calius Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 UPDATE: Some Q&A from the large trailer thread: (Stalker_Zero @ Mar 31 2006, 03:05 PM) Well dude, lets talk about sound......lets talk about it indeed! What new techniques in sound technologies/tricks are developers using these days. What are you guys using for GRAW? In what way are you taking advantage of creative's Xfi system? I assume you are. OMG gun sounds dude!!!!! Are all sound effects in game now including gun sounds stereo as opposed to the original game's mono sounds? What were your sound sources for the game? Did you guys go out to a gun range and fired gun shots and recorded them? Tell us stuff man!! Hey, you offered!! It's always best to start off with sounds that are as "dry" (rid of effects) as possible. When you record music, for example, you don't have delay or reverb effects on the guitars when doing the original recording - even if you know you want delay or reverb on the song eventually - because that would mean that if you later realized you recorded it with too much delay or reverb, you can't take it away. Instead, you record evetything dry, and add effects as you see fit later on. Digital effects can help you put exactly the right effect on your sounds, and that goes for weapon sounds and explosions as well as guitars. Recording weapons is a huge undertaking - you can't do it an inddor gun range because there would be too much room reverb on the recording. Rent "SWAT" (crappy movie, I know) and watch the extra material - there they show how you're supposed to record weapon sounds. It's a very complicated procedure which is better left to those who know exactly what they're doing. Even though I know how I want the sounds to be in the game, I don't know enough about recording them for me to be a justified part of the recording work. In short, there are companies that do this sort of stuff much better than I could ever do - that lets you buy weapon sounds which you then can mix as you see fit, which is what we've done. Also, as I said, I had full access to the sounds of the 360 version. All you PC patriots can tease your 360 owning friends in knowledge of that all those sounds have been pimped for the PC version. About stereo vs mono, we let them both work together to create a thick soundscape. A 3d sound played at a certain position needs to be a mono sample. We, however, trigger corresponding echo sounds for all distinctive sounds, so that two mono sounds in the 3d environment work together to really surround you. It's like a 3d stereo sound - something I've never seen in games before. Close up to explosions, helicopters and other "big" sounds, there are also traditional stereo sounds played in 2d (with realistic rolloff) to make the sounds larger. When you fire your own gun, there is a plethora of 2d stereo sounds and 3d mono sounds that cooperate to really convey the power of your weapon. It's always a balance between making the weapon sound badazz, and making the weapon sound not-so-tiring to listen to for prolonged periods of time. If eveything sounded like a Hollywood movie (where the action goes on for one or two minutes and then pauses for 15) in a game (where the action can be non-stop for hours on end), players would turn the sound off after 30 minutes - and no sound designer wants that. Listening to footsteps is very important in MP, which, subsequently, makes it very important to make your own footsteps make less noise. Of course walking our crawling makes less noise than running, and certain materials make less noise than others. Needless to say, the stealth aspect of GRAW very much goes into the sound aspect of the game too. Right now I'm working on making the sound of a grenade that comes rolling on the ground make less noise than a grenade which is thrown. The AI is already programmed to have a harder time reacting to a rolling grenade than one that comes flying - my work on the sound aspect of it will make things work the same way even in MP! ok GRiN_desmond22 heres a couple of questions for you c 1) could you tell me a little about what lengths you've gone to to really make it sound realistic. eg. have you a mass of sampled sounds or just a few with filters & effects to make the shots sound out in the open, in allyways, tunnels, hitting stone, Glass, cars, zipping past you ears, hitting flesh, tyres wood etc.... As stated in my previous post, bullet hits as well as gunfire is a tricky thing to record. The sounds of GRAW PC is a blend of touched-up sounds form the 360 version, sounds I've recorded myself, and licensed sounds from recording studios that know this kind of stuff. I have gone great lengths to make the sounds change depending on the environment. Even the bullet hit sounds change character with distance - listeening to a distant firefight in an MP match just makes you go "I WANN BE THERE!" and start running towards it. 2) is there much music in the game? If so by which artist or did you write it yourself? Yes there is music - it's very much "The Rock" style, which I personally think fits the game very well. If it's not your cup of tea, you can turn it off or just lower the volume. I've been told the music was written by an American composer. I've done some work on the sound loops to allow the music to be more dynamic, and go up and down between different levels of intensity depending on what's happening on-screen. 3) are there things like interactive radio's etc... I know it's childish but I'd love to turn on a ingame stereo & have some inappropriate music. of course tacticaly it could be a diversion or cover other sounds There are radio sounds coming from houses in the game, although you can't go in there and change the channel. Sorry. 4) can you tell what your walking on just with your ears? Broken Glass, Grass, Stone slaps, sane etc... Oh yes, very much so. There are like 20 different surfaces to walk on, and there are unique sounds triggered depending on how you move on that surface - running, walking, sitting down and dragging one knew behind you (shuffling), crawling, crawling fast, diving from running upright, diving from running crouched, etc... the foley sound is very sophisticated. 5) Is the music in the choppers? Yeah, some real 'Nam style rock, hehe. 6) how about wildlife? While sneaking is it possible to disturb Birds? etc.. which might gove your position away? There are crickets, birds, frogs, dogs barking in the distance, you name it... 7) what speaker set up would make a big difference The sound is great in a pair of headphones, but any 5.1 or 7.1 system is always better - so that you feel the roaring BASS when you squeeze the trigger on your SAW (I just love that sound) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MY original post questions : Yes indeed, but you can always talk about your expectations in the sound area, indicating at least that you have an interest in the game's sound. I have seen almost none of that in my time lurking these forums. AUDIOPHILE QUESTIONNARE ALERT FOR GRAW AUDIO TEAM/PERSON : I have to say I posted about sound & EAX use both for GRAW & (GR2 *cough*) many moons ago. 1) Sound to me is as important. I assume you have stereo for every sound? I mean as you fire a bullett, is it a case than in-game that is mono due to being direct in front or is it slighlty widened/thickened to a 10-2 type stereo field? Im a sucker for most things using the full width of stereo, I realise about surround Im mainly refering to the impact on just some stereo L/R monitors even before you switch to surround. 2) Not sure if this was answered but will there be use of filtering on panning for 3D effects. IE: I can hear chattering or enemy calls to my upper-far-left / or my lower-rear-right ... that kind of sound ... doppler effect so to speak? 3) Will you have enemy chatter on stealth missions? IE: as you creep up and enemy that are in a near building/past an obstruction will you hear them filtered (low pass) chattering on the other side of a wall etc? 4) Will there be like GR1 coughs whistling & mumbling from enemy when they are not aware of you as you creep up on them? 5) With EAX its clear alot of this will be abused ... but will it be fully set for environmental accoustics ... IE: Small rooms having very filtered and dampened effect on overal sound and gunfire/calls/large areas being brighter etc? 6) Will the reverb on open areas change dynamic with gunfire? IE: If I fire in a wide open area will the trailing reverb/post delay of the reverb be dynamic or have you incorperated that into the sample itself and trigger this via different samples dependant on environment? Or Do you let EAX take care of that dynamicaly over a dry sample? 7) How many layers of audio was the most you used to get one sound as spot on as you liked? How long did it take? 8) When you have a large explosion ... will shrapnel that gets thrown out have its own sound if it passes close to you / hits the floor near you? Does sound get expanded on in some way with AGEA Physics card explosiong (more things flying more sound of them flying around .. bigger sound). 9) When your scoped in or running does you breathing rate change/ is there breathing effects? IE: after you have ran .. go prone - scope in is the breathing different to the same but going prone when you havent been running? 10) For those without EAX whats the effect on CPU & whats the main things missing fopr those without the chip? 11) Im not fully into X-Fi ... but are there differences on certain level with setting in-game? IE: Do you have Level 1 no eax - level 2 Eax - Level 3 X-Fi ... or is it just EAX on/off? I think im asking of anything spicey that can only be gotten from X-Fi compared to just EAX for audigy 2 / pre X-Fi in GRAW. 12) THX use ... anything used here that can be spoken about? 13) Can in-game music mood music be toggled on/off as well as normal volume levels? 14) With sound playing a factor in gameplay (location of enemy etc) how much of a trade-off was it for certain things in MP play as apposed to SP play in what could and couldnt be included? OR ... do you have everything in SP but certian things switched off in MP. 15) Whats you options for audio in game ... how much level control do you have IE: Envorinment fx level/Voice FX level/Gun FX level ... is it very controllable in the settings? (Oops I updates my quesions and didnt see buddhiraja73 post ... basicly then, what he said) (as you can see it was probably best to never mention about audio in the other thread! LOL ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhiraja73 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Hi Grin_desmond22, To me, sounds are going to be very very important, especially the ones relating to guns firing and bullet impacts. After watching the trailer, I can say that the gun sounds are fantastic. I have a question regarding separate adjustments of different types of sounds by the player. For example -- Player's gun sound Other gun sounds Ambient sounds Voice etc. Will this feature be there ? This becomes necessary because, at-times, during larger scale firefights with many enemies, the enemy and friendly gun sounds become so loud that they hurt the ears if we play for a long time. During such times, I would like to turn down the other gun sounds but keep my gun sound and natural sounds at normal level. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalker_Zero Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Yes desmond please answer these. You can respond to my post in the other thread here too if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I have a question regarding separate adjustments of different types of sounds by the player. For example -- Player's gun sound Other gun sounds Ambient sounds Voice etc. Will this feature be there ? ← You mean so that a player could turn off all environmental sounds and their own wepaon sounds, so that they could hear their enemies more easily? Kind of like using gamma correction to get by in a night mission? Shame on you! Seriously, I don't like the idea of leaving the job of mixing the game audio to the player. The only ones who will care to alter the settings are the pro players who strips the game of any sound that is not completely necessary - trading all realism and immersion for a supernatural upper hand in the in-game environment. "Well that's up to the player" some might say, but it's a simulation! How good are you really, if you need to completely reshape the in-game audio (or gfx for that matter) to have the upper hand in the game? I have always dispised people who play FPS games with all effects turned off (maybe even wall textures exchanged for completely white ones) to make it easier to spot enemies - and I surely won't provide them with the tools. My nick is "FOV-90" - guess why? I'm a purist! My personal opinion on the FPWV is the same: Some might want to strip it to get a cleaner view (since the weapon obviously blocks out part of the screen) - but if it can't be turned off then it will be the same for everyone, and no one should complain. Everyone has the same "handicap" and those who are purists (such as myself) don't need to be angered by people who strip away game features (that me and other developers have put their sweat and blood into to put in the game) to make the game "better" for pro MP gaming. ...someone whould make a game where all walls are white, only the enemy weapons make sounds, and all footstep sounds are exchanged for loud alarm beeps. Also, there should be no corners - cause you know people might be hiding behind them! God forbid!! It should be just a white circular tunnel with no shadows anywhere. Hey maybe these people just need to rediscover "Pong" or some other minimalistic old school game. Sorry that was an overreaction and a rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost9 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 HAHA! YEAH! I love that response des. I cannot stand it when people want to strip out all the fun stuff. I feel exactly the same way! Never ever let the user change that type of stuff! I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 GRiN_desmond22 Sorry that was an overreaction and a rant. Im sure the membership will understand your passion about your game, soon to be ours. And reply in a respectfull maner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silent_op Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 ...someone whould make a game where all walls are white, only the enemy weapons make sounds, and all footstep sounds are exchanged for loud alarm beeps. Also, there should be no corners - cause you know people might be hiding behind them! God forbid!! It should be just a white circular tunnel with no shadows anywhere. Hey maybe these people just need to rediscover "Pong" or some other minimalistic old school game. Sorry that was an overreaction and a rant. ← Well said!! I second that!! I have always been annoyed at people who turn everything down for "edge over others performance" in their co-op and TvT playing. If the very same game shipped with the same stripped down garbage settings, no one would have even given it the time of day. GRiN_desmond22, your not ranting. Think of what you said as a well deserved schooling for all those guilty of such practice. The only exception: When people turn settings down due to hardware issues, well that is different and understandable. However those same people with serious hardware issues, only turn settings down to the point where the game is still something close to what it is suppose to play like. After upgrading though, the last thing anyone in this position wants to do is turn settings down again. silent_op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightspeed Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 i agree with you desmond, quic question re: sound - can you suggest a sound card for GRAW? which is best for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 1) Sound to me is as important. I assume you have stereo for every sound? I mean as you fire a bullett, is it a case than in-game that is mono due to being direct in front or is it slighlty widened/thickened to a 10-2 type stereo field? Im a sucker for most things using the full width of stereo, I realise about surround Im mainly refering to the impact on just some stereo L/R monitors even before you switch to surround. As stated in that "trailer" thread, 1st person view sounds are unique, and not the same as those triggered when NPC's fire their weapons. The 1st person weapon sounds are deluxe. Audio teaser might come to show you just how deluxe. 2) Not sure if this was answered but will there be use of filtering on panning for 3D effects. IE: I can hear chattering or enemy calls to my upper-far-left / or my lower-rear-right ... that kind of sound ... doppler effect so to speak? Doesn't surround sound take care of that? I must admit I don't know how to solve that if the hardware doesn't do the trick. In theory, you only have two "in" connections for sound (that is, your two ears), so a pair of heaphones should theoretically suffice to create a complete surround environment where you can hear sounds coming from behind you, below you, etc... and not just left <-> right. It's all about how the sound changes in character, is muffled and reproduces througout the in-game environment. 3) Will you have enemy chatter on stealth missions? IE: as you creep up and enemy that are in a near building/past an obstruction will you hear them filtered (low pass) chattering on the other side of a wall etc? Yes, Creative EAX provides the muffling effect. 4) Will there be like GR1 coughs whistling & mumbling from enemy when they are not aware of you as you creep up on them? No, the enemies are all looking for you, so they keep quiet. They might not be Ghosts, but they're not farmers with pitchforks either! They know their stuff. Adding whistling sounds would be like an insult to the AI progammers. 5) With EAX its clear alot of this will be abused ... but will it be fully set for environmental accoustics ... IE: Small rooms having very filtered and dampened effect on overal sound and gunfire/calls/large areas being brighter etc? Yes the sound changes depending on where you are - certain aspects of the sound change with or without EAX. 6) Will the reverb on open areas change dynamic with gunfire? IE: If I fire in a wide open area will the trailing reverb/post delay of the reverb be dynamic or have you incorperated that into the sample itself and trigger this via different samples dependant on environment? Or Do you let EAX take care of that dynamicaly over a dry sample? Our own system and EAX works together to create that effect. It's a cooperation between different pre-processed versions of the same original sounds, and realtime effects. 7) How many layers of audio was the most you used to get one sound as spot on as you liked? How long did it take? Don't know... sometimes it takes a lot of work. 10 layers? 20 maybe? You'd be surprised if you knew what some sounds are made up of. Sometimes I'm like the chef who hangs out in the kitchen, laughing at the customers unwittingly eating their soup outside. They don't know what's in it. 8) When you have a large explosion ... will shrapnel that gets thrown out have its own sound if it passes close to you / hits the floor near you? Does sound get expanded on in some way with AGEA Physics card explosiong (more things flying more sound of them flying around .. bigger sound). Sorry, no. Not at this point at least. 9) When your scoped in or running does you breathing rate change/ is there breathing effects? IE: after you have ran .. go prone - scope in is the breathing different to the same but going prone when you havent been running? Breathing effect is being worked on. 13) Can in-game music mood music be toggled on/off as well as normal volume levels? Yes. 14) With sound playing a factor in gameplay (location of enemy etc) how much of a trade-off was it for certain things in MP play as apposed to SP play in what could and couldnt be included? OR ... do you have everything in SP but certian things switched off in MP. I don't know, I have to think about that one. I think MP is so fun so I fight hard to make all SP features apply to MP as well. 15) Whats you options for audio in game ... how much level control do you have IE: Envorinment fx level/Voice FX level/Gun FX level ... is it very controllable in the settings? Read my other post/rant. (as you can see it was probably best to never mention about audio in the other thread! LOL ) I'm glad the sound eventually gets some attention. It is my job and passion. ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calius Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 2) Not sure if this was answered but will there be use of filtering on panning for 3D effects. IE: I can hear chattering or enemy calls to my upper-far-left / or my lower-rear-right ... that kind of sound ... doppler effect so to speak? Doesn't surround sound take care of that? I must admit I don't know how to solve that if the hardware doesn't do the trick. In theory, you only have two "in" connections for sound (that is, your two ears), so a pair of heaphones should theoretically suffice to create a complete surround environment where you can hear sounds coming from behind you, below you, etc... and not just left <-> right. It's all about how the sound changes in character, is muffled and reproduces througout the in-game environment. I think the best example I can throw in is Raven Shield which had a "3D Sound" option (probably a feature of eax anyway) ... this used layered filtering like doppler effect in certain ways, a bit like music effect VST plugins that use speaker positioning .. so even on stereo speakers you actualy get top-left/righ front and back & bottom left/right front and back. Raven Shield had that nailed realy well and I was very impressed. I feel that this game probably doesnt need it for the style of game, but that was what im refering to anywho. 4) Will there be like GR1 coughs whistling & mumbling from enemy when they are not aware of you as you creep up on them? No, the enemies are all looking for you, so they keep quiet. They might not be Ghosts, but they're not farmers with pitchforks either! They know their stuff. Adding whistling sounds would be like an insult to the AI progammers.  Hahah ... sorry it was my example, not realy "literal" with whistles etc! LOL. In this case I mean Taunting & shouts but again thats abvious from 360clips (dare i mention). Don't know... sometimes it takes a lot of work. 10 layers? 20 maybe? You'd be surprised if you knew what some sounds are made up of. Sometimes I'm like the chef who hangs out in the kitchen, laughing at the customers unwittingly eating their soup outside. They don't know what's in it. Yeh like using the kitchen items with a mic & a dat to get those clangy smash scrape sounds, then warping them to death via timestretch and pitch & EQ so they suddenly become the extra puch and rattle over a m4 on auto sample! LOL. Your "Rant" by the way was well justified .. I will take that as a no then ... no biggie, I never turn things down that are not needed mainly in-game music to be honest. Thankyou for your replies AUDIOGEEKS UNITE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poita Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Desmond22 I have creative EAX, though my sound card is like 3 years old now. I always found though that on some games when i turned EAX on it was very generically applied and gimicky. Just made everything sound like i was in a cave. Another problem with it was that after i finshed playing the game and quit the EAX was 'stuck' on. Every sound on my desktop was 'cave accoustics'. Can you talk a bit about the subltle and appropriate application of EAX in GRAW. Also what are one or two of the most impressive sound effects you have heard in a game in the past? For me i think the bullets cutting the air above my head in 5.1 sound in Operation Flashpoint. They were fired from far away so the gunshot sound was not dominant and the peaceful woodland scene helped accentuate the fast approachign 'zip' sound of the round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calius Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Good point actualy ... I know Ghost Recon was EAX set (or atleast dumped the logo in to keep up with the jones's) but at a time when it was new, I guess not fully implemented, that was all "shove a heavy amount of reverb whenever theres a cave or valley, that sound good"... LOL. I think (sorry to say again) that Raven Shield for me realy pulled it out the EAX bag fr subtle effects and room environments (muffle v echo etc). Remember to update you cards EAX driver at creative site theres a new update for jan 2006 for all ranges at the moment. (mines an audigy 2). Sorry to ramble ... I think most games now are working alogn side creative to use EAX XF-I etc now more than ever so theres no excuse for wimping out on using the chip correctly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Desmond22 I have creative EAX, though my sound card is like 3 years old now. I always found though that on some games when i turned EAX on it was very generically applied and gimicky. Just made everything sound like i was in a cave. Another problem with it was that after i finshed playing the game and quit the EAX was 'stuck' on. Every sound on my desktop was 'cave accoustics'. Can you talk a bit about the subltle and appropriate application of EAX in GRAW. Also what are one or two of the most impressive sound effects you have heard in a game in the past? For me i think the bullets cutting the air above my head in 5.1 sound in Operation Flashpoint. They were fired from far away so the gunshot sound was not dominant and the peaceful woodland scene helped accentuate the fast approachign 'zip' sound of the round. ← Indeed, EAX has been kind of like stereo when it first was introduced back in the vinyl days - they put the drums aaaall the way to the left, and the bass aaall the way to the right, because you could! It was new and cool! However, did it sound good? Eh, no. EAX is a great feature - as long as it is used with care. It needs to be subtle, like sound characteristics in real life are. Every room is not a bath room, and an alley doesn't sound like a stone cave. It's like the sound designers want to exaggerate the effects in fear of people not noticing them. I hope you find the use of EAX in GRAW PC pleasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 i agree with you desmond, quic question re: sound - can you suggest a sound card for GRAW? which is best for it? ← Any Creative Audigy card is great. As soon as EAX 4.0 is out, get a card with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calius Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Less is more, subtle but effective, a place for everything and everything in its place ... etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident-za Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 GRiN_desmond22, you might have just joined this forum but I've quickly got to the stage of actively seeking your posts out - your passion for the job (and the game) is obvious, and exactly what we want from "our" game dev's Personally I've aways found sound more important to immersion than graphics (possibly due to the fact that I can never afford the latest and greatest Gfx cards) so I'm delighted to read your posts Having said that, I don't know which GRIN dev is responsible for what, but I love everything I've seen so far. You guys rock!!! I've been a big Bo fan for a while, but now I add all you "workers" to the list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griz Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 You rock, Des. Very refreshing to see your opinions and approach on sound. I'm honestly surprised how much of a passion this game is to you GRIN boys ... seems like you're doing it YOUR way and I really admire that. Looking forward to hearing your work in the game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 GRiN_desmond22, your not ranting. Think of what you said as a well deserved schooling for all those guilty of such practice. The only exception: When people turn settings down due to hardware issues, well that is different and understandable. However those same people with serious hardware issues, only turn settings down to the point where the game is still something close to what it is suppose to play like. After upgrading though, the last thing anyone in this position wants to do is turn settings down again. silent_op ← Well that goes without saying. Thanks for the kind words and support, everybody. It warms my heart to see that you recognize and appreciate the passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=3dS=rOOk Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 It's like the sound designers want to exaggerate the effects in fear of people not noticing them. I hope you find the use of EAX in GRAW PC pleasing. ← * Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhiraja73 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Seriously, I don't like the idea of leaving the job of mixing the game audio to the player. The only ones who will care to alter the settings are the pro players who strips the game of any sound that is not completely necessary - trading all realism and immersion for a supernatural upper hand in the in-game environment. "Well that's up to the player" some might say, but it's a simulation! How good are you really, if you need to completely reshape the in-game audio (or gfx for that matter) to have the upper hand in the game? I appreciate your concern to keep the game as a simulation. If you have ever read my past posts, you would know that I want this game to be as unforgiving and hard as a true simulation should be. The difficulty should arise because of realistic reasons though. I have actively supported the possible inclusion of the superhardcore difficulty setting that Ulf talked about in the last dev chat. I like the FPWV and don't like reticles and other gaming aids that are normally provided in FPS. I play SP and Co-op and don't play TvT. I asked the question about the audio options, not to gain advantage in gameplay but because --- while playing for a long time, the sounds of the multiple guns firing is hurtful to the ears ( which I clearly stated in my original post ). The point you have made -- about some people trying to gain an unfair advantage if this option is kept -- is a valid one. So, I guess, I will just have to live with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simulacra Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 (edited) Once I played GR1 in co-op for 5 hours straight with the sound turned up HIGH, all the way to eleven, and I loved it... These days I take care of my ears, it's hard to be an audio engineer without them, lucky I mainly work in TV Edited April 1, 2006 by simulacra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 I play SP and Co-op and don't play TvT. I asked the question about the audio options, not to gain advantage in gameplay but because --- while playing for a long time, the sounds of the multiple guns firing is hurtful to the ears ( which I clearly stated in my original post ). The point you have made -- about some people trying to gain an unfair advantage if this option is kept -- is a valid one. So, I guess, I will just have to live with that. ← Yeah that was what I was afraid of - that you asked the question with no shady intentions in mind. That's why I apologized when I realized what a rant it had turned into. Do not fear, those who need to heed my words know who they are. *mumble mumble fov 110+ good for nothing bunch of mumble mumble...* I'm afraid you'll just have to play with the overall volume turned down a bit - you will not be able to selectively lower the volume on your or your enemies weapons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calius Posted April 1, 2006 Author Share Posted April 1, 2006 Another more geek type question: Whats the sample rates used for raw audio (wav 96k 48k or 44k) and what does it get compressed to for builds - in game final use/shipping out? Do you pack it to ogg/mp3 or still as low rate wav and rely on EAX process for polish? Are you using some in-house software to compress to your own format? - One I doubt you can answer (yet) ... will audio effects be moddable out of the box or will it be down to modders to import new audio? (I think im asking will audio be as accessable as gr1 to mod/re-use for mods or packed away just for the game). (sorry for tech style questions but audio has been a fascination in games since I got an Amiga 500 and wowed at the quality of a game called "Rocket Ranger" .. the amiga got me into audio production and music making, so in games its just the same bag with a different approach - same labour of love). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN_desmond22 Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Another more geek type question: Whats the sample rates used for raw audio (wav 96k 48k or 44k) and what does it get compressed to for builds - in game final use/shipping out? Mostly 48 and 44kHz. Different sounds are compressed to different extents depending on the need for good quality on that sound. The game has huge amounts of sounds so we need to prioritize. Some are downsampled to 22kHz, a few even to 8kHz. Your own weapon sounds are kept at 44kHz. A good example of quality priority is your teammates voices: Every phrase they can say comes both in a distorted and in a "mouth to ear" version, where a slight echo has been added for ambience. The Ghosts then talk directly to you whn they're close enough, and start using comm radio when they're too far away to be heard without it (that's when the distorted voices comes into play). That's correct, we have a certain eye for detail. The mouth to ear versions are 44kHz ADPCM, while the comm radio versions are downsampled to 22kHz ADPCM since the sounds' distorted character allows a greater compression without ruining them. Downsampling only does good to a sound clip that is supposed to be distorted, so to speak. Do you pack it to ogg/mp3 or still as low rate wav and rely on EAX process for polish? Almost all sounds are ADPCM compressed, and kept so even in the soundcard buffer. Are you using some in-house software to compress to your own format? I have to ask my programming colleague for that answer. ADPCM is not our own format but I believe he made some alterations to an existing encoder. ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XenoSoft Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 (edited) Will I be able to stab my knife into the concrete sidewalk and put my ear on it and be able to analyze how many people are coming, if they have tanks, or perhaps apc..... I kid, I kid...I never been a sound guy to be honest, but boy I remember when speakers died and I saw how I just couldn't play games anymore with out sound...It showed me how important it really is, we mostly make 85% of judgments on visuals alone, not in just gaming but in everything. So I can respect how cool your work must be and how little praise you get for it is not right. your Thymotic side must be pleased =) Edited April 1, 2006 by XenoSoft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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