The magic of sound

[sasigns]

I was wondering does anyone else use music or a sound track to enrich their game? If so what do you use? Would love to start doing this.

[Trenloe]

A lot of people do (including me). Info and a bunch of links here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21761-Playing-Aids&p=182730&viewfull=1#post182730

Plus Dulux-Oz's recent sound extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?31369-DOE-Sound-Extension)makes it easy to use sound links from within FG - primarily aimed at Syrinscape (https://syrinscape.com/), it currently (unless he removes it) can do other web links and local media.

[Zacchaeus]

Just for balance I don't :)

I did try it but I just found it distracting but then I'm one of those guys who, when they boot up a game for the first time, open up the options and switch the music off (with one or two notable exceptions). I suspect that comes from the early days of computer games (I am very old) when the 'music' was no more than an annoying tinkle and extremely basic (at least it was on the BBC Micro). Some games back then didn't have an 'Off' option for the music and that drove me to distraction.

[Trenloe]

I find properly selected background music and/or soundscapes/effects can be an amazing addition to the atmosphere of a game. It's great for setting the scene: spooky music to scare the players, upbeat combat music, chase music (not Benny Hill - although there are times when that might be appropriate), etc. can convey more than mere descriptive words. And when the PCs walk into a cantina in Mos Eisley I just have to play "that music"!

https://www.starwars.com/video/creature-cantina

Just imagine a movie without background music. There was a short video clip in a recent Arrowstorm Entertainment movie Kickstarter (The Christmas Dragon) that shows a scene with and without music - there's quite a difference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arrowstorm/the-christmas-dragon-feature-film/posts/980340

But, each to their own, if you don't like music then don't use it.

[heyhogan]

A lot of people do (including me). Info and a bunch of links here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21761-Playing-Aids&p=182730&viewfull=1#post182730

Plus Dulux-Oz's recent sound extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?31369-DOE-Sound-Extension)makes it easy to use sound links from within FG - primarily aimed at Syrinscape (https://syrinscape.com/), it currently (unless he removes it) can do other web links and local media.

Can you tell me how to play a local media file? What is the syntax? How about web links? Say something like: "https://relaxing.ambient-mixer.com/on-a-ship-at-sea" I have a local files I have collected and a few tracks on SoundCloud and Ambiet-mixer that I would like to use. Thanks! :)

[Trenloe]

Can you tell me how to play a local media file? What is the syntax? How about web links? Say something like: "https://relaxing.ambient-mixer.com/on-a-ship-at-sea" I have a local files I have collected and a few tracks on SoundCloud and Ambiet-mixer that I would like to use. Thanks! :)
Use DOE's Sound Extension (as linked above). Some additional info here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?31369-DOE-Sound-Extension&p=270797&viewfull=1#post270797

[Hecklerus Prime]

I really enjoy playing music in the background. I've created playlists for a few different scenarios. The most often used are "Town & City" (calm or chipper stuff - think Hyrule Castle Town (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhwUcaJPayk) from Ocarina of Time), "Adventuring/Battle" (any intense, fast-paced stuff), and "Dungeon Delving" (spooky or slow stuff). I like to use soundtracks from movies that fit the D&D setting. The reaction my players have when I switch the song from something relatively quiet and calm to a loud, thrashing piece is awesome. They know combat is coming and they're either pumped or terrified, but either way it really gets them into it.

Conan, Red Sonja, LotR, Zelda, and so on are all good sources, I think. Nox Arcana is a musical group that focuses on some pretty goth/eerie stuff that works great for the "Dungeon Delving" playlist. The official D&D soundtracks are good, too. Of course, I do have a player that insists only Megadeth should be played while in combat :p

Bottom line, if you're going to play music, taking the time to fit it to the dungeon is going to really pay off.

[Trenloe]

And a great opportunity at the moment: get the classic Bioware D&D computer RPGs on GOG for $1.99/$3.99 a pop. Most include the soundtrack from the game as MP3 - the music itself is well worth the few $$ of the current price.

https://www.gog.com/promo/20160608_summer_bundle_hasbro_classics

Great for background music during your table-top (VTT or otherwise) gaming.

[Callum]

Because of dulux-oz's great new extension, I'm currently testing out using sound wth my players. They're not sold on it yet, but I'm going to give it a few more sessions. Syrinscape is available to download for free, with a couple of Sound Sets built-in, and they also run a "first month free" subscription option - so I'd recommend trying it out and seeing if you and your players like it. By putting the sounds in a separate Teampseak channel, as dulux-oz suggests, your players can choose the level at which they want to hear them (even zero).

[sturtus]

My group just spent a lot of time and discovery for the best way to manage this. Ultimately, we landed on the following which pleases both the players that enjoy the sounds and for those where it is distracting:


I set up a free Teamspeak server using Amazon Web Services LINK (https://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/2he801/how_to_easily_setup_your_own_free_teamspeak/)
I installed Loopback on my Mac LINK (https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/)
I set up two identities and two capture profiles on my Teamspeak setup, and configured one of them to use the Loopback audio channel for input LINK (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20350-TUTORIAL-Using-Virtual-Audio-Cable-to-add-ambient-music-amp-noises-to-Teamspeak-gamin)
I routed Firefox and iTunes through Loopback
I bookmarked Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com)'s SoundPads and found a bunch of SHORT (emphasis intentional) music pieces in Apple Music or online.
Then, during play I connect to the Teamspeak server twice in different tabs. This is done by right clicking the bookmarks in Teamspeak.
I play back ambience from Tabletop Audio and music from iTunes at a medium level in each app, then players/Teamspeak users can adjust the sound channel to their liking in Teamspeak or turn it off entirely if that is their prerogative.
I make sure to keep the ambience non distracting and music plays only at very special moments or arrivals at new locations. Once the music is complete (I choose only tracks under 120 seconds), the ambience takes over. It establishes the space and the mood, and by doing the music first, the ambience is less jarring.


Again, I highly recommend not using looping or long music tracks when playing online or over headphones. At a table in a dining room, music tends to become background music, but over headphones it can be distracting. I think the same could be said for ambience if it becomes too distracting or leads to misunderstandings. All up to you and your group, but I feel like people often want to recreate a video game experience, when really it's more like theater, and in theatrical sound design, music is used to underscore or punctuate, rarely to accompany.

[dulux-oz]

Which is why I like Syrinscape so much - Ben is a professional in the music industry (he works as a composer for the Sydney Opera-house Company) and the music and ambience that he has put together is all about the theatrical part of sound with RPGs.

And with the new v2 of the DOE Sound Extension (coming Soon(TM) ie for FG v3.2) I've found a way to integrate the sound and music without the GM having to pipe it down Teamspeak for the players - and a whole bunch of other stuff.

[Trenloe]

Using the second channel in TeamSpeak allows the players to adjust the volume of the sound, so they can keep it low in the background and ensure they can hear everyone talking over the top of it. In my games I recommend the players reduce the volume to -20db (shown in the TS client when you right click on the GMs sound channel and change the volume). If the sounds is annoying you, then reduce sounds channel the volume even more.

I've got so used to having soundscapes/music running in the background through TS that when I play in someone's game that doesn't have a soundscape running it sometimes seems bland. So I fire up some of my background music collections appropriate to the situation we're playing in and play these at a low volume through my headphones while I'm playing.

[ffujita]

And a great opportunity at the moment: get the classic Bioware D&D computer RPGs on GOG for $1.99/$3.99 a pop. Most include the soundtrack from the game as MP3 - the music itself is well worth the few $$ of the current price.

https://www.gog.com/promo/20160608_summer_bundle_hasbro_classics

Great for background music during your table-top (VTT or otherwise) gaming.

Would you mind providing some detail? I've never played these games. Which ones include the sounds -- are they ambience, music, sound effects or all three? Are we allowed to use the sounds in our FG games?
Thanks in advance for additional info.

[Trenloe]

Would you mind providing some detail? I've never played these games. Which ones include the sounds -- are they ambience, music, sound effects or all three?
Look at each individual product on GOG, hover over the game in the list linked above and look at the "included free goodies" details on the right - all but the bottom two will list soundtrack or in game soundtrack. Each game will have many tracks that are background music used in locations in the game - they are background music rather than soundscapes.


Are we allowed to use the sounds in our FG games?
As long as you're privately streaming (over TeamSpeak or similar) you're fine. Publicly broadcasting or sharing the files wouldn't be allowed.

Give one of them a go - $1.99 for a bunch of background music tracks is well worth it. Neverwinter Nights Diamond or Icewind Dale 2 Complete will give you the most tracks, but all of the games in the list that come with soundtracks are worth getting.

[Jerric]

Having the appropriate sound effects and background music in a game helps give it a bit of immersion. In my case I have to turn the default level of volume down though. At normal level I can't hear the DM or the other players over the background noises and it is very distracting. Turning it down so that it is just audible enough to hear in the background is an easy enough fix and helps bring the game to life a little.