http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4tdt6iY_b4

Sounds of Cyrodiil

I love to play Oblivion with music turned off to immerse myself in the world without having loud trumpets following me.
While Oblivion offers a superb sound atmosphere in the wilderness, it is lacking inside the civilized areas.
The cities' sound ambiances are composed only of natural sound effects such as wind and birds. The interior of houses are soundless.

Some months ago, I launched my sound editing software and started playing with creating sound atmospheres. What started a while ago as a city soundpack has evolved into something much deeper in terms of sound experience. Welcome to Sounds of Cyrodiil!

What does it do?

Sounds of Cyrodiil adds not only exterior city atmospheres, it also adds some inside locations. For example, if you are walking around in the http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20824 and decide to enter a shop, http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20823 if you get closer to the shop's windows or front door. This way, every house is not soundless anymore. You hear what's going on in the streets as you get closer to the front windows or doors.

The reverse is also true for taverns. As you walk past by a tavern's doors or windows, you http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20828. At night, taverns' sound atmospheres are different depending on what social class they are part of. The Bloated Float http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20827 than the Tiber Septim Hotel.

Part of the taverns' sounds is music as well. Like the pvssyr atmosphere, the music varies on the social class. Lower-class inns http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20829, upper-class inns http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20833 and middle-class inns, like the name implies, http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20831.

What, I think, pushes forward the sound atmosphere is this: If your character is inside a building, he'll hear what's going on on the floor above. If you have broken in a house, checked to see if nobody was home and ventured in the basemant, you might be surprised to hear the occupant arriving home. Hearing the door opening and closing, hearing his footsteps above your head. Get closer to the door and you might hear him do his things inside the house. Cooking, placing stuff. Even talking if he's not alone.
For instance, in the Bloated Float, hear the http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20830.

Then I have also filters and effects applied on some of the game's voice overs to make them sound much better. To make the voice fit the environment. For instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbgBbflgdc, not in front of a microphone.

Every door that leads to another cell has a sound ambiance that allows you to hear what's going on outside.

There are unique sound ambiances as well. http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20819 and you'll http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20820 and be able http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20821. Hear the Moth Priests in the Palace Library pick up books, whisper to each other. The castles have an echo sound ambiance, sometimes you can hear echoed footsteps.
If you venture in the imperial sewers, you'll hear the street activity if you stand near the exit.

For chapels, it integrates Losing My Religion's sound ambiances. Hear the priests chanting in Chorrol and the holy sound atmospheres of the other chapels.
Each city has a unique exterior/interior day and night sound ambiance as well.

There are other misc. changes, less important but pleasant to hear, like some people who snore when sleeping. Or the magic purple flames in the Arcane University http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20826

My goal is to make no environment soundless. To provide a more realistic and immersive sound experience. Listen to the samples below (Some of those already linked in the description above)


Sound List (The linked-sounds below are not found in the links above)


City Atmospheres

http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20825
http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20822
http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20823
http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20832

- Cows and sheep in the distance around the Skingrad vineyards and smaller settlements.


Locational

- The Imperial Library, Temple of the One and the castles have their own sound atmosphere. Mostly the echo.
- Priests chanting in Chorrol's Temple.
- Holy sound atmospheres for the other temples.
- Echo, empty cathedral ambiance for temples at night.?
- Sounds of the activity going on the floor above you. Footsteps, chairs pulled, floor squeaking, objects falling.
- Sounds of the activity going on in the next room. Conversations, NPCs clearing their throats, placing fire logs, smithing, etc.
- pvssyr inside taverns.
- Music inside taverns.


Wilderness

- Around 30 new frog or bull frog sounds for swamp areas.
- Around 20-25 new bird sounds for forests, mountains, swamps and plains.
- Insects flying-by your character's ears.
- Birds flying away.
- Strong, constant heavy wind on high mountain tops. (Like Dive Rock)
- Cold, constant chilling gusts of wind in the Jerall Mountains.
- 6 new short gusts of cold wind for northern Cyrodiil.
- Rare occurance of hearing an avalanche happening far away in the Jerall Mountains.
- Rare occurance of hearing a strange creature yelling very loud in the Jerall Mountains.
- Rodents running in the grass at night.
- Calm and strong Ocean waves on the Gold Coast and the coast south of Leyawiin.
- Wolves howling in the distance.
- Movements from small animals in the bushes/grass.


Misc Sounds

http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=20826

- Potions boiling in some Alchemists' shops, Mages Guilds, Arcane University or dungeons where potion makers are present.
- Chance of snoring when an NPC sleeps.
- Buzzing of an active bee/wasp nest in villages, cities or the wilderness.
- An unstable squeaking wooden bridge that may fall at any moment.


Special Events

http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=21246

- The Battle of Bruma. Clashing of men and daedra battling for victory.
- Battle of Bruma's soldiers, charging and yelling when the order to attack is given.
- Battle of Bruma's soldiers, cheering when victory is accomplished.


Echoed/Filtered/Reverbed Vanilla Sounds/Voice Overs (Watch for spoilers!)

- Some dungeon doors, depending on the size of the room through which they lead. (echo, reverb)
- The Imperial Palace's door leading to the Council Chambers. (echo, reverb)

- More to come!


Feel free to comment. I'm always open to suggestions.

I'm already loving your dungeon ambiances. You do good work Mr Worms, you truly do. I shall follow this with great interest

This sounds great

Seriously though, I think this will be fantastic, and look forward to it.

Agreed. Cliffworms has this uncanny habit of bringing the awesome.

The sound files sound very nice, I can't wait to have this in my game

Thank you very much for the feedback.

The only drawback with the sound atmospheres is that Oblivion stops any sounds from playing when there's a menu opened. That means, for example, that if you are talking to somebody in a tavern, all pvssyr sounds suddenly stop.

I do not know if it is hardcoded in the game or if there's some kind of way to stop that annoying feature .





I was expecting the first reply to get the "sounds" pun, but I guess that'll do.
Thanks!

Hope you do something about the wind. I hear gusts all day, sound more like water waves, and way too load even on a clear day. If you incorporate combat sounds that would really save on number of esp files! Good luck to you and look forward to trying it out.

I wonder if it will conflict with Storms and Sounds (or is it All Natural) that adds weather sounds to interiors to match the weather of exteriors?

Now that you say it, the wind also bothered me. I'll most likely remove wind from the Imperial City districts on clear days, except the Arboretum. There's no way the wind could be that strong in an enclosed location, filled with buildings to stop the wind. But as I said, only on clear days.




Nope.
Each new sound ambiance is an addition, not a change of an existing sound. Actually, they will blend it perfectly.
I do remember that either Storm and Sounds or All Natural adds thunder inside buildings if there's a storm outside. So, yep, that'll be perfect.

Definitely a "must-try" when installing the game on my new pc then!
All this ambience makes it feel so much more "alive"! :goodjob:

But there was one thing I found... odd, and I hope you take it as a suggestion, as it is meant as one, and nothing else.
I was hearing some sounds which didn't really fit into the surrounding.
You know, the children shrieking or the docs barking in the IC Market District... while there could be dogs and even children with certain mods I know, I haven't yet had any in my game, so I will always be hearing something which I can't find anywhere, which I "know" isn't there. This might become a little immersion breaking then, which would be the opposite of your goal.
And what's with the card playing sounds in the taverns? I've never found anyone playing cards in the game. (Might be an interesting idea, to make NPCs actually do some recreation in those locations, but as it is such things aren't in the game yet.)

So to make a long story short, I suggest taking care there's nothing to be heard which "can't be there".
Apart from that it's really a much needed addition to the otherwise rather "silent" (almost dead) atmosphere in the game.

Nice, I love your dungeon mod and it is compatible with all the other ones I run. You do great work. Can't wait to hear this.

Beaten to it, I just popped in to ask the same question, using All Natural here. Superb, and good luck with this.

Its early days but would you also be including Oblivifall Ambient sounds, or if people want to keep them separate have two versions one with one without?

"If you can hear it, doesn't mean you can't see it." That's my motto for working on this.
Children don't exist in the game, but they exist in the world of Cyrodiil. But just like there are no hundreds of people in the streets of the cities going about their daily lives, yet you can hear them. Children are there to add to the atmosphere. Not every sound needs a source that you can trace back.

No worries about writing suggestions. I'm always open to them, and love to respond to them. Thanks!



Thanks!




The tavern atmospheres and the chapel atmospheres come from Oblivion Comes Alive and Losing My Religion respectively. Sounds of Cyrodiil will have a separate plugin to use with Oblivifall's modules. Because it's not fun to hear two soundsets of 3 monks chanting in a church. Not pleasant for the ear I tell ya!

I completely disagree with your reasoning (especially above the ground it's usually very windy in cities), but yes, remove the wind, or make it less loud. It always gives the Imperial City such a desolate atmosphere.

I'm very interested in this project. I'm using Ambient Town Sounds Revised (or something like that) at the moment, but somehow I can only hear it during the loading screen, afterwards it quickly fades out :huh:
So a good alternative would be highly appreciated.

Good idea for a mod, Cliffworms! :thumbsup:

You're full of surprises Cliffworms!

[fangirl impersonation] OMG IT'S LIEK TOTALLY CLIFFWORMS!!!! AAHHHHHH!!!! [/fangirl]

Yet another download when it comes out

Great ideas and great atmosphere, Cliff! Will other modders be allowed to use this (by esmfying so it still depends on your esp) as a resource to add atmosphere to newly modded cities and towns as well?

Sounds neat. I may actually play without sounds, for once.

Haha, I don't think you'll be able to appreciate this mod then

Reminds of Baldur's Gate city sounds. :thumbsup:

Actually you are indeed right about the wind in cities. :dead:
Still, I'll try to find a more fitting wind sound to use inside the Imperial City. And I have not yet checked if the winds in Bruma are different than in other cities, because Bruma really needs more gusts of very, very cold wind..

If the sounds in Ambient Town Sounds fades out, it's most likely because the sound ambiance has a time associated to it. When the game loads an area with a 2D sound like this one, it sometimes play it during loading but then the game notices the sound shouldn't be playing, so it fades out.
I'll most likely use a script to control the sounds to avoid this.



Ahh, yes I could always create an ESM ressource plugin that only has the sound files already imported in the editor. The Modders could then place the files directly in the world or change their parameters if they want different settings. Excellent idea!



"I need meself some strong, dwarven ale!"

It's my main inspiration actually, and I'm positive some voice files I have come from it. You see, for the taverns and cities, I used the voice files in one of my favourite Morrowind plugin, Atmospheric Sound Effects.
I always loved Baldur's Gate sound design. Wherever you were, you always heard something. Puts you right into the game.

I hope you can find a lot of different sounds...so you don't hear the same thing over and over if you, for instance, enter a house, or walk down a street.

By the way...I am available to Beta test again!

Really good stuff! I didn't listen to all the examples but I hope you will edit out the parts that will sound repetitive - e.g. in the market sounds "how much for the bla bla" that will stick out if you stay around to hear it twice. Someone shouting "Pole man for sale" will sound ok even if it is very clear since one would expect a salesman to repeat that.

I think this will add soooooo much to the atmosphere that you will probably go to sainthood (if you're into such things...)

Cheers!

excellent!!