MP3 player in the game

anikaiful · Oct 12, 2015

rayslava said:
Joining the idea.
The right panel definitely lacks at least "radio" tab.
However a DIN-slot with player somewhere below would be even better

Could use the currently unused "tablet" that's attached to the pilot's chair below radar for things like mp3/mp4/mod/you-name-it-format player

Globusdiablo · Oct 12, 2015

robaberry said:
Is it just me or would it not be great to have an MP3 player in the cockpit to play files while in game, like super-cruising etc. Am I alone in that?

Well if you'd written audio player. I wouldn't touch mp3 with a stick...

Straker · Oct 12, 2015

or a FLAC player in my case

...however it is much better to let a dedicated piece of software handle the music function. As some have suggested, Steam music player etc.

anikaiful · Oct 12, 2015

Straker said:
or a FLAC player in my case ...however it is much better to let a dedicated piece of software handle the music function. As some have suggested, Steam music player etc.

Foobar2000? Very light-weight (has no fancy UI sans barebones minimal required), and on plus side, seems to obey certain playback hotkeys whether or not the app itself is focused/active window. Plays mp3/mp4/flac, various MOD formats, etc.

Straker · Oct 12, 2015

anikaiful said:
Foobar2000? Very light-weight (has no fancy UI sans barebones minimal required), and on plus side, seems to obey certain playback hotkeys whether or not the app itself is focused/active window. Plays mp3/mp4/flac, various MOD formats, etc.

Yes, that's the idea. I'm still using Winamp currently.

Brimstone · Oct 12, 2015

Fubar2000 is a great program.

And and you flac snobs.... Play a flac file, then play the same song encoded to MP3 320kbps and tell me you can hear a difference. If you can, you're lying. You can even go down to 192 and not tell a difference.

or your suffering a placebo effect.

Flac is only good for wasting hard drive space.

Straker · Oct 12, 2015

Brimstone said:
And and you flac snobs.... Play a flac file, then play the same song encoded to MP3 320kbps and tell me you can hear a difference. If you can, you're lying. You can even go down to 192 and not tell a difference.

or your suffering a placebo effect.

Flac is only good for wasting hard drive space.

I'm not taking the bait on that one. Not the place for such discussions.

Smugallo · Oct 12, 2015

I like listening to podcasts while im trading my new found milk run.

Insomnia · Oct 12, 2015

Winamp and Elite works. Like flawlessly.
No need to implement any mp3 features in Elite cockpit panels.
However, Galet as a radio station to hear the news would be fantastic!

Edit: flac vs mp3 - it's about principles about listening to music in lossless formats. No one could actually hear the difference between 320 and flac. Most of us humans don't even hear the difference between 128 and 192.

Zelos1983 · Oct 12, 2015

Insomnia said:
Edit: flac vs mp3 - it's about principles about listening to music in lossless formats. No one could actually hear the difference between 320 and flac. Most of us humans don't even hear the difference between 128 and 192.

Yes, it's about principles. You can't do anything wrong with FLAC. Since MP3 is lossy, you can do plenty wrong by choosing the wrong encoder or settings.
Since storage is cheap -> no need to use lossy formats in general.

There are exceptions.
Exceptions usually occur in embedded systems, when storage may either not be cheap or abundant. So you want to reduce storage needs for a minimum compromise of quality. naturally, you won't choose MP3, because it's old and fat. You would choose a more modern codec that performs better.

I still don't see the "need" to integrate a media player into the GUI of Elite, when it would run better without it.
Maybe add an SSH client, a browser, an IRC client as well? ;-)

Florizel · Oct 15, 2015

I guess, this needs more complex solution. Our in-game HUD (or ship, or SRV etc) needs not only music player, but more versatile media player. Which can play not only your music, but including also clips, that were recorded in game. Some examples - by remote drones in the hostile caves or in volcanic calderas. Or some specific NPC activity. IMHO, there might be much more events, that might to be recorded by this device, and which will need to be seen in game, without quitting to desktop.

Tarman · Oct 15, 2015

Florizel said:
I guess, this needs more complex solution. Our in-game HUD (or ship, or SRV etc) needs not only music player, but more versatile media player. Which can play not only your music, but including also clips, that were recorded in game. Some examples - by remote drones in the hostile caves or in volcanic calderas. Or some specific NPC activity. IMHO, there might be much more events, that might to be recorded by this device, and which will need to be seen in game, without quitting to desktop.

Machete, this is why we love you. I really like these ideas.

Lobey · Oct 15, 2015

I used to like the one in eve precisely because it would react to in game stuff - fade to "battle" music etc - was actually one of the contributing reasons to me not playing that game anymore. Sometimes it's the little things that make the difference.

Cyda · Oct 15, 2015

Musicbee works fine for me here, it is as light as winamp was back in the day and works with flac, ogg, mp3 and most other formats, and its a great library software. I use it in almost all games I play, and the global hotkeys work in most games too. You can't beat a bit of space travelling or combat with some floyd in the background.

(I also agree with the 320 mp3 vs flac, almost all my tunes are still mp3. I don't fancy converting 30GB of mp3 to flac

)

Zelos1983 · Oct 15, 2015

Tarman said:
Machete, this is why we love you. I really like these ideas.

And if we take that a bit further, it would be so nice to actually have drones, cameras etc. output to other screens. Would also add immersion.

Cyda said:
(I also agree with the 320 mp3 vs flac, almost all my tunes are still mp3. I don't fancy converting 30GB of mp3 to flac )

There is no need or reason to convert MP3s to FLAC, as your quality cannot improve. Just keep them. It's legacy.
However, for new stuff you acquire, stick to modern lossless or lossy formats to live more hazzle free and save space.

Zeta Legion · Oct 15, 2015

An in-game radio would be pretty cool. Add in some weekly/daily news segments, custom track lists, etc.

I really like the idea of a visualizer too.

To those who say you can just use an external media player, it just isn't the same. For me it's about immersion, not audio quality or convenience.

Robert_loblaw · Oct 15, 2015

ElectricZ said:
If you play ED through Steam, either as a steam game or just through a non-Steam-game shortcut, you can use the MP3 player in the overlay for your in-game music needs. It still requires shift-tabbing to get to the overlay, but it's not near as invasive or disruptive as an alt-tab, and though it's still not as good as an in-cockpit player it gets the job done.

This how I play my music.

lefty1117 · Oct 15, 2015

To me the value in integrating a music player or service into the game is that the volume could be auto-controlled based on in-game events. Similar to the way that music in supercruise drops a bit in volume as you're dropping out or turning, or as part of the discover scanner effect. I'd like to see Spotify integration, personally, rather than a player, but perhaps that isn't possible or cost effective (I'm guessing there would be some sort of licensing fee).

magillag · Oct 15, 2015

It's taken since beta to get bobbleheads back.... Don't get your hopes up. Yes it would be cool.

CMDR Cillian Raynor · Oct 15, 2015

Wolfs Spirit said:
wouldnt mind to know how to replace the ingame music with my own

this. something like in the elder scrolls game. A folder for battle music, explore music, station music. Sure i can play my mp3s, and i do, but it doesn't change depending on context. Evochron mercenary had this option too. I'm sure it would be very easy to implement