The sound effects and sound issues in ED discussion thread
- Thread starter dreamer1986
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Dude, where's my bass?
I'm running 2.0 stereo on an X-Fi Titanium @24bit/48000Hz, and it doesn't matter which ingame preset I use or if I use my Koss Porta Pro headphones, Soundworks T40 speakers, or run audio through my venerable main sound system (Harman/Kardon amp etc + Amphion Helium Plus speakers), but after the 1.1 update the latest soundstage sounds much weaker and mid/high -oriented than before.
Sure, there are changes for the good: there seems to be a lot more of everything ambient, and IMHO, the Asp sounds less like a WW2 bomber and more like a year 3300+ spacecraft, and I like that (although when jumping between systems, it seems someone has smuggled a gagged mummy (who's apparently reciting the Necronomicon backwards) aboard my ship and placed him/her/it right behind my pilot's seat, especially when I have my headphones on. Not sure if it's a good or a bad thing yet...
).
I've never considered myself a serious audiophile (I don't know about art, but I know what I like). I've played a lot of games in my time, but pre-v1.1 sounds in ED were something that stood out, there seemed to be something more physical and full range unlike any other game I had played so far (starting with the original Pong, followed by Omega Race and Radar Rat Race on VIC-20. Yes, I'm that old...). Even a friend of mine (who I know has a "golden ear" for stuff like this), pointed out ED's great audio after watching a few Distant Suns episodes on YouTube.
And with v1.1 the magic that was there previously seems to be missing now. The overall sound seems quieter, thinner and although there's more on the ambient level, it doesn't seem to have as much definition as before.
Previously, the sound had a soul (Joe's?), yet now despite all the evident effort, compared to v1.07 and before, it seems flat and generic.
Anyway, my hat's off for Joe and the sound team, I trust in you guys/gals (no pressure...)! If I had to name one thing that has kept me playing Elite Dangerous, it would be the soundscape. I've come to realise no matter how tedious the actual missions or trade grind have been, the feeling after hitting the jump activation key and hearing the my FSD charging up, making the jump and decelerating, is worth the effort. I've been playing video games for more than thirty years now, and believe me, it's been some time since the game audio alone has made me raise my brows and think "Wow, that actually sounds pretty awesome!". The ED sound team have achieved just that, so keep up the good work, please!
I'm running 2.0 stereo on an X-Fi Titanium @24bit/48000Hz, and it doesn't matter which ingame preset I use or if I use my Koss Porta Pro headphones, Soundworks T40 speakers, or run audio through my venerable main sound system (Harman/Kardon amp etc + Amphion Helium Plus speakers), but after the 1.1 update the latest soundstage sounds much weaker and mid/high -oriented than before.
Sure, there are changes for the good: there seems to be a lot more of everything ambient, and IMHO, the Asp sounds less like a WW2 bomber and more like a year 3300+ spacecraft, and I like that (although when jumping between systems, it seems someone has smuggled a gagged mummy (who's apparently reciting the Necronomicon backwards) aboard my ship and placed him/her/it right behind my pilot's seat, especially when I have my headphones on. Not sure if it's a good or a bad thing yet...
).I've never considered myself a serious audiophile (I don't know about art, but I know what I like). I've played a lot of games in my time, but pre-v1.1 sounds in ED were something that stood out, there seemed to be something more physical and full range unlike any other game I had played so far (starting with the original Pong, followed by Omega Race and Radar Rat Race on VIC-20. Yes, I'm that old...). Even a friend of mine (who I know has a "golden ear" for stuff like this), pointed out ED's great audio after watching a few Distant Suns episodes on YouTube.
And with v1.1 the magic that was there previously seems to be missing now. The overall sound seems quieter, thinner and although there's more on the ambient level, it doesn't seem to have as much definition as before.
Previously, the sound had a soul (Joe's?
), yet now despite all the evident effort, compared to v1.07 and before, it seems flat and generic.Anyway, my hat's off for Joe and the sound team, I trust in you guys/gals (no pressure...
)! If I had to name one thing that has kept me playing Elite Dangerous, it would be the soundscape. I've come to realise no matter how tedious the actual missions or trade grind have been, the feeling after hitting the jump activation key and hearing the my FSD charging up, making the jump and decelerating, is worth the effort. I've been playing video games for more than thirty years now, and believe me, it's been some time since the game audio alone has made me raise my brows and think "Wow, that actually sounds pretty awesome!". The ED sound team have achieved just that, so keep up the good work, please!
It's broken, you like many others including myself have not changed a thing other than applying this new patch. The patch screwed the sound up really badly and needs to be fixed ASAP.
I use optical out via a DAC and headphones, the sound setting used normal. However with the latest update I lost a lot of bass and I could no longer hear the landing gear, I set the boost option which returned my asp engine sound back to that wonderful roar. I still feel that sounds are not crisp as before, and that its a real shame that every time an update is issued items that ran perfectly well before are compromised.
Someone else with the same issues as me, buzzy, fizzy, compressed horribleness.
Its the Heat warning alert. Seems to happen in station but not when you fuel scoop....I think they're aware of the sound issues.
It's not heat, it's your docking computer. A bug from the old Beta has crept into this new build. Sell the DC, switch ships and then sound will disappear, best thing to do is ditch the DC until FD fix the problem. It was reported in the last beta
Also got that sound card and settings and couldnt agree more.
Im using head phones and its gone from what I thought was pretty much awesome to flat and somewhat boring. Ive just got stereo headphones but pre patch they still gave a good directional feeling, now most seem to originate from a centered channel.
To set the scene, I have an M-Audio Fast Track Pro (studio quality sound interface) with Tannoy Reveal Active studio quality monitors/speakers - with this setup, you can hear every click, squeek, etc on any audio and when you listen to music, you can hear sounds and elements that you cannot hear elsewhere/on ordinary speakers. I use these as part of my home recording studio setup. So, in summary, I have a good quality sound setup.
First thing I noticed when I ran 1.1 for first time is that the volume had to be turned up. It is quieter than it was previously, no question. However, even when it is turned up, the sounds are noticeably muffled and lack the clarity and brightness they had before. Bass sounds have now virtually disappeared and the soundscape is now pretty firmly placed in the mid to high range overall, making it all sound a bit tinny and flimsy.
It seems FD have transitioned to a more haunting, ethereal vibe on 1.1 with sounds and I personally do not like it. It is quaint, wafty, ethereal and ghostly now and as a result it makes the game feel a little bit, well, lightweight really imo.
It's a personal choice, but I hope that the more gutsy, bassy and broader audio experience we had before returns. I can't for the life of me think why they would have changed it as dramatically as they have - a mis-judgement in my opinion.
First thing I noticed when I ran 1.1 for first time is that the volume had to be turned up. It is quieter than it was previously, no question. However, even when it is turned up, the sounds are noticeably muffled and lack the clarity and brightness they had before. Bass sounds have now virtually disappeared and the soundscape is now pretty firmly placed in the mid to high range overall, making it all sound a bit tinny and flimsy.
It seems FD have transitioned to a more haunting, ethereal vibe on 1.1 with sounds and I personally do not like it. It is quaint, wafty, ethereal and ghostly now and as a result it makes the game feel a little bit, well, lightweight really imo.
It's a personal choice, but I hope that the more gutsy, bassy and broader audio experience we had before returns. I can't for the life of me think why they would have changed it as dramatically as they have - a mis-judgement in my opinion.
Tend to agree that the sound mix is not as good as it was. For context here, I was a professional recording/mix engineer back in the day and while this is not my profession any more, I do have a pro-studio set up on my pc.
The big test for me was exiting the Hyperspace jump by the nav point star. Pre 1.1 there was a wonderful metallic jolt with appropriate bass frequencies and it now appears they've applied a High Pass Filter to roll off pretty much everything below around 120Hz. True, there is more interesting mid/high range stuff going on during Hyperspace but it does all feel a bit tinny.
Used to find this on mixes sometimes where it had been mixed at far too high volume. Bass requires air to be moving and if you play everything at 11 the low frequencies become overbearing. As a result engineers compensate by applying HPF, and the downside then is when it is played a lower volumes or alternate speakers the bass has gone. Listen to Metallica's black album at mdeium-low volumes and you'll see exactly what I mean. It's the reason engineers mixed on Yamaha NS-10 and the tiny mono speakers as well as the expensive ones in the walls!
Not a complete game breaker for me, but I do hope FD review the audio equalisation. I tried adjusting the audio equalizer profiles but they make little difference. Kind of wish I had sampled the sound pre 1.1 and compared the curves with the BlueCat analyzer.
The big test for me was exiting the Hyperspace jump by the nav point star. Pre 1.1 there was a wonderful metallic jolt with appropriate bass frequencies and it now appears they've applied a High Pass Filter to roll off pretty much everything below around 120Hz. True, there is more interesting mid/high range stuff going on during Hyperspace but it does all feel a bit tinny.
Used to find this on mixes sometimes where it had been mixed at far too high volume. Bass requires air to be moving and if you play everything at 11 the low frequencies become overbearing. As a result engineers compensate by applying HPF, and the downside then is when it is played a lower volumes or alternate speakers the bass has gone. Listen to Metallica's black album at mdeium-low volumes and you'll see exactly what I mean. It's the reason engineers mixed on Yamaha NS-10 and the tiny mono speakers as well as the expensive ones in the walls!
Not a complete game breaker for me, but I do hope FD review the audio equalisation. I tried adjusting the audio equalizer profiles but they make little difference. Kind of wish I had sampled the sound pre 1.1 and compared the curves with the BlueCat analyzer.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the feedback. It’s very much appreciated.
Seems like there are a number of different issues here.
Firstly, let me just reassure you that we do not go and mess with stuff for no reason. That’s totally not how we work here in the audio department.
Both in-house at Frontier (QA and audio departments), and at my home, the game is sounding fine, we are not hearing most of these issues at all. So we need more info to investigate. (However we are getting the missing sounds on the landing pad lift, and the problems with the engine sounds on the clipper. These are both bugs which we will be addressing over the next few days)
If something is broken, it’s a bug and we will fix it. So please post a ticket with some specific info on what the problem is, ideally with an audio or video clip that we can refer to. If you private message me the ticket number, I will look at it sooner.
Please trust us to do our job ... we want the game to sound as good as possible ... in fact I passionately want the game kick audio ass even more than you do, having poured my soul into it over the last 18 months, and been a fan of the Elite franchise since I was a child. I know the rest of the audio team feel exactly the same way too. We are on your side honestly.
So if there is a problem, please communicate the specifics ... help us fix it, and we will.
Again my apologies for all the problems, and thank you for caring so much about the audio! That in itself is just wonderful.
Hi everyone.
Thanks so much for all the tickets, video/audio clips, and private messages. It is very helpful, please keep them coming.
Unfortunately I am struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of replies to this thread, so if posting videos and ticket numbers, please don’t forget to PM them to me as well, and that way I will definitely see it (even if I don’t reply), and can keep track of them too.
Please read my original reply ^^^ if you haven’t already.
Thanks once again for the feedback and for caring so much about the audio.
Audio is the standout feature for me in this game by and large it is excellent.
Noticed in this build however distortion when being fired on .. not all the time by any means. The voice telling me I'm under attack distorts and the sounds of the attackers lasers is distorted also.
I'm using a plantronics gameconn 777
Noticed in this build however distortion when being fired on .. not all the time by any means. The voice telling me I'm under attack distorts and the sounds of the attackers lasers is distorted also.
I'm using a plantronics gameconn 777
Hi everyone.
Thanks so much for all the tickets, video/audio clips, and private messages. It is very helpful, please keep them coming.
Unfortunately I am struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of replies to this thread, so if posting videos and ticket numbers, please don’t forget to PM them to me as well, and that way I will definitely see it (even if I don’t reply), and can keep track of them too.
Please read my original reply ^^^ if you haven’t already.
Thanks once again for the feedback and for caring so much about the audio.
Thanks for making one of the most rich and also useful soundscapes I've ever gamed in. Everyone is so passionate about this because it's not only a joy to consciously listen to, but it's so integrated into the gameplay, the experience, and the workings of the ship that a big bork like this really throws off some of the subconscious and low-brain connections.
I think many of us have realized how vital that is to our spaceman pretending. Knowing what your vehicle is doing most of the time just by the sound alone is top-notch work. I hope you can find the bork soon, and stab it in its borky face.
Hi everyone.
Thanks so much for all the tickets, video/audio clips, and private messages. It is very helpful, please keep them coming.
Unfortunately I am struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of replies to this thread, so if posting videos and ticket numbers, please don’t forget to PM them to me as well, and that way I will definitely see it (even if I don’t reply), and can keep track of them too.
Please read my original reply ^^^ if you haven’t already.
Thanks once again for the feedback and for caring so much about the audio.
Thanks, in the meantime, while this is sorted out can you patch back in the old old audio prior to V1.1.
I absolutely concur. Have some rep my Good Man!.
Thanks Joe for continuing to follow this thread and understand our issues. We just want our amazing wall of sound you gave us back to it's former "eargasmic quality" we have lost.
ok just want to say again that i am running elite in my home studio on my trusty pmc tb1's driven by a hafler amp with an rme fireface uc soundcard.
i listen to music and watch films and produce music in here and know my setup/speakers very well and have had this setup for years and years.
i have watched some videos/read descriptions of the sound problems other people are having and my elite setup does not sound like this at all.
i did have the strange beeping thing back in beta and it drove me mad but i forget when it went or what it was.
makes me think this is either local to particular ship (im in a cobra) or due to peoples sound settings. i have not touched anything since beta apart from music levels as i tend to listen to other music while playing.
my setup is 2.0 - no surround and it sounds epic. yes sound has changed a little but for me its for the better.
hope this helps in some way - i am a long time musician/engineer and trust my ears even if everyone else does not
i listen to music and watch films and produce music in here and know my setup/speakers very well and have had this setup for years and years.
i have watched some videos/read descriptions of the sound problems other people are having and my elite setup does not sound like this at all.
i did have the strange beeping thing back in beta and it drove me mad but i forget when it went or what it was.
makes me think this is either local to particular ship (im in a cobra) or due to peoples sound settings. i have not touched anything since beta apart from music levels as i tend to listen to other music while playing.
my setup is 2.0 - no surround and it sounds epic. yes sound has changed a little but for me its for the better.
hope this helps in some way - i am a long time musician/engineer and trust my ears even if everyone else does not