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Gun sounds in games are severely lacking

C

CHC

Member
Games are becoming so faithful to reality but we're still not able to get guns that sound anything like... real guns. Sure there are some outliers in the tactical shooter department but for the most part video game guns sound like pop guns or (for heavier weapons) some kind of thuddy bass drum. Maybe it's just because the sound of a real gun isn't very... palatable (?) but when I hit the trigger I'm not looking for nice music to my ears - I want to unleash hell on earth!

And before you defend any games and their sound work, just check this video for a frame of reference:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jt70ilN_PgU

THAT is the kind of sound I'm talking about. Flat, harsh, reverberating cracks - not low, heavy thuds.

I just think the world would be a better place if we could get video games with gun sounds like that! Anything come close?
 
S

Solid Samus

Banned
Battlefield 3/4 with War Tapes does this better than any other game. The first time you fire off a shotty in BF4 War Tapes hooked up to a quality sound system, you'll be in love. Shits got KICK

Arma 3 gets close but the new gun sounds are weird and kind of snappy. They are probably the closest to real life tbh. The dynamic range is fucking nuts, shit can sound almost as loud as real gunshots relative to everything else going down in the game.

GTA V's gun sounds are the fucking worst and I can't believe Rock star dropped the ball so hard there.
 
B

boredandlazy

Member
Last of Us gun sounds have amazing crack and impact. But I will admit that a lot of games just lack that something when it comes to weapon sounds.
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
It's a combination of Hollywood and lack of hands-on experience. People have an idea of what guns are "supposed" to sound like, but have never actually fired one or been near guns when fired to find out that they really don't sound much of anything like they do in the movies.

At the same time, I think it would be fun to see a game where you can't hear shit for a minute or so after firing because of how much your ears are ringing. That's another thing movies and games get wrong... guns are LOUD.
 
M

Makoto Yuki

Banned
Mass Effect 3 had the best gameplay in the series, but it's guns sounded TERRIBLE. The original ME and ME2 guns sounded way better.

I think a few of the DLC weapons sounded decent, like the Typhoon, Piranha, and Lancer.
 
Y

Yeef

Member
Coconut effect.

If games had more realistic sounding guns, people would complain that they sound less so.
 
T

TriangularDuck

Member
Battlefield (BC1, BC2, 3, 4) has amazing sound design. Destiny's guns don't sound half bad either. Just about everything else tends to suck.
 
L

LithiumSpade

Member
Didn't they record the sounds for at least one Battlefield game by just taking recordings of the actual guns being fired at a firing range? Because surely that's as good as it's gonna get.

Apoleptica said:
Anyone remember Black on ps2 and Xbox? That game had great gun sounds.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I remember that for sure. One of my favourite games ever. Maybe that was the game where they recorded the guns?
 
G

Grimgrillz

Banned
I thought the same thing when playing COD. Every gun sounds like someone whispering. Then I moved to BF and it was a whole different ball game. That was after MW2 and I haven't been back since.
 
S

Solid Samus

Banned
I don't know if KZ2/3's gun sounds are necessarily realistic but they sure do pull off Hollywood Guns better than everybody else, using wholly unique heavy mechanical sounds for each weapon's operation and loud, brutal blasts for gunshots.
 
C

CHC

Member
DirgeExtinction said:
Satisfying =/= realistic.

I'd say the BF series has pretty damn realistic gun sounds.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's definitely my point, real guns don't sound "nice" they sound terrifying. The BF series does a good job and for what it's worth Counter Strike's AK is good. I remember YEARS ago opening it up on full auto and just being startled by how loud and inaccurate it was, kinda like shooting a real gun for the first time. The AWP and Deagle are guilty of the "bass drum" effect, though.
 
M

Mechazawa

Member
Jedi2016 said:
but have never actually fired one or been near guns when fired to find out that they really don't sound much of anything like they do in the movies.
Click to expand...

I really doubt that's it. A lot if not most of the major shooters seem to be going out to firing ranges and recording weapon audio. Even for stuff like Halo.

They're deliberately changing the way these weapons sound.
 
C

CHC

Member
Mechazawa said:
They're deliberately changing the way these weapons sound.
Click to expand...

I wish they wouldn't though. Obviously there are limits on how loud a game sound effect can be but even a pistol should be harsh and startling to shoot - it makes the action feel so much more kinetic than just a gentle like "dum dum" sound.
 
MAX PAYMENT

MAX PAYMENT

Member
Games hardly do anything right when it comes guns.

I don't think any games get these right

Sound
echo
malfunctions
ballistics
range
stopping power
Accuracy
Over heating
 
C

CHC

Member
MAX PAYMENT said:
Games hardly do anything right when it comes guns.

I don't think any games get these right

Sound
echo
malfunctions
ballistics
range
stopping power
Accuracy
Over heating
Click to expand...

But what about all those overheating turret sequences!?!? /s

I agree with you big time though. In terms of stopping power I will hand it to Rockstar. GTA V guns, while lacking in many ways, knock anyone on their ass in a single shot, and they will often die shortly after from bleeding out. I've never shot anyone or been shot, luckily, but I know that being on the wrong end of the barrel isn't pleasant and I think that the one-shot-drops reflect that pretty well.
 
Coflash

Coflash

Member
GTAV, easily

Not just the sounds, but how they've been implemented (eg: one shot sounding like 1.5 shots).

For a world with such an INSANE amount of detail, it makes you wonder what the fuck happened here.
 
W

wanderingprostheyltite

Member
CHC said:
But what about all those overheating turret sequences!?!? /s

I agree with you big time though. In terms of stopping power I will hand it to Rockstar. GTA V guns, while lacking in many ways, knock anyone on their ass in a single shot, and they will often die shortly after from bleeding out. I've never shot anyone or been shot, luckily, but I know that being on the wrong end of the barrel isn't pleasant and I think that the one-shot-drops reflect that pretty well.
Click to expand...

Maybe it was different in IV I can't remember but the damage model seems inconsistent in V to me. Most times shooting a ped with a shot will result in them stumbling off (unless in the head), whereas apparently a stun gun will kill them in one shot, and many peds one punch. I do not understand this lol.
 
R

Renekton

Member
Are you looking for realism of just plain boom?

For a lot of real life guns, if you record and reduce the volume, it doesn't sound that awesome.
 
C

CHC

Member
Renekton said:
Are you looking for realism of just plain boom?

For a lot of real life guns, if you record and reduce the volume, it doesn't sound that awesome.
Click to expand...

Whatever it takes to sound like the video in the OP, that shit is how I want my gun to sound in a game!
 
F

Falk

that puzzling face
Renekton said:
Are you looking for realism of just plain boom?

For a lot of real life guns, if you record and reduce the volume, it doesn't sound that awesome.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. A lot of stuff recorded by handheld cameras are misleading because of the inbuilt compression (audio, not data) in consumer devices making the tail a lot louder in comparison to the crack.

The difference in volume between the crack and the reverberant tail is much more massive in real life, and doesn't translate well to media (Either the crack is so loud it's gonna distort, or the tail is absurdly soft)

Battlefield 3/4 opts to go for these really reverberant aesthetics, while 'realistic' in a "recorded by a consumer device" way (they did go nuts actually tracking live gunfire, don't get me wrong), is still a stretch. It pretty much sounds like every gun is being fired in the Grand Canyon.

edit: Also, don't let this happen to you lol http://kotaku.com/5976057/greek-pri...-iii-developers-finally-go-home-freed-on-bail
 
Tal Shiar Agent

Tal Shiar Agent

Member
Call of Duty sounds like rain on a paper bag.

Battlefield on the other hand sounds realistic and amazing.

Red Dead Redemption also had great and unique gun sounds.
 
E

eshwaaz

Member
Renekton said:
Are you looking for realism of just plain boom?

For a lot of real life guns, if you record and reduce the volume, it doesn't sound that awesome.
Click to expand...
I think that's a big part of the problem in many games that pride themselves on realism and authenticity. I've seen so many dev videos making a big deal about how they spent a day at a gun range and recorded all of their weapon sounds from the real deals, but as you said - once you remove the jarring volume of real gunfire, it sounds incredibly weak. Video game sounds need to be juiced up and exaggerated in other ways to make up for the lack of volume, and most sound designers fail miserably at doing that.
 
W

wanderingprostheyltite

Member
CHC said:
Whatever it takes to sound like the video in the OP, that shit is how I want my gun to sound in a game!
Click to expand...

Yeah that sounds satisfying as hell, even if it isn't accurate due to how handheld audio records as poster above mentioned. Gotta be a good middle ground between that reverberation and crack.
 
F

Falk

that puzzling face
wanderingprostheyltite said:
Yeah that sounds satisfying as hell, even if it isn't accurate due to how handheld audio records as poster above mentioned. Gotta be a good middle ground between that reverberation and crack.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth I think BF3/4 did nail the middle ground.

It's just not 'realistic' in the strictest sense of the word, and that's perfectly OK. People don't realize they don't actually want realistic.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
When I want to show off my sound system, I put on BF4 on the test range and say "go nuts!"

It shakes the house.
 
O

old manatee

Banned
Red Orchestra 2 and Rising Storm have amazing gun sounds.


Call of Duty Advanced Warfare has some hilariously shitty sounding guns.
 
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