Plans for a new/updated SOUND ENGINE in ARMA3??

[valnwt 11]

What bothers me a lot is that the basic leveling of the mixdown is not done right.

Some sounds are wrongly quiet and some wrongly loud. Only if you are capable to get your basics right (the levels) you can then apply additional processing and FXs - make things more complicated. What bothers me even more is that there does not seem to be a problem with untreated dynamics (which can be really tricky) so it really seems as if leveling was just wrong (which is, mostly, quite a trivial thing to do, after you get your EQ and compression right).

It seems to me as if a BIS' audio engineer was satisfied how it sounds in his own (hopefully fully treated) studio but have not check it on different setups in different environments.

Just my two cents.

This I agree with, it's bother me so much that i've been thinking about trying to re-mix all sounds.

Would also like to link you to the "Audio Tweaking (dev branch)" thread where i posted a tip on how to temporarily solve this issue:

There is a small trick (some probably already know) for those who want to hear distant battles more by using the windows OS loudness-equalization effect. Enable it and turn all the ingame volumes to about 10% (to reduce the effect a bit).

It will make distand battles louder (wont solve it for really distant firefights), you can up the system volume and enjoy hearing all nature sounds when no gunfire is around and not wake up the neighbors when walking on a mine.

It's indeed personal taste, some likes s**t in your pants loud sounding sonic cracks, some dont.

Edited January 25, 2014 by DanielV

[zeep 3]

Still nothing to say about the sound engine BIS?

There's such good remarks in this thread but sadly nothing changed in Arma3's sound engine since the start. It's such a waste..

[KeyCat 131]

100% agree and can't really understand why we still have a soundscape worse than in old A2?!

Judging direction and distance of sounds in A3 is very hard and add to that the short range of gunfire sounds and unbalanced sound volumes of engines/vehicles (to low) and other things... Please put the A2 sound engine back in if the new one can't be fixed.

/KC

Edited April 1, 2014 by KeyCat

[-=seany=- 5]

Yep, there still seems to be zero audio positioning for some effects. We really need Audio high up on the list of stuff to fix. It sucks that is worse than Arma2

[zeep 3]

(Examples on Feedback tracker: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3).

With 400, 300 and 120 votes how can the devs still do and say nothing about the lacking sound engine? These are players that have taken the time to register on YOUR feedback tracker and upvote tickets to benefit YOU. The least you can do is post a reply.

I've given up hope that Arma3 will ever have proper sound. Also i will NOT be buying Arma4 in the future unless they've SERIOUSLY upgraded the sound experience. With all the manpower BIS has it seems the only thing they care for is ZEUS and DLC. That is all fine but why they haven't put any of their resources towards sound improvement beats me.

Today still if a player to your right is reloading and you turn around in a circle, the reloading sound will stick to your ear, turning around with you, instead of staying in the game world position where that player is. That's how much you guys care.

The Arma3 sound experience is embarrassing. I don't know what else to say.

Hopefully more people will vote those tracker links so that BIS can no longer look away from the buggy mess they made.

[clydefrog 3]

Are people really still surprised when BIS don't improve or fix things? They are incompetent and can't do much right at all as you have seen with the amount of stuff that's been done wrong with Arma 3.

[WolfeUK 1]

i kept hearing ppl say to me get arma 3 its so real and the immersion factor is amazing, so i did, bearing in mind ive come from a console where ive played Cod from the beginning, i must say i wasnt that impressed at first, i just didnt feel that immersion everyone kept talking about, i though it was better on consoles, the sounds on there are so much better, true 7.1, even games like farcry 3 has the immersion factor when it comes to sounds, but i have since added a few sound mods and although its helped for me its still not as good as ive played on the console,

hope they will look at this thread and see how much the community want to see change here

[enex 11]

I miss audio developer insight...how hard is it to share few words with thousands of people

yearning to hear know more about topic?

[ratszo 17]

I miss audio developer insight...how hard is it to share few words with thousands of people

yearning to hear know more about topic?

Yeah, don't want Hollywood, just want to hear direction of gunfire [mono] good 'olde mono.

Don't wanna hear someone changing mags 300m. away from me --do want to hear the door next to me open/close.

Direct chat carries 70m. ..., yet there is no way to find the speaker from his voice.

If it ain't mono, it ain't traceable --and distance is another attenuation missed arma3.

It's not like correct sound is impossble in a fps --it's been done before --it was done in EUX, fCs.

Bis needs sound to make us proud. Proud of this game.

If Bis payed any money for the sound they got --they got ripped-off.

[WolfeUK 1]

Yeah, don't want Hollywood, just want to hear direction of gunfire [mono] good 'olde mono.

Don't wanna hear someone changing mags 300m. away from me --do want to hear the door next to me open/close.

Direct chat carries 70m. ..., yet there is no way to find the speaker from his voice.

If it ain't mono, it ain't traceable --and distance is another attenuation missed arma3.

It's not like correct sound is impossble in a fps --it's been done before --it was done in EUX, fCs.

Bis needs sound to make us proud. Proud of this game.

If Bis payed any money for the sound they got --they got ripped-off.

you do realize mono sound would make it worse for us right ?, you would hear all sounds in one speaker ? no direction !!, want you really want is 7.1 which means sound is directional, which i feel it kinda is now, i mean i can tell in what direction a aircraft is coming from by the sound, i even here my artillery ive called in flying over head and the sound is directional

[Harzach 2505]

Yeah, don't want Hollywood, just want to hear direction of gunfire [mono] good 'olde mono.

Directional audio is impossible in mono.

[jgbtl292 0]

why not mono ?? or have a rifle two barrels ? your ear make the stereo not the sound source ;)

[ratszo 17]

Directional audio is impossible in mono.

Clear l/r mono will always lead you to the source.

Try rifle .PBOs from SoS mod --straight mono.

Think about it..., how you gonna find any sound source if it's coming from both sides of your headset.

Not a question; its a statment.

I must add, having done numerous 'spin tests' -- i can find a shooter, monitor off, within 10m. using mono rifle PBOs.

Because right/left never lies.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Ratszo

[WolfeUK 1]

Clear l/r mono will always lead you to the source.

Try rifle .PBOs from SoS mod --straight mono.

Think about it..., how you gonna find any sound source if it's coming from both sides of your headset.

Not a question; its a statment.

I must add, having done numerous 'spin tests' -- i can find a shooter, monitor off, within 10m. using mono rifle PBOs.

Because right/left never lies.

mono uses single channels so it cant determine what channel to use so it uses them all, ie, it would come through both headsets, only when its stereo can it determine single channels therefore use either left, right or both channels depending on where it comes from

[Harzach 2505]

I need sleep. For some reason I got it into my head that you meant mono playback.

However, keep in mind that a stereo sound file doesn't necessarily contain stereo content.

Think about it..., how you gonna find any sound source if it's coming from both sides of your headset.

Well, that's exactly how hearing works. The point is that the sound is different in each ear, and that differential is how we perceive direction/distance.

[ratszo 17]

I use the terms of the maker of the PBOs when i refer to 'mono l/r' in regards to my claim for results of a blindfold test.

Pedantic enough?

I do get ticked off --ever hear a gunshot or a volley? Anywhere in the cone forward is extra percussive --first shot; second shot leaves no doubt the exact heading of the shooter.

Exact means, right there.

You'd have to be shooting in a box canyon to get that wrong.

In Arma, it's really hard to figure where a shot is coming from,; not like reality at all.

Arma sound is bad..., to worse than bad: no help for an infantryman.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Ratszo

[Harzach 2505]

I use the terms of the maker of the PBOs when i refer to 'mono l/r' in regards to my claim for results of a blindfold test.

"Mono L/R" is what we call "dual mono". It is two discreet channels mixed without necessary regard or relationship to each other. I don't know what your source means when they use this term, but it doesn't seem as though they are using it correctly.

A mono sound file played in a stereo sound field is, for the most part, all we need, as that is what we experience IRL - point sources emitting sounds that are then detected by our two ears. The only sources of stereo sound we generally encounter IRL are stereo playback systems. I'm not sure why the BI audio team thought stereo sound files were necessary.

[jumpinghubert 48]

its a (not) good old tradition of BIS to disregard the audio aspect since Operation Flashpoint. Why? Don´t know.

[ratszo 17]

"Mono L/R" is what we call "dual mono". It is two discreet channels mixed without necessary regard or relationship to each other. I don't know what your source means when they use this term, but it doesn't seem as though they are using it correctly.

A mono sound file played in a stereo sound field is, for the most part, all we need, as that is what we experience IRL - point sources emitting sounds that are then detected by our two ears. The only sources of stereo sound we generally encounter IRL are stereo playback systems. I'm not sure why the BI audio team thought stereo sound files were necessary.

Harzach, you are the last person i'd want to argue with..., Respect.

But yo, the sound ain't good --if modders can improve it, why can't Bis?

Is it 'game breaking'? No.

Is it 'game making'? No.

Point is, good sound can 'make' a game for all the right reasons.

I'm not a sound geek..., i just want better.

[Harzach 2505]

But yo, the sound ain't good --if modders can improve it, why can't Bis?

Is it 'game breaking'? No.

Is it 'game making'? No.

Point is, good sound can 'make' a game for all the right reasons.

I'm not a sound geek..., i just want better.

I agree with you 100%.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Harzach, you are the last person i'd want to argue with..., Respect.

But yo, the sound ain't good --if modders can improve it, why can't Bis?

Is it 'game breaking'? No.

Is it 'game making'? No.

Point is, good sound can 'make' a game for all the right reasons.

I'm not a sound geek..., i just want better.

This right here. Dev's need to understand this.

[chrisb 196]

Sounds silly (excuse pun), but what sound form is A3 made for, Stereo, 5.1 or 7.1. I mean actually made for, not maybe advertised as.

[zeep 3]

BIS, you're planning all kinds of updates, now please respond with your plans about updating the audio engine and experience.

When are you going to do or say something about it??

[Flogger23m 2]

An improved audio engine would be good. Games like RO2 and BF3/4 show what a modern sound engine are capable of. Hearing similar technology in ArmA would be nice.

[valnwt 11]

If the sound engine cant be improved, atleast add: >>missing sound<< (I'm especially looking at Blackfoot Gatlin Cannon inpact sound, is it reallt that hard/time consuming?), Adjust the volume levels on near and loud sounds (maybe it's just me but the slammer main cannon is clipping like crazy), Again the distance sound (Blackfoot Cannon is close to unhearable at groundlevel).

I guess I only have so much to say about these issues since I dont know the process for getting audio files to play in the game. But it just feels pity that when we now have good quality samples they're implemented at the very basic level.