More notes and why it's taking so long
If you've read the previous posts, you probably get the idea behind the 2DA soundset tweaks I'm working on:
1. Remove battle cries from ATTACK slots (unless they actually make sense -- 99% don't).
2. Add/change sound effects in SLASH, BACKSLASH, JAB slots so that they fit their respective animations.
3. Synchronize sound effects with animation frames.
4. Remove redundant NOSOUND slots (unless the creature attacks too fast to play the full attack sound effect).
5. Add missing SELECT2 slot to pretty much every single 2DA monster soundset.
6. ...
So it's a system. Unfortunately, there are more issues when it comes to attack animations/sound effects.
Monster weapon ITMs and their importance in relation to soundsets
Attack animations can be adjusted by tweaking values in abilities of weapon ITMs. These are:
Overhand swing: [%] (SLASH animation/sound effect)
Backhand swing: [%] (BACKSLASH animation/sound effect)
Thrust: [%] (JAB animation/sound effect)
The values are percentages; they represent the chance for each animation to be played along with the sound effect assigned to it in the 2DA soundset.
For example, a creature wielding a Short Sword (SW1H07) has a 10% chance to use SLASH animation, 25% to BACKSLASH and 65% to JAB.
A monster with a Bastard Sword (SW1H01) has 50% to SLASH, 50% to BACKSLASH and 0% to JAB.
So what does it mean?
If a monster is wielding a weapon with disabled animations, it won't use the frames and sound effects that had been previously designed specifically for it.
Take a look at the Dancing Sword animation (Code: MDSW; e.g., Ras or Spectral Blade). It has frames for slashes, backslashes and jabs. They all look very cool, right? Somebody spent a lot of time working on those. Now look inside SWORD02.cre (Ras) and SWORD68.cre (Spectral Blade). They both use weapon ITMs with disabled JAB animations. The player never gets to see the JAB animation or hear it's accompanying attack sound effect. Wasted resources.
And unfortunately, there are quite a few creatures suffering from the exact same issue. It's typically because the devs re-used exisiting item templates or assigned generic weapons to special-case creatures. For example, Githyanki wield two handed swords in one hand. The Githyanki animation (MGIT) has all the attack frames (SLASH, BACKSLASH and JAB), but the majority of CREs using the animation have generic Bastard or Two Handed swords assigned to primary weapons. These weapon ITMs are usually 50% SLASH and 50% BACKSLASH -- again, no JAB animation/sound effect. What an oversight.
Wait, but there's more
Let's reverse the above. A creature animation has only SLASH and BACKSLASH attack frames (most BG1 and IWD-ported monsters). That is, it also doesn't have attack sound effects designed for JABs.
- BG1 animation format usually has duplicate BACKSLASH frames in place of JAB frames. If JAB frames aren't present, SLASH frames are played instead.
- BG2/IWD format will do the following: if the weapon calls for non-existing JAB frames, use either SLASH or BACKSLASH at random.
Let's take a look at the Wolf animation (MWLF). It has only unique SLASH (bites) and BACKSLASH (leaps) frames -- the JAB frames are duplicates of BACKSLASH.
Go inside any Wolf CRE file. What weapon ITMs do these creatures usually have? Generic P1-x.itm with 34% to SLASH, 33% to BACKSLASH and 33% to JAB.
Now you understand why Wolves leap at you much more often than they bite. Bears paw you much more often than they bite. Basically, many BG1 creatures unnecessarily use certain attack animations more often. By extension, you get to hear the accompanying sound effects much more often than anything else.
While BG1 monsters aren't that much of a big deal, consider BG2 and IWD animations.
Look at the Ice Golem animation (MGIC). It has unique SLASH (two-arm-smash) and BACKSLASH (punch) frames with accompanying attack sound effects. No JAB frames/sound effects, right? But check out what weapon ITMs this animation typically has: a generic B2-xxMx.itm with 34% to SLASH, 33% to BACKSLASH and 33% to JAB. So now when the weapon calls for JAB frames, the animation will use SLASH or BACKSLASH frames at random but play JAB attack sound effect from the 2DA soundset. This causes inconsistency -- some smashes will sound like punches.
It's all because the devs used generic weapon items/templates for creatures that need special treatment when it comes to attack animations and sound effects.
I'm slowly working on all the affected monsters to make sure they utilize their resources properly. That means checking all the CREs for ITMs with invalid attack percentages, tweaking 2DAs, modyfing or copying->renaming->assigning ITMs, then going in-game and checking each animation individually to see if it all makes sense. Tedious. Worth it
Edited by skellytz, 29 January 2017 - 02:28 PM.