Sound Balance #3 #5569
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Sound Balance #3 #5569
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Created the first pass of reasonable maxconcurrent audio limits on units. Focus on preventing rapid firing units from hitting runaway volume increases due to layering.
"• Cerberus and Shogun are still a bit echoy and lacking in weight. Eg they are higher pitched than Envoy which makes me think lower weight, plus they have more echo. This is a lot better though and much closer to where it should be. We probably can't have these weapons at their full weight given how spammy they are." Made adjustments to pitch and echo. Not sure if it's better or just different.
Gave nimbus a little extra volume now that it can't run run away with volume when massing.
"• Toad EMG basically works but could be less flat/echoy." Reworked toad EMG into a new sound. Less shrill, less flat, more complimentary to the teal laser when toad fires both.
Created a priority list of units that fire infrequently enough and with enough impact that they shouldn't get muted when lots of sounds are competing to play. Moved up the previous 1 priority list to 2, and the previous 2 into 3, creating space.
* Update heavy_laser3.wav
* Update heavy_laser4.wav
* Update heavy_laser5.wav
* Update heavy_laser6.wav
* Update heavylaser_fire.wav
* Update heavylaser_fire2.wav
* Update laser_burn.wav
* Update laser_burn10.wav
* Update laser_burn11.wav
* Update laser_burn2.wav
* Update laser_burn3.wav
* Update laser_burn4.wav
* Update laser_burn5.wav
* Update laser_burn6.wav
* Update laser_burn7.wav
* Update laser_fire_test1.wav
* Update lasercannon_fire.wav
* Update gunshipkrow.lua
* Update lasercannon_fire.wav
* Update medlaser_fire.wav
* Update medlaser_hit.wav
* Update mini_laser.wav
* Update pulse_laser.wav
* Update pulse_laser2.wav
* Update pulse_laser3.wav
* Update pulse_laser_start.wav
* Update blade_hit.wav
* Update blade_soft.wav
* Update blade_swing.wav
* Update rapid_laser.wav
* Update small_laser_fire.wav
* Update small_laser_fire2.wav
* Update small_laser_fire3.wav
* Update small_laser_fire4.wav
* Update banisher_fire.wav
* Update heavy_aa_hit.wav
* Update heavymissile_launch.wav
* Update large_missile_fire2.wav
* Update liche_hit.wav
* Update med_aa_fire.wav
* Update med_rocket_fire.wav
* Update missile2_fire.wav
* Update missile2_fire_bass.wav
* Update missile2_hit.wav
* Update missile_fire.wav
* Update missile_fire10.wav
* Update missile_fire12.wav
* Update missile_fire2.wav
* Update missile_fire4.wav
* Update missile_fire5.wav
* Update missile_fire7.wav
* Update missile_fire8.wav
* Update missile_fire9.wav
* Update missile_fire9_heavy.wav
* Update missile_launch.wav
* Update missile_launch_high.wav
* Update missile_launch_short.wav
* Update rapid_rocket_fire2.wav
* Update rapid_rocket_hit.wav
* Update rocket_fire.wav
* Update rocket_fire2.wav
* Update rocket_hit.wav
* Update sabot_fire.wav
* Update sabot_hit.wav
* Update seismic_missile_hit.wav
* Update small_lightning_missile.wav
* Update tacnuke_launch2.wav
* Update tacnuke_launch2_trimmed.wav
* Update vlaunch_emp_hit.wav
* Update vlaunch_hit.wav
* Unit reply fixes
Focus on trimming overly long unit responses and fixing the most inappropriate ones. Some adjustments to volumes.
* Chickens sounds
Barely adjusted just brought in line with the rest of the balance.
* misc sounds
60hz-12khz band pass only
* Altenrate heatray fire adjusted
Brought in line with the rest of balance
* tweaking volumes
* vlaunch_hit2
created by merging 2 rocket impacts to give impaler more presence to match it's 800 dmg. weapon/missile/vlaunch_hit is used for the flail
* Update fighter_select.wav
* Update rumble1.wav
* balance for recluse and picket
* Halberd and Buoy Rework
These 2 units had been in a dire state in terms of sound design for a long time. They shared fire sounds with rapid fire units while using a laser sound for both fire and hit. Now both units have custom sounds for both fire and hit, but I blended the old fire sound in so they still have a recognizable signature.
* Moderator gets it's own sound
Moderator was sharing a sound with bolas and dart. Blended old wound with new to give more identity and definition
* Update heavy_laser5.wav
* Update hoverraid.lua
* Update jumparty.lua
* Update spiderscout.lua
* Update ex_med5.wav
* Update mini_nuke.wav
* Update cannon_hit2.wav
* Update heavy_laser6.wav
* Update small_laser_fire2.wav
* Create banisher_hit.wav
* Update sabot_fire.wav
* Update sabot_hit.wav
* Update spiderscout.lua
* Update tankriot.lua
* small duration and volume changes
* tweaks for ships
* blade_swing for scythe gets a rework
retained a lot of the frequency character but merged it with a higher quality blade swing sample to make it less grating.
* volume balances
* Update fusion_select.wav
"Energy pylon selection sound is a little flat." This sample only had the minimal 60hz-12khz band pass. Returned it to original source with no changes as a test.
* Update light_bot_select2.wav
"Convict selection sound is a little flat." This sample only had the minimal 60hz-12khz band pass. Returned it to original source with no changes as a test.
* Update small_laser_fire2.wav
"Bandit firing sound is a bit too weighty." Cut some more of the rumble out of the bandit at 100hz
* Update sabot_fire.wav
"Ronin firing sound is slightly too flat and has some weird swooshing at the end." found the accidental leftover snippet causing the swoosh, remade the ronin fire to make it more crisp.
* Update more_lightning_fast.wav
"Knight has some weird swooshing at the end." Remade knight to have a more crisp ending. Original source has a double impact with an overly long tail which makes this one tricky.
* Update heavy_laser6.wav
"Phantom impact sound is hard to describe. It feels flat but also has too many details." "Lance sounds really weird. Flatness and other effects. It doesn't sound like it is synchronised to the visuals the way the previous sound is. Possibly the previous sound ramps up a bit until the end then drops off." "Lucifer has the Lance problem." I returned to a light touch on this. Dialed back the shortening too, but it doesn't make sense for the sound to continue for the original 4 seconds when the firing animation is 1 second. I probably need to take the cloaksnipe impact off of the lance firing sound but I don't yet know what that new sound should be.
* Update more_lightning.wav
"Imp explosion sounds too flat." added back most of the frequency.
* Update heavy_laser5.wav
"Dart has a little swoosh at the end and feels too impactful." "Bolas sounds too weighty." Reduced length and reduced low end to lessen impact.
* Update rapid_rocket_fire2.wav
"Scalpel firing has a swoosh at the end." Removed tail.
* Update energy_weapon1.wav
"Halberd is a bit flat." recreated it with more presence.
* Update sonicgun_hit.wav
"Archer impact has turned into an annoying echo." "Siren sonic impact has the Archer problem." remade to be more crisp with more fidelity.
* Update heavy_laser3.wav
"Grizzly weapon is very slightly too flat." "Stinger weapon is too flat." Added more presence back in.
* Update aoe_aura2.wav
"Limpet detonation has more of a swooshy echo at the end." created a crisper ending for this.
* Created cannon_hit6 for Ravager
"Ravager impact might be a bit too flat." added more presence and separated the sound from duck impact.
* Update capture_ray.wav
"Dominatrix sounds too accentuated." changed the data transmission sounds on the top to be way less accentuated.
* Update origin.txt
* Update badger_fire.wav
"Badger firing has a bit too much echo." "Odin shield impact is off in a hard to describe way. This probably extends to Badger spam." reduced the echo and cleaned up the tail
* Update small_lightning.wav
"Gnat weapon is too flat." returned presence.
* Update ex_med11.wav
"Harpy impact has too much echo." "Hacksaw impacts have swoosh at the end." cleaned up the tail.
* Update heavylaser_fire2.wav
"Krow laser is too flat." reworked the Krow, restored presence to the laser.
* Created ex_med19.wav
"Hermit impact has a noticeable echo at the end." Created ex_med19.wav as an alternate for ex_med5.wav. Crisper ending.
* Update lightningbolt.wav
"Widow is not impactful enough and sounds flat." increased impact and restored presence.
* Update LightningBolt.wav
"Widow is not impactful enough and sounds flat." increased impact and restored presence.
* Update pulse_laser2.wav
"Constable weapon sounds too impactful and accentuated." "Cyclops slowbeam sounds too impactful as well." took out the lower register impact and shortened. I want to be careful not to let this weapon fall back into the 'not important enough to hear' category it has occupied.
* Update wolverine_hit.wav
"Firewalker impact point blank into a structure is just broken." I swapped the original impact sound in to test it and this appears to be broken in the base game currently. It's one of those 'layering' effects when too many of the same sounds are played concurrently that sounds bad. I don't see a solution other than changing the amount of impacts the firewalker is allowed to make. I could try to find the frequency range which is being amplified thats making it sound weird and reduce it but that would almost certainly make the normal functioning sound weird and bad. But, since this hasn't been an issue in base game, I doubt it actually needs adjustment. I returned firewalker impact to it's normal length and only the basic band pass for now as it makes more sense to couple with the fire on the ground lingering.
* Created heatray_fire6.wav
"Dante heatray is far too loud compared to its other weapons." Increased missile fire volume. Something was broken about dantes soundStartVolume not adjusting. Created a new heatray_fire6 specifically for the dante to adjust footprint and volume. It having twin heatrays highlights the problem with heatray firing 10x per second. This may point toward a problem with multiple scorchers but I'll wait to see if that becomes an issue.
* heatray_fire6 rework
Needed to do a full heatray rework to reduce the length. It fires at 10x second but the original legnth is 0.7. so with twin heatrays like on desolator or dante, there ends up being 14 concurrents playbacks of the audio. This is what causes heatray to "consume" the entire battlefield's audio. We're no down to 0.2 length which still means 4 concurrent audio for dante and desolator and 2 for scorcher. But since it's so easy to spam scorcher, it can still run away with the 'layering', especially if a single scorcher has too much impact. I've settled on a balance that I think works, at least much better than base game, where 1 scorcher is still noticeable and 20 scorchers still demands everyone's attention.
* Update missile_fire12.wav
"Siren missile impact has a lot of echo." cleaned up tail
* Paladin adjustment
"Paladin laser and lighting are too flat." Laser got adjusted with Lance. Lightning was being shared with Widow, so I de-coupled them to give paladin distinction and a crisper fire with an alternate lightningbolt2.wav
* Update striderdetriment.lua
"Det gauss is too quite for its other weapons." increased volume.
* Update med_aa_fire.wav
"Chainsaw firing has a swoosh at the end." cleaned up tail.
* Raised volume of all missile silo launches
"Tacnuke launches are too quiet." raised volume. May need some adjustment down after some playtests.
* Update big_begrtha_gun_fire.wav
"DRP yellow shot sounds truncated." restored back to original length
* Update sabot_hit.wav
"Crasher impact has too much echo." slightly adjusted tail. shares impact with ronin.
* Update tremor_fire.wav
"Tremor firing is too flat." did a full rework
* Nimbus rework
"Nimbus sounds more grating than the previous version. Perhaps it is a bit flatter so a repetitive part of the sound is shining through." Created an alternate nimbus firing sound as a branch off from the stardust.
* GaussTurret and Dagger adjustments
"- Dagger weaponry is too quite in general (fire and impact). At least, it is hard to hear over the sound of moving a Dagger around. Other raiders have louder weapon sounds. - Gauss firing is loud enough, but there is something weird about the impact. Perhaps each impact has too much punch at the start, making multiple impacts sound a bit repetitive. Idk."
Softened the attack on gauss_small. Raised volume on dagger and slightly boosted gain on both sounds to better match. Hearing the quick succession of hits on piercing dmg was a bit jarring but the softened attack helps.
* Update flak_fire.wav
"- Thresher (and Ettin) may be a bit too loud/obvious compared to similar units. If you want to make things fade into each other, there is probably room here. Also there a whoosh at the end of the flak firing sound."
Shortened and adjusted the ettin and flak turret fire sounds to have a less prominent tonal sound. Can still reduce volume if necessary.
* Update gauss_fire.wav
"Detriment gauss should be louder to not be drowned out by the laser. I think this much gauss being a bit of an assault on the senses is fine, it's Detriment."
Gave detriment even more presence and volume.
* Cloak_Snipe overhaul
"- Phantom firing sound is a lot softer than its impact sound. This is a bit weird as they tend to make up the same action, so ends up sounding like a volume shift. The sounds could be closer in volume, with the firing going up more than the impact goes down."
Phantom has been bugging me for a long time. It's too unique to be sharing sounds with another unit, which also frees up detriment and lance to be more specialized. I did an overhaul on both the firing and hit. Overlaid some unique texture and frequency that sells the fantasy of the invisible sniper. I pushed it fairly hard with the same philosophy of the glaive - Loud, Clear, Unique.
* Update more_lightning.wav
"- Imp explosion is too flat."
Imp presence is further restored.
* Update badger_fire.wav
"- Badger fire has an echoy whoosh at the end that it could do without."
Cut tail off the badger fire sound further.
* Update ex_med11.wav
"- Harpy weapon impact is a bit too quiet compared to its firing sound."
Boosted harpy impact
* Update sonicgun_hit.wav
"- Archer impact has an undesirable echoy part at the end."
Further removed tail from archer and siren
* Update more_lightning.wav
Imp presence is further restored.
* Widow sound
"- Widow shot is also a bit too flat, like Imp. Having this weapon announce itself to the entire battle is fine."
Gave it a lot of extra presence.
* Update jumpskirm.lua
"- Each individual Dart shot is louder than one Moderator shot. At least that is how it sounds when both are firing at once. Whether it is illusory or not, something should be changed to swap their loudnesses, since the Moderator shot is a lot bigger."
Boosted moderator volume. Dart seemed good volume-wise to me.
* Update ex_large7.wav
"- Jack is slightly too flat and has this whooshy deep rumble at the end, that I don't recall being in the stable version."
Removed tail from jack
* Update ex_large4.wav
"- Shogun may be a bit too quiet, especially its impacts."
Boosted Shogun impact
* Update tacnuke_launch.wav
"- The five missile silo missiles should have louder launch sounds. The Scylla launch sound has an appropriate volume.
- Reef missile firing is too quiet."
Boosted missile firing launch sounds
* Paladin lightningbolt2
"- Paladin lightning is much too flat, and much quieter than its laser."
Boosted presence and volume for paladin lightning
* Placeholder
"- Placeholder firing is really weird and the impact may be a bit quiet. It used to have more of a thoomp to it when it fired. This weapon announcing itself is also not so bad."
Boosted the placeholder as much as possible using original source.
* Update wolverine_hit.wav
"- Point blank Firewalker is still broken. Spawn a Firewalker like this and hear for yourself. When fired at range, the shots are each individually too crisp, which breaks up the impact into a series of hits rather than the general laying of a carpet of fire from stable."
Default Firewalker is fundamentally broken in a way that is hard to address. The pleasing mud that covers the impacts you're describing are the result of sub 40hz frequencies that make up a huge amount of the firewalker impact. 99% of Sound systems can't produce those frequencies, and instead produce distortion. This distortion is the mud that's working as . The problem is that every sound system is going to handle that distortion and the sounds on top of it differently, and before the sound rework there was so much distortion all the time that it flew under the radar. Using intentional distortion as an effect reliant on the limitations of each persons sound system while hurting the overall soundscape is probably not the route we want to go. There's no good way to quality control a sound like that and everyone will hear it differently. I've found a middle ground in taking the original and only doing a light cut of frequencies below 40hz and a slightly softened attack.
* Zenith Impact
"- The Zenith meteor impact sound is too crisp for when a cluster of them hit the ground. The individual impacts by themselves may also be too flat."
Split zenith off from cyclops. Gave it more presence. I'm liking the impact of it but I can soften the attack if needed. This is another one that was using unreliable distortion to smooth out impacts like the firewalker.
* Update laser_burn8.wav
"- Lotus has a slight repetitive whir when it fires. Something apart from the main hiss of the weapon."
Rebalanced the frequency to minimize the whirring.
* Update heavy_laser6.wav
"- Is Lance firing still a bit too short? I'm not sure I can tell at this point. My feeling watching it is that the main part of the sound (not the aftermath) cuts out a fraction of a second before the beam does.
- Lucifier sounds wrong, compared to Lance, and I don't know why. Fixing Lance probably solves it.
The first 0.6 seconds make up the punch of the initial weapon firing. This is the part that the new sound accentuates.
From around 0.55s to 0.9s, the sound of the initial fire is bridged by a region of extreme clipping that sounds a bit like VwaVwaVa when you zoom into it.
At around 1s the "debris flying sound" swells and sustains at that intensity until around 1.3s. This gives the end of the beam its own audio cue."
Recreated the Lance sound to have lots of presence and no falloff until after the beam has fully ended.
* Update heavy_laser3.wav
Gave stinger a cleaner frequency curve and a longer duration before fadeout
* Placeholder Improvement
Gave placeholder more presence
* Update generic_cannon.wav
"Ripper impact sound seems very low-fidelity compared to the rest. Jarring."
The ripper impact is 8000hz sample which is the sample rate of a landline telephone. It has always been trash. I'm trying to salvage it by layering a better sample underneath so it keeps some of it's distinctness. If this doesn't work then we need to throw away the ripper impact file and source a new sound entirely.
* Update emg_hit2.wav
"I don't get Halberd weapon impact. It sounds like a small building explosion rather than some sort of sci-fi magic missile."
Created new halberd sound.
* Update small_laser_hit1.wav
"Buoy has the magic-energy firing sound without a matching impact, same as Halberd."
Created new buoy impact sound
* Update blade_swing2.wav
"Scythe seems to have an extra sound added on the slash. It sounds weird to me, like two things are happening in one action."
Instead of blending the old slash with the new, now it's just the higher quality new slash.
* Update cloaksnipe.lua
"The cleaned up old Phantom is fine by me. The new one feels like it doesn't fit. Perhaps there is something that could be done with the impact sound."
returned it back to gauss. May be too loud now, but easy to adjust back down to 7.5
* Update vlaunch_hit2.wav
"Impaler shouldn't have the same impact sound as Revenant. They're different types of rocket. The old sound was meant to convey the lack of AoE."
Created a new sound for impaler
* Update wolverine_hit.wav
"Same Firewalker problem"
100% reverted to base game
* Update banisher_hit.wav
"Ogre impact is offputting. The sound is very crackly."
Redid ogre impact
* Update ex_large7.wav
"Revert the Jack sound changes in c911dc3"
recreated jack
* Update blackhole_impact.wav
"The sustained windy part of the impact sound for Placeholder is quite loud, it should be quieter."
100% reverted placeholder to base game
* Update flak_fire.wav
"Ettin sounds quite flat."
re-created Ettin
* Update heavy_laser7.wav
Extended and deepened moderator
* Update cannon_hit5.wav
"I think this is a better Tremor firing sound, but I can't really hear the impacts."
Mildly boosted the volume of impacts. Tremor already has a big visual presence to inform players of it's impact. I want to be careful not to press this sound beyond informative into irritating.
* buoy and halberd impact refinement
* Update rapid_laser.wav
"Gremlin doesn't sound like it deals damage. Raptor also doesn't sound like it deals damage. Hercules AA has the same problem as Raptor. Toad doesn't sound like it deals damage. This Detriment gauss is good. AA doesn't sound like it deals damage."
Took another shot at the teal AA laser.
* Update snipe_hit.wav
Phantom - "The new impact could be a bit brighter though, more dramatic."
Spiced up the new snipe impact
* New nimbus firing
"Nimbus ...should have their own weapon sounds, rather than taking them from weapons/units with distinct characteristics."
Took an entirely new approach to the nimbus.
* Nimbus rework
I don't know what to do about the nimbus so I'm just trying stuff
* Update small_laser_fire2.wav
"Bandit doesn't sound like it does much damage. The high pitched tap when it fires does not covey its level of power."
Restored some weight to the bandit.
* Update pulse_laser2.wav
"Constable is very quiet when firing."
Reworked slow beam
* Update small_laser_hit1.wav
adjusted buoy impact
* Update heatray_fire6.wav
"The heatrays in Dante sound a bit unusual like Scorcher. Scorcher sounds very weird/truncated. It also doesn't really sound like it has much damage."
Recreated scorcher/dante
* Update gauss_hit_small.wav
"This version of Dagger has a bit of a whistle in its impact"
adjusted dagger
* Update gauss_fire_small.wav
"dagger lacks weight on firing?"
Adjusted dagger
* Update ex_med4.wav
"Rogue impact might be a bit too flat/low quality. It sounds less distinct compared to Thug impact."
Redid rogue/ Scalpel / mistral
* Update cannon_hit6.wav
"Ravager impact truncated like Thug and Sling."
Extended ravager impact.
* Update vlaunch_hit2.wav
"Impaler impact seems like it might have a good thump impact hiding underneath the sound of hitting a plastic box with raw pasta."
Reworked Impaler impact to be a deeper impact
* Update blade_swing2.wav
"Scythe still sounds like it has a slash with a more thumpy sound underneath it. Like dropping a large sheet of cardboard on the floor. Things that are a single action shouldn't sound like two actions as that creates event-noise. The new slash alone may work, but that said, the piercing nature of the previous slash is a feature, not a bug. Scythe needs to globally announce itself."\
I was confused before what you meant by 2 sounds. It didn't sound wrong to me before, but I went back and consolidated the sound so it's more of a single event.
* Update sabot_fire.wav
"Ronin firing might be a bit too flat."
Added more depth to ronin fire.
* Update generic_cannon.wav
"Ripper impact is now very flat and echoy."
Gave ripper as much fidelity as possible. Underlying bad source.
* Update generic_cannon.wav
* Update badger_fire.wav
"Badger shot feels slightly too truncated. Shorter than the old one is good, but it could do with a bit of the rebound at the end that finishes it off."
I think this was a victim of the wrong version notes. Restored the rebound.
* ex_med5.wav Update
Thug impact is a bit too truncated. Sling impact is a bit too truncated, like Thug. Magpie missile impact is a bit too truncated. Bulkhead has the truncated impact too. Hermit has the truncated impact too.
Restored length to all of these
* updated Cerberus
"The Cerberus impact sound is quite underwhelming."
Gave Cerberus impact more weight
* New Shogun impact
"The old dirt-scatter explosion was pretty bad, but then why does Shogun still use it?"
Created a new impact explosion for shogun. This will the old dirt-scatter ex_large4 to be tuned for Quake missile
* Update ex_large4.wav
"The Quake impact sound is too quiet for its rarity."
boosted volume now that this sound is only for Rave party and Quake
* Update emp_missile_hit.wav
"The Shockley impact sound could be more noticeable somehow, which probably involves being less flat (like Imp). This sound should be noticeable as it tends to precede something important happening for most players in the game."
Created more density with another layer so that the sound could have a better attack.
* Update raveparty.lua
Turned down green Rave Party after boosting the volume for Quake
* Update flak_fire.wav
"Ettin firing has a noticeable poweh sound that sounds like it clips over the rest of the sound, even though it isn't. This creates a clear repeat. The impact is very echoy and also a bit flat at the same time. I think it is an improvement though. The lower fire rate of Thresher makes its flak sound a bit better."
Created a new sound for Ettin and Flak
* Update flak_fire.wav
* Update shipskirm.lua
lowered volume of mistral after raising prominence for other units.
* Update brawler_emg.wav
"Toad has the Gremlin problem with sounding a bit weak/out of place. Also I can't hear the EMG."
Boosted volume of toads autocannon
* Update ex_med4.wav
* Update ex_med4.wav
* Update shipskirm.lua
* Create emg_hit3.wav
"Nimbus impact sound generates a soft hum."
changed Impact
* Update gunshipheavyskirm.lua
* Update rapid_laser.wav
"Gremlin, Raptor etc still sound very underwhelming. Compare flying planes over a group of Gremlins to flying over a group of missile AA like Vandal or Angler. The plane dying doesn't square with the sound that is made is kill it. Part of it is that it sounds like a "recording studio" sound that isn't integrated into the world somehow. Perhaps a small amount of echo would fix it. Raptor see Gremlin. Hercules see Gremlin.
Created new teal laser. It feels more in line with the other lasers now like flea or bandit.
* Update gauss_hit_small.wav
"Dagger is much better. The impact sound is probably too loud, at least compared to the firing sound, but I would not increase the firing sound by very much, if at all."
Slightly reduced volume of dagger. Seems balanced now.
* Update banisher_hit.wav
"Ogre is a lot better. The impact sounds are too loud compared to firing sounds. I'd take the impact down more than I'd push the firing up."
Pulled down ogre impact
* Adjusted impacts for Buoy and Halberd
"I like the new energy impact less for Buoy than I do for Halberd. Halberd impact still sounds like it is on the matter side of the matter/energy divide. But it is a lot better."
Adjusted impacts for Buoy and Halberd
* Update cannon_hit5.wav
"Tremor impacts probably need to be louder or slightly more noticeable in some way (higher pitch?). I know this is dangerous, but I can't relaly tell what I'm hearing when I see a rain of Tremor shots land somewhere. The firing sound also fails to be awesome, but in this case there is a tradeoff between singleplayer awe and multiplayer playability that is hard to satisfy, so the firing sound is probably fine."
Boosted up the Tremor both volume and distinction. I think it's slightly too loud now but it's easy to reign back down.
* Update missile_fire12.wav
"Siren missile impact sounds weird for an impact. This is probably preexisting and not super important."
re-created Siren missile impact
* Update missile_fire10.wav
"The Siren missile firing sound could be quieter if it wants."
Reduced volume of Siren missile fire
* Paladin audio rebalance
"Paladin rocket impact is too quiet compared to the rocket firing sound. The lightning could be a tad quieter if it needs to be."
Reduced lightning volume, increased rocket impact by splitting it off from racketeer .
* Faraday Changes
"I think the duration of the Faraday firing sound should be closer to the original, in a split from Venom. Faraday is rarely spammed, deals 2.5x the damage of Venom, and has a longer reload and EMP time. It sounds too underwhelming as is."
Faraday split and extended
* Detriment gauss volume reduced
"The Detriment gauss works well and also has space to be quieter. My comments about the volume don't really transfer across gauss reworks. Gauss impact sound could be softer, as with Dagger. Also I'm noticing that the gauss impact sound has a bit of a mid-pitch whistle at the end that would be good to remove."
Gauss fire and gauss hit are lowered. slightly softened hit, slightly removed middle section of hit. Brought down phantom impact to match
* Update pulse_laser3.wav
"Commander laser has a noticeable repeating shwss sound in it."
Restored commander beam laser to mostly original
* Scorcher adjustments
Scorcher still sounds a bit weak and truncated. It sounds like individual shots rather than something that merges together into a ray. The new sound has a very noticeable point of maximum "intensity that reinforces the barrage of shots feeling, and the feeling persists to multiple Scorchers. It takes 0.3s to extrude a ray, which the old sound was better at matching. I don't think a huge change would be needed though, perhaps making it slightly longer and softening the peak would work."
Extended out the scorcher audio by splitting it off from dante and desolator.
* Update amphriot.lua
Slightly boosted scallop fire volume
* Update reaper_hit.wav
slightly improved minotaur impact.
* Update tankheavyassault.lua
slightly boosted cyclops volume more in line with the other signature units.
* Update vlaunch_hit2.wav
enhanced impaler impact
* Update generic_cannon.wav
" • Ripper impact is now very flat and echoy.
• Restored as much fidelity as possible. Underlying poor sample source. "
Created new ripper impact as original was very low quality
* Update ex_large18.wav
" • The Cerberus impact sound is quite underwhelming.
• Gave new Cerberus impact more weight"
Recreated cerberus completely
* Update pillager_fire.wav
slightly enhanced emissary fire
* Sparrow death sound rework
Boosted sparrow scan death and created a vision signifier effect
* Ripper impact update
"The new Ripper impact is far too weak. The original impact is what it should sound like, but higher quality/better balanced in some way."
Trying to keep the best of both worlds by blending some of the old sound with a higher quality base so it keeps some of the texture and recognition but doesn't sound so thin now that it's being exposed to a more balanced sound environment.
* Update vlaunch_hit2.wav
"The Impaler is ok, but I'm not sure how it is better than the old one. Won't the maraca-type sound over the top of the deeper impact sound more annoying when spammed? There also seems to be extra echo at the end that echos the sound over the top, rather than the impact. This sound can happen a lot so shouldn't have too much going on. It's a bit like my Scythe comment, except that Impaler shots are much spammier and much less important than Scythe. So I'm not sure why it sort of sounds like two sounds put together."
I was already on the fence on this so I’ve reverted to the version without the reverb added. The thinking was that the Impaler is a unit that does 800 damage in a single shot, and sometimes that shot is coming from fog of war. I was looking for a way to let the sound exist a little longer to be caught by the player since a player might only get a handful of audio cues before something devastating happens. It’s a balance since the impaler is spammable late game, but I also don’t want a new player to lose all of their defenses to some impalers within a couple minutes and not know it’s happening.
* Update rhino.wav
"Cyclops firing sound could afford to be slightly longer. Was it truncated at some point?"
Restored length.
* Envoy Impact
"Envoy impact sound might be a bit too truncated, was it changed at some point?"
Yes, it used to share a sound with a lot of units. I've isolated it's original length to cannon_hit7 so that it's no longer sharing an impact with Duck. Easy to switch back if we want a less noisy envoy.
* Shogun and Cerberus impacts
"Shogun/Cerberus impacts are too clean and high pitched. They sound like smaller explosions than they are, and are a bit too far towards the energy weapon end of the spectrum. They should sound closer to Crab, Envoy and Emissary. Those are three quite distinct sounds, but I think Cerberus is further from all three in terms of weight and cleanliness."
Recreated both shogun and cerberus.
* Update cannon_hit5.wav
"Tremor impact sound is a bit too loud. This will be hard to get right. Firing works well."
Tremor volume reduced. Ongoing strategy to slowly reduce the loudest sounds since the quietest sounds tend to be well balanced and at a good level.
* Update flak_hit.wav
"Ettin impact sound is too echoy. It is a lot more echoy than its firing sound, which makes the two together sound weird."
Created a new Ettin and Thresher impact.
* Update striderdetriment.lua
"Detriment is still very loud. The impact sound is a lot better than the Dagger/Gauss one as it doesn't seem to be as flat. Hard to tell with all the Det noise though."
Lowered detriment volumes.
* Starlight Laser
"The Starlight firing sound is in the TARGETER weapon."
Boosted starlight special fire and gave it some differentiation from the lance sound by splitting and adding texture. I'm maxed out on volume. This one is strange in that it always seems quieter than it should, maybe because it's sourced from the structure and not the point it hits. I tested a version in stereo for the double impact that overcomes this and it works, so that's available if we want to lean harder into the "oppressive superweapon" feeling.
* Update heavy_laser7.wav
"Moderator is a lot better. I'd want to hear a version without the wet click about halfway through though, as removing it might improve it (or it might make the sound, idk)."
Created this version of moderator. Moderator loses a little distinction but fits the style of the soundscape better.
* Teal Laser and Maxconcurrent test for teal laser + nimbus
"Gremlin is quite a bit better but probably a touch too flat. The sound is a lot less clear than other sounds. It works fairly well when a group of Gremlin are firing in semi-random ways. Raptor and Toad have trouble with their regular frequent fire."
There's a lot here. Created a new teal Laser and split it into 2 variants just like scorcher so the slower fire rate (Gremlin 0.3, Hercules 0.3,) can have a separate sister-sound to the rapid firing units (toad 0.10, Raptor 0.10, detriment 0.10)
The big test here is using maxconcurrent in sounds.lua to prevent the situations where the fastest firing units destroy the soundscape by layering volume. I need to play with this more but I'm excited that it's more robust than I expected. The key is to identify what number of simultaneously firing units break the soundscape and go 1 under that in maxconcurrent to prevent only the worst outcomes. Applied to raptor, toad, and nimbus for now as a test.
* Dagger / gauss
"Dagger/Gauss have something weird going on. The start of the impact sound is good, but it turns into whistly flat sound at the end, that is almost like an attenuated echo. It gets worse when played multiple times one frame apart, which happens a lot given how gauss works. Also, if possible, it would probably be good to make the rising pitches in the tail of the firing sound quieter."
Reworked the Gauss and dagger. I'm reaching the limits of what I can do with the original source.
* Update generic_cannon.wav
"I mainly don't understand what was wrong with the previous Ripper and Impaler.
• Ripper sounds very gravelly. I am not sure what it is supposed to be. The old boomph-pop fit together and was clear. I think ZK should generally sound a bit stylised/cartoony, and this Ripper impact is far from it."
The base game ripper has an extremely low sample rate of 8000 khz which is very low quality. It became more noticeable once the sound environment was cleaner, you commented about the original "Ripper impact sound seems very low-fidelity compared to the rest. Jarring." My last two attempts were to try to pair the old sound to a new sound to retain some of it's distinct character, but that's not working. We either have to settle for the imperfections of the base game ripper or abandon it to find an entirely new sound. Attempting to create a direct sound-alike isn't going to work since I have to make due with the samples that I have access to.
Restored Ripper to it's original source for now.
* Update vlaunch_hit2.wav
"Impaler is better than Ripper, but to me it still sounds like a muddied version of the previous one. It sounds weaker and I don't know what the tradeoff is with the soundscape."
Restored Impaler to a version of it's original source while still splitting so it doesn't share.
* Update missile_fire.wav
"Crasher firing has too much reverb."
Reduced the tail of Crasher.
* Gauss and Dagger volume balance
"Dagger is pretty good. I'd go for more volume on the fire than the hit so it's easier to hear both events. Gauss fire and hit volume could be adjusted too. Gauss has longer range though, so the two sounds don't need the help that Dagger needs to be distinct."
Adjusted these volumes to be more balanced.
* Update flak_fire.wav
"Ettin and Thresher are still a bit weird. The firing and impact don't sound like they belong in the same environment. The firing sound is good but it might need to change to match everything else. Maybe add a bit of reverb for the firing sound? Not a lot, maybe something like the level of Ravager."
Gave the ettin thresher firing sound some reverb to match the environment better.
* Update missile_fire12.wav
"Making the Siren missile impact louder was probably a mistake now that I hear it. Maybe it could have a weaker version of whatever hit sound Impaler ends up with."
Adjusted Siren missile. I think it's working now.
* Update sounds.lua
"Toad EMG basically works but could be less flat/echoy."
Limiting the maxconcurrent more helps some I think. Everything I try with toad EMG makes it sound worse so I'm going to pause on this.
* Update sounds.lua
Created the first pass of reasonable maxconcurrent audio limits on units. Focus on preventing rapid firing units from hitting runaway volume increases due to layering.
* Cerberus and Shogun impacts
"• Cerberus and Shogun are still a bit echoy and lacking in weight. Eg they are higher pitched than Envoy which makes me think lower weight, plus they have more echo. This is a lot better though and much closer to where it should be. We probably can't have these weapons at their full weight given how spammy they are."
Made adjustments to pitch and echo. Not sure if it's better or just different.
* Update gunshipheavyskirm.lua
Gave nimbus a little extra volume now that it can't run run away with volume when massing.
* Update brawler_emg.wav
"• Toad EMG basically works but could be less flat/echoy."
Reworked toad EMG into a new sound. Less shrill, less flat, more complimentary to the teal laser when toad fires both.
* Update sounds.lua
Created a priority list of units that fire infrequently enough and with enough impact that they shouldn't get muted when lots of sounds are competing to play. Moved up the previous 1 priority list to 2, and the previous 2 into 3, creating space.
---------
Co-authored-by: GoogleFrog <googl3frog@gmail.com>
This is how it worked at some point before the latest integral menu rewrite. Fixes ZeroK-RTS#5566.
Detriment health 86k -> 74k -> 76k Paladin autoheal 20 -> 10 Scalpel manoeuvres better. * Speed 63 -> 66 * Turn rate improved by 2.5% Raven is faster. * Speed 234 -> 246 Phoenix is slower. * Speed 243 -> 231
Added burst UI for assaults and Merlin.
Added but did not use area_damage_plateau_fall.
Push Nimbus volume too.
* EMP damage 600 -> 750 Implemented overstun for disarm and for the disarm-emp interaction. Removed the missing health multiplier from EMP award. Eg a unit shooting at a unit on 5% health would be awarded 20x the emp damage.
Increased Nimbus Volume
|
People have a harder time telling that there was a change, but the general feedback is still that some sounds are quite flat or insufficiently present in the world. The majority of the sounds seem like improvements this time. Eg people like the new Venom.
a lot of weapons sound like under water weapons now, if i had to put a finger on it
reaver sound muffled
ripper sound very different but kind of good, however sounds less aoe like
cant hear razor during phoenix drop
gremlin doesnt sound like laser anymore
ravager impact sound seems too present sounds like mino lvl
need to get used to claw landing sound from badger
stinger seems a bit too quite
Some more from me:
The sounds in this game got tiring because it all ended up quite muffled, and I couldn't tell so well when a Sniper was firing: the main thing that stood out to me was Nimbus being hard to hear
plus the dante/rev rocket launch sounding a bit flat,
the Ogre impact having quality issues still
also Dante sounded weird, I'll try the most recent heatray
and it was hard to hear what Raptor was doing
|
|
I made some tweaks to sounds.lua. A shakeup on maxconuccrent allowing raptor and nimbus to get a bit louder. I also found a typo that was preventing rolloff from functioning. I've applied a new maxconcurrent accross the board of 12 instead of the previous default of 16. I suspect this change will be mostly unnoticeable except for avoiding some of the worst layering situations. May need some exceptions for lasers but I'd like to see how this works. The other notable change is applying the new working default rolloff as 1.2 instead of 1.0. This should also be mostly unnoticeable to players but give a little more separation from the surrounding soundscape when the player zooms in. May need some tweaking but 1.2 feels more natural to me so far than 1.0. |
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Iterations on sound balance.