Volume control and sound schemes
Your unit creates four types of sound: obligatory ambient sounds caused by its operation (magneto-optical disc seeking, fan activity, battery hatch operation, etc.), chimes caused by the interface, tones (either beeps or vocalizations) generated when communicating, and preset voice notifications generated when certain events occur. These are entirely separate from the unit's normal communicative and locomotive vocalizations, although voice notifications will normally be routed through speaker systems built into the unit's chassis rather than its main controller.
Of the four types of sounds, the latter three (voice notifications, tones, and chimes) can be attenuated, as they are produced through speakers on the unit. Affectations such as giggling or sighing produced when the unit speaks are considered tones.
The primary commands for manipulating sound output are volume and scheme; these have no direct menu equivalents (apart from volume cycle, which handles the volume adjustments in the subsystem menu.)
For more detailed explanation beyond what is offered here, see scheme and volume in the Command Reference.
In Companion, there are 48 different voice messages which the unit can produce. These are specified in configuration files prefixed with v_ which can be found in the audio processor module. (See Installing data files for information on managing documents of this type.) Instructions for creating new voice notification packs can be found in the Companion SDK.
To see a list of the available voices, execute scheme voice on the unit. To select a voice, execute scheme voice <name>, where <name> is the desired voice pack.
To control the volume of the chimes independently from voice notifications, type the following remote console command: volume toggle chime
This will silence (or unsilence) audio cues from the system other than fan, drive access, and voice.
Boot schemes affect startup and shutdown sounds. They are built into the unit directly, and can be selected using the following command: scheme boot<number>
As of Companion 8.6.3, the following boot schemes are included:
To apply custom sounds, use the command scheme boot custom <boot sound UUID> <shutdown sound UUID> and then switch to scheme boot 16 to enable them.
Similarly, to control the volume of the menu independently from voice notifications, type the following remote console command: volume toggle menu
Menu schemes affect access granted and access denied sounds. They are built into the unit directly, and can be selected using the following command: scheme menu <number>
As of Companion 8.6.3, the following menu schemes are included:
To apply custom sounds, use the command scheme menu custom <accept sound UUID> <deny sound UUID> and then switch to scheme menu 10 to enable them.
To control sounds produced in response to speech, execute: volume toggle tone
The actual sounds used for tones are specified within personas, and vary on a per-gender basis. See chapters on Identity options and Personas for more information.
The fan speed can be set with the cortex command !fan <level> by the unit itself. <level> can be any number from 0 to 100, with lower values yielding a lower fan speed. The unit is barely audible at levels below 5%. There are also several text level shortcuts: off, idle, low, med, high, and max, corresponding to 0%, 14%, 28%, 43%, 70%, and 100%, respectively. On systems that use internal liquid cooling, such as the DAX/2 mini and NS-476 Aegis, the !fan command instead controls pump rate, although it may have no obvious effect as these systems are frequently silent. Cooling rate control is automatic when ATOS/E security enhancements are installed.
Warning: Lowering the unit’s fan speed during power-intensive operations may cause overheating.
Of the four types of sounds, the latter three (voice notifications, tones, and chimes) can be attenuated, as they are produced through speakers on the unit. Affectations such as giggling or sighing produced when the unit speaks are considered tones.
The primary commands for manipulating sound output are volume and scheme; these have no direct menu equivalents (apart from volume cycle, which handles the volume adjustments in the subsystem menu.)
For more detailed explanation beyond what is offered here, see scheme and volume in the Command Reference.
Voice notifications
In Companion, there are 48 different voice messages which the unit can produce. These are specified in configuration files prefixed with v_ which can be found in the audio processor module. (See Installing data files for information on managing documents of this type.) Instructions for creating new voice notification packs can be found in the Companion SDK.
To see a list of the available voices, execute scheme voice on the unit. To select a voice, execute scheme voice <name>, where <name> is the desired voice pack.
Chimes
To control the volume of the chimes independently from voice notifications, type the following remote console command: volume toggle chime
This will silence (or unsilence) audio cues from the system other than fan, drive access, and voice.
Boot chimes
Boot schemes affect startup and shutdown sounds. They are built into the unit directly, and can be selected using the following command: scheme boot<number>
As of Companion 8.6.3, the following boot schemes are included:
Number | Name |
---|---|
0 | Generator |
1 | SGI Octane |
2 | SGI Indy |
3 | Microsoft Calligraphy |
4 | Power Macintosh (Card) |
5 | Macintosh Quadra |
6 | Power Macintosh |
7 | Microsoft Whistler |
8 | Sega Genesis |
9 | SGI O2 |
10 | Sony PlayStation Portable |
11 | Bakobone |
12 | Synaulia (Lyre) |
13 | Nightfall |
14 | Electroswing |
15 | Salt, Asbestos, Curtain |
16 | Generator—overridden by custom sounds |
To apply custom sounds, use the command scheme boot custom <boot sound UUID> <shutdown sound UUID> and then switch to scheme boot 16 to enable them.
Menu sounds
Similarly, to control the volume of the menu independently from voice notifications, type the following remote console command: volume toggle menu
Menu schemes affect access granted and access denied sounds. They are built into the unit directly, and can be selected using the following command: scheme menu <number>
As of Companion 8.6.3, the following menu schemes are included:
Number | Name |
---|---|
0 | SXD System 8.0 |
1 | SXD System 8.1 (Swapper) |
2 | SXD System 8.2 |
3 | Nightfall |
4 | Aperture |
5 | Library |
6 | Chozo |
7 | Tallon |
8 | Phendrana |
9 | Magmoor |
10 | SXD System 8.0—overridden by custom sounds |
11 | Deadzone |
12 | Boots Dance |
To apply custom sounds, use the command scheme menu custom <accept sound UUID> <deny sound UUID> and then switch to scheme menu 10 to enable them.
Tones
To control sounds produced in response to speech, execute: volume toggle tone
The actual sounds used for tones are specified within personas, and vary on a per-gender basis. See chapters on Identity options and Personas for more information.
Fan control
The fan speed can be set with the cortex command !fan <level> by the unit itself. <level> can be any number from 0 to 100, with lower values yielding a lower fan speed. The unit is barely audible at levels below 5%. There are also several text level shortcuts: off, idle, low, med, high, and max, corresponding to 0%, 14%, 28%, 43%, 70%, and 100%, respectively. On systems that use internal liquid cooling, such as the DAX/2 mini and NS-476 Aegis, the !fan command instead controls pump rate, although it may have no obvious effect as these systems are frequently silent. Cooling rate control is automatic when ATOS/E security enhancements are installed.
Warning: Lowering the unit’s fan speed during power-intensive operations may cause overheating.