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[orthodoxy1095]

I was playing through Uncharted 2, and as I was exploring, I noticed a particularly nice track of music in the background. However, the ambient noise of the game basically drowned out the track. I went into the settings and found that the four settings (voice, music, SFX, movie) were all set to max (I assume that's the preset). So I turned down voice, movie and SFX. Once I did that, not only was the music more audible, but the game took on an entirely different feel because of the OST.

This got me thinking, and I realized I have basically never touched the audio settings in a game. Do you all find you typically need to adjust sound? Any good rules of thumb or tips? Or do you go case by case? Is this less a fault of the game and more an issue with me not having a surround sound system?

 

[gngf123]

Depends on the game I'm playing. Sometimes I'll push the music to the front, lowering the volume of sound effects and voices. Often I'll leave them nearly untouched.

 

[RedAssedApe]

I was playing through Uncharted 2, and as I was exploring, I noticed a particularly nice track of music in the background. However, the ambient noise of the game basically drowned out the track. I went into the settings and found that the four settings (voice, music, SFX, movie) were all set to max (I assume that's the preset). So I turned down voice, movie and SFX. Once I did that, not only was the music more audible, but the game took on an entirely different feel because of the OST.

This got me thinking, and I realized I have basically never touched the audio settings in a game. Do you all find you typically need to adjust sound? Any good rules of thumb or tips? Or do you go case by case? Is this less a fault of the game and more an issue with me not having a surround sound system?

probably sound mixing. thats why the audio options are there. see wolfenstein...that shit was terrible. even worse that you couldnt adjust. couldnt hear the voice acting a lot of the time

 

[Tekku]

I bring up the music in many games. It can really add to the atmosphere. More so than sound effects sometimes.

In games like Battlefield and Drive Club however, it's the other way around; maximum sfx!

 

[fedexpeon]

Voice, 100%>Music, 90%>Sound effect, 80%.

Effect/BGM can be so loud that I can't hear the VA.
And effect will always be the lowest because I get annoy hearing repetitive sounds or high pitch.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I bring up the music in many games. It can really add to the atmosphere. More so than sound effects sometimes.

In games like Battlefield and Drive Club however, it's the other way around; maximum sfx!

Depends on the game I'm playing. Sometimes I'll push the music to the front, lowering the volume of sound effects and voices. Often I'll leave them nearly untouched.

I guess I didn't think about games that don't require a focus on music like a racing or shooting game. That's fair.

 

[turtlesbonanza]

I usually turn the music off altogether.

 

[leng jai]

It should be done entirely on a game by game basis based on the genre and sound design/mix. You should always put dynamic range on maximum though if you have half decent equipment.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

It should be done entirely on a game by game basis based on the genre and sound design/mix. You should always put dynamic range on maximum though if you have half decent equipment.

Could you ELI5 dynamic range? Or point me towards an explanation?

I usually turn the music off altogether.

Any reason why?

 

[EightBitNate]

All bass.
No treble.

 

[Fusebox]

I nearly always leave the sound settings at default unless I notice something wrong with the mixdown as I play.

 

[gelf]

Usually leave it as default but I will turn the music up if its getting drowned out by other sounds as often is the case.

 

[SerTapTap]

I usually leave it alone, though some games mix music or sound effects way too loud.

 

[Rest]

Voice: 100%
Music: 75-90%
Sound effects: 40-60%

 

[Maintenance]

Voice: 100%
Sound FX: 60-90%
Music: 0-30%

There are rare cases where I let the game's music on high volume, they usually end up as a distraction.

 

[PotionBleue]

I usually turn the background music off or almost off in Monster Hunter because the monsters' attacks have a lot of useful audio cues.

 

[catbrush]

In Final Fantasy XIV I turned the sound effects down because every fate produced a non-stop deafening barrage of combat noise

 

[The Lamonster]

Destiny players may not enter this thread.

In PC games I tend to turn the music and voice off after 50-100 hours and play my own tunes. I always crank ambiance up whenever given the option.

 

[Goldmund]

I usually mute the music, unless it's really good music; sound effects and voices to an audible minimum.

 

[Myriadis]

Normally music > other Sounds

 

[KuroPyonyo]

Well, it really depends on the mix of the game, but my goto is:
Voice: 0%
Music:60%
SFX:75%

 

[JumpJeff84]

I turn off the music altogether.

Makes the game more immersive for me. If I was really on an island hunting a boar with a crossbow (Farcry 3) there would be no soundtrack playing in the background.

I don't hate videogame music per say, I just find that silence mixed with the sounds of the game world make it all more fun and easy to lose myself in.

 

[FrostuTheNinja]

I usually drop SFX and voices considerably lower than the music. Most game audio these days is, "how many ear drums can we pop with overly loud explosions?"

Make that shit meld together, not fight for dominance.

I turn off the music altogether.

Makes the game more immersive for me. If I was really on an island hunting a boar with a crossbow (Farcry 3) there would be no soundtrack playing in the background.

I don't hate videogame music per say, I just find that silence mixed with the sounds of the game world make it all more fun and easy to lose myself in.

I did this on my second playthrough of Dragon's Dogma and it was pretty fantastic.

 

[JMRante]

Playing through SP stuff for first time I have music turned up a bit, sound at default.

If I do MP or any repetitive SP content where I don't need sound I turn sound and music off completely and put on a podcast.

I kinda understand all the people who do sound with no music, even though I myself don't do it; most modern video game music is really not noteworthy. If the music is good though (ex. Nintendo games, FF, etc.), then I definitely want it to be part of the experience.

 

[Afro]

Music - 0
Voice - 5
Sound Effects - 10

I'm into environmental/ambient sound design. Background music breaks the immersion for me. If the soundtrack is good I'll d/l the FLAC and listen w/ headphones separately.

 

[uncredited male]

I am amazed by the number of games I play that have almost no sound settings yet drown out character voices in cutscenes.

 

[leng jai]

Could you ELI5 dynamic range? Or point me towards an explanation?

Dynamic range is essentially the volume differential between the softest and loudest sounds.

Music - 0
Voice - 5
Sound Effects - 10

I'm into environmental/ambient sound design. Background music breaks the immersion for me. If the soundtrack is good I'll d/l the FLAC and listen w/ headphones separately.

The problem is that the majority of videogame OSTs lose their effect when they're listened to out of context.

 

[KyleCross]

I leave everything default. I'm pretty saddened that people turn stuff off during their first playthrough.

 

[Clipse]

Music always low or off entirely for me.

 

[SolidusDave]

Voice 100%
SFX 80-90%
BGM 60-80%

Kinda necessary for most games. Even if the sound design is good, you might be positioned during gameplay so that you just can't hear a certain NPC talk etc. Although that's the reason I usually also enable subtitles in games.

Music can also be annoyingly loud in quite a few games. It works well in cutscenes etc., but during gameplay ALL the time because it's that level's theme? Nah. (Often for non-dynamic music design. Especially if it has annoying/shrill moments. I play my games loud, turn this shit down I want to enjoy the atmosphere).

 

[turtlesbonanza]

Any reason why?

Because often the ambient sounds do a better job of setting the atmosphere than the music does.

There are exceptions of course, like The Last of Us or Red Dead Redemption. But something like Far Cry 3 had terrible EDM as the background music which didn't line up with what I was doing in game. So I switched it off and the ambient jungle sounds are way better.

Driving games and MP shooters speak for themselves. Battlefield has amazing sound design, and the sounds of what's happening around the battlefield set the atmosphere. In driving games, behind the handling, the engine sounds I think are the most important. If it sounds like I'm driving a vacuum cleaner, I've totally lost immersion.

 

[super-famicom]

Usually,

Master 100%
Voice 100%
Music 80%
SFX 70-80%

But some games have terrible mixing, like Diablo 3. For that game I turn things down to maybe 30%.

I'm still angry that Destiny doesn't have any sound options. It's near impossible to hear team mates over the sound of gunfire or music. The only solution I have is to do party chat

 

[gngf123]

I should add, I often play fighting games with all audio turned right down. I like focusing on stick and button sounds.

I hope I'm not alone on that one.

For anything else, I absolutely cannot imagine playing without music. People who turn music off are missing out.

 

[Steel]

Pretty much any game that has radio chatter or talking while in the midst of gunfights I set the voices to max and tone down everything else. And even then, I can still barely make out sentences unless I'm using my surround sound.

 

[Sheperd]

Voice: 100

Music: 100

Sound effects: 100 - 30 It depends on how good the sound is and how repetitive it is. I love good gun sounds, but annoying footsteps or terrible quality means it gets toned down.

 

[Steel]

I should add, I often play fighting games with all audio turned right down. I like focusing on stick and button sounds.

I hope I'm not alone on that one.

That's odd. Most fighters have audio tells for moves, so keeping the sound on allows you to hear what your opponent is about to do. I can understand why you'd do it, though.

 

[Afro]

. In driving games, behind the handling, the engine sounds I think are the most important. If it sounds like I'm driving a vacuum cleaner, I've totally lost immersion.

patiently awaiting the day Gran Turismo sounds this good.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Default is usually good enough for me.

As with movies, though, I think having a surround system or soundbar will mitigate issues of some sounds drowning out others.

 

[bbalde]

Not really fan of music in videogames, so its the first thing I turn down... For racing games, mute (except for MSR on DC, the concept of radio was interesting).

 

[III-V]

I leave voice and music and ambient turned up, and typically dial down the sound effects. It seems that they are always way to present in the mix.

 

[KePoW]

Usually turn down Music much lower than default, like 50% or so.

I don't like hearing loud music in video games

 

[Revolutionary]

I turn up the music in games w driving and licensed music. I.E. GTA, WipEout, Gran Turismo, etc

 

[kanuuna]

All levels left at default. If there are presets, Home Theater.
Dynamic range always set to Maximum. I keep my AVR volume at pretty high levels.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I'm still angry that Destiny doesn't have any sound options. It's near impossible to hear team mates over the sound of gunfire or music. The only solution I have is to do party chat

Destiny has no audio settings at all?!?

 

[RP912]

Multiplayer and racing games:

0 Music

50 Sound Effects


Everything else:

Default

 

[UnrealEck]

I always turn music to about 75%
SFX to about 90%
Speech to 100%

 

[Psoelberg]

I always adjust the music if possible.

It's different from game to game, but normally I turn down the music a lot, and the sound effects up.

Being surrounded by the ambient is the most important for me in a game.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I always adjust the music if possible.

It's different from game to game, but normally I turn down the music a lot, and the sound effects up.

Being surrounded by the ambient is the most important for me in a game.

Are there any particular types of games that you don't care about the ambiance as much in?

 

[Psoelberg]

Are there any particular types of games that you don't care about the ambiance as much in?

Hmm, good question.
That's probably when I know I'm going to do a lot of repetitive tasks - like grinding in Diablo. But even then, it's pretty rare.

In open world games - like Skyrim - I often turn off the music completly. I find it much easier to identify with the character like that.

 

[jacksepticeye]

Usually just leave everything as is at first and if something is overpowering something else I tone it down

usually music has to come down a bit