Sounds

sounds/waves/ contains raw audio data which is referred to by ksnd files in sounds/shaders/.

ksnd files define the actual sound effects played in the game. They can mix multiple sounds together, add delays, dynamically shift the volume and pitch, and control other properties.

The number of sounds is specified at the beginning of the file with sounds[N] =, followed by a block containing N sub blocks, each defining a sound to play when the ksnd is invoked.

The number of sound definitions must match the value of N, or the game will not load.

Types

Boolean properties are prefixed with b, and are enabled when 1, disabled when 0.

General Properties

wavefile	wav file to play e.g., `wavefile = "sounds/waves/explo1p.wav"`
bOneInstancePerSource	can't be replayed until the previous instance finishes
bLoop	loop until the source is removed, dies, or stops it via script
bEnableVolumeEnvelope	enables the shifting properties in the corresponding envelope block
bEnablePitchEnvelope
bFadeIfObstructed	source requires line of sight to the player for this sound to be audible
bUpdateNoEnvelope	[unused]
bLinkToEnvelope	[unused]
bFullVolume	do not reduce volume with distance from the player
delay	how long after the ksnd was invoked to play this sound
priority	There's a limit to how many sounds can be playing at once. Sounds with a higher priority are given precedence when that limit is reached.
random	probability that the sound will play (`0.0` to `1.0`)
radioVolume	-20% volume normal volume +50% volume adjustments are linear, not logarithmic/perceptual

Envelope Blocks

These blocks control volume and pitch, as well as dynamic volume and pitch shifting.

All values except for max require the corresponding envelope boolean to be set, except for start ≤ 0.002 in volume_envelope.

These blocks work slightly differently from each other, so be mindful of the details.

volume_envelope

max	base volume scalar of the sound
start	initial and target fraction of `max` volume will ramp from `startmax` to `endmax` (capped at `1.0`)
end
duration	how long it takes to ramp from initial to target volume
envStartTime	how long to stay at initial volume, before beginning to ramp toward target volume

if start ≤ 0.002, the sound will not play, unless bEnableVolumeEnvelope = 1 and envStartTime = 0

pitch_envelope

max	pitch scalar this value will only be used when `bEnablePitchEnvelope = 0`
start	initial and target pitch pitch will shift from `start` to `end`
end
duration	how long it takes to shift from `start` to `end`
envStartTime	how long to stay at `start`, before beginning to shift toward `end`

Make sure max > 0 when bEnablePitchEnvelope = 0, and that end > 0 when bEnablePitchEnvelope = 1 (or that the sound finishes playing before the pitch reaches 0), or else the sound will stall, silently using up an audio channel.