Anamon

As far as I remember there was one slider in particular, Terrain Detail or something, that basically just added random polygons to the landscape. It was introduced with some patch. It didn't really make the game look any better, but was and is a massive resource hog. Plus the visibility setting that metakrase mentioned, you can go really overboard with that. So I think if you keep these two at reasonable levels, you can turn the other ones back up to their maximum. As for the non-enterable buildings, that was something that was actually improved/fixed with later patches. The collision detection was really bad initially, so you always got stuck at doorways or on stairs, etc. It was improved a lot in later versions.

Yeah, these settings are pretty hit and miss! When I activate EAX, I really have to turn the speakers down because it will play all the sounds from everywhere on the entire island; a bug that I've seen mentioned before. On just hardware acceleration, as I described in my other thread, this happens to radio chatter: OFP_3_choppy_radio.mp3 :rolleyes: Interesting to hear that you need to change your speaker configuration too, even though you have a different problem. I wonder if all of this is related to the new audio stack introduced with Vista. When I have more time I might try installing on an XP machine and see what happens.

Cool, thanks for your replies! I had tried with both hardware acceleration on and off, it didn't make a difference. However, now I played around some more, and I wouldn't say I know what the problem is or how to solve it, but at least I've found some kind of workaround. I remembered that the only thing I didn't try to change or reconfigure is my speaker configuration. I have a 5.1 speaker system, so that's the way both the Xonar and the Realtek are configured in Windows. I tried changing that setting to Quadrophonic or Stereo, and it actually made a difference in the engine volume! When I switch from 5.1 to Quadrophonic, it's still loud and makes dialogue inaudible, but it's a bit softer than on 5.1. If I switch all the way back to Stereo, the volume of the engines sounds is more or less fine! Of course it's not a very good workaround since I will lose 2D positional audio (which worked fine before, by the way). But at least I can play the game somewhat now! It's weird, it's like the engine volume is increased proportionally to the number of speakers, which doesn't make much sense. And as I mentioned, I also own the original OFP, and I don't have the problem in any version from 1.00 to 1.46 on the same system, so it's probably a bug introduced with the CWA upgrade. May I ask what kind of speaker setup you guys are using? One other thing, the issue with engine noise not fading out over time remains. Dialogue is still hard to understand without subtitles. At least now I don't have to constantly turn back the volume, but if the fade-out would work again, maybe I could even play on Quadrophonic and have multi-channel audio again. How is it on your system, are the engines just "not too loud" but constant in volume, or do they get more quiet after a few seconds like it used to do in OFP?

Since my other thread about sound problems (with different problems in different versions of the game) failed to get any response, I thought I'd open a shorter one to specifically ask about the one bug, in the latest CWA v1.99, currently keeps me from playing the game. Whenever I am in a moving vehicle, the vehicle's engine noise is much too loud. It is so loud that even if the rest of the game is at a moderate volume, I immediately have to turn down my amplifier. All volume sliders in the game are on default setting. If I turn down effects, all the other sounds will get softer too of course, but the engine sounds are always much too loud in relation. I do not have these problems on pre-CWA version of OFP. On one hand because the engines are never that loud in the first place, but also because in older versions the engine faded out after a second or two. This does not happen in CWA. I am playing on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and DirectX 11.0. I have an on-board Realtek HD audio chip as well as a PCIe ASUS Xonar D2X interface. I tried both the Realtek and the Xonar interface in software mode, and the Xonar in hardware mode (with GX setting for the driver), but the problem with the engine noise remains the same, leading me to believe that this is some issue in the game itself. What I am wondering though is why so far I found no one else who complained about the same problem, since it makes the game practically unplayable. I don't think my system configuration is "special", and I have not modified or reconfigured CWA in any way. I also contacted BI support, and unfortunately they weren't able to help me either. Does no one here have the same problem, or used to have it? Or do you experience it too, but simply put up with it? Here is an example recording to show how bad it is. I fire a couple of shots, then get in a Jeep and drive away: ofp-engines.mp3

My plan to re-play the original Operation Flashpoint has so far been averted by many different problems with the sound. I can get rid of some problems, but it will lead to different ones. So far I have found no configuration that gives me acceptable sound throughout the game. I am really surprised that out of all the problems I encountered, I could not find a single thread discussing any of them. Is it really possible that I'm the only one with all these problems? I have spent an awful lot of time trying many different versions (Operation Flashpoint 1.00/1.10/1.20/1.30/1.40/1.46, Resistance 1.96, ArmA: Cold War Assault 1.99), I have tried two different soundcards (ASUS Xonar D2X and on-board Realtek HD chip), and both software and hardware-accelerated audio modes (within OFP's settings). So I find it really hard to believe that mine is such a special case and that nobody else has these problems. I try to summarise all the problems and when they occur: Choppy voices: some voice samples (not over the radio) sound very choppy. I believe it only happens to voices spoken while inside a moving vehicle. It doesn't happen to all voice samples, but always the same ones. I have uploaded a sample from the first real campaign mission "Flashpoint" here, the conversation in the UH-60: Listen. You can hear that Fowley and Kozlowski sound very choppy, but Berghof sounds perfectly fine. It is always the same samples that are choppy. I also noticed that if I speed up the game by factor 2.0, the samples play fine (while of course they will overlap in time). This is a problem that I can not get rid of in any way. It happens in hardware and software mode, on both audio cards, and in every version from 1.00 to 1.99. It is one of the most annoying bugs. Missing dialogue: I'm not giving this one high priority, although it is pretty annoying, because versions 1.96 and 1.99 seemingly got rid of it, and the official stance will probably be that only the latest version is really supported now. But at least on versions 1.00 to 1.46 in software audio mode, some (again always the same) voice samples will start playing about halfway in. The lip syncing plays as the sample should, but the first half of the dialogue is never heard, and it stops way too early. This recording is again from mission "Flashpoint", where Berghof starts mid-sentence (it also always starts at exactly the same point): Listen. Cut-off radio voices: On versions 1.00 to 1.46, I can fix the missing dialogue bug from above by switching to hardware audio mode. Then, however, I have a very strange issue with radio voices. Their timing is completely off, they all seem to stop about half a second before they should. This leads to weird and, in the case of short words, incomprehensible radio messages. You really have to hear it to understand, so I made another recording: Listen. This bug happens always in hardware audio mode, and is not fixed by version 1.99. Loud engines: this bug is introduced with versions 1.96 and 1.99; it doesn't happen on earlier versions up to 1.46. It happens on both hardware and software mode. When inside a moving vehicle, the engine noise is much too loud, and more importantly, it doesn't fade out after a few moments like it used to in earlier versions. This makes any dialogue happening en route impossible to understand. You can barely hear that anyone's even talking. If it weren't for this bug, upgrading to 1.96 and 1.99 would mean I had only the seemingly universal choppy voices problem still to care about (although to tell you the truth, it's incredibly hard to hear over the engine noise whether the voices are actually still choppy). Sound mixing: this is the least noticeable, and I'm no longer sure in what version or mode it happens, but it's rarer than the others. Sound mixing seems to be off, as you have to stand almost on top of other characters to hear their voices. Move 1 meter away and they're already so soft that you have to listen very closely. I would be really grateful for any pointers on how to solve any of these problems. Because as of now, it is not only impossible for me to get rid of all of them at once, but I cannot even find a combination of them that would allow me to enjoy the campaign. If I had to prioritise I would say I would most like to get rid of the cut-off radio chatter, because without that, versions up to 1.46 would run acceptably in hardware audio mode. Next best would be fixing the loud engines problem in the latest versions, because apart from that the game would run okay in software audio mode. The rest of my system specs for completeness' sake: Intel i7-3820 (4x3.6 GHz), Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 mainboard with Intel X79 chipset, 16 GB DDR3/2400 RAM, Gainward GTX 570 1.28GB, ASUS Xonar D2X and Realtek HD on-board, Intel 330 series SSD 180GB (system), Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, DirectX 11.1, and all drivers up to date.

Sanctuary, thanks for all the great AI tips! Apparently the BMP gunner can also spot me across about 450m. It's possible that he spotted me when I was standing once, but he only opened fire after I had been crawling for a while so I thought he spotted me while I was prone. I could imagine! It's a bit like the racing mission in "Mafia" then. But on the other hand this is what I think is great about OFP, it is a real challenge. That's rare today, most new games are watered down and lead the player through the game on rails, just to appeal to a wider audience... it's a bit sad really. I'm planning on getting ArmA and ArmA 2 after I have played through all OFP campaigns, and I hope they are still this kind of realistic, challenging simulation!

No, I don't have any modifications installed, it's a fresh GOTY install apart from the applied official v1.96 patch. I know about the popular method of using the UAZ, and what I used to do is not so different, except that I sneaked to Figari (which is a bit farther away) and stole a civilian car. However, unless you could get to the UAZ in Provins extremely fast, this does not work anymore, as after a few minutes the HIND approaches Figari and keeps hovering over it. There's no way to pass it in a car without the chopper destroying it instantly. This used to be different in older versions. It's possible that this particular difference is also just due to a random AI variation or scripting bug. I played the first combat mission of the original campaign once in v1.00, once in v1.96, and briefly in the unpatched GOTY (v1.75 I believe), and the events and timings in the beginning were pretty different in each of the versions, so something similar might be happening to the HIND in After Montignac. Does anyone else remember it just hovering over Figari?

I am aware of the countless topics and FAQ entries on "After Montignac", but I have a different question. I never really knew what all the fuzz was about quite honestly, because back in the day I never had too much trouble with the mission, played it through several times even in Veteran mode. I think I must have been playing on OFP v1.30 or something around that. I was just playing through the original campaign again with the unpatched original v1.00 version and again, didn't have much trouble. What I always did was heading for the south end of the forest you start out in, avoiding patrols as good as possible, and then crouching along the trees and bushes towards Figari, carefully avoiding the patrol and the BMP. In Figari, I took the parked car and drove towards the new evac zone, got out as close to the forest as possible and ran towards it. Maybe used a retry or two, but it always worked. After having played it through I figured I wanted to play the addons too, which I never owned back in the day, so I got myself a used copy of the GOTY edition. I have this one patched to the latest v1.96 now. I copied over my savegames, and as I tried to replay the "After Montignac" mission on v1.96, I was stumped on how hard it suddenly was, to the point of being nigh impossible to beat. I can no longer avoid the patrols in the forest, they can spot me across the forest even if I'm behind a bush (I don't even see them, but suddenly hear 2 gunshots and I'm dead). Avoiding the BMP has become a lot harder - it can now spot me from about 400m distance even if I'm crawling. And the HIND now ends up hovering over Figari, making the use of a vehicle a complete no-go; there's no way of driving southwards without attracting the attention, and missiles, of the chopper. I was only able to solve the mission by cheating a little - deleting my savegames to get multiple slots, and doing trial&error from bush to bush, testing out where I will be detected and where I won't. It first felt a little cheap, but I don't feel bad about it anymore - I could deal with improved AI, but the way the BMP spots me crawling on the other side of a valley or through a bush seems pretty unfair. I can't believe that it is just coincidence that the mission played out a little differently, because I tried and failed it so often. For a while I even wondered if I might somehow have triggered FADE, but then I read that this would be made obvious in a message during setup. So did the mission really get that much harder over the course of newer patches?