Anyone who has a basic level of knowledge of FSX's file structure, and probably most people who have installed sounds for FSX aircraft before, know that in each aircraft's folder in SimObjects/Airplanes, there is a folder (usually) called "sound" which contains SOUND.CFG file and a bunch of .WAV audio files. The SOUND.CFG tells the game how to use each .WAV file in the folder.
But, there is another sound folder, in the FSX root folder. This folder is very special, because it allows any SOUND.CFG from any plane to use the sounds in that folder. And, of course, you can put your own sounds in this folder as well, not just use the default files that Microsoft put in that folder.
Now, every aircraft sounds package has a lot of files like "cockpit_wind.wav" and "engine_thrust_reverser.wav" which are in every single plane's sound folder. But: do you really need to have slightly different versions of the same file copied all over the place? E.g.: you have, say, 20 different planes, and each one has its own wind sound, each one its own thrust reverser sound. Do you really need 20 different thrust reverser sounds for 20 different planes?
Do you see what I am getting at?
By moving the .WAV files to the unified sounds folder instead of copying them for each aircraft, we can save large amounts of disk space—the more different planes, the more planes use the same file instead of a bunch of different ones, the less space used up by sounds. I will use the term "CSS", Common Sound System, to refer to this method of packaging soundpacks.
This has the advantage of cutting down soundpacks from 100-150MB to 70-110MB, and not to mention, the sounds will not have to be copied every time you install the same soundpack onto different aircraft, saving yet even more space. There is a disadvantage, though, which is that it is harder to install these soundpacks than standard ones (see theoretical installation instructions below).
But, there is a large problem with this. Sound designer #1 called his reverser sound: "BBN2R.WAV", sound designer #2 called his reverser sound "RRTRENT_REVERSERS.wav", and sound designer #3 called his reverser sound "rev.wav", sound designer #4 called his reverser sound "ReversersA.wav", etc... so one cannot simply move all the .WAV files from each plane into the common sounds folder, and save space that way.
To fix this problem, there must be someone who deliberately makes a bunch of different soundpacks that use the same file names, and writes SOUND.CFG files to all use the same files where possible. Now, we begin to have a full picture of what I am planning.
- - - - - -
So, on to business. If you noticed the two soundpacks recently uploaded, one for L-1011 and one for B737NG, you might recognize me as the one who uploaded them, and if you are a tinkering sort with your software, and downloaded the L-1011 sounds, you may have looked through the SOUND.CFG in it, and seen a little note I left: "MADE IN ONE DAY". The note does not lie. The original draft was constructed from one day from nothing—all the .WAV files gathered, the SOUND.CFG programmed, etc. But, it did take a few more days of tweaking to get to the finished product.
What is truly important is that the L-1011 sounds were not just one soundpack: they were a proof of concept, of creating high-quality freeware soundpacks for FSX at lightning speed. With the L-1011 sounds created in 1 day with another 2-3 for tinkering to prove that it is possible, I plan to use this method of space-saving in the creation high-quality freeware sounds for almost every turbofan-powered airliner in FSX at a minimum rate of one soundpack per week. This is made even faster by the fact that because I am using a lot of the same .WAV files for different planes, all I will need to make for each soundpack is engine turbine sounds, a cockpit electronics sound, and some cockpit warnings, and everything else (reversers, engine thrust blast, wind, gear and flap levers, engine rumble sound) will already be done, making it even faster.
The goal is that by the beginning of 2023, every Boeing, Airbus, MD/DC turbofan-powered airliner, in all engine configurations will have a soundpack made for them in CSS-format. I will use this forum post to document the progress. Anyone who wishes to make a request can do so as well in the replies, and I will prioritize the aircraft that are requested.
- - - - - -
HOW THIS WILL WORK FROM A USER'S PERSPECTIVE
There will be one soundpack called the "CSS Basefiles Soundpack" that all other CSS-format soundpacks rely upon. Then, there will be one pack for each individual aircraft, containing each aircraft-specific .WAV file and the sound.cfg.
Installation procedure for the CSS basefiles:
- Extract the "sound" folder to your FSX root folder, so that it merges with the folder already there
- Say "yes" to replace if asked
Installation procedure for a CSS soundpack:
- Extract the "SimObjects" and "sound" folders to your FSX root folder, so that they merge with the folder already there
- Extract the "SOUND.CFG" file to the "sound" folder of each aircraft you want to change the sounds of
What a CSS-format soundpack will look like when you download one:
- - - - - -
PLANNED SOUNDPACKS:
Av. PS-90 (Tu204/IL96)
CFMi CFM56-3 (B737)
CFMi CFM56-5 (A320/A340)
CFMi CFM56-7 (B737)
CFMi LEAP-1 (A320/B737)
GE CF6-6 (DC10)
GE CF6-50 (A300/B747/DC10)
GE CF6-80C (A300/B747/B767/MD11)
GE CF6-80E (A330)
GE CF34-8 (CRJ700/E17X)
GE CF34-10 (E19X)
GE GE90 (B777)
GE GEnX (B787/B747)
IAE V2500 (A320/MD90)
Kuznetsov NK-8 (Tu154B)
Lotarev D-36 (Yak42)
P&W JT8D (DC9/B737)
P&W JT8D (B727)
P&W JT8D (MD-80)
P&W JT9D (B747/B767/DC10)
P&W PW1000G (A320)
P&W PW2000 (B757)
P&W PW4000 (A300/B747/B767/MD11)
P&W PW4000 (A330)
P&W PW4000 (B777)
P&W PW6000 (A318)
RR AE3007 (ERJ145)
RR BR715 (B717)
RR RB211-22/524B/C/D (L1011/B747)
RR RB211-524G/H (B747/B767)
RR RB211-535 (B757)
RR Trent 500 (A340)
RR Trent 700 (A330)
RR Trent 800 (B777)
RR Trent 900 (A380)
RR Trent 1000 (B787)
RR Trent 7000 (A330)
RR Trent XWB (A350)
Soloviev D-30-II (Tu134)
Soloviev D-30KU (Tu154M)
Progress updates will be posted in the replies. The latest reply to this post by me will always have the latest available progress update.