Sound, the unappreciated quality in games?

[Sairon]

Ran across this article about PCM 7.1 sound in Resistance. For those owning a PS3 there's also this little guide on how to install it. Anyway, I've heard little to none about this from Sonys PR machine, the answer most likely being because very little thought is placed on the sound capabilities of a console. Yet sound plays a very large role in setting the mood and atmosphere in games, perhaps even more than the graphics.

[Big Gulp]

Yet sound plays a very large role in setting the mood and atmosphere in games, perhaps even more than the graphics.

Yeah, I'd been one of the "onboard sound is good enough" people, but this weekend I saw an XFi card on sale for $35 so I picked it up on a whim.  Wow, haven't done any gaming with it yet, but it really boosts the quality level of my MP3s.  Automatically sort of "converts" stereo sound into 5.1 so it sounds much better when I pipe it to my home theater system.  It also apparently puts all your audio through a series of filters to clean up sound going through it.  The difference really is apparent, and even for someone like me who is pretty much tone deaf.

My only mea culpa for why I stuck with onboard sound for so long is that my last sound card was a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and frankly I couldn't tell the difference between it, and when I just ran off of my onboard sound.  I now stand corrected.

[Yegolev]

I dread the day that I will have to replace my receiver.  Wires, wires, wires.

[Strazos]

I would like to say that sound matters a lot to me in games, but quite honestly, I don't think I really pay That much attention to it while I am playing.

I mean, seriously. I still use a SB Audigy, and 2 Cambridge Soundworks speakers I got with a Gateway about...oh, I don't know, at least 8 years ago?

[Moaner]

My PS3 is running through a pro logic 5.1 system right now.  The satellites are crap and I typically balance my TV's volume to act as a center channel (which sucks), but it actually sounds ok.  A new surround sound system is in my future but it'll have to wait until I take care of some more important things. 

I have an Audiophile 2496 in my PC which I mainly use as a MIDI interface but it's a nice sound card as well.  When gaming I pump the sound to my Onkyo receiver and through my Polk audio speakers which hurts when cranked.  DoD:S is much more exciting when the floor is rumbling.  Still, no surround sound.  One of these days...

[stray]

Sound is very much appreciated by me. In movies and games. Working with it is argubably my biggest hobby as well, and sometimes job. It's also the best investment you could make for gaming.

I don't think I'll be moving to 7.1 anytime soon though.

[schild]

Sound is the best investment you could make for gaming? WRONG.

Try video. You can play a game without sound.

Would I? No. But it's at least possible. Unless you're playing Sound Voyager for the GBA, in which case you're fuxxed.

[Trippy]

Sound is the best investment you could make for gaming? WRONG.

Try video. You can play a game without sound.

Would I? No. But it's at least possible. Unless you're playing Sound Voyager for the GBA, in which case you're fuxxed.

Impossible to play well in CS without sound. Of course it's even more impossible to play CS without video.

[stray]

Sound is the best investment you could make for gaming? WRONG.

Try video. You can play a game without sound.

Would I? No. But it's at least possible. Unless you're playing Sound Voyager for the GBA, in which case you're fuxxed.

What I mean is that a good set of speakers and/or sound card is a one time deal, extends over to future machines, etc., etc.. It might be expensive at first, but it shouldn't be skimped.

Graphics cards are definitely desirable, but in the long run, your money goes "POOF!".

[MrHat]

What I mean is that a good set of speakers and/or sound card is a one time deal, extends over to future machines, etc., etc.. It might be expensive at first, but it shouldn't be skimped.

Graphics cards are definitely desirable, but in the long run, your money goes "POOF!".

Extends over multiple machines unless you yank out the cord not remember what it was connected to.  I MISS YOU KLIPSCH 2.1 I MISS YOU.

[Roac]

I have 5.1 in the living room, so consoles benefit from that.  I have no desire to setup 5.1 in my office though, and frequently play with volume turned down low and the TV on.  If there's some narrative elements I'll mute the TV to listen to that, but otherwise I don't pay much attention in PC games.  Yes, I know what they'd sound like if they did.  Just not that interested.  My console games sound nice though.
*shrug*

[murdoc]

Dolby Digital surround being a requirement was as big a deal as HD gaming on the new consoles for me. My basement is set up with 7.1, and I've just upgraded my receiver yet again. I would say I've put waaay more thought and effort into sound than I have into video. I haven't used TV speakers since I moved out of my parents house. Even our little TV on the main floor over the fireplace is hooked up to my old Yamaha receiver and speakers and all we really us that for is news and the music stations on the satellite

[Sairon]

I don't have the cash for a nice system at the moment, but getting a decent sound system is almost as important as getting a nice TV in my world. Not only can you use it for your games and films, but you can also hook it up to your music. Also, in a lot of games sound is more important than video, Resident Evil being one. Try playing that without sound on.

[Stormwaltz]

There's a reason my computer has a better surround sound system than my TV.

I've always found sound - not music, but sound - the key to immersing me in a game. By coincidence, last night I was playing FFH2 Civ4, and cranked the music down and the ambient sound up. The crash of surf, the creak of trees in the wind, the whisper of wind-blown sand - that's what makes me believe I'm fighting over a world, not a bunch of blocky graphics. When working on AC Dark Majesty, I literally spent weeks fiddling with and fine-tuning the landscape sounds.

[Yegolev]

Try playing any of the Thief games without positional sound.  Quality is generally lost on me, but position... critical.

[Yoru]

My old Klipsch 4.1 system finally started dying a few months ago; one of the channels is gone and one other is pretty staticy. It's served me for six years, so I can't complain, but I'd like to replace it with something of similar or better quality. I have an Audigy something-or-other in my box and headphones aren't doing it justice.

Any suggestions? Something with a headphone jack is vital; it was my one complaint with the Klipsch system I had.

[Strazos]

If it does not have a headphone jack, you Could do what I did.

I wanted to use both speakers and headphones. The headphones also had a mic, so it needed to be plugged into the card itself. Instead of only using the headphones, I use a Y-splitter to plug both my headphones and speaker jack into the same port on my card.

I have no idea if this would work for you, as I only use the single audio out, not the multiple surround ports.

[KallDrexx]

In most MMORPGs I find sound to be more of a nuisance then immersive.  I think that sound can add a lot to the game, but (to me) it seems like many MMORPG sound developers don't give it much thought that you could hear the same sounds over and over and over again in a 2 minute period (i.e. sound of you doing stuff, sound of enemies taking damage, sound of enemies attacking, etc..).  Then most of the sound gets on my nerves and I end up turning it off for some itunes or pandora music.  I also tend to have Teamspeak or Vent open for team based games for communication, so i usually turn the sound way down for that as well.

[Yoru]

If it does not have a headphone jack, you Could do what I did.

I wanted to use both speakers and headphones. The headphones also had a mic, so it needed to be plugged into the card itself. Instead of only using the headphones, I use a Y-splitter to plug both my headphones and speaker jack into the same port on my card.

I have no idea if this would work for you, as I only use the single audio out, not the multiple surround ports.

Last time I tried this, it ended up splitting the left and right sound channels. For right now, I'm just using headphones, necessary for using VOIP but suboptimal for watching video.

[Strazos]

Is it possible to use the single, stereo-out port in addition to the surround sound ports, at the same time?

[naum]

Funny, I've found that sound in games is usually a great negative - either by (a) being too cheesy leading to unusually high annoyance factor or (b) detract from my performance in the game. Example, back when I played heavy RTS sessions, I did better without sound as the game sounds messed up my jive, throwing my click-fu off, responding to sound cues instead of a total zen-like visual response zone…

[Engels]

Don't want to bog this thread down into a geeksville hardware discussion, but does anyone have a sense of what the differences are between SondBlaster Live, Audigy and this new X-Fi with EAX? I'm currently using a Live card, but I'm wondering if I'd hear even a spec of difference, considering I just use two desktop speakers and an woofer, albeit a nice harman/kardon set.

[Trippy]

Don't want to bog this thread down into a geeksville hardware discussion, but does anyone have a sense of what the differences are between SondBlaster Live, Audigy and this new X-Fi with EAX? I'm currently using a Live card, but I'm wondering if I'd hear even a spec of difference, considering I just use two desktop speakers and an woofer, albeit a nice harman/kardon set.

Do you hear any hissing or other noise when you crank the volume up? The X-Fi has a much better S/N ratio and better quality components than the other two. I wear headphones so I can hear any noise and interference coming from the card and other components in my system and the Live and Audigy that I previously used are much noiser than the X-Fi that I have now. If you don't hear any noise than I would say it doesn't really matter unless you think your frame rates are suffering because of the audio processing. You can benchmark the FPS of your games with sound enabled and disabled to test that out.

[Yegolev]

This is a good place to put an anecdote about me that my wife likes to relate to people.  I absolutely, no-fucking-way, was able to get even close to a quarter of the way through any of the dance minigames in San Andreas with the music on.  I mean, three or four keys in would be my max.  I muted the system and suddenly I'm Fred Astaire.  I knew I was visually oriented, but that was crazy.

[Sky]

Sounds is critical to me. Partly why I'm pissed that I basically had to give up on Creative...again. The Auzentech does DD5.1, which is great, but I'd rather have EAX for gaming. Ah, well.

From a non-hardware perspective, sound is critical in other ways. Good music, whether the atmospheric music of Gothic or the music track to GTA:SA, is critical. I dislike when mmo's won't allow you the granularity of shutting off the repetetive combat music but allow you to keep the atmospheric stuff.

Beyond music, for stuff like FPS, it's critical. Critical. I used to amaze my buddy the eqholic (ok, he was easily amazed...) with my deadly surround sound. He was playing on my system once way back pre-hdtv days, playing BF1942. I heard a german coming up behind him from the chatter of the unique machine gun. Identifying the weapon type by it's sound and positioning it perfectly is HUGE in FPS.

Yeg - I had the opposite. I tried playing it as a Simon game and kinda sucked. Just went with the music and kicked ass.