GT5 Sound Thread

[DoctorFouad]

I still think the sounds are average even in the cockpit.
For supposedly race cars, they don't sound like one. Where is all the transmission noises of straight cut gearboxes. The bangs and pops, over run sounds, gear change warble, low rpm judder etc

Nothing wrong with that, but for the price per car, and supposedly supreme car modelling, it's a bit lackluster

I totally agree, Until now there is no racing video game simulating sounds accurately.....hopefully this would change.

(add to this that people generally confuse between rich varied sound and realistic sound), they think for example that Dirt 2 and NFS shift have realistic sounds which is far from true....they have aggressive rich varied sounds but not at all realistic sounds...

 

[CoolColJ]

Found that vid of the Motul GT-R with sound again, this is from the CES build, so it's pretty old, dating back to January or so.
So that recent vid we saw with the better sound is the same as this one

It seems all the other cars have place holder sounds

 

[barryl85]

Yeah for the makers of GT5 to be such big fans of Cars & Racing they sure know how to disappoint when it comes to sound - guarantee hondas dont even have VTEC. I mean the sound of a car is definately a big part of being an enthusiast for me.

I love Gran Turismo games but my god do the cars always sound awful.

In the drift videos all you hear is tyre squeel its not right.

I watched the Go-Kart video yesterday in the News section - has PD ever heard a real Go-Kart? It sounds like Mario Kart its pathetic and ruins the experience - i'd take 10% off the visuals and i'd even take 30% or more of the car inventory away if PD / Gran Turismo 5 gave you the best sound experience too.

 

[CoolColJ]

I dunno I watched the official PD kart trailer and it did not sound like Mario kart to me....

refresh your memory

 

[GranTurismoer]

Hmm imagine rolling over a kart, would the driver fall out?

 

[Don Juan]

don't know which car this is, and i also don't know wether it was already postet or not. anyway.. LISTEN!

 

[barryl85]

I dunno I watched the official PD kart trailer and it did not sound like Mario kart to me....

refresh your memory

Defo sound better in this video !! Still sounds a bit flat and uninteresting but alot better than any other one ive heard

the video in the news section with the guy playing on the steering wheel - the sound is awful - sounds nothing like a go kart at all in the slightest - must be the video as there is alot of backround noise.

 

[speedfreak69]

Don Juan: that's most probably Motul GT-R which is one of the few that seems to have updated engine sound and it definitely sounds better than the rest.

 

[GasolineJunkie]

For supposedly race cars, they don't sound like one. Where is all the transmission noises of straight cut gearboxes. The bangs and pops, over run sounds, gear change warble, low rpm judder etc

I totally aggree with this. I believe this would add so much more to the whole experience. Without this sound, it doesn't seem as if we are really driving a racecar; just a faster version of whatever car it may be. I really hope PD includes this.

 

[analog]

This has probably been discussed already many times in this thread but I just wanted to hear from the 'experts' around here what their opinion on this particular sound aspect might be and whether I'm totally wrong or might have a point.
Wind noise level ( in Prologue ), first weeks ( or months ) of playing, this was just one of the aspects which initially impressed me by being another realistic element depending on speed/viewpoint/whether you were slipstreaming or not, etc.

After a while it got a bit annoying ( only a bit ) and now when I do play Prologue just driving/racing around for fun in Arcade mode I often find myself hanging in the slipstream of an AI car and dropping a gear just to hear the engine note.
Thing is it might actually be accurate and although I don't wish for exaggerated engine/exhaust sounds I do have to ask how much accuracy is really needed/desired on some aspects or whether the accuracy might be translated too literally.

By which I mean when driving a real car the wind noise levels may be similar or even louder but it's just one of the many sounds your brain seems to filter out somewhat when concentrating on driving in the real world.
Yes I hear some ( or a lot of ) wind noise when I concentrate on it ( or tyre noise, etc. ) but the engine note doesn't suffer that much due to it than Prologue seems to do.
It may have to do with playing a game and concentrating on the key aspects without the possible lethal distractions of driving in real life ( or the fact I don't reach the speed I do in a game ).
Racing online for example strangely also makes the noise levels not that relevant to me maybe due to the fact it requires full concentration, it's only when just driving around and simply wanting to enjoy the replicated car in all its aspects that it starts to bug me.

So the question could perhaps be that if in real life the wind noise isn't noticed ( due to other factors ) as profoundly, should the levels of wind noise replicated in the game be adjusted to the level of real life perception instead of the actual real life volume?
Or am I the only one who doesn't seem to notice the wind noise that much in real life as I seem to do in Prologue?
I'm not asking to have wind noise eradicated ( as that would be unrealistic ) but maybe making it adjustable to suit a particular real life perception perhaps ( even when that might strictly speaking be inaccurate, it might be a more accurate illusion, replicating a subjective perception more realistically ).
Does this even make sense?

 

[Griffith500]

The wind might be a tad loud on some cars, perhaps. It's hard to say, since the wind noise in a real car envelopes you, whilst with in the game it's coming from a distinct source (the speakers, as is the entirety of the sound) so it might hinder your brain's ability to filter it, since it's only working in a comparatively confined region in the ear (e.g. all frequencies are arriving at a similar point in "time" in the ear, rendering the rest of it useless).

Anyway, I noticed in the past that it can be distracting (and this is a lasting impression I have), but thinking about it now, it's not a problem with my headphones. Perhaps this is because headphones naturally "envelope" you in sound anyway, but I do tend to play with a Stereo-3D downmix of the 5.1 source, which possibly / probably helps.

That said, I was traveling for about an hour in my friend's bog-standard (DC2) Integra Type R at motorway speeds (on the motorway...) the other day and that thing is incredibly loud inside - not just engine (5th gear at 4k RPM...) and wind noise, but also the tyres; it was even worse when it rained!

Having all that noise radiating up from the wheel arches is an interesting experience. It makes up for it on the back-roads, though

 

[barryl85]

That said, I was traveling for about an hour in my friend's bog-standard (DC2) Integra Type R at motorway speeds (on the motorway...) the other day and that thing is incredibly loud inside - not just engine (5th gear at 4k RPM...) and wind noise, but also the tyres; it was even worse when it rained!

Having all that noise radiating up from the wheel arches is an interesting experience. It makes up for it on the back-roads, though

That car was built with no sound deadening to keep it as light as possible !

 

[speedfreak69]

I had a feeling Griff would cover this one.
Anyways, I'll keep it short. I think all these aspects mentioned(from the technical to the subjective+psychological) should be taken into consideration and tailor the sound in such a fashion as to make it seem the closest to the real experience, and not just clinically copying the recordings. That's probably why most people appreciate NFS sounds for example, even though they got carried away lately, but honestly, they had different target in mind(half realistic-half movie style), on the other hand, their techniques and methods in creating the sound experience are on the right path, IMO. It would be ideal, if that sound team got assignment to create realistic sounds for GT, with all that in mind...we'll see if PD wows us in the end after all...kinda doubt it, but I still cling to some hope.

 

[analog]

Phychological is a good word I guess, and the main question I intended to ask was whether these subjective elements needed to be taken in consideration when trying to replicate an accurate sound experience.
Which may not be reached or perceived as accurate when done fully accurate ( still following? ), meaning a literal translation of real life sound and its volume into the context of a game whereby you perceive it differently than in real life.
Or at least making it adjustable so that the individual player can tune it so that he or she perceives or experiences it as accurate ( or at least more pleasing as that's still what a game aims to do foremost in my view ).

 

[Griffith500]

That car was built with no sound deadening to keep it as light as possible !

Indeed! All I can say is it's a good thing the B-series mounts with the exhaust at the front; the intake is loud enough, sweet though it is! A few mods and it might as well sound like a competition car inside.

Which has reminded me... My brief stint in the passenger-side of a Caterham Seven (of some description) was a bit of an eye-opener, but the sound was not that in-your-face - largely because I was wearing a "lid". The only wind noise I could really hear was that buffeting off my noggin! Similar to being on a bike, really.

In GT5, are we to assume that we're supposed to be wearing a helmet in the car, too? In that case, the wind noise (assuming it's not an open top car) ought to be greatly reduced, relative to the engine sound, squealing etc. Then again, that might depend on the type of helmet, e.g. full-face vs., er, open-face...? It might have been discussed before.

Anybody with actual experience?

EDIT: @ speedfreak69, analog: very good point about the pyschological thing; it's interesting thinking about whether "realistic" sounds coming from a set of speakers is actually going to sound realistic at all, for whatever reason (for some sources it works, for others, not so much.) It's probably part of the reason NFS sounds the way it does now, even neglecting artistic direction. Forza's not a million miles away, either, but it isn't anywhere near as "glitzy".

This is why I think the clinical sound in GTs past is due to a certain artistic direction, more than anything else.

 

[ZoidFile]

@Analog

Its not only depends on your personal perception but also on the car you drive. If I pushed my old Golf MK2 (which was pretty much a box on four wheels) to 180 km/h, the wind-noises in the car were just tremendous and so was the motor-sound. After a while they will blend together to one monotonous headache-inducing noise. In my Audi 80 (which has a better cd value than a Bugatti Veyron) you can drive a good bit faster before the wind-noises become really loud, also the passenger-room is better insulated. I can drive 210 and still talk or listen to the radio. I think in a race car, with wight reduction and stripped-out interior the wind-noise must be sound quite noticeable.

 

[analog]

Yes I guess it might also ( and perhaps by a great extend ) have to do with the fact the speeds reached constantly when playing a driving game aren't familiar all the time when driving a real car ( at least not to me ).
Undoubtedly there are members here who either drive faster and more regularly than I do or have racing experience which I don't have and who think it's accurately done and therefore aren't bothered by it.
Although the question of phychological perception having an impact on perceived accuracy ( in general ) or whether it should be taken in consideration when trying to replicate accuracy remains.
Maybe they already do, and maybe it's just me who's slightly annoyed by the level of wind noise and the effect it has on the engine note ( which is my problem I guess if I'm the only one ).

 

[speedfreak69]

This is why I think the clinical sound in GTs past is due to a certain artistic direction, more than anything else.

While your assumption could be true, an objective view of the components of their sound still reveals technically inferior samples, low number of those samples per rpm range, and even altogether low number of sounds per all cars(many situations where cars illogically share the same sound, despite different engine configurations).
Since they try so hard to elicit emotions and love for cars with wonderful visual touches and complexity, that harder, in contrast, they fail on the sound front.
I don't quite understand how it is that they don't see the emotional power and sense in recreating, for example, a thunderous V8 roar(even if it's "beefed up" artificially to match that mental experience), instead of a sound, indistinguishable from a household appliance(a hoover being the principal association). Artistic direction is one thing, but this?
I remain baffled...

 

[barryl85]

Indeed! All I can say is it's a good thing the B-series mounts with the exhaust at the front; the intake is loud enough, sweet though it is! A few mods and it might as well sound like a competition car inside.

Definately !

When you look at that kind of engine design you can see its flaws straight away though - Oil pan getting roasted with the exhaust and engine bay temp's harder to cool - doesnt affect the car in the slightest but its hard to gain power without touching internals of B-Series.

K-Series Honda's are a different story though (although there isnt a K-Series Honda that i would choose - i'd take the engine anyday for an DC2 ITR or CTR EK9) as they arent so back to front shall we call it ha ha


This brings me onto saying Turn 10 identified the fan base of Honda's VTEC and in Forza 3 although it wasnt perfect - VTEC is present in the car sound and coupled with some mods the Honda's pop and bang like real life........

PD need to take notice of this for many cars different sounds and characteristics and try to incorporate it like Turn 10 did in Forza 3.

 

[Owen.C93]

Thoughts? I don't know if this is old or not.

 

[TheDabbinDave]

That must sound REALLY good on a full home theater system. It sounds pretty good in the video. There is a range of tones that have some "grunt"., not just flat. This being said, Samsung TV's are not known for their audio quality. "Thin" is a good description of their sound in my experience with Samsung TV speakers. (LN-46A550).

 

[CoolColJ]

Defo sound better in this video !! Still sounds a bit flat and uninteresting but alot better than any other one ive heard

the video in the news section with the guy playing on the steering wheel - the sound is awful - sounds nothing like a go kart at all in the slightest - must be the video as there is alot of backround noise.

Just think lawn mower and you'll get the idea
"Flat" is better for long term racing IMO, your ears will thank you...
Videos of a TV always sound crap, but that Motul GT-R clip I posted earlier is recorded off a TV screen

 

[grog]

Thats an awesome video with the Saab.
thanks for posting it coolcolj.

to have the cracks and pops like in the video would be amazing, I wonder if there are any 2 strokes in GT5?

 

[BigJimmy]

That Saab looked like it was going so slowly I thought it was in Slow-mo. Sounds ace though.

 

[analog]

This is why I think the clinical sound in GTs past is due to a certain artistic direction, more than anything else.

I don't quite understand how it is that they don't see the emotional power and sense in recreating, for example, a thunderous V8 roar(even if it's "beefed up" artificially to match that mental experience )

If it's indeed artistic direction, the artistic influence should be minimal when the goal is to truthfully replicate the real sounds.
I don't see PD softening the edges of a particular angular shaped car when modelling it for example as that would also fall under artistic direction I guess.
And the artificial "beefed up" sound speedfreak69 mentions would also fall under artistic direction which if true, makes you wonder why they chose for that particular "clinical" sound.

Because if that is also inaccurate, I agree with speedfreak69, then why not go for the option which stirs the soul rather than the mind.
Artistic direction is expected in something which is purely or mostly an artistic creation or vision, not something which aims to be a simulation and therefore relies heavily on objective criteria ( which I agree can be interpreted subjectively, which may be the main "problem" or what is called artistic direction ).

When I buy a Kraftwerk album I don't expect to hear Iggy and the Stooges as they chose their specific sound and vice versa.
If both however were trying to truthfully replicate the same specific sounding device ( even using their own methods ) the endresult might differ slightly or enormously but if both were succesful they would have to sound almost similar.

 

[TheDabbinDave]

Why on Earth are they racing slow vehicles on the full track!

Why are many of you suggesting that racing vehicles should be quieted or muted compared to that of NFS Shift, iRacing, or any other sim that resembles the sound of actual vehicles being raced? The only race cars that should ever be "quiet" are electric cars or diesel powered cars.

Now if you want your cars quieter, buy a full faces helmet and ear buds designed to go into your ear canal. I want my engines loud and proud thank you very much.

 

[Tagger]

Why on Earth are they racing slow vehicles on the full track!

Why are many of you suggesting that racing vehicles should be quieted or muted compared to that of NFS Shift, iRacing, or any other sim that resembles the sound of actual vehicles being raced? The only race cars that should ever be "quiet" are electric cars or diesel powered cars.

Now if you want your cars quieter, buy a full faces helmet and ear buds designed to go into your ear canal. I want my engines loud and proud thank you very much.

👍:tup:Yes please! I want my ride to sound pissed off and ready to eat the nearest competitor. I want to hear that pop and crackle when I downshift as I approach the turns. I want to hear the motor protest for the next gear when I redline. That's what gets me pumped up to go race.

 

[yellowclone]

Indeed! All I can say is it's a good thing the B-series mounts with the exhaust at the front; the intake is loud enough, sweet though it is! A few mods and it might as well sound like a competition car inside.

I had a '93 Civic hatch with all the sound crap taken out, B18C1 (Integra GSR) engine, header, no cat, all 2.5" pipe, and a straight through muffler, and that thing was annoying to drive most of the time. It sounded ok just driving around, like any B-series, but once the VTec hit, it sounded like a REALLY mad bumble bee. On the highway going 70 mph @3,800 rpms, it really sucked. I never really noticed alot of wind noise though, but that could be because of the exhaust. All that being said, that little thing moved pretty good for being a worn out stock GSR motor, and 8,800 rpms come quick in a little Civic hatch

 

[TheDabbinDave]

Beautiful Tagger, simply beautiful!

 

[CoolColJ]

Why on Earth are they racing slow vehicles on the full track!

Why are many of you suggesting that racing vehicles should be quieted or muted compared to that of NFS Shift, iRacing, or any other sim that resembles the sound of actual vehicles being raced? The only race cars that should ever be "quiet" are electric cars or diesel powered cars.

Now if you want your cars quieter, buy a full faces helmet and ear buds designed to go into your ear canal. I want my engines loud and proud thank you very much.

NFS Shift sounds like the real cars? EPIC FAIL!

Shift is all distorted and all crappy samples.
Listen to all the cars driving by, do they even sound like cars?