0013313: Volume controls are hard to use due to not using logarithmic scale

ID	Project	Category	View Status	Date Submitted	Last Update

0013313	Dwarf Fortress	Technical -- Sound	public	2025-10-23 10:41	2025-10-23 10:41

Reporter	Barabas	Assigned To
Priority	normal	Severity	minor	Reproducibility	always
Status	new	Resolution	open

Summary	0013313: Volume controls are hard to use due to not using logarithmic scale
Description	The Volume controls are not implemented using a logarithmic scale. The slider does most of the work near the 70% to 100% settings, and the game is almost inaudible at any setting below this. I guess the implementation is that the percentage is converted to a gain with 0% = 0, and 100% = 1, then the audio samples are multiplied by this gain. It would be better if the sliders are selecting a decibel attenuation value with around -60 dB (picked arbitrarily) at the minimum and 0 dB at the maximum. Also the audio might need to be muted when the slider is set to its absolute minimum value to match the behaviour of the current sliders. Additionally, the default ambience volume of 45% (if I remember correctly) is not audible at all because of this issue.
Steps To Reproduce	Wait until music track starts. Set the master volume to 100%, 90% and then 50%. Observe large jump in volume from 100% to 90%, then the game being almost inaudible at 50%.
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Note

Date Modified	Username	Field	Change
2025-10-23 10:41	Barabas	New Issue