Before, I'm pretty sure I could hear a zombie on the first floor when I was at the top of a skyscraper and it still sounded like it was right next to me.
Yes, that was the case. I haven't played the new update so I don't know how the distance based filter is applied, but I'd imagine it works vertically seeing that the component is called "
3D Sound Settings".
As a side note: remember that we're only getting two sound delivery sources - left and right (speakers or headphones). There is a process called HRTF which is designed to replicate true 360 degree sound delivery (using stereo delivery only) based on how sound travels around a person's head before getting to their ears irl. I know that it's used in CSGO, but I don't think it's used in most (or any) other popular games.
I do have some understanding of the performance expense of having audio occlusion. The game would have to check for and calculate for all sound sources and their obstacles for it to apply the proper audio frequency filtering.
I'm an audio engineer so I know how sound works, but I'm not a game developer so I'm not well versed in how it's applied in games. I do think there is a solution to the vertical audio problem that plagues most games (namely first person shooters) that does not require HRTF. It would be direction based audio levels and filtering. If something is on the floor above you and you look up towards it then the audio level of that sound should increase and additional filtering and/or EQ adjustment should be applied to clue the player in that the sound is above them.
We don't need environmental reality all the time in video games. Unless we're talking about VR, games are still 2D experiences. Game devs seem to lean too much on replicating reality but don't realize that it's not helpful for the player because the player isn't experiencing a real 3D environment. Call of Duty (and other shooters of the like) are the worst at this. They try to make things look so real that you can't tell the difference between the background and the enemy because the player has no true sense of depth, and an enemy will just blend into the environment. Then you factor in audio and you can forget it. Unless you play with a Sony 360 or Dolby Atmos system, you'll never get true 3D sound. All of this needs to be simulated in an exaggerated, unrealistic way for it to be usable in a game.
That's was just a side rant not directed towards 7 Days. 7 Days needs to get audio occlusion through objects first, which I think is an important thing to have. Sound is a fundamental part of gaming. For one it's important aesthetically, but it's ultimately important as a gameplay utility.
