How can I make a sound mod?

[Bluegemcutter]

I would like to make a sound mod. Not a dialogue or voice mod or a music mod, just a sound mod that replaces the sounds of fires that are found with fires in fireplaces and camp fires. I have searched the forum and also the Elder Scrolls Construction wiki, http://cs.elderscrolls.com/index.php?title=Main_Page . But I am unable to find any tutorial information either written or video that explains how to make a sound mod for Oblivon.

 

Thanks for any help you can share.

[Maskar]

Sound files are stored in the Oblivion - Sounds.bsa file. Easiest is probably to create your own files with the same file structure. This way the new files will override the old ones.

[Bluegemcutter]

Is there a tutorial that shows how to create the sound file structures and how to add them to the Oblivion - Sounds.bsa file?

[Maskar]

You're not supposed to add them to the bsa. Simply copying to the data folder is enough. Maybe have a look at: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

[Guinefort1]

I advise that you take a look at other sound mods, like Atmospheric Oblivion or Sounds of Cyrodiil. Look at the structure of their sound files. Study their esp files in the CS to see how the sound files are added to the game.

[DrakeTheDragon]

It is not advisable to touch the game's BSAs, unless there's serious need to (there's a few cases where it seems to be necessary, but usually they're better left untouched).

They're your fallback back to Vanilla assets, and when you touch them, only a complete reinstall of the game will give Vanilla files back.

 

The game's modding system is working in a rather simple and straight-forward way in regards to contents from inside BSA files and so-called "loose files" outside of them.

Look at it this way. The BSA files are archives, much like ZIPs but a proprietary packaging format created and used by Bethesda only. When the game is run those archives are unpacked into memory, like whole virtual folders of assets to be read directly from memory, instead of actual physical folders found on your drive.

 

Inside those archives there is the exact same folder structure the game expects to have its files stored in. If you ever want to know exactly where which file of the Vanilla assets is to be found, open its respective BSA file with a BSA browser and search for it. Some people even extract the entire BSA archives into their game folder, and for the game it makes no difference. If a file that is inside a BSA archive is found at the same place in folder structure as inside the BSA but outside, a so-called "loose file", the game will use this one in place of the file inside the BSA.

 

There's exceptions, for example the retail disc version will not use "loose" textures over the ones inside the BSA, unless specifically being told so, which is known as "Archive Invalidation", but every other resource in a "loose" file will automatically be used over its counterpart inside a BSA. And on Oblivion from Steam things are even more complicated, as Steam requires Archive Invalidation to be able to use "any" loose file over its BSA counterpart at any time, not only textures.

 

But the situation is always the same. So-called "replacer" mods just have to "mimic" the game's internal folder structure from inside its BSA archives with "loose" files and (given Archive Invalidation necessities are met) the game will directly use them over the BSA contents. So if you want to "replace" certain fire sounds, all you have to do is open the CS, find the record in the Oblivion.ESM where the game is told which sound file it is and where it's to be found, then recreate this folder structure in your game's data folder, and instead of the original file put your new one in. If you're on Steam then you'll also need to have Archive Invalidation measures taken care of, like I said, but that's only a one-time task usually, then works for all files automatically ever since then, and won't need to be redone unless it's un-done.

[Bluegemcutter]

Thanks for the additional information. I will see if I can make this happen. :happy:

[TheMastersSon]

In addition to the previous advice, if you're planning to use your own recorded sound files, read the basics of when Oblivion expects a mono or stereo WAV file. It's not quite as intuitive as you might think, and if the fire sounds call for a mono audio file, a stereo WAV won't play at all.