If there is one sound kept from NS1 make it be the shooting noise of the LMG. It's played so much its basically the signature sound of NS. And it sounds good.
slayer20Killed a man once.Join Date: 2007-12-13Member: 63157Members, Reinforced - Shadow
I remember this being brought up before, but I thought I'd bring it up in this thread.
When the Marines finally take down all the Hives, a sound starts to play to indicate that all Hives are down and the Marine team is winning. Someone suggested that there be a sound to play when the Alien team has won.
What I suggest is that when the Command Chair gets taken down, some music should start to play pretty much indicating the Marine team is in hell (until another CC is built), or when there is one guy left a "Last Man Standing" sound should play.
schkorpioI can mspaintJoin Date: 2003-05-23Member: 16635Members
all of this talk of FMOD...
Now that you can put in real time sfx it sparked an idea for the fade blink
When start blinking the sound kind of slows down and then speeds up as you accelerate. Then during blink all sounds that you can hear should have a kind of phaser or flanger effect and when ending blink everything should slow down, and then speed up to normal again
I think this would really give the impression that you are going really fast and warping through time!
I really like how building marine structures sounds a lot like a Skulk stepping. It immerses me as a Marine because it makes me nervous and gives me an opportunity as a Skulk to sneak when I don't have silence, or don't have the time to use activate-walk.
That said, I'd like it if building structures sounded more like assembling prefabricated parts.
Something I really liked from Dead Space were the sections where sound was obscured so you could no longer rely on sound cues to warn you of near by aliens.
I'd love to see some of this in NS !
The sections that come to mind are moving through the engineering bay, a tight claustrophobic environment which had these intense, loud machinery noises which from sound alone was like an assault on the senses creating this instantly highly intense environment just from sound alone not to mention the fact that you couldn't tell when u were ganna get jumped.
On the flip side were the vacuum sections where sound was devoid. Again there's the fear of not being able to hear your enemies but a slow build up of tension from the threat of a silent ambush.
Something else which would be great would be music cues for horrific events, such as spotting an Onos, or discovering a hive.
And of course ambient noises, especially ship creeks and moans and the globular sounds of the alien infestation done pretty well in the original.
What would be great would be infestation noises which mix in similar subtle noises that resemble those of the alien player's noises, adding tension when moving through these areas.
Since I believe sound is extremely important, may I suggest that you look at the mod called "The Hidden: source". The environment sounds on one of the levels (like some underground complex) had everyone on their toes, and it didn't matter how many times you saw the same players in the server, they would always make comment on the map saying just how eerie it is. Of course the hidden source is a 1 vs 8 mp game, however, it clearly demonstrates how that even when there is no immediate threat that you can see, you can still feel like something could happen at any time.
The map i'm talking about used industrial sounds, but also a loud bang which at first made me jump...and managed to make me jump whenever I was on edge. It also served a purpose to the hidden player so that he could attack a victim as soon as the loud sounds were playing, so that nobody really knew of the attack or heard a scream/grunt, which made it pretty freaky when you were a player, walking along in a tight column up corridoors, you look back and your buddy is gone...then you hear the taunt "youuuu're NNNEXXXT!" in this grovely angry sounding whisper.
Without the atmospheric sounds, and character sounds, The Hidden: source wouldn't be nearly as scary as it is.
I think that all the suggestions made here so far are excellent, however one suggestion I want to make is the ability to make multiple taunts. There is nothing like stalking prey while taunting them with creepy taunts and watching as they panic right before your eyes.
Other suggestions would be that there be as little music as possible while there is no action, but if there is music, it should be subtle, and should be designed to send chills up the players spine.
Look at the movie called "The Relic" for example. There is a scene at the start of the movie where there are a bunch of dead bodies found, and this screechy crawling sortof music plays. I can't find the exact scene on youtube with the exact same music, but here is an example of it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p383EByvRdc&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p383EByvRdc...feature=related</a> Skip to 4:21 for the actual sound i'm talking about.
That screechy music actually didn't have the orchestral sounds ontop of it at the scene, but instead pulsated from low to high volume like a heartbeat and was a very effective method at sending chills up the spine accompanied with the scene. Dead Space also uses this type of effect in it's music and it works very well...unfortunately dead space isn't a first person game and isn't all that scary when something happens, but the music certainly does keep you on your toes.
My suggestion with the music is that you have some sortof dynamic layered music. I will explain:
You have a base track, which could be nothing but a very subtle high pitch string playing, then when something happens, like you see an enemy, the music would suddenly explode with life by adding a layer of music to the already looped high pitch string sound. Then if the player were to be attacked, then the music would be very rythmic and daunting like it were the fight for the players life.
Now I know this is a bit tricky with mp, and I know that the music could serve as a warning to marine players that they have seen an enemy (even if they can't actually see the enemy), so marines would hear the music and immediately think "ok apparently there is an enemy ahead of me...where?". So this could be one downside to the music playing. However one way to fix this would be to randomly play that same music from time to time just to keep players on their toes, regardless of weather there is anything the marine can see or not, that way marines wouldn't know if the music was triggered by an alien being infront of them, or it was just randomly played.
A system like this would be tricky to implement correctly without it being too intrusive on the gameplay, but it certainly would help add suspense, especially when fighting and having some really fast paced or slow heavy daunting thumping music that basically screams "I'm in trouble here"
The Autechre music above does have some sounds in it which sounds horror like, but the one thing I really dislike in game music is staticy sounding music. This kindof music can be seen in the Killing Floor mod for UT2004. Personally, it makes me think that my speakers are chucking a fit and having some serious distortion issues or something. While the music in Killing Floor was nicely paced and set the pace for action, the static distorted noise was really unpleasant and I wasn't sure whether or not I should turn my speakers off in fear of destroying them.
Classic music from movies such as Aliens is still used today even in the latest movies, but it's rarely used in games. Developers of games are trying to use techno beats, heavy metal and so on to create fear, and adrenaline, and while sometimes it can work for the game, most of the time it doesn't work for the game. Classic horror orchestral music for games is a rarity, and I personally believe it could do wonders for the genre, especially when it's music like in the Aliens films.
Finally, as I said above before, music isn't really that important with a multiplayer game, and can be tricky to pull off correctly, it can either screw up the experience, or make it so much better. If you could manage to get it right, then i'm sure that even without creaking hull sounds, water drops, humming of machinery and buzzing of lights, the gameplay would still have players getting chills up their spines.
Something else which would be great would be music cues for horrific events, such as spotting an Onos, or discovering a hive. <snip><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I like everything else you suggested but to this... no no no and no. I don't want to have drama music blaring everytime I spot a hive or see an Onos.
NS2 isn't a linear get from point A -> B before the baddies kill you so music for incoming horde attacks or big bad dudes I feel won't be appropriate. But suitable ambience effects such as noise of machinery drowning out alien footsteps, or going through a vacuum (or some special lab) of sorts that muffles / mutes sounds so you can't hear things and you get the "oh######Icanthearthemwherearethey" but I wouldn't want noise in there "just because the map maker can".
The ambient sounds should be...ambient. This isn't a single player game. Ambient sounds have HORRIBLE replayability. Keep them extremely quite, indiscernible, or not at all.
Trust me, if you don't then the players will delete them after a month anyways.
Don't know if there's going to be a skulk, but I think without a doubt one of the best sounds in NS1 was the tapping noise that skulks made when crossing metal. It was not too loud, but still creepy and clearly inhuman. I would take that sound and make it sound even crisper. It was one of the most easily distinguishable sounds in the game, at least for me.
Ambient sounds should be subtle and work well together. Imagine walking into a room with a fan and hearing the low repetitive cycling of the fan and a low hum of a motor turning it. You turn immediately to your left because you might have seen a movement. You get closer when all of a sudden a loud hiss of steam gets released through a ventilation system jolting your nerves. That's practically cinematic right there. I don't think loud ambient noises like the steam being released should happen often.. perhaps once every 5 minutes.. infrequent enough that you may pass by that area several times and never hear it.
If possible, I'd like two distinguishable noises to differentiate hitting a target which presumably has lots of armor and one that doesn't. That's *not* to say that you would hear a different noise after hitting an onos which you just stripped of its armor. I meant that high-carpace (therefore high level) aliens would probably reflect taking less direct damage than say a skulk. So a shooting a skulk would make a noise like hitting a piece of meat, hitting an onos would produce a dull absorb noise with perhaps a possibility of hearing a ricochet. It should make you feel like it's going to take a lot of shots to do anything to this beast, as I'd imagine it would be.
Also, I imagine you're going to have some sci-fi noise for the phase gate. A little pet peeve of mine is to use the same noise for both having marines arrive as having them leave. Taking the same noise and reversing it should make it perfectly clear what's happening (skulk could listen by ear for a marine entering the phase gate then leaving again for example).
If it is at all possible, would be nice having some sort of "giveaway" sound that a human or an alien is under 50% life and takes non-lethal damage (taking care not to repeat the sound after every single bullet but only the first time).
Comments
and
aphex twin remixing NIN <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HwcaK6KKlWg"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HwcaK6KKlWg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
i apreaciate well thought out suggestions that hav been posted here keep em commin every one,
When the Marines finally take down all the Hives, a sound starts to play to indicate that all Hives are down and the Marine team is winning. Someone suggested that there be a sound to play when the Alien team has won.
What I suggest is that when the Command Chair gets taken down, some music should start to play pretty much indicating the Marine team is in hell (until another CC is built), or when there is one guy left a "Last Man Standing" sound should play.
Now that you can put in real time sfx it sparked an idea for the fade blink
When start blinking the sound kind of slows down and then speeds up as you accelerate.
Then during blink all sounds that you can hear should have a kind of phaser or flanger effect
and when ending blink everything should slow down, and then speed up to normal again
I think this would really give the impression that you are going really fast and warping through time!
That said, I'd like it if building structures sounded more like assembling prefabricated parts.
I'd love to see some of this in NS !
The sections that come to mind are moving through the engineering bay, a tight claustrophobic environment which had these intense, loud machinery noises which from sound alone was like an assault on the senses creating this instantly highly intense environment just from sound alone not to mention the fact that you couldn't tell when u were ganna get jumped.
On the flip side were the vacuum sections where sound was devoid. Again there's the fear of not being able to hear your enemies but a slow build up of tension from the threat of a silent ambush.
Something else which would be great would be music cues for horrific events, such as spotting an Onos, or discovering a hive.
And of course ambient noises, especially ship creeks and moans and the globular sounds of the alien infestation done pretty well in the original.
What would be great would be infestation noises which mix in similar subtle noises that resemble those of the alien player's noises, adding tension when moving through these areas.
Of course the hidden source is a 1 vs 8 mp game, however, it clearly demonstrates how that even when there is no immediate threat that you can see, you can still feel like something could happen at any time.
The map i'm talking about used industrial sounds, but also a loud bang which at first made me jump...and managed to make me jump whenever I was on edge. It also served a purpose to the hidden player so that he could attack a victim as soon as the loud sounds were playing, so that nobody really knew of the attack or heard a scream/grunt, which made it pretty freaky when you were a player, walking along in a tight column up corridoors, you look back and your buddy is gone...then you hear the taunt "youuuu're NNNEXXXT!" in this grovely angry sounding whisper.
Without the atmospheric sounds, and character sounds, The Hidden: source wouldn't be nearly as scary as it is.
I think that all the suggestions made here so far are excellent, however one suggestion I want to make is the ability to make multiple taunts. There is nothing like stalking prey while taunting them with creepy taunts and watching as they panic right before your eyes.
Other suggestions would be that there be as little music as possible while there is no action, but if there is music, it should be subtle, and should be designed to send chills up the players spine.
Look at the movie called "The Relic" for example. There is a scene at the start of the movie where there are a bunch of dead bodies found, and this screechy crawling sortof music plays. I can't find the exact scene on youtube with the exact same music, but here is an example of it here:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p383EByvRdc&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p383EByvRdc...feature=related</a>
Skip to 4:21 for the actual sound i'm talking about.
That screechy music actually didn't have the orchestral sounds ontop of it at the scene, but instead pulsated from low to high volume like a heartbeat and was a very effective method at sending chills up the spine accompanied with the scene.
Dead Space also uses this type of effect in it's music and it works very well...unfortunately dead space isn't a first person game and isn't all that scary when something happens, but the music certainly does keep you on your toes.
My suggestion with the music is that you have some sortof dynamic layered music.
I will explain:
You have a base track, which could be nothing but a very subtle high pitch string playing, then when something happens, like you see an enemy, the music would suddenly explode with life by adding a layer of music to the already looped high pitch string sound. Then if the player were to be attacked, then the music would be very rythmic and daunting like it were the fight for the players life.
Now I know this is a bit tricky with mp, and I know that the music could serve as a warning to marine players that they have seen an enemy (even if they can't actually see the enemy), so marines would hear the music and immediately think "ok apparently there is an enemy ahead of me...where?". So this could be one downside to the music playing.
However one way to fix this would be to randomly play that same music from time to time just to keep players on their toes, regardless of weather there is anything the marine can see or not, that way marines wouldn't know if the music was triggered by an alien being infront of them, or it was just randomly played.
A system like this would be tricky to implement correctly without it being too intrusive on the gameplay, but it certainly would help add suspense, especially when fighting and having some really fast paced or slow heavy daunting thumping music that basically screams "I'm in trouble here"
The Autechre music above does have some sounds in it which sounds horror like, but the one thing I really dislike in game music is staticy sounding music. This kindof music can be seen in the Killing Floor mod for UT2004.
Personally, it makes me think that my speakers are chucking a fit and having some serious distortion issues or something. While the music in Killing Floor was nicely paced and set the pace for action, the static distorted noise was really unpleasant and I wasn't sure whether or not I should turn my speakers off in fear of destroying them.
Classic music from movies such as Aliens is still used today even in the latest movies, but it's rarely used in games. Developers of games are trying to use techno beats, heavy metal and so on to create fear, and adrenaline, and while sometimes it can work for the game, most of the time it doesn't work for the game. Classic horror orchestral music for games is a rarity, and I personally believe it could do wonders for the genre, especially when it's music like in the Aliens films.
Finally, as I said above before, music isn't really that important with a multiplayer game, and can be tricky to pull off correctly, it can either screw up the experience, or make it so much better. If you could manage to get it right, then i'm sure that even without creaking hull sounds, water drops, humming of machinery and buzzing of lights, the gameplay would still have players getting chills up their spines.
Something else which would be great would be music cues for horrific events, such as spotting an Onos, or discovering a hive.
<snip><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I like everything else you suggested but to this... no no no and no.
I don't want to have drama music blaring everytime I spot a hive or see an Onos.
NS2 isn't a linear get from point A -> B before the baddies kill you so music for incoming horde attacks or big bad dudes I feel won't be appropriate.
But suitable ambience effects such as noise of machinery drowning out alien footsteps, or going through a vacuum (or some special lab) of sorts that muffles / mutes sounds so you can't hear things and you get the "oh######Icanthearthemwherearethey" but I wouldn't want noise in there "just because the map maker can".
Trust me, if you don't then the players will delete them after a month anyways.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xatU9w-nv48" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xatU9w-nv48</a>
Ambient sounds should be subtle and work well together. Imagine walking into a room with a fan and hearing the low repetitive cycling of the fan and a low hum of a motor turning it. You turn immediately to your left because you might have seen a movement. You get closer when all of a sudden a loud hiss of steam gets released through a ventilation system jolting your nerves. That's practically cinematic right there. I don't think loud ambient noises like the steam being released should happen often.. perhaps once every 5 minutes.. infrequent enough that you may pass by that area several times and never hear it.
If possible, I'd like two distinguishable noises to differentiate hitting a target which presumably has lots of armor and one that doesn't. That's *not* to say that you would hear a different noise after hitting an onos which you just stripped of its armor. I meant that high-carpace (therefore high level) aliens would probably reflect taking less direct damage than say a skulk. So a shooting a skulk would make a noise like hitting a piece of meat, hitting an onos would produce a dull absorb noise with perhaps a possibility of hearing a ricochet. It should make you feel like it's going to take a lot of shots to do anything to this beast, as I'd imagine it would be.
Also, I imagine you're going to have some sci-fi noise for the phase gate. A little pet peeve of mine is to use the same noise for both having marines arrive as having them leave. Taking the same noise and reversing it should make it perfectly clear what's happening (skulk could listen by ear for a marine entering the phase gate then leaving again for example).
If it is at all possible, would be nice having some sort of "giveaway" sound that a human or an alien is under 50% life and takes non-lethal damage (taking care not to repeat the sound after every single bullet but only the first time).