Talk:L4D2 Soundscripts

Preliminary data

I've been having a lot of trouble with this, so I'll have to keep things in discussion first. There's still a lot to learn about sound, but I think it's a very interesting aspect of a campaign that should be dealt with. There are interesting snippets that need testing. As a side note, I'm not sure if it will be appropriate to cover soundscapes in this article, as well.

Unique to L4D Series (or maybe just L4D2)

• Dynamic music
• Mixing channels
• Blockable channels

Official soundscripts to look through

game_sounds.txt
game_sounds_ambient_generic.txt
game_sounds_arenaheli.txt
game_sounds_biker.txt
game_sounds_bots.txt
game_sounds_coach.txt
game_sounds_doors.txt
game_sounds_gambler.txt
game_sounds_infected_common.txt
game_sounds_infected_special.txt
game_sounds_manager.txt
game_sounds_manifest.txt
game_sounds_mechanic.txt
game_sounds_melee_vo.txt
game_sounds_moustachio.txt
game_sounds_music.txt
game_sounds_namvet.txt
game_sounds_npc2.txt
game_sounds_npcs.txt
game_sounds_physics.txt
game_sounds_player.txt
game_sounds_producer.txt
game_sounds_soldier1.txt
game_sounds_soldier2.txt
game_sounds_teengirl.txt
game_sounds_terror.txt
game_sounds_virgil.txt
game_sounds_weapons.txt
game_sounds_whitaker.txt
game_sounds_world.txt
level_sounds_general.txt
soundmixers.txt

Other

• I don't understand "sound priorities" (not sure if that is the proper terminology). To describe it, it is where the location of the sound file in the sound directory makes all the difference. One sound can drown out others, depending on their location.
• Sound priorities appear to be independent of soundscript entries.
• I thought scripts/soundmixers.txt would have dictated everything about priority, but directories with the same settings appear to have different priorities. Weird! I will need help or more time on explaining that.
• How does Valve automatically generate these soundscripts?