Bay 12 Games Forum

This is a suggestion where I really have no idea what the best fix would be. I'm a little worried I'll be told my suggestion isn't welcome, but I don't know what else to do at this point.

So, here's my issue: the ambient sound effects at the Trade Screen include a very harsh-sounding voice shouting incoherently in the background, along with a few other voices that sound like they're directing dwarves to move heavy things around. Unfortunately, while they seem quiet enough, that's actually the problem, because it sounds almost exactly like my father is screaming at my mother and breaking things in the house, and that sound is being muffled by the walls and my headphones. The first few times I heard it, I actually took off my headphones to check to make sure it wasn't that. Unfortunately, even though I now know what that sound is, every time I hear the sounds of the trade screen, I gasp and turn pale and rush to mute my audio before I start sweating and hyperventilating. It reminds me enough of all the times he's done that that I can't stand it, and so I hate trading with a burning passion. It's the only time I really feel like muting the ambient sound effects, and I always forget until I get hit with a mild panic attack.

When I read the patch note saying that the trade screen ambience was modified, I was hopeful for just a second that someone else reported the issue and the sound was being changed, but instead it seems like it was just made quieter and other sounds were added. I tried to convince myself the problem was manageable as of the changes, but no, nothing ultimately changed. I'm still having panic attacks and it's still a very bad time doing any sort of trading, which is necessary for a lot of things in this game.

But I know the solution might be complicated.

The atmospheric ambient sounds are one of my favorite things DF Steam added, so I'd hate to mute them all just so I don't forget to the one day out of the dwarven year when I need to, but if anybody likes the trade screen ambience, I'd hate to remove one of the few instances of vocalization from the game for everyone else. Still, I do admit the solution that would make me happiest is just to remove the vocals from the trade screen ambience, because I feel like that would be the "quick and easy" solution that could get done "now."

The solution that would make everyone happy though might be something like the ability to turn off specific ambient sounds or even just for someone to help me make a mod to switch it out for something else, but for all I know, this might not be possible in the near-term. If it is, it might require a lot more work than we think, and even though I know I can't be alone here and this is an accessibility issue, I don't see it getting done with any sort of urgency if there's not much demand for it.

I don't want nothing to be done, though, so... what do we do?