Anyone using Syrinscape?

[Erdrix]

I embed them into Realm Works like this.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cp8ga6ngk1...ample.PNG?dl=0

[MNBlockHead]

Thanks Erdrix, how quickly does the file open and start to play from the time you click on it?

Also, I think I'm more impressed with your color-coding scheme!

[MNBlockHead]

Originally Posted by Farling

Each of the components of the overall sound can be turned off (e.g. growls) by sliding the individual volume to the left. The settings will remain until you click on one of the other predefined settings (e.g. the "No Swords" button).

Huh...I missed that tool. Very cool. Heck, now I'm starting to like the program. Do other programs over such granular control? Might make the subscription worth it.

Still, I would have to fire up the music and make a number of quick adjustments...still more fiddling than I would like. That said, I now see that I can create my own pre-defined settings. It'll be interesting to so how RW integrates. If I could have it start playing one of my predefined settings for a soundscape, that would be cool.

[MNBlockHead]

Originally Posted by Bobifle

This is maybe where we clearly disagree. To me, nothing can better describe a sound that the sound itself. It's not about entertainment, it's about accurate description.

Talented story tellers (which I'm not) with their extend vocabulary can actually do perfectly the job. That does not mean the actual sound would not.

However I'm not using sound effects at the table because:

• it's too much prep
• no room for improv

For so much fantasy and sci fi, no sound effect will be as good as what you think in your mind. That's why it is dangerous to bring beloved books to "life" as movies because we get so attached to our imaginings—the flesh we knit around the bones of the words.

But thematic music, on the other hand, can enhance our imagination without dictating it. In a movie, a hero seems more heroic with the right dramatic music. Music has an almost magical way to affect our moods. It's a flavor enhancer.

It also allows room for improv if you are just focusing on using it for larger themes and area and not trying to build sounds for each small area and action.

But it still seems like a lot of work, unless you keep using the same few soundscapes. For it work for me, I would need a very large library of music so that I would rarely paly the same music from one adventure to the next and so that I could have music with different ethnic influences to help create a different feel for different areas traveled to.

I fear that much musical content would bloat RW, but maybe if the integration keeps the files outside of RW it would not matter.

Also, it would have to run pretty seamlessly. I don't want to be fiddling with a bunch of software playing DJ as well as DM.

But each to their own...and I have loosened up on my low-tech stance. Who knows...maybe in a year I'll be incorporating music synchronized to images and laser light shows.

[Erdrix]

Originally Posted by MNBlockHead

Thanks Erdrix, how quickly does the file open and start to play from the time you click on it?

Also, I think I'm more impressed with your color-coding scheme!

For me only a few seconds, but I guess it could depend on your machine.

Thanks! I could put up a few more examples of my coloring scheme if any one wants to see them.

[Bobifle]

Originally Posted by Erdrix

Thanks! I could put up a few more examples of my coloring scheme if any one wants to see them.

bring it on !!

Note : you can attach images to your posts !

[Dakadin]

Thanks Erdrix. That works really well. After importing the package, I just had to add the .sfx file as a foreign object. It is very responsive and I like how well it works.

MNBlockHead, the file being attached is only a few KB. The 2 samples Erdrix supplied were about 6 KB and 9 KB so it shouldn't bloat RW. You just would need to keep the source sound files in the same place. If you move them around, the .sfx file can't find them.

[MNBlockHead]

Cool, I might play with this and compare to the Syrinsound integration when the post-GenCon RW update is released. But I have so many other things to work on.... Play with new tech tools or work on cool adventures...decisions, decisions.

[evildmguy]

Interesting discussion.

I can talk about Syrinscape as I use it at the table. Both Fantasy and SciFi versions. I have used it for two different groups for a couple of different reasons.

I think Syrinscape is great. I have been trying to find and use background music for twenty years. I used to have CDs that i played in the background but would forget about them and not line up the correct action or thrilling piece with a fight, or a bar scene with a bawdy song. I can do that in Syrinscape. I won't say it's interface is perfect but it works. I can pick the elements I want and help set the mood with music.

What I personally have done is task my tablet with this at the table, so as not to bog down my computer. That works for me but not everyone can do that. Further, I received external speakers from a player, so it can be loud but I try and keep it at a level where if we are talking it fades to the background. So far, that has worked for my group.

As others said, this is something else that a DM has to do. When I used it I found it tough to remember to switch to something else. So my timing might be off. I got lucky and had a great solution for my group.

Two guys in my group are into music. Both majored in music in some way. I wanted to get them (and the others but they were easy with this) more involved and active in the game at the table, so I asked them to do it for me.

IT HAS BEEN GREAT!

One guy has gotten so into it that he will use the external speakers and his phone to find other sounds that fit the scene and play them. (At one point, in a really moving scene, he played the ending music from the Incredible Hulk TV show! It worked out very well!) For me, this worked out doubly well as it was a new player and helped him focus on the story to play the correct music or sound effect!

Now, I can't argue that it could be cost prohibitive for some. It does cost money. Is it worth it? Yes, for me it most definitely is. I want music and the possibility for sound effects, I want it tailored for my role playing games, and this does it for me. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position that I can just pay for this "service" rather than take the time to find the music player, find the music, and put it all together, freeing up my time for other things. I wouldn't be good at doing that, anyway, so this saves me a LOT of time.

Since I already used it, the fact that it's in RW is good, as I think it will give others some ideas on what they could do. Hopefully there will be more choices but this one isn't bad!

edg

[Bobifle]

I'm repeating myself but there's an alternative free solution www.tabletopaudio.com

Possibly less featured than syrinscape but anyone considering syrinscape should test audio at the table with tabletopaudio and then find out if it adds to their game.