Please consider giving the Tasmanian devil more accurate sounds!

Chuditch

Chuditch
I hate that I have to make this thread, but although it doesn't ruin the animal for me as much as it did initially it still really keeps it from reaching its full potential.

Tasmanian devils are most well known for their otherworldly vocalisations, and while I can see what they were going for with many of the noises used for the devil in PZ, they're still not a great substitute for sounds recorded from real devils and don't properly reflect the diverse range of shrieks, growls and guttural noises they make IRL. I understand that in some cases, such as with the sand cat, it can be difficult to find references for the way an animal sounds and therefore substitutes have to be used, but not only are recordings of Tasmanian devils very readily available online, but for an animal like that with such unique vocalisations that are a crucial part of their identity I really think that actual recordings should have been used. The Tasmanian devil is quite literally named after its vocalisations, and they're a key part of the animal's character, so it really feels like something is missing without it. The stock sound effects (notably this "rattle-y" noise I recognise from a lot of places) used in making the devil's shrieks also become apparent when they make longer calls which is distracting - I've avoided giving them the rubbing pad for this reason, which is a real shame given their animation with it is fantastic.

I'm pretty sure the sounds of animals have never been changed post release, and I don't really know what the feasibility of it would be. But if there's any chance that the audio designers could integrate components of actual Tasmanian devil recordings into the PZ devil's sound library, I would be enormously appreciative!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gygvuLnHoN8
 
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Chuditch

Chuditch
NZFanatic said:
Hopefully this will be the next BinturWrong situation.
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I really hope so, but generally from what I've seen a lot of the community isn't very familiar with what devils actually sound like. As long as they make some mean snarls they're happy.

For me though, the way they sound is so immersion breaking that it's pretty much killed all my motivation to play PZ for the time being (despite how amazing the rest of the pack is, and indeed the rest of the devil is). It's just super disheartening that they came so close to making an incredible Tasmanian devil and then fumbled what is probably the most crucial part of it.
 

QueenCinna

Q
Random thought for a moment - does the game let you upload user audio? If it does it might be worth downloading some soundbytes of the devil, compiling them into an MP3 file, putting it into the relevant game folder, then adding hidden speakers to the devil enclosures and playing the compliation? It's a workaround, and Frontier should absolutely be fixing this issue, but it might save the immersion break in the interim between now and a fix
 

Chuditch

Chuditch
QueenCinna said:
Random thought for a moment - does the game let you upload user audio? If it does it might be worth downloading some soundbytes of the devil, compiling them into an MP3 file, putting it into the relevant game folder, then adding hidden speakers to the devil enclosures and playing the compliation? It's a workaround, and Frontier should absolutely be fixing this issue, but it might save the immersion break in the interim between now and a fix
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You can indeed play custom audio on the speakers, but it wouldn't really be a workaround I'm happy with. I appreciate the suggestion though!

I will probably get around to playing more tomorrow, I just won't spend as much time looking at the devils in comparison to the other animals (which, needless to say, is pretty unfortunate).
 

Chuditch

Chuditch
So I spent some a lot more time with the Tasmanian devils in-game today and I actually came around on the sounds a bit more. While they're still no proper substitute for recordings from actual devils, they do get close to a fair approximation of what some of their calls sound like and aren't as immersion breaking as they were for me initially*. I recognise what they were trying to emulate with a lot of the sounds, even if they're far from perfect!

I still would absolutely kill to have them use actual devil noises in-game (so the purpose of this thread still stands), and they'll always be missing something for me without that. The sounds used don't properly replicate the noises they make nor many of the more unique components of their vocalisations. But I think that, despite what I said in my original post, I am learning to love the animal I wanted for so long at last (enough that it's reclaimed its spot as my favourite animal in the game - how can I deny that face?).

*I think part of why they troubled me so much at first was just how much expectation I had built up after 4 years of waiting for this animal - I did try to take this account by holding off on making this thread until the pack actually released, but clearly it was not long enough for me to properly process everything lol. I've edited the OP to be a bit less dramatic while still making my stance clear
 
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DarthQuell

DarthQuell
Britches said:
Why only the devil? All the antelopes sound the same in the game and so do the bovines. No way they sound all the same irl.
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I think that the antelopes can get away with it, though. Tasmanian devil can't the same way. But, either way, @Chuditch stated that they're ok with how it is.
In my mind, we at least have the official animal. While I'd prefer an official fix for the sounds, maybe a mod could do it. Maybe. I'm not sure how Cobra files work, so I don't know if it's easy to change sounds or not like it was in Jurassic Park Operation Genesis
 

Chuditch

Chuditch
Britches said:
Why only the devil? All the antelopes sound the same in the game and so do the bovines. No way they sound all the same irl.
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I think the difference is pretty clear, as I stated in the OP the way the Tasmanian devil sounds is literally a crucial component of its character, in the same way as a siamang hollering or a hyena laughing - it’s one of the things it’s most associated with. No one associates a dama gazelle with the way it sounds, at least that I know of. Of course in a perfect world each and every species would have accurate and distinct vocalisations in game, but we’re talking about different issues here.
 

FoxyDee

FoxyDee
Regarding the accuracy of the Tasmanian Devil, I would like to ask if you guys think the Devils are expensive to feed irl considering they are carnivores? Because I noticed their feeding costs in game are really cheap, something like 20-30 dollars per feeding one devil, while other carnivores cost so much more.
 

Chuditch

Chuditch
FoxyDee said:
Regarding the accuracy of the Tasmanian Devil, I would like to ask if you guys think the Devils are expensive to feed irl considering they are carnivores? Because I noticed their feeding costs in game are really cheap, something like 20-30 dollars per feeding one devil, while other carnivores cost so much more.
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I don't know much about the actual costs of devil husbandry, but that definitely seems way too cheap for me. According to the article below, each devil costs $7,000 a year to feed, house and look after.

taronga.org.au

Devil Dinners

Think dinner time at your house is an ordeal? Then come and check out our four Tasmanian Devil joeys feeding!
taronga.org.au taronga.org.au
 
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