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Gun sounds in games are severely lacking
- Thread starter CHC
- Start date
Yeah I just discovered his channel today by looking up some stuff for a history class. He's just a down to earth old dude with access to an insane arsenal (that he somehow manages to get totally legally).
visiblemode
Member
Yep!
This game with headphones is awesome.
I feel like Battlefield games sorta backslid in the audio department by 3&4, especially.
THIS!
Hearing the constant sound of real guns, as amazing as they could sound the first time, it's just plain annoying tbh. I always asumed that developers change or edit the sounds of their guns to make them more tolerable and satisfying during prolonged playtime...
The Dear Leader
Banned
Battlefield series, Arma series, and Insurgency have some best in recent memory, a gun should sound loud and scary when you're shooting it and having one shot at you should make you flinch, that's what I want in gun sounds.
DaciaJC
Gold Member
Insurgency with the Intense Realism Soundmod installed probably has the best-sounding weapons of any game I've played. Extended firefights can be tense as shit because your ears are being overwhelmed by the volume of gunfire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg62TATPh-c;t=1m12s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltnwsXkJMeY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg62TATPh-c;t=1m12s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltnwsXkJMeY
Black_Stride
do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
War Tapes is as close to realism as ive heard.
But honestly does anyone want guns to sound super realistic....the "cinematic" sounds that some games use is what i imagine people would say is better than a more realistic sound.
Considering not many people have actually heard real guns going off up close i can see why many will rate more cinematic sounding weapons higher than something like War Tapes or ArmA.
That being said I havent heard any game that has the heart pounding, pant browning sound of a shotgun.
Hearing a shotgun for the first time scared the shit out of me.
NoMoreTrolls
Banned
Recently bought a glock, went to the range to shoot it, guy in stall next to me using a Mossberg 930... I nearly shit my pants.
Guns are fucking loud. Like, shake the surrounding glass and reverberate in your chest loud. Double that for shotguns.
Guns are fucking loud. Like, shake the surrounding glass and reverberate in your chest loud. Double that for shotguns.
Honestly yes, I fucking loooove the realistic noise of guns or at least relatively realistic. I want them to be powerful, loud death dealing things that really sound like a demon in your hands and really fuck enemies up.
HueyFreeman
Banned
In all my years of loving film, this is the first time I've heard that phrase. Just read about it, thanks man
But yes, exactly correct - people don't want realistic.
The Faceless Master
Member
this
and this
real guns are just on a scale of aural feedback that would not work in a game setting. or a movie setting.
and this
real guns are just on a scale of aural feedback that would not work in a game setting. or a movie setting.
Rats Off To Ya
Banned
Sometimes fantasy is better than reality. This is one of those times.
Erin S Kittens
Member
Brutal Doom's weapons sound amazing with some volume and a good sub.
SpartanN92
Banned
I kind of want to see some developers embrace that. Firing a gun or being shot at isn't something to take lightly and softening the sound and making players and enemies bullet sponges makes it way easier. I want to see a few more games where deciding to fire a gun is a big deal.
Erin S Kittens
Member
On second thought, yes, this. Where's @PeterMolydeux when you need him?
Liquidus Snake
Banned
well consoles devs have to hold back a lot of neat resources to fit the performance budgets. Its sad but true, the little things like gun sounds have devs cutting corners just so they can run games at a measly 30 fps.
Other platforms suffer because of this also, namely PC.
Other platforms suffer because of this also, namely PC.
The Thompson sub-machine gun in Bad Company 2 + the War Tapes audio setting = pants-shittingly kick-ass. Crank up your sound.
BC2 remains my point of comparison for every other shooter's weapon sounds.
BC2 remains my point of comparison for every other shooter's weapon sounds.
Hidden One
Member
This. BC2 was soooo good.
...Scatter...
Banned
Nobody wants to go deaf
Triggerhappytel
Member
Battlefield
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider 2013
Black (PS2/Xbox release)
Off the top of my head, these are the only games I can think of that do gun sounds properly. It's a rare aspect, but IMO adds a lot to the impact of a game.
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider 2013
Black (PS2/Xbox release)
Off the top of my head, these are the only games I can think of that do gun sounds properly. It's a rare aspect, but IMO adds a lot to the impact of a game.
Black_Stride
do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Phat Michael
Banned
i agree with you completely. In ME2, do you remember the sound of the collector assault rifle? Absolutely incredible sound. In ME3 it sounded so thing and transparent.
The Biotic explosions however were the best sound effect in the entire series.
Shivvy_NTL
Member
The sound in the killzone games are really nice, especially with surround system, a full atmospheric OOMPH!!!
EmptySpace
Banned
it's obviously a design decision.
i wouldn't want battlefield-sounding guns in uncharted. it's loud and noisy, doesn't fit in with the music, and overall will get tiresome to listen to especially with all the shootbang section.
Interesting how the original sound is already really good and this mod makes it better.
Even the height of military sims Arma doesn't do all that it could. Thankfully there is the JSRS mod. Firefights with JSRS defy description.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraPSL28flI
A-10 Warthog comparison (read description). JSRS @ 0:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYiuNDOYubI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraPSL28flI
A-10 Warthog comparison (read description). JSRS @ 0:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYiuNDOYubI
TicklishRocket
Neo Member
GTA V had a huge opportunity to make their weapons sound like HEAT. (an awesome heist movie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b60-sEXUPBY
abracadaver
Member
Why GTA V? It was the first GTA were I wasn't dissapointed with the gun sounds. They were really awful in San Andreas and IV.
I find sound design in most games pretty disappointing. It's too convenient and cheap to just re-use sound effect libraries (which makes sense for small budgets but not AAA games).
One dubious theory I have is that developers know the guns sound weak but it's intentional to avoid player fatigue and make voice chat easier to hear.
Good sound: Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BF3/4 is a minor regression--some gun sounds are weak), The Last of Us, Syndicate, Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider.
Weak AAA gun sounds (series): Uncharted, Call of Duty, Gears of War.
Mixed good and bad: Dead Space, Destiny.
Rockstar mixed: Red Dead Redemption good, GTA V weak.
One dubious theory I have is that developers know the guns sound weak but it's intentional to avoid player fatigue and make voice chat easier to hear.
Good sound: Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BF3/4 is a minor regression--some gun sounds are weak), The Last of Us, Syndicate, Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider.
Weak AAA gun sounds (series): Uncharted, Call of Duty, Gears of War.
Mixed good and bad: Dead Space, Destiny.
Rockstar mixed: Red Dead Redemption good, GTA V weak.
TheAusHulk
Member
The Last of Us has amazing sound design. I hope the next Uncharted takes it to the next level.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
Halo 4 gun audio is sublime.
kutthoat5150
Member
Bad company series did it best imo. I love it when guns just sound loud and violent when you fire them which makes it even more disappointing that they dialed it back in later battlefield games. Very few games have come close to that sound.
Zeouterlimits
Member
I definitely feel differently OP.
I'm generally okay with gun sounds as they are, especially considering how much we fire of them.
Halo 4's audio mix between armour sounds, guns and grenades is just tiring to listen to, I find it a draining cacophony that detracts from the game.
Not that it's realistic per say, but why I would generally steer away from more realistic, harsher gun audio.
I'm generally okay with gun sounds as they are, especially considering how much we fire of them.
Halo 4's audio mix between armour sounds, guns and grenades is just tiring to listen to, I find it a draining cacophony that detracts from the game.
Not that it's realistic per say, but why I would generally steer away from more realistic, harsher gun audio.
BF3 and BF4 have pretty good gun sounds in that they pretty much sound like what a real gun sounds like while you're wearing ear protection in that the action is sometimes audible along with the sound from the blast itself.
Also, as someone who owns a Mosin Nagant, Cryostasis replicates the Mosin Nagant sound PERFECTLY. They did an amazing job capturing the audio for it.
The worst part about the sounds in GTAV is that the actual rate of fire for most of the machine guns doesn't actually match the audio, so the guns sound way faster than they actually are. The AK for example fires about half the speed of what it's supposed and what the audio would suggest.
Also, as someone who owns a Mosin Nagant, Cryostasis replicates the Mosin Nagant sound PERFECTLY. They did an amazing job capturing the audio for it.
The worst part about the sounds in GTAV is that the actual rate of fire for most of the machine guns doesn't actually match the audio, so the guns sound way faster than they actually are. The AK for example fires about half the speed of what it's supposed and what the audio would suggest.
the_batman
Banned
what about laser guns? some guy fifty years ago used a stretched out slinky to make some sounds effects and people still use it for laser weapons.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
Have you not played Battlefield 3 or 4?
I don't know about realistic, but Medal of Honor sounds crazy good: http://youtu.be/SyY5aVI1BzY
Listen to it with a headset.
Listen to it with a headset.
Yesss, glad this got a mention already. Def. the closest I've heard a game come to real gunfire. Having experienced forest combat drills with both live ammo and blanks it's not far off, even got to fire the .50 cal on top of my apc a few times (that thing eats rounds like nobody's business).
Yup. Not sure how realistic they are to each weapon, but after a while you can hear a gunfight nearby and know exactly which weapons are in use because the audio for each gun is so distinctive.
EDIT: And to expand on that, it really makes a difference to the game. If I'm advancing forwards with my squad I'll know what weapons we are carrying, and if I hear a burst of unfamiliar gunfire nearby I'll know instantly that we're being ambushed without having to first ask everybody if it was them.
Playing in Hardcore mode with limited HUD and mini-map really forces you to listen to your surroundings to make sense of what's going on, and unlike many other games, DICE put enough the work into the sound design to make that possible.
Fuck yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Nasty sounding, big muzzle flash, all that jazz.
Phat Michael
Banned
Yep i even remember Medal of Honour on PS1 sounding absolutely amazing. That game really did have awesome sound.
UnluckyKate
Member
well, no one really want to have their gun malfunction or over heating in a game, do we ?
Stopping power will never happen : it's limited by simple game design and balance rules.
Same goes for range and ballistic. See for example R6 Siege, average kill range is 7 meters. How do you add ballistic and stopping power in 7 meters of range ? You have to bend the reallity to make all gun usefull and fun but also balanced within 7 meters.
So you have to add shit rules...
Same goes for CoD. By the average lenght of the engagements, IRL, everybody would rock automatic shotguns because they don't spread nearly as much as they do in video games (they do in vg for obvious balancing issues) because if you want to fight in crowded, close quarter street, you don't need an M4 to shoot at 300 yards. You need a massive AA12 to clear rooms or street corner with the faster and biggest bullet you can get.