PSS GPWS and other sounds

[G MIDY 101]

Think the PSS Airbus sounds are boring and old? For those that said it couldn't be done, well it can be.I have come up with a simple tweak which primarily alters the GPWS callouts and potentially any other sounds such as seatbelt, AP Disconnect for the PSS series aircraft. I have tested the following with FS2004 : 777,757,A320,A330/A340 and this method works 100% fine. As this requires alteration of the gauge files which are payware i cannot share the exact files however i've wrote a short, simple step by step guide for everyone to enjoy.For purposes of an Example i will use the PSS-A320 for this guide, due to the nature of the construction of the PSS gauges they ALL follow the exact same method for replacing the sounds, all you do is load the appropriate gauge and follow this guide, you will pick it up in no time.BEFORE you do anything, you MUST backup the gauge files you plan to edit as any errors will cause problems with your PSS panel sounds. I will not accept any responsibility for any problems that arise. As always editing these files is at your own risk.1) First download and install the following, Resource Tuner by Heaven Tools http://www.heaventools.com/resource-tuner.htm and XN Resource Editor http://www.wilsonc.demon.co.uk/d10resourceeditor.htm , all of them are available for trial use and you do not need to purchase them, they are fantastic programs.Note: Resource Tuner is only used for purposes of testing, XN Resource Editor will work the magic, if you prefer not to test you can simply skip using Resource Tuner but i recommend using it to ensure all sounds are correctly installed, you can correct any problems later.2) Now load up Resource Tuner and open your PSS-A320.gau file which should be located : Flight Simulator 9/Gauges. Do the same with XN Resource Editor and both will show very similar things, the difference in the programs being XN Resource Editor can 'inject' files into the gauge file while Resource Tuner can preview the sounds that are coded into the file. I recommend before doing anything in XN, first play around with the sounds in Resource Tuner to get familiar, playing the WAV sounds in Resource Tuner will be the best way to test your PSS gauge sounds.3) It's quite obvious to see that A20 basically means the '20' callout WAV in the PSS gauge. For the next step you will need to download the replacement GPWS sounds you intend to use. For this example i found in the library some old style call-outs by Rodrigo Chechia the file is real.a320wilco.egpws.oldstile.zip . Extract all the files to a temporary folder, i just called it GPWS. You should have a folder full of sound files similar to mine below, please bare in mind if you intend to use your own sound files they MUST be WAV files or else you will encounter problems.4) Looking at the open Resource Tuner you will be able to see that A20 obviously means the 20 feet callout, your next job is to rename all of the files in the GPWS folder we just created, for example in the GPWS folder we have a sound file named GPWS20.wav you now need to rename this to match the PSS file. This means you need to rename the GPWS20 to A20, continue to do this for all the files. In my A320 gauge i never noticed a callout past 400 so you will not need anything past that as the gauge is coded to play the file at a specific height and as it is impossible to decompile .gau files this cannot be changed.Worth noting also is that at 20 feet the PSS gauge plays a file named 'RETARD' in the sound files i previously downloaded you will have to rename GPWS20_retard to simply 'RETARD'. This also applies to the Minimums2 file which you should change to MINIMUMS which you can see and test using Resource Tuner.Once you have completed the renaming process you should have folder full of GPWS sounds looking similar to mine. These files are ready to be injected into the gauge.5) Your next job is to load up XN Resource Editor, we will now inject the prepared files into the gauge, one by one. To begin with i recommend starting from the top which should be the A100 file. I've shown this in the image below. Please also expand the tree as far as it goes, as my gauge is already modified i see the text "LANGUAGE NEUTRAL" this has no bearing on what we are doing, so please ignore it. Your original file should say something like Language United States or similar, what it says though is irrelevant.OK to inject the files! First like in the above image ensure the tree is expanded, please don't be intimidated by the code view on the right, it is not important for what we are doing.Now DELETE by right clicking and pressing Delete Resource as show in the image below.Ok, now the tree will now reset to when you originally loaded the PSS-A320.gau file, expanding the WAV folder again you will notice the A100 tree is missing. Now you need to inject your GPWS files into the gauge, to do this simply right click and press 'Import User Resource' and scroll to the appropriate file you will be replacing, this being A100 or the 100 feet callout sound, you should of renamed the wav file you planned to replace as A100 earlier.Once you have done this it is just a simple case of adding all the files, the exact same applies to adding the MINIMUMS and RETARD sound files, first simply delete the old value and add the new file. It's as easy as that. Your gauge file must have the same structure, that being the 20 feet callout MUST be named A20 or it will not have any effect, this applies for all sounds too, such as MINIMUMS, RETARD etc. If the wav file is not named exactly as the PSS file your replacing it will not work.To add as well you MUST delete the old file first, i have not tested what happens when having two files with the same name injected into the gauge so please ensure you delete the old file inside the gauge before adding a new one. Each tree should only contain one "Language Neutral".Once you have added all the files, simply press File > Save and that's it, your new sounds are in place. Your next job is to test them, as you've only just saved the PSS gauge you will need to refresh the file in Resource Tuner, to do this they have thankfully added a button to do just that.You can now press the play button on each sound as we did earlier in the guide to test each GPWS sound. Feel free to experiment with changing the seatbelt signs. If you have an appropriate seatbelt sound you want to use, rename it to SEAT and use the method above to inject it. Once your happy ensure the gauge was saved in XN Resource Editor and close both programs.Happy Flying!Remember that this can be used for all PSS products, i have only tested it and applied it successfully with the PSS777, 757, A320 and A330/340, anything else i assume they used the same structure but as i don't own any of their other products i don't know but this method should work.

[Joduv 90]

I went here and find your very interesting post ! Since a long time I am trying to modify PSS sounds from .gau file ! Thanks to you it now possible ! I'll have a try tomorrow morning ! One more time thanks you so much !Cheers,Joshua.

[Johan_Dees 84]

very good find and tutorial!What format need the wav files be?

[xShawx 0]

Followed your steps. Thanks for the turotial! I have one problem however when trying to change the Boeing 777 GPWS callouts. I am able to change them in the XN Resource Editor and they play when saved in the Resource Editor beautifully, however they do not play in game. I am able to get all the other types of sounds to play in game, like the Autopilot disconnect etc.. but nothing on the GPWS. I have tried on the PSS 757 and A320s with still the same problem? Anyone else have this problem, or anyone able to shed some light on it? Cheers

[claudiofalcao 74]

I've tried on this way (by the tutorial) but nothing happened.

[claudiofalcao 74]

Actually, I've tried to add 2500ft, 100ft, 500ft callout but nothing happened.