Sound in games is too dynamic nowadays

[futurefields]

I understand that more dynamic range = better sound quality but does anybody else have a hard time finding a sweet spot in some games volume?

A lot of games dont give you a lot of options to tweak the different elements like background music,dialogue,effects etc... and lot of games the dialogue is either way too low or the explosions are a million times too loud etc etc... makes it hard to find a sweet spot

 

[Soundmanred]

No.

 

[homebrew2ny]

Perhaps it's because I am not an audiophile, but I do not have this problem.

 

[mizzou]

sometimes I have issues with voice's being too quiet or engines being too loud, but most games will offer an audio slider to adjust specific noises

 

[KentState]

I struggle with the voices in Skyrim the most. I don't think that I've seen another game that has been that bad.

 

[futurefields]

I wonder if there is some sort of compressor/limiter software that can sit between the game and the audio output that would compress the audio above a given threshold at a user definable ratio. Such software would also be handy for when watching movies on my laptop, where I also have this same problem sometimes (namely quiet dialogue and way too loud action on the movie side of things).

 

[shortylickens]

Most of the time when you get an actual audio card they also give you software for controlling these things.
Off the top of my head I dont know any free downloadable software for controlling audio beyond the basic (insufficient) controls in Windows.

VLC can actually do a lot but of course thats only for media files, not games.

 

[HeXen]

All the games I play sound awesome on the Xfi card I have, everything seems to have a realistic level of volume based on distance and db's of source that I can tell anyway.

 

[shortylickens]

All the games I play sound awesome on the Xfi card I have, everything seems to have a realistic level of volume based on distance and db's of source that I can tell anyway.

I had an audigy platinum ex a long time ago, had a buttload of nice controls and goodies.

 

[Hinda65]

I like how bioshock infinite fades all the background noise out when you listen to audiovox's....it would be nice if that feature was present in more games.....I'm always missing out on dialog during borderlands 2 due to all the chaos and that dialog is generally pretty comical so it sucks to miss it.

 

[Dankk]

I appreciate dynamic range a lot more after getting a good pair of headphones. Games sound so much more detailed and nuanced. Small noises like footsteps are much more apparent, and loud noises like gunshots really pop.

 

[Scooby Doo]

sometimes I have issues with voice's being too quiet or engines being too loud, but most games will offer an audio slider to adjust specific noises

FEAR 1 suffered this... I could never hear what was being said on the recorded messages. Made the whole game a "why am I doing this to begin with?"

 

[Mushkins]

I wonder if there is some sort of compressor/limiter software that can sit between the game and the audio output that would compress the audio above a given threshold at a user definable ratio. Such software would also be handy for when watching movies on my laptop, where I also have this same problem sometimes (namely quiet dialogue and way too loud action on the movie side of things).

Even most onboard sound drivers have at least some of these features. Look for "loudness equalization" or "normalization."

 

[darkewaffle]

I generally have to turn games down, but as long as the game has independent audio 'source' controls I don't mind. I like being able to turn down music/ambience/sfx and only keep voices up.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

I like being able to turn down music/ambience/sfx and only keep voices up.

I thought most new games had that feature.

 

[shortylickens]

I thought most new games had that feature.

most, but its not standardized in between publishers/developers.

Thats one nice thing about consoles, they have standards. The downside is: what if the standards are shit?

 

[matthewknox]

These days game developers has many options on how to create sounds. More likely, changes in video game music growth will have very little to do with technological innovation and more to do with other aspects of game development as a business whole.

 

[Stringjam]

I don't find games nearly as bad as movies (yet).

But with the way game devs seem to be worshiping the Michael Bay approach to production, it will probably get worse.


I really hate to call it "high dynamic range," as it can more aptly be called "hyped dynamic range." It is the smiley-face EQ that boosts the hell out of lows and highs and sounds like garbage (IMO). The lack of upper-midrange signal level means vocals get lost.

 

[futurefields]

I generally have to turn games down, but as long as the game has independent audio 'source' controls I don't mind. I like being able to turn down music/ambience/sfx and only keep voices up.

Yeah its not an issue those games. Im talkin games that only have 1 volume slide.

 

[thm1223]

I struggle with the voices in Skyrim the most. I don't think that I've seen another game that has been that bad.

Ya for some reason Skyrim is the only game where I've noticed a problem as well. Sometimes its difficult to discern what NPCs are saying unless you are directly facing them from a typical dialogue distance.