Intensity Meter

Suggestions
#1

Something I have come across in my days on the TTRPG internet forums are some sound fx and ambient noise generators that have an “Intensity bar”, where based on the flow of a session the GM would be able to increase/decrease the amount of sound effects used in a soundset, number of instruments playing the music, volume etc with a single slider on the UI.

I know that Syrinscape (it’s still the best) allows us to simply Point and click certain sound effects and music on or off, given the soundset we have in front of us. We can also just choose a whole different soundset for whatever is happening at the touch of a button or edit our own soundset with the audio elements that syrinscape allows.

BUT…How cool would it be to have a piece of music or a battle scene that could be altered with ONE button so that when the battle is going on, we could set a level of intensity, turn it up at the moment the BBEG shows themselves, and then turn it back down when the battle is over, and just keep going?

That (on top of everything else that syrinscape does very well) would be some amazing frosting for an already delicious cake.

I offer it up for your consideration. Thanks :slight_smile:

#2

That is a nice idea, but would need a different engine to the current one.

As a sound designer for syrinscape, this type of effect can only be done by clicking the different moods. I have build a few in soundsets like this. But only when the story requires it. There is a octopus battle in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. An exploding bomb in Escape From New York. Possibly some in Starfinder too.

These have these layered music tracks that build and add more cacophony for the sound. You could copy this into you adventure to produce a similar effect to your intensity meter.

#3

Added to that (as I have just awoken from my longest sleep ever (8 hours)) There are actually quite a few soundset that have a mood that gradually get more and more intense automatically or by you clicking the next mood.

Death House has different floor levels that add more and more music as well as more and more bumps and spook things. There are many more, but I can’t think correctly at 5 am =) Hope this helps

#4

Thats interesting. I guess with more exploring of the soundsets I could engineer something similar. I’ll look into it. I had no idea it would require a different engine…Well a DM can always dream I suppose.

#5

I wouldn’t say a different engine intirly. But it would have to have a new volume controller/intensity dial added. Plus we would have to create and add to that dial specific sounds and music that would work in that one unique dial. It would take quite a bit of work to for the dev team to create a perfect synchronised player for us to build music to.
So until that happens (which wont be for quite some time) this is the only way to emulate the intensity dial that you are suggesting (as I see it not being a tech guy).

#6

Sooo… when we first built Syrinscape, we toyed with putting intensity in… but eventually we realised it was an extra dial that might be a bit toooo confusing to some people… MOODs and ELEMENTs are pretty cheap, and we can achieve pretty much the same effect with similar duplicate elements, but with different content and MOODs triggering and adjusting those elements.

eg.
ELEMENT 1 “Thunder not very intense”
and ELEMENT 2 “Thunder very intense” (the same samples but more intense ones)

MOOD 1 “Gathering storm” starts ELEMENT 1
MOOD 2 “Intense storm” starts ELEMENT 2

Makes sense?

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#7

It DOES make sense and is very helpful. WOW, I didn’t expect to get the attention of the CEO…Awesome. Thanks for the info!

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#8

Always happily reading and responding when I am able. :slight_smile: :pizza: :beer: