Formatting Sound Files Using Goldwave
by fokker (view all articles)
1 rating / 3 stars
How to convert sounds to proper HL format using Goldwave
by fokker (view all articles)
1 rating / 3 stars
How to convert sounds to proper HL format using Goldwave
Okay, by snooping around a little bit you have probably discovered that all Half-life sounds require a certain format for HL to recognize them.
That format is:
Microsoft PCM, 8-bit, mono, unsigned, with a playback rate of 11025Hz.
It is also suggested the sound be below 3 minutes.
Now if you do not convert your sound to the exact format above, you will receive very annoying and frustrating errors that have driven many a mapper to jump up from their chair, rip open their shirt, and slam down upon their monitor with both fists (I prefer a straight punch into the screen, you may experiment and find your favorite method).
Alrighty then, I'm going to put the steps into numeric form, starting with, you guessed it, step number one.
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Step 1. Download Free Version of Goldwave Sound Editor from http://www.goldwave.com/
NOTE: IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONVERT MP3 FILES YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS FILE: RazorLame, you can find it at http://www.mp3-tech.org/software/encoders/lamewin32.exe
After you download Lame you need to extract the LAME_ENC.DLL file and place it in the folder where Goldwave is installed (probably C:Program FilesGoldWave).
Step 2. Install the program to an easy to remember directory, and I suggest making a desktop icon for it, especially if you are an avid mapper (I also use goldwave for recording sounds and dinking around with them).
Step 3. Open up the program. When you first open Goldwave it will display a large message showing all the resources you can use to learn more about it. You may spend a couple minutes looking through this or you can click "OK" and get down to business.
Step 4. Go to the top left and click "Open". Browse for your sound that you want to convert and click on it. Then click "Open". In this case I am using the song "Dream On by Aerosmith".
It may say "Deflashing to Disk". After this your sound should be loaded up in a window within the program. If it is a stereo sample, it will show two channels, one in green (on top) and one in red (on the bottom). You will also notice that at the bottom of the screen, some information about the sound is displayed such as playback rate, whether it's stereo or mono, and the type of sound. As you can see (shown below) my sound is 44100hz, is a stereo sample, and is a 3 layered MPEG (mp3) 128 kbps.
Step 5. We need to reformat this sound so that it will play in HL. To do this, start by clicking on "Effects" then down at the very bottom of the drop down menu click "Resample". Now you should see a small box (shown below) that shows the current rate in Hz of the sound. Since mine is at 44100, I need to click on the drop down box to the right of the slider, and select the correct rate, 11025. Now click "OK". Your sound should be updated with the new rate. To be sure, open your device controls (if they are not already open) by accessing the "Tools" drop-down menu and clicking on "Device Controls". Now click on the green triangle in the device controls window to play the sound. Does it sound right? Good!
Step 6. Okay now we get to kill a bunch of birds with one stone. This is what makes using Goldwave so easy to convert sounds. Click on "File" then "Save As". Now you should have a screen similiar to the one shown (below).
Step 7. Now where it reads "Save as Type" you need to select "WAV (*.wav)". After that, where it says "File Attributes" you need to select "8bit, mono, unsigned". Now name your file. Now choose the directory you want to save it to. As you can see (below) I have chosen to save mine to the dod/sounds/ambience directory (eventually you will need to save the sound to the mod's sound directory that you plan to make the map for). Now click "Save".
And that's it! You're done! You're now ready to use an ambient_generic to put the sound in your map, but that's a whole different story...
-----------------------------------------------
Okay, in closing, did you notice anything about my sound? Like the fact that it was over 3 minutes long? I did not personally test this particular sound but in the past I have had sounds up to 3:22 that functioned correctly. Therefore just remember, testing makes perfect.
And of course, if anyone has anything to change/add/remove from this, please contact me immediately so I can fix the erroneous information as soon as possible.
That format is:
Microsoft PCM, 8-bit, mono, unsigned, with a playback rate of 11025Hz.
It is also suggested the sound be below 3 minutes.
Now if you do not convert your sound to the exact format above, you will receive very annoying and frustrating errors that have driven many a mapper to jump up from their chair, rip open their shirt, and slam down upon their monitor with both fists (I prefer a straight punch into the screen, you may experiment and find your favorite method).
Alrighty then, I'm going to put the steps into numeric form, starting with, you guessed it, step number one.
-----------------------------------------------
Step 1. Download Free Version of Goldwave Sound Editor from http://www.goldwave.com/
NOTE: IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONVERT MP3 FILES YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS FILE: RazorLame, you can find it at http://www.mp3-tech.org/software/encoders/lamewin32.exe
After you download Lame you need to extract the LAME_ENC.DLL file and place it in the folder where Goldwave is installed (probably C:Program FilesGoldWave).
Step 2. Install the program to an easy to remember directory, and I suggest making a desktop icon for it, especially if you are an avid mapper (I also use goldwave for recording sounds and dinking around with them).
Step 3. Open up the program. When you first open Goldwave it will display a large message showing all the resources you can use to learn more about it. You may spend a couple minutes looking through this or you can click "OK" and get down to business.
Step 4. Go to the top left and click "Open". Browse for your sound that you want to convert and click on it. Then click "Open". In this case I am using the song "Dream On by Aerosmith".
It may say "Deflashing to Disk". After this your sound should be loaded up in a window within the program. If it is a stereo sample, it will show two channels, one in green (on top) and one in red (on the bottom). You will also notice that at the bottom of the screen, some information about the sound is displayed such as playback rate, whether it's stereo or mono, and the type of sound. As you can see (shown below) my sound is 44100hz, is a stereo sample, and is a 3 layered MPEG (mp3) 128 kbps.
Step 5. We need to reformat this sound so that it will play in HL. To do this, start by clicking on "Effects" then down at the very bottom of the drop down menu click "Resample". Now you should see a small box (shown below) that shows the current rate in Hz of the sound. Since mine is at 44100, I need to click on the drop down box to the right of the slider, and select the correct rate, 11025. Now click "OK". Your sound should be updated with the new rate. To be sure, open your device controls (if they are not already open) by accessing the "Tools" drop-down menu and clicking on "Device Controls". Now click on the green triangle in the device controls window to play the sound. Does it sound right? Good!
Step 6. Okay now we get to kill a bunch of birds with one stone. This is what makes using Goldwave so easy to convert sounds. Click on "File" then "Save As". Now you should have a screen similiar to the one shown (below).
Step 7. Now where it reads "Save as Type" you need to select "WAV (*.wav)". After that, where it says "File Attributes" you need to select "8bit, mono, unsigned". Now name your file. Now choose the directory you want to save it to. As you can see (below) I have chosen to save mine to the dod/sounds/ambience directory (eventually you will need to save the sound to the mod's sound directory that you plan to make the map for). Now click "Save".
And that's it! You're done! You're now ready to use an ambient_generic to put the sound in your map, but that's a whole different story...
-----------------------------------------------
Okay, in closing, did you notice anything about my sound? Like the fact that it was over 3 minutes long? I did not personally test this particular sound but in the past I have had sounds up to 3:22 that functioned correctly. Therefore just remember, testing makes perfect.
And of course, if anyone has anything to change/add/remove from this, please contact me immediately so I can fix the erroneous information as soon as possible.
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