32 replies to this topic

[jpsalas]

Most of my tables have those sounds too, but sometimes you almost can't hear them, since the volume is adjusted by the ball speed, so slow balls will sound quite low, and sometimes the rom sounds are very high, so you can't hear them either

[wiesshund]

Most of my tables have those sounds too, but sometimes you almost can't hear them, since the volume is adjusted by the ball speed, so slow balls will sound quite low, and sometimes the rom sounds are very high, so you can't hear them either

 For what it is worth, you can't hear them on a real pin most of the time, in a normal environment either
Lost in all the other noises going on.

[batch]

It gave me an idea, would it be possible to have an ambiance background sound all the time you play a game, bar room, game room...

 

But perhaps it already exists

[wiesshund]

It gave me an idea, would it be possible to have an ambiance background sound all the time you play a game, bar room, game room...

 

But perhaps it already exists

 

Yes, it is possible

Just have a playsound in the table init and set it for infinite loop

I have one, i had pinballX using it, i think it is on my desktop though, i dont think i have it on my laptop.
Is just an ambient loop of an arcade, you can hear different pinball machines running and stuff, people murmuring and what not 

 

Here are some ideas you could use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arcade Ambience Project (hofle.com)

[batch]

Just have a playsound in the table init and set it for infinite loop

 

So something in the script there -> Sub Table1_Init() and the sound in Table -> Sound Manager or in the Music folder ?

 

And how would you script that, please ?

Edited by batch, 19 July 2021 - 09:33 PM.

[Gravy]

Most of my tables have those sounds too, but sometimes you almost can't hear them, since the volume is adjusted by the ball speed, so slow balls will sound quite low, and sometimes the rom sounds are very high, so you can't hear them either

I think your mind still registers the sounds though even if they are not immediately apparent and this is what adds to the overall sense of realism in the soundscape of a table.

It gave me an idea, would it be possible to have an ambiance background sound all the time you play a game, bar room, game room...

 

But perhaps it already exists

There's a pinball game called Pure Pinball from the first Xbox (and PC) that had ambient noise effects of the playroom (basically a busy bar/cafe noise), it worked quite well and could really only be heard when the table was at rest. You can hear it in this video a few seconds after where I have started the video playing (9:59). You can also hear the guy doing the recording after he loses the ball but that's obviously not part of the game.

It would be nice to have this effect inbuilt into VPX whereby you simply switch it on or off and select a wav or mp3 to loop, rather than having to modify each table.

https://youtu.be/PXXfYDHKgYE?t=591

Edited by Gravy, 19 July 2021 - 10:27 PM.

[wiesshund]

Just have a playsound in the table init and set it for infinite loop

 

So something in the script there -> Sub Table1_Init() and the sound in Table -> Sound Manager or in the Music folder ?

 

And how would you script that, please ?

 

I would probably make it a low quality ogg
small file size, and ambient sound doesnt need to be hifi
 

then in the table init try playsound "ambientName" -1, 1  (change the,1 to what ever volume you find acceptable ,0.5 or what not)

It should then just loop over and over.

 

Now you could also do it via your front end and not touch the tables

 

have it run a bat file as the pre table launch event

Bat file would be

 

START wmplayer.exe "c:\path to ambient sound file"

 

Or maybe you can just have the front end call wmplayer.exe directly and not need a bat file?

 

You would need a table exit task also

TASKKILL /f /im wmplayer.exe

 

 

In pinballX it is the launch before and launch after

but i dont know about other front ends

 

Oh, and you would leave media player set on repeat mode

[Gravy]

 

 

have it run a bat file as the pre table launch event

Bat file would be

 

START wmplayer.exe "c:\path to ambient sound file"

 

Or maybe you can just have the front end call wmplayer.exe directly and not need a bat file?

 

You would need a table exit task also

TASKKILL /f /im wmplayer.exe

 

 

In pinballX it is the launch before and launch after

but i dont know about other front ends

 

Oh, and you would leave media player set on repeat mode

 

Good tip, even just letting those youtube audio ambience vids run at say 25% volume in the background whilst playing on VPX gives you a good idea of the how well this will work in practice.

Here's some Bar ambience audio, more like what Pure Pinball had in their game.

[ItchyRobot]

Most of my tables have those sounds too, but sometimes you almost can't hear them, since the volume is adjusted by the ball speed, so slow balls will sound quite low, and sometimes the rom sounds are very high, so you can't hear them either

I have most of your tables and have never heard the 'ping' sound I earlier described. That is the case for all my VPX tables though. It is one of the most obvious differences my brain notices when playing the reals tables. It's these small additions that immerse us and fool our brains into thinking they are real. I wonder if this is something you can request to the devs to implement? ... make the slow ball speed not affect the 'ping' sound when it hits metal rails, or at least when it bounces off the tops of them. Thanks for all your tables btw!

[wiesshund]

 I wonder if this is something you can request to the devs to implement? ... make the slow ball speed not affect the 'ping' sound when it hits metal rails, or at least when it bounces off the tops of them. 

 

 

 

 

No, because it isnt a VPX internal function, it is part of the playsound at the ball script
you can adjust that in the tablescript, look for playsoundatball
you can manipulate it to not reduce volume as much

 

you can also export fx_metalwire from the table and just normalize it to 0dB and it will be louder regardless
and then save that file and you can import it into any other tables that use it but you feel are too quiet.

 

Take 0dB with a grain of salt, you may find that it is too loud then, you may have to experiment some.

 

I do want to note, that while that mata hari table is a quiet table, it's an EM so no ROM sounds etc going on, and it is sitting in a super quiet environment
the mic he is filming with has some mad gain on it, i dont think i have seen a table where the rolling sound was that loud under the glass in the open air in real life

 

That is not to say you can not make a VPX table be like that, cause you can, it just takes a few minutes with audacity or similar app, but i think most people author
the tables to be more akin to what they would sound like at normal listening in an arcade etc rather than in a dead quiet room with a high gain mic.
 

And yea, alien warrior and time machines wire rails are probably that loud if you want to pull the sound out of them, but even i dont run the rolling sound that high, i like to pretend my table is brand new and the ball isnt a rusty pitted mess

Edited by wiesshund, 20 July 2021 - 02:20 AM.

[Gravy]

 

I do want to note, that while that mata hari table is a quiet table, it's an EM so no ROM sounds etc going on, and it is sitting in a super quiet environment
the mic he is filming with has some mad gain on it, i dont think i have seen a table where the rolling sound was that loud under the glass in the open air in real life

 

 

Yeah, it does sound a bit like a 1970's garbage truck picking up the garbage at 5am and the garbos are intentionally trying to wake the neighbourhood.

[ItchyRobot]

 

 I wonder if this is something you can request to the devs to implement? ... make the slow ball speed not affect the 'ping' sound when it hits metal rails, or at least when it bounces off the tops of them. 

 

 

 

 

And yea, alien warrior and time machines wire rails are probably that loud if you want to pull the sound out of them, but even i dont run the rolling sound that high, i like to pretend my table is brand new and the ball isnt a rusty pitted mess

 

I don't want to mess with the rolling sound volume (that is usually fine or too loud); I just want the "ping" noise as it bounces off the top of the rail to be louder. Do the instructions you gave above affect the rolling sound too, or just the rail "ping" sound?

[wiesshund]

 

 

 I wonder if this is something you can request to the devs to implement? ... make the slow ball speed not affect the 'ping' sound when it hits metal rails, or at least when it bounces off the tops of them. 

 

 

 

 

And yea, alien warrior and time machines wire rails are probably that loud if you want to pull the sound out of them, but even i dont run the rolling sound that high, i like to pretend my table is brand new and the ball isnt a rusty pitted mess

 

I don't want to mess with the rolling sound volume (that is usually fine or too loud); I just want the "ping" noise as it bounces off the top of the rail to be louder. Do the instructions you gave above affect the rolling sound too, or just the rail "ping" sound?

 

 

If you mean exporting the sound, normalizing it in audacity and then importing it back?

No, not unless you export the rolling sounds and edit them too.

 I just want the "ping" noise as it bounces off the top of the rail to be louder.

 

 

If you want randomly amusing, get the batman table
and have parts of the table randomly play wav files of BIFF BAMM POW when hit
LOL

It gets old fast, but it is funny for a minute, especially with randomized speed/pitch