[WIPz] Sounds of Skyrim

[Cliffworms]

Sounds of Skyrim

What does it do?

Sounds of Cyrodiil, Sounds of Skyrim adds around 450+ sound effects to the game that are played from thousands of hand-placed sound emission points. Sounds of Skyrim affects most cells and regions. From Civilization to the Dungeons; From the Wilds to Special Events, all situations will benefit from sound additions. The time of day gives you a different atmosphere. So when walking in the city streets during the day, you’ll hear the echo of people shouting in the distance, doors opening and closing, workers hammering roofs. While at night, cats fight for territory, dogs bark, drunkards yell.

In dungeons, the enemy type that lives in them will make itself heard. In an undead infested dungeon, zombies moan and spirits shriek. In Dwemer Ruins inhabited by the Falmer, their screams alert you of their presence. Like most sound effects, there is a random delay between each sound and a random direction when it happens so you can never guess what sound will play next, when and where it will come from. Thus, keeping you on the edge in dungeons and creating a nice audio environment in civilized areas.

The other main feature is being able to hear the outside from the inside. If you get close to windows inside buildings, you’ll hear what’s going on outside. If you’re in a wilderness cabin, you’ll hear the nature sounds around you. If you’re in the entrance of a cave and look outside, you’ll hear the birds and other animals going about their lives. If you're in your house and you look outside, you'll hear what's going in the street. If it's raining, you'll hear the ripples hit the windows and if there's a thunderstorm raging outside, you'll hear the occasional lightning strike.

In taverns, patrons chat, yell they want more wine, burp, cough or laugh out loud. When wandering on the city streets in the evening, walk by a tavern and you'll hear the activity from outside.

In the Wilds, climb mountains and hear a monster's screaming echo or a far away avalanche. Take a walk in the forest and hear small mammals running from you in the bushes and grass.

In Special Events, certain quests or events will have received some audio goodness/additions. For instance, when a dragon flies above a town, you'll hear the soldiers sounding the battle horn and the villagers screaming for their lives.

Sounds of Skyrim is about overhauling your Skyrim audio experience. It's about making the game pretty for your ears.

For your ears' pleasure

Civilization Sounds Samples

Dungeon Sounds Samples

Special Events Samples

As the sounds get designed and edited, I will be adding them to a setlist on Sounds of Skyrim's SoundCloud page. You can easily select which sound compilation you want to listen to on the same page. Enjoy!

Trailers

The trailers are now online. Select the trailer of your choice. At the end, you'll be directed to the other two trailers. Enjoy!

Detailed Soundlist

Most of the sounds included in the list can be heard from inside if you’re in a building where you can hear them. For instance, if you’re in a farmhouse that has cows nearby at night, you’ll hear wolves howling, owls, crickets and the cows.

Have a suggestion? Share it. If it's about a quest, please put in spoiler tags.

Click the Spoiler Button to unleash the list.

The Wilds

• Around 20-25 new bird sounds; including crows and ravens.
  
• Insects flying-by your character’s ears.
  
• 6 short gusts of cold wind heard from the inside of buildings where a snowstorm happens.
  
• Rare occurance of hearing an avalanche happening or a strange creature’s scream echo in the mountains.
  
• Rodents running in the grass at night.
  
• Water waves’ impact on small embarkations and docks.
  
• Wolves howling in the distance.
  
• Coyotes howling at night.
  
• Bats flapping-by at night.
  
• More types of owls at night.
  
• Rope bridges’ supports and railing squeaking/being unstable.
  
• Bee nests sound on the nests.
  
• Ice sheets creak when you walk-by.
  
• Distant sabercat, deer, goats and foxes sounds.
  

The Dungeons

There’s a standard sound set for each type of dungeon: Cave, Dwemer Ruins, Forts/Burrows, Sewers and Mines. These sounds play in these dungeons regardless of who or what lives in it. To spice it up, dungeons inhabited by Daedras or the Undead have their own sound sets in addition to the standard ones. Undead dungeons have zombies and wraiths screaming or moaning. Daedric dungeons have demonic voices or daedras screaming.

Standard Caves

• Rats squeaking about
  
• Bats flapping-by
  

Standard Dwemer Ruins

• Mechanical "bangs" and machinery.
  

Standard Forts/Burrows

• Rats squeaking about
  
• Stone impact echo
  
• Doors being opened/slided/closed
  

Sewers

• Rats squeaking about
  
• Screeching Gates opened/closed
  

Mines

• Creaking wood supports
  

Civilization

• Hear the rain from the inside of buildings. (Near windows, entrances and wooden rooftops)
  
• Hear the impact of rain on tents and wooden structures.
  
• Horses snort and neigh in stables
  
• Hear cows and goats from a distance or from inside.
  
• Hens clucking at dawn.
  
• Around 60 SFX for city streets. People shout, dogs bark, cats fight, doors open and close, children play.
  
• A looped city chatter background for the walled cities. (Possible to disable it or enable in all cities in the in-game config.)
  
• Listen to the taverns' activity from the doorstep.
  
• Around 40 SFX for taverns. People burp, shout, laugh, cough, break bottles or pull chairs.
  
• Looped tavern chatter to fill the place. (Possible to disable it from in-game config)
  
• Hear what's going on on the taverns' or factions' headquarters first floor if you're in the basement. People walking over your head, chairs being pulled, thing falling on the floor or the front door being opened and closed during the tavern's busy hours
  
• Cold wind whistling through the windows from inside buildings in the northern regions.
  
• An echoed, looped ambience for castles.
  
• Chants and godly sound atmospheres for temples. (Can be disabled in the in-game config)
  
• On rainy days, listen to the rain hit the windows inside buildings.
  
• On rainy days, listen to the rain's impact when it lands on tents.
  
• Hear the blacksmith at work from the street if you pass by his front door or windows during opening hours. (If his forge is inside)
  
• Snoring sound effects for many NPCs.
  
• Potions boil where NPCs brew potions. Notably in alchemy shops, dungeons or College of Winterhold.
  
• Military horns and soldiers marching heard from Solitude's Castle Dour Courtyard when the player is far from it. (And from the inside of buildings)
  

Special Events

• People scream in horror and panic when a dragon hovers above a town.
  
• A horn is sounded when a dragon flies above a town.
  
• At the beginning of the game, the Imperial officer from the other carriage calls the names of the other prisoners.
  
• Hercine's Daedric Quest:

  
  

The hunted werewolf growls and howls during the Hunt.

Vaermina's Daedric Quest:

The sounds of battle in Nightcaller Temple are heard in the corridors during the Dreamwalk.

Molag Bal's Daedric Quest:

When you have killed Vigilant Tynarus, you'll hear a distant choir of agonizing humans and a creepy atmosphere from below. As you go down the basement and get closer to Molag Bal's shrine, the choir gets more and more creepier.

Civil War Quests:

Sounds of warfare during the sieges and fort assaults. Arrows fly-by, men scream while storming Whiterun, battle horns are sounded.

You have sound addition ideas, suggestions and comments? I'm all ears. :foodndrink:

[darkstone]

I`m so pleased to see this thread started, I love SoC and it`s got a place in my "always install" folder and no doubt SoS will be the same.

[Cliffworms]

Here are two compilations of the Dwemer Ruins sound sets.

The first being the sounds you'll hear in the Dwemer Ruins inhabited only by the Dwemer machines or bandits. The second being what you hear in Dwemer Ruins inhabited by the Falmer. The first compilation is also heard in the Falmers' lairs, so that you do not only hear their screams.

Enjoy!

Dwemer Ruins - Standard Compilation

Dwemer Ruins - Falmer Inhabitants Compilation

Note: The volume has been raised for easier listening. It'll be quieter in the game.

I`m so pleased to see this thread started, I love SoC and it`s got a place in my "always install" folder and no doubt SoS will be the same.

Thank you very much Stone! I knew you'd be the first to reply.

[silverbluemoon]

I literally can't wait for this!! I loved the game with your sounds in it - I'm so excited to see you've taken on the challenge for the beautiful Skyrim.

[Cliffworms]

Three more compilations for your ears. Once again, we are in the depths of Skyrim's dungeons:

Forts and Burrows - Standard Compilation - Echoed, distant impacts. Done by draugrs or human hand?

Sewers - Compilation - Metal gates creaking far in the corridors, rats squeaking and fighting, echoed distant impacts from the inhabitants.

Distant Falmer Screams Compilation - Falmers are blind and rely on their hearing to sense danger. When they hear something, they scream to alert their brethren. When you hear these high pitched, distant screams, you know a Falmer tribe is waiting for you.

For the inhabitants' screams and the like, I do wonder if it's possible with a script command to know if an area has been cleared of monsters. Hopefully there's a function that can check this and thus, remove the dungeon inhabitant sounds when you've cleared an area.

Otherwise, I am pretty much done in sound research. I have distant sounds for most animals/creatures that you can hear at night or day from inside and outside. Like a lone wolf howling or several wolves howling at each other.

On the next update I will provide the "Horror" dungeon sound effects. These include ghosts, undead and Daedras sound effects played in the dungeons inhabited by these fine gentlemen we love to destroy.

EDIT: Oh and I also changed the Dwemer Standard sounds. The creaking did not please me and I muchly preferred subtle, echoed and reverbed metallic impacts. It fits the atmosphere better, don't you think?

I literally can't wait for this!! I loved the game with your sounds in it - I'm so excited to see you've taken on the challenge for the beautiful Skyrim.

Thanks!

Edited December 12, 2011 by Cliffworms

[Cliffworms]

Here's a new sound effect. The dungeons are pretty much complete, so onwards to Special Events.

The following sound, which is still a work-in-progress, is one of the sounds played when a dragon flies-by a Stormcloak-occupied city. Only cities (Like Windhelm) or towns (Like Dawnstar or Riverwood) have this sound. Smaller settlements do not.

When a dragon attacks, there's the possibility that this sound is played, or only horns or only the people screaming. So that way it is not redundant, especially considering how the dragons love to launch frequent attacks there. If the dragon attacks at night, you'll only hear the horns.

Imperial-Occupied towns have the Imperial battle horn instead of the Stormcloak's.

Special Event - Dragon Attack on a Stormcloak Town

[Cliffworms]

Well then, all sounds have been found, edited and are ready to be put in the game once the CK is released. SoS will add around 470 sound effects to all areas of the game. Here are the links to samples from the Dungeons, Civilization and Special Events sound sets:

The Dungeons

Civilization

Special Events

About the project's distribution....Sounds of Skyrim will be released in modular form and a Full version. There will be a module for Civilization, The Wilds, The Dungeons and Special Events so the users will be able to install the module they are interested in. The Full version is simply all modules put together.

Sounds of Skyrim will come with an in-game config with which the user can enable/disable certain sound effects such as looped chatter in cities or taverns. The folder structure also allows the user to remove or add his own sound effects so they can be played in Skyrim. For example, a user can record himself shouting insults and place it in the "CitySoundsReverb" folder to hear his voice in the game's cities.

[Cliffworms]

The trailers are now online. Select the trailer of your choice. At the end, you'll be directed to the other two trailers. Enjoy!

[eloquate]

The trailers are great, Cliffworms!

Since finishing my first playthrough I have played with the music turned off and the thought of all this extra ambient sound makes me a little weak at the knees.

Best of luck with the rest of the project.