Why is positional audio so shit in modern games?

Why is positional audio so shit in modern games?

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Because it's actually non trivial to accurarely calculate how sound travels and bounces. Devs much rather allocate those ressources to other parts.

lazy

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I could never get into Thief. I should give it another go some day.

CREATIVE PURPOSELY KILLED SOFTWARE SURROUND SOUND TECH TO SELL YOU GARBAGE 7.1 HARDWARE SYSTEMS REEEEEEEE

Hmm. Half-Life? Opposing Force maybe?

This. Sound quality just isn't as appreciated by the mainstream as something like graphics or general gameplay.

And I mean how many threads do you see of people talking about graphics quality compared to those talking about sound quality? It's a shame people don't appreciate sound quality more but it is what it is. There's also other influences too like the history with Creative, but since then, the same sound processing they did with soundcards can be done easily with some CPU resources, it just takes some work it get it sounding good. The new stuff like from Nvidia VRWorks or AMD's similar solution use more complex techniques that, mathematically, are more accurate, and more realistic in different scenarios, but there's also the question how realistic it needs to be. It makes sense for them because VR needs as much realism as possible so that your brain is fooled into thinking it is in a different location than it really is, but for regular games, the simpler methods are enough. Developers just need to get their shit together and people need to appreciate sound more.

Best game I've played with it is GTA4. It was god-like in that for PS3. Very immersive to be driving down the street and hearing the wind all around and the voices and SFX passing by you. You also knew exactly where distant gunshots were coming from. Sadly I think that was the last good game to actually make proper use of positional audio.

sound kinda crappy because of excessive reverb

I don't know why people like and recommend the EAX effects in Thief. Occasionally you'll big in a big cavernous tile room and it sounds cool, but most of the time it doesn't match the environment that well and is way exaggerated. It's very silly to have some much reverb in that open-air area at the start of the video, for example.

Thief's positional sound is completely awesome though, and that zombie moan does sound cool echoing through the tunnels.

It's also the case that a huge portion of the gaming audience is playing on their TV with cheapo speakers that are likely stereo and coming from mostly in front of them.

For multiplayer focused games, though, you would think there would be enough of the hardcore (or at least wannabe hardcore) headset-wearing audience for devs to give a shit though. But I guess players have to give a shit first.

Why would they do that in CSGO though where sound is a fundamental mechanic?

The original cs never had this problem, but the modern version does. It's really annoying.

BF3-4 took sound seriously and had some of the best sound ever in a video game.

No. BF4 has no digital audio decoding. Neither does BF3.

UE4 has a lot of that stuff built in now, hopefully when more games start coming out made with it, they'll utilize the tech.

Bumping an interesting thread

Siege with good cans is utter brilliance

RIP Aureal

It had rich bass but wasnt really good in the positional department, also no echoes or distant muzzling of any sort

It's a lot easier to show off pretty graphics on a video compared to an advanced audio engine that takes effort and money to create and devs don't give a fuck.