Read by Schine For the Upcoming Sound Improvements...

[Valiant70]

Sound improvements are on the way... eventually. Right now space is pretty silent, which is realistic but a little boring. What I would like is to hear sounds from my ship only, not from other ships separated from by by vacuum. In other words, I want to hear:

• My weapons firing
• My engines roaring (maybe)
• Weapons fire and objects impacting my shields and hull
• My FTL drive screaming or whooshing
• Maybe a different sound for and FTL drive activating near me, which could be caused by spatial distortions vibrating my ship or the atmosphere inside of it
• My crew yelling at me for flying too close to the enemy titan (okay, players can fill that one in).
• (very muffled) my handheld weapons firing. I'd essentially be hearing them through my suit.

But none of these unless I'm in an atmosphere:

• My weapons impacting on other ships/objects
• Weapons firing on other ships
• Engine noise from other ships
• Other people's handheld weapons

Slightly different sounds for in and out of atmosphere would be a definite plus. Perhaps even "wind noise" while flying through an atmosphere.

This is a pet peeve. Sound does not travel through the vacuum of space. Whatever game I play, if I hear shield hit sounds from a nearby ship, I always think I'm getting hit and it's a nuisance. Cite suspension of disbelief all you want, or the overall unrealism of Starmade, but there's really no good reason to fudge this.

Sure, make realistic sound optional so people can hear TIE fighters go boom like in Star Wars if they want to, but IMO the realistic sound option should be on by default.

 

[Madman198237]

There could still potentially be a sound for things exploding in space. The most common sound would be minor shrapnel impacts hitting your ship (Little pinging noises, anyone?), but a sufficiently large blast could potentially be audible even through the near-vacuum of space.

But yeah, I'm all for realism. But I want a TIE Fighter scream option for in-atmosphere vessels. Because the only thing better than blowing up somebody's base, is blowing up somebody's base in a TIE fighter (With sound, of course).

 

[Valiant70]

There could still potentially be a sound for things exploding in space. The most common sound would be minor shrapnel impacts hitting your ship (Little pinging noises, anyone?), but a sufficiently large blast could potentially be audible even through the near-vacuum of space.

But yeah, I'm all for realism. But I want a TIE Fighter scream option for in-atmosphere vessels. Because the only thing better than blowing up somebody's base, is blowing up somebody's base in a TIE fighter (With sound, of course).

Client side pinging noises from debris hitting you would be cool. I don't think an explosion would emit enough gas to make a sound against one's hull though.

 

[Lukwan]

A good guideline for sounds, Thanks Valiant70.

We should hear our engine noises but it should not sound as if I was standing beside them on a runway. The sounds should be akin to a low rumble, the effect of vibrations travelling along the metal hull. Same goes for our own weapon fire.

My opinion on enemy sounds is pragmatic and tactical. We all know that sound does not travel in vacuum. We also know that humans don't have a HUD built in to our eyes. Yet we use technology to provide us with this tactical overlay (visually) so that we can be more combat-effective.
For the very same reasons I would want my Tac-Com to track enemy bogies and generate audible cues for me to hear...like an audio-HUD. This is basic technology we have today and gives a tactical advantage so ....why not?

 

[kikaha]

I want foot step also. Different if inside a ship or onto its hull on the exterior (clang goes the magnetic sole of my spacesuit boots). and again différent sound when walking on earth like planet with or without suit. helmet breathing sound also ?

Plex door opening ?
Core sliding onto rail sound ?

 

[Markus_McCloud]

I want foot step also. Different if inside a ship or onto its hull on the exterior (clang goes the magnetic sole of my spacesuit boots). and again différent sound when walking on earth like planet with or without suit. helmet breathing sound also ?

Plex door opening ?
Core sliding onto rail sound ?

Considering this is already implemented in Minecraft, I can see where you're going with this. Just thought I'dd add that if O2 supply becomes a factor in the game (and I frankly hope it doesn't ), there should definitely be a sound for asphyxiation, such as coughing or wheezing.

I can imagine the Plex-Door having a whoosh sound, similar to a pneumatic door.
As for the rail-docking sound... Well, there's still the sound of the old docking system in the game's files; it sounds appropriate enough, IMHO.

 

[jayman38]

For sounds, unless they are designed to be continuous, they should probably have some sort of minimum "cooldown", so that sonic overload doesn't drive the player mad. (Example: if the cannon is firing 10 rounds a second, maybe only play the firing sound once a second or two)

If we get engine noises, I think it should have volume equivalent to the current thrust speed versus maximum thrust speed, with the maximum volume remaining relatively low. So if you are going slow, the engines should be barely audible at all. I think that would meet expectations, provide better feedback for thrusting, and give an additional indicator of your speed, if there is nothing around to compare against. (I like to play with space dust off, so I don't have dust to show me how fast I am going.)

For "sounds in space", such as a weapon hit on a target, I think I would like to hear 8-bit chip beeps and chirps instead of more-realistic-sounding bangs, whooshes, explosions and such. I think weapon hits on targets are an essential "visceral" requirement for a space combat game. You want to hear something when you score a hit. But again, I think it would be nice and neat to have an 8-bit sound instead of the metal-on-metal hit you normally hear. Maybe have different sounds, depending on the weapon type. (E.g. Flat 0.2 sec tone for a beam hit, "crunch" polytone for a missile hit, short quick tone for a cannon hit, and maybe some sort of warbling for a plasma ball hit)

I think with sounds, we absolutely need various lock-on noises: Target Lock, You have been Targeted, Missile Launch Detected. Missile proximity alarm, Your Missiles are locked-on.

Speaking of Proximity Alarms, I think we need that too. (Effectively, the computer quietly stating that we are too close to a titan, or some other entity.)

I'm already thinking about a copyright-infringing Aliens-sounds mod. Oh yeah.....

Edit: Changing the sounds planetside to something more realistic would be an amazing improvement to immersion. It would make doing stuff on a planet more fun, and a change of pace from space.

 

[KuramaFox]

I say that we should indeed "hear" what is going on outside the ship, like we were in a Star Wars movie or something.

In truth, the sounds not from your own ship would actually not be real, but are instead generated by the miraculous wonder of engineering known as the ship core (or captains chair or whatever you are sitting in). Basically, the ship's basic sensors pick up telltale signs of certain things happening, and synthesize sounds so we can tell what is going on around us from sounds.

At least, that is the in-context reasoning. Out of context, we are simply making things convenient.

But sure. I am all for there being a separate option/volume slider for your own ship's sounds and those of anything that is not your own ship.


On a side note:

One thing that people are always bring up first when denouncing popular sci-fi spacecraft: Wings.
Wings actually make sense, and its actually more nonsensical for spacecraft to NOT have wings.
Why is this? Think about it. These are typically vessels powered by some futuristic power source. In many cases, Fusion Reactors at the very least. Their systems and weapons also use lots and lots of power. But surely they are not 100% efficient. So we end up with lots and lots of power which causes lots and lots of heat.

THAT is why futuristic sci-fi spacecraft need wings. The truth is that these "wings" are giant radiators and heat sinks. They serve an additional benefit if they are properly wing-shaped if you want the ship to be able to glide without power in an atmosphere, too. But lets face it. The primary purpose of the wings is to be a giant, thin, exposed surface for getting rid of all the heat that would otherwise build up. In an emergency, you could also tilt your ship to absorb solar radiation with it, so that it doesn't get TOO cold when you are waiting for a rescue shuttle.
.

 

[Lecic]

I like the idea of the simulated 8bit sounds when in space like jayman38 is suggesting.

 

[Dire Venom]

Sound does not travel through the vacuum of space.

Radiation, light and a varity of other thing do though ^_^

Can you hear sounds in space? Now you’ve probably heard that there’s no sound in space, but technically thats not true. Now yes, space is a virtual vacuum….. However, sound does exist in the form of electromagnetic vibrations that pulsate in similar wavelengths.
Just like we can turn electronic singles from cellphones into sound, we can turn electromagnetic vibrations into sound as well.


Also ^^ THIS is the sort of background ambiance that would really fit star-made. Current one is ok, but having actual "Sounds" from space in star-made would be amazing :3

 

[Erth Paradine]

Would also be neat to incorporate a randomizer which produces sounds like