[TUT] Vince Kaufman's Sound Modding for Dummies

[Nick]

Originally from GPM, made by VinceKaufman

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Ok, this has been way overdue, so i'm going to show you folks how to make and install sound mods for GTA SA.

Things you'll need:

Audacity

Alci's SAAT GUI Frontend

[if you cannot see the screenies, zoom the page in.]  (( Screenshots no longer available ))

Step 1: Gather the sounds you want to use. You can download them from youtube using a converter or whatever. Ensure that the sound is in high quality. Lower quality sounds may not come out too good after doing this whole method. In this example I will be using a Dodge Challenger acceleration sound, and an exhaust video (for the idle).

Step 2: Save your sound clips in a folder. I'm gonna throw it into a new folder where I keep all of my mods. You can throw it anywhere. Create 4 folders, 2 folders for the banks you will replace (in this case, i'm replacing 31 and 32), and 2 test folders (test 1, test 2, etc.) that you will use for the moment to just export and experiment with.

Step 3: Open Audacity. You'll see the interface. Drag and drop the exhaust sound into audacity. You'll see this:

That's fine, you're doing ok so far. Now, click and drag around the area you want to use for your idle. In most cases, the default sound is under 1 second, and audacity will tell you at the bottom of the interface. For this mod that i am replacing, this will be 0.58 seconds (the default time for the idle of bank 31). I've zoomed in a bit to show you guys what i've done.

Step 3: Export your sound using File -> Export Selection as wav, and save it as "sound_002" in your "test 1" folder. Now that your idle is done, click the "x" on the sound sample and drag your acceleration sample into audacity.

Step 4: Do the same thing you did for the idle, except now you will do this for the first sound (high idle/first gear) in your test 1 folder, and sounds 1-3 (acceleration, top gear, and deceleration) for your second test folder. Export them as wav files. Click the "x" on that sound sample.

Step 5: Now that your test files are all prepared, it's time to get into the nitty gritty and important part of sound modding: making things compatible for SA and ensuring it doesn't interfere with other sounds ingame. Drag and drop "sound_001" into audacity. Click the down arrow that is next to the waveform and click "split stereo track." (If your sound sample has 1 waveform, you can skip this stereo split) Set both channels to mono using the same drop down menu on both channels.

Step 6: select all channels and click project -> quick mix. It'll mix into one channel, which is the first checkmark to sa compatibility.

Step 7: In that same drag-down menu (where you split the channels and mixed it together, select (and this is important) the bit depth to 16-bit, and depending on the default frequency (most sounds are 18000hz, except for the bus @ 16000hz), set it to that. The 18000hz option can be selected by selecting "other." Also ensure that the project rate at the bottom is set to the same frequency as your sound.

Step 8: If you play back your sound, it sounds slow. Why? We need to speed it back up to normal. To do this, select the entire sample again, and select Effect -> Change speed. Depending on your frequency, set it to these settings. You may have to increase it even more if the sound sample is greater than 44100hz:

18000hz = 145.00

16000hz = 175.00

When you are done, play it back and use your ears. If it sounds close to the original, export as a wav, but this time, you'll export into the following:

test 1 = first bank

test 2 = second bank

Step 9: Once all your sounds are exported, run the Alci's SAAT. If this is your first time opening this SAAT GUI, you may hear an error sound. Minimize all windows, and check. You may see a dialogue pop-up. Click ok, and send it to the "audio" folder in your GTA SA main directory. Another one will pop-up. Again, minimize windows, click ok, but send this to your gta sa main directory. The SAAT GUI opens. Double click the GENRL text, and let it export.

Once it is done, you'll see a bunch of banks.

Step 10a: Go to your sound mod folder, copy and paste the bank folders into your newly formed GENRL folder (located in the "audio" folder in your gta sa directory), then hit the plus icon in the bank you just replaced in the SAAT GUI to ensure it is replaced. Click the save icon, let it rebuild, and test it ingame.

OR

Step 10b: In the SAAT, click the plus icon in the banks you wish to replace, and replace the sounds individually using the replace icon in SAAT (3rd button). Once they are all replaced, click the save icon and test ingame.

This should clear up some questions with sound modding and will avoid the command prompts, no hard drive folders, etc., etc.