Understanding volume in The Grid 2

There are several different ways to set the volume in The Grid 2.  Let's start by looking at these.

Different volume controls 

Firstly, there are 3 different volume controls: Public Speech, Private Speech, and Media.

• The Public Speech volume is used when speaking aloud.
• The Private Speech volume is used for auditory feedback.
• The Media volume is used for the Music Workspace and the DVD Workspace.

Setting the volume 

There are also two different ways to set the volume:

• You can specify a number (from 0 to 100)
• You can specify a change (from -100 to +100)

More about volume changes 

The slightly confusing thing with The Grid 2 is that when you change the volume, it does not change immediately!

On Windows XP, the only way for The Grid 2 to set the speech volume is to change the master volume for your computer.

When you change the volume with a command, it stores the volume you requested and sets the volume next time it speaks.

However, there are two speech volumes stored (public and private), so the computer's volume will change up or down as The Grid 2 speaks public and private text.  Because it is changing the computer's master volume, this can also affect the volume in other programs (e.g. iTunes).

The media volume is a bit different.  This is set within The Grid 2 and applies only to the built in music/DVD players.  However, it is subject to the computer's master volume control, so the volume changes when switching between public and private speech will affect music playback within The Grid 2.

In Windows Vista, it is all different!  The way that sound works in Vista has changed so that each application has a separate volume control.  This means that we can set the volume of the speech in The Grid 2 without affecting other programs.