The Music of Sound

[loboLoco]

Link: https://youtu.be/ARbj57w45-s


This week we look at how we are creating the WolfQuest 3 soundscape.  In addition to adaptive music, we are building multiple layers of natural sounds – both environmental (wind, rain, etc.) and animal sounds – that help bring the WolfQuest world to life. Susan spent the last few months researching Yellowstone animals and gathering sounds that you might hear as wolf moving through the habitats of Yellowstone’s Northern Range.  She sorted the sounds by season, habitat, and time of day, so I could then integrate them into the game, using a framework that our Unity developer Andrei built on top of a terrific plug-in called Master Audio. I create audio collections, then place audio emitters around the game map, which play the sounds in each collection based on defined rules (randomness, frequency, and time of day).

One challenge has been finding good, clean audio that was recorded by experts (who actually know the difference between a yellow warbler and a yellow-rumped warbler).  Field recordings require good equipment, loads of patience, and long hours of analyzing and cataloging. We are grateful, in particular, for the work of Dr. Jacob Job, Sound and Light Ecology Team, Colorado State University/Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service. Read more about this work at https://www.nps.gov/articles/deeplisten ... ewards.htm .

While you are waiting for the release of WolfQuest 3, treat yourself to a wolf serenade in Slough Creek at https://soundcloud.com/gaviaimmer/wolve ... ional-park

__When?
We are getting closer to releasing the first episode, Amethyst Mountain, for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. That will be followed by Slough Creek some months later, followed by the mobile versions. We’ll then resume development of the next episode, Tower Fall

___How much will WQ3 cost?
WolfQuest 3 will be a free update to players who own WolfQuest 2.7.  If you are buying WQ 3 for the first time, the cost will be more than the current game 2.7 (so it's cheaper to purchase it now and get WQ 3 as a free update). The Tower Fall expansion will be an in-game purchase (DLC).

___Will WQ3 be available on mobile?
WolfQuest is available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android & Kindle. So yes, WolfQuest 3 will be available for mobile phones and tablets...at least some of them, and/or in some form. Bigger maps and more animals may be too much for mobile devices with limited RAM memory. We'll do our best, but some low-end mobile devices will not be powerful enough to run the game. We will keep WolfQuest 2.7 (the current game) available as well (for both computers and mobile).

[Sableback]

This is amazing! It's so cool to see the work that goes into creating all this ambiance to the game. Really makes it come alive.
Only problem is you missed the opportunity to title the video 'The Hills Are Alive with the Music of Sound'

[Zawki]

Such beautiful sounds! I look forward to relaxing by the creek just listening to all the wildlife.

[elkhunter123456]

Love the new audio options and animal sounds! I am going to explore the map just to listen to a grouses! I have been wanting to see a video about cougars or controls for a while, so those are just ideas for next weeks blog.
Of coarse I also have a few questions.
How do you pick up hares, beavers, or elk chunks?
Will the beavers be seen building dams?
Will the beavers run toward a dam or a stream when being pursued?

[Zawki]

How do you pick up hares, beavers, or elk chunks?

On PC, it seems you would have to double-tap the space bar.

Single-click/tap to eat, double to pick up.

(viewtopic.php?f=97&t=84594#p2553690)

[elkhunter123456]

How do you pick up hares, beavers, or elk chunks?

On PC, it seems you would have to double-tap the space bar.

Single-click/tap to eat, double to pick up.

(viewtopic.php?f=97&t=84594#p2553690)

Thanks for answering! I need to examine comments on other posts more! XD

[Bushmeat]

At 6:17 you can hear the notifying cry of "Discord", which is actually an invasive species first introduced to the area in 2015. It has spread rapidly, successfully out-competing similar native species such as long-time local favorite "Skype"

Kidding aside, big thanks to Susan for putting the work in to research and create that monster of a spreadsheet. I absolutely loved getting to peek at it.

(I actually haven't been heckled by a squirrel... strangely enough.)

[Phasoli]

As someone who typically plays with the sound off, these new immersive sound effects will really add an extra layer of depth to the game. That was always part of the magic of WolfQuest in my eyes--to just explore as a wolf would with all music turned off, listening and responding to the sounds that flutter by in game. Ah, the forests are going to be that much more melodic now! I can't wait to get lost in the sounds of nature while searching for my next meal.

The sound of those wolves howling was so calming and beautiful! I hope that, with all the new howls present, we'll be able to create a similar beautiful, euphoric sound during our in-game rallies.

[LamarWolf]

The sounds are beautiful, it's easy to get lost in them. I like the variation in the sound. The raven sound really did make it seem as if there was a raven near you. Will the sounds such as an elk bugle or coyote howl be closer or farther depending on how close an animal is in the game such as the nearer you are to a coyote the coyote sound would be louder? Keep up the good work.

[YellowstoneWolves1]

You do not understand how amazing it is to finally know what a Rough Grouse sounds like! Me and my friends always hear it in the current game and we don't know what it is. The sandhill cranes were a nice addition, nice to know I won't have to wait until fall to hear them now . I also loved the other sounds, it's like being in a real forest. It's already tempting to just sit and listen. Will we have western Meadowlarks in the game? Or snow geese? Sometimes in AM I think I can hear them, the snow geese during daytime at random intervals and Meadowlarks in the mornings.

[Frodo1]

You do not understand how amazing it is to finally know what a Rough Grouse sounds like! Me and my friends always hear it in the current game and we don't know what it is. The sandhill cranes were a nice addition, nice to know I won't have to wait until fall to hear them now . I also loved the other sounds, it's like being in a real forest. It's already tempting to just sit and listen. Will we have western Meadowlarks in the game? Or snow geese? Sometimes in AM I think I can hear them, the snow geese during daytime at random intervals and Meadowlarks in the mornings.

That grouse sound has been one of my favorites, but I never knew exactly which bird was making it either! I was also surprised to learn that it wasn't a vocalization, but rather made by the grouse drumming its wings-- super cool!

[DinoDogDude209]

Wow, all these sound effects really are immersive. While listening to the birds and other animals, I felt like I was truly in a real forest. The distant elk bungling and coyotes yipping are very evocative of the wilderness. While I love all the new music in WolfQuest 3, I think I might sometimes just turn the music off so I can just appreciate the immersive sounds and truly capture the spirit of the wild.

[Starbender2000]

Sounds really nice, adds a natural touch with the right birdsong! I admit I don't know very much at all on this topic. But it sounds great!

-StarBender2000

[loboLoco]

You do not understand how amazing it is to finally know what a Rough Grouse sounds like! ...Will we have western Meadowlarks in the game? Or snow geese?

Yeah, I forgot that I added grouse in 2.7.2! Should've mentioned that in the video.

Meadowlarks will be in the low elevation grasslands, like Lamar Valley. And we do, and will, have Canada geese.


[/quote]

Will the sounds such as an elk bugle or coyote howl be closer or farther depending on how close an animal is in the game such as the nearer you are to a coyote the coyote sound would be louder? Keep up the good work.

These ambient sounds are all pretty distant -- a couple kilometers away -- and there's always animals of each type in that general direction. Actual spawned animals will make sounds as well.

[WolfDragonPlasma]

You do not understand how amazing it is to finally know what a Rough Grouse sounds like! Me and my friends always hear it in the current game and we don't know what it is. The sandhill cranes were a nice addition, nice to know I won't have to wait until fall to hear them now . I also loved the other sounds, it's like being in a real forest. It's already tempting to just sit and listen. Will we have western Meadowlarks in the game? Or snow geese? Sometimes in AM I think I can hear them, the snow geese during daytime at random intervals and Meadowlarks in the mornings.

That grouse sound has been one of my favorites, but I never knew exactly which bird was making it either! I was also surprised to learn that it wasn't a vocalization, but rather made by the grouse drumming its wings-- super cool!

I always thought that it was a tree falling somewhere X'D And then I heard it in this video, and it hit me that that "tree falling" was actually the Rough Grouse XD