Sound design improvement in Forza 6?

[Krakenous]

For anyone that knows me round here (mainly GT and in NFS forums) at all will know I'm probably the biggest video game sound NUT you'll find on any game forum. I've worked and modded and dozens of games over the years striving for "authenticity" and "accuracy". From everything to the exhaust burble of an RS focus, to the howling, growling sounds of Mach 1 Mustang. I have wanted games to pay attention to audio so much more in general, not just with engine and general vehicle audio. Through all this I have given shining credit to Forza and T10 as probably, and still IMO undisputedly the BEST for engine audio quality in any driving or racing game series to date ever, and what the benchmark for good audio should be in any game featuring a focus on cars, to be THIS series, and these games.

And of course as any GT fan knows, GT overall probably has the WORST representation of engine audio in a game apart from a very very few random gems...wow.

So with Forza 6 coming along, we can only hope the audio quality continues, right? With small features re-added such as "surfaces, tyres, engine volume, opponent engine volume" audio sliders probably being the first major thing that should be present, and was sadly, and strangely missing from Forza 5 (no engine audio slider? What...?). So I hope at the very least it copies the settings from FH2.

For me, I am hoping for a much, larger focus on smaller, more common cars engine audio design and also some of the big big dogs like the 1981 Ford #2 Zakspeed Racing Capri Turbo to be as close to real life as humanly possible, like the Week In Review video demonstrated (boy I hope it does sound that good!!) and it sounds very good in Project Cars too. With smaller/less exotic cars, here is a few nitpicks on the current list I really want and hope to see improvements on, both exterior, interior and exhaust sputter:

- 1965 MINI Cooper S seems to have a problem of not really sounding how it should, in Forza 5 it sounded too echoey and artificial, now, a game that did a superb job of this car was GT Legends on PC, superb, worth looking that game up and audio of it
- 1970/1 Ford Mustang Mach 1 One of my FAVOURITE cars of all time...that has yet to be fully captured with the essence and audio of it's engine and exhaust, it doesn't sound right at all in FM5 and oddly sound a bit better in FM4, but compared to how it SHOULD sound (I know this is the 70 model but the 71 had the 351Cl V8 too): Wow, this thing was amazing to here in person (didn't record the video, but I know the guy) notice the splutter...mmm!

Now, I don't want to list dozens and dozens of cars and reasoning for each one, and I only picked out the Mini and especially the Mach 1 as it was the two that resonates with me after having recorded and driven in the Mini plenty over the years and been a follower of the Mach 1 since the late early 00's. I hope these two can be improved in the Forza series, exhausts in general.

Overall, I hope more detail goes into smaller cars, into hatchbacks, into classic Hondas and VW's, Nissans and Toyotas, some of the neglected Fords even though Fords I can see this year will be getting extra focus (cover car, new breed, new Fords) which is heaven to my eyes and ears but with the majority sounding excellent already to be fair. However in general EXHAUST SPUTTER/BURBLE is the biggest thing to get right overall.

To conclude on exhaust Burble, here is a brief video demonstrating what I mean with the monster that is the Jaguar XKR-S 2012, which overall sounds all right in Forza, but could sound much better and is missing that iconic exhaust burble as seen here:

Vs how is sounds in game FH2:

This is just an example of what I mean and can apply to many cars in the series. After working with audio design for games especially in FMOD for many years, I understand how hard it can be for top top end cars, getting the time with the vehicles and of course the studio resources and I claim not to be an expert by any stretch of the word but have been very successful with the sounds I have recorded and modded for Shift 2 especially when it comes to exhaust burble. So how much time and resoruces T10 has with 450 cars is obviously, going to be limited by preference but I just REALLY hope they don't keep on "recycling" sounds from previous games.

Ok this was longer than expected lol. Apologies.

What do you guys think? Do you have a favourite car that hasn't been captured as well as you'd hoped from an audio perspective? As I doubt I am the only one who appreciates audio as much as I do. Plus, do you think T10 will put more into focusing on the exhaust sound and of course the sound of smaller or older cars? They do a superb job overall IMO but always room for improvements!

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I am also very obsessed with audio. So I fully agree with everything you said. Especially having more customization with the audio sliders. Hopefully they can find a perfect mix between the audio from F4 and F5. Some of the cars sounded better in F4. I realize F5 was rushed and that's clearly why so much is missing from F5. I am hoping it will be even better in F6.

 

[Krakenous]

Yeah . Any car in particular? I mean like I said I could list about 100 or so but no one wants to read that xD! Unless...spoiler tags? Nah I won't, no time lol.

Speaking of sound, what would people say are some of the absolute WORST in FM5 and FH2? And which could be improved? For me there are some copy and paste V8's and not enough Inline 4's that sound right on the smaller cars.

 

[ClydeYellow]

After playing (a lot of) Driveclub, I must say there's a lot of room for improvement with Forza's sounds. And I hope they will improve them, because the car list is looking quite eclectic so far.

 

[Speedster911]

First of all, this is a fantastic thread; hats off to the OP. 👍

I too am a complete sound nut, and it is unfortunate, that developers have not evolved in terms of sound the way they have with visuals or physics.

The exhaust sputter/burble is missing from a lot of racing games and driving sims you play nowadays... the cars do not sound completely natural going up and down the rev range.

Forza bought some interesting things to the table, but I feel they need to innovate more in terms of sound; they've nailed the visuals and physics part pretty well, and I was expecting the moon from FM5, sound-wise.

As CamaroBoy pointed out, a balance between F4/5 sound would be nice, with several improvements... the way the character of the sound changes with upgrades, I feel that's missing. The off-throttle sound.. T10 really needs to work on that as well, and using generic sounds with slight modifications for all the inlines, V8s or V12s is something I hope eventually ends up on the cutting floor.

I could go on and on about what lacked in FM5 sound, but to be honest, I am not expecting vast improvements until FM7. For now, I think they've catered to the car and track count more than anything else, along with improving physics, particularly suspension modelling.

One of the few games to get the engine sound spot on was Dirt 3.

Judging from the FM6 gameplay vids, I do not believe they've taken huge strides in sound. Allegedly the game had been in development when FM5 wasn't even released. Some of the guys at PG have done remarkable things in terms of engine and exhaust sounds. Perhaps, it would be a good idea to marry off Horizon's engine sounds with Motorsport. If not that, then at least outsource sound development to a third-party..cos' that's exactly what they did in FM4.. you can see and HEAR the stark contrast between FM3 and 4 sound.

 

[PepeMickey]

To be honest, they need to re-think their entire way of producing sounds or make a completely new engine because I never once heard anything close to resembling a real car throughout the entire series. As they are, they're good enough for the casual buyer but the sound in these games is in fact killing immersion for the hardcore crowd.

The Mazda 787B is a clear example of everything wrong with their sound engine and how artificial it is.

GT5/6 actually have way more advanced sound engines and they're on PS3, the samples and details seem to be of higher quality too.

Turn 10 could be doing so much better by now but they seem to be comfortable with their simple and artificial approach. It's the same thing with graphics and I don't see them ever going out of their comfort zone.

 

[SimTourist]

To be honest, they need to re-think their entire way of producing sounds or make a completely new engine because I never once heard anything close to resembling a real car throughout the entire series. As they are, they're good enough for the casual buyer but the sound in these games is in fact killing immersion for the hardcore crowd.

The Mazda 787B is a clear example of everything wrong with their sound engine and how artificial it is.

GT5/6 actually have way more advanced sound engines and they're on PS3, the samples and details seem to be of higher quality too.

Turn 10 could be doing so much better by now but they seem to be comfortable with their simple and artificial approach. It's the same thing with graphics and I don't see them ever going out of their comfort zone.

Sounds rather good to me, idk.

GT6 sounds like someone is farting loudly in the cockpit and the engine sound itself sounds like any other car in the game.
And then RL footage

Forza 5 sounds much closer to what I'm hearing here, certainly no farting is present.
Hell, we even have proof that T10 actually recorded the 787b, while with PD that would be a huge stretch, for all we know they either recorded it in neutral like they normally do or faked it through their program. Either way the end result in GT5/6 is in another universe compared to the real thing.

 

[Speedster911]

To be honest, they need to re-think their entire way of producing sounds or make a completely new engine because I never once heard anything close to resembling a real car throughout the entire series. As they are, they're good enough for the casual buyer but the sound in these games is in fact killing immersion for the hardcore crowd.

The Mazda 787B is a clear example of everything wrong with their sound engine and how artificial it is.

GT5/6 actually have way more advanced sound engines and they're on PS3, the samples and details seem to be of higher quality too.

Turn 10 could be doing so much better by now but they seem to be comfortable with their simple and artificial approach. It's the same thing with graphics and I don't see them ever going out of their comfort zone.

Sounds rather good to me, idk.

GT6 sounds like someone is farting loudly in the cockpit and the engine sound itself sounds like any other car in the game.
And then RL footage

Forza 5 sounds much closer to what I'm hearing here, certainly no farting is present.
Hell, we even have proof that T10 actually recorded the 787b, while with PD that would be a huge stretch, for all we know they either recorded it in neutral like they normally do or faked it through their program. Either way the end result in GT5/6 is in another universe compared to the real thing.

👍👍

At it's core, the true-to-life engine sounds are very much there; however, it's the character of the sound that needs more variations and depth.

For example how the car sounds between shifts, climbing up/down the rev range, off-throttle sound, exhaust sputter/burble.. THESE are the things T10 should be focusing on as much as physics at least, if not more.

A great sound model underneath, but despite consistent improvements between FM2 and 5, I do wish and hope T10 adds additional characteristics into how cars sound according to how you drive them, and especially how they sound once you modify them. Also, bout' time we have more varied tire screech effects according to compound and track surface as well as road noise. Wind noise effect is there, and I like it.

BTW, how on earth did GT finds its way into this discussion??

 

[RacerPaul]

BTW, how on earth did GT finds its way into this discussion??

Indeed. The AUP clearly states no profanity is allowed

 

[Sturdy]

GT5/6 actually have way more advanced sound engines and they're on PS3, the samples and details seem to be of higher quality too.

Turn 10 could be doing so much better by now but they seem to be comfortable with their simple and artificial approach.

Surprised anyone holds this view, but fair enough. I have limited experience with Forza, I played Forza 4 for a few weeks and have recently played the (quite large) demo of FH2.

FH2 was played with the audio coming out of a Creative D200 plugged in to the TV's headphones socket. GT6 is played through an HDMI connection to a Yamaha RX-V765 going into a Q-Acoustics 1010i 5.1 set-up. This is a £1,000 audio set-up for GT6 vs a £100 set-up for FH2...

FH2 was actually enjoyable to play because of the noise, having driven a Gallardo, LaFerrari, P1 and a Dodge Challenger, each car sounded like the actual car and was a lot more fun as a result. Over the last week I've started up GT6 a few times just to go for a drive in a few fun cars, and each time after about 10 minutes I've just grown annoyed with the sound and quit the game.

As far as immersion and excitement are concerned I think sound is far more important than graphics, at no point whilst driving a car do you get excited about how real it looks, it's never going to trigger a shot of adrenaline, your hairs won't stand on end because something looks really shiny. But engine sound? That's why we're here. That's what excites your brain when you see motor racing live, that's why just being near a powerful car is exciting even at idle, it's the noise.

The constant focus on making everything shinier and shinier looking just leads to sterile, anodyne games with no excitement. Even PD know this, look at their intro videos. Sure they're made a little more exciting by the music and editing, but what's the major difference compared to a dull replay? They replace all the engine sounds with actual car sounds.

EDIT: Sorry for the GT content, was just trying to highlight the importance of sound compared to graphics

 

[Krakenous]

Good to see some discussion here . So yes, by no means is Forza the be all end all of sound design for racing games but it's the closest, largest sample of cars that sound amazing/recorded from real life, that we have thus far, and that's worth the respect.

The 787B was recorded from real life from the real car, and is probably the most realistic sound in FM4 and future versions, but FH2 really upped the anti in overall sound design.

T10 has recorded the real life sound from actually, 100's of the cars in the games they have made. A lot of the V8's are recorded from IRL and the same with the V10s/V12s but as @Speedster911 stated, it is the software they have used within the games themselves that seems to some what "downgrade" if you will some of the audio.

Lets look at FH2 as a great example, the Alfa 4C...the engine volume for this car in game is VERY loud, idols from both exterior and interior are considerably louder than a lot of the cars in game which is nice but also very, rather odd.

Overall, FH2 is the best example yet, with over 300 cars there is a LOT of goodness to be found and in no other game do I sometimes turn on just to sit in car meets, selecting my cars and revving the engines just to hear how damn GOOD they sound, mmm, brilliant.

I too don't expect FM6 to make huge audio advancements but hell, Playground Games did a brilliant job overall so as so many FH2 cars are in FM6 I can only hope they are improved upon further with sliders in options to focus on engines even more so.

 

[Speedster911]

Indeed. The AUP clearly states no profanity is allowed

Just...

Surprised anyone holds this view, but fair enough. I have limited experience with Forza, I played Forza 4 for a few weeks and have recently played the (quite large) demo of FH2.

FH2 was played with the audio coming out of a Creative D200 plugged in to the TV's headphones socket. GT6 is played through an HDMI connection to a Yamaha RX-V765 going into a Q-Acoustics 1010i 5.1 set-up. This is a £1,000 audio set-up for GT6 vs a £100 set-up for FH2...

FH2 was actually enjoyable to play because of the noise, having driven a Gallardo, LaFerrari, P1 and a Dodge Challenger, each car sounded like the actual car and was a lot more fun as a result. Over the last week I've started up GT6 a few times just to go for a drive in a few fun cars, and each time after about 10 minutes I've just grown annoyed with the sound and quit the game.

As far as immersion and excitement are concerned I think sound is far more important than graphics, at no point whilst driving a car do you get excited about how real it looks, it's never going to trigger a shot of adrenaline, your hairs won't stand on end because something looks really shiny. But engine sound? That's why we're here. That's what excites your brain when you see motor racing live, that's why just being near a powerful car is exciting even at idle, it's the noise.

The constant focus on making everything shinier and shinier looking just leads to sterile, anodyne games with no excitement. Even PD know this, look at their intro videos. Sure they're made a little more exciting by the music and editing, but what's the major difference compared to a dull replay? They replace all the engine sounds with actual car sounds.

EDIT: Sorry for the GT content, was just trying to highlight the importance of sound compared to graphics

It irks me man... visuals get all the limelight. Developers really need to wake up and smell the coffee jar!

Good to see some discussion here . So yes, by no means is Forza the be all end all of sound design for racing games but it's the closest, largest sample of cars that sound amazing/recorded from real life, that we have thus far, and that's worth the respect.

The 787B was recorded from real life from the real car, and is probably the most realistic sound in FM4 and future versions, but FH2 really upped the anti in overall sound design.

T10 has recorded the real life sound from actually, 100's of the cars in the games they have made. A lot of the V8's are recorded from IRL and the same with the V10s/V12s but as @Speedster911 stated, it is the software they have used within the games themselves that seems to some what "downgrade" if you will some of the audio.

Lets look at FH2 as a great example, the Alfa 4C...the engine volume for this car in game is VERY loud, idols from both exterior and interior are considerably louder than a lot of the cars in game which is nice but also very, rather odd.

Overall, FH2 is the best example yet, with over 300 cars there is a LOT of goodness to be found and in no other game do I sometimes turn on just to sit in car meets, selecting my cars and revving the engines just to hear how damn GOOD they sound, mmm, brilliant.

I too don't expect FM6 to make huge audio advancements but hell, Playground Games did a brilliant job overall so as so many FH2 cars are in FM6 I can only hope they are improved upon further with sliders in options to focus on engines even more so.

I thought it was just me. Forza Horizon has done sound slightly better in terms of engine sound character.. how it sounds up and down the rev range... and ohho-man the off-throttle sounds... done really well by PG. Even the upgrade sounds are more pronounced.

My ultimate fantasy would be T10 joining hands with PG to get the sound FULLY up to speed for ALL cars. That, and perhaps outsourcing some parts of sound development, something along the lines of Pirelli and Calspan. It's about time. It IS time!

 

[PepeMickey]

Like I said, Forza sounds are good enough or even "epic" if you don't care for authenticity or actual sound simulation. Much like the way they do graphics, they make things look, feel and sound as if you're looking through a camera. It's very pretty and awesome to play but it's not immersive.

First of all, the details are mediocre, bov sounds, tranny whine, etc, they're very generic and far too quiet compared to the intake and exhaust sound. Exhaust sound has too much reverb and it's too loud for most cars. Some details are completely missing, no suspension work noise, no brake whine, no aspiration noise.

The list goes on and I honestly don't have the time now to explain everything, in the end, the sounds are pleasant but it's not realistic, in fact, I don't think they're even trying to make it realistic because their demographic would actually dislike the sounds when they realize how uninspiring and generic most cars sound in real life. Specially the cars they can indentify with.

It's a game in the end, not a tool and they have to entertain the masses if they want to make money.

 

[UKMikey]

Like I said, Forza sounds are good enough or even "epic" if you don't care for authenticity or actual sound simulation. Much like the way they do graphics, they make things look, feel and sound as if you're looking through a camera. It's very pretty and awesome to play but it's not immersive.

First of all, the details are mediocre, bov sounds, tranny whine, etc, they're very generic and far too quiet compared to the intake and exhaust sound. Exhaust sound has too much reverb and it's too loud for most cars. Some details are completely missing, no suspension work noise, no brake whine, no aspiration noise.

The list goes on and I honestly don't have the time now to explain everything, in the end, the sounds are pleasant but it's not realistic, in fact, I don't think they're even trying to make it realistic because their demographic would actually dislike the sounds when they realize how uninspiring and generic most cars sound in real life. Specially the cars they can indentify with.

It's a game in the end, not a tool and they have to entertain the masses if they want to make money.

We heard what you said but are you seriously saying GT5 and GT6 are more immersive? I'm afraid you've completely lost me there.

 

[GranTurismo guy]

Sounds rather good to me, idk.

GT6 sounds like someone is farting loudly in the cockpit and the engine sound itself sounds like any other car in the game.
And then RL footage

Forza 5 sounds much closer to what I'm hearing here, certainly no farting is present.
Hell, we even have proof that T10 actually recorded the 787b, while with PD that would be a huge stretch, for all we know they either recorded it in neutral like they normally do or faked it through their program. Either way the end result in GT5/6 is in another universe compared to the real thing.

I think he meant the dodgy downshifts on that car.

Now in terms of the sound itself, the zonda is truly awful. And still not fixed for fm6, you can hear it in the direct capture vid.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

For anyone that knows me round here (mainly GT and in NFS forums) at all will know I'm probably the biggest video game sound NUT you'll find on any game forum. I've worked and modded and dozens of games over the years striving for "authenticity" and "accuracy". From everything to the exhaust burble of an RS focus, to the howling, growling sounds of Mach 1 Mustang. I have wanted games to pay attention to audio so much more in general, not just with engine and general vehicle audio. Through all this I have given shining credit to Forza and T10 as probably, and still IMO undisputedly the BEST for engine audio quality in any driving or racing game series to date ever, and what the benchmark for good audio should be in any game featuring a focus on cars, to be THIS series, and these games.

While they are above average, generally, they are not the best. In terms of accuracy, fidelity, details, physics-based modulation, and mixing, nothing comes close to the latest Dirt Rally game.

Stratos


Metro 6R4


E30 M3


Escort Mk2


As an audiophile, I honestly would not be able to tell that those are from a video game. They are essentially perfect. Absolutely no artifacting. The reverb mix is absolutely perfect. Tellingly, it sounds even better with good headphones.

Forza has a LOT of problems with fidelity, mixing, and synthetic sounding effects, especially on rapid physics changes like gearshifts. They have a long way to go to match codemasters, but I agree they are far out in front of games like Project Cars with its atrocious artifacting and Driveclub which never seems to correlate the physics and sounds.

All of this is to say that this is what T10 should be aiming for. They don't need to be overdone and exaggerated if they are this good.

 

[GranTurismo guy]

While they are above average, generally, they are not the best. In terms of accuracy, fidelity, details, physics-based modulation, and mixing, nothing comes close to the latest Dirt Rally game.

Stratos


Metro 6R4


E30 M3


Escort Mk2


As an audiophile, I honestly would not be able to tell that those are from a video game. They are essentially perfect. Absolutely no artifacting. The reverb mix is absolutely perfect. Tellingly, it sounds even better with good headphones.

Forza has a LOT of problems with fidelity, mixing, and synthetic sounding effects, especially on rapid physics changes like gearshifts. They have a long way to go to match codemasters, but I agree they are far out in front of games like Project Cars with its atrocious artifacting and Driveclub which never seems to correlate the physics and sounds.

All of this is to say that this is what T10 should be aiming for. They don't need to be overdone and exaggerated if they are this good.

I would say race room is even better again. But dirt rally sounds amazing nevertheless.

 

[Krakenous]

While they are above average, generally, they are not the best. In terms of accuracy, fidelity, details, physics-based modulation, and mixing, nothing comes close to the latest Dirt Rally game.

Stratos


Metro 6R4


E30 M3


Escort Mk2


As an audiophile, I honestly would not be able to tell that those are from a video game. They are essentially perfect. Absolutely no artifacting. The reverb mix is absolutely perfect. Tellingly, it sounds even better with good headphones.

Forza has a LOT of problems with fidelity, mixing, and synthetic sounding effects, especially on rapid physics changes like gearshifts. They have a long way to go to match codemasters, but I agree they are far out in front of games like Project Cars with its atrocious artifacting and Driveclub which never seems to correlate the physics and sounds.

All of this is to say that this is what T10 should be aiming for. They don't need to be overdone and exaggerated if they are this good.

I 100% agree but to be fair, this discussion is about the potential for Forza 6, not a discussion about comparing it to other games like GT/Dirt Rally and others. While I appreciate the topic deviation and input I'd rather not turn my thread into a contest of proving which sounds better than what and just focus on Forza series seeing as we are in the Forza section. That cool with you/everyone?

Dirt Rally, does indeed, have some of the best engine audio I've heard in a long time especialy fidelity wise but with Dirt Rally we are talking...30 or so cars? Maybe as many as 40?

With Forza we are talking 200-600 cars with 630 something in FM4. Hence why I was saying it's the "best" in terms of quantity and quality, with FH2 being having well over 200 cars that sound superb overall.

So yes with Forza games, mixing is the biggest downfall.

Overall, FH2 has some pure gems that sound absolutely amazing across the whole range, one of the best from an audiophile perspective is the following, in my opinion ofc, this is a good compilation of cars that sound superb in FH2:

Again, mixing is a big deal, and a huge thing about Dirt Rally is they sodding nailed it, I can only hope it gets better for FM6 with the inclusion of plenty of FH2 cars.

Let's be honest, being such a V8 nut and muscle nut, I think we can ALL hope, one day, for something as awesome sounding as the cars in this video, mmmmm!



Eargasmic. It really is down SO MUCH to exhaust burble, fidelity, mixing and just allowing free reign over the sound design. I've implimented such audio in games before adding additional layers to the FMOD engine to allow it to select from exhaust burbles correctly and sound like some of the cars in the above video, but you can only do so much with the NFS Shift 2 audio engine lol, but with a huge team at T10? 100% they could do more, a LOT more for Forza.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I 100% agree but to be fair, this discussion is about the potential for Forza 6, not a discussion about comparing it to other games like GT/Dirt Rally and others. While I appreciate the topic deviation and input I'd rather not turn my thread into a contest of proving which sounds better than what and just focus on Forza series seeing as we are in the Forza section. That cool with you/everyone?

I brought up Dirt to highlight the areas that I'm hoping T10 will improve. Forza has always had relatively accurate sounds, but they always have this sort of phaser-like quality to them. They haven't made it to that "natural" sound yet. I think part of this is the general direction of the sound team to be honest. I think they add effects to make the cars sound "beefier" at the expensive of fidelity. I'm not sure this will change unless T10 wants it to change, but they seem to have a pretty firm idea of what Forza is, and the overwrought sounds have sadly become a part of it.

 

[Speedster911]

There is definitely a LOT of potential at T10 for revolutionizing the sound design. They have a solid base in that regard, and the right set of tools to implement improvements.

It's only a matter of time, and I've got to say serious changes and innovation are both required on the dev's part to continue to stay on top, at least on consoles.

Had Forza been competing with PC sims, they would have upped all their strengths significantly, particularly when it comes to physics and SOUND.

Brilliant job on the Dirt Rally sounds. Dirt 3 was mighty fine too. I'd like to hear this level of immersion and depth in the Forza games.

Like you lads, I'd love for the dev to put sound first and foremost and truly give it the priority it deserves.

The Escort MK2 = bliss!

 

[SimTourist]

I must be deaf, but I can't hear anything particularly special in those Dirt videos, sounds about on par with forza, idk.

 

[Speedster911]

Youtube vids don't do justice to the actual sound in those games. I'm sure they sound far better when you're actually playing.

For a fact, FH2's sounds are noticeably better when you actually play the game (^^ relative to that vid).

 

[SimTourist]

Youtube vids don't do justice to the actual sound in those games. I'm sure they sound far better when you're actually playing.

For a fact, FH2's sounds are noticeably better when you actually play the game (^^ relative to that vid).

FM5 also has noticeably better sound quality than FH2 in person, imo.

 

[Speedster911]

FM5 also has noticeably better sound quality than FH2 in person, imo.

While the exhaust/engine notes are generally louder and come through more clearly, I'd have to give H2 the edge when it comes to sound character and mixing. PG managed to do this better even with the original Horizon vs FM4.

 

[Krakenous]

I brought up Dirt to highlight the areas that I'm hoping T10 will improve. Forza has always had relatively accurate sounds, but they always have this sort of phaser-like quality to them. They haven't made it to that "natural" sound yet. I think part of this is the general direction of the sound team to be honest. I think they add effects to make the cars sound "beefier" at the expensive of fidelity. I'm not sure this will change unless T10 wants it to change, but they seem to have a pretty firm idea of what Forza is, and the overwrought sounds have sadly become a part of it.

Fair point made. Let us continue then! Well, FM4 did a fantastic job in the 360 with 600 cars, even if about 200 of them were ver similar and a fair few were synthetic as oppsed to IRL. Horizon 1 did a poor job, everything was too quiet and muted and y ou had to really push to hear the engines well.

FM5 came along and upped the quality, but with some drawbacks like interior sounds being too quiet or muted, some cars that were expected to roar, mearly meowed the way through but again it did have it's gems and plenty of them.

Next was FH2 which for me, was a noticeable improvement and the best so far, as the video demonstrates not even containing my favourite cars...that was some good good stuff and I still play FH2 into it's 100th hour, just to listen to my favourites.

Speaking of capturing the essence of vehicles and actually of another game that has done some superb 1-1, is believe it or not, Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2012:

I remember thinking the sound was good in this game, but never THAT good which was a pleasant surprise to come back to and discover. Again i think it falls down on exhaust sputter as do so many games but, did a good job for a NFS games.

And ofc I already mentioned GT Legends, wow, good times.

 

[GranTurismo guy]

Youtube vids don't do justice to the actual sound in those games.

I don't know why people say this. I go between playing games and watching vids and notice no difference.

Has underground 2 been mentioned yet?

 

[UKMikey]

I don't know why people say this. I go between playing games and watching vids and notice no difference.

I think it depends on what you're using to listen to the YouTube videos on. There's a section of the Prague track in FM5 when driving across the Charles Bridge at speed where on a good pair of speakers or headphones you can hear the wind rush by the statues on either side. YouTube on my PC didn't really prepare me for that level of detail.

 

[GranTurismo guy]

I think it depends on what you're using to listen to the YouTube videos on. There's a section of the Prague track in FM5 when driving across the Charles Bridge at speed where on a good pair of speakers or headphones you can hear the wind rush by the statues on either side. YouTube on my PC didn't really prepare me for that level of detail.

That kind of stuff isn't present, but the sound of cars does not change.

 

[Speedster911]

That kind of stuff isn't present, but the sound of cars does not change.

The sound of cars certainly do not appear in all their glory as Youtube is compressed data being fed to your headphones or speakers, while the actual game is through an HDMI cable, high sample rate/bit rate, uncompressed audio. I certainly heard much more detail and clarity when I actually owned FM5, as opposed to watching even the highest quality vids on the internet.

 

[GranTurismo guy]

I

The sound of cars certainly do not appear in all their glory as Youtube is compressed data being fed to your headphones or speakers, while the actual game is through an HDMI cable, high sample rate/bit rate, uncompressed audio. I certainly heard much more detail and clarity when I actually owned FM5, as opposed to watching even the highest quality vids on the internet.

the details are insignificant enough to the point a judgment can be made on whether the audio is good or not through watching a YouTube video. If a car sound bad on YouTube, it sounds bad in game.