Official GT Blog: "Pit Stop" by Polyphony Digital

[diegorborges]

Can't wait to see what @Griffith500 has to say about it. Want a new job buddy?

 

[VBR]

Hiring more people will not necessarily solve the problem, as the problem is that PD are generally bad at sound design. The need to hire someone competent at sound design to head up their department, to approach it in a different manner, one that works. SMS have gotten much better results will a fraction of the budget of PD, because they're good at sound design.


100% pure Project CARS...in-game sounds!

 

[JAHHAJ]

They should try and hire people who have worked on sounds from a different racing game that has amazing sounds in my opinion.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

Hiring more people will not necessarily solve the problem

This, I'm not buying into the lack of staff of issue. There are talented individuals who have done a decent job all on their own. I don't think this is so much of a staff number as a staff quality (or management) issue, in my opinion.

 

[TokoTurismo]

I feel engine sounds isn't PD's thing, so they have to hire more people for it as if that will solve the problem... Their just not good with it and Kaz knows that. Talk done.

Big sound update coming to GT7... I'll believe when I hear it for myself through a review of it.

 

[TurismoBad]

They should try and hire people who have worked on sounds from a different racing game that has amazing sounds in my opinion.

I was looking at PGR4 credits but Nick Wiswell is at Turn10 now - besides he wouldn't be able to carry the Dynapack by himself anyway

 

[MustangManiac]

I would expect someone qualified/experienced in sound recording/engineering/production to have their own equipment. If something is being outsourced, they would use their own equipment. Some people prefer to use their own equipment.

So no, not hilarious at all. Quite logical depending on the circumstances.

I have been in the business for over 30 years, if they are hiring a sound recording engineer then you would not expect them to own their own high end equipment. If they are farming it out to a production house then yes, the company would have it's own equipment. This stuff is not cheap! I have done jobs where a company spent half a million on upgrades, not all new equipment, just upgrades.

 

[MatskiMonk]

I actually can't believe I'm reading this to be honest. Kaz sounds like some guy working out of a garage trying to build a videogame. 7 billion people on the planet and he can't find staff? Translation: It's not a high priority and we aren't willing to invest heavily in it because it just isn't that important:tdown:. On the bright side, at least we got an answer

Try this... my translation of what you said, is "I like Project Cars, so I'm going to complain about Gran Turismo a lot". See how that works, I have my own opinion, so I applied it to something that someone else said, and came up with an unrelated conclusion.

He doesn't talk about investment at all, he acknowledges there are staffing problems, and they are now acting on it, but it takes time, and it is logistically tricky to accomplish for the amount of cars in the game. He acknowledges that they have to do it, and even alludes to the fact they have not been quick enough to react to the problem. As for not being important, the very first paragraph of the first sound blog acknowledged that the sounds were the biggest issue for the community, and that was a fact Kaz totally agreed with.

 

[ron86]

You guys are pathetic. Asking for PD to communicate, work on sounds, get a bigger team etc

Then you get the master himself communicating you that they are working on sounds and are looking for some more sound engineers and all you do is complaining again, you absolutely dont respect any effort PD does and the only reaction of you is to find more and more complaints without any knowledge of making a huge video game like GT.

 

[Cosbuster]

Had a pretty good laugh at the sound post, they should make them more often.

 

[TurismoBad]

You guys are pathetic. Asking for PD to communicate, work on sounds, get a bigger team etc

Then you get the master himself communicating you that they are working on sounds and are looking for some more sound engineers and all you do is complaining again, you absolutely dont respect any effort PD does and the only reaction of you is to find more and more complaints without any knowledge of making a huge video game like GT.

10 years to hire more staff - that sounds to me like a massive cash saving while ignoring the complaints.

The complaints reached the critical point and NOW they are addressing the issue - because they have to.

Asking on a blog for sound engineers ? Give me a 🤬 break...

At Sony they are full of them - movies, music, and all Sony gaming studios and you want to tell me that they can't find a qualified team ?

 

[ironman44321]

Well what do you know! We got the 3rd sound article! I'm glad to hear that they know they don't have enough people and are hiring. what I'm interested in is seeing how the sounds end up being for GT7...Do they have enough time to get things done before the game comes out? My guess is all of the new cars for GT7 will be done using the new method and older cars will be changed over time with updates.

You guys are pathetic. Asking for PD to communicate, work on sounds, get a bigger team etc

Then you get the master himself communicating you that they are working on sounds and are looking for some more sound engineers and all you do is complaining again, you absolutely dont respect any effort PD does and the only reaction of you is to find more and more complaints without any knowledge of making a huge video game like GT.

my advice would just be to let it go. The complaining will never end and you'll just get crap for bringing it up.

 

[Renan_]

my advice would just be to let it go. The complaining will never end and you'll just get crap for bringing it up.

This, even though some guys here makes me sick, complaining about complaints generally brings more complaints about your complaint on the complainers lol, bottom line.

 

[hardvibes]

Can't wait to see what @Griffith500 has to say about it. Want a new job buddy?

In the end @Griffith500 will be in charge of PD's sound department

 

[ebel]

It seems it'll be a while until we see any actual improvement in sounds. They have to deal with the logistics of the dyno and staff shortage. We have seen some improvement with certain vehicles, especially newer ones as mentioned in the article, but we might need to wait for a noticeable change. Probably GT7 will have those improvements.

 

[hardvibes]

Seriously that last blog entry made me think PD is a bunch of amateurs compared to other developers. How can you make that statement in 2014...after all the millions and millions of copies sold in 15 years, and millions and millions of (/insert your favourite currency) earned...

 

[MatskiMonk]

I'm glad Kaz acknowledged the lack of synthesized audio options these days. I've stated elsewhere (the FIA/PD thread I believe), that this might ultimately (theoretically) be the best option.

 

[diegorborges]

In the end @Griffith500 will be in charge of PD's sound department

He has my vote.

VOTE @Griffith500 for lead sound engineer!

 

[Lawndart]

Most of what Kaz is saying is correct. But it's clear he has never done it before. I've used dyno packs for games over 10 years ago.

There are a few basics lagistics he needs to know first, dyno packs ie axel dynos, are quite common in the US. Every medium to large city has at least one. Also, he needs to know this technique is very common... It's not at all new or unique. It's more of a lagistics issue than anything.

Here is how he should proceed;
1) find the cars you want recorded and where they are, ask permission to use them (owners always say yes, despite the aggressive nature of an axel dyno)
2) locate the guy with the axel dyno, they are all mobile and will come to you.
3) plan a tour through these cities, recording the cars, and having some fun.

If Kaz removed the idea that you need to have your own dyno to lug around, you don't need people, 1-2 audio guys, supported by 2-4 audio engineers.

The harder part is rewriting the GT sound engine and remove all the digital gain. Sure the Doppler effect from replays might be authentic but it's not worth having if the sounds are all buzzy and plain wrong...

I think Kaz's biggest hurdle is him prioritizing driver pov over external and accurate positioning.

 

[mister dog]

You guys are pathetic. Asking for PD to communicate, work on sounds, get a bigger team etc

Like we've been saying for the last few years perhaps? Kudos to Kaz for admitting it in public but he sure took his time to 1: start communicating with his fans and 2: come to the very same realisation.

master himself

Master of what exactly?

Complaining about the complainers sounds a bit like the last line PD apologists can use nowadays, seeing almost all other apologies for GT's incompetence have run out already.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

You guys are pathetic. Asking for PD to communicate, work on sounds, get a bigger team etc

Then you get the master himself communicating you that they are working on sounds and are looking for some more sound engineers and all you do is complaining again, you absolutely dont respect any effort PD does and the only reaction of you is to find more and more complaints without any knowledge of making a huge video game like GT.

Most of the complaints I see are valid. Essentially, PD, where they are at progress wise, what they have delivered and their methods of operation has and always will be compared to the competition, just like you would see anywhere else. In F1, if Mercedez with their staff and budget started to fall behind Caterham, people would be asking questions. If you were having a house built by one company who took twice as long, at a higher cost and/or lower quality with more builders to complete your house compared to your neighbour who used a company that is a fraction of the size, you would wonder what's going on.

People will be complaining because they have spent £/$100s-1000s giving money to/supporting this franchise over the years, they have invested money that they have worked hard for and numerous times, have been let down. In essence, you have a company that repeatedly says "If you hand over some cash, we will provide you with this experience...", and then does not provide that experience, people will have a right to complain.

All of the communication complaints are valid in my opinion because over the last 20 years, communication throughout just about every aspect of the world has exploded. It is so easy now to talk to anyone, anywhere in a matter of seconds. It is smart for a company to take advantage of this technology, as most of them have nowadays - including Facebook and Twitter accounts, let alone their own sites and forums, who have dedicated staff to communicating with their customer base and potential customers.

We finally get the last third of an answer to one question which took a whole month to answer, with many left to go, and now we have people saying we should be damn pleased with this poor effort. I don't think anybody wishes to insult any individual member of PD's staff, but if the output of the team is inadequate, below expectation or the output of their primary competition, why should it be wrong to criticize the company you have paid and supported for over a decade?

As I have said several times before, if you (as a customer) keep supporting bad work and bad operating methods, you will keep recieving bad results, meanwhile, some other companies will charge in and steal your favourite franchise's customer base, which if bad enough puts it at risk of having to shut down.

 

[KilzoneStrife]

Well done, PD. Like AA and rehab in general, the first step to fixing the problem is admitting you have one. So, where do we stand? Time to get the sound sorted.
PS: Im not interested in a Gran Turismo movie. Divert funds from there and hire or outsource other companies to record audio.

 

[georgetigra]

Hiring more people will not necessarily solve the problem, as the problem is that PD are generally bad at sound design. The need to hire someone competent at sound design to head up their department, to approach it in a different manner, one that works. SMS have gotten much better results will a fraction of the budget of PD, because they're good at sound design.


100% pure Project CARS...in-game sounds!

100% pure in game sounds!

and no suspension only springs

 

[Dionisiy]

 

[MXH]

100% pure in game sounds!

and no suspension only springs

One and a half year old footage of a game which at the time was in pre-alpha state. Your point being?

 

[AKps3]

Kaz should hire the guys from Remus
http://www.remus.eu/forschung-entwicklung/?___store=en&___from_store=de

 

[sparkytooth]

What I understood:

1. Kaz is hiring, surprises no one.

2. PD can't look to solve their problems, or have problems because they'll be riffed off of anyway. No win scenario for them apparently.

3. PD surprisingly doesn't have their own dynapack they can use for recording. Despite it being the most amazing piece of recording technology to ever grace the earth according to Kaz.

4. Project Cars has something to do with the topic of this thread for some reason and we're supposed to be impressed.

5. "Not enough Staff". This comes from the man who runs SCE's most prestigious cash cow, and had a budget of 80 million dollarus for his previous project.

6. Kaz is alive.

7. We don't know about GT6 1.10.

 

[glassjaw]

The way I see it, there are two options here:

1) Hire more sound engineers (which they are doing or at least planning to do) and/or...
2) Reduce the number of cars

With regard to option 2, reducing the number of cars wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It's already taken its toll on the visual quality of the game - not to mention customization - and it appears PD is willing to add sound to that list too.

 

[Gerarghini]

Still waiting on GT5 update 2.18

In all seriousness, it's absolutely embarrassing that PD doesn't have their own Dynapack. I mean really, a multimillion dollar franchise that isn't using top notch equipment. If they're hiring then they better be hiring people that know what a car sounds like and not hiring too much people with a vague understanding.

 

[tankuroded]

Anyone want considering dontaing a dynapack for PD? 💡