Specific sound file: starting delay possible?

[ErhartC]

One of my many questions in pano2vr 7 is:

How can I delay one or the other sound file in a panorama starting with a delay - let's say 7 seconds after opening the panorama in the tour?

Another questions would be:
How many sound files can be played the same time? I tested a long time, but received different results. In my case 3 files are a problem most of the time, sometimes even 2 files.

Another question:
Is it possible to play 2 or 3 sounds one after the other in the same panorama?

Thanks You cvery much!

[Hopki]

Hi,
To delay a sound set its loop to -1, then use a timer to play sound loop 0 to loop forever.
The Action can be, Deactivate, Config Loaded, Media, Play Media, Loop 0, target the sound file.
The timer can have the settings, Start, 7, one time.

With regards to how many sounds, it should be more than two, but I remember at one point iOS would only allow two media instances.
It may be how the MP3 files are encoded as well.

Can you upload a few of your MP3 files to have. a look at?
Regards,

[ErhartC]

To delay a sound set its loop to -1, then use a timer to play sound loop 0 to loop forever.
The Action can be, Deactivate, Config Loaded, Media, Play Media, Loop 0, target the sound file.
The timer can have the settings, Start, 7, one time.

Thank you - sadly it does not work... tried every possible combination of those settings and more... I have read each and listened and every information I could find for the timer. And of course more. And could not find a solution.

When I understand right:

• Set an audio-hotspot into a specific panorama --> OK
  Set loop to "-1" --> OK
  Put a timer into the skin --> OK? Wrap the timer around something?
  Set the timer to "start" and e.g. time to 7 seconds --> lack of understanding or lack of possibilities concerning triggering the start of the timer
  Actions of the timer: Source: "deactivate" (when I understand right, this triggers when the timer "deactivates"); Action: "media"; Type: "Play Media"; Target: my media hotospot-ID.

This and other configs are not working.
I presume, because the timer do not start counting when the specific panorama is loaded but when the tour starts. When I am quick and the timer still is counting after the tour-start when switching to the sepecific panorama, audio will start. But the timer counts from the tour-start, not up from the time the panorama is entered.
When the timer ends before entering the panorama, audio does not play at all.

So:
How can I start the/a timer when entering a specific panorama?

Question:
Let's say, above would work. Would I have to produce a new counter for each and every other delayed audio hotospot in other panoramas of the tour?

In general:
I have troubles understanding some fundemental principles of the skin-editor. Or it's just the way it works...
Skins in my understanding are working (in some parts) more or less as "templates" for (more or less) all instances of elements, let's say audio hotspots, timers, whatever. Picking one specific timer, audio-hotspot , ... in a specific panorama for settings some options or actions (like a delayed start for an audio-file) - an option you cannot find in the the options outside the skin-editor (e.g. delayed audio start) - seems to make troubles therefor. Do I understand that right?

For example I would want to do this:
Lower the background music in specific panoramas when the player is not active. How to refer to this pecific panoramas and not all of them?

Does wrapping and organizing elements in the skin-editor (e.g.: Timer + one element below) make a technical/logical difference compared to not grouping it? Is there some logical connection when grouping it together or is it just a visual way to prevent chaos?
I for my part miss a pricipal overview concerning the logic of the skin-editor (or I did not found it on the web-site).
For example "timer":
I found no helpful explanation for "source" for "actions" for the timer. What is the option "deactivate" exaclty refering to? Only to the timer? Or every element "deactivating" somewhere somehow?

Can I limit in an easy way elements in the skin-editor to a specific panorama?

PS:
I will upload some of the audio files which are not playing well the same time. Have to search for "good" ones.

[ErhartC]

Update:

Solution found so far:

• Obviously there is a difference wether the timer is below under some element grouped or not.

• I had to stick the timer under "ht_node". When I understand this the right way, "start" refers to the element it sticks under. When the timer is under the node-element, it starts counting when a node element is started. When the timer is under nothing in the skin-tree, it starts when the tour starts. besides - if the audio-file is set to "node change: keep", it will be triggered a second time in another panorama event when this audio-ID is not in the panorama.

So If this is right - I would have to stick a lot of timers under "ht_node" for each and every delayed sound somewhere in the tour? Or is there a better way?

[Hopki]

Hi,
Please see the attached project.
The sounds are added directly to the nodes that they should play in, the loop is set to -1.
On open you see the sound splash screen. Nothing will happen until you select to have sound.
The splash screen hides and 5 seconds later the sound plays.
Node2 does not have any sound, but node3 does.
After entering node3, after 5 seconds the sound will play.

How it works:
All nodes have a static sound, each sound has the Element ID, Element01.
The timer which is a parent element is set to manual.
It has a Source Action, Node Changed. This is triggered on first open and with each node change.
To prevent it from triggering on open, it has an action filter which looks at the sounds allowed variable, only when this is true will it activate the action.
When you select to have sound, this sound button sets the value to the timer. In this example 5 seconds.
After which it deactivates and players the sound Eelement01.
Now that the allow sounds variable is true the node change action will trigger the timer.
As there is only a sound, Element01, in nodes 1 and 3, you don't hear any sound in node2.

Note the sound will only play in the node it is in, so as soon as you change nodes it will stop.
Regards,

[ErhartC]

Thank you Hopki

Changed my skin according to your example. Working.

The rest of my lack of understanding I will have to iron out by try and error.