Balance SFX frequency and volume

[NachoNinjaGnome]

As much as I've come to love The Long Dark, I have some severe issues with the sfx.  Most of the sfx are fine and well balanced, in both volume and frequency.  But there are a handful that are, just, outrageously ear-piercing.  Granted, I am among the more sensitive specimens of our species in terms of hearing, but I am NOT the only one.  Not only do these, particular, fx hurt my ears and my head, they break immersion which is one of the qualities of such games that make them so great.  I'm not sure that I could offer a comprehensive list of sfx in question, but here are a few that I can recall off the top of my head.

- The sawing sound of the hacksaw

- One of the finishing sfx of using the hacksaw... just sounds like a metal bar hitting the ground

- A couple of the ammo box inventory movement sounds

- One of the the empty casing inventory movement sounds

- A couple of the Rock Cache closing sounds

- MANY of the sounds caused by the auroras

I know I'm forgetting one or ten.  I'll have to try to remember to make a note of any more and to try to figure out how to describe which of the random sfx I am referring to in each instance.  In the mean time, maybe some hearing tests could be conducted on Hinterlands staff to find your most sensitive ears to test these sfx as this discomfort is not experienced by all.  While it may be a bit of a tedious task to comb through the library of sfx for the game and then running them through an equalizer and/or filters, a significant portion of your player base will greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your attention to this matter.

- Nacho

[hozz1235]

On 5/22/2023 at 5:42 PM, NachoNinjaGnome said:

As much as I've come to love The Long Dark, I have some severe issues with the sfx.  

Have you tried playing around with the different sound settings?

[Admin]

On 5/22/2023 at 4:42 PM, NachoNinjaGnome said:

As much as I've come to love The Long Dark, I have some severe issues with the sfx.  Most of the sfx are fine and well balanced, in both volume and frequency.  But there are a handful that are, just, outrageously ear-piercing.  Granted, I am among the more sensitive specimens of our species in terms of hearing, but I am NOT the only one.  Not only do these, particular, fx hurt my ears and my head, they break immersion which is one of the qualities of such games that make them so great.  I'm not sure that I could offer a comprehensive list of sfx in question, but here are a few that I can recall off the top of my head.

- The sawing sound of the hacksaw

- One of the finishing sfx of using the hacksaw... just sounds like a metal bar hitting the ground

- A couple of the ammo box inventory movement sounds

- One of the the empty casing inventory movement sounds

- A couple of the Rock Cache closing sounds

- MANY of the sounds caused by the auroras

I know I'm forgetting one or ten.  I'll have to try to remember to make a note of any more and to try to figure out how to describe which of the random sfx I am referring to in each instance.  In the mean time, maybe some hearing tests could be conducted on Hinterlands staff to find your most sensitive ears to test these sfx as this discomfort is not experienced by all.  While it may be a bit of a tedious task to comb through the library of sfx for the game and then running them through an equalizer and/or filters, a significant portion of your player base will greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your attention to this matter.

- Nacho

Thank you for posting. We do suggest looking at your settings, but we are also working to resolve some sound issues. If you think the issues warrant investigation, please reach out via the Support Portal: http://hinterlandgames.com/support

Thank you, again, for the info.