Creator Confusion

Support
#1

EDITED
OK, after about 4 hours of watching videos and playing around, I am now wrapping my finger around how this all works. For those of you who are new and read this post, don’t give up, it has a steep learning curve but once you get it, it is very powerful.
End Edit

First off, the player is incredibly awesome, the creator is HORRIBLE, It’s incredibly confusing, not at all user friendly, confusing, not intuitive, confusing, and why why why was it designed this way???

OK, now that I blew off some steam for wasting over two hours accomplishing nothing while trying to create my own stuff, let me ask a few questions…

  1. Is there even a downloadable creator now? I can’t find one and everything I am seeing is telling me I can download it. I cannot find it anywhere.

  2. So then I go to Syrinscape Online (Beta), but is that the only place I can make my own stuff now? In a beta, online only version?

  3. And then when I get there, nothing makes any logical sense for sound design. Can someone point me in the direction of video guides or training, so that I can not waste anymore time? A just want to upload my own sounds and music, for personal use, and make some loop, be random, or be one shots. This should only take 5 minutes, if designed correctly.

Frustrated new user who feels like he just wasted his money

**Note: if you guys need someone on your creator design team, seriously, I can help, and would gladly donate my time and give you my advice and even design mock-ups. Trust me, there is a much easier way than what you currently have now. Yikes!

#2

Heya. :slight_smile:

Just a quick response from me as I run out the door getting the kids to school.

Give me literally 4 hours… I am uploading the new set of detailed Creator tutorial videos today. You’ll find it all makes a lot more sense once you watch these.

So:

  1. Let me get these last couple recorded
  2. I’ll upload
  3. You watch
  4. Then definitely ask questions as make suggestions.

And from there… who knows where we might end up! :smiley:

Most of all… THANKS for your support as a sub!!!

EDIT: btw there was already a full set of tutorials for the previous version (which are now gone). So as a general principle, ask for help sooner, before the frustration mounts, next time! :slight_smile: :pizza:

#3

Here you go:

#4

Let us know if you still really think this is terrible once you’ve watch these vids and worked things out a little. :bug: :hammer: :cake:

#5

Thanks for the videos, but even after 4 or 5, I am still terribly confused.

The naming convention for each function is what is confusing, as is the way we add files, manage those file, edit things, and saving things when we are done.

If I were to approach a tool like this, I would give the user the ability to make 4 different events, and then they can grab any number of those events and make a scene out of them. So you make scenes with events.

Events a user could make:

  • Music
  • Looping
  • Random
  • Single

So I wish to make a music event, I drag and drop the music files I want in that music playlist, I set parameters, and I save it as “Battle Music”

I now wish to make a looping event called raining. I drag the seamless looping rain file, and I set the parameters that are specifically for looping files. I name and save it.

Next, I want random thunder crashes, so I create a random event called thunder, drag the files into it, set the parameters, and save it. I do the same with other events like a dragon roar event, and weapons event, and battle cries event. All random events.

Then I finally make single events, which are the ones that we manually execute as needed.

Now, we have repositories of all these events, and we can drag and drop them into a scene and simply save that scene.

I like how much thought was put into your sound parameters, and how well everything works with already built scenes, but the interface to build a scene is daunting. The naming conventions, like sound sets, moods, and elements, just doesn’t click with me.

But! I will struggle through this, and continue watching the tutorials, The packs that you offer are worth the subscription, so I am getting my money’s worth with that alone. I really want to be able to make my own scenes for my games however, so hopefully I will become a Syrinscape expert sooner than later.

So is it possible to create seamless looping events in Syrinscape? I have the seamless files, but I need to figure out how to loop them without a break in between. I am surprised you don’t have a “Looping” checkbox in there.

Also, when I upload a bunch of my own personal use files, are they in a repository or directory that only I see, so I can just use those sounds anywhere? I found out how to upload them into a element (is that what it is called?), but what if I anted to use those came files elsewhere? How can I find my uploads easily. confused

And thank you very much for making this tool; I’m sure it will be a huge value add at the gaming table.

#6

Yes. Simply upload the sample and check the ‘crossfade’ checkbox. Syrinscape will perform an equal power crossfade between the end and beginning of the sample over the time period you specify. You can even do this with multiple samples = you might have 5 long samples of a crowd and randomly order and crossfade them to create a nicely variable background.

#7

This is explained in the “Samples” tutorial video. I show how to upload your samples into one element and then find them so you can import them into another.

#8

Yes. I suspect much of your confusion is simply an unfamiliarity with the general terminology of the app and how we have thought about sound creation from the very start.

Continue to watch, play AND … ask questions and we all on the forums will be MORE than glad to help you come up to speed! :slight_smile: :smiley: :beers:

#9

Music = Music elements (set this in the element inspector
Looping = All elements loop unless you specify that they should stop after playing each sample once (see the ‘Element’ tutorial video for how this works)
Random = You can set the playlist order of the element in the element inspector = same video as above
Single = this is what we call a OneShot (set an element to be a OneShot in the element inspector (same vid again)

Maybe you haven’t seen that video yet? Is it in the Playlist?! :smiley:

Keep asking questions!

#10

Thanks!

For years I used to use RPG Sound Mixer, but they stopped support after Windows XP and closed up shop altogether. I have been struggling, looking for some tool that would allow me to make my own scenes, and for years, I couldn’t find anything remotely comparable to its features. It appears that syrinscape can match its features and even go one step further, so once I get a handle on how this thing works, I can’t wait to start using it.

But they are so many head scratching moments, like why do i need to run an online player just to design and make scenes? I don’t wish to stream online, but rather, I want my scenes to show up in the fantasy player to me played locally. So why do I need the k line player open to even design? It doesn’t make sense to me, so that must mean i simply don’t understand what it’s function is. Is it for ensuring the person using it is a licensed member? know, I know, it’s in another video. :slight_smile:

But should an end user really have to watch so many videos before they can even figure out how to make their own scene? The basics should be intuitive - advanced stuff should need videos. That may just be a sign that the UI isn’t intuitive enough.

Anyhow, I am done rambling about how the tool should work and will get started on learning how it does work. I’ll let you know how today goes and if I can actually get my own scene created.

Oh oh, one last thing, if I use my own sound for something that happens to be copy written, like LoTR music and such, when I upload that, and it asks for license type, what do I put there? Other -> and type in For Personal Use Only? I would have thought you would have had a premise tag already; and what is the tag next to Other mean? Sound Name or something? (Not at the interface atm).

And just to make sure, when I upload, those files are for my eyes only? I don’t want to get you or me in trouble by uploading the stuff I own. It is confusing how to specify if something is used by me only or perhaps uploaded to the community.

Thanks again, Benjamin

#11

Yes, Unless you specifically propose content as community content and we specifically approve it, no one will ever see the content except someone logged in as you.

#12

You are running the Online Player so YOU can hear the sounds of what you are creating. Surely you need to be able to hear those sounds in order to combine and balance them correctly… yes?

The Online Player is the bit of technology that takes the samples delivered to it (by the server), applies all the positioning and timing and reverb and everything data (as specified by the Master UI) and actually plays them. It’s a Unity App that utilises FMod to make the beautifully blended, 3D audio with positioning, individual reverb, even doppler effect from motion (that’s not something a browser can do).

Makes sense? :slight_smile:

Good questions still… so keep asking them! :beers: :cake:

#13

Yes, thank you, Benjamin.

Now, I need to do a forum search to figure out why my Online Player is the whole screen and I can’t size it to be the size that your player is. :slight_smile:

#14

Fixed it with the regedit hack.

#15

I seem to be getting further along today. Still very confused on a couple items. So in the online editor, when I click on my Soundset, and I click on “City Walk” I have a generic ambiance playing for my Orzammar visit. It is just one file that loops. For some reason though, the volume changes at the start of each loop, and I can’t figure out why. I don’t see variable volume settings. Can you point me in the right direction on how to solve this? Since it is an element, I figured I would look in the element settings.

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#16

So, @dorpond: You have created a soundset (insert name), created a mood called “city walk” in that soundset and created an element called “Orzammar City ambience”, that starts when you trigger the mood?

The change in volume usually comes from 3D positioning and directional/distance setting. Somehow, something about that sample/setting/element seems to be off with your soundset. What is your soundset called?

#17

“Dorpond Dwarves” but it’s not public.
It’s basically a test for me to learn with.

#18

What you can try, @dorpond: Set the type to sound effect instead of music and enable 3D positioning. Then you have full control of the distance and direction.

Try to set the direction from 0 to 0 (so basically right in front of you) and the distance from 0 to 0 (basically right at you). It may be possible, that that could be enough to eliminate the volume differences. Anything else would need deeper digging.

As a rule of thumb - use type sound effect for everything that is “in the scene” and the music type for fully stereo spread “soundtrack” music.

#19

Ok I will try, thanks! But even so, even if the clip was music, it shouldn’t vary like that, correct? Could it be a bug? I’ll have to listen to in outside the online tool to see if it happens there.

#21

Heya,

I’ll take a look a t the SoundSet.

But first, some serious Saturday morning bathroom Reno to do!

In the meantime screenshot of Playlist entry (make sure the volume settings there are both set to full).

Also, it might be a bug,

Do you get the same result if you turn ON 3D positioning, and set the distance to 0 to 0? Which will create the same effect.

Good hunting.