Figured out a problem with the soundscape, and how to fix

So I've been messing with the soundscape and it occured to me that the main reason why the sounds are so bad is mainly because of the ambience. Just messing around with the MPQ files, I noticed a lot of the ambience sounds were generic rain / thunder / wind howling sounds that are really terrible and poor quality. For example, space ambience noise is literally just a low bass tone, really eerie and monotone like noise that doesn't really serve anything other than that low hum you hear.

To me, this indicates some seriously poor sound design but that's besides the point.

The point is, if you change your sound settings to

Ambient: 3%
Sound effects: 80%
Interface: 100%

You'll notice a much clearer sound scape and the effects sound far superior. In fact, if you just want to hear clear sound effects (for competitive reasons) go a head and remove ambient all together. Marine machine guns now sound far better (you can now hear their bullets hit the ground) there's a low more full tone to each unit rather than the low or high levels being masked by the boring ambient noise.

Anyways, at least it helps save some of the sound work in SC2. I do hope they do something about the ambient noises in HotS although I'm not holding my breath. They're basically cheap generic noises you buy from some online sound store.

Also I've noticed they put the ambient noise EVERYWHERE, even in the main menu. Ridiculously annoying, it's literally just noise, hum. Similar to that low hum you hear in the starships in Star Trek. It doesn't serve any purpose in a computer game since you're not going for atmosphere, you're just presenting an interface for gameplay. Save ambient noises for FPS or the cutscenes for crying out loud.

<rant>
I really find it annoying that they decided to turn Zerg into a creepy slimy insectoid race. Nobody relates to insects, and nobody really likes insects, insects don't really make any noise. In SC1, Zerg were an animal race, akin to tigers, lions and such. Even in Chinese, the Zergling is often called Dog. The sounds that most of the units in SC1 made sounded like large animals, Hydralisks like Lions, Ultralisks like hippos, Overlords like elephants (they even have the snout), mutalisks sounded very much like pigs. These are all personifications of real life animals that people can relate to and instantly remember. how you get the roach, which might as well be michael jackson sped up. You have the infestor which might as well be michael jackson played backwards and sped up. You have mutas and zerglings at a pitch that's pretty annoying. And then you have the boring splashing sounds of acid that really sound like pouring water on each other - real excitement inducing.

Insects on the other hand have no real character, they just make weird noises that nobody really understands. Like the roach, zerglings and such, are just high pitched whines that nobody can relate to or replicate.

Too bad their talented sound department abandoned ship when WoW came along. I mean even the frigging INTERFACE sounded better in Starcraft 1 and even in Diablo 2. The incredibly strong and iconic sounds, play them now and you won't be able to mistake them from any game.
</rant>

Same thread different day.

You're still going on and on about this?

I had to check to see if this was a necrobump :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wankey

So I've been messing with the soundscape and it occured to me that the main reason why the sounds are so bad is mainly because of the ambience. Just messing around with the MPQ files, I noticed a lot of the ambience sounds were generic rain / thunder / wind howling sounds that are really terrible and poor quality. For example, space ambience noise is literally just a low bass tone, really eerie and monotone like noise that doesn't really serve anything other than that low hum you hear.

To me, this indicates some seriously poor sound design but that's besides the point.

The point is, if you change your sound settings to

Ambient: 3%
Sound effects: 80%
Interface: 100%

You'll notice a much clearer sound scape and the effects sound far superior. In fact, if you just want to hear clear sound effects (for competitive reasons) go a head and remove ambient all together. Marine machine guns now sound far better (you can now hear their bullets hit the ground) there's a low more full tone to each unit rather than the low or high levels being masked by the boring ambient noise.

Anyways, at least it helps save some of the sound work in SC2. I do hope they do something about the ambient noises in HotS although I'm not holding my breath. They're basically cheap generic noises you buy from some online sound store.

Also I've noticed they put the ambient noise EVERYWHERE, even in the main menu. Ridiculously annoying, it's literally just noise, hum. Similar to that low hum you hear in the starships in Star Trek. It doesn't serve any purpose in a computer game since you're not going for atmosphere, you're just presenting an interface for gameplay. Save ambient noises for FPS or the cutscenes for crying out loud.

<rant>
I really find it annoying that they decided to turn Zerg into a creepy slimy insectoid race. Nobody relates to insects, and nobody really likes insects, insects don't really make any noise. In SC1, Zerg were an animal race, akin to tigers, lions and such. Even in Chinese, the Zergling is often called Dog. The sounds that most of the units in SC1 made sounded like large animals, Hydralisks like Lions, Ultralisks like hippos, Overlords like elephants (they even have the snout), mutalisks sounded very much like pigs. These are all personifications of real life animals that people can relate to and instantly remember. how you get the roach, which might as well be michael jackson sped up. You have the infestor which might as well be michael jackson played backwards and sped up. You have mutas and zerglings at a pitch that's pretty annoying. And then you have the boring splashing sounds of acid that really sound like pouring water on each other - real excitement inducing.

Insects on the other hand have no real character, they just make weird noises that nobody really understands. Like the roach, zerglings and such, are just high pitched whines that nobody can relate to or replicate.

Too bad their talented sound department abandoned ship when WoW came along. I mean even the frigging INTERFACE sounded better in Starcraft 1 and even in Diablo 2. The incredibly strong and iconic sounds, play them now and you won't be able to mistake them from any game.
</rant>

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They changed zerg in SC2? Last I saw/heard zerg was still very zerglike. I never related animal sounds to how they were in BW, and still dont. The imitations that are made are not based on animal noises, but zerg noises from the game. You seriously think the overlord sounds like an elephant?
This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssoqy_9G5yk
Sounds like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpfEVRCXEq0
?

Anyway, they adjusted sounds to what they deemed to be a better representation of what they felt they should sound like. They didnt adjust sounds to what you personally like. Partly because they dont know what you like and what you like can be very different than what everybody else likes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hav0x

Same thread different day.

You're still going on and on about this?

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Same idiot post, different day. Didn't even read my thread did you?

The sound is fine. Live with it.

The Zerg sounds in the original StarCraft definitely had a visceral, organic and distinct quality. Unlike SC II, where some of them don't sound like living things at all (the Roach and Hydralisk are especially notorious here) and when they do it's often quite underwhelming (difficult to take seriously Zerglings that sound like a bad case of diarrhea with distinct farts in between). Another thing to note is that even in the case of a single Zerg unit such as a Mutalisk or Zergling EACH and EVERY one of its sounds in the first StarCraft is a distinct and expressive phrase, with its own cadence and inflection, while in SC 2 those individual sounds are much more homogenous and difficult to differentiate (which also makes them much less memorable).

Thanks for the tip Wankey. I'll try it out b/c this is something I've suspected also. The sounds were always awesome when I just played them by themselves in the editor.

I turned off music and ambient sounds from day1...not cuz i am playing that great and sounds distratcts me nor because it is bad...it is just like you said: a background voooooom.

I was never bothered by the sound the way you've been but illl check it out to see the difference.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wankey

Same idiot post, different day. Didn't even read my thread did you?

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I did actually and 90% of it was the same stuff you've said in your previous 10 threads about the "terrible sound".

The only difference I can tell from SC1 to SC2 (comparing them side-by-side, SC1 ling then immediately SC2 ling) is that the SC2 sounds are more subdued, and there are more of them. They probably aren't as iconic as the sounds you remember because you probably won't hear the same sound more than 3 times in a game, and they don't seem nearly as angry as the original, which is kind of sad. The only units they drastically changed the sound of are mutalisks and drones. Farewell, old drones, with your sickening whine.

I fail to see how you could ever picture the Defiler or Devourer as not being insects. It seems like they replaced mutalisk sounds with devourers.

And by the way, SC2 Queen>SC1 (though Queen<<<Overmind)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hav0x

I did actually and 90% of it was the same stuff you've said in your previous 10 threads about the "terrible sound".

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You obivously not, did you even try the ambient settings? Obviously you go for the part of this post where you think counts most. Hell I even labelled it as such a rant for people like you who have obviously no reading capabilities.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MulletBen

The only difference I can tell from SC1 to SC2 (comparing them side-by-side, SC1 ling then immediately SC2 ling) is that the SC2 sounds are more subdued, and there are more of them. They probably aren't as iconic as the sounds you remember because you probably won't hear the same sound more than 3 times in a game, and they don't seem nearly as angry as the original, which is kind of sad. The only units they drastically changed the sound of are mutalisks and drones. Farewell, old drones, with your sickening whine.

I fail to see how you could ever picture the Defiler or Devourer as not being insects. It seems like they replaced mutalisk sounds with devourers.

And by the way, SC2 Queen>SC1 (though Queen<<<Overmind)

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Insects make no noises other than annoying buzzing. Therefore all sounds in SC1 were modelled more towards animal sounds. Roars and such.

Now all sounds are modelled towards more insectoid sounds, buzzs and wtf is the roach sound? The attack sounds are really stupid too. Dark Templar's signature ZOOOOOOPH is now reduced to some shitty swipe, and Ultralisks wtf? They have 1000m blades that sound like katanas. Jeez.

What is this supposed to do exactly? Can you bear a bit more specific?

I ask because I first adjusted it to something simliar (5%/75%/100%) like I do in all games but, now that I go adjust the ambient sounds, I don't hear much differences other than them being louder.

Maybe it's just because I only did it through a quick campaign mission.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wankey

Insects make no noises other than annoying buzzing. Therefore all sounds in SC1 were modelled more towards animal sounds. Roars and such.

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You have no idea what a 10ft tall Insect would sound like. and you also have no possible way to know what the SC1 Zerg sounds were based on.

Nevermind

Tried killing the ambiance and the game just felt vacant. Sure it might be optimal for competitiveness, but I'll take slight immersion over hardcore competitive quality any day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wankey

Ultralisks wtf? They have 1000m blades that sound like katanas. Jeez.

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That I'll agree with. This unit attack sound always seemed off to me.

I think his point was that the ambient sounds are better at a low volume, which I can't tell yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TychusFindlay

I think his point was that the ambient sounds are better at a low volume, which I can't tell yet.

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It really depends on your audio setup. On my 5.1 my speakers are far far away, and it's in the living room. The low ambient noises bounce around my living room, thus creating a better atmosphere (well actually all noises sound muffled anyway so doesn't really matter)

But using headphones, they're completely overwhelming any other sound and fuzzing up the sound track.

Although, most of the sounds in SC2 are pretty generic sounding.

I use headphones..

So, basically, this makes the ambient noises a lower volume? That's it?

Yeah Tychus, but supposedly the ambiance is just pure garbage and floods out the sounds.
Gonna try it next time I boot up SC2.
+Rep Wankey if this is true :D

If you have the time to go through the mpq and listen to the various ambient noises, you'll notice how bad it is

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hyde

Yeah Tychus, but supposedly the ambiance is just pure garbage and floods out the sounds.

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I agree but I turn down the ambience in every game. That's why I already did it in StarCraft 2 before I even booted up the campaign. I guess that's why I can't notice a difference, I never heard a problem needing to be corrected.