Environmental Sounds

WarHorse47

WarHorse47

SOH-CM-2024
In the FS 2004 Sound Settings, there's a bar for Environmental Sounds.

Anybody know what these are and how they're managed? More specifically, what files are used and which *.dll file controls these?

Thanks in advance
 
Here is what I know and why I'm trying to learn more.

Sounds are controlled or activated several ways. The most obvious are the aircraft sounds from within each aircraft's sound folder. The not-so-obvious are the sounds activated through gauges or effects. An example of sounds through gauges is the spitfire cannon sounds which are the result of an xml file and entries in the panel.cfg. Some effect files referenced by the aircraft.cfg have scripting that activates certain sounds such as the tire squeal you hear during touchdown.

What I don't understand is how the environmental sounds are managed. I assume there are standard environmental sounds like rain and thunder, but there may also be sounds to local airports that are activated through addon scenery. I assume.

Since reinstalling FS 2004 on my new computer, I continue to hear some strange environment sounds during a cold start. This is regardless of selected aircraft, a quiet airport, and clear or fair weather. I've turned down the volume significantly, but now I have the environment sounds 'off'. My guess is that some file somewhere got corrupted or messed up or something, but I have no idea where to start. If I could pinpoint the sound and its *.wav file it might help me track down what is causing the weird sounds, but there are just too many files.

So, there you have it. My question stands and I'm hoping one of our sound experts might throw in some of their thoughts on the subject.

Thanks agin.
 
Since reinstalling FS 2004 on my new computer, I continue to hear some strange environment sounds during a cold start. This is regardless of selected aircraft, a quiet airport, and clear or fair weather. I've turned down the volume significantly, but now I have the environment sounds 'off'. My guess is that some file somewhere got corrupted or messed up or something, but I have no idea where to start. If I could pinpoint the sound and its *.wav file it might help me track down what is causing the weird sounds, but there are just too many files.
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First of all you have to be careful of this. At our age "hearing things" is both good and bad. The good side is that being able to hear (except when someone is nagging you) indicates healthy auditory systems; the bad is that hearing strange sounds often can lead to drug-induced slumber in a quiet room with kind nurses looking after you... :icon_eek:

Seriously though... what are you hearing? birds? animals? wind? In the past some modelers have included things like this in aircraft and scenery files (Bill Lyons comes to mind) so that's a place to start. Knowing the types of sounds might help us diagnose your problem before a doctor is contacted.
 
srgalahad said:
First of all you have to be careful of this. At our age "hearing things" is both good and bad. The good side is that being able to hear (except when someone is nagging you) indicates healthy auditory systems; the bad is that hearing strange sounds often can lead to drug-induced slumber in a quiet room with kind nurses looking after you... :icon_eek:

Seriously though... what are you hearing? birds? animals? wind? In the past some modelers have included things like this in aircraft and scenery files (Bill Lyons comes to mind) so that's a place to start. Knowing the types of sounds might help us diagnose your problem before a doctor is contacted.
Click to expand...
LOL. So true. So true.

I've been trying to pinpoint the sounds and at best it almost sound like a train or vehicle of some sort. At times even an airplane, although the taxiway is empty.

I hear the sound in all views as soon as I load the aircraft with my current flight which is a cold start. I have switched aircraft to the default Cessna, switched airports, and even started with a clean fs9.cfg, and I still hear the sounds through my headphones. I've turned down the environmental sounds to 10%, but it was still annoying, so now I have the environmental sounds off entirely. Once I start my loaded aircraft its no longer noticeable because of the engine and other sounds.

As I tried different approaches to identifying the source of the problem, I started wondering how these sounds are managed. What tells FS9 which sounds to control (e.g., navigation vs. engine, etc.) and how does the program distinguish between the different sounds, especially since the source *.wav files can be in various folders.

I figured with all the talented members we have creating aircraft sounds and scenery with sounds, there might be a better understanding how they are managed. Perhaps there is a stock or custom *.dll that is now corrupt? Dunno.
 
I have been in a plane at an airport before that allows AI aircraft and will hear the AI cessna 172 or AI Piper cherokee 180 engine idling which sounded close by and looked around very slowly to see the tiny c-172 way, way across the field at a great distance sitting on a ramp at a terminal just sitting there with the prop turning for some amount of time befor the AI directs it to start taxing. When I say distant, I mean the AI plane looks like it is more than a half mile away across the field, parked with engine running, but it sounds like it is right next to my plane.

Maybe that could be that engine you are hearing. The AI c-172, Mooney, and Piper 180 Cherokee all sounds like an idling truck or an A model.

A test to confirm that this is not it, try flying to small grass field airport where you know the airport doesn't allow AI aircraft, shut off your plane's engine and save the flight, then restart FS9 in a cold start-up and see if the offending phantom engine sound still shows up. If it's not there anymore, the sound was probably simply an AI C-172 or Piper Cherokee 180 sitting on the ramp at the airport that allows AI traffic.

At times those AI planes sitting still on a ramp with the engine running, especially when they aren't moving, yet they sound like they are sitting on top of you even though they are way on the other side of the airport. If you see an AI plane in the distance, point your view at it and then keep zooming in until you can clearly see that it is sitting there running or if it you can see that it's prop is still. Look around at every AI plane on the field.
 
An even easier test to eliminate AI as the source of the sound would be to simply turn all AI traffic off via the menu. IF the sound is gone you know where to start looking....if not you can move on to other things.

Cheers
Stefan
 
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