The hills are alive with a sound...

[jmkz]

Hello all, please take a few seconds to watch & listen to this small clip (http://home.scarlet.be/%7Eks007/test/V8power.WMV)

I recently saw in the "LFS in the news" thread that German reviewer found the game very good except for the lack of feeling like "you were there". To create an immersive game you need to have good graphics (check), good gameplay (check) and good sound (...).

Now the engine sound in LFS has been discussed here already, it's a bit lacking and not quite convincing; but this post is not about that. What's missing in the sound department is "ambient noise", birds, bees, wind, crackling, crashing, slipping, squealing, popping, anything which makes the whole experience more immersive. Yes a good engine noise will surely do a lot, but without good and RICH ambient sounds the game LOOKS great but SOUNDS pale.

Will there be support for surround systems? In the "show me your system" thread in the hardware forum many users have multiple speaker setups; making good use of the 4.1/5.1/7.1(?) sounds setups will be a huge boost in getting the feeling that you are there; on the road.

I recently played a demo of CRC 2005 ( http://www.crc-game.com/index.html ) and was quite impressed by the sound, the gameplay is surely okay, the cockpit view is a bit superior graphical wise (the shadows move realistically over the dash) but what was most striking was the sound, the people cheering at the side of the road, the noise of the wind, and the positional sound of your opponents in full surround (car left behind, etc).

Surround sound could be implemented quite neatly, if you car has an engine in the back, than the back speakers will convince you of that. Etc

I know that any addition to the "things to improve list" will make the job harder to complete, but the in-game sound (both motor and ambient) should get a higher priority. More cars and tracks are nice, but not needed to make the game a success, the demo which had 3 cars & 1 road track convinced hundreds of people that LFS is very close to "the real deal".

[Bob Smith]

Hello all, please take a few seconds to watch & listen to this small clip (http://home.scarlet.be/%7Eks007/test/V8power.WMV)
OMG S3 PREVIEW!!! :D

[Gunn]

I would like to point out that a race driver adorned in fireproof suit and balaclava, ear plugs, a racing helmet, inside a car that has probably no sound-proofing measures inside or out and a revving engine/screeching tyres etc, wouldn't hear any birds, bees, or most ambient sounds at all unless they were very loud.

Having more than one of these race cars on a track at one time would serve to further drown out any ambient sounds for all the drivers.

Although I think ambient sounds would improve the atmosphere in LFS, not much would be needed for a realistic result, perhaps a bit of crowd cheering, etc, but really what else would a race driver be able to hear anyway?

[xapexcivicx]

None.
Perhaps sounds activated at certain Revs, because Gunn is right, you won't be able to hear any sounds when your engine is roaring. But being a drift and slacker usually I park my car next to some one else's (Out of the way and off the track thank you) at least one every time I'm in a server. :)

[jmkz]

not everybody drives from the cockpit view ;)


(/me yes; maker of the little movie I posted.. no, he's with the camera behind the car, which would not make the engine drown out all noise)

the ambient noise would be heard clearly when looking at reply's from TV angle:)

[speedfreak227]

i race 100cc go karts which have no shell around them, no sound blocking materials at all.

i don't wear ear plugs, just a helmet.

when i'm racing i can't hear someone even if they're RIGHT BEHIND ME. it's a pain because when i was just learning and getting lapped by the leaders i wouldn't hear them coming until they ZIPPED inside me at a corner.

better engine sounds are important to me, birds and people are not.

speedfreak227

[jmkz]

I'm not talking about birds & bees solely, tyre sounds need some tweaking too imho

[Rotary]

I'd prefer some better visual effects. Things like bugs splatting on the windshield, dust kicked up gets your car dirty etc. As for birds and the bees... if only spectators can hear them and the racers can run over them, why not? hehe.

[speedfreak227]

i remember trying a demo of gtr ( i think) and all i can remember is the SEXY SEXY sounds of shifting gears.

speedfreak227

[Vendetta]

In lfs, stop and turn off your engine. The game is COMPLETELY silent.

[Fetzo]

i don't wear a helmet in lfs, so pls give me that surround sound :).

[jmkz]

if you drive the GTi you don't wear a helmet, and the engine does not remove all ambient noise because it's simply not noisy enough to do that; there are more roadcars in LFS who's engine is not "insanely noisy" like in the Formula and GTR cars.

So when you're driving those "slower roadcars" you WILL notice ambient if it's there.

I'd prefer some better visual effects.

the graphics are already at a very GOOD level, without the accompying sound however the game does not come over as a better "whole" :)

[durbster]

I've mentioned this before :)
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=714

This argument about not being able to hear other sounds in real life doesn't really work. It was an excuse used for not hearing the other cars in Grand Prix 2 in 1994. There's no decent reason it can't be done now.

When you're sitting in the pits, you'd hear noise. You'd hear pit crews shouting, the trackside commentators, other cars revving up, tools and machinery at work etc. And then there's replays, which would benefit tremendously from atmospheric sounds.

[ColeusRattus]

if you drive the GTi you don't wear a helmet, and the engine does not remove all ambient noise because it's simply not noisy enough to do that; there are more roadcars in LFS who's engine is not "insanely noisy" like in the Formula and GTR cars.

So when you're driving those "slower roadcars" you WILL notice ambient if it's there.


I have to disagree. If I push my car (ok, its a 75 hp diesel, so quite loud on it's own) , once i exceed 70 km/h, the engine, the wheels and the wind are that loud, that I do not even hear the other cars around me that well. To hear birds, crickets or bees is no option for me IRL, except I am ruising at 40 km/h with all windows open.

But I wouldn't mind a cheering sound when you drive by the audience, as masses of people tend to create quite a volume.

Also, I suppose that the masses of people, the sounds of the engines and the smells won't make many "chirpy" things stay in the vicinity of a racetrack.

But then again, some ambient sound might spice up the spectator part. Allthough I highly doubt that many who bought the s2 license spend more time spectating (other than cockpit-view spectating of WRs to learn something) than driving.

I've mentioned this before :)
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=714

This argument about not being able to hear other sounds in real life doesn't really work. It was an excuse used for not hearing the other cars in Grand Prix 2 in 1994. There's no decent reason it can't be done now.

When you're sitting in the pits, you'd hear noise. You'd hear pit crews shouting, the trackside commentators, other cars revving up, tools and machinery at work etc. And then there's replays, which would benefit tremendously from atmospheric sounds.

I agree on the pit-ambience though. But still I doubt you'd hear anything outside of your own pitbox. And I would be content with sounds like screwdriving and clanking while you get repaired, to give also an acoustical feedback of the work in the pit.

[jmkz]

I have to disagree. If I push my car (ok, its a 75 hp diesel, so quite loud on it's own) , once i exceed 70 km/h, the engine, the wheels and the wind are that loud, that I do not even hear the other cars around me that well. .

there are enough locations on a track where you'll be doing less than 70km/h with the GTi, at which point you should hear ambient noise :)

I don't hear wind noise in LFS either btw

[ColeusRattus]

there are enough locations on a track where you'll be doing less than 70km/h with the GTi, at which point you should hear ambient noise :)

I don't hear wind noise in LFS either btw

The wind sound in LsF is quite good actually, allthough it could be a bit more prominent. To really hear it, drive kyoto oval with the Formula V8.

And even when the GTi is not faster than 70, I guess his engine and exhaustion pipe would be louder than in my car, and it would propably rev a few thousand times more per sec than my car... in short: GTi remains deafening below 70 :D

[tristancliffe]

if you drive the GTi you don't wear a helmet

What? Which motor racing body lets you go motor racing without a helmet? You are ON A TRACK, so you are WEARING A HELMET!

What a silly thing to say...

[jmkz]

no I don't wear a helmet ;) and in your pic you don't do it either :)

just because the motor is "loud" is no excuse to have no ambient noise at all.

[L(Oo)ney]

The wind sound in LsF is quite good actually.

Whats this LsF you keep talking about? Is it any good? :shrug:

[AndroidXP]

Hehehe ^ :D

Lately, I see this typo happen quite frequent. But then again, when you see the amount of work that goes in typing a lowercase "s", is it really a typo? or a misconception? :scratchch

Back on topic: I agree, there should be ambient sounds, but they should only be audible if the engine is quiet enough. Not a too pressing issue, though. I'd rather have the engine (and car-ambience, like shifting, gear whine, etc) sounds improved first.

[jmkz]

of course this ain't a high priority "to be improved" issue, it just makes the whole thing more immersive, which brings the game a notch closer to reality:)

of course a good racing setup will help also

http://www.vabrijopleiding.be/Layout/header_left.jpg
http://www.vabrijopleiding.be/vabrijopleiding.aspx?menu=4

[DodgeRacer]

I hate to rip off GTR, but the cars could really use some tranny whine too , specially at high speed, If i'm pushin mine reall hard i hear it rather than the engine because i have a normal exhaust (which i assume most of the road cars in LFS do, but it doesnt seem it..whole nother subject though).. expecially if you let off the gas without pushing the clutch...WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR R....

[skiingman]

Yes, the race cars presumably have straight cut gears, and the tranny whine in the enclosed race cars should almost drown out the engine.

[Cue-Ball]

When you're sitting in the pits, you'd hear noise. You'd hear pit crews shouting, the trackside commentators, other cars revving up, tools and machinery at work etc. And then there's replays, which would benefit tremendously from atmospheric sounds.
What pit crews? :)

Having "atmospheric" sounds is just icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned. I try not to spend more than a few seconds in the pits and no doubt the car would drown out everything as soon as you start racing. Heck, most people can't even hear a 100+db siren until it's practically on top of them. You guys think we're going to hear birds and crickets? I think this stuff is fluff that would be good for replays, but not much else. Once we have crowds in the stands and crews in the pits, THEN we can worry about whether or not they make noises. :)

Nice to have, but probably way down the line in the list of "must have features", IMO. I do agree about tranny whine though. That's sorely missing.

[Zewerr]

At the price that this game cost. The fact that it was basically developed in someones basement. I think the sounds in this game are better than I would expect. The flat fours actually sound like flat fours. It's pretty impressive. But I also own GTR Racing, and I have to say, the engine noises, and OMG the gear whine is just heaven to my ears! It would be sweet to see that in LFS, but I still like LFS's sounds the way they are. And only time I should hear the birds is when they smack into my windshield as I'm doing 180 mph on the back stretch!

[jmkz]

argh, stop going on about the birds, there are more sounds around IRL than birds noises, and those are missing too, the tyre sound needs some tweaking too; ///

[geeman1]

To summarize all sound related improvement suggestions in one sentence:
Please make LFS sound just like real life.

[ajp71]

I have never heard bees or birds over cars racing at any circuit ever, they are completely irrelevant to replays and TV cameras, if you want to listen to birdsongs then you can always load them in iTunes and leave them in the background.

Back to more relevant sounds, remember that LFS generates its own engine sounds, no other sim does this, you'll find that CRC will just be a load of sound files. When LFS is finished it will hopefully have surround sound. The Redline GTP mod doesn't have surround sound either but that still sounds better than anything else I have ever put through my speakers. The kind of ambient sound you'll here will be more cars and engines. I can tell you you're not going to stand a chance of hearing your pitcrew having a chat as you hurtle past them at 100 mph.

There is a need for better engine sounds and surround support but there is absolutley no need for ambient sounds like these. I have attached the starting sound from GTP which gives some idea to what you'll be hearing (although obviously not such a concentrated sound).

[jmkz]

stop, going on.. about.. the birds & bees remark and read that WHOLE sentence.. pllllleeeeeaaaaaaassssssse :-x