Add sound to this sim

[terracoda]

At the sound design meeting we realized we need a more slider-y sound for GFL regular as the mass control is a continuous slider with a tweaker.

Ideas & decisions:

• Let's try the sound in Basics but limit the frequency at which it can be played
• At the max min values add an effect to indicate the end
• The range of the mass sound and the force sound will need to be adjusted for this sim as the ranges are greater than in Basics.
• Agreed we would start with the sounds from Basics and go from there.

[Ashton-Morris]

Ideas & decisions:

• We will start with the GFL:B Mass sound and choose a pleasant repetition interval for when the slider is being dragged.
• When the arrow buttons for Mass are pressed we will trigger one Mass sound
• We will map it to pitch and experiment with what range sounds best
• We will also try adding reverb to the smallest and largest mass option in order to audibly acknowledge the boundaries of the mass slider.

[terracoda]

@Ashton-Morris, in case you need to know:

• range 10 kg to 1000 kg
• default step with keyboard 50 kg - use arrow keys
• larger step with pg up and page down is 100 kg
• smallest step with keyboard is 1 kg - shift + arrow key
• can jump to 10 kg with Home key
• can jump to 1000 kg with End Key

[jbphet]

@terracoda, @emily-phet, @terracoda and I reviewed the latest version of the sound implementation today and concluded that the force sounds and the boundary sounds are in good shape at this point. The mass sound generator should be changed to play sounds for discrete values, similar to what is done in Resistance in a Wire, when the user is changing the value via the slider, but otherwise the current behavior is not too bad. I'll implement that and publish a dev version for review.

[jbphet]

@terracoda, @Ashton-Morris, and @emily-phet - I've published a version for review the includes discrete increments for the mass sounds when the slider is dragged, decent handling for keyboard-based changes, and common UI sounds. Please review and provide your feedback.

https://phet-dev.colorado.edu/html/gravity-force-lab/2.2.0-dev.19/phet/gravity-force-lab_en_phet.html?supportsSound

[jbphet]

One thing I noticed when playing around with it is that we don't have pickup and release sounds for the ruler. I'm thinking I should add them. How about I use the same ones that we used in Friction in the magnifier view?

[emily-phet]

@jbphet - Sure, let's see how that feels with the other sounds.

[terracoda]

@jbphet, and @emily-phet, there are also 2 custom jump hotkeys for ruler:

• J + C to jump zero mark to center of m1
• J + H to release ruler and arrange it back in home position

I don't know if these "jumps" need sounds.

In fact, I haven't thought about sonification for the ruler (apologies). It's use is non-essential for non-visual users, so I just wasn't thinking about it. A lot of sims have rulers...there might something we can do with rulers in general or for general types of rulers. Maybe, too late for the imminent publication of this sim, but I'll open an issue for this, just in case.

[Ashton-Morris]

I did now know you could even pick up the ruler until reading this. I think the common UI pickup + release would fit here.

I think the amount that the mass plays on the slider is a good amount.

The only issue I have is that I can still hear a slight clipping when only messing with the back distance/force. I feel like we had this issue last time with the same sound and am not sure what we did to correct for it.

[jbphet]

We discussed the future of the mass sound in a review meeting today, and decided to do some quick-and-dirty interviewing on versions that include and exclude the mass sound. Below are the links for this.

Note that I've turned on sound in the package.json file, so query parameters are no longer needed to enable sound.

• Without mass sounds: https://phet-dev.colorado.edu/html/gravity-force-lab/2.2.0-dev.26/phet/gravity-force-lab_en_phet.html
• With mass sounds: https://phet-dev.colorado.edu/html/gravity-force-lab/2.2.0-dev.27/phet/gravity-force-lab_en_phet.html

[brettfiedler]

@emily-phet and I did some "guerilla interviews" in the lobby of Duane. I will report out at GFL sound meeting on Tuesday.

A note from Wanda: She found the simultaneous noise of the mass clicks and force tone distracting through my interaction and description, but she wants to play with the sim itself in a11y mode.

[brettfiedler]

@terracoda mentioned that there was talk of having edge sound for the mass sliders? Was there intention to add this, @jbphet ?

[jbphet]

Was there intention to add this, @jbphet?

I believe we decided to interview on having the mass sounds either completely on or completely off, and it was an easier thing to do quickly. It is certainly possible to have the edge sounds if we want them for the final version. @terracoda - do you have a recommendation on this?

[emily-phet]

@terracoda @jbphet @Ashton-Morris @BLFiedler @zepumph
As we discussed last week, I won't be attending the GFL meeting in the morning. Instead, here's my 2 cents regarding the mass slider sound.

From the informal user testing I did, one thing stood out to me as most significant. At least one user (using the with mass sound version) interpreted the force sound as being a completely different sound when hearing it while interacting with the mass sliders than when hearing it as she moved the spheres. She did not interpret it as force sound and mass sound - rather as a different single sound that played as she moved the mass sliders, distinct from the single sound she heard while moving the spheres. This user was very attentive, and of the people I spoke with, I was most surprised by her interpretation.

While watching a different user use the version without the mass sound, it did seem to highlight more clearly that the main focus to attend to was how what you were changing (either the location of the spheres, or the mass of the spheres) impacted the force...akin to RIAW and OL.

Based on this, my recommendation would be to either:

1. publish with no mass sound, or
2. publish with mass sound as an enhanced sound

Regarding the mass sound as a boundary sound - I have no preference or recommendation, but I would encourage you to make a final decision on this tomorrow to give @jbphet a chance to implement before his trip.

[terracoda]

Thanks for these notes Emily. This is helpful! Taliesin

…

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 21, 2020, at 00:11, emily-phet ***@***.***> wrote:  @terracoda @jbphet @Ashton-Morris @BLFiedler @zepumph As we discussed last week, I won't be attending the GFL meeting in the morning. Instead, here's my 2 cents regarding the mass slider sound. From the informal user testing I did, one thing stood out to me as most significant. At least one user (using the with mass sound version) interpreted the force sound as being a completely different sound when hearing it while interacting with the mass sliders than when hearing it as she moved the spheres. She did not interpret it as force sound and mass sound - rather as a different single sound that played as she moved the mass sliders, distinct from the single sound she heard while moving the spheres. This user was very attentive, and of the people I spoke with, I was most surprised by her interpretation. While watching a different user use the version without the mass sound, it did seem to highlight more clearly that the main focus to attend to was how what you were changing (either the location of the spheres, or the mass of the spheres) impacted the force...akin to RIAW and OL. Based on this, my recommendation would be to either: publish with no mass sound, or publish with mass sound as an enhanced sound Regarding the mass sound as a boundary sound - I have no preference or recommendation, but I would encourage you to make a final decision on this tomorrow to give @jbphet a chance to implement before his trip. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

[terracoda]

I personally feel that if we leave the mass sound in as an enhanced sound, we will be able to get continued feedback on sound combinations - that might be a nice (and potentially informative) path forward.

[Ashton-Morris]

I am comfortable with it being in enhanced as well. I also have no opinion on the mass as boundary sound.

[terracoda]

Decision: We move Mass sound to enhanced and do not add edge sounds to regular sliders for now.

[jbphet]

I have made the following changes to the sound design implementation:

• Moved the mass sound to "enhanced"
• Added sounds for dialog open/close (and removed the default close button sound)
• Adjusted sound levels based on input from @Ashton-Morris

Here is a link to a dev version with these changes: https://phet-dev.colorado.edu/html/gravity-force-lab/2.2.0-dev.30/phet/gravity-force-lab_en_phet.html

@Ashton-Morris, @emily-phet, and @terracoda - please review and let me know if other changes are needed.

@zepumph - I'm adding you as an assignee so that you can track progress on this and see if there are any further changes desired that could block publication.

[Ashton-Morris]

I don't think any changes are needed. It sounds good.

[terracoda]

The sounds sound good to me.
I am no longer getting sounds on my iphone when I have VoiceOver on. I must have done something to my settings. The sounds work fine on iphone when VO is off.

This is also a problem for other sims - not just GFL, so I know it is a setting on my phone. I will keep playing with my settings, and once in RC, QA can make sure sound works with their settings.

[terracoda]

I lied, for Molarity, sound is working fine when I use VO on my iphone.
I will test again in the morning and make sure I have the correct parameters.

[terracoda]

Ok, it seems to be a VO problem. The sounds just stops sometimes. Re-loading seems to get around this problem.

The sounds and the enhanced sounds sound good to me.

[terracoda]

Noticed I am not getting ruler drag responses on mobile. I will open a new issue for that.

[zepumph]

Ok, it sounds like things have solidified here. I'm going to close and move to an RC in #232. We can always make future tweaks if anyone needs to. Closing