Oolite Bulletins

I have written some music that I think is more suiting to the game than the current title music. I've only written the "bare-bones" of it so I can change it to how you would like it.
Is there a way of uploading it here?
I think there should also be in-game music that can be switched on/off. I dont think there should always be music playing, sometimes silence is the best way to appreciate the vastness of the game; but music on certain events, such as entering a new system or a ship becoming hostile, would add a bit more of a narrative feel to the game.
I'd be happy to make more music for free if you like what I've done so far.
Oolite is the best space simulation I've ever played! keep up the good work .

[EDIT] I've tried listening to my music while playing the game and I think it would work well as BGM music too.

Hi OBese87, welcome to the board.

I've voted for the 'music only at certain times' option, I certainly agree that having music play all the time would spoil the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, as good as your music may be, we only have one person, Ahruman, developing Oolite at the moment and adding new music in would probably, at best, just be added to the list of things that might happen.

Having said that, if you look at some of the OXPs that add new sounds in, they also add music at certain points so you might want to try your hand at writing an OXP. There isn't a way of uploading files to the BB itself but you can post links to files stored elsewhere (i.e. box.net or other file storage/sharing sites), although this is limited to, IIRC, after any new members 5th post - stops the spammers!

Hi OBese87, welcome to the boards.

Oolite supports custom sounds. So you can make an OXP that plays music at certain events in the game. The music has to be in .ogg format. Download the Custom Sounds OXP from Oosat2 and you'll see how it's done. You have a .plist telling Oolite which .ogg file to play for which "event". If you look at the one in Custom Sounds, it should just be a question of editing that file to play your .ogg files at certain points. Then name the whole thing NewMusic.oxp and upload it. Everyone who puts your OXP in AddOns will get the music.

Thanks Reno & Little Bear

One problem, I have no idea how to make an OXP, is there somewhere i can learn this?

I will try to find an MP3 OGG converter. Thanks for the tips little bear!

Check the Wikki under OXPs, but a music OXP would be easy.

Just:-

1) Make a Folder callered NewTunes.oxp

2) Inside this Folder Create a Folder called Music.

3) Put the .ogg files in the Music Folder.

4) Make a directory called Config.

5) Copy the .plist from Custom Sounds to the Config folder.

6) Edit (using notepad) the .plist to make it play your .oggs.

Move the whole .oxp folder to AddOns.

One thing I want to add to Oolite reasonably soon – as in, I hope to do it before the next “full” release – is better support for music in OXPs. In particular, it should be possible to trigger music from JavaScript scripts in response to certain actions, like the scanner status going red (for fight music), and music will be distinguished from sound effects (controlled by the music volume setting, disabled when iTunes integration is on, only one music file playing at a time). However, replacing the current theme music or adding new types of music directly to the game is not in the cards.

Fight music just has to be Ride of the Valkyrie .

AAARRRGGH! I cant find a free MP3 to OGG converter.
I've downloaded the custom sounds and it looks like I could just replace files mainly.

Could someone explain the language to me please, i don't really understand what a plist is? Is it like an object or type?

A property list is a hierarchical data structure which can be represented in a variety of file formats. The best way to understand them is probably to open a few in a text editor and read this wiki page, more or less at the same time. (Note that it links to Apple’s documentation on the subject, too).

Thanks Ahruman!

TGHC: Fight music just has to be Ride of the Valkyries.

lol i've done very basic "bang bang bang" music for the dogfights (lots of orchestra hits), it sounds a bit star warsy and if nothing else adds a lot of tension lol!
I'm really pleased with the theme tune and have finished the final version. I'm now making short softer versions of the theme tune (signatures I think they call them in movies) and there gonna play after most events.

Heres what I want to do:
Title Screen (play theme tune, scrap old theme)
Witchspacing (play signature -> silence)
Dogfight w/Hostile (play dogfight music -> after conclusion play signature -> silence)

I want it to work like those clever games were the music follows the current mood in the game. I think having music at certain points intensifies the silence (and therefore the vastness of space ).

Still can't find a free MP3 -> OGG converter!
Does anyone know of one?

I'm not sure about changing the theme tune, it has received a lot of praise and IMHO is a bit of a sacred cow as far as Oolite is concerned, everyone to their own though. You should search the board for comments about it and perhaps run a separate poll for it.

You can't mess with the og Oolite theme tune! It's classy... I'd like to hear your interpretation of the theme for Oolite though.

OBese87 wrote:

Still can't find a free MP3 -> OGG converter!
Does anyone know of one?

If you're on a Mac, what about SoundConverter? It's shareware, and it's on Apple's OS X Downloads page.

jonnycuba wrote:

You can't mess with the og Oolite theme tune! It's classy... I'd like to hear your interpretation of the theme for Oolite though.

Amen to that. I like the sense of threat it implies. Shame you only hear it the once, though. And it needs more bars.

I would like to hear some nice music ingame. Not always, but from time to time. And we'll have to think about some general stuff.

The volume.

Here is my suggestion:
The background music max db should be between -12 and -8 db, because a lot of players are using customsound-OXPs and the player should hear if something happens. And the new functionallity of Oolite will cause that more and more OXPs will use their own sounds. That means that sounds (like laser fire) should be between -6 and -3 db at a max. Higher values can result in digital clipping, but if you are familiar with mastering you can use higher values.

What do you think?