Audio Tweaking (dev branch)

[Sneakers O'Toole 2]

The helicopters sound very bad in my opinion. They used to sound okay I guess. But now they are just too distorted and the sound is all mid and high frequencies. There is no low end.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

The helicopters sound very bad in my opinion. They used to sound okay I guess. But now they are just too distorted and the sound is all mid and high frequencies. There is no low end.

They sound too... Mono... or something. Not wide enough. Idk if it's just me, but i guess after playing other games where the Audio is so dynamic to the point it moves across the environment, that when i come back to Arma, it sounds so... plain.

[Bouben 3]

I would not want to be an audio engineer for a realistic milsim game where its community demands hollywood-like sounds :-)

Also, I would be very careful about describing specific frequency problems unless you have a well acoustically treated room, correct listening position and accurate monitoring. Just saying...

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

I would not want to be an audio engineer for a realistic milsim game where its community demands hollywood-like sounds :-)

Infantry Focused Military Sandbox*

[bonham 10]

The helicopters sound very bad in my opinion. They used to sound okay I guess. But now they are just too distorted and the sound is all mid and high frequencies. There is no low end.

I have the same impression, maybe it's caused by the same "issue" that megagoth1702 explained in one of his videos (i.e. dominant sounds have their amplitude increased instead of quieter sounds being made, well, less loud). I understand helicopters are loud, I've taken rides in commercial choppers, but it should be possible to hear your footsteps when there's no loud sound source around without having to increase the in game volume until the next fly-over causes bleeding eardrums.

[Brisse 78]

Tweaked: Sound: Changed shooting sounds dynamic

I think this may have had an unwanted side effect. Even though the attenuation values are set fairly high (mostly 1800 I think), it's now really difficult to hear enemies firing their weapons. Even on close to medium distance firefights, like 400m, it's really hard to hear the enemy. They are very quiet.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

I think this may have had an unwanted side effect. Even though the attenuation values are set fairly high (mostly 1800 I think), it's now really difficult to hear enemies firing their weapons. Even on close to medium distance firefights, like 400m, it's really hard to hear the enemy. They are very quiet.

Tweaked: Sound: Changed shooting sounds dynamic

Really hard to tell what exactly was supposed to have happened with this change, if a Dev could maybe give us a bit of perspective on what this change means.

[megagoth1702 252]

If a Dev could maybe give us a bit of perspective on what this change means.

I would actually love some audio dev comments on this. I know you guys are following this are too busy to comment but please, you have community managers. I would love to see them talk to the passionate sound guys here and spread some info on the many questions on the last pages.

[Sneakers O'Toole 2]

I would not want to be an audio engineer for a realistic milsim game where its community demands hollywood-like sounds :-)

Also, I would be very careful about describing specific frequency problems unless you have a well acoustically treated room, correct listening position and accurate monitoring. Just saying...

lol, not one single person playing this game will be playing it through reference monitors, in an acoustically treated room specifically designed to give a neutral sound from 20hz-20khz. Even if they did you would hear the same thing.

I actually do have nearfield monitors and I have been mixing and mastering sound for over a decade, and the obvious distortion and lack of bass which I described are caused by recording/processing. Obviously distortion cannot be caused by room conditions or speaker placement. speaker placement (very close to a wall) can cause a preponderance of bass but not a distinct lack.

It just seems like you are trying for some reason to be pointlessly defensive, do you actually think the helicopter sound is great! Do you disagree that the low has been cut (if it was ever there), or that it is distorted? If I could be bothered I could literally show you the frequency spectrum graphically.

[Bouben 3]

Speaker placement can, of course, cause a distinct lack of bass because it could cause nulls in your room and your sweet-spot.

EDIT:

Anyway, my main point was to be careful with making "definitive" statements as there is a lot of variables with sound. That is all.

Please, point me to the helicopter and reproduction steps so I can check the sound. And yes, I would actually like to see the frequency spectrum. Thanks.

[megagoth1702 252]

[...] If I could be bothered I could literally show you the frequency spectrum graphically.

DO IT and add some explanation to it! I want to see it. I am always interested in sound stuff since I am a newbie myself. :)

[x3kj 1247]

I want to see it

Just record ingame sound, open in audacity or your soundeditor of choice and do a fast fourier transformation (FFT) of a short selection...

by the by, as a soundmakernoob myself this is a usefull tool for making less-then-ideal soundrecordings more usable, as you can identify frequencies you dont want with it and then filter them out.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Fennek

[megagoth1702 252]

Just record ingame sound, open in audacity or your soundeditor of choice and do a fast fourier transformation (FFT) of a short selection...

by the by, as a soundmakernoob myself this is a usefull tool for making less-then-ideal soundrecordings more usable, as you can identify frequencies you dont want with it and then filter them out.

Thank you. But I know how to do all that, I just want to see how another sound guy does it and his explanation in relation to the helicopter sounds. Maybe I am not a super noob on sound but I have not mixed and mastered for years.:)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Bouben 3]

Just record ingame sound, open in audacity or your soundeditor of choice and do a fast fourier transformation (FFT) of a short selection...

by the by, as a soundmakernoob myself this is a usefull tool for making less-then-ideal soundrecordings more usable, as you can identify frequencies you dont want with it and then filter them out.

In which state I should examine the sound? Close helicopter or distant...?

[megagoth1702 252]

Somebody created a ticket asking to use the inverse square law for arma3's volume falloffs to make it more realistic.

Bad idea. Realism often does not work in a video game. Why not? Watch this video:

[enex 11]

Somebody created a ticket asking to use the inverse square law for arma3's volume falloffs to make it more realistic.

Bad idea. Realism often does not work in a video game. Why not? Watch this video:

I really like videos where person explain yes/no and why is that so.Thanks mega.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Ok, so testing out some bullet impacts and Cracks in DEV, really digging the Sonic racks, sound a ton better than they did before, but their volume could use a bit of buffing. Sonic cracks are louder. than that. With the new impact sounds, they need more Thump with the crumble. I shoot the rock and ground, but the crumbling sound is good, but there's not much of a sense a bullet just dug itself into the ground beside you.

[Brisse 78]

Woho !!! New sounds when firing weapons indoors. I though BI said those would not be ready for the DLC. Great job BI, I'm sure a lot of players will appreciate it. It really does a lot for immersion.

Noticed some strange behaviour with some sounds indoors though. I'm talking about the fire selector switch and the sound when firing an empty weapon. They decrease in volume when I go indoors. It's easy to test. Just stand outside a building and spam the F button (fire selector switch). Listen to the sound effect while you walk from the outside to the inside of a building.

Edit: Been playing around a little bit more. The recent sound changes are fantastic. Good work :)

Edited April 1, 2015 by Brisse

[Sneakers O'Toole 2]

Thank you. But I know how to do all that, I just want to see how another sound guy does it and his explanation in relation to the helicopter sounds. Maybe I am not a super noob on sound but I have not mixed and mastered for years.:)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Huh, I just loaded A3 again and it didn't sound as tinny as I remembered. It didn't even sound that distorted. I dunno, Ill check again sometime. Maybe it was the mod I was playing.

I had a look anyway and compared to another heli sample with the blackhawk. You'll notice (pic1) there is a relatively steep rolloff from 100hz, which indicates less bass, but to be fair the sample I compared it to was particularly bass heavy. Also you'll notice (pic2) the stereo width is pretty small with the a3 heli sounds.

[megagoth1702 252]

Huh, I just loaded A3 again and it didn't sound as tinny as I remembered. It didn't even sound that distorted. I dunno, Ill check again sometime. Maybe it was the mod I was playing.

I had a look anyway and compared to another heli sample with the blackhawk. You'll notice (pic1) there is a relatively steep rolloff from 100hz, which indicates less bass, but to be fair the sample I compared it to was particularly bass heavy. Also you'll notice (pic2) the stereo width is pretty small with the a3 heli sounds.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o638/kensaundm31/Image1.jpg

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o638/kensaundm31/Image2.jpg

Aha, thanks.

[Bouben 3]

The stereo width should be fully dynamic, if possible. In the distance, the source sound should be very narrow with a very wide echo around the listener. From close distance, the source sound should be wider and echoes not too prominent.

[acesential 3]

I'm very much liking the improvements in sounds and the changes they undergo depending on the environments. Attenuation, tails, and so on. They're coming along great.

That being said, I'm curious about how said effects are being handled from sources other than the player. It seems that the tail effect for shooters other than the player are not as dramatic, or, even, they don't occur at all.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but if anyone could enlighten me about this, or if someone could point to me some mention of development of that on this thread, I would greatly appreciate it!

[2nd ranger 282]

Gunshots are waaaaay too quiet now over distance. In a firefight between AAF and CSAT happening 400m from me, all I can hear is the Mk200 and some really soft pah pah pah that is the Mk20. It sounds like the fight is about 1km away. The dropoff distance was too short before this update, but now it's super short.

The new cracks and indoor attenuation are really good though.

[-Coulum- 35]

Gunshots are waaaaay too quiet now over distance. In a firefight between AAF and CSAT happening 400m from me, all I can hear is the Mk200 and some really soft pah pah pah that is the Mk20. It sounds like the fight is about 1km away. The dropoff distance was too short before this update, but now it's super short.

The new cracks and indoor attenuation are really good though.

Pretty much this. Gunss are way to quiet over distance. Plus bullet impacts are too quiet in my opinion.

[megagoth1702 252]

Again and again guys - how about complaining that stuff is too quiet - start complaining that all the REST is too LOUD. ;) Which is clearly the case with arma3 currently. Proof = volume comparison video of mine.

Edited April 1, 2015 by megagoth1702