That’s right! Because we want one of the big appeals of Wrack to be maps and mods created by you all, I’d like to give a few lucky people the chance to started right away. You’ll get the level editor, WrackEd, along with anything else needed to start modding (mostly, all you need is Notepad!).

If you’re definitely looking forward to making some maps and/or mods, go ahead and let me know. Please show some samples of what you’ve done if you want to be seriously considered. You can reach me at bmc431@gmail.com.

Oh, and one last thing: If I’m here talking about giving some people Wrack early, you can (correctly) infer from that WE ARE ALMOST DONE! Wrack will be available for pre-order very soon now!

Thanks, and I look forward to what you all come up with!

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Be sure to check out all of the new screenshots on the media page. But, for now, here’s one to get you started!

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Sadly, these levels (along with most of episode 1′s maps) are completely unlit, undetailed, and untextured. To right this wrong, I’ve decided to speed the mapping process along by bringing someone else onto the team.

I’m looking for someone to take level layouts and sculpt them into something beautiful. This involves texturing, lighting, architecture, etc. If making pretty levels is a strength of yours, then you may have what it takes to join our team!

Also, you will be paid for this. So, yeah. There’s that.

Anyway, if you’re capable of taking godawful pieces of shit like this:

… and turning it into masterful works of art like this:

… let me know! Please show some samples of your work.

Thanks!

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In the interview, we discuss several topics, which include games today, Wrack itself, and working with the legendary Bobby Prince! You can find the interview here. Feel free to share your thoughts!

Oh, and as a little treat, we’ve put out a new screenshot to go along with the interview. We’ve been pretty quiet lately for very good reason – we’re working extremely hard to improve the visual aspects of Wrack. We’ve got a couple of new people working on it (who had been working on it previously), including Remco Ernst (aka Rulero), and Todd Nickens (aka WastedYouth). Here’s a little taste of what Wrack will be looking like in the future. Enjoy!

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The event seriously gets bigger and better every year. In addition to there being more people, they’ve really gone out of their way to improve things. For instance, last year the line to get in stretched outside. This year, the line stayed inside the whole time… which is great considering that Dallas is in the middle of a record heat wave! They even improved super minor things, like the stickers they put on your PC/monitor. This year they come off much more easily, and don’t leave behind nearly as much residue. Awesome!

Some of the highlights include:

• The Internet connection. The past two years, if you wanted to do something simple (like check your email), it took nothing short of a miracle. This year, however, it was utterly fantastic. I overheard Wrack modeler TheDoomFreak bragging about how he was downloading a game off of Steam at 8 MB/s. That’s bytes – not bits!
• Getting interviewed again by The Astringent Gaming Journal! This was a more in-depth interview than last year, which I hope will be interesting (and audible!) for you all. Hopefully it will be posted sometime this week!
• Getting to meet Tim Willits! He had somewhere to be so it was brief, but he was very nice and it was great to meet one of the longtime id guys whom I respect a lot.
• Playing a big game of Skulltag. Doom 2 still has some of, if not the best FPS multiplayer action around. We seriously need to play more of this next year!

Anyway, all in all, it was a ton of fun. I’m glad to have met a ton of new people (hello!) and to have been part of such a great event. Seriously, if you’re not going to these, you’re missing out! Start saving up now!

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As I’ve mentioned before, Wrack is going to be a highly moddable game. In fact, I expect that to be one of Wrack’s most appealing features! So, I’m looking for people who both have experience modding/mapping for other games, and the desire to do the same for Wrack. My reasoning is this:

• This will help us fix bugs so that we can have a much smoother first release.
• Any major issues for mappers/modders can be addressed before our first release, so they can hit the ground running.
• It’d be great if there were already some completed maps/mods by the time we have our first release!

So, if you’re interested, please let me know at bmc431@gmail.com. Be sure to tell me what makes you qualified to do this, and show examples of your previous work. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular!

Thanks!

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Brad has created a system that is a pleasure to work with. You’ll discover that it will be easy for you to plug your own sound effects into the game. The ease of doing this has made it even more fun to work on this project. It’s easy to try sounds out and see how they fit. Does the sound help the mood? Is the volume, treble, bass, etc. correct so it doesn’t cover up other effects that are important to hear? Those and other questions take a short amount of time to answer. All I have to do is give the effect the correct name, put it in the Sound directory, run the compile script (a batch file) and select that I want to compile Music and Sounds. Some seconds later I’m ready to run the game and see how everything is sounding. Great planning and programming on Brad’s part!

Back in the 90′s I came upon the audio editing software CoolEdit (by Robert Ellison and David Johnston, former Microsoft employees). I became a beta-tester and started using it most of the time. But I didn’t use it exclusively because I had gotten used to using other software that did what I needed to do. When CoolEdit became Audition, Adobe kept up the standards set by Ellison and Johnston and made the software even more powerful. Originally, Adobe bought CoolEdit Pro and sold it as it was, renaming it Audition. With Audition 2, they started adding features. After Audition 3, they came out with Soundbooth, a less powerful, consumer friendly version. It seemed they were going to forget Audition completely. I think they realized that was a mistake and now have Audition 4 (as of April, 2011).  But, from what I’ve read online, Audition 4 leaves out some powerful features of Audition 3 (tone/noise generation being an important one to me — good sounds to build effects from). So, I’m using Audition 3 for Wrack. Please understand, though, that almost any modern  multitrack audio software can work for sound effects creation. And this is not a recommendation for Audition. Audition 3 has some interface problems that make it not so fun to work with at times.

The first thing I did to start the creation process was to play the game as it stood when I first came on board. I didn’t have any temporary sound/music on so I could get into the mood of the action alone. I took notes of where I thought sounds should be used. After going over things with Brad and making some basic decisions, he created hooks (maybe not the technical term) for the individual sounds. We continue to do this same thing as new aspects of the game are developed.

For sounds that have to be synchronized with an animation, I play the game and record a video with screen capture software (but you could use a video camera and upload it to your computer). It doesn’t have to be a great video, but it should clearly show the action you are creating a sound effect for. If you’re going to replace existing sounds in Wrack, you won’t have to record a video since you can make your effects line up with the effect(s) being replaced.

I import the video into Audition. Then I open “raw material” sound effect files that I think can be layered to make a new sound for the action. Each raw material sound effect is put on a separate track. Audition has many effects that you can use “real time” in Multitrack mode — non-destructive effects that do not affect the original raw material. I can use most of the effects available in Audition this way (pitch shift, EQ,  reverb, modulation, echo/delay, amplitude/compression, etc.). This makes it easy to try different effect settings. The effects I use most often are pitch shift and EQ.

Next, I create markers for the start and end of the action needing a sound effect. If there are other things within the action that need a special sound, I create a marker for them, too.

Now I drag raw material sounds to the correct marker(s) and play them while watching the video. If they sound close to right and the timing is correct, I move to tweaking the sounds.

Before I talk about tweaking the sounds, let me explain where my raw materials come from. I’ll also talk a bit about income tax Almost everywhere I go, I carry a solid state digital recording device (years ago it was a DAT — Digital Audio Tape recorder, and before that it was a cassette recorder). If I hear a sound that I think is different/unique/catchy/whatever, I record it. This helps me in at least two ways. I have lots of free sound effects to work from. And, since I am in the business of sound effects, for tax purposes I can write off the expenses of collecting them — meaning it helps pay for trips

When I was working on Duke Nukem, I needed a servo sound effect. No raw material I had was close to what was needed. Then I remembered the soft drink machine (I was at Apogee/3D Realms at the time). I took the DAT recorder and some bills/change and ran that machine through it’s paces. The change return mechanism ended up being perfect with a little pitch shifting. Some of the other sounds worked into the game, too — the can coming down the chute, the whir of a defaced dollar being rejected and the coins dropping. Another time I needed sounds for when Duke was in the HVAC ducts. That was a square metal office trash can being flexed. And did you ever get Duke to relieve himself? That took drinking all the drinks I bought from the drink machine and a visit to the men’s room — oh, and a long time finding a short loop that allowed endless urination on Duke’s part

Bugs! Bad for software, GREAT for raw sound material. Electronics can sound really weird when pitch shifted. Home appliances. Tools. Vehicles. Animals. The sky is the limit. And you don’t have to pay a lot for a recorder. Many of the inexpensive ones do a great job for sound effects — especially those sounds to be layered with other sounds.

And, yes, there are some fantastic sound effects CD’s out there. If you look around, you’ll find older CD’s full of sound effects of yesteryear. They can come in very handy and are not expensive at all. For personal use, you’ll have no problem using any of them, but if you’re going to use them in a commercial venture, make sure permission is given for that.

And, of course, there are literally tens of thousands of effects available on the web, some for free, some inexpensive and some not so inexpensive.

Tweaking sound effects is an art, but it requires familiarity with your audio editing software, too. I look at the video and somehow hear how I think that action would sound. My only task is to get that sound out of my head and into reality. This requires tinkering with settings on effects, trying out different combinations of sounds and such. Lots of times I give up getting the sound right and leave it for a day or so. When I come back to it, I’m usually able to get it the way I want it.

Some of the sounds in Wrack are layered from dozens of sounds. I may use several sounds just for the start and end of the action. A click, followed by a whir, followed by several layered sounds that are remindful of air whooshing in a pipe. When I’m working on such sounds, I try to slow down the final effect in my mind and decide what will build up to creating that effect.

So, let’s say you’re replacing a lift (elevator) sound in Wrack. You’ll have three sound files to create. The first will be the start sound (Sound #1). The second is a looping “movement” sound (Sound #2). Some lifts in the game travel further than others. Rather than having to time all of them and create multiple files with the same sound in different lengths, a loop is used. The third sound would be the stopping sound (Sound #3).

The starting and ending sounds cannot be too long or they may last longer than the travel time of the lift. They probably need to have a switching sound followed by a mechanism start/end sound. And, most importantly, they will need the looping sound (Sound #2) layered in so that there’s not an abrupt change in sounds from starting sound to loop to ending sound.

In the early days of game production, sounds had to be short and sweet — limited RAM, disk space, etc. Looping sounds were required. A looping sound is one that can be played over and over, and the listener will never know it’s not an endless sound. Simple sounds (sounds that do not change over time) are easy to loop. Complex sounds (which change over time) are time consuming to loop. Some are virtually impossible to loop. There is no magic formula for complex sound looping. It takes a good ear and luck. It also helps to be able to look at a waveform and see where the looping possibilities are.

The important thing is to always loop at zero points and make sure the waveform continues in the same direction it was going. If the waveform is moving in a positive direction at the end of the loop, the start of that loop should move from zero in a positive direction. Otherwise, you get the dreaded CLICK that says another iteration of the loop just started.

So, here’s what you’d do:

1. Decide on your looping sound and create it (Sound #2). If it’s layered (multitrack) sounds, mix it down to a single file (but keep your multitrack version for possible later use).
2. Turn on zero crossing in your audio editing software so you will always be looping at a zero crossing point.
3. Select part of the waveform.
4. Play your selection.
5. If it loops seamlessly, YIPEE! Go to step 7.
6. If the loop isn’t seamless, change either the start or the end of the loop. Editing just one end of the loop seems to get faster results for me rather than reselecting both ends. Always move that one end of the selection to a zero crossing point. Go to step 4.
7. Decide on your starting sound (Sound #1).
8. If you’re using layered sounds, put each sound on a different track.
9. Make sure you put your mixed down loop sound (Sound #2) on one of the tracks.
   1. If the loop (Sound #2) is shorter than the starting sound, use multiple copies of the loop (Sound #2).
   2. Most importantly, you want to make sure that you have the end of your loop (Sound #2) aligned with the end of the starting sound. Remember that the loop sound (Sound #2) follows the starting sound. You always want the end of the loop to play before the start of the same loop.
   3. The best way to do this is to work backwards. Put a copy of the loop (Sound #2) with its end aligned with the end of the starting sound. Then add copies of the loop to the left of that loop. If there’s not room for a full copy of the loop (Sound #2), trim the start of the loop so your partial loop fits the space. Again, you’re making sure the end of the loop always matches up with the next start of that same loop.
   4. Create a volume envelope for the track with this looping sound. Have the track volume increase as the starting sound plays (a fade in). This way the looping sound (Sound #2) will play smoothly after the starting sound (Sound #1).
10. Do the same thing with the ending sound. This is when you’ll want to trim the end of the loop sound (since the ending sound follows the loop sound — Sound #2).
11. Give your sounds the proper file name and make sure they’re in the Sounds directory of the game. Compile the sounds and play the game to hear your sounds.

These days, if you want to see some interesting waveforms in your audio editing software, you’ll have to look somewhere other than recent music recordings and many game sound effects. That’s because in recent years the music and audio industry have gone with extreme compression. Compression can be set to amplify low volume sounds without amplifying those that are already at maximum volume.

Here’s an example of a typical rock song where heavy compression has been used:

The green part is the waveform. If you play this file at regular volume and try to play a sound effect at that same volume, you’ll hear neither clearly. It would be the same thing as having each musician in a band play at the absolute maximum volume, disregarding that others were doing the same thing. If you were watching a sound level meter, it would be in the red all the time. You’d get digital splatter if you were recording.

So, when you create your replacement sound effects, remember that they will be playing with other sound effects in the game. For that reason, it’s best not to compress your sound effect unless it is compressed at lower than the maximum volume.

I hope this is helpful to some of you when the game comes out, and I hope you like the sounds I come up with for Wrack. I will look forward to sounds you all come up with, too

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So as it turns out, the trailer didn’t do a very good job at showing off one of the most awesome things about Wrack – new music and sounds made by none other than Bobby Prince. In fact, some thought the only reason he was credited in the trailer was because of the Doom track I used, and that he had nothing to do with Wrack! Yikes! Bad job by me!

Well, I’m here to make up for that… and then some! I present to you not one, but two new videos! The first one is a new music track called “Crusher” that will be used in one of the later levels, and the second one shows off many of the new sound effects Bobby has created for Wrack.

Enjoy!

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I’m very pleased with the results, and I hope you are too. We’ve had a lot of fun putting it together, and there’s still plenty more fun to come! Be sure to share your opinions of the site, logo, and trailer in the comments section, or in our brand-spanking new forums!

Thanks everyone!

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There’s a lot that’s going to be coming down the pipes. Within the next week alone:

• The new name will be revealed
• The logo will be revealed
• The new website will be launched
• The first trailer will be unveiled
• DNF will magically turn into an awesome game (okay, no guarantees on that last one, but anything’s possible, right?)

But hey, you don’t have to wait upwards of a week for the fun to begin! For those who haven’t noticed my Twitter messages, or haven’t visited the Facebook page recently, I’ve shared what turns out to be the game’s icon. What does it look like? It looks like this!

Stay tuned!

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