XML:SNDD

SNDD : Sound Data	XML modding tips See HERE to start learning about XML modding. See HERE if you are searching for information on how to handle object coordinates. See HERE for some typical modding errors and their causes.
XML PSUI << Other file types >> StNA switch to OBD page

This page is unfinished. Can you fill in any missing information? If it is not clear which part of the page is unfinished, ask on the talk page.

Needed: More OSBD .grp / .amb information could be useful, and .imp is completely left out so far.

General information

• The XML on this page is based on OniSplit v0.9.61.0.
• In order to make your sounds work on both Windows and Mac, you need to create them twice (one time from a WAV source and another time from an AIFF source).

Source file creation

In Windows, SNDDs use WAV as their internal data format, but on Macs the AIFF format is used. Here are the details:

Windows	Mac
.wav 22.05 kHz (mono / stereo) or 44.1 kHz (mono) (see "44.1 kHz" section below) 16-bit uncompressed (PCM) or compressed (MS-ADPCM)	.aif / .aifc / .afc 22.05 kHz (mono / stereo) compressed (ima4)

To create suitable files for importing into Oni using a GUI program, you could use Audacity and its ffmpeg Export Library. After you've installed Audacity and the ffmpeg library, go to Edit > Preferences... > Libraries, click the Locate... button and find the installed library file. Open your sound file then go to File > Export... > Save As: yourfile.wav; Format: Custom FFmpeg Export; Options... > wav; pcm_s16le; Sample Rate: 22050; OK and save the file (adpcm_ms doesn't work as of Audacity 1.3 Beta).

• Mirror for backup purpose: http://mods.oni2.net/node/384

If you're using Windows, you may find that your newly-converted ima4 AIFF files will not play. This does not mean the files themselves are broken — they will actually play on Macs, but not in Windows, despite having been created in Windows. The reason for this remains to be investigated.

44.1 kHz sounds

If you are importing a 44.1 kHz mono sound, you should use <Channels>1</Channels> and <Pitch>2</Pitch> in your .grp file to prevent Oni from playing the sound at half-speed. <Channels>2</Channels> and <Pitch>1</Pitch> will also work for the same source file, but only because Oni interprets this to mean that odd-numbered samples are meant for the left channel and even-numbered samples for the right channel. This is not recommended since it's an unorthodox solution, though the result will probably sound the same in-game.

Mac AIFF creation

If you want to convert sounds into the AIFF format for Macs, the major catch with Audacity is that its batch processing feature does not support AIFF exporting even though it's a part of the underlying ffmpeg program that Audacity uses. To convert a large number of sound files, you can install ffmpeg using your package manager of choice (MacPorts, Homebrew, etc.). Building can take a while, but you can also find pre-built ffmpeg binaries around the Web fairly easily. The basic command you want to use is:

ffmpeg -i input.wav -acodec adpcm_ima_qt -ar 22050 output.aif

Note that the order of arguments is critical: the rate and encoding are being applied to the outputted file, whereas if they came before the input file's name they would be instructions on how to read the input sound. Here is a simple shell script for converting a folder of sounds from WAV to the AIFF format suitable for importing:

#!/bin/sh

IFS="
"

IN_DIR="/path/to/SNDD-wav"
OUT_DIR="/path/to/SNDD-aif"
for WAV in `find $IN_DIR | grep .wav$ `
do
   FILENAME=$(basename "$WAV")
   echo "Converting $FILENAME to IMA-compressed AIFF..."
   ffmpeg -i "$IN_DIR/$FILENAME" -acodec adpcm_ima_qt -ar 22050 "$OUT_DIR/${FILENAME%.wav}$aif.aif"
done

Note the double ".aif" suffix applied to the outputted files.

The .aif suffix

When you are replacing existing Oni sounds, note that all of Oni's SNDD resources possess a ".aif" suffix as part of their actual resource names (yes, even the WAV-encoded sounds in Windows Oni). So if you import them with a name like "SNDDgears.aif", the file suffix gets changed to ".oni" upon import by OniSplit, and you end up with a resource simply titled "SNDDgears" in-game. Oni will look for a sound titled "SNDDgears.aif", and nothing will play. Hence, we title the AIFF file "SNDDgears.aif.aif" so that OniSplit yields "SNDDgears.aif.oni" upon importing, which in turn produces the resource named "SNDDgears.aif" that Oni desires.

Oni file creation

Via Vago

Installation:

• Oni/AE/AEInstaller2.exe > Tools > Manage Tools

Usage: Oni/AE/Tools/VagoGUI/Vago.exe

• Target Platform: choose the desired mode
• Tools > Sound Wizard

Via batch file

SNDD for Windows

onisplit -create output_PC_files input/*.wav
onisplit -create output_PC_files input/*.xml
pause

SNDD for Mac

onisplit -create output_Mac_files input/*.aif
onisplit -create output_Mac_files input/*.aiff
onisplit -create output_Mac_files input/*.afc
onisplit -create output_Mac_files input/*.xml
pause

Via command line

For those who want to do it on their own.

onisplit

-create output_directory_MAC input_directory/*.aif

-create output_directory_PC input_directory/*.wav

-create output_directory input_directory/*.xml

For fast XML text changes and naming, give them all yourfile as the name, if you have only one sound:

SNDDyourfile.oni

OSBDyourfile.grp.oni

OSBDyourfile.amb.oni

OSBD information

OSBD files are stored globally (in level0_Final).

When to use what

• OSBD*.amb
  • music (call OSBD from BSL)
  • sound dialogs (call OSBD from BSL)
  • BINA3RAP <AmbientSound> (action type)
  • BINACJBOSound.xml (area-fixed sounds)
  • ONCC sounds (e.g. taunt)
  • TRIG <ActiveSound>
  • TURR <ActiveSound>

• OSBD*.imp
  • BINA3RAP <FlyBySoundName> and <ImpulseSound> (action type)
  • BINA/ONIE <Sound><Name>
  • BINADBAS <Sound>
  • ONCC <HurtSoundConstants>, BSL chr_pain
  • ONWC <EmptyWeaponSound>
  • TRAM <Sound><Name>
  • TRIG <TriggerSound>

Details on music

OSBD_newmusic.amb.oni (The main file — links to the group, intro and ending files)

OSBD_newmusic.grp.oni (Links to the music files)

OSBD_newmusic_in.grp.oni (Links to intro part of the music — optional)

OSBD_newmusic_out.grp.oni (Links to the ending of the music — optional)

SNDD_newmusic1.oni (The individual music files; it's best to break up the music into segments of perhaps 30 secs to a minute each — Oni may crash or become sluggish if you use a single file for the music)

Breaking the main loop of the music into parts allows Oni to more smoothly transition to the ending part when necessary; the amount of time that a track will play cannot be predicted, after all, since players will take varying amounts of time to clear that segment of the level.

The parts of the music between intro and outro are played in a randomized order, probably to add more variety to the loop.

Note that .grp files have a <Weight> tag under <Permutation>. "Permutation" should have something to do how music parts get repeated. However, it's not clear what influence <Weight> has on the repetitions. Is it like TRAC's <Weight>, used for probability?

OSBDfile.imp.xml

What is an impulse? Looking at the XML, it has these special features: <Volume><Angle> / <Volume><MinAttenuation> / <ImpactVelocity> / <MinOcclusion>. This is because impulses are the preferred choice for moving sound sources. A few more facts:

• They cannot be stopped by BSL once triggered to play.
• AIs can hear them.
• The minimum and maximum volume angle seem to be always 360 degrees. These properties might be a development artifact, since sound should propagate through space in all directions, and the area of effect is mostly determined by their volume distance.

Tag	Type	Description
<ImpulseSound>	-
<Group>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<Priority>	flag	When are these different flags used? Low (default for impacts? (ONIE concrete) + shell (ammunition)?) Normal (AI, animation and impact related?) High (OSBDtrigger_hit.imp.xml only?) Highest (OSBDkonoko_gruesome_death.imp.xml only?)
<Volume>	-
<Distance>	-
<Min>	float	From the sound's origin point out to Min radius (distance), the sound volume is equally strong.
<Max>	float	Between Min and Max radius (distance) the sound volume decreases; a greater distance than Max makes the sound inaudible.
<Angle>	-	Spatial angle? Does this work like the <Distance> tag?
<Min>	-
<Max>	-
<AlternateImpulse>	-
<Treshold>	int32
<Impulse>	char[32]	OSBDname.imp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<ImpactVelocity>	float
<MinOcclusion>	float

OSBDfile.amb.xml

In case you want to create a simple sound file, you can basically copy the examples below and change the portions marked in red.

OSBDfile.grp.xml, OSBDfile.amb.xml, BINACJBOSound.xml are showing the markup from the Nyan Cat mod.

Tag	Type	Description
<AmbientSound>	-
<Priority>	flag	Low Normal High Highest
<Flags>	flag	InterruptTracksOnStop — this flag must be set if you want to use the BSL command sound_music_stop PlayOnce CanPan
<DetailTrackProperties>	-
<SphereRadius>	float
<ElapsedTime>	-
<Min>	float
<Max>	float
<Volume>	-
<Distance>	-
<Min>	float
<Max>	float
<DetailTrack>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<BaseTrack1>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<BaseTrack2>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<InSound>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<OutSound>	char[32]	OSBDname.grp.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<Treshold>	int32
<MinOcclusion>	float

An example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <AmbientSound>
       <Priority>Normal</Priority>
       <Flags>InterruptTracksOnStop</Flags>
       <DetailTrackProperties>
           <SphereRadius>10</SphereRadius>
           <ElapsedTime>
               <Min>0</Min>
               <Max>0</Max>
           </ElapsedTime>
       </DetailTrackProperties>
       <Volume>
           <Distance>
               <Min>10</Min>
               <Max>50</Max>
           </Distance>
       </Volume>
       <DetailTrack></DetailTrack>
       <BaseTrack1>nyan</BaseTrack1>
       <BaseTrack2></BaseTrack2>
       <InSound></InSound>
       <OutSound></OutSound>
       <Treshold>3</Treshold>
       <MinOcclusion>0</MinOcclusion>
   </AmbientSound>
</Oni>

OSBDfile.grp.xml

Tag	Type	Description
<SoundGroup>	-
<Volume>	float
<Pitch>	float
<Flags>	flag	PreventRepeat - Oni will play different permutations of the sound, if there is more than one permutation
<NumberOfChannels>	int32	Here you tell Oni if your sound file is mono or stereo. 22.05 kHz, mono 22.05 kHz, stereo 44.1 kHz, mono (Windows-only) NumberOfChannels 1 2 1
<Permutations>	-	int32 array for the <Permutation> tags
<Permutation>	-
<Weight>	int32
<Volume>	-
<Min>	float
<Max>	float
<Pitch>	-
<Min>	float
<Max>	float
<Sound>	char[32]	SNDDname.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used

An example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <SoundGroup>
       <Volume>1</Volume>
       <Pitch>1</Pitch>
       <Flags>PreventRepeat</Flags>
       <NumberOfChannels>2</NumberOfChannels>
       <Permutations>
           <Permutation>
               <Weight>10</Weight>
               <Volume>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Volume>
               <Pitch>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Pitch>
               <Sound>nyan</Sound>
           </Permutation>
       </Permutations>
   </SoundGroup>
</Oni>

BINACJBOSound.xml

This is for sounds fixed to a certain area.

Tag	Type	Description
<Objects>	-	This tag marks the file as BINACJBO.
<SNDG Id="...">	integer	This tag marks the file as a sound list. The ID doesn't matter at import time.
<Header>	-
<Flags>	flag	You can ignore these flags, as they are defunct: None Locked PlacedInGame Temporary Gunk
<Position>	float x3	Here you tell Oni where you want the sound to be located.
<Rotation>	float x3	Not really important.
<OSD>	-
<Class>	char[32]	SNDDname.amb.oni, file prefix and suffix aren't used
<Sphere>	-
<MinRadius>	float	From the point of the sound's origin (<Position>) out to Min radius, the sound volume is equally strong.
<MaxRadius>	float	Between Min and Max radius, the sound volume will decrease; greater distance than Max makes the sound inaudible.
<Box>	-	You can use this alternative to <Sphere> if you want to limit a sound to a specific room.
<Min>	float x3	X1 Y1 Z1
<Max>	float x3	X2 Y2 Z2

An example:

       <SNDG Id="8805">
           <Header>
               <Flags></Flags>
               <Position>125 10 2231</Position>
               <Rotation>0 0 0</Rotation>
           </Header>
           <OSD>
               <Class>nyan</Class>
               <Sphere>
                   <MinRadius>7</MinRadius>
                   <MaxRadius>21</MaxRadius>
               </Sphere>
               <Volume>0.75</Volume>
               <Pitch>1</Pitch>
           </OSD>
       </SNDG>

Sound-related BSL commands

• Commands listed on wiki
• Original list on ssg's website

sound_music_stop soundtrack — can only be used if .amb file has the InterruptTracksOnStop flag
sound_music_stop soundtrack 1 — music drops to zero volume over 1 second

You need a custom function if you want to fade out a soundtrack over more than one second. It could look like this:

var float x = 1;
var int y = 0;

# Don't test this function with the console or the function might stop working after 4 cycles
func fade_music
{
 	# An 'if' statement with float values doesn't seem to work, therefore the int y
	y = y + 1
	x = x - .01
	sound_music_volume (soundtrack, x)
	sleep 10
 	if (y eq 99)
	{
		# dmsg "stop music"
		sound_music_stop soundtrack
	}
	if (y < 99)
	{
		fork fade_music
	}
}

OCF thread about making new music

See here.

How to register sounds to characters

...such as the sounds of heavy attacks and taunts.

Let's see how sounds become picked up:
Schemata:

TRAM -> ONCC -> OSBD.amb -> OSBD.grp -> SNDD

Explanation:

• The character performs a move/attack where the TRAM file holds a sound ID (<Vocalization>).
• A link (OSBD.amb name) in the ONCC file will be looked up based on the sound ID. Note that the ONCC file has also a probability value that decides whether a sound will be played or not.
• The game engine looks into OSBD.amb and follows the link into OSBD.grp.
• OSBD.grp can hold multiple links to SNDD files. That's why Konoko can have multiple taunt sounds.

Step 1: Preparing the TRAM

Search for <Vocalization> in the TRAM file and give it an ID according to the following table.

TRAM <Vocalization> IDs refer to these ONCC SoundConstants tags
ID	link to ...
0	<TauntProbability> — taunt(s)
1	<AlertProbability> — AI being surprised by a sound
2	<StartleProbability> — AI being surprised by an enemy
3	<CheckBodyProbability> — AI death taunt, played when enemy dies
4	<PursueProbability> — Play this sound when AI loses track of enemy
5	<CoverProbability> — Play this sounds when afraid (e.g. "Don't hurt me!")
6	<SuperPunchSound> — Sound of ######punch_heavy.oni, super punches don't have sound IDs
7	<SuperKickSound> — Sound of ######kick_heavy.oni, super kicks don't have sound IDs
8	<Super3Sound> — AI specialty, Mukade use it for his devil star attack (TRAMNINCOMfireball)
9	<Super4Sound> - unused

Step 2: Preparing the ONCC

Search for <SoundConstants> and set a value between 0 and 100. 100 means "always play this sound".

Let's look at Konoko's settings, with a focus on her taunt sound. In ONCCkonoko_generic.xml, we see this:

           <SoundConstants>
               <TauntProbability>100</TauntProbability>
               <AlertProbability>0</AlertProbability>
               <StartleProbability>0</StartleProbability>
               <CheckBodyProbability>0</CheckBodyProbability>
               <PursueProbability>0</PursueProbability>
               <CoverProbability>0</CoverProbability>
               <SuperPunchProbability>100</SuperPunchProbability>
               <SuperKickProbability>100</SuperKickProbability>
               <Super3Probability>0</Super3Probability>
               <Super4Probability>0</Super4Probability>
               <TauntSound>c17_99_28konoko</TauntSound>
               <AlertSound></AlertSound>
               <StartleSound></StartleSound>
               <CheckBodySound></CheckBodySound>
               <PursueSound></PursueSound>
               <CoverSound></CoverSound>
               <SuperPunchSound>c18_79_14konoko</SuperPunchSound>
               <SuperKickSound>c18_79_15konoko</SuperKickSound>
               <Super3Sound></Super3Sound>
               <Super4Sound></Super4Sound>
           </SoundConstants>

Step 3: Preparing the OSBD.amb

Do you see the <BaseTrack1> tag? In this case it holds the link OSBDc17_99_28konoko.grp.oni.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <AmbientSound>
       <Priority>Highest</Priority>
       <Flags>InterruptTracksOnStop PlayOnce</Flags>
       <DetailTrackProperties>
           <SphereRadius>10</SphereRadius>
           <ElapsedTime>
               <Min>0</Min>
               <Max>0</Max>
           </ElapsedTime>
       </DetailTrackProperties>
       <Volume>
           <Distance>
               <Min>10</Min>
               <Max>50</Max>
           </Distance>
       </Volume>
       <DetailTrack></DetailTrack>
       <BaseTrack1>c17_99_28konoko</BaseTrack1>
       <BaseTrack2></BaseTrack2>
       <InSound></InSound>
       <OutSound></OutSound>
       <Treshold>3</Treshold>
       <MinOcclusion>0</MinOcclusion>
   </AmbientSound>
</Oni>

Step 4: Preparing the OSBD.grp

Note that <NumberOfChannels> occurs once at the top level, meaning that all the SNDD files must have the same number of channels.

	22.05 kHz, mono	22.05 kHz, stereo	44.1 kHz, mono (Windows-only)
NumberOfChannels	1	2	1

(It's possible to speed up sounds with <Pitch>, e.g. the Fury's taunt is sped up by 1.14 to brighten the voice. But in most cases you probably want to keep it as "1".)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <SoundGroup>
       <Volume>1</Volume>
       <Pitch>1</Pitch>
       <Flags>PreventRepeat</Flags>
       <NumberOfChannels>1</NumberOfChannels>
       <Permutations>
           <Permutation>
               <Weight>10</Weight>
               <Volume>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Volume>
               <Pitch>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Pitch>
               <Sound>c17_99_28konoko.aif</Sound>
           </Permutation>
           <Permutation>
               <Weight>10</Weight>
               <Volume>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Volume>
               <Pitch>
                   <Min>1</Min>
                   <Max>1</Max>
               </Pitch>
               <Sound>c17_99_29konoko.aif</Sound>
           </Permutation>
           [...]
       </Permutations>
   </SoundGroup>
</Oni>

As you can see, Konoko has multiple sounds to choose from.

• SNDDc17_99_28konoko.aif.oni ("You're gonna get beat by a girl!")
• SNDDc17_99_29konoko.aif.oni ("Ready to lose?") (You can play sounds in Simple OniSplit GUI (Windows only).
• [...]

"aif" is here part of the name, as explained in the "Source file creation" section above.

Permutations in .grp files are the reason why Konoko has multiple sounds that can play during the same taunt animation.

Step 5: Everything else that's left

• Create your SNDD if you haven't yet.
• Put your files into a mod package.
• Test your stuff in-game!