[MOD] Crew Chatter Ambience v1.0a - 20100301

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kreep69
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[MOD] Crew Chatter Ambience v1.0a - 20100301

Post by kreep69 » Mon, 1. Mar 10, 18:51

[MOD] Crew Chatter Ambience v1.0a - 20100301

- Download v1.0a -

Original Author - ulfius

Original Description (borrowed from author's site) - I was delighted to find that the Crew Chatter Ambience plugin made for x3 reunion works fine with Terran conflict. This Replaces corvettes and larger ships ambient engine sounds with communications chatter It will feel like you are in command of a fully crewed starship and not just a lifeless hunk of metal. I may expand this plugin to include station ambiance now that is audible in game.

1.0a Update Note - I take no credit for writing this modification, the original author is 'ulfius' but I do take credit for fixing up the sound files (noise and hiss filters and levels adjust and boost so you can actually hear the crew chatter / ambiance) and re-packing them back into the .DAT file. It sounds great with audio settings of 90% Effects, 70% Music, and 80% Voice. To hear the new sounds, get into an M6 or bigger and press F2 to switch to your external view then hit + or - to zoom in/out accordingly (or fly up behind an M6+ in your ship). This mod is great by itself but goes very well with shield hacker or any other sneak-up-and-stay-close-to-another-ship type of activity mod.

Install Notes -

1. Download the original SPK - Link

2. Go to your X3TC folder (usually C:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 Terran Conflict)
and remember what the highest pair of CAT/DAT files are to apply the fake patch (ie: 09.cat and 09.dat)

3. Install the original SPK using X-Universe Plugin Manager
(http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=265915)

4. Go back to your X3TC folder and see what the highest paired CAT/DAT file number is now (ie: now 10.cat and 10.dat). These are the mod files you want to replace.

5. Rename -
CHANGE_TO_YOUR_MOD_FILE_NUMBER.cat
CHANGE_TO_YOUR_MOD_FILE_NUMBER.dat
- to the mod files you want to replace (ie: 10.cat and 10.dat).

6. Go back to your X3TC folder and backup then replace the original mod files with the updates ones
(ie: the ones you renamed).

Enjoy.

UPDATE 05/20/2010 - FYI, stations have ambient noises too (just get close to them in any ship) also if you are in a small ship and fly close to a big ship or station you can hear the noise (the closer you are, and the faster the object is moving if its a ship, the louder it is).
Last edited by kreep69 on Thu, 20. May 10, 22:01, edited 1 time in total.

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Lord Dakier
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Post by Lord Dakier » Mon, 1. Mar 10, 18:53

Hmmm query, any video for this or anything?

kreep69
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Post by kreep69 » Mon, 1. Mar 10, 19:29

Lord_Dakier wrote:Hmmm query, any video for this or anything?
Well its 4 audio files .. I think there is station ambiance as well but can't swear to that. I don't think a video would catch the subtle crew/radio chatter over the engines .. at least not with enough quality to matter.

Plug it in, its cooler than your typical zoomed in engine rumbles and if you don't like it, its a quick one click un-install (thanks to Cycrow's installer).

I love this mod the only problem is in the original version you could not even hear the engines much less crew/radio chatter. After boosting the signal by like 800% (post hiss/noise filtering) its perfect for X3TC.

Now I ride around in external view all the time, its awesome. If you want quiet just head back to F1.

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Event Nothing
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Post by Event Nothing » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 08:31

Any way to get this to work while inside the cockpit? I like flying around with a cockpit mod pretending I'm a commanding the ship...it get's so quiet on the bridge sometimes though...

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enenra
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Post by enenra » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 11:52

Event Nothing wrote:Any way to get this to work while inside the cockpit? I like flying around with a cockpit mod pretending I'm a commanding the ship...it get's so quiet on the bridge sometimes though...
No. Hardcode.

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Argonaught.
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Post by Argonaught. » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 12:52

Wouldn't replacing the ingame sector music with the radio chatter do as a work around to the cockpit being hardcoded?

And if you really want sector music also you could mix both into one sound file using a sound editor.

Always good to offer an alternative than a firm no tbh :P

hth

Argo.
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Gripen
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Post by Gripen » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 14:01

Now if someone could figure out how to modify the engine-values in sounds.pck (04.cat) these kinds of volume mods wouldnt be needed :(

Mighty annoying that any value has no effect at all ingame >.>

Still, atleast now the chatter is somewhat audible, good work :P

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enenra
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Post by enenra » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 14:11

Argonaught. wrote:Wouldn't replacing the ingame sector music with the radio chatter do as a work around to the cockpit being hardcoded?

And if you really want sector music also you could mix both into one sound file using a sound editor.

Always good to offer an alternative than a firm no tbh :P

hth

Argo.
There is no point in referring to possible solutions if those are hacky as hell and not really feasible anyway. ;)
The end of the discussion is always "someone should do it". At that point the topic dies and is forgotten about until 2 weeks later someone appears with the same "revolutionary" idea and the discussion starts anew. Sad but true. :(

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Argonaught.
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Post by Argonaught. » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 14:30

enenra wrote:There is no point in referring to possible solutions if those are hacky as hell and not really feasible anyway. ;)
Blasphemer :D

that would mean all Mods then are hacky as hell as modders go to an extreme ammount of trouble to hack, backgrounds, soundfiles :P, GUI, types files etc.

Altering the sector sounds is feasible btw, all you do is rename your chatter files to those of the soundtrack files and make 145 new sound files to replace those in the soundtrack folder, easy peasy lemon squeezy :).

Not that hacky either tbh if you look at how many files/folders a med to large mod has etc.

I'm waiting on an email permission atm to release a small mod that replaces the enemy music, that plays when enemy are close by, with the star trek alert siren, took me but a minute to edit/increase volume abit/save/make 5 copies/rename and replace those in the soundtrack folder with my new ones.

Sooo, in tennis they'd say 60-30 to Argo :P

Argo.
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enenra
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Post by enenra » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 14:39

Argonaught. wrote:
enenra wrote:There is no point in referring to possible solutions if those are hacky as hell and not really feasible anyway. ;)
Blasphemer :D

that would mean all Mods then are hacky as hell as modders go to an extreme ammount of trouble to hack, backgrounds, soundfiles :P, GUI, types files etc.

Altering the sector sounds is feasible btw, all you do is rename your chatter files to those of the soundtrack files and make 145 new sound files to replace those in the soundtrack folder, easy peasy lemon squeezy :).

Not that hacky either tbh if you look at how many files/folders a med to large mod has etc.

I'm waiting on an email permission atm to release a small mod that replaces the enemy music, that plays when enemy are close by, with the star trek alert siren, took me but a minute to edit/increase volume abit/save/make 5 copies/rename and replace those in the soundtrack folder with my new ones.

Sooo, in tennis they'd say 60-30 to Argo :P

Argo.
Don't get me wrong. If I do something a lot then it is to see what is possible with modding. And that involves tons of hacks. :)

But think of this:

You replace the sector music - great - but that means that no matter in which ship you sit, you'll always hear the same chatter and an endless loop of it. And I doubt that those sound files are long enough to not get boring after hearing them for a certain amount of time. And you'll be hearing them all the time. And no music at all. ;)
Even when sitting in a space suit yu'd hear the chatter of a whole crew - even when in an unknown sector, devoid of any other ships than your small M5, you'll hear it. ;)

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Argonaught.
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Post by Argonaught. » Sun, 7. Mar 10, 14:46

Yea it would get boring, thats why i only changed the enemy music.

I had though of the problem of changing ships if I had altered all the soundtracks and decided against doing that for the same reason you've just said.

The enemy ones I've done never get boring though unless your sitting in the middle of a Khaak or Xenon infested system for too long.

Argo.
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mattig89ch
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Post by mattig89ch » Tue, 23. Mar 10, 23:03

just out of plain and simple curiosoty, this only works if your in an m6 or greater right?

It seems rather...pointless, if your in a fighter.

Edit:
I'm really hoping that's the case. I just tried it, replaced the highest numbered files (11) and nothing happened with the external view.
Last edited by mattig89ch on Tue, 23. Mar 10, 23:13, edited 1 time in total.

Tomonor
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Post by Tomonor » Tue, 23. Mar 10, 23:11

Never say never. It would be possible to write a script, which triggers a sound file, and if it's large enough (hence, chatter), that way you could create dynamic chatters aswell.

It would use something like Communications software mk1, and after u bought it, you had to assign a hotkey to it, push it, and there, the soundfile activates.

This is the simple version.
Image

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mattig89ch
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Post by mattig89ch » Thu, 25. Mar 10, 23:12

well, I must have screwed something up. Because I'm not getting any chatter, or any other noises of any kind.

I followed the directions and still nothing.

I'm playing 2.5 btw, and have a few other scripts going.

dmichailcz
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Post by dmichailcz » Sat, 15. May 10, 18:20

Wow, great mod. Maybe little louder (I still feel like i am sitting alone in my own room, while my crew is in another.) would be great. Is there any (easy way, how I can change that? I can work with audio files, but not with game files.

P.S. Is this mod in mod library?
I am not very good in english, so please, forgive me...

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Lordaeron
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Post by Lordaeron » Sun, 16. May 10, 01:13

Just tested it, nice Mod!

But:
- it should be much louder or adjustable (without adjusting Sound Effects level).
- should also be hearable if View is F1 and ships not moving

kreep69
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Post by kreep69 » Thu, 20. May 10, 22:21

I forgot that I posted this and didn't check back for a while .. anyway here are some answers to posted questions.

mattig89ch - yes, it only works (for your ship) if you are in an m6 or larger however if you fly your fighter close to a big ship or station the noise is there (and for ships, varies in loudness based on how fast the ship is going).

mattig89ch - re: not getting any sound, if you apply the fake patch right it works. remember if its your ship, you have to be moving and then switch to external view and perhaps zoom in a little to hear things.

dmichailcz - i agree it could maybe be a touch louder but especially now with the turbo boost enhancement any louder (and zoomed in) and it would maybe be overbearing. you can mod it yourself using any wav editor .. just grab the tool to unpack and then repack the mod file (cant remember the name of the tool, just look in the stickies for scripts and modding).

Lordaeron - yes i love this mod too. you can adjust the volume in two ways .. by how fast your ship is moving and how zoomed in on the external view you are. i have no idea how to even begin being able to set or adjust it in game. lastly, i would totally love to have it on in F1 view with the ship not moving (like the star trek bridge noises right) .... maybe a real modder can make this happen.

Anyway I just repacked the mod and posted it in the forum. I made the audio files audible, added some bass, and cleaned them up a bit. The original post gives credit to the original author where it is due.

dmichailcz
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Post by dmichailcz » Thu, 20. May 10, 22:55

kreep69 wrote:dmichailcz - i agree it could maybe be a touch louder but especially now with the turbo boost enhancement any louder (and zoomed in) and it would maybe be overbearing. you can mod it yourself using any wav editor .. just grab the tool to unpack and then repack the mod file (cant remember the name of the tool, just look in the stickies for scripts and modding).
To be honest, best way how to get chatter ambience in game is to get just sound (without engines) and play it externally in Media Player during game (ambience even in F1, not adjusting together with engines etc.).
I am not very good in english, so please, forgive me...

Ch1m3ra
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Post by Ch1m3ra » Sat, 18. Sep 10, 14:42

I have several of Ulfius' mods and I am very thankful for them.
But this one, replace what with what how? I'm confused ^^
I see the cat/dat files but what do I have to do with them exactly?
Makes me wonder if I installed more mods the wrong way...

C

Happyblue
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Post by Happyblue » Sat, 18. Sep 10, 17:46

Just use the "Coms Ambient" spk from the X-Universe.
Plugin - Crew Chatter Ambience
I was delighted to find that the Crew Chatter Ambience plugin made for x3 reunion works fine with Terran conflict. This Replaces corvettes and larger ships ambient engine sounds with communications chatter It will feel like you are in command of a fully crewed starship and not just a lifeless hunk of metal. I may expand this plugin to include station ambiance now that is audible in game.
- Ulfius



http://www.thexuniverse.com/threads/135 ... ight=cmod3

Just d/l "Coms ambient" on that site and it works fine. I wouldn't reccomend using his version if you use other fake patch mods like SRM, it will mess them both up if not done properly. Military Hud is also a personal favorite.

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