PSA: Macro Sound Effects Harm People with Sensory Issues

[Cakekizyy]

tbh i agree that some of the sound effects can be quite loud, that's why i choose <se.14> for all of my macros because it's the most subtle and the least obnoxious one. however, i don't think checkbox will be a good option since people can easily abuse it and it defies the sole purpose of the sound effects itself. instead, an independent volume bar for macro sound effect would be nicer. i know it's not that different from the checkbox, but at least it doesn't completely mute the sounds.

Turning off all sound defeats purpose of them and we can do that. So not really a good argument against a toggle.

[Skogli]

You should suggest this in technical forum. I doubt there is anyone other than the occasional community manager in here.

A small bandaid for you could be to keybind "mute system sounds" to a key on your mouse or keyboard, so you can quickly turn them off when you see them being used a lot.

Allthough it's not what you wanted, it's the best solution in this point in time. I don't think this would fall high on their priority list unless you come out with like a thousand sig petition or some sort of community outrage.

[Kisagami]

This is my petition. I hope that they would take this into consideration. Technical Support didn’t sound like a suggestion area - they have no category for in-game suggestions. So I figured this was the best place I could say something.

[Luxpheras]

Hello there!

Thanks for providing your feedback regarding sound effect macros and the user experience in FINAL FANTASY XIV.

In Patch 4.1, we implemented a variety of new sound related text commands. The command "/systemsounds" can be easily turned into a macro button and will toggle the system sounds on and off when used, without having to open your audio System Configuration UI regularly.

To do this, go to System > User Macros.



Select a name and icon of your choosing, and then simply add "/systemsounds" as the text command.



You can then drag this button on to your bars for a quick and easy toggle option!

For those interested in lowering the volume instead of muting it entirely, you can do so by typing "/systemsounds [1 - 100]", i.e. "/systemsounds 50" would give you system sounds at 50% volume. Check out the 4.1 Patch Notes for all of the other new text commands that can help you easily customize your sound experience.

We understand that muting all system sounds may not be the ideal solution for those who are specifically disrupted by sound effect macros, but wish to hear other system sounds. Please rest assured that we'll be sharing this feedback and your comments with the appropriate dev. teams.

In the meantime, we hope that these macros may be of assistance to any players who wish to avoid sounds that are disruptive to their experience while adventuring in Hydaelyn.

[Skogli]

Well I'll be damned! great community service

[Avatre]

I wonder if just adding a command to the already existent /systemsounds where you can specify the sound effect numbers would be ideal. That way, players with sensory issues can mute just the ones that have an affect on them. Might be harder on the devs(or easier, I really don't know anything about being a developer), but could be something they can look into.

[Kacho_Nacho]

Thank you, Luxpheras!

[Kisagami]

We understand that muting all system sounds may not be the ideal solution for those who are specifically disrupted by sound effect macros, but wish to hear other system sounds. Please rest assured that we'll be sharing this feedback and your comments with the appropriate dev. teams. In the meantime, we hope that these macros may be of assistance to any players who wish to avoid sounds that are disruptive to their experience while adventuring in Hydaelyn.

Please give the feedback to the development team. While this is a nice temporary solution, it is not a complete solution: a check box for specifically disabling user-created macro sound effects would be ideal. Thank you.

[Kisagami]

I wonder if just adding a command to the already existent /systemsounds where you can specify the sound effect numbers would be ideal. That way, players with sensory issues can mute just the ones that have an affect on them. Might be harder on the devs(or easier, I really don't know anything about being a developer), but could be something they can look into.

THIS I could deal with. Just a script command to eliminate sounds from certain numbers would be amazing - I enjoy the bongo effect since it isn't high pitched. It doesn't bother me like others.

[Zarabeth]

You can turn off or lower sound effects. I also find them very annoying and keep them turned low to avoid it.

The fix suggested by the mod is actually pretty good. Thanks for that and thanks for passing this issues along to the dev team!