Getting back into sound modding, need feedback on sounds

[doveman 7]

Thanks for the feedback. Nothing is final though. :)

The new battlefield games have a very modern, dynamic audio system. Arma does not allow dynamic volume changes without ugly limiter-distortion which we have in the vanilla game right now.

I wonder if it would possible for someone to code a program external to ArmA (but that only affects ArmA's output, not other programs like TS3) that can boost the volume of quiet sounds and maybe compress the volume when things get loud, without the harsh limiting distortion that ArmA currently does? The compression might not be needed though if the volumes can be set so that it's not necessary.

Obviously it would be better if this was internal to ArmA but until such time as the devs see fit to do this, perhaps this would be the best solution? My Realtek onboard sound actually has a Loudness Equalisation option but I've not used it, so I'm not sure how well implemented this is.

[megagoth1702 252]

I wonder if it would possible for someone to code a program external to ArmA (but that only affects ArmA's output, not other programs like TS3) that can boost the volume of quiet sounds and maybe compress the volume when things get loud, without the harsh limiting distortion that ArmA currently does? The compression might not be needed though if the volumes can be set so that it's not necessary.

Obviously it would be better if this was internal to ArmA but until such time as the devs see fit to do this, perhaps this would be the best solution? My Realtek onboard sound actually has a Loudness Equalisation option but I've not used it, so I'm not sure how well implemented this is.

Yup, use your volume equalization or whatever have you. Arma will not do it as smoothly. Not until I figure out these weird config lines in the cfgSoundEffects... The magic is dark. Big nerdism must be done to defeat it.

[Fushko 59]

I tried using Windows equalization, and I have to say, it worked quite well in balancing the sounds. I can finally hear footsteps and ambient sounds without having to raise the volume to insane levels.

A nice temporary (I hope) solution.

[doveman 7]

Cool, I'll have to try it myself :)

[megagoth1702 252]

THIS WAS RECORDED using MegaSound_VolumeLevels, the environment & movement sounds are not comparable to vanilla! Should be listened to with headphones, because if you listen to this in a room with speakers the reverb of your OWN ROOM will create an annoying, bassy hummm sound after each shot. But I think most of us play arma with headphones anyway.

I always wanted to make a sound for a pistol. It may have too much low end BUT I think since it's not going to be rapid-fired like an automatic rifle it's fine. Indoor reverb seems a bit off. Oh, it's mono. For now. What do ou guys think?

Edited April 10, 2015 by megagoth1702

[PTV-Jobo 820]

I like it. Like you said, the indoor reverb seems a tiny bit off, but the actual sound itself is nice. Sounds like a handgun that has some "oomph!" behind it.

[megagoth1702 252]

Okay, another version.

Less low end, less outdoor-tail indoors and a ping pong echo was added, thanks to audiocustoms!

[Fushko 59]

Okay, another version.

Less low end, less outdoor-tail indoors and a ping pong echo was added, thanks to audiocustoms!

Sounds great. The indoor reverb also sounded pretty believable.

And btw I'm one of those users with speakers (my doctor has prohibited me from using headphones for a while, problem with tinnitus). Just wanted to inform you that not everyone is on heaphones :)

[roshnak 41]

Oh, it's mono. For now.

I have a question: Is there any reason that it would be desirable to have stereo sounds in a video game? I don't know that much about sound stuff, so I'm just wondering if there is any advantage to having a stereo sound played in a "3D" environment?

Edited April 11, 2015 by roshnak

[audiocustoms 375]

Yes? b/c you hear stereo... For example the indoor tail with the flattering echo is a result of the sound bouncing between the left and right wall pretty fast. Ergo left wall=left ear and right wall=right ear -> stereo. Its natural hearing and realistic.

[roshnak 41]

Yes? b/c you hear stereo... For example the indoor tail with the flattering echo is a result of the sound bouncing between the left and right wall pretty fast. Ergo left wall=left ear and right wall=right ear -> stereo. Its natural hearing and realistic.

Shouldn't the engine be spatializing that stuff for you, though? Like, if a gunshot goes off to my right, shouldn't the game be deciding how much of the sound goes to my right ear and how much goes to my left, not the sound file?

Edited April 11, 2015 by roshnak

[audiocustoms 375]

It does. But it's sort of the same sound played as the sound the shooter itself hears. And that has to be stereo. But sonic cracks for example can stay mono. An example: You listen to music over your headphones. If it is a good mix, it has perfect stereo sound. but once you take them of and lay them on you table, walk a few stepls, the phones sort of turn into a mono source but the music is still stereo. You walk to the right, your left ear gets more information and the other way around. That's what the engine does. It is possible to let the engine (maybe not the ama engine) calculate a realtime reverb according to the enviroment, but i guess those algorythms would be that performance consuming, that you wont play the game b/c of fps drops

Edited April 11, 2015 by audiocustoms

[goomer 10]

Shouldn't the engine be spatializing that stuff for you, though? Like, if a gunshot goes off to my right, shouldn't the game be deciding how much of the sound goes to my right ear and how much goes to my left, not the sound file?

Yes and Yes. All sample tinkerings and special effects should be handled by the engine alone.

[audiocustoms 375]

I agree, they SHOULD be. But not possible... The reason for stero source sounds for weapons.

[goomer 10]

I agree, they SHOULD be. But not possible... The reason for stero source sounds for weapons.

But there's so much you can do technically that negates the need for stereo samples. Surround emulation has done it in the past, while some better than others. I'm not necessarily talking about what's possible with the arma engine currently, rather than what can actually be done through code. If you give me enough time (and money :3), i'm sure i could crank out a mono sample that is psycho-audibly formed (taking the game world into account and not actually mono anymore once i'm done with it), to sound just as good as the stereo sample. SCIENCE!

Edited April 11, 2015 by Goomer

[audiocustoms 375]

Yeah, like you said... Time and Money ;)

But for now it is the best to stick to stereo files relating to sounds that are played by the player (gunshots and even tails). It's the simplest way and c'mon... those few MB more for a stereo sample than a mono one? :D

Ppl downloading GBs of mods and stuff that those some more MB of data dont hurt... When i'm thinking of my mod collection, its way more than 100GB by now :D

[blu3sman 11]

I was wondering, are there any binaural gunshot recordings for use in first person?

[audiocustoms 375]

Not that i know of. This method of recording is Headphones exclusive and not very common.

[panimala 25]

I've been running @volumelevels for a few sessions and my impressions are mixed. The gun sounds are louder and more differentiated from the environmental sounds, which is good, but I feel that it basically only applies to your own gun. In a fire fight your own gun is like the loudest thing ever, whereas the people right next to you sound like they are far away. Maybe their weapons aren't touched by this addon?

Maybe you want to differentiate the players gun from the rest by making it be more pronounced for the player, but simply turning the volume knob on it seems like the wrong approach in my opinion. In real life you hear the mechanics of the gun, the sound of you releasing the trigger, you feel the recoil as well as simply hear a broader range of the guns sound including the lower frequencies.

Maybe it'd be easiest to simply lower the gun volume of the player so that it doesn't stick out so much, because I feel that it's a bit too loud right now. It would still retain a different soundscape since the environmental sounds are quieter still.

[laxemann 1673]

I've been running @volumelevels for a few sessions and my impressions are mixed. The gun sounds are louder and more differentiated from the environmental sounds, which is good, but I feel that it basically only applies to your own gun. In a fire fight your own gun is like the loudest thing ever, whereas the people right next to you sound like they are far away. Maybe their weapons aren't touched by this addon?

Maybe you want to differentiate the players gun from the rest by making it be more pronounced for the player, but simply turning the volume knob on it seems like the wrong approach in my opinion. In real life you hear the mechanics of the gun, the sound of you releasing the trigger, you feel the recoil as well as simply hear a broader range of the guns sound including the lower frequencies.

Maybe it'd be easiest to simply lower the gun volume of the player so that it doesn't stick out so much, because I feel that it's a bit too loud right now. It would still retain a different soundscape since the environmental sounds are quieter still.

That's something BI implemented, mega won't be able to fix this. Try it with the vanilla sounds, same thing.

[megagoth1702 252]

During my trip to BIS I learned that there is currently a volume boost for first person shooting. This boost is too big though, it was kind of an accident. :) It's going to be fixed by BIS.

Also VolumeLevels was not intended for play with the current arma3. It was simply a proof-of-concept to get attention to the problem of loudness, not really intended for real play. So yeah, weird results are to be expected. :D Especially with vehicles in the mix.

[megagoth1702 252]

Quick test of AA cannon. It's not too bad but not very good either. The playback of the samples is weird.

[kazenokizu 10]

all im going to say is go to a outdoor range and shoot some guns.and try sting in the midel of 10 people shooting with out ear pro :P

[DemonLordy 10]

Hey heard your name last night on the live stream.

Was actually surprised you made it to the "big" guys there.. :)

So seems your ideas come into consideration at BIS. That is good news :)

[megagoth1702 252]

Hey heard your name last night on the live stream.

Was actually surprised you made it to the "big" guys there.. :)

So seems your ideas come into consideration at BIS. That is good news :)

Hey dude, thanks for letting me know! I am nowhere near being "a big guy", but I like the sound department at the HQ and they like me. :)

Can you point me to the approx time where they talked about sound? It's tedious scrolling through a 2h+ livestream.