Alt Sounds vs. Sub-Sub Sounds

What are the similarities and differences between these 2 seemingly discrete features?

They are similar, but entirely separate.
In ProffieOS 6.x, there are essentially two variables that specifies which sound to play:

  1. the effect (boot, clash, force, etc.)
  2. The file number

In ProffoeOS 7.x there are two more

  1. the alt number
  2. the sub-file number.

What really matters is how these variables are controlled and chosen…

  1. The effect is chosen by the code.
  2. The file number can be controlled by linking or Select calls in the code, otherwise it’s random
  3. the alt number is controlled by the style
  4. the sub-sub file is always random

Ok, so that’s a bunch of gibberish, but maybe it would be better to explain how I imagine that people will use these features:

sub-sub files are intended to be used in combination with linking or Select() calls. Both of these will basically remove any random element in file selection, and using sub-sub files lets you put the random element back in the selection again.

Alt files are more open-ended. Since the style controls it it could be used in lots of different ways. However, the one that I am most excited about is to simply link it to the variant. That way you can very easily set up light/dark transitions with different sounds for light and dark. You could also make lockup-like effects, and a bunch of other things.

One more thing: there is code that changes the hum immediately and plays a sound (if present) when the alt number changes, there is nothing like that for sub-sub sounds.

Hope this helps.

Let me see if I get this in terms of linking (paired effect).

Let’s say we have a Luke font, with sounds from all 3 OT films.
We have preon.wavs and out.wavs with dialog mixed in.
The goal is if a preon with EpIV dialogue plays, one of the out.wavs with quotes from EpIV sub group can be chosen randomly. So filtered, but still randomized.

I know we’d need
ProffieOS.SFX.preon.paired=1 in the config.ini to pair preon02 to out02,
so is it now just setting the sub dir for out.wav like

out/02/000.wav
out/02/001.wav
out/02/003.wav

Am I right?

I think you got it. :slight_smile:

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