ACC Blog Audio - Monkey hear, monkey do!

Hi there, yeah I did run effects with these early tests with no reverb and looked into each effect tab operating on its own with others muted. Immediately I was a bit shocked and disappointed as I then had a quick comparison doing the same in ACC, already knowing it supported good stereo positioning.

So by this method, it was possible to see what the channel activity is for each individual audio tab operating on its own from within the game.

The point raised at the moment is that ACC is very monoaural in comparison to how effects are deployed over the channels. Its bad, as I would expect each wheel to be represented properly to each appropriate channel. Yet this does not seem to be quite the case?

In Assetto Corsa, if operating only with "Surface" effects then even with headphones you can clearly hear when left/right wheels are active. Yet it appears mainly on the front channels, off track like grass or the chassis dipping in ACC appears more in the rear channels. Like I said I can see how each element of different sound effects is being outputted. Do however keep in mind this was from early comparisons and not an attempt at an in-depth look into how the different sound effects some of the audio tabs may have or how they are output.


There is no confusion that I am aware of, as I can if I want to, also connect the soundcard output into a multichannel USB interface via a DAW and see the actual frequency response output for each channel also. Many professional audio apps are possible. However, that is not needed to just determine channel or gain activity for what we are doing here.

Below is just one example of using such. Here are screenshots of a DAW and monitoring my own created tactile effects for SSW. You can see its "Lateral G" effect in operation and this being compared with the Assetto Corsa "Lateral G" display meter within the sim, confirming its activity. The other image is from testing and monitoring bump activity to each wheel, to help see how stereo bumps or front-rear separation was operating in different sims with SSW or Simvibe etc.

With professional hardware or software plugin tools, everything can be seen to bring added visual reference in what the audio is doing. Regardless if it is "game audio" or "tactile effects".

This is just hobby stuff I got into, being an audio and tactile enthusiast





For elevating the senses, when you have stereo positional effects operating with the on-track/onscreen action and working in conjunction with the users steering inputs. Things like curbs or cars passing on either side are much more engrossing in stereo than the same effect output over several channels.

I REALLY hope this element of ACC audio is improved and we get proper positional audio or that the devs will at least take note.

 

The soundspace in the game is astonishing! Eargasmigal! You done so good with this game Kunos!

 

My tips to improve huracan onboard sounds:

- Make the egine note a bit more high pitched (only a bit)
- Use more highs (freq) in the engine note (too dark for a lambo), to make it widersound and more raw.
- Use some distorsion (little bit as used in music production) to make a fatter sound, mostly at high revs.
- The compressor buzz sound must have a bit less volume.
-The culprit is to mix correctly the exhaust note with the engine note, for now it only sounds as an engine:
1- At very low revs the exhaust makes a very mid note (resonance).
2- If you downsift at low revs the exaust note is low.
3- In every range of the revs the exhaust note is mixed creating a surround effect like a second engine running.

Everything you car hear at the onboard vídeo posted before.

But thanks to you, at the end some proper sim sounding correctly at first, without mods. finally a pro soundwork (unless dirt rally hehe).

 

Oh dear, that Bentley Synphony. Just love it. Have the gravel noises been changed in general, or are they car specific. Kind of sounded like they had more reverb in the huge body of the Bentley.

Also was surprised when I entered Nürburgring Pits. Having been there last weekend I felt really "there". It´s in the details!

 

Bentley sounds even better than Huracan, well done. Sound is really strong point of ACC, while in AC it was maybe (in parts) weak point. There is no dull moments in audio, except the music. Hope same quality holds with the cars added later too.

 

The engine sounds are very well done but, what really strikes me when playing ACC, are the smaller details such as little metallic rattles, pebbles being picked by tires, etc. It really adds to the overall immersion.

 

@AC Support
It's me or some effetc is added in 0.2? Or maybe it's just the result of a new gameplay.

I mean, i've tried the race weeckend, so practice, qual and race.
The first laps of practices P1 and P2 i've heard many many noises due to dust, dirt, whatever under the car. A very surprising effect and for sure, nothing i've noticed on build 0.1. Marvelluos because other than a physical low grip due to green track, now i can feel this even with sound, the feeling is to run over a "low/poor usage" tarmac and the final result is amazing.

 

@AC Support
I also noticed some metal rattling. Comes from the chassis under stress or from the suspensions hardpoints? Am I hearing right?
If so it's amazing but in a way it's even under rappresented. The amount of metal noises at low speed in a couple of race cars I had a chance to test was surprisingly loud

 

I'm not convinced absolute realism (if ever possible) is necessarily the best either. Ideally, we could have intensity sliders for every individual sound in a game but, that's not practical either. Still, preferences are going to vary among players and developers may have to go for an overall average and I think that is what they try to do in many cases.

Consider how wearing a helmet muffles the sounds in RL; yes, it's realistic to emulate that in Simulation but, I really want to hear the engine sounds in a much more dynamic and full range way. Offering a filter to provide the muffled effect would be fine but, I'd hate having it forced on me. Even when driving a performance car on the track / street, I want to have the windows open so I can hear the engine and tires as much as possible.

In all things Simulation, there is a point where TMI takes over (Too Much Information); it happens with FFB / Tactile / Motion / Audio and even Graphics. When we combine these various aspects, the balance becomes even more important and so far, I think Kunos are doing a very good job of delivering. Still, there are cases where I might like to elevate certain effects above others but overall, I think they are doing a great job.

 

The improved sounds in ACC are the standout improvement over AC for me. The cockpit sounds much more alive and less sterile, with so much audio going on. The cars sound more violent and aggressive, which is great.

 

Mentioned this before but now I found a nice example in the Spa 24h broadcast. Timestamp from 4:35:39 and from 4:36:29, the 2018 Bentley idling in the pits during the red flag (I remembered it a bit louder but you can still hear it under the commentary) - hope Kunos can get that across in ACC, sounds pretty brutal. Even the rear wing is shaking.

 

At default settings, I can't hear the other cars at all. All I hear is my car. Other than that, the sound is awesome!

 

@Luca
Are there plans to expand the interaction between drive-train and audio in regard to physics modeling and engine sounds (specifically drive-train Gear free-play / elasticity)? The reason I ask is because it sounds (ref RL video) as though the relationship in that area is more evident in RL than is currently represented in ACC. For example, in RaceRoom, I can physically feel such effect in lower gears (motion rig), as well as hear it - whereas in ACC, it's barely detectable. Being something of an old "gear-head" myself, it's one of those little details that sticks out to me (but, hard to reproduce in games - no doubt) .

 

Man this detail is so amazing. I play some Assetto Corsa in between ACC sessions and the difference is night and day. The amount of fidelity is incredible! You can hear this gearbox compressor in this video when he brakes into the next turn (@3:07):

 

I've been comparing sounds from ACC to the sounds from real on board videos. What I've found was the Huracan sounds exactly the same as the real thing. The Bentley however does not. IRL the Bentley sound is predominantly the transmission whine whether at low or high speed, while it may be the mic recording that is causing that but most if not all the Bentley on boards sound like that. Another thing is IRL the Bentley does not have the gearbox compressor buzz while downshifting, I couldn't find a video where the Bentley produces that sound while downshifting, all I hear is the transmission whine, but in ACC it does have the buzz during downshifting like the Huracan. Why is this so? Overall I feel the Bentley IRL sounds angry while in ACC it's a little tame, the Huracan is great however.

 

Ive tested the wheel slip with various tactile models and when we boost the bass via EQ (to help the transducers output) it comes across that the bass energy for the wheel slip is a bit too strong/high compared to some other effects.
It would be good if you can refine this and place more bass sensation for tyres when on curbing (hopefully with it working independently for each wheel).

 

Ahh, excellent, look forward to enjoying this...

 

Any update on the gearbox interaction issue Luca?