Fixed critical sound timing bug. Finally, after a couple of days of banging my head against this problem and sound getting progressively worse, it's fixed. Turned out the fix was a very simple timing issue for when to play sounds.

sound.py

@@ -120,24 +120,25 @@ class Sound:
             pygame.event.clear()
             pygame.mixer.stop()
 
-        # Play the sound
-        channel = self.sounds[soundName].play(-1 if loop else 0)
-        if not channel:
-            return None
-
         # Apply appropriate volume settings
         sfx_volume = self.volumeService.get_sfx_volume()
 
-        # Handle positional audio if positions are provided
+        # Handle positional audio if positions are provided - check range BEFORE starting sound
         if playerPos is not None and objPos is not None:
             # Calculate stereo panning
             left_vol, right_vol = self._get_stereo_panning(playerPos, objPos, centerDistance)
 
             # Don't play if out of range
             if left_vol == 0 and right_vol == 0:
-                channel.stop()
                 return None
 
+        # Play the sound
+        channel = self.sounds[soundName].play(-1 if loop else 0)
+        if not channel:
+            return None
+
+        # Apply volume settings
+        if playerPos is not None and objPos is not None:
             # Apply positional volume adjustments
             channel.set_volume(volume * left_vol * sfx_volume, volume * right_vol * sfx_volume)
         else:
@@ -351,6 +352,10 @@ def _find_matching_sound(soundPattern, sounds):
         keys = [k for k in sounds.keys() if re.match("^" + soundPattern + ".*", k)]
     return random.choice(keys) if keys else None
 
+def get_available_channel():
+    """Get an available channel for playing sounds."""
+    return pygame.mixer.find_channel()
+
 # Global functions for backward compatibility
 def play_bgm(musicFile):
     """Play background music with proper volume settings."""
@@ -425,20 +430,22 @@ def play_sound(sound_or_name, volume=1.0, loop=False, playerPos=None, objPos=Non
 
     # Case 4: Sound name with dictionary
     elif isinstance(sounds, dict) and isinstance(sound_or_name, str) and sound_or_name in sounds:
+        # Apply volume settings
+        sfx_vol = volumeService.get_sfx_volume()
+
+        # Handle positional audio - check range BEFORE starting sound
+        if playerPos is not None and objPos is not None:
+            left_vol, right_vol = _get_stereo_panning(playerPos, objPos, centerDistance)
+            if left_vol == 0 and right_vol == 0:
+                return None  # Don't start sound if out of range
+
         # Play the sound
         channel = sounds[sound_or_name].play(-1 if loop else 0)
         if not channel:
             return None
 
         # Apply volume settings
-        sfx_vol = volumeService.get_sfx_volume()
-
-        # Handle positional audio
         if playerPos is not None and objPos is not None:
-            left_vol, right_vol = _get_stereo_panning(playerPos, objPos, centerDistance)
-            if left_vol == 0 and right_vol == 0:
-                channel.stop()
-                return None
             channel.set_volume(volume * left_vol * sfx_vol, volume * right_vol * sfx_vol)
         else:
             channel.set_volume(volume * sfx_vol)

speech.py

@@ -130,15 +130,31 @@ def speak(text, interrupt=True):
         _speechInstance = Speech.get_instance()
     _speechInstance.speak(text, interrupt)
 
-def messagebox(text):
-    """Display a simple message box with text.
-
-    Shows a message that can be repeated until the user chooses to continue.
+def messagebox(text, sounds=None):
+    """Enhanced messagebox with dialog support.
 
     Args:
-        text (str): Message to display
+        text (str or dict): Simple string message or dialog configuration dict
+        sounds (Sound object, optional): Sound system for playing dialog audio
     """
     speech = Speech.get_instance()
+
+    # Handle simple string (backward compatibility)
+    if isinstance(text, str):
+        _show_simple_message(speech, text)
+        return
+
+    # Handle dialog format
+    if isinstance(text, dict) and "entries" in text:
+        _show_dialog_sequence(speech, text, sounds)
+        return
+
+    # Fallback to simple message if format not recognized
+    _show_simple_message(speech, str(text))
+
+
+def _show_simple_message(speech, text):
+    """Show a simple text message (original messagebox behavior)."""
     speech.speak(text + "\nPress any key to repeat or enter to continue.")
     while True:
         event = pygame.event.wait()
@@ -147,3 +163,148 @@ def messagebox(text):
                 speech.speak(" ")
                 return
             speech.speak(text + "\nPress any key to repeat or enter to continue.")
+
+
+def _show_dialog_sequence(speech, dialog_config, sounds):
+    """Show a dialog sequence with character speech and optional sounds.
+
+    Args:
+        speech: Speech instance for text-to-speech
+        dialog_config (dict): Dialog configuration with entries list and optional settings
+        sounds: Sound system for playing audio files
+    """
+    entries = dialog_config.get("entries", [])
+    allow_skip = dialog_config.get("allow_skip", False)
+    dialog_sound = dialog_config.get("sound", None)
+
+    if not entries:
+        return
+
+    entry_index = 0
+    while entry_index < len(entries):
+        entry = entries[entry_index]
+
+        # Play sound before showing dialog
+        _play_dialog_sound(entry, dialog_config, sounds)
+
+        # Format and show the dialog text
+        formatted_text = _format_dialog_entry(entry)
+        if not formatted_text:
+            entry_index += 1
+            continue
+
+        # Show dialog with appropriate controls (only on first entry)
+        if entry_index == 0:
+            if allow_skip:
+                control_text = "\nPress any key to repeat, enter for next, or escape to skip all."
+            else:
+                control_text = "\nPress any key to repeat or enter for next."
+        else:
+            control_text = ""  # No instructions after first entry
+
+        speech.speak(formatted_text + control_text)
+
+        # Handle user input
+        while True:
+            event = pygame.event.wait()
+            if event.type == pygame.KEYDOWN:
+                if event.key == pygame.K_ESCAPE:
+                    if allow_skip:
+                        speech.speak(" ")
+                        return  # Skip entire dialog sequence
+                    else:
+                        # Escape acts like enter if skip not allowed
+                        speech.speak(" ")
+                        entry_index += 1
+                        break
+                elif event.key == pygame.K_RETURN:
+                    speech.speak(" ")
+                    entry_index += 1
+                    break
+                else:
+                    # Repeat current entry (include instructions only on first entry)
+                    repeat_text = formatted_text
+                    if entry_index == 0:
+                        repeat_text += control_text
+                    speech.speak(repeat_text)
+
+
+def _format_dialog_entry(entry):
+    """Format a dialog entry for display.
+
+    Args:
+        entry (dict): Dialog entry with text, optional speaker, and optional narrative flag
+
+    Returns:
+        str: Formatted text for speech
+    """
+    text = entry.get("text", "")
+    speaker = entry.get("speaker", None)
+    is_narrative = entry.get("narrative", False)
+
+    if not text:
+        return ""
+
+    if is_narrative:
+        # Narrative text - no speaker name
+        return text
+    elif speaker:
+        # Character dialog - include speaker name
+        return f"{speaker}: \"{text}\""
+    else:
+        # Plain text - no special formatting
+        return text
+
+
+def _play_dialog_sound(entry, dialog_config, sounds):
+    """Play appropriate sound for a dialog entry and wait for it to complete.
+
+    Args:
+        entry (dict): Dialog entry that may have a sound
+        dialog_config (dict): Dialog configuration that may have a default sound
+        sounds: Sound system (either Sound class instance or dictionary of sounds)
+    """
+    if not sounds:
+        return
+
+    sound_to_play = None
+
+    # Determine which sound to play (priority order)
+    if entry.get("sound"):
+        # Entry-specific sound (highest priority)
+        sound_to_play = entry["sound"]
+    elif dialog_config.get("sound"):
+        # Dialog-specific sound (medium priority)
+        sound_to_play = dialog_config["sound"]
+    else:
+        # Default dialogue.ogg (lowest priority)
+        sound_to_play = "dialogue"  # Will look for dialogue.ogg
+
+    if sound_to_play:
+        try:
+            # Handle both Sound class instances and sound dictionaries
+            if hasattr(sounds, 'sounds') and sound_to_play in sounds.sounds:
+                # Sound class instance (like from libstormgames Sound class)
+                sound_obj = sounds.sounds[sound_to_play]
+                from .sound import get_available_channel
+                channel = get_available_channel()
+                channel.play(sound_obj)
+                sound_duration = sound_obj.get_length()
+                if sound_duration > 0:
+                    pygame.time.wait(int(sound_duration * 1000))
+            elif isinstance(sounds, dict) and sound_to_play in sounds:
+                # Dictionary of pygame sound objects (like from initialize_gui)
+                sound_obj = sounds[sound_to_play]
+                from .sound import get_available_channel
+                channel = get_available_channel()
+                channel.play(sound_obj)
+                sound_duration = sound_obj.get_length()
+                if sound_duration > 0:
+                    pygame.time.wait(int(sound_duration * 1000))
+            elif hasattr(sounds, 'play'):
+                # Try using a play method if available
+                sounds.play(sound_to_play)
+                pygame.time.wait(500)  # Default delay if can't get duration
+        except Exception:
+            # Sound missing or error - continue silently without crashing
+            pass