Sound Issues

[GabKa73 0]

Bug Report:

I'm having serious issues with audio in ArmA. I have a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 with latest drivers (even the latest OpenALwEAX.exe) and hardware accelleration and EAX is ON in audio options. I have a logitech 5.1 speaker system. Rest of my system specs are in my sig and I'm playing vanilla ArmA (german SE version) without any patch or alterations in any shape or form.

Engine sounds from distant vehicles are way too loud and sound like right next to my position (like old OFP if you remember). I can barely hear the drill sergeant in the first training mission - the tank driving by a couple of hundred meters away sounds like driving right over me and I can hear a loud rotor sound from a heli I can't even see.

Also the first single shot I fire with the M4 always sounds very hollow or muffled and always comes out of my right speaker. Following shots sound correct and come from center speaker.

After quitting ArmA my sound setup is completely out of control - all sound unbalanced from all six speakers in windows and any other program. I have to restart my computer to get rid of this.

I have never come across such a sound behaviour in any other game, so I guess it's a bug in ArmA.

EDIT:

Sound issues still here after applying German patch 1.01 (ArmA Version 1.01.5094).

[bangtail 0]

It's become blatently obvious that BIS last consideration is sound. I think it is more up to the modding community to fix the lacklustre audio.

E

** EDIT ** Was not meant to be snide in any way. Just an observation, having been a BIS customer for 6 years, that sound engineering seems to take a back seat to the rest of the game development. OFP had some of the same sound problems that ArmA has. I understand that Arma/OFP are complex undertakings and that BIS is not EA. It's just a little frustrating as it detracts greatly from the immersion factor. Then again, I know it will get fixed!

[GabKa73 0]

I hope not as this is a hardware issue involving hardcoded parts of the game. I don't see how this can be solved with addons or config tweaks.

[Placebo 29]

It's become blatently obvious that BIS last consideration is sound. I think it is more up to the modding community to fix the lacklustre audio.

E

You're entitled to your opinion but making comments which are tantamount to trolling, especially in the troubleshooting forum where people are looking for help not snide remarks are not acceptable.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I have a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 with latest drivers (even the latest OpenALwEAX.exe) and hardware accelleration and EAX is ON in audio options.

Turn them off, i have the same problem with my onboard soundcard (not an AC97, but some other weird thing)

[GabKa73 0]

I turned off harware and EAX and the issue with sound volume for distant vehicles is slightly improved, but just slightly. Now I can better understand the drill sergeant in first training mission but distant vehicles are still clearly too loud. Shooting sounds are ok now.

I fiddled around in the editor and placed a flying AH-1 in different distances and it is still to loud. I also recognised that the nice sound effects that others described in several review threads are missing for me. When I have some buildings between me and the distant heli the sound doesn't change like some other guys experienced. The sounds should be sort of muffled as I understand.

And of course the 5.1 audio is gone now with hardware accelleration and EAX off (rear speakers don't make a sound).

[Balschoiw 0]

Havin 2 soundsets on my comp I tried both.

512 PCI Terratec soundcard:

- EAX: crackling

- Hardware accel on: Sounds go out too loud

Onboard AC97:

- EAX: crackling

- Hardware accel on: Seems ok

Vehicles that are far away are very loud on both. There is a moment when a vehicle comes closer where the volume of the sound jumps higher immedeatly and you think the vehicle is right next to you, still it´s 400-500 m´s away.

I guess this will be adressed in one of the next patches as I don´t think that it´s purely hardware-related. It´s the same effect on both cards.

Another thing I noticed :

When multiple sounds are played at the same time (convoi) explosions are transmitted very much delayed (5-10 seconds) although I am only 100 meter away. Sometimes explosion sounds don´t play at all.

Another issue: Sometimes when i respond to commands the sound is played "doubled" with a slight delay so it sounds like a little echo.

Oh and btw, congrats for implementing dynamic altering of sound

for example when helo is flying behind woods, hills, etc. It´s a great effect.

[bluesteel 0]

When I have some buildings between me and the distant heli the sound doesn't change like some other guys experienced. The sounds should be sort of muffled as I understand.

Was this behavior with or without EAX enabled? Audio obstruction/occlusion is an EAX-feature, so you naturally won't experience it with EAX disabled.

That feature is a little bit too strong though, sounds get muffled even if a simple tree, a small barrel or any other small object is between you and the sound source.

But I have to agree, being able to hear sounds from great distances is a real issue. I once placed a helicopter around 20km away on the other side of the island, and I could clearly hear it flying around. So I was very surprised nothing concerning audio was addressed in the 1.01 patch. (but I guess AI and that copy protection bug were more pressing issues, so there's still hope for a fix in a later patch )

EDIT: Oh yes, something I forgot: The game seems to use too few sound channels. Soundcards like the X-Fi provide up to 128 hardware channels, so 128 different sounds can play at the same time. But I still get problems like not hearing my own footsteps anymore while there are 10 or so vehicles around me. Same goes for shooting, some sounds just get completely cut out the moment I shoot my weapon. So it seems the game limits itself to use only 24 or 32 sound channels, so sounds have to get cut out when something more important (like shots) have to be played.

I think with OpenAL it should be fairly easy to either check how many hardware voices a soundcard supports and use that value, or simply provide a "Number of channels" slider in the audio options.

(This problem might also be elevated by the extremely long distances over which sounds are audible; if I can hear every car of a convoi which is 10km away, it's no wonder my own footsteps have no free sound channel to be played...)

[GabKa73 0]

When I have some buildings between me and the distant heli the sound doesn't change like some other guys experienced. The sounds should be sort of muffled as I understand.

Was this behavior with or without EAX enabled? Audio obstruction/occlusion is an EAX-feature, so you naturally won't experience it with EAX disabled.

EAX was disabled.

OK, I tried again. This time with harware accel OFF but EAX ON:

Sound effects work perfectly (sounds are muffled behind objects. Nice! I like!). Distant heli sound still slightly too loud.

Hope hardware acceleration will be better implemented by the next patch. I also like to know (from BIS and not some personal opinion - no pun intended) what exactly happens when using hardware accelleration besides a plain performance increase due to using dedicated hardware instead of cpu.

[irl-calibre 0]

i'm having wild trouble with Arma & Team Speak, basically Team Speak stops working properly as soon as I run the Arma.exe - other people can still hear me, but I can't hear them, even if I alt/tab back to the desktop. As soon as I close the game down, TS reverts to working properly again. I have a SB X-FI Music extreme soundcard and run it in gamemode . If anyone could help me sort it out i'd appreciate it, thanks..

[sickboy 13]

Sound effects work perfectly (sounds are muffled behind objects. Nice! I like!). Distant heli sound still slightly too loud.

Same opinion. I told a million ppl to disable hardware acceleration, it's a relief isn't it ?

It still needs tweaking indeed, give BIS some time, it will come

Quote[/b] ]i'm having wild trouble with Arma & Team Speak, basically Team Speak stops working properly as soon as I run the Arma.exe - other people can still hear me, but I can't hear them, even if I alt/tab back to the desktop.  As soon as I close the game down, TS reverts to working properly again.  I have a SB X-FI Music extreme soundcard and run it in gamemode .  If anyone could help me sort it out i'd appreciate it, thanks..

Try getting the latest drivers from: www.station-drivers.com, I can use both at the same time, but ingame voice won't work if hardware acceleration isnt disabled in the game

PS: I might write a patch (if it's fixable through config changes) tomorrow for the chopper sounds, until BIS has it officially patched, it might take longer to make the sounds more perfect so release could be later though

[Yeti.OS 0]

I tried every combination of enabling or disenabling hardware acceleration and eax but the sound is either much too loud but clear or sound scratchy but with the correct volume!

Is there a solution for this?

I am using Onboard Sound of my A8N-SLI deluxe by Asus!

[irl-calibre 0]

If I disable hardwear acceleration in game, I lose all sound completely..

[sickboy 13]

Try upgrading your sound drivers from your manufacturer's website, try google.com if you have trouble finding them.

www.station-drivers.com is known to have many drivers.

Goodluck!

ps. Updating all your system's drivers is a good idea anyway, don't stop at your sound drivers

[super64 0]

This is just a heads up on a known hardware issue. Not sure if it will apply to ArmA.. yet. If you are running an nForce chipset SLi board and an X-Fi soundcard, you may experience clipping.. popping.. and scrambled sounds during some games.

Creative Labs X-Fi Forum Test Results

I personally am running an X-Fi Fatality Xtreme Gamer with the MSI K8N Diamond Plus SLi board. For a select few games, I MUST disable SLi to run them.

I would like to know if anyone with a similar setup (nForce chipset MoBo running SLi and a X-Fi sound card) are experiencing any problems in ArmA. Thanks.

[CanisDEK 1]

The vehicle sounds are just too loud. Hardware changes nothing. I have tried on all my computers and it's the same result. EAX on causes horrible sound. Disabling it and hardware helps a bit, but that's just because the sounds aren't as "full" as they are with those settings enabled.

Vehicle sounds in particular should be reworked... tanks driving 200m away sound like I have them in my pocket.

[sickboy 13]

The vehicle sounds are just too loud. Hardware changes nothing. I have tried on all my computers and it's the same result. EAX on causes horrible sound. Disabling it and hardware helps a bit, but that's just because the sounds aren't as "full" as they are with those settings enabled.

And your drivers are already up2date?

As promised, sound patch:

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....t=55179

[CanisDEK 1]

The vehicle sounds are just too loud. Hardware changes nothing. I have tried on all my computers and it's the same result. EAX on causes horrible sound. Disabling it and hardware helps a bit, but that's just because the sounds aren't as "full" as they are with those settings enabled.

And your drivers are already up2date?

As promised, sound patch:

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....t=55179

Yes I always keep my drivers up to date. I have the newest nvidia drivers for my nforce board (on board sound).

My video driver is not the newest however as I can't get ARMAs menus to work with the 93.71 driver (although the game itself runs smooth).

[sickboy 13]

Yes I always keep my drivers up to date. I have the newest nvidia drivers for my nforce board (on board sound).

My video driver is not the newest however as I can't get ARMAs menus to work with the 93.71 driver (although the game itself runs smooth).

I actually had trouble this week at work with an ac97 onboard soundcard/chip/codec, with nforce drivers.

Depending on your motherboard type and brand, it is possible to get different drivers for your onboard sound. On many boards, Realtek ALC650 or 850/880(if im not mistaken) are the used chips. Uninstalling your nvidia ac97 sound driver (not whole chipset driver) and then installing the latest driver from such manufacturer fixed problems in both games and professional audio programs!