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erkyrath.infocom-zcode-terps/st/sound.notes
Andrew Plotkin b642da811e Initial commit.
2023-11-16 18:19:54 -05:00

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Comments re the design of digitized sounds for Infocom games
Duncan Blanchard 3/11/88
1. File size. Each time a sound is loaded from disk, a dead
space occurs in the game. The shorter the better, particularly for
sounds that are encountered many times (e.g. Horse). A 10K file
is noticeably quicker to load than 50K.
2. Sample rate. Should be under 14K samples/sec in all cases.
On the Amiga higher frequencies are suppressed by the hardware anyway,
and on the ST higher rates bog down the cpu. The rate should be
the minimum that produces acceptable quality, since lower rates also
reduce the file size. A 10K rate is sufficient for many sounds.
3. Amplitude. Should be adjusted for each sound to avoid
extremes of quietness and loudness. Extremes (e.g. Snore, Crowd)
cause the user to reach for the volume control (not convenient
on a Mac). There's no internal control over volume on the ST.
Also, small amplitudes on the ST make the background hiss stand out
more. In general want to use most of the dynamic range. Avoid
clipping (e.g. Heart).