PC Can we have a candid conversation about EAR drums??

[Piposquac]

Sound overall needs a little bit of work. It can get obnoxious when you're in the attic of a building and you hear every single zombie in the vicinity.

Exactly. The lack of consistence can be off-putting.

Sometimes you hear them hissing and groaning right into your ear, even though they are in the next building... all of sudden they become ninjas and sneak up on you in complete silence - no moaning, no footsteps, no floor creaking, nada. It doesn't seem to matter if they're walking on gravel, leaves, or a carpet made entirely of squeaky toys.

It's always disconcerting when I'm checking inventory and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, one of them fat tourists sucker-punches the living bejeezus out of me - and THEN proceeds to belch in my face and make the noises that could have alerted me of its presence in a timely fashion.

Meanwhile, the cricket chirping still drowns out my minibike's engine at full throttle.

I understand none of those problems prevents me from playing the game (750+ hours and counting).

I also understand the audio might not be high on the priority list, but I do think its current state is detrimental to the overall experience, and talking about it helps to put the issue in perspective.

 

[Maharin]

Well... they are drums so beating them is what you're supposed to, correct?

 

[Xtrakicking]

Exactly. The lack of consistence can be off-putting.
Sometimes you hear them hissing and groaning right into your ear, even though they are in the next building... all of sudden they become ninjas and sneak up on you in complete silence - no moaning, no footsteps, no floor creaking, nada. It doesn't seem to matter if they're walking on gravel, leaves, or a carpet made entirely of squeaky toys.

It's always disconcerting when I'm checking inventory and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, one of them fat tourists sucker-punches the living bejeezus out of me - and THEN proceeds to belch in my face and make the noises that could have alerted me of its presence in a timely fashion.

Meanwhile, the cricket chirping still drowns out my minibike's engine at full throttle.

I understand none of those problems prevents me from playing the game (750+ hours and counting).

I also understand the audio might not be high on the priority list, but I do think its current state is detrimental to the overall experience, and talking about it helps to put the issue in perspective.

I suppose you're talking about sleepers, mainly because zombies are quite loud when they walk as well, to me at least; sleepers, on the other hand, make zero noises when they wake up unless the player attacks them. I think that is intentional, in fact, and I don't mind it cause if sleepers were as noisy as normal zombies are then they would pose no threat or surprise factor whatsoever.

 

[toores]

Exactly. The lack of consistence can be off-putting.
Sometimes you hear them hissing and groaning right into your ear, even though they are in the next building... all of sudden they become ninjas and sneak up on you in complete silence - no moaning, no footsteps, no floor creaking, nada. It doesn't seem to matter if they're walking on gravel, leaves, or a carpet made entirely of squeaky toys.

It's always disconcerting when I'm checking inventory and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, one of them fat tourists sucker-punches the living bejeezus out of me - and THEN proceeds to belch in my face and make the noises that could have alerted me of its presence in a timely fashion.

Meanwhile, the cricket chirping still drowns out my minibike's engine at full throttle.

I understand none of those problems prevents me from playing the game (750+ hours and counting).

I also understand the audio might not be high on the priority list, but I do think its current state is detrimental to the overall experience, and talking about it helps to put the issue in perspective.

About the crickets, ambient sound volume can be changed separately.

"hissing and groaning right into your ear, even though they are in the next building" - what you are describing here still sounds like your overall volume is too loud. My volume is set so that cutting trees is ok, and distant zombies don't sound like they are next to me. I keep music volume at 0% and ambient sounds at 10% because i don't like distracting sounds that have nothing to do with the world i'm playing in.

Of course some reverb would be nice to better simulate the distance because when you crank up the volume, zombies just sound like they are closer.

 

[Piposquac]

I suppose you're talking about sleepers, mainly because zombies are quite loud when they walk as well, to me at least; sleepers, on the other hand, make zero noises when they wake up unless the player attacks them. I think that is intentional, in fact, and I don't mind it cause if sleepers were as noisy as normal zombies are then they would pose no threat or surprise factor whatsoever.

I fear I'm being exceedingly confusing in my attempt to transpose the language hurdle.

I agree with you that making the sleepers too noisy would defeat their purpose, and zombies usually provide plenty of warning sounds when they're approaching.

However, I was talking about situations that can't be easily explained, like being in an open space (like the middle of the road, for example), and you look around to check that there are no zombies in your immediate vicinity (sleepers or otherwise), then you open your inventory and ten seconds later you're being pummeled - with no cues until you've been hit.

I only mentioned that briefly as contrast to your original comment about zombies being extra noisy.

I've been making a poor job of explaining my thoughts with examples, but I guess my main concern isn't with specific sounds being too loud or too muffled, it's just this impression I have that the audio in the game doesn't seem to follow a common baseline.

The reference seems off.

It's almost like, instead of having a single range between muffled and loud for all audio, there are several different ranges, and sometimes they don't match as they should.

 

[Piposquac]

I suppose you're talking about sleepers, mainly because zombies are quite loud when they walk as well, to me at least; sleepers, on the other hand, make zero noises when they wake up unless the player attacks them. I think that is intentional, in fact, and I don't mind it cause if sleepers were as noisy as normal zombies are then they would pose no threat or surprise factor whatsoever.

I fear I'm being exceedingly confusing in my attempt to transpose the language hurdle.

I agree with you that making the sleepers too noisy would defeat their purpose, and zombies usually provide plenty of warning sounds when they're approaching.

However, I was talking about situations that can't be easily explained, like being in an open space (like the middle of the road, for example), and you look around to check that there are no zombies in your immediate vicinity (sleepers or otherwise), then you open your inventory and ten seconds later you're being pummeled - with no cues until you've been hit.

I only mentioned that briefly as contrast to your original comment about zombies being extra noisy.

I've been making a poor job of explaining my thoughts with examples, but I guess my main concern isn't with specific sounds being too loud or too muffled, it's just this impression I have that the audio in the game doesn't seem to follow a common baseline.

The reference seems off.

It's almost like, instead of having a single range between muffled and loud for all audio, there are several different ranges, and sometimes they don't match as they should.

Edit: I haven't considered it before, but it's always possible that I'm just going deaf.

 

[sadpickle]

Strongly agree that sound levels need to be tweaked overall. Would also like to see the ridiculous nighttime sounds get their own setting, so they can be disabled. They are very stupid, especially when they repeat frequently. I am not sure why they are in the game at all. They certainly stop being "spooky" after hundreds of hours, and they are very loud in relation to the rest of the ambient sounds.

Minecraft had a similar thing, but that served a purpose, by alerting the player there is nearby unlighted space underground. I'd much prefer just the sound of wind, perhaps the occasional wolf-howl or something else more appropriate than the 4-5 unwarranted, incomprehensible noises that repeat ad nauseam.

 

[Bubo]

Well... they are drums so beating them is what you're supposed to, correct?