Audio Tweaking (dev branch)

[Tonci87 163]

I have 5.1 Headphones, Sadly Arma 3 doesn´t seem to be optimized for them. Walking Sounds seem to be played more on the rear left channel creating a feeling that someone is behind you all the time....

[bigpickle 0]

finally someone who gets the same thing, it actually gave me ear ache, its like the left channel is muffled compared to right.

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=8296

Vote it up add your thoughts and requests.

[Simas 12]

I have 5.1 Headphones, Sadly Arma 3 doesn´t seem to be optimized for them. Walking Sounds seem to be played more on the rear left channel creating a feeling that someone is behind you all the time....

What version? The dev branch (with the new sound overhaul) or the stable 0.56?

I think what happened before was that all sounds were essentially mono (with 3d positioning). After the sound overhaul - the walking sounds (and any sound that is essentially at your position) is stereo now - and there is no weird left/right ear effect. At least for me..

[bigpickle 0]

For me with 5.1 trittons its since the over haul on dev.

[roberthammer 582]

Since new dev update - all reload sounds are very quiet even custom ones

btw now all sounds needs to be a stereo? like gunshots , engines and reloads too?

i tried mikero's wss tool - to make the new stereo format with compress , it does work but for some reason the sound is broken :/

so now i have no idea how to create that new wss , i have to wait for BIS Tools i guess

[gvse 10]

Yes, I agree, reload sounds are very low now. I increased their volume in the config for a custom weapon and that seems to have helped, I think.

Still, my biggest gripe is with footstep sounds, which are very soft. When you switch to 3rd person you have hardly any audio feedback that you are walking. As a result, I crank the global volume up and then when I shoot the explosion is deafening, which can get quite uncomfortable.

[Zorg_DK 10]

gun sounds are still too loud compared to ambient sounds. also there's no sound from rifles with silencer on.

[mr.g-c 6]

As for "what's so special about stereo". It changes a tank coming at you from everywhere to a tank coming at you from the left.

I dont think so, in ArmA1 surround sound or "3D Sound" worked like a charm with MONO soundfiles. If a tank came from right i only heard it from right speaker, if it was very very close i started to even hear it (with lower volume) from front and right-rear speaker, but main volume still from the right speaker. This was perfect and realistic. The sound engine mixed it over the channels just that it was perfect.

Now Stero sounds have 2 channels, left and right... What is with the people that want to enjoy 3D sound, using 5 channels?

[mikero 79]

>i tried mikero's wss tool - to make the new stereo format with compress , it does work but for some reason the sound is broken :/

hmmm. I'm assuming here it's "broken" in the arma3 engine, but plays ok in a2? The arma2 engine btw complains about stereo wss in it's rpt file, and I can't recall if it actually rejects it.

I guess it's time for me to examine an a3 wss file <grin>

[mrcash2009 0]

Out of interest with the wss conversion I assume your going - wss > wav > wss. If so what's the format of the WAV coming from WSS? IE 44khz 16bit Mono or something else, make sure that matches on converting it back after stereo wav > wss and try if it doesn't seem to work.

[pauliesss 2]

I think they are aware that there is no sound when you use silencer, just cant find the related ticket right now. Its still WIP however...

[EDcase 87]

57.105.125

At the moment sound direction is completely lost within 10m of a shooter.

You should obviously hear the direction of a sound even right next to the source like someone firing a weapon.

It should become more stereo but never completely.

[bigpickle 0]

Since new dev update - all reload sounds are very quiet even custom ones

btw now all sounds needs to be a stereo? like gunshots , engines and reloads too?

i tried mikero's wss tool - to make the new stereo format with compress , it does work but for some reason the sound is broken :/

so now i have no idea how to create that new wss , i have to wait for BIS Tools i guess

It didn't work for me at all, I have posted the error that I got but Mikero hasn't replied.

[mikero 79]

It didn't work for me at all, I have posted the error that I got but Mikero hasn't replied.

The 'wav' file you are attempting to convert is NOT uncompressed, pcm data.

most other compression formats tend to be a) propriety, and b) undocumented.

I don't support any other type of conversion and afaik, neither does bis.

whatever tool it is you're creating that wav file with, SaveAs uncompressed.

---

For those interested in such things, here are the 'usage stats' for each of the major engines:

..................................... ofp CombinedOps Arma3

Stereo..............................1...........19.............216

Mono..............................43..........659...........2570

Mono Byte Compressed 4074.......24197..............7

Mono Nybl Compressed none..........156............none

Nyble compression was introduced for baf/pmc dlc-content. It appears to have been abandoned/forgotten about, or misunderstood.

The few stereo wss files in ofp/arma2 were most likely unintentional or experimental in nature and left as-is while much more important stuff was fixed. The ofp and the a1/a2 engines accept stereo wss, but the bis wss2wav tool will not create them.

Note that no stereo files are compressed. The architecture is there to handle it, but it hasn't been done and perhaps the engine can't handle that particular mix.

Note also for arma 3 that wav files accompany each wss. This could simply be a packing oversight as they contain non-industry standard, proprietary, undocumented additional chunks developed by Sound Forge pro.

The actual pcm data they contain is in 'standard format' and as a result most tools and most players can use them as-is.

In summary, for the much touted 'stereo', there's (so far) precious little to see, and there is NO difference between any current a3 wss file and the standard product, begging the question, 'what new features' ?

edit:

latest a3 'devel' beta contains

2354 mono byte compressed wss files

132 stereo byte compressed wss files

0 nibble compressed

0 wav files

So, although tiny in number, stereo compression is now being employed (or just as likely, aren't meant to be there). The fact remains that no changes have occurred to the wss format, and, nibble has been dropped as a 'good idea at the time'. All of which then begs the question why bother with wss at all since ogg does at least as good a job (with compression) and much better supported tools with an industry standard format to hack at. Perhaps lip-sync is the reason for wss's long overdue use-by date.

Edited May 19, 2013 by Mikero

[pauliesss 2]

I dont want to sound like an a-hole, but could you please add the sounds back when using silencer ?

Thanks a lot. :)

[ericfr 0]

BETA 071.106.869

Sound occlusion doesn't work anymore.

[fragmachine 12]

BETA 071.106.869

Sound occlusion doesn't work anymore.

Agree, before going to beta there was an update to sound engine with doppler and occlusion and even without doppler being fixed it sounded promising.

I hope that it is possible for audio engine to PP the sound samples not only for doppler, occlusion but also terrain/building/tree or any given object reverbering and simulating the soundwave being reflected off the buildings and trees... If this could overload CPU then this could be an option in Audio-tab menu which lacks adjustability anyway.

Recorded samples with reverb attached to them can became boring, simulating reverbation/echoing could give us bilions or so different sounds. Just one sample that can sound so much different in different environments. It is possible by scripting so for sure it is possible in the engine:

Edited June 25, 2013 by fragmachine

[NeuroFunker 11]

Agree, before going to beta there was an update to sound engine with doppler and occlusion and even without doppler being fixed it sounded promising.

I hope that it is possible for audio engine to PP the sound samples not only for doppler, occlusion but also terrain/building/tree or any given object reverbering and simulating the soundwave being reflected off the buildings and trees... If this could overload CPU then this could be an option in Audio-tab menu which lacks adjustability anyway.

Recorded samples with reverb attached to them can became boring, simulating reverbation/echoing could give us bilions or so different sounds. Just one sample that can sound so much different in different environments. It is possible by scripting so for sure it is possible in the engine:

your welcome to vote on my ticket http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=9464

[fragmachine 12]

your welcome to vote on my ticket http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=9464

And I did :) - loong time ago but still no interest in it from devs? With stereo sounds it should be possible to simulate positional reverb/sound reflecting/echoing. It definitely would improve the soundscape, giving it sense and depth of space in environment plus mentioned before possibility of bilions different sound results. With doppler, occlusion effect and mentioned above this sound engine would became really POWERFUL.

[Smurf 12]

Who brought this thread back? Hint at the next Dev target?

[bad benson 1733]

i really like your speculation Smurf. i really do! it would be great if that was true :party:

[Tonci87 163]

Well I hope that they finally fix the 5.1/7.1 Problems. They have been around for too long already.

[xendance 3]

Hopefully the tank rounds' impact sounds have been improved :rolleyes:

[maddogx 13]

Who brought this thread back? Hint at the next Dev target?

This thread was one of the victims of the beta forum being closed. I brought it back a few days ago... no need to get excited. :)

[Smurf 12]

Thank you for bursting my bubble. :mad:

JSRS