Why are the sounds in GT games so consistently bad?

[BigYoSpeck]

Simulating car engine noises is not an easy task. Games with more satisfying sounds probably achieve them through far less sophisticated means.

They can't simply sample the sounds of the real cars and then stick the sound files in the game. The engine noise has to be simulated throughout the rev range and at various rates of moving through that range. Modelling sound like that is quite processor intensive, just ask any computer musicians who use VST's.

 

[Shrimp]

It's also too bad that they've made every single car in the game capable of spewing flames out of their exhausts, yet they do so in utter silence. How awesome would it be to have a nice burbling sound when letting off the accelerator, and an occasional pop to accompany those flames.

The sound is really lifeless on most cars . I also get the feeling they're put together by someone who has never been to a real racetrack (I guess they spent all their travel budget sending Kaz to Italy and Germany rather than actually getting the team some motorsport experience).

 

[deftonesmx17]

There are 1000+ cars.

Think about that. Shouldn't expect the sounds to get better unless the car count is drastically cut, it simply is not realistically doable to have every car sound exactly correct with that many cars.

Damn, if they can't even take the time to get a sound sample from each, how on earth did they have time to log data on it's performance characteristics to create the physics for the game?

This is why I've always felt the GT series is not as close to reality as Sony and PD would lead us to believe.

I would prefer that they lower the car count and just do them right all around. Seriously, I don't need 1 million slightly different Nissan R34's; just a few would be fine with me...

 

[Rdp616]

I completely agree with this, the sound of most cars are quite dissapointing. But i also would imagine that it would be quite hard and time consuming to get each and every car into a sound studio, and also record each sound for different levels of tuning.

But still, can i get the V8 sound when i tune a V8? Most of them a synthetic/created sounds anyway. I almost get this feeling it's done on Purpose, cause let's be honest. The sound egineer couldn't of sat after he heard the sound of the race modded Vette for example and said, yup, that sound's like V8..

 

[another-user]

when i changed the exhaust on my vette in real life, it didnt sound like my damned lawnmower when i was done. i dont know why pd couldnt have thrown in a set of default modified exhaust sounds for cars, taken from real life cars. majority of the population arent going to hear a difference between a race prepped ford v8, and a race prepped chevy v8.

 

[redstorm]

There was a lot of ranting over the "sound" issues when F1 2010 came out. The audio manager got on the forum to explain the technical demands that even just a few different engines produce. There is ZERO chance that anywhere near 1000 cars worth of audio would fit on one disk. To get an accurate engine sound for each would take up so much space that the PS3 would not be able to run without massive lag. Then you would have all kinds of complaints over frame rate.......oh wait........already have that thread too.....

I would rather have the physics be accurate over the sound if given a choice. Pick your poison guys.

 

[samdu]

Game sounds freakin' amazing in uncompressed digital surround. I was playing it on an older receiver, incapable of uncompressed audio. I bought a new receiver and was blown away by the sound. GT5 sounded kind of flat before. Now it sings. I can't speak to every car, but the one that sticks out right now is the Mercedes SLS AMG. It growls. It's awesome.

 

[NOS Waster]

I do agree that the GT5 sounds can use a bit of work, but some cars sound fantastic.

1999 Jaguar XKR. That thing actually sounds like it has a V8 in it finally! In GT3, it sounded like a vacuum cleaner
Art Morrison Corvette. WOW this thing sounds mean! Just sounds so raw on WOT!

 

[HBK]

Damn, if they can't even take the time to get a sound sample from each, how on earth did they have time to log data on it's performance characteristics to create the physics for the game?

This is why I've always felt the GT series is not as close to reality as Sony and PD would lead us to believe.

This 👍

As for the engine sounds, one may take into account the fact that we are playing these games (GTs and other car games) for DAYS. I mean, race car sounds are really aggressive, literally. I do understand that sound engineers may soothe the overall sound design, so that our ears do not bleed after playing so many hours.

Of course, that does not explain why so many of the sounds in GT just sound bad, "bad" as in "not accurate at all".

But even if I know that it may sound fishy, I think one of the reasons so many car games have such "poor" sound design is not only due to technical complexity, but also "for our own good".

 

[GTP_Daniel84]

Biggest problem to me is the combination of cockpit view and engine sound.
got a new teufel e400 5.1 sound system. While driving i turn up the volume to get a OK sound. BUT dont hit a wall, then you fall of couch. And immediately after finish decrease volume or be blown away.

If you look backwards in cockpit view the engine sound is really cool, why dont have this while looking forward?...

For those who dont know yet, setting audio from living room to one of the theatres mode (me using small theatre) increases sound quality

 

[Spagetti69]

This 👍

As for the engine sounds, one may take into account the fact that we are playing these games (GTs and other car games) for DAYS. I mean, race car sounds are really aggressive, literally. I do understand that sound engineers may soothe the overall sound design, so that our ears do not bleed after playing so many hours.

Of course, that does not explain why so many of the sounds in GT just sound bad, "bad" as in "not accurate at all".

But even if I know that it may sound fishy, I think one of the reasons so many car games have such "poor" sound design is not only due to technical complexity, but also "for our own good".

That's nice of PD to think of my ears.
What about my well being whilst going into a vegative state whilst doing a 24hr enduro.

 

[carlosy]

If you think the engine sounds are bad, wait till you notice the complete absence of environmental sounds in the rally modes. I'm not a sound snob by any means, but they could have at least added a token "stones hitting the bottom of the car" sound. The mode's simply ridiculous without it.

Sad but true! Listen to Dirt for example, the cars there are so much more alive. I miss the environmental sounds too, expecially in rally.

 

[Fastlap]

I completely agree with the op. Engine sound is such a big part of the whole experience of a car, it is really sad that is has been GT biggest weak point since the beginning of the series.

I have driven a lot of sportscars, Ferraris, Lambos, amg mercs etc. and I know what they should sound like. GT is very far off in 80 % of the cars that I have tried ingame so far. There are some that sound ok, mostly low end 4 bangers (miata comes to mind).

But as soon as you drive something with power (something that SHOULD sound grunty and powerful), GT consistently fails to deliver.

Listen to this:





And then listen to this:





And this is one of the better sounding cars in GT5!! It just sounds muffled and synthetic.

I know we cannot expect perfection, and I don´t. But the one thing that never made sense to me is the huge difference in visual and audio quality of the game.

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree. And on the other hand, Grand Prix Legends from 1998 has more immersive engine sounds. That is something that does not fit together.

And if I hear praise about the doppler effect one more time... What good is that? Seriously? This is a racing game, the main point and focus is the engine sounds. The doppler effects may be great, but that doesn´t help if I hear a vaccuum cleaner driving past and not a V6.

 

[tedsleds]

for true sounds, like you are at the track, iRacing is as good as it gets. and the in car sounds are unbelievable, please do not bring up it cost money to do everything cost something...

 

[Fastlap]

True, IRacing is really pretty amazing when it comes to sounds.

Proof:

 

[carlosy]

Limitations of the PS3 (memory) and lack of access, or ability to run the cars as required

Gran Limitismo


Its all about limitations

- Limited RAM
- Limited diskspace
- Limited CPU power
- Limited graphic powers
- Limited cars to gift per day
- Limited items to gift per day
- Limited museum cards to gift per day
- Limited amound of money to have for the player
- Limited...

 

[Miths]

for true sounds, like you are at the track, iRacing is as good as it gets. and the in car sounds are unbelievable, please do not bring up it cost money to do everything cost something...

Lifeless engine sounds seems to be a reasonably common complaint from iRacing subscribers - including myself. And a new sound engine has been in the works for quite some time to address that issue.

I've bought all but one or two of the road cars, and the V8 Falcon, the Riley DP and perhaps the Williams F1 (which I haven't spent much time in yet) are pretty much the only three that don't threaten to put me to sleep with bland and droning sounds.

 

[fdjizm]

There are 1000+ cars.

Think about that. Shouldn't expect the sounds to get better unless the car count is drastically cut, it simply is not realistically doable to have every car sound exactly correct with that many cars.

5 years for a video game isn't realistic either but it happend and they half assed it.

 

[fdjizm]

True, IRacing is really pretty amazing when it comes to sounds.

Proof:

wow, PD couldn't do this in more than 10 yearsof GT? lol

 

[SavageEvil]

I completely agree with the op. Engine sound is such a big part of the whole experience of a car, it is really sad that is has been GT biggest weak point since the beginning of the series.

I have driven a lot of sportscars, Ferraris, Lambos, amg mercs etc. and I know what they should sound like. GT is very far off in 80 % of the cars that I have tried ingame so far. There are some that sound ok, mostly low end 4 bangers (miata comes to mind).

But as soon as you drive something with power (something that SHOULD sound grunty and powerful), GT consistently fails to deliver.



And this is one of the better sounding cars in GT5!! It just sounds muffled and synthetic.

I know we cannot expect perfection, and I don´t. But the one thing that never made sense to me is the huge difference in visual and audio quality of the game.

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree. And on the other hand, Grand Prix Legends from 1998 has more immersive engine sounds. That is something that does not fit together.

And if I hear praise about the doppler effect one more time... What good is that? Seriously? This is a racing game, the main point and focus is the engine sounds. The doppler effects may be great, but that doesn´t help if I hear a vaccuum cleaner driving past and not a V6.

Ok after watching both videos, I can honestly say that you are playing your GT5 through common speakers on your TV, and to be honest LCD tv have crap speakers, very tinny sounding. Get a 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 surround sound hook up and put GT5 in Large theater mode...also you will have to set your PS3 to output Dolby Digital x.1 and DTS x.1, depending on your set up. You will get clearer audio than you can from conventional speakers. Nice video though, the youtube video of the C63 is full of distortion too. You can hear how they amplified the sound post video anyway, don't know what Merc you drove but when the windows are closed the sound is very much muted. Nice try I admit, if you really drove those cars you would know that these luxury cars have a lot of sound dampening, so your AMG63 would not sound like that from inside unless you have the windows open. If it does, then you need to take it back. Lol.

Get some real home theater speaker set up, I'm holding out until I can get a 7.1 DTS and DD system with 96kHz rate, higher sampling rate is much better to what the original source was recorded in. 192kHz is the preferred rate, but those aren't reasonable in price.

 

[CoolColJ]

True, IRacing is really pretty amazing when it comes to sounds.

Proof:


[YOUTUBE-]KoZVlczCCJE[/media]

Do you actually play iRacing? I do, and I can tell, you sound is not it's strong point

Listen to this:





And then listen to this:





And this is one of the better sounding cars in GT5!! It just sounds muffled and synthetic.

I know we cannot expect perfection, and I don´t. But the one thing that never made sense to me is the huge difference in visual and audio quality of the game.

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree. And on the other hand, Grand Prix Legends from 1998 has more immersive engine sounds. That is something that does not fit together.

And if I hear praise about the doppler effect one more time... What good is that? Seriously? This is a racing game, the main point and focus is the engine sounds. The doppler effects may be great, but that doesn´t help if I hear a vaccuum cleaner driving past and not a V6.

That video is terrible. I have a spruced up C63 in my collection and I'll make a better video... it sounds better than that video implies

 

[HuskyGT]

I completely agree with the op. Engine sound is such a big part of the whole experience of a car, it is really sad that is has been GT biggest weak point since the beginning of the series.

I have driven a lot of sportscars, Ferraris, Lambos, amg mercs etc. and I know what they should sound like. GT is very far off in 80 % of the cars that I have tried ingame so far. There are some that sound ok, mostly low end 4 bangers (miata comes to mind).

But as soon as you drive something with power (something that SHOULD sound grunty and powerful), GT consistently fails to deliver.

Listen to this:





And then listen to this:





And this is one of the better sounding cars in GT5!! It just sounds muffled and synthetic.

I know we cannot expect perfection, and I don´t. But the one thing that never made sense to me is the huge difference in visual and audio quality of the game.

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree. And on the other hand, Grand Prix Legends from 1998 has more immersive engine sounds. That is something that does not fit together.

And if I hear praise about the doppler effect one more time... What good is that? Seriously? This is a racing game, the main point and focus is the engine sounds. The doppler effects may be great, but that doesn´t help if I hear a vaccuum cleaner driving past and not a V6.

I´m sorry, but you have to give PD some credit. To my opinion, the C63 in GT5 sounds way far beyond what I expected for a Gran Turismo game. For me, is not about the cars sounding exactly how they do in real life, but the fact that at least they have there correct engine type sound. Remember all the V8 Mercedes Benz in GT4? They sounded horrible! Not a single one sounded like a V8! Now they even had the time and patience to fix even the standard Benz´s. Yes, its true, there is alot of cars that still have the "vaccum cleaner" for an engine, but the rest have had a complete sound makeover that at least matches their engine type.

But is not all good things I have to say. Even with the improvements, there are alot of mistakes in the sound samples, I agree. I´ve even noticed cars that had a correct sound in previous GT´s, and now they messed it up completly.

 

[mini_roofer_S]

I completely agree with the op. Engine sound is such a big part of the whole experience of a car, it is really sad that is has been GT biggest weak point since the beginning of the series.

I have driven a lot of sportscars, Ferraris, Lambos, amg mercs etc. and I know what they should sound like. GT is very far off in 80 % of the cars that I have tried ingame so far. There are some that sound ok, mostly low end 4 bangers (miata comes to mind).

But as soon as you drive something with power (something that SHOULD sound grunty and powerful), GT consistently fails to deliver.

Listen to this:




That sounds damn good for a video game... and I'm on my iPhone.



And then listen to this:





And this is one of the better sounding cars in GT5!! It just sounds muffled and synthetic.

I know we cannot expect perfection, and I don´t. But the one thing that never made sense to me is the huge difference in visual and audio quality of the game.

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree. And on the other hand, Grand Prix Legends from 1998 has more immersive engine sounds. That is something that does not fit together.

And if I hear praise about the doppler effect one more time... What good is that? Seriously? This is a racing game, the main point and focus is the engine sounds. The doppler effects may be great, but that doesn´t help if I hear a vaccuum cleaner driving past and not a V6.

That sounds damn good for a video game... and I'm on my iPhone.

 

[calan_svc]

GT5 easily is the best looking racing game on any platform, I think we can all agree.

I agree with you on the sound issues, but I'll disagree with this.

Almost any good PC sim blows the doors off of GT5 both for frame rate and LOD. (How about all 43 fully detailed NASCARs at over 100fps at 1920 x 1280 in rFactor? And that is on 3-year old hardware). As for PS3 games, Dirt 2 has MUCH better frame rate and detail, including 3d scenery and real-time environmental effects. Even Grid is better in some areas...especially in damage and suspension visuals.

In fact, the more I play GT5, the more I'm amazed (and frustrated) at the incredible amount of screen tearing and drops in frame rate. Ever notice the pit stands popping into view on Indy? How about the buildings that get drawn just ahead of you on Tokyo 246?

Pretty mediocre at best.

Just my .02 of course.

That sounds damn good for a video game... and I'm on my iPhone.

Well... duh.

 

[PMK]

Stumbled across this 14 year old thread. So fun to look at. I don’t think we realized how bad the sounds actually were compared to how good car sounds are in video games these days, haha.

 

[Vekah]

I totally get where you’re coming from! I remember getting super excited about driving the NSX in GT5, and then feeling let down by the engine sounds. It's such a classic car, and when the sound doesn’t match the vibe, it really takes you out of the experience. I’ve felt the same way with other cars too, like my tuned M3, which just doesn't have that growl you'd expect. It’s a shame because I think sound is such a big part of the whole racing experience.