Welcome to Syrinscape. Your use of this little application can be as simple or involved as you wish. This tutorial will start you off with the basic steps required to make fabulously, creepy mood evoking soundscapes. If you don't already know what Syrinscape does read the home page here...

www.syrinscape.com

Start Syrinscape


• Start Syrinscape by clicking on the Syrinscape icon in the START menu.
• You should see the Syrinscape main screen. This set of controls allows you to fine-tune every aspect of your soundscapes. If the program comes up with a missing dll message, many users have found they can easily download any missing dll from the web.
  
  

  Load up settings
  

• To begin, click on the Load State button. With the basic installation of Syrinscape you will receive two Sound Sets:
  1. Witchwood - a set of sounds for normal role-play in a spooky, dank, humid forest; and
  2. Battle - a set of sounds for a generic battle type scenario.

• Double click the Witchwood.ssc file (Click on the file not the directory).
  
  

  Start some sound loops
  

• The Syrinscape interface is divided into six sections: two Loop channels and four Effects channels. Click on the Loop 1 Play Button . You should now start to hear a distant spooky wind. If you don't, turn up your sound or check your speakers are working.
• Now click the Loop 2 Play Button. Soon, you will hear the sound of footsteps on a gravelly surface. The two Loops are produced by audio files about five minutes long. As long as you don't hit the stop button, they will continue to play indefinitely. In subsequent tutorials you can learn how to create looped sound files that repeat seamlessly, as these do.
  
  

  Start more sound effects
  

• Now, click on the Start All Effects button. All four Play Buttons will turn on. Nothing will happen straight away, but after about 60 seconds, you will start to hear distant roars and other spooky sounds.
  
  

  Let Syrinscape run
  

• Now you can leave Syrinscape and it will keep running indefinitely looping the wind and the steps, and occasionally playing a distant roar or rumble. (This soundset is perfect for use during the main body of role-play. It creates a slightly unsettling mood, and helps to enhance concentration for players. After about five minutes, the first music track will start to play. This sound set comes with three pieces of specially composed music. See subsequent tutorials to find out how to add your own music to these sound sets. If you want a music track to start immediately, simply hit the Play Button of the Effect 4 channel. You can actually do this with any of the Effects channels too.)
  
  

  Changing Syrinscape into battle mode
  

• Now, click on the Load State button, and double-click on the "Battle.ssc" file.
• Click on the Play Button of the Effects 4 channel to start playback of the dramatic battle music immediately. Now your players know they are in for a fight!
• Now click the Start All Effects button to start all the rest of the Effects channels.
  
  

  IMPORTANT
  

• Since the Loop files for these two sound set have the same name, Syrinscape will leave them running. If the new soundset has differently named loop files Syrinscape will fade out the old ones and fade in the new.
  
  

  Let it run
  

• You will notice that this sound set is more dense, with louder sounds. You will also notice there is only a short pause between playback of music tracks. This all helps to create a more active dramatic mood.
• Let Syrinscape run untill battle ends.
  
  

  Return to previous settings
  

• Now, simply restart the Witchwood set again to return to the previous mood. If you don't know how to do this, go back to the top of this tutorial. Remember to click the Start All Effects button again to restart playback on the four Effects channels, as hitting the Load- or Save State buttons stops playback on all Effects channels.
• Further tutorials will explain how the other sliders and checkboxes work, and also how to get your own music tracks into Syrinscape.
  
  

  Stopping Syrinscape
  

• When you have finished with Syrinscape, simply click the Stop All button.. Sound will fade out and you can return to the realms of normal life.