Cobble_stone – The texture of your childhood (2021) | Hacker News Reader

Cobble_stone – The texture of your childhood (2021)

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445 pointsdvt103 comments

I notice this more with sounds than graphics. Sometimes a film will have the goblin sound from Elder Scrolls: Arena, or that one futuristic door opening sound that exists and I’m transported back. Although somehow I’m annoyed every time I hear the Wilhelm scream.

You might enjoy this video (specific to Doom, but that game uses a lot of those sounds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bgFpss0YFE

Many of those very familiar sounds have their origin in Sound Ideas' The General Series 6000 library: https://www.sound-ideas.com/Product/42/General-Series-6000-S... .

Tip for anyone who enjoyed that particular type of video - scroll through that user decino's videos looking for thumbnails with bright yellow backgrounds. Those are the ones where he digs into tech behind Doom and Doom II, usually with some really nice, simple, visualisations.

He also played through a few interesting wads - Going Down and Overboard were two of the most creative I've seen (by same author iirc)

You might like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bgFpss0YFE - tracking down Doom's sounds.

edit: curse you sidpatil!!!!!

The two that I notice these days are a pottery breaking sound[1], and the creak of a wooden door opening[2].

[1]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8-HUM65Wwig&t=564s

[2]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8-HUM65Wwig&t=2991s

Pretty interesting that I knew precisely which sounds you meant before even clicking the links

I think the Wilhelm scream is just annoying. It's an unnatural and goofy scream. I still appreciate it as a tradition though.

I’m honestly surprised they get away with it, given that these days there must be a fairly large audience that‘s familiar with it (and thus anyone who screens the movie with authority to demand changes, like the director, might notice and want that audience reaction).

> there must be a fairly large audience that‘s familiar with it

That's exactly why they "get away" with it. Most of the people who are familiar think it's funny. And it is.

Even if it were funny, my point is that I would expect directors to be deliberate with when and where they put funny things in their movies.

I think these days it is so recognisable that sound editors tend to put it in just as an easter-egg.

Just comes across completely hackish when I hear that in a movie now. Cringe for the poor editor being forced to put it in as the director is giggling away to themselves about it.

One common cash register in the US uses the exact sound from Sonic the Hedgehog that plays when you collect a ring. I haven’t determined if it was ripped from it or they simply share a common source.

Edit: found this summary:

> “Did some searching, and found out there's actually a story behind this. "Sega sold their intellectual properties to a company called Sammy, who used those sounds to make Pachinko machines. Pachinko isn't as popular as it used to be now, so Sammy has been licensing out those intellectual properties to Chinese manufacturers who make most of the cheap electronic devices for 'Merica, registers included."

I'd perhaps be slightly suspicious of the explanation as Sega didn't sell IP to Sammy, the companies merged (the general holding company for the group is Sega Sammy Holdings, but in the west we mostly only see the Sega side of the business). If they got that wrong, would the rest be right?

AFAIK the ring effect is FM synth generated (it's not like the Mega Drive is very good at digitised audio), so it's probably original to the game, but I suspect random cash register manufacturers are just ripping it off myself, rather than actually licencing it (are two notes and some synth parameters copyrightable in the end? probably depends on how much you can spend on lawyers...).

Ring sound effect is a square wave using the sega master system's sound channels, not an FM synthesis effect using the Yamaha FM chip.

This is incorrect. While some sound effects in the Sonic games on the MD/Genesis do use the PSG, the ring sound is not one of them. I double checked just now using the oscilloscope view in my emulator. Looks like the ring sound effect alternates between channels 3 and 4 depending on which way it's panned (unclear why it's done that way since any FM channel can be panned left or right).

Crap, you're right, I was thinking of the Jump sound effect.

It might have something to do with surround? https://rec.games.video.classic.narkive.com/cEZltqT1/sega-ge...

Some kind of fast-food order management software common at least in Russia uses the ICQ incoming message sound to notify someone about something. Back in the day I used to think it was the actual ICQ they use in the kitchen.

“uh oh”, that was such a strange sound, in hindsight

The cash registers at Stewart's locations in New York all play the ding noise from Windows 98.

Hah I knew there was a reason that sound was so familiar and comforting

The Motorola FLEX computer-aided dispatch (read: 911) software uses AOL Instant Messenger sounds in its built-in IM client. It messes with my brain whenever I hear it being used. I think about conversations with old friends late at night…

Something I learned when working on the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is that SEGA doesn’t own that ring sound. They have a license to use it in video games but it’s owned by a 3rd party. It had to be relicensed for use in the movie.

that sound is in Gilbarco registers commonly found in gas stations

Yup! Sometimes I'll hear a door opening creek or spell casting sound from Morrowind in my kid's youtube videos.

I'm just waiting to hear "wololololo" somewhere now.

the AoE turkey gobble sound is in just about every movie which features a turkey

Not sure if it's the same sample, but Minecraft has a 'wolololo' tribute in the 'Evoker' enemy. They chant it and turn nearby sheep to different colors.

I'm pretty sure Top Gear has used the exact sound of the siege tank from Starcraft going into siege mode a few times before.

I had a toy cop car as a kid in the early 90s that played this sounds effect.

I heard it a million times playing with it, and I've heard it in movies and TV shows a million times since.

https://youtu.be/9FxgVS7bylA

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Seems like I hear the tesla coil from Red Alert all the time

There is an electricity sound clip that I hear in many places, including model Sci-Fi when something is arcing. Always puts me in mind of the AfterDark screensaver with the monkey powered clock, which used that sample when it would electrocute the chimp when it slowed down.

Is it the one Blizzard used for its title card in StarCraft Broodwar?

...and for every single Protoss structure warp-in.

is this the one they use for iron man occasionally?

I don't think I've heard it in there. Though there is another common one from games that also makes its way into films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0dD_TACPx0#t=5m51 is one of the ones I'm thinking of.

Ugh, the children laughing one is used everywhere

Also the "angry mob" one used in Fight Music https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yYNgJ7OU-3k

It's so cringe; do they expect you not to notice that, hey, here's that sound clip from the '50s again? It takes me out of whatever I'm watching.

“Diddy laugh” seems to be the name chosen for it.

The 90's "double explosion" sound, boom-BOOoooom.

This is one of the ones I was poking for, I think I found it:

https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/EXPLOSION_-_SHELL_RICCO...

At one point in an Uruk-Hai scene in LotR, I swear I heard one of the Sandpeople sounds from A New Hope

I'm tired of hearing the same exact bear stock sounds every time a bear appears on screen in any media. I swear the fx guys have been using the same 4 sounds for at least 30 years.

Is it the Disney lamp chimney effect hahah? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdW1lGqZAv4

Ahh yes!! I hear the simcity police sound in police procedural shows all the time. I wonder what the original source is, come to think of it, it’s clearly not sim city…

The sound-texture of my adulthood is desktop and mobile notifications from Slack. [0] and [1] (first sound).

There is some perverse ad that incorporates a subtle version of the first sound from [1] into its jingle, and I stiffen up every time I hear it. Also, Slack TV commercials incorporate [0], and many complain about it on Twitter and elsewhere, it's a "traumatizing" sound.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7iGyCdA0xk

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_zsCWwNnR8&t=2s (first sound played)

Yeah, I can imagine that’s painful. But I hope joyful sounds balance it out! One that I always notice is the TiVo bi-bip - every time I hear it on a TV show I have happy memories of a great device.

There is this one crowd gasp I swear is used everywhere

https://youtu.be/V5eaDhCVNJU

Ahah carmageddon used that.

Yeah explosions are often taken from the sound bank that total annihilation took from and every time the intro plays in my head

Does the "Amen break" [1] qualify? Man, I love that one.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_break

Maybe someone will enjoy this deep dive on the Roblox death sound https://youtu.be/0twDETh6QaI

haha. Unexpectedly funny.

To me its "that chair creak" that often gets used for people siting down or getting out of chairs, also makes an appearance as the creak of a rusty gate hinge but to me it stands out as part of the soundbyte for exiting the Command Chair in the Goldsrc mod Natural Selection.

Baldur's Gate went outside of the box a bit. Its cobblestone streets were photos of coffee beans.

I never noticed this at the time, but seems pretty obvious now!

https://i.redd.it/84z06qkxmij81.png

I think the modern equivalent that every kid growing up now will subconsciously recognize for the rest of their lives will be royalty-free music from YouTube. Like this banger "Spring In My Step" by Silent Partner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5uBZQKi47Y

It's not just the kids growing up now. I'm sure plenty of millennials who watched YouTube when AudioSwap was a thing will recognize "Dreamscape" by 009 Sound System:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfS5zVfGBc

> "Dreamscape" by 009 Sound System

Say no more. I'll go get Unregistered Hypercam 2.

Am I crazy to be nostalgic for UI color schemes like this? It's the article's screenshot of Alias/3, a 1993 modeller on SGI IRIX:

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/18e1b1dc60d23f72852f2a844...

Ok, the non-proportional fonts gets an unqualified thumbs down. But the warm beige and teal — I could chill out to this instead of the endless cool expanses of 100% white and 98% white featured in today's desktop operating systems.

The computer where this application ran probably looked like this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Onyx

Black and purple for the hardware, beige and teal for the software. Perfect 1990s contrasts!

I think I am the crazy one, because that UI looks more futuristic than some of the ones we got right now, with look like a kindergarten.

Reminded me about this amazing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsCN0Yx2Vbs

Seeing "cobble stone" and "childhood", I thought it was about Counter Strike.

Set in a medieval castle, Cobblestone is one of the oldest Counter Strike map, dated back in CS Beta 6.5, and is also one of the most iconic map in Counter Strike, that not only this map spanned across the whole CS competitive scene, but that this map is also designed by David Johnston, who is otherwise more well-known for his work in de_dust2, the most iconic map in CS.

Here is a link where he talks about de_cbble aka. Cobblestone map.

https://www.johnsto.co.uk/blog/cobbles-and-castles/

His blog is quite the rabbit hole, with blog post about the creation of de_dust and de_dust2. Highly recommended.

Helpful link :) https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust2/

This sorta feels like the start of Vernor Vinge's concept of "Software Archeologists"

Very cool!

Are all of these really the same? Some examples look quite different

Agreed. These could be rotated and arranged in different patterns, maybe. But I'd need to see that case built.

About a dozen years ago someone made the case for their being only one cloud icon, I think a lot cleaner

https://www.hanselman.com/blog/there-is-only-one-cloud-icon-...

I've noticed this to hold over the years, almost always. I actually end up laughing a bit when I see cloud depictions in design specs these days because it's the same damn cloud every time.

I actually wrote something about 12 years ago where I caught the Debian swirl on this music label https://www.discogs.com/label/144485-Balance-Alliance

And someone pointed out that it's a Photoshop brush pattern. Although I'm not so sure that's the connection. It was sometimes just straight up Debian red https://www.discogs.com/release/1841959-Various-Balance-Esse...

Here's the old post with link rots and everything https://kristopolous.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-nice-logo.htm...

They're not all the same. They're just trying to pad their list.

This story about finding assets in common across various forms of media is so old and it's always the same examples despite there being way more out there.

The only people lazier than those who used these assets are the ones parroting stories about them almost word for word.

I'm not sure lazy is entirely correct word. Using textures that are known to work well and make the world somewhat familiar to players of other games is probably the art version of "use boring tech".

I am curious which one you thought were a different texture. I was looking for the center brick with the cut corner and the one adjacent to it that touched a brick with a notch, and I was able to find these features on all of them.

  - Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
  - Turok

The first doesn't appear to be the same, the second is evidently a completely different, simpler texture.

Several of the other DK images don't look right, but it's hard to be sure - they could be heavily edited, and some of the samples are quite small.

Some of the Banjo-Kazooie ones also don't look right but are hard to be sure of.

If you can clearly highlight the matching unique features on all of those images that would be interesting to see!

I thought this was about Minecraft. Lets just say that I had different type of childhood.

me too

The texture of your childhood...if you're aged 25-35 maybe?

I'm 25 and don't have any memory of this texture. Maybe more like 30-35? Although I didn't play a lot of games growing up, but these graphics older than what I was playing when I was young enough to feel nostalgic for. I don't know any of these games.

de_cbble instantly comes to mind with its medieval architecture

not sure if it's the same texture but not mentioning it would be a crime, indeed.

they even named the map in homage to cobblestones!

de_cbble: https://liquipedia.net/commons/images/thumb/8/8e/Cs_cbble.jp...

Link doesn't work

Try https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/File:Cs_cbble.jpg

With the release of DiscMaster I embarked on a similar quest for the sound effects of my childhood, though I've been far less successful.

Reminds me of the DOOM II sfx noise that's used all over in TV shows.

Looks like Silicon Graphics was bought by a company that was then bought by Hewlett Packard. Does that mean HP owns the copyright now, and it's probably impossible to buy or license?

SGI sold Alias in 2004, and then they were bought by Autodesk in 2006.

> This is cobble_stone. Doesn't seem that interesting, does it? It is just a bunch of bricks after all

Bricks and stones are different things. I don't know why they are conflated here.

Reminds me of plateox2.jpg

https://images.app.goo.gl/FNwMxMw7vfPB4iin8

It's infuriating how Google Images links just destroy the back button on browsers.

What's a good modern solution to introduce some noise in the texture? (to make the repetition less noticeable)

Diffusion models are great at tessellation, generate larger textures and multiple textures that go together

For lo-res pixel art, check out Wavefunction Collapse.

https://robertheaton.com/2018/12/17/wavefunction-collapse-al...

This is an amazing share. I knew about this texture before but this github is a wonderful resource. Thank you.

am I wrong in reading that they were unable to find out where the photo was taken and who took it?

It doesn't necessarily have to be a photo

it looks like a photo

Isn't this perfectly tiling? It's unlikely to be a photo.

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/fe64b00571ee02e7bc2f1f33a...

from this you can see that it tiles somewhat, but by no means perfectly

Oh, OK. I wonder why it is used so much as a tiling texture then.

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