SKYRIMLE Immersive Sounds - Compendium by lazygecko

[DoYouEvenModBro]

I've seriously never heard of this before. What's the benefit of using it over BOSS? Just more customization?

[Aiyen]

You can read the LOOT thread and post questions about it there... keep this thread on topic please! 

[Kuldebar]

DoYouEvenModBro, on 05 Jun 2014 - 1:22 PM, said:DoYouEvenModBro, on 05 Jun 2014 - 1:22 PM, said:

I've seriously never heard of this before. What's the benefit of using it over BOSS? Just more customization?

BOSS is dead, long live LOOT. LOOT is the new BOSS which is basically no longer being updated thus becoming less useful each passing day.

 

LOOT has many similar features as BOSS (made by the same people, after all) but it also has an AI that analyzes each ESP to determine load position. It works remarkably well...miraculously well.

 

User List custom rules are still necessary for things that LOOT would have to be told in order to know your intentions...it can't read your mind...yet. Out of 180 mods, I have two custom rules set up...the rest is all LOOT.

Aiyen, on 05 Jun 2014 - 1:25 PM, said:Aiyen, on 05 Jun 2014 - 1:25 PM, said:Aiyen, on 05 Jun 2014 - 1:25 PM, said:

You can read the LOOT thread and post questions about it there... keep this thread on topic please! 

Yes, we must protect our precious bodily fluids!

 

AOS and ISC sort fine via LOOT..can't say for BOSS...probably not.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Kuldebar

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Got it thanks. I'll start a thread about it if I have any more questions. 

[Spock]

It's probably the easiest to compare sounds on a sample by sample basis. Just open them with a wav player. This doesn't mean every sample fits well into the mix but it gives a general idea.

[lazygecko]

Mod author here. I've lurked on on STEP for some time but I never really felt the need to create an account and participate in discussions. Until now that is. I'd like to try and answer any questions and clear up any confusion.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a staunch supporter of AOS and what LK has provided (I think I was even the very first endorser), but ever since AOS exploded in popularity it's like I always find myself having to justify the usage of my own mods along with it, and people don't seem to fully understand what it is both mods do and don't do, so you can imagine it feels a bit frustrating for me.

So as for how AOS and IS work together, let me put it this way: AOS overhauls several parameters such as Output Models, Reverb Parameters, etc that universally affect how sounds behave in Skyrim. From my perspective that in itself is a monumental change and I consider it to be the very core of what AOS brings to the table. I've seen comments in the past that installing my own mods over AOS more or less makes it redundant and that you should choose between one or the other, but for the aforementioned reasons I don't consider that to be true at all.

@Kuldebar

 

What do you think of it?  Are the "fireballs" better sounding?  What about the other sounds that AOS doesn't cover?  

Here's a rundown on some of the major stuff I added in IS that AOS does not cover (based on my own comparisons, anyway)

 

For weapons, I've made a wider selection of different impact types. For shield blocking, I made it so that different sounds are played for blocking one-handed or two-handed weapons instead of 1 universal set.

 

For footsteps, I created a brand new set of sounds exclusively used by NPCs for every armor type. AOS seems to use the same footstep sounds for player and NPCs. Since both types of sounds are heard from the perspective of the player, they really ought to be of a different character since there are a lot of nuances that you can only hear in close proximity. Having a recorded close proximity sound played at a lower volume isn't quite enough to sound natural and believable. I also made sure the bone-rattling skeleton footsteps change depending on the surface they walk on, instead of using just one set of footsteps.

 

AOS also doesn't adress the issue with pre-loaded generic sounds for footsteps (this function seems to be a leftover from optimizing for the memory-starved consoles). So even though AOS has for example a sound for landing with heavy armor on snow after jumping, you effectively won't be hearing it most of the time since the universal pre-loaded one takes priority.

 

 

 

MO only shows two wav files that conflict, but since both mods use esp's that's not definitive in any way regarding how much overlap.

 

 

The main pack without the optionals should have zero overlapping files. The conflicting ones are probably the dungeon ambiance, which I moved over as an optional choice that retains vanilla file paths unlike the others.

 

A comparison video would be useful to have. Though I don't think it's my place to do it. For now I can just create some quick mp3 comparisons roughly simulating the context in which they are used. Not perfect but it servers its purpose.

 

Two-handed sword hitting flesh. This uses the instant impact option for consistency with AOS timing.

 

Running and sprinting on dirt with heavy armor. There's a difference in approach here in that AOS uses 8 (4 left foot, 4 right foot) sound cycles universally, while I use 10 for running and 6 (which is the vanilla amount) for sprinting and walking. Since you'll be running most of the time and only walking and sprinting some of the time, I figured prioritizing it like that was a better solution.

 

Casting firebolts. This uses both of the firebolt install choices available.

 

[Kuldebar]

@lazygecko:

 

Welcome to the forums! I'm not sure why I was referring to you as lazyskeever in my earlier postings, weird, eh?

 

Thanks for the clarifications, I am enjoying your mod and even started using AOS based on your suggested use from your mod page.

[WilliamImm]

@lazygecko: Please PM z92 on the Nexus to get a shiny mod author's badge.

[Kuldebar]

@lazygecko: Please PM z92 on the Nexus to get a shiny mod author's badge.

^^  z929669

[keithinhanoi]

Hi lazygecko, and welcome!

 

Thanks a bunch for addressing some of the concerns about the supposed "conflicts" between your IS mods and AOS, and explaining some of the differences between the approaches between them.

 

As you might now, I've gotten involved in helping LoRd KoRn out with the new all-in-one FOMOD-based installer, and by going through most of the more popular compatibility patches to make sure they would work correctly with the latest release (v2.1).

 

I also actually use IS - Aural Assortment, and have tried out IS - Footsteps, and have had a good look at those in TES5Edit to see how they work, and how they interact with AOS 2's changes.

 

So I'd really like to say right now that I have a lot of respect for all the things that you've created and done in your mods.

 

That said, there really is no accounting for taste - in other words, everybody has varying preferences with different kinds of sounds - so, I hope that some of the improvements found in IS - Compendium work their way back into your separate IS mods. This is because regardless of whether AOS is used, the renamed sound file scheme of IS - Compendium leads to something of an "all or nothing" choice with regards to the sounds provided by the mod.

 

With AOS, a nice side-effect of maintaining the sound file names for any "vanilla" records is that the user can remove the AOS supplied sound file if they prefer the vanilla sound, or replace the AOS sound with one from another mod that they prefer more. This as you know may lead to sounds that don't quite work correctly with LoRd KoRn's "soundscape" changes made by AOS, but I note that most comments on the mod's thread have to do with not liking a particular sound or a few sounds, and to a lesser extent certain sounds being too loud / quiet.

 

Now changing the sound sound files referenced by IS - Compendium wouldn't be a problem for me, with some changes in TES5Edit to the filename of the sound records in question, but most people seem to be scared off by the program.

 

So, I suppose what I'm saying is that I hope that you will continue to maintain the your separate IS mods, thus allowing the flexibility of mixing-and-matching with other mods and the various tastes of users.

 

Either way, I really appreciate the work you've done with this, and it's also great that you've incorporated AOS compatibility.

[lazygecko]

Well even if I did retain the vanilla file paths, there are still often more sounds for certain things than in vanilla, for example 5 bow shot sounds instead of 3. So if you install another bow sound mod that only replaces vanilla files, they will only play some of the time. Less repetition was one of my goals for the mod and is not something I'm willing to sacrifice, so I can't win either way really. I'm very transparent with how all this works in the compatibility section and explain how you can manually overwrite sound files with just a bit of manual work from the user.

 

But of course as with any mod, there's plenty of people who won't even bother reading the description or readme which is apparent in the comments section. I don't feel like wasting time answering questions that are clearly coverd by the description.

[keithinhanoi]

Yeah, definitely most people have no idea that for many items / actions / elements in the game, a set of sounds is used to provide variety.

 

Yes, you've explained your reasons for setting a new directory structure and naming convention very nicely, though I can imagine that some users of English as a second language may not quite get the phrase "round robin".

 

EDIT: I think the read me for IS -Weaponry has the best explanation of the sound variants and file naming, for anyone considering replacing certain sounds, and more importantly for ust for raising awareness about how sounds work in Skyrim.

 

But yes, I know what you mean about people not reading, as for example with the AOS comments thread when I try to help out, I find that I'm repeating myself all the time.

 

Also, I just grabbed the update for IS - Aural Assortment, so with regards to what I said above, it's awsome that you're maintaining the four separate modular mods.

 

By the way, on my full read through of the comments for IS - Compendium, I noticed a request for a no-DLC version of your plugin. I haven't checked into it fully, but I'm quite sure I could help you out making it if you're interested in offering that option.

Edited June 8, 2014 by keithinhanoi

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Does esp load order matter as long as it's after AOS?

Edited June 8, 2014 by DoYouEvenModBro

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Oh, didn't see the patch. So does it not matter where you put this as long as the AOS Patch is after both this mod and AOS?

[redirishlord]

Great find Kuldebar, great questions Keith, and most of all great work Lazygecko - thanks all.

 

Use with AOS2 seems straightforward thanks to the patch, and it great these projects work together, I'm curious how other STEP sound mods might interact. Specifically, Audio Dynamic Sneak has me wondering (and the ISC installer makes it appear there is specific function overlap) can I use these together (ADS earlier with ICS overwriting) or should ICS replace ADS?