The importance of Audio in GT5!

[speedfreak69]

I know it has been discussed before,but I had to write my own personal take on this issue.
I played all the GT titles and also, practically every respectable(and some that are not so much) driving/racing game in last 15 years(I'm old,I know). I'm also a musician,so I'd say I have a pretty good ear for this kind of stuff(some people just don't seem to notice the nuances). Furthermore, I've done some modding(audio and visual), and we'll get to that in a minute, so I'm not talking out of my arse here.
From the last video(ft-86), there seem to be changes in the audio department, but I'm 99% sure they're dubbed over the video since it's toyota's promotional video and PD probably got samples of car passing by,accelerating and so on from them, so that's not really a good evidence to judge from...
Anyway, I think engine sounds(tire screech was also crappy) in GT were always, frankly in the range from poor to just ok and I simply don't think that's good enough. Imagine that GT5's awesome graphics were at the same level as the sound is, it would look like GT3 coming out in 2010 and I don't think anyone would be quite happy with that.
Although they did improve the sound quality in the sense that they've upped the resolution of samples(4-8-16bit,22-44khz for example and even that is maybe just due to the greater capabilities of newer consoles(ps1-ps2-ps3)), they still either have audio engineers who don't know what they're doing through the assembling/mixing/mastering stages(and should be fired) or the recording technique(fired again), which is very important, because the car must be on a dyno so there's strain on the engine and not just revving in neutral which would make it sound "gutless", which is in turn the way people usually describe GT engine sounds.
Audio is really a big part of the thrill of driving(in RL too) and if it isn't done properly, it takes away part of the immersion. Why do you think people are excited about Shift? It's immersion that you get when something looks and SOUNDS realistic, although people always put emphasis on graphics, because we as humans are more of a visual type of animals.
In my opinion, best sounds I've yet heard come from NFS, Forza and PGR, and since Yamauchi finally confessed he does play other games, he should look at these for clues!👍
Now, to get back to what I was saying before and to further emphasize the rift between GT's audio against its other great aspects, like graphics and physics for example, I'm going to show you some of my own amateur modding work that I did for Test drive Unlimited(PC version ofcourse), because I decided those sounds also didn't match the awesomeness of those cars, so I made new ones from samples I could find around!
Keep in mind that TDU has some serious limitations in audio department such as size and number of samples within the each sound,quality(4bit,mono,mix of 22-44khz samples due to size constraints) and so on...also, it was just me, doing it as a hobby few hours a day(I was doing the modding few months altogether until I got bored with it)...and then compare that to who knows how many professional audio personnel in PD with expensive equipment, all the cool cars they can borrow, massive budget, years and years of development cycle...
I'm not tooting my own horn here to be perfectly clear, I'm just trying to make a serious point and put things in perspective!💡
If I can do this, goofing around just for fun and with no prior knowledge,they have no excuse whatsoever.
p.s. I don't wanna hear stupid comments like: If you don't like it,don't buy it!
If you've got nothing smart to say,keep your mouth shut,thx.👍
p.s. There's more of these videos on my youtube channel if you wanna hear more and also, by each one, there's a link to the TDU forum page which contains download links ,so all of you who own TDU, you can download and try it for yourselves! Enjoy a selection of sweet V6/V8/V10/V12/boxer symphony!

 

[Worst_Driver]

Interested to work for PD.
But let's be serious, Gran Turismo always lacked in the sound departement. (See Corvette Z06 In GT4) I hope they will improve because after playing shift, GT5P's sounds to me are not loud enough and they feel life less.


Yeah another poll.

 

[Dr_B1G]

Nice work!!
I do hope they get the sounds somewhere near that, very doubtful though.

 

[speedfreak69]

Interested to work for PD.
But let's be serious, Gran Turismo always lacked in the sound departement. (See Corvette Z06 In GT4) I hope they will improve because after playing shift, GT5P's sounds to me are not loud enough and they feel life less.
Yeah another poll.

Hehe why not! +check my vette sound!
btw. the TDU community was pretty cool(no offense guys), for example, one guy sent me sound recording of his ride in Zonda F since he's lucky enough to work at their dealership! And he's from Brazil and I'm from Croatia! I thought that was pretty cool:tup: btw. I used that recording for reference as I made the zonda sound and here it is dubbed over some great Top Gear film, so you can judge how close I came to the real thing!

 

[paulpg87]

we will have the same sadly sound, also for tyres

 

[Organ-Donor]

we will have the same sadly sound, also for tyres

Sweet, you must of gotten a secret copy of GT5's (work in progress) sound samples?

 

[whatbrown]

No chance they improve the sounds. Listen to the newer cars modeled for GT5 prologue (Ferraris, Audi R8, etc). They might be a little better, but they are still way too quiet, too tame, and the pitch and tone is off. PD just doesn't care or no how to get the sounds right.

 

[G.T.Ace]

I could vote for option 1 & 2, which one should i choose? lol

 

[humpus]

And why isn't anyone asking PD about the crappy sound in any interview?

I hate the sound in GT. Some upgraded sounds would really make GT a worthy driving simulator. Now it's just a game that looks good.

 

[The Jenius]

So then why does Kaz and PD warrant the reaction from a lot of people here of being perfectionist, when it is simply not true? 2 very large issues, sound and damage, are not even close to perfect, with damage only being re-worked after a big uproar. That is not a perfectionist thats a reactionist. And the disregard for sound, well need I say more after 4 games?

 

[Coiler]

Those TDU sounds aren't that accurate (at low rew)

 

[whatbrown]

I love how some people defend GT's sounds by saying ''you need to hear the game on a 5.1 surround system'' or ''those are low quality samples.''

I can listen to NFS Shift sounds that are of poor quality recordings on my Iphone speakers and still tell that the game sounds great.

Let's face it, the sounds are either good or their not. in GT's case- they're not.

 

[FLASH48]

I don't think they will improve that much! If Kaz and team would spend half as much time on sound, as they do graphics! We would have one awesome sounding game! Sound to me is probably 50% of the game or more!

 

[Sturdy]

I love how some people defend GT's sounds by saying ''you need to hear the game on a 5.1 suuround system'' or ''those are low quality samples.''

I can listen to NFS Shift sounds that are of poor quality recordings on my Iphone speakers and still tell that the game sounds great.

Let's face it, the sounds are either good or their not. in GT's case- they're not.

Although I agree a bit that the sounds probably are better in person and on a 5.1 system, there's no denying that you can still tell when a game's sounds are good even with youtube and crap speakers, and with GT, that's simply not the case.

All we can do is hope they'll finally give a damn about the sound now that the graphics are frankly good enough for this generation

I mean, fine, there are some imperfections in the reflections etc, that's all well and good, but come on, the cars look a lot like cars, the tracks a lot like tracks, let's make some of these cars actually sound as intoxicating as they do in real life, please

 

[chepe371]

Gots to have it.

However all those TDU vids were with sound mods, can't mod GT5.

If i can get sounds like the 2 Trailers they made, that would be more than enough.

and if anything, i just want different levels on the sounds.

 

[vaioleto]

For people that think a car should sound like a lion being put through a meat grinder alive... I'd present you with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o

If you notice, it's exactly how GTPSP/5P will sound like, because the thing called noise proofing have filtered out the raw sounds of the car. What you're all asking for is hardly realistic. GT hasn't been doing engine noises spot on for years, and NFS and other games have been doing it very LOUD.

GT = realistic
LOUD OMG MY EARS ARE FALLING OFF engine noises = not realistic

 

[alfy13]

I love how some people defend GT's sounds by saying ''you need to hear the game on a 5.1 surround system'' or ''those are low quality samples.''

I can listen to NFS Shift sounds that are of poor quality recordings on my Iphone speakers and still tell that the game sounds great.

Let's face it, the sounds are either good or their not. in GT's case- they're not.

Well if you listen to the GT5 Wrc videos, the sounds are quite awesome. But why would you compare full blown racing cars in shift, to the ferrari, R8, etc. We have to compare racing cars to racing cars from each game.

Since we only had a taste of WRC from the TGS videos, I think PD is doing a good job on sound , espeically with the STI WRC car.

 

[haubi]

For people that think a car should sound like a lion being put through a meat grinder alive... I'd present you with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o

If you notice, it's exactly how GTPSP/5P will sound like, because the thing called noise proofing have filtered out the raw sounds of the car. What you're all asking for is hardly realistic. GT hasn't been doing engine noises spot on for years, and NFS and other games have been doing it very LOUD.

GT = realistic
LOUD OMG MY EARS ARE FALLING OFF engine noises = not realistic

sorry but that video does not sound anything like gt5p. While some games may be too loud, gt5p just doesn't get the characteristics of the engine-sounds right.

 

[Tornado]

The GT series, for the most part, doesn't do anything like that either. Loud isn't realistic most of the time, but neither are the hairdryer sounds most of the cars in the GT games are afflicted with. Even the cars that sound notably different don't sound particularly correct, and as the RPM climb the problem typically gets worse.

 

[vaioleto]

sorry but that video does not sound anything like gt5p. While some games may be too loud, gt5p just doesn't get the characteristics of the engine-sounds right.

It does actually, on my TV at least, which is decent.

I find it funny that the OP in this game is showcasing a bunch of games to show "realistic sound" when there isn't a single video with a real car.

 

[Sele1981]

Wow the first Vid kicks ass... Never known that TDU is such a nice game... never played that...

But yeah, GT5P sounds are really bad... Let´s hope for something better in GT5...

Played SCC and NFS Shift... and then last week I gave GT5P a try... damn the sounds suck really... Also the FFB effects... Even though modern cars has servo steering (google translation) I wan´t to feel the car... There is nearly no force feedback in GT5P with the DFP and FFB effects on 10...

Just seen this FM3 clip today (don´t kill me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4M_hcgpxM&feature=player_embedded

And it sounds very nice...

 

[Nomino]

All those TDU modded sounds are so unrealistic.

 

[alfy13]

It does actually, on my TV at least, which is decent.

I find it funny that the OP in this game is showcasing a bunch of games to show "realistic sound" when there isn't a single video with a real car.

i find it funny too. thanks for posting the youtube link. because the GT5 P vette sounds almost the same in cockpit view.

What ppl here forget is, they compare Shift sounds to GT5 P. Where the cars in shift are racing cars, meaning Exterior has been ripped out, so the sound in car would be louder , to a car that exterior still in the car.

Also I dont think its right to compare a full blown spec racing car, to a road cars. They need to just wait, till like cars from the JGTC series videos to be revealed. Then I think its fair to compare.

 

[whatbrown]

Well if you listen to the GT5 Wrc videos, the sounds are quite awesome. But why would you compare full blown racing cars in shift, to the ferrari, R8, etc. We have to compare racing cars to racing cars from each game.

Since we only had a taste of WRC from the TGS videos, I think PD is doing a good job on sound , espeically with the STI WRC car.

Some cars do sound pretty good in GT. In Shift, every car sounds good. Whether, it's a stock M3, Dodge Challenger, Corvette, Pagani, thay all sound good and close to their real life counterpart.

Even if PD would just increase the volume of the car sounds compared to other effects, especially in replay, it would help greatly.

I know a stock car with no modified exhaust is generally not too loud, but it at least has a ceratin tone or pitch to it that PD can't seem to get right.

 

[chepe371]

For people that think a car should sound like a lion being put through a meat grinder alive... I'd present you with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o

If you notice, it's exactly how GTPSP/5P will sound like, because the thing called noise proofing have filtered out the raw sounds of the car. What you're all asking for is hardly realistic. GT hasn't been doing engine noises spot on for years, and NFS and other games have been doing it very LOUD.

GT = realistic
LOUD OMG MY EARS ARE FALLING OFF engine noises = not realistic

You talking about Stock Factory cars, production cars, but in GT as you know there's this thing called Weight Reduction and it involves stripping most of that stuff out, or what about purebred racers that are made stripped? The sounds have to at least reflect the removal of all that insulation.

 

[vaioleto]

You talking about Stock Factory cars, production cars, but in GT as you know there's this thing called Weight Reduction and it involves stripping most of that stuff out, or what about purebred racers that are made stripped? The sounds have to at least reflect the removal of all that insulation.

The racing cars in GT sound pretty good I think. I preserved my ear drums by not listening to rock n' roll at full volume through a set of ear buds, so that might be why.

 

[yanfloist]

If GT5 sounds like this, I will be very pleased!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kauv-jb8SA

 

[speedfreak69]

And why isn't anyone asking PD about the crappy sound in any interview?

That's what I want to know also! I think they are afraid of Yamauchi. No one has balls to say to the man, we respect you and your games have been great on the whole, but your sounds always sucked. They probably think he would whip up his hidden katana and throw shurikens at them as they ran away!

So then why does Kaz and PD warrant the reaction from a lot of people here of being perfectionist, when it is simply not true? 2 very large issues, sound and damage, are not even close to perfect, with damage only being re-worked after a big uproar. That is not a perfectionist thats a reactionist. And the disregard for sound, well need I say more after 4 games?

It was the biggest and practically only game of its kind and magnitude on consoles for years and everybody gave him(them) maybe too much respect,so even now rarely someone criticizes or god forbid tells him to the face that some parts of his game need complete overhaul...but things are changing slowly and I hope that means proper sounds finally.👍

I love how some people defend GT's sounds by saying ''you need to hear the game on a 5.1 surround system'' or ''those are low quality samples.''
I can listen to NFS Shift sounds that are of poor quality recordings on my Iphone speakers and still tell that the game sounds great.
Let's face it, the sounds are either good or their not. in GT's case- they're not.

I forgot to mention that non-argument that people throw around, it really pisses me off!
Who ever says that, has no clue and probably has more money than brains.
My computer is connected to a 10 year old sony hi fi(2 speakers) which is just fine for either music, movies or games and trust me, Shift, that I'm playing at the moment(among other games with good audio) sounds awesome while GT just doesn't, imagine that! What's more, same goes for a set of headphones I got for like 10 bucks!
I don't have room,money or intent to get a fancy 5/6/7.1 system, cuz it would only make it MORE clear how it sucks! Trust me, I've made music and the only thing you get with a sick system(like speakers in pro studio which cost as much as your car...each!) is more clarity and greater power, but they certainly don't make your crappy sound any better, but show it even more for what it is. disclaimer: My music's sound wasn't crappy to begin with!

 

[Scoop2004]

NEED good sounds from GT5,NEED the imprezas to have the boxer throb, NEED to hear turbos spooling and dumping and compressor stall, NEED backfire sounds and flames/smoke plooms, NEEEEED angry race car sounds

 

[Tornado]

I think series still has turbo spool and wastegate blowoff sounds last I checked. They just quieted them down (though perhaps too much in some cases).