upon set of situations in which aliens make sounds - when they die, when they move, etc. I'm also trying to establish the minimum number of variations of each sound a SND developer should make.

[kafros]

In other words, we try to think of a TEMPLATE that will apply to any Alien race. Then, the SND will create the needed sounds for every individual race as needed.

 

In addition, in the "battle phrases" thread, we just BRAINSTORM. Once we have proposed all/most of the ideas we can think of, we will examine them and choose the ones that fit most in the community's point of view.

 

So simple...

[LfO]

Here's a more specific question - is it possible that alien characters will produce sound when they are doing nothing. In other words, if there are 3 Morlocks on the screen, and one of them is walking, do we want to hear them all breathing (very quietly, of course)?

 

I suspect the answer is no - it would probably take a lot of processing power for little gain, and may just be audio clutter. But, I want to make sure I know what I need to be providing - its much easier to overprepare now, than to try and recall all of these audio projects somewhere down the road.

[red knight]

The processing power isnt the problem there... it is the audio clutter. So the probable answer is no.

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[kafros]

I guess that depends on the camera position. If it is located in front of a Morlock's face, I guess you should hear light breathing. If it is 2-3 "meters" away, you won't hear anything.

 

Actually... will the camera have full 3d movement freedom, or will it be fixed just like EU??

[red knight]

Both are posible, we will see if move the camera serves a purpose.

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[LfO]

Well, it sounds like we might want this type of idle sound, and I maintain that its very easy to add them now (during sound development), but might be far more difficult to add later. So, here's the revised proposed requirement - please continue to comment:

-------------------------------------------------

 

 

For each alien species, sounds must be provided for a number of events and states. Minimum quanitities of each sample type are listed - feel free to provide more variations.

 

Movement x 12

Footsteps, crawling, hovering, or whatever is appropriate for the species. If appropriate, feel free to include multiple sample types that should be played during movement (for example, breathing and footsteps).

 

Wounded x 10

When the alien is hurt, but does not die.

 

Death x 10

 

Panic x 8

The sound the alien makes when it panics or goes berserk.

 

Character x 8

This should be a sound that embodies the alien species (a battlecry, for example) - think of the great creepy sounds during terror missions in XCom.

 

Physical attack x 10

Only a few species use physical attacks - this type of sample should not be developed for the others.

 

At Rest x 8

What the alien would sound like standing still - for example, breathing. These samples may be played when the camera is zoomed near to a stationary alien. This may or may not be implemented in Version 1.0 of Xenocide.

 

Be sure to include documentation with your submission indicating how samples are to be used.

 

Though not required, it's preferable to include one or more examples of

your sample set in use - i.e., an alien moving around and dying.

[LfO]

Last call for review here - if there are no objections, I'm going to move this to the Wiki as the template for future alien species' sound pack development.

[red knight]

Publish in 3 days if there hasnt been changes.

 

Greetings

Red Knight