Ambient generic

Class hierarchy
CAmbientGeneric ↳CPointEntity ↳CBaseEntity
sound.cpp

This entity plays a sound, either once or on loop and either from a location in the world or globally. Use it to play and control a soundscript sound, a raw WAV, MP3, OGG, or FLAC sample, or a scripted_sentence.

Bugs/Limitations

Tip:This entity can be parented if the parentname keyvalue or SetParent input is used, even though they aren't listed in the FGD.

Workaround:Use SourceEntityName

Code Fix:Problems with sounds being unstoppable can be avoided by adding this C++ code to your mod.

Workaround:Use env_soundscapes (which count towards a different static limit of 64) where possible and forcefully disable any sounds that aren't necessary to play yet. The amount of sounds currently playing can be visualized with the snd_show command.

Note:The behavior of sound is different for mono and stereo. Stereo sounds only fade in and out (they are already using surrounding information built into them). Mono sounds are processed by the audio engine to sound like they are coming from a specific position. These behaviors can be overridden by using Sound Characters.

Warning:Using the Soundscript name of a sound, as opposed to its "raw" audio file, will apply all the soundscript settings.
Example: In Left 4 Dead 2, the soundscript of dlc.Generator_start_run_loop is set to play everywhere but at lower volume even if "Play everywhere" is not set. But using its raw sound Generator_start_run_loop.wav works as intended.

Bug:Changing the volume while playing a looping sound will not work.

Confirm:This has only been tested in and , need testing in Source 2013, Left 4 Dead engine branch, and Alien Swarm engine branch

  [todo tested in ?]

Keyvalues

Sound Name (message) <string>

The soundscript name of, or direct path to, the sound to play. For scripted_sentences, type "!" followed by the sentence name. (Example: !COMBINE_THROW_GRENADE4)

Note:Playing music without a soundscript is not recommended due to a bug with the Play Everywhere flag.

Note:Using any sound characters in a direct path is, in a way, a soundscript.

Max Audible Distance (radius) <float>

Maximum distance in units at which the sound plays for a client.Template:ModernBugTemplate:ModernBug

Note:Volume fades to nothing as the player approaches this distance, which can make it seem as if the sound stops playing too early.

SourceEntityName (SourceEntityName) <targetname>

If specified, the sound will play from this entity instead of the ambient_generic. If the target is an NPC capable of lipsynching, and phoneme data is found within the sound, the target will lip-sync to it.Template:ModernBugTemplate:ModernBugTemplate:ModernBugTemplate:ModernBug

Note:An ambient_generic will only play from a single entity. If there are multiple entities with the same target name, the sound will only play from the first one it finds.

Volume (health) <integer 0–10>

How loud to play the sound. 0 is silent and 10 is normal. Default is 10.

Tip:This keyvalue doesn't allow decimals, but the Volume input does.

Tip:Sounds may be hard to hear even at full volume. Naming custom sounds according to the soundmixer can be used to make them naturally louder (or quieter).

Start Volume (volstart) <integer 0–10>

Fade in time in seconds (fadeinsecs) <integer 0–100>

Fade out time in seconds (fadeoutsecs) <integer 0–100>

How long to spend fading in and out, and what volume to start at. Default is no fading.

Pitch (pitch) <integer 0–255>

Pitch, where 1 is low, 100 is normal, and 255 is high.Template:ModernBug

Start pitch (pitchstart) <integer 0–255>

Spin up time (spinup) <integer 0–100>

Spin down time (spindown) <integer 0–100>

How long to spend spinning pitch up/down at the start/end of playback, and what pitch to start at. Default is no spinning.

Dynamic Presets (preset) <choices>

Various DSP effects that can be applied.

LFO type (lfotype) <integer>

Type of Low Frequency Oscillation to employ.

0. Off (default)

1. Square Wave (alternate between low and high)

2. Triangle Wave (crossfade between high and low)

3. Random

LFO rate (lforate) <integer 0–1000>

How frequently the LFO effect repeats itself.

LFO modulation - pitch (lfomodpitch) <integer 0–100>

Affects the sound pitch or vibrato. Higher numbers change the pitch more; warbling singers use little, police sirens use a lot.

LFO modulation - volume (lfomodvol) <integer 0–100>

Affects the volume of the sound, causing it to "pulse." Similar to tremolo. At a really high rate, this can make the same effect as talking through fan blades.

Incremental Spinup Count (cspinup) <integer>

Appears to be a intended to increase pitch in time with ToggleSound inputs. Template:ModernBug

Name (targetname) <string>[ Edit ]

The name that other entities refer to this entity by, via Inputs/Outputs or other keyvalues (e.g. parentname or target).
Also displayed in Hammer's 2D views and Entity Report.

See also:  Generic Keyvalues, Inputs and Outputs available to all entities

Inputs

Pitch <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Sets the sound pitch, expressed as a range from 1 to 255, where 100 is the sound's original pitch.Template:ModernBug

PlaySound

Starts the sound.

StopSound

Stops a looping sound. Does not stop a non-looping sound; however, a non-looping sound can be stopped by using the Volume input with a value of 0.

Code Fix:If necessary, you can allow this input to stop a non-looping sound via C++.

ToggleSound

Toggles a looping sound between playing and stopped. Behaves like PlaySound if the sound doesn't loop.

Volume <floatRedirectInput/float>

Plays the sound at a volume from 0 to 10, where 10 is the loudest.Template:ModernBug

Note:Setting the volume to 0 will cause the sound to pause, rather than play silently.

FadeIn <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Fades the sound up to full volume over a specified number of seconds, with a range from 0 to 100 seconds.Template:ModernBug

FadeOut <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Fades the sound to silence over a specified number of seconds, with a range from 0 to 100 seconds.Template:ModernBug

Flags

Play everywhere : [1]

Sound plays at a constant volume, no matter how far away the listener is from the sound source.

Todo: How does this interact with env_microphone sound detection?

Template:ModernBug

Start Silent : [16]

The map will start without this sound playing. Enabled by default.Template:ModernBug

Is NOT Looped : [32]

Changes how the ambient_generic handles stopping and starting playback. It won't stop a sound that loops from looping, but it is still very important to set it to the right value. You might not be able to stop and/or start the sound if it isn't!Template:ModernBug

See also

• Adjust ambient_generic volume higher than 10 (Advanced Mapping Tutorial)
• env_soundscape - used to play many ambient/background sounds from a single entity via a script
• Looping a Sound - which requires modifying the actual .wav file
• Setting up ambient_generics in Counter-Strike: Source using logic_auto - a substitute for creating a proper env_soundscape.