Authentic sound & weapon Mod

[Bunks 0]

WOW! Just installed the 1.054 and I must say...very rich indeed.

Im going to ask Rg this later when I play with him, but I need to ask. The PK sounds a bit high pitched to me. Any chance of maybe checking out the WGL OFP sound for it and see if you can replicate that one. To me the sound of a PK opening up in WGL was frightening and caused panic to me. Just a request and not really a critique.

[ThePredator 0]

Rg is working on the sounds already, well, he was when I talked to him last time.

I don't have the WGL stuff, need to grab it somewhere.

[funnyguy1 0]

Well, great as always.

@chammy:

Some sounds end too fast imo. It feels too artificial imo (vulcan), especially while other ones dissapear very fluently and realistically.

Also, some weapons have this nice popcorn echo (PK) in the background and some don't. I know that's a matter of distance and sorroundings, but imo the sounds should have more of this echo thing, just like in your vid (PK). In ArmA it's almost 70% of the time when it should sound like that.

@Pred: I remember your first relases, there was more of the echo effect in the samples wasn't it?

[Bunks 0]

Rg is preoccupied with his new build as we speak, but I know he has it on his system. WGL had some great sounds but the PK was one of those that stood out in the crowd. Very throaty and deep sounding that made your hair stand up when you heard it shooting at you. I cant believe he hadnt mentioned it to you.

[ThePredator 0]

There still is an echo on most sounds.

It would be awesome if the sound engine could create echos on its own. But the whole game lacks proper sounds and effects.

There is no spin-up, shut-down event for engines, no gear operating sound (same for flaps), no eject sound, no sound occlusion for the own engine sounds (in a cockpit, tank, et cetera)

No warnings for different damage types, like main rotor, tail rotor, fuel leak...

All that seems to be a minor issue, but in the end all that will create more immersion and atmosphere than a super realistic graphical scene on the screen. Imagine watching your favourite movie without sound.

So the whole point in sound modding is to create effects, that *could* suit the most situations, and this is open range shoot outs.

To get good sounds with a natural echo is quite difficult. Adding some other echo just to have it there, sounds strange in most cases.

Well, this is a statement not an answer to your question, just wanted to say that not everything authentic can sound apropriate.

[chammy 7]

Rg is preoccupied with his new build as we speak, but I know he has it on his system. WGL had some great sounds but the PK was one of those that stood out in the crowd. Very throaty and deep sounding that made your hair stand up when you heard it shooting at you. I cant believe he hadnt mentioned it to you.

Cool, yeah, well if the person, such as you for example, is after a big more commercial sounding mod then me imho am not aiming in that direction, although, I do plan to make 2 types. I see alot of peeps liking that "big ultra reverberation" sound, the thing is, since the suroundings in ArmA are mostly desert and few hills, thats the reason for such small amount of echo, although, at dusk and night you should hear more, so i am just going through rough drafts to see which fits better. I'd put more echo depending, but there isnt forests around like in OFP. I am trying to make sure the samples arent fallng to into Hollywood style, as most sound effects in movies and in games are all from CD's. I try not to clean mine up so much that they start to sound like they were played from a keyboard. no biggie though

[chammy 7]

So the whole point in sound modding is to create effects, that *could* suit the most situations, and this is open range shoot outs.

To get good sounds with a natural echo is quite difficult. Adding some other echo just to have it there, sounds strange in most cases.

Well, this is a statement not an answer to your question, just wanted to say that not everything authentic can sound apropriate.

Exactly Pred, the thing here what we are doing is aiming at "in between to suit the enviourment" sound, all this is to improve ArmA in an all around way.

[funnyguy1 0]

Well, I'm not an expert. So to me it doesn't matter whether the PK on chammy's vid sounds correct or not (well It does, but that's not the point). What does matter, is the fact that shooting it in the open I should hear the popcorn thing, sure would be cool if the engine could handle this, but It's just like "well, it's not how it sounds on all the vids from iraq" (again, I'm not talking about the quality, just the echo effect).

Although I understand that not everything authentic can sound apropriate in all situations (due to the engine limitations etc.), I don't understand why Is adding some more of this delayed popcorn echo to the samples so problematic. Is it because you want it all authentic? To me it's just a matter of [copy the <bang bang bang>, paste it 1sec later, and edit it to the point where it sounds <pop pop pop>. If it's all about compromises, then why should this be so hard? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I would do this better or something. It's just that even good painters emphasize(?) particular shapes in their paintings just to suggest it's realistic. That's weird, but it looks more realistic, than without it. Anyway, no spamming, keep up the good work.

edit: I've already got my answer in the 2 chammy's posts above;)

over&out

[ThePredator 0]

My maxime for Modern Warfare is "realism without compromise".

So my current build is pretty much what I feel ArmA should've be like in the first place.

Some sounds do not really fit others in echo, quality or sharpness, but hey, this is a game after all.

If someone tells you, he can hear the difference of guns being fired, he has some point, but this is not true for most occasions.

Guns always sound different, just move around a shooting range. Distance cuts the hights and evrything sound muffled. In the proximitry of a gun you don't hear anything, sound pressure is above safe hearing level (180 dB+) and not recomended at all.

A few meters away from the blast, everything sounds metallic but the blast itself feels like a punch.

No computer game, hollywood movie and no THX, Dolby od dts will ever recreate the feeling, no matter what.

I try to make some sound mod that is authentic. I don't care if the guns sound like toys, because guns DO sound like toys compared to games like BF2 or whatever you played...

How on earth can anyone recreate the true sound of something that is just a loud noise?

All you can try to use is the typical sound signature. For example, most gamers know the sound of an M-60 machine gun. Why? Because it has a distinct munching sound. The M-79 was nicknamed "Thumper" for a reason.

I have to admit, some sounds are not authentic for the specific weapon or vehicle, the reason is simple: I don't have the sounds.

I have to rely on sources like videos and other games, mostly simulations.

The problem with such sounds is quality. Most videos you find on known pages are pretty much useless due to extreme compression. Those with good quality suffer from poor microphones.

But let's come back on topic, I still need feedback for the current release.

There are some known bugs I fixed.

I need to work on the M249 sound, the PK sound, Mk19 sound, AGS30 sound (chammy got something nice in his video), G36 sound (YUCK!! and turret servos.

If anyone of you got a Beretta 92FS or M9: Please record the reload sound without clipping. Same for all other weapons.

Sadly, I don't have the equipment to record sounds on the range and there is no Mk23 in-game anyway.

[steven breen 0]

Hi Pred,

Personally, i feel the sounds you have at the moment are superb. Its clear you know your stuff and you have increased the atmosphere of the game immeasureably for me and my friends who play.

There are some sounds remaining for me to test out but, besides the m16a4 (which you already know about), everything is sounding nice  

If I do come across any problems which you have not mentioned above, I will let you know but like i said, I'm no expert.

Thanks,

Steven.

[doofy3210 0]

I agree with predator about the sounds realism. In my personnal experience, I don't really hear an echo when I shoot with a rifle because the recoil and the vibrations (especially on the m16) don't make you pay attention on echo. When you are next to a weapon, you hear it properly despite the shockwave if you're very close. I suppose the echo is clearly heard when you are ahead the weapon (it arrived me only once so I can't say in general).

I'm not an expert with the arma engine but maybe it would give a realistic sound if the sounds of the shots are played without echo and this one would replace the supersonic crack. Like this, you would hear echo when under fire but not when you shoot.

Another idea is to record several sounds for a same weapon (with more or less echo) and play them randomly.

You make a good work guys, continue like that.

[chammy 7]

Welll, like and Pred had explained earlier, the echo depends on the enviourment you are in. If you are oout in the open, bright and sunny day, there is hardly any echo (do not know why the time of day has to do with echo but it does) usually foggy days you hardly any, its always early morning and late afternoon or dusk you hear alot of echo. Even in open feild you hear some echo, but if there are reflective surfaces you will diffenetly hear some. The echo i have was taken where there was some reflective surfaces, a few buildings and hills.

[miles teg 1]

Hmm.... tough call. I personally like the way the sound on the FDF mod is as it keeps the little pop.

Echo to me isn't that big of a deal as long as there's a little. But like others here I have no idea how the sound system in ArmA works and how many samples you're working with.

As a former soldier I agree that you don't pay much attention to any echo when you shoot..it's a very direct sound. But also the little "Pops" are indeed what you hear when bullets are going over your head. Thats generally how you know that bullets are coming very close to you...its when those pops are really loud.

As for the sounds people here on TV.... those suck. I hate it when people ask for sounds like they hear from Iraq on TV or YouTube. As was mentioned, the compression is very bad and the sound quality very bad even on TV. To accurately get gunshot samples you need some fairly high quality mics like electret-condenser reference microphones coupled to high-end preamplifiers with loads of headroom. On top of that you need a high end brick wall limiter that does cause really noticable compression. Finally you need a quiet area with no wind blowing or people/vehicles making noises. Its really a lot of work that goes into recording high-quality gunshot samples. Most people have no idea how difficult it is.

So...if you're limited with the number of samples in OFP, compromises will have to be made I suppose. But for me personally, the big long echo thing is not a big deal as it changes all the time depending on weather conditions and enviornment. I recommend keeping the little super-sonic pop on everything except sub-sonic pistol and sub-machine gun rounds.

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

[ThePredator 0]

This is personal preference, of course.

Since I am a competitive shooter, I know how guns sound in different environments. I also know some of the military weapons used in Armed Assault, but FDF sounds, as good as they are, do not sound like any of those I know. They are not authentic to me.

I thought everything is pretty much the same.

For realism and authenticity, I have to stick to combat footage and low-fi sound samples. I don't want to have hollywood sound effects or just different sounds to the vanilla game.

I'd like to keep the echo for most guns, because there is some slight reflection. The shooter does not hear it, but it still exists.

If I concentrate on hitting my target (in game and in the real world) I barely hear anything else but my heart and breathing.

In Armed Assault, I experienced I don't realize the gun going off, but it's nice to hear someone else shooting, so the sound is more important for the listener, not the shooter.

If possible, please let me know which sounds you like and what sounds needs to be changed/replaced. There are not just gun sounds. Vehicles were changed, too.

Besides the few known bugs, the most thing I hear is "Nice work"

That is barely the sort of criticism to enhance the sound environment, if you take my meaning.

[doofy3210 0]

I have played all sounds and here is my opinion:

m4:too echo

m4 sd: perfect

m16a2:perfect

m16a4: needs the m16a2 sound

spr:too echo and a bit too loud

m249:perfect

m240:perfect

m9: too muffled sound

m9 sd: perfect

mp5 sd: perfect

m24: perfect

M2: perfect

barret: perfect

mk19 and ags 30: need to be changed

makarov: too muffled

ak74: really too loud

svd: need to sound more powerful (it's still and all 7.62!

pk: perfect

dshkm: perfect

aksu:too echo and too loud

m203 and gp25 grenade explosion: need more echo (I presume it sounds like a handgrenade)

The major problem is the power balance because you only hear the ak in a firefight and I haven't noticed a difference of power in real.

The choppers have good sounds except the littlebird which shouldn't have the same sound as the cobra. In my opinion, the planes should have other sounds with more bass.

It would be awesome if we could hear a sound of tracks with the tanks, that frightens more when an abram approaches with this kind of metallic noise.

good luck!

[Rommel 2]

Love it, modified if for personal use, and now it sounds wonderful.

I changed:

M203 Grenade Explosion (sounded horrible)

C4 explosion (also horrible)

GAU8 to Minigun Sounds (they sounded better... I hated the new GAU8 ones lol.)

M4 sounds same as M16 now, couldnt stand the over-echoing M4, M16 echo was good while still getting the punch of the gun.

AK74 changed to AK74SU sound cause the normal AK had a tinny sound, not enough punch.

Also changed PKT to the PK sound also, as the PKT was too weak in sound.

What doesnt work:

M4 Burst. (You gotta set soundburst = 1 (Pretty sure))

M249.

Ai can shoot with old sounds and new sounds... for some reason... ingame I notice 2 guys, same guns, each shooting different sound, killed both, stole guns, both sounded same?

[Vassago 0]

Your configs don't work for me. Nothing but crashes left and right. Keeps crashing on PSSpecular and a few others.

[canis lupus 20]

I'm a little confused here, Is the 0154's sounds supposed to sound something like the ones on the video, because I don't really hear that much diferense, or am I doing something wrong here?

[ThePredator 0]

I need more info from both of you. Just telling you got errors or problems won't do the trick.

Did you add the -mod=ModWarSound to the shortcut? Did you extract the files into the ArmA main folder?

Please be more specific, it is either your fault (no offense) or some problem no one else had so far.

[canis lupus 20]

I can't see what I should have done wrong, the sounds are changed, there is just not much of a change, the explosions sounds good, and the m16 and ak74 sounds are a lot diferent nut the others are a lot like the original... but as I said, I'm not sure wether they shoud sound a bit like the preview movie or if its right the way they sound...

I just found a way to figure it out I opened the Pbo and played the sounds and they sounded like the ones in the game, so I guess I'm still waiting for your next release...

[Kay 0]

Couple of the sounds are a tad sketchy, but over all I love it. I tried FDF at first, but this one just hit the right spot for me

I have high hopes for this one..

Keep up the good work!

[ThePredator 0]

Thanks alot.

I removed the echo from most of the small arms, just the true sniper rifles still have some echo to reflect the long range nature of sniper fire (you have enough distance between you and the target to realize the echo).

@agamoth: Most vehicles sound still the same, the majority of weapons have been changed, though. I don't think the changed sounds are similar to the vanillas, but I know what I have done

[canis lupus 20]

Yeah, its proberly just me, I have seen the preview video of your upcoming sounds and they are realy great, they make the old ones sound a bit vanilla like, so it's just me, so now the plan is: switch back to vanilla sounds for a day, then back to your mod, so I can enjoy it as it should be enjoyed again and of course try to be patient untill your next release, you are doing a really great job...

[Törni 0]

Very interesting mod. What is the latest version?

[chammy 7]

Heres another clipping i just posted, wanted to get everyones 2 cents on the clips before finnishing:

ArmA MGs sample preview