Audio triggers all at once on client join

[TX-Kingsnake]

Missions with custom audio have all the sound files going off at once when the client joins. For the host the sounds do not all go off at once. For the client every sound file in the miz file is heard at joining.

 

So now what? :helpsmilie:

[MadTommy]

Just ran into this on a mission i'm error checking. :(

 

I didn't quite know what my mates were on about about, when they said there was some garbled message at the start. Now i know what it it is.. no idea how to resolve.

 

I'm just going to keep my custom sounds very short, keeping the issue to a minimum.

[2GvSAP_Dart]

Quick questions:

 

1) Are others joining after the hosting player has already triggered the sounds?

2) Does the mission have the sounds built with a unique trigger for each aircraft (pilot) ID, or is it just one trigger built for each sound with a fat list of "plane in zone?"

3) Are sounds tied to units/groups destroyed or by Unit in Zone?

[MadTommy]

Quick questions:

 

1) Are others joining after the hosting player has already triggered the sounds?

2) Does the mission have the sounds built with a unique trigger for each aircraft (pilot) ID, or is it just one trigger built for each sound with a fat list of "plane in zone?"

3) Are sounds tied to units/groups destroyed or by Unit in Zone?

 

In my case..

 

1:..No.. it appears all sounds get played. Not just ones already triggered.

 

2. Yes and No.. i have sounds attached to flag triggers. But i have triggers for each player associated with each flag. It gets bloody complicated fast, i have over 45 flags/triggers in my latest 4 player training mission :joystick:

 

3. Yes..Groups get destroyed.. Flags get set.. Sounds get played or Player flies in Zone.. Flag get set.. Sound get played..(a couple of scenario's i'm using)

Edited March 23, 2009 by MadTommy

[TX-Kingsnake]

1- Even if clients join at the launch or before it unpauses.

2- Does it matter how sound gets triggered? Every mission maker has the same sound issue for mp clients.

3- Each of these.

[TX-Kingsnake]

I joined a single player stock mission edited into a mp mission. The custom audio triggered properly. I don't see a difference in the mission file inside the .miz file when I compare a stock mission side by side.

[2GvSAP_Dart]

Pretty weird.

 

I certainly have managed to have multiple sound files play at once in SP (especially when triggers overlap), but that was me goofing up.

 

Is it just that one mission or all of them?

 

Oh, it does matter how sounds are triggered!

 

For example, if one sets a sound trigger for "New Vehicle Group 03 Dead," it'll play the sound if they're dead. When a new player enters, the map will check the player against triggers, and play sounds for all conditions met; since the group is dead, he gets the sound. Add a few more and they all try to play at once.

 

Try to keep triggers restricted to "Unit in zone" and whatever else. That way the player has to be in the trigger radius where whatever causes the sound to happen to hear it.

Edited March 24, 2009 by 2GvSAP_Dart

[nemises]

...if using flags, I believe that Flag values ARE NOT evaluated by multiplayer clients.

It will work if testing the map as local client (ie on the machine that is hosting the map) , but not for MP clients

[MadTommy]

...if using flags, I believe that Flag values ARE NOT evaluated by multiplayer clients.

It will work if testing the map as local client (ie on the machine that is hosting the map) , but not for MP clients

 

Not quite true.

 

I have several MP missions with numerous flags/triggers. These all work fine, activating a group or playing a custom sound etc, it's just that the custom sounds get played all at once when a client joins. The same sound is still played at the correct time later when the trigger is triggeredby the client.

[TX-Kingsnake]

2GvSAP_Dart are you giving an example of conjecture or observed fact?

 

I tried triggering the sounds with a flag, a unit in zone and a group dead trigger. They all go off at the right time but they also trigger at the mission join for the client.

 

I noticed the stock mission (the sounds don't go off all at once on join)modified into a mp mission had the sounds listed in the SampleDurationTable.lua file. I tried caching the sound files in the sample directory and that made them show up in the SampleDurationTable.lua file when restarting the sim. But it still happens at client join.

 

Also, I have used the stock sounds in mp missions and those worked fine. The stock sounds are all listed in the SampleDurationTable.lua file. So - I've let enough time out on this time vampire and I hope it gets patched or better yet they point us to what we obviously overlooked.

[S77th-ReOrdain]

I've been experimenting with the sounds and the message triggers. Unit in zone, unit outside of zone, time more, time less, unit dead, unit damaged and flag is true all seem to work without going off at once at the beginning of a MP mission. The culprit is "group dead". It causes the wierdness with clients in MP, but not with the host. Remove group dead as a rule and the problem should go away. An alternative is to set a flag to either true or false when a group dies and use the true or false trigger condition to activate the sound or the message.

 

Now, if someone could please explain an effective use of the front condition and continuous trigggers, it would certainly help those of us that haven't a clue.

[nemises]

a front condition is a trigger that will do the action when you enter the zone , but will not repeat the action while you are in the zone, but if you then leave and re-enter the zone, it will do the action again (as opposed to a normal trigger zone that will only trigger once and then go dormant)

 

A good example of this is the 3rd or 4th mission in the deplyment campain, where everytime you flew near to the friendly column you are escorting, a random audio message will play

 

Continuous triggers could be used for warning messages...say set a contiuous trigger with a zone, and the action is a message and delay "beware, you are in the zone!" ... this will continue to trigger the message and delay action whilst you are in the zone, so you will continue to get that message everytime the delay expires on the action, rather than the message playing once and once only as with a normal trigger.

[nemises]

To refine that a bit, a lot of these trigger conditions can be used for "behind the scenes" processing, like time keeping, or complicated probability.

 

Using the flags to store bits, and the condition types to define how things work you can actually achieve basic computational functions.

 

At one point I was looking at ways to have reccurent but scenario relevant status messages come up in a mission, and ended up building a clock! using a truck driving on a circuit way out in turkey somewhere, triggers, mobile zones and front conditions all so that a mission relevant message would show up every xx seconds / minutes.

 

...unfortunately it doesnt work in multiplayer properly yet (unsure of why, but setting flags on / off in MP sessions seems to not work..) .. and I've put such shenanigans on hold until the patch comes out.

[S77th-ReOrdain]

Thanks for the explanation nemises. I can already think of a couple of good ways to put those triggers to use. I've been holding off on building new missions until the patch comes out as well. I guess now is a good time to experiment with the current capabilities in existing missions.

[2GvSAP_Dart]

2GvSAP_Dart are you giving an example of conjecture or observed fact?

 

 

Both, depending on which example you're referring to.

 

Hey, my missions are working fine, so if you don't want any help....

[MadTommy]

An alternative is to set a flag to either true or false when a group dies and use the true or false trigger condition to activate the sound or the message..

 

Unfortunatly not true. I use the above, and clients still hear all sounds at once.

[S77th-ReOrdain]

. . . An alternative is to set a flag to either true or false when a group dies and use the true or false trigger condition to activate the sound or the message.

 

Unfortunatly not true. I use the above, and clients still hear all sounds at once.

 

Agreed, that statement was in fact speculation. I've been screwing around with the flags (both true and false) and have yet to establish any consistancy in the MP environment. Nevertheless, the other rules I listed do work as previously stated. Exclude the use of group dead as one of the rule conditions and the sound will play properly for all clients. However, because I haven't tried the player coalition rule, the sound plays and message shows for all clients when the event finally does occur.

[geloxo]

Maybe if you use flags (set to true for instance) but the flag is not reset (to false) after the sound is played, each time any client joins the mission that flag status is read as true (cause it was not reset) for the client and then the condition for playing the sound is triggered... The difference when you test it in local could be that the condition is evaluated just once, and then the status of the flag becomes not relevant as the sound won´t be played again anymore. I´m not sure if that´s the reason or not, but give it a try just in case

 

Cheers

Edited April 19, 2009 by geloxo