Is there any games that use 5.1 besides DoomIII.

[Dug]

Doom III will take advantage of it. Lots of Xbox games do (Sounds a lot better than any computer games I've heard). Is there anything now or in the near future? Reason I ask is because I can't decide between Klipsch 4.1 or 5.1. Won't be using it for movies.

 

[Mem]

Morrowind,NWN use 5.1,more games are starting to use 5.1 sound so 5.1 speakers would be a wise choice for the future.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: Dug
Doom III will take advantage of it. Lots of Xbox games do (Sounds a lot better than any computer games I've heard). Is there anything now or in the near future? Reason I ask is because I can't decide between Klipsch 4.1 or 5.1. Won't be using it for movies.

You sure DoomIII does? I've read that a lot of folks were disappointed because it wasn't going to support something and don't remember what it was. Surround sound, eax, something like that.

 

[HendrixFan]

Americas Army uses 5.1 EAX audio. Suprised the hell outta me too, because I wasnt used to games using my center channel. A pleasant suprise to say the least.

 

[mchammer187]

Warcraft 3 does

 

[Dug]

Do I need that extra thing-a-ma-jig to go with the Klipsch's, or does the sound card output go right into the speakers?

You sure DoomIII does? I've read that a lot of folks were disappointed because it wasn't going to support something and don't remember what it was. Surround sound, eax, something like that.

So far everything I have read has indicated that it is 5.1.

Id is using the Phillips Acoustic Edge for it. (Makes me want to buy one)

 

[Accord99]

Essentially any game that uses DirectSound3D is 5 channel capable. It is only upto the sound card drivers to place the sounds in the proper channel. The Audigy, Live 5.1 among other soundcards are fully capable of 5 channel gaming. There isn't a dedicated LFE channel but I don't think it makes much difference for games.

XBox also uses DirectSound3D for positional audio, but it can encode it to DD 5.1 to be sent to an AV receiver. The NForce audio works the same way. The only benefit here is to reduce wire clutter.

 

[Dug]

So do I need this to get true 5.1 sound -? ProMedia DD 5.1 Multimedia Digital Decoder Preamplifier: to go with the speakers
or does the sound card handle everything?

The reason I ask is because I thought 5.1 sound cards were able to output and not decode. I'm talking either SantaCruz or Phillips.

 

[Accord99]

For DirectSound3D, all you need a soundcard like the Audigy, Live 5.1, etc and connect it through the normal analog cables to 5.1 system like the Promedia 5.1. If you have a Live 5.1 or Audigy and get a Creative 5.1 system, ie Megaworks 510D, they have a unique digital cable that works too. Then, for nearly all games that support DirectSound3D, you will get discrete sound out of all 5 speakers and the subwoofer.

 

[MIGhunter]

This has me wondering.

When Hollywood makes a movie, they spend millions. It costs $10 at the movie theater and $20 to get it on DVD later.

Game companies make video games that have inferior sound quality, less replay value but almost always cost $50-$60.

All of this and no DD or DTS.

 

[Dug]

So you're telling me that Doom3 and the other games listed here aren't true 5.1 signals? Just 2channel directed to seperate speakers by the soundcard. That means the bass would suck.

I've NEVER heard this before

Then, for nearly all games that support DirectSound3D, you will get discrete sound out of all 5 speakers and the subwoofer.

Sounds like simulated 5 speaker sound, which would be worse than a 4.1 system using eax or a3d.
How would the sound card know where to put the signals if its not programed into the game?

Kinda contradicts this statement

Suprised the hell outta me too, because I wasnt used to games using my center channel. A pleasant suprise to say the least.

I don't know what's done on the Xbox, but it sure as hell sounded a lot better than anything I've ever heard coming out of a computer speaker system. Everything was perfect and the bass was tight. (mmm..... maybe I should buy one, would be a lot cheaper.)

 

[kazeakuma]

Any game based on the Unreal engine will have native 5.1 support. Which is why America's Army has it.

Also, with the directsound thing, it's only faking it. Good soundcard drivers will often mix a signal into 5.1 if you are using it, but it's usually nothing more than a mirror in the rear and a cross for the center.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that if it is indeed using 4.1 (EAX etc) then you will get discrete sound from the channels. But not true 5.1 sound but most cards do a good job at putting the center speaker into the action, it really isn't hard when you think about it.

 

[Accord99]

Originally posted by: Dug
So you're telling me that Doom3 and the other games listed here aren't true 5.1 signals? Just 2channel directed to seperate speakers by the soundcard. That means the bass would suck.

It should be true 5.1 signals but it's hard to say exactly what Doom is doing. It maybe they completely wrote a brand new sound engine that directly creates DD 5.1 or it maybe that they software encode DirectSound3D to DD 5.1. Either way, I think its stupid because DirectSound3D already exists as a mature technology today with support from virtually all soundcards and speaker systems today.

Sounds like simulated 5 speaker sound, which would be worse than a 4.1 system using eax or a3d.
How would the sound card know where to put the signals if its not programed into the game?

What DirectSound3D is give you x,y,z coordinates of a sound source. It's merely upto the soundcard drivers to place it in the right speaker. In fact, you can have many channels as you want with DirectSound3D, but many soundcards are fully capable of putting the sound in 5 channels.

I don't know what's done on the Xbox, but it sure as hell sounded a lot better than anything I've ever heard coming out of a computer speaker system. Everything was perfect and the bass was tight. (mmm..... maybe I should buy one, would be a lot cheaper.)

Don't forget, XBox uses DirectSound3D as its native 3d positional API, just like on the PC. Alll it does after is encode the DirectSound3D into DD, just like the NForce. Most likely, the audio is better because they used higher quality sources, the game developers cared more about the audio, or your home theater system is much better than your PC speakers.