Anyone using Syrinscape?

[Madmaxneo]

I use ambient music for my games and I have since the 80's, though in the 80's it was more just regular music being played in the background. When I started using ambient soundscapes in the 90's my players remarked it added a deeper feeling to the game, especially the more horror oriented scenarios.
Do I use Syrinscape? No.
Why?
It is way to expensive. I think they charge to much for small add ons that only add a few sound tidbits at best.
I say this because there are loads of free alternatives along with loads of free sound bytes all throughout the internet.
For example Table Top Audio. It has quite a few great ambient sound loops and you can download each of the tracks for your own use.
I combine that with Jungle palette which is a free soundboard for pod casting that works amazingly great for my games. It recognizes various audio formats and has individual loop and volume functions for each sound byte. You can have an unlimited number of soundboards that are easily accessible. Trust me on this, this little piece of "free" software is awesome. I have also incorporated various other sound bytes from games and movies like mortal kombat (when my players are rolling horrible "that was pathetic" or "It's official, you suck" is hilarious) or movies like the Princess Bride and the Firefly TV show. Mostly it adds some comedy to the table or a more freaky atmosphere for horror scenes.

TBH something like Jingle Palette is what Realm Works needs to integrate instead of another paid add on service like Syrinscape. It would be great to have a simple sound board that supported various formats with the loop and volume functions like Jingle palette does. I mean why do they want to keep adding things that will cost us more money overtime, especially subscription services?
I think they should start adding some new really cool "free" features like the soundboard, PC summaries (player ed) that the GM and other players can see (where they can also post character portraits), and most importantly the calendar function (and I along with my players have come to realize how much this is really needed). I believe these features along with a few others would really get Realm Works noticed by a lot more people.
Please note that I am and always have been a calendar advocate since I first purchased RM over a year ago!

[rob]

Originally Posted by Madmaxneo

TBH something like Jingle Palette is what Realm Works needs to integrate instead of another paid add on service like Syrinscape. It would be great to have a simple sound board that supported various formats with the loop and volume functions like Jingle palette does. I mean why do they want to keep adding things that will cost us more money overtime, especially subscription services?

What we added was a mechanism for ANY PRODUCT to achieve integration into Realm Works - free ones, too! We've already outlined how it works to some of the VTT developers and will happily detail it to anyone who wants to integrate into RW. So tell your favorite tool makers they can integrate their own tools into RW if they want. We'll happily assist them in doing so.

[Madmaxneo]

Originally Posted by rob

What we added was a mechanism for ANY PRODUCT to achieve integration into Realm Works - free ones, too! We've already outlined how it works to some of the VTT developers and will happily detail it to anyone who wants to integrate into RW. So tell your favorite tool makers they can integrate their own tools into RW if they want. We'll happily assist them in doing so.

So your saying I can embed Jingle Palette into Realm Works? How would I go about doing that?

[Farling]

Originally Posted by Madmaxneo

So your saying I can embed Jingle Palette into Realm Works? How would I go about doing that?

Rob was saying that the makers of Jingle Palette can make it so that you can put links into RealmWorks.

[Madmaxneo]

That's what I figured and is not the same as when I said "integrated". Though I was hoping that he meant there was a way to integrate jingle palette into RW.

I am talking about a program that is essentially part of RW. Where there is a sound board built into RW, where during the game there are little media controls on the tool bar in RW that allows me to stop, pause, or start the next sound. It would be nice to have certain features integrated into RW than having links or other programs open at the same time. Jingle palette is not something that the developer is continuing to develop. He had used it in his pod cast and figured others would like to use it in theirs so he put it out there for free. Jingle palette is a program you download and use on what ever computer you want to, it is not a web page or something of the like.

Please note that I am not complaining or pushing for this to happen, I just think it would be better to have integrated functions like a sound board built in than having links or many other programs open. I believe more people would be intrigued into purchasing RW because of things like this, and I most definitely want more people to get into RW!

But if this idea were to happen to make it on their "things to do list" it should still fall behind that other really super important thing to add that is somewhere on that list......

[Bobifle]

Originally Posted by Madmaxneo

Please note that I am not complaining or pushing for this to happen, I just think it would be better to have integrated functions like a sound board built in than having links or many other programs open.

Let's learn a new word : preterition

"The action of passing over or disregarding a matter, especially the rhetorical technique of making summary mention of something by professing to omit it:
'the favourite rhetorical trope of the historical novelists is preterition, saying that you are not going to say something and thereby saying it' "

Note : In Madmaxneo case, it's somehow an explicit preterition as he states that he's not saying something right before saying that something.

Anyway, no strong feelings ! Everyone is free to request anything from RW so feel free to fill a request

And I'm not saying that LW people are lazy ! (oops damn preteritions)

[pyremius]

Originally Posted by Madmaxneo

That's what I figured and is not the same as when I said "integrated". Though I was hoping that he meant there was a way to integrate jingle palette into RW.

I am talking about a program that is essentially part of RW. Where there is a sound board built into RW, where during the game there are little media controls on the tool bar in RW that allows me to stop, pause, or start the next sound. It would be nice to have certain features integrated into RW than having links or other programs open at the same time. Jingle palette is not something that the developer is continuing to develop. He had used it in his pod cast and figured others would like to use it in theirs so he put it out there for free. Jingle palette is a program you download and use on what ever computer you want to, it is not a web page or something of the like.

Please note that I am not complaining or pushing for this to happen, I just think it would be better to have integrated functions like a sound board built in than having links or many other programs open. I believe more people would be intrigued into purchasing RW because of things like this, and I most definitely want more people to get into RW!

But if this idea were to happen to make it on their "things to do list" it should still fall behind that other really super important thing to add that is somewhere on that list......

This feeds back into the comments about features, development time, etc., as well as the health of the environment. The more Wolf Lair integrates themselves, the more work they have to complete, the more skills they need to learn/hire, and the fewer opportunities there are for new entrants into the "gaming support" market.

Re. Syrinscape: I agree with those who are less then enthusiastic about the voices and voice-based effects - they just don't sound like what I think they should (and I know that whatever I think is correct will sound equally wrong to my players). The music, weather, and similar effects, on the other hand, I really like, and would like to find a way to incorporate into some of my games.

Re. Syrinscape integration into Realm Works: I completely forgot to take the time to look at the preview version to see how it's been handled. Long-term, though, I would like to see part of the screen reserved for multiple plug-in modules (force them to use a tiny fraction of the available space). For Syrinscape, this would probably include the Topic title, a master volume slider, and 3-4 buttons for the alternate tracks. All customization should be handled during prep, and would be saved within the Topic. Click the Syrinscape button saved within the Topic, and all of your pre-configured options are loaded, with titles mapped to buttons within the Topic instead of the plugin

[Madmaxneo]

Originally Posted by Bobifle

Let's learn a new word : preterition

"The action of passing over or disregarding a matter, especially the rhetorical technique of making summary mention of something by professing to omit it:
'the favourite rhetorical trope of the historical novelists is preterition, saying that you are not going to say something and thereby saying it' "

Note : In Madmaxneo case, it's somehow an explicit preterition as he states that he's not saying something right before saying that something.

Anyway, no strong feelings ! Everyone is free to request anything from RW so feel free to fill a request

And I'm not saying that LW people are lazy ! (oops damn preteritions)

You're wrong... I said I am not complaining or pushing for something to happen, then I mentioned "I just think it would be better to have integrated functions..." I didn't complain, I didn't I push, nor did I request, it is simply a statement of something I think might work better.

[Parody]

Originally Posted by pyremius

I completely forgot to take the time to look at the preview version to see how it's been handled.

An abstracted summary: you can create a URI that, when clicked, opens Syrinscape and activates a single button in the interface.

It might be implemented as a button or otherwise be prettier (one of the things I forgot to ask while at Gen Con) but that's the mechanics of it.

[ArgoForg]

I do use ambient music, some of which has some background sounds (I have picked up quite a few of the Sonic Legends work from Paizo and use orchestral scores.) but I doubt seriously I'll get Syrinscape anytime soon. No offense to all who sing its praises.

Even if the sub price was lower, I'd have a hard time justifying it, as:

• BG Music hasn't been a make-or-break deal to my group. More often than not, it goes unnoticed.
• Between kids crying, snacks, tangents and bouts of ADD, I have enough issues keeping people focused without adding another level to the game.
• Clicking a sound file when someone casts a spell, attacks or encounters just adds to the amount of things I as the GM have to keep track of.
• And the above may work well for VTT's, but for my taste adds an almost video-gamey aspect that I'm really trying to avoid at my table.