Loop and compress sounds

Set loop points for looping ability sounds and shrink large sound mods with an encoding.txt file in your CSDK 12 addon.

Intermediate

Some ability sounds loop while the ability is active. This page shows how to set loop points with an encoding.txt file, how to make a big sound mod smaller, and what decides how long a loop plays. Make a one-shot sound mod first with Replace a sound.

Not tested on the current build

These steps come from community notes written before the September 2026 update. We have not tested them on build 6779 yet. They may work differently now.

What you need

CSDK 12

Audacity

or any audio editor

Notepad++

or any plain text editorA CSDK 12 sound addonYour audio as a .wav file

CSDK 12 compiles your sound with its loop points and compression. Build the sound addon with your sound at the right path, as in Replace a sound.

Which sounds loop

Some sounds play once, like a gunshot. Others repeat for as long as an ability is active, like an ultimate or a channel. Many looping sounds have lp in their name, such as forge_rocket_barrage_air_raid_lp.

Two separate settings control a looping sound:

Two settings: loop points in encoding.txt decide which part of the sound repeats, and the duration in the soundevent decides how long the game plays it

Setting	What it decides	Where you set it
Loop points	Which part of your audio repeats	`encoding.txt`
Duration	How long the game plays the sound	The hero's soundevents file, for some loops only

Keep loops fair

Keep a looping sound as loud as the original. Never make an enemy ability sound louder, clearer, or longer than the ability itself. Read What's allowed and how to stay safe.

Set loop points

Use WAV for loops

Loop points only work with .wav source files. MP3 is fine for sounds that play once.

Export your audio as .wav from your audio editor.
Give it the exact name of the original sound. Only the ending changes, for example example_sound_lp.wav.
Save it at the original path in your addon's content folder.
Delete any .mp3 copy with the same name from that folder, so only the .wav is left.

Check for lame_enc.dll

Looping also needs a file called lame_enc.dll in CSDK 12's bin files.

Open your CSDK 12 folder.
Search it for lame_enc.dll.
If the search finds nothing, ask in the Deadlock Modding Discord. Never download a .dll from a random website.

Find the loop points

Open your .wav in your audio editor.
Select the part that should repeat.
Write down the start and end of the selection, in seconds.
Play the jump from the end back to the start. If you hear a click, move the points a little and try again.

You can use sample numbers instead of seconds. They are more exact, but they depend on your file's sample rate.

Write encoding.txt

Open the folder in your addon's content folder that holds your .wav. For example: content/citadel_addons/mysound/sounds/abilities/<codename>/.
Turn on file name extensions in File Explorer.
Create a new text file in that folder named encoding.txt. Check that it does not end in .txt.txt.
Copy the encoding.txt template from the Replacing Sounds guide into your file. Its first line starts with <!-- kv3. Keep that line exactly as it is.
Under files, keep one block per looping sound. Delete the other example blocks.
Set fileName to your .wav file name.
Set loop_start_time and loop_end_time to your loop points, in seconds.
Save the file.

Below the first line, your file should look like this:

Code

{
	compress =
	{
		format = "mp3"
		minbitrate = 128
		maxbitrate = 320
		vbr = 1
	}
	files =
	[
		{
			fileName = "example_sound_lp.wav"
			loop =
			{
				loop_start_time = 0.5
				loop_end_time = 6.25
			}
		},
	]
}

To use sample numbers, swap the two loop lines for these:

Code

				loop_start_sample = 22050
				loop_end_sample = 275625

Addon folder tree: an encoding.txt with loop points sits next to the looping .wav file, and an optional encoding.txt with only a compress block sits in the sounds folder

Compile and test

Launch the CSDK 12 tools for your addon.
In the Asset Browser, right-click your sound and choose Recompile, then Full.
Pack the compiled .vsnd_c and test it. Follow Pack your mod into a VPK and Test your mod in game.

While the CSDK 12 tools are open, saving encoding.txt also recompiles the sounds it lists. This makes it quick to try new loop points.

Compress big sound mods

WAV files are large, so a pack of them makes a huge VPK. The compress block makes CSDK 12 compile the sounds as MP3 instead.

Code

	compress =
	{
		format = "mp3"
		minbitrate = 128
		maxbitrate = 320
		vbr = 1
	}

Key	What it does
`format`	Sets the compressed format.
`minbitrate`, `maxbitrate`	Set the quality range. Higher means better sound and bigger files.
`vbr = 1`	Lets the bitrate change with the sound.

In the community guide, one sound shrank from 19.7 MB to 1.97 MB and kept its loop points.

To compress every sound in your addon, put one encoding.txt in the addon's sounds folder, with only the compress block inside the outer braces. The community guide says this should work, but we have not tested it. If a folder also has its own encoding.txt with loop points, add the compress block to that file too.

Make a loop play long enough

Some looping ability sounds have a set duration in the hero's soundevents file. Mo & Krill's burrow loop is one example. If your audio is longer than that duration, the game restarts it before it ends.

Copy the hero's soundevents file into your addon and edit it. Play random sounds with soundevents shows how.
Find the event for your looping sound.
Raise its duration so your audio fits. Raise it only as far as your audio needs.
Compile the soundevents file and your sound, then pack both.

Common problems

Next steps

Replace voice lines

Intermediate

Change one line or a hero's whole voice.

Errors when making mods

Intermediate

Fixes for compile, packing, and sound errors, and changes that never show up.

Credits

This guide is based on the work of these creators. Check out their original guides.

Guide: Replacing Sounds from Deadlock Modding Notes.
Video: (Read Desc) Deadlock - Sound Replacement Tutorial by Pugzilla.
Video: How to Make Custom Sound Mods in Deadlock | Random Audio & Sound Switches by Adamtheboss9.
Guide: Neutral's General Guide for Modding Deadlock by Neutraldrift.
Tool: LoopAuditioneer on SourceForge.

Edit on GitHub

Loop and compress sounds

Older method: LoopAuditioneer

The loop points do nothing

The compile fails after you add encoding.txt

The loop restarts too early

You hear a click where the loop starts again

A loop keeps playing in the tools after you close the preview

The VPK is huge

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