In Depth Sound Settings

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by tothrauldaniel, Feb 20, 2017.

  1. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    I am posting my thoughts and findings on sound settings after I tested and optimized extensively per car, track and camera view (driver eye cockpit and track cams). First thing you should know is that the sound needs different settings depending on the car, and track cams require different settings in order to achieve the level of realism I'm aiming for. The second thing you should know is that in the driver eye cockpit view in your replay is not exactly the same as the same camera when you were actually playing. When you are playing the sound is better and respects the settings you made.

    The default settings are:
    Master Volume: 100%
    Player Volume: 100%
    Opponent Car: 50%
    Engine Volume: 100%
    Transmission Whine: 100%
    Road Noise: 75%
    Road Feel Effects: 40%
    Suspension Squeak: 40%
    Scrub Volume: 80%
    Skid Volume: 40%
    Effects Volume: 75%
    Wind Volume: 75%
    Backfires: 75%
    Ambience Sound: 75%
    Reverb Factor: 100%

    So first off all here are my base settings I have tested extensively and that work ok for any car and cam:
    Master Volume: 100%
    Player Volume: 100%
    Opponent Car: 75%
    Engine Volume: 100%
    Transmission Whine: 100%
    Road Noise: 15%
    Road Feel Effects: 30%
    Suspension Squeak: 75%
    Scrub Volume: 30%
    Skid Volume: 15%
    Effects Volume: 75%
    Wind Volume: 30%
    Backfires: 60%
    Ambience Sound: 75%
    Reverb Factor: 75%
    So this is a good enough base for any situation, and already much more realistic then the default settings, but in order to achieve the detail I'm interested in, the following values should be adjusted depending on how quiet or loud a car is:
    Opponent Car: 50% to 100%
    Road Noise: 15% to 30%
    Road Feel Effects: 25% to 40%
    Suspension Squeak: 40% to 80%
    Scrub Volume: 25% to 40%
    Skid Volume: 15% to 30%
    Effects Volume: 60% to 80%
    Wind Volume: 30% to 75%
    Backfires: 60% to 75%
    Ambience Sound: 60% to 100%
    Now depending if the car is completely closed or has a side window, or it's an open wheeler the following values should be adjusted accordingly:
    Wind Volume
    Backfires
    Ambience Sound
    Reverb Factor
    And finally the sound for Trackside cameras needs very different settings also if you wanna hear suspension squeaking and the car rattling when it passes by real close to the camera and takes a high curb a bit rough. Then you should adjust tire sounds so that you can hear them if a car powerslides and other stuff tire limit related. Adjust the Bacfires volume to a value so that you can hear them clearly in a realistic way. And finally for trackside cameras, the Ambiance Sound sould be 100% and Reverb Factor from 60% to 100% depending on the track and the location on the track.
    So I hope some of you that care as much as I do about the sound will find this useful, and possibly will help reduce the testing and trial and error work needed for such things. So that being said, let there be screams and thunder through the woods and countryside!... :fearscream::eek::confused::D ...Ohh... How I wish we had this and this in game :p
    Bonus: :D
     
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    Last edited: Feb 20, 2017
  2. fl0wf1r3

    fl0wf1r3 Well-Known Member

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    I am also always adjusting the sound levels. Would be nice if one could adjust them per car/track or save presets for replays. When you are inside a closed car I don't wanna hear ambient sounds and so on. The reverb is a bit cheesy. I am still looking for a nice plugin to apply some reverb effect afterwards and to simulate different Environments. Sound is so important for me to get a proper effect of immersion. Nevertheless, Raceroom has the best sound of all sims :) at least for circuit/track racing cars. DiRT Rally is also awesome. Sound wise I already fear the future when e-cars will take over. Racing cars will loose a main aspect of their character, but thats technological progress.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 17, 2017
  3. fl0wf1r3

    fl0wf1r3 Well-Known Member

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    Last edited: Mar 17, 2017
  4. Washout

    Washout New Member

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    Your baseline settings were perfect for me, thanks for sharing @tothrauldaniel and nice work!
     
  5. muzikant

    muzikant Well-Known Member

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  6. Mike S

    Mike S Member

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    what does the effects volume do?
     
  7. fl0wf1r3

    fl0wf1r3 Well-Known Member

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    actually a good question. I turned it to 0 yesterday and did not notice any difference?

    "Effects Volume
    Controls the volume of other effects (such as the transmission) generated by your car in relation to the engine sound"

    perhaps it depends on the car?
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2017
  8. m.bohlken

    m.bohlken Well-Known Member

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    Little question regarding the sound-settings... Is there any setting that increases the Car-Volume of the Cars in Replay?

    Not sure why, but it feels that the Sound in Spectator-Mode is louder that in Replay when using the same cam.
     
  9. ChatCureuil

    ChatCureuil Well-Known Member

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    Hi, thanks for sharing.
    The first sound setting I had to change without a doubt was to lower the reverb, 100% is way too much and sometimes gave me the feeling to drive in a church (e.g. on RR Hillclimb). :)
     
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  10. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    Yep, the level of that one should be adjusted per car. The easy way to see what it does is to set everything to 0 and it to 100. That setting affects many sound effects.
     
  11. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    It depends really. I find that at Spa for example when you come out of the hairpin and that area in general, the reverb at 100 it's pretty real life like. But yeah in most places 100 looks like overkill, personally I find 60-80 the sweet spot.
     
  12. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    Don't worry about the replay sounds, I think they are pretty much stand alone and are not affected by most settings I tested, so not much you can work with there.
     
  13. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    I dare say it's probably already possible but due to the business side of things and access requirements game developers don't have the time and access needed to put such effort and time in sound. Look at what Hollywood could do for years now, they can make a pregnant woman have a six pack on video. :)
     
  14. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    Glad it was helpful for someone other then myself. :)
     
  15. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    The day sound will not play a part in any motorsports discipline will be the day I will no longer enjoy motorsports as a whole and will probably stop following any of it to be honest. Probably I'm just getting old now but I will never spend time investing in something I don't like and do not agree with.
     
  16. MeMotS

    MeMotS Well-Known Member

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    Thanks a lot for that.

    What would you recommend for Director Spectator view?
     
  17. fl0wf1r3

    fl0wf1r3 Well-Known Member

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    I wish the reverb would be better. Normally I use a value of 10. Everything above sounds like a bathtub. For replays I tried some plugins for Audacity.
     
  18. tothrauldaniel

    tothrauldaniel Member

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    60% works best as a baseline. You get enough reverb and echo effects to be relatively realistic but without bleeding in to the next TV cam and the sound distorsion at the start with lots of cars is at a relatively acceptable level. Just saying, of course you should use it as you like it.