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Rec.Autos.Simulators Archive

Modern F1 Engine Sounds

14 posts by 12 people · 23 Jun 2001 18:11 UTC - 03 Jul 2001 03:58 UTC

Skandar 23 Jun 2001 18:11 UTC#176953
I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
Back in '67 the helmets and earplugs were a lot worse, therefor you hear the engine better. GP3 also has bad helmets and earplugs. "Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
How do you know the engine sounds in GPL are more realistic? Jerry Morelock "Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
"Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks! Are you talking about the original engine sounds or the third-party replacements? I think the replacements are great, but the ones that came with the game .... weren't.
In article <[email hidden]>, Skandar wrote: >I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed >previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much >better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks! It's pretty much down to RPM. 15000rpm engines sound more like an insect than a.. snoring lion. Play any GPL engine sound at double speed and you'll hear pretty much what you're hearing in F1RC/GP3 etc. -Jari Please remove SPAMLESS before replying via email. Thank you. -- {~._.~} o Jari Ketola - if.iki@alotek - GPLRank: -5.51 ( Y ) : ``I'm not blipping the throttle. ()~*~() : It's... traction control :)�� (_)-(_) . --Greger Huttu
Most modern F1 sims use digitized recordings of current machines. but when some of those are spinning at up to 22k per minute(alluded to by the Speedvision anchors, last I heard 19krpm was the limit) that is pretty much how they sound...rather weak compared to the full throated bellow of slower spinning engines. One only has to listen to the sounds from a mixed engine race like LeMans. You can close your eyes and tell when the Corvettes are passing by, or the Judd's or other types. With F1, since the formula is the same, about the only difference is how the different manufacturers build their engines to be able to rotate that quickly. That's why the Mercedes/Ilmor in the Mclaren's sounds so high pitched compared to the rest of the field, but all the cars sound like tinny toys compared to car engines of the past, due mostly, to incredible rpms.(nice sentence run-on eh?) dave henrie "Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
youll be amazed. they scream and theres a really low bass line that is lost on tv that literally makes your pants vibrate and your lungs bleed. we dont quite get that in sims. not sure why. pez Skandar <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
It has something to do with the way the sound is modulated while changing revs. Notice that the UBI cars will stutter under wheelspin but the Sierra cars won't. The engine sound is created from a single droning sample that is stored on the hard drive. The sound file is one pitch, or rev, usually a couple of seconds long, where the beginning and end of the file are so close in sound that they can be looped, or played in endless repeats, without noticing where one ends and the next begins. The sound on the disk does not go up or down in pitch. That's the software's job. There is a function in the game that tells the audio engine to play the pitch back at different rates considering how far down the throttle pedal is pushed. I think you can buy those kinds of functions in software parts. Not really sure as I'm not a game developer, by any stretch of the imagination, but I read something somewhere... You get a kit for auto simulation sounds or something. My guess is that UBI either went cheap or tried to make their own. And whether Sierra made their own or not, they have a good audio engine. Imagine how hard it is to make a sound rise steadily in pitch rather than 'step' up. I can't figure out how they do it. (although, I'm not the sharpest cookie in the mill.) I have some samples I made at my local race track that absolutely stun in GPL. In F1RS they sound exactly like the originals, shitty. Which leads me to another factor. Headroom. In digital sound there is a maximum volume that you can not exceed. 0. After 0 there is a lot of gobbledy gook. Bad things happen when 0 is surpassed. So, when summing sounds, one must be careful to leave enough 'headroom' to allow all the channels that are added to combine without exceeding (or even approaching, really) the dreaded 0. Analog circuits are much more forgiving from our perspective. When they are 'clipped' due to excessive levels, we tend to consider the distortion warm. (has to do with harmonics, mostly) When digital distortion happens we tend to dislike it. In games like F1RS and MPRS and F1RC and the EA thing I hear a lot of all the ugly things that can be heard in poor software. Stepping or zipping. Dissonant harmonics. Phasing. Clipping. A general lack of quality all around. Comes from refusing to spend the dough to hire an actual sound guy. People who listen to sounds all day long, and manipulate them every chance they get, really *do* hear things that the common mortal does not. Just like a fighter pilot or chess champion might seem to be on another level, their instincts seem to defy human capability. Intense training has developed their entire being to a point that you and I simply cannot relate to. So, when 'Joe' the programmer hears phasing, he may or may not recognize it, but he sure doesn't know what it is. Without knowing what causes the problem there is no hope of writing or buying software to remedy it. I think my favorite modulation engine is GP3. It's so smooth and accurate in how it follows the pedal. I know I've heard as good or better in arcades but couldn't name them offhand. There are a lot of developers that buy the right tools or hire the right people. Ah well.... you get what you pay for.... and in our case, we get what UBI pays for. -- Mark Jeangerard "Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!
1. Lowest common denominator - In the audio world the key is communication. A product has to reach the intended audience with clarity. If the audience is in their cars on the freeway, the dynamic range must be reduced to only a few dB to be understood. Sim audio must work on the second worst sounding audio reproduction units in the world. The typical computer audio playback system ranks just barely above TV, which is the bottom of the barrel. Extremely reduced frequency and dynamic ranges, plus high levels of distortion and noise don't give developers the incentive to produce high quality audio in their programs. Plus, lot of low end could put a lot of cheesy speakers out of commission when the cheesy amps driving them square like mad. (Distort in a very heat inducing manner.) 2. Physics - While a good audio engineer may suspend your disbelief and articulate a performance perfectly to you and millions of others who were never there to witness the original, he/she can never make a pair of little plastic diaphragms that fit in your ear sound like a Steinway. It's not physically possible to recreate the energy through them. -- Mark Jeangerard "Alexpez" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:9hav00$99m$[email hidden]... > youll be amazed. > > they scream and theres a really low bass line that is lost on tv that > literally makes your pants vibrate and your lungs bleed. > > we dont quite get that in sims. > > not sure why. > > pez > Skandar <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks! > >
I learned this first hand the first time I saw top fuel cars drag racing in person. I had been watching on TV for years but there is NO way that television can even come remotely close to capturing what these things sound and FEEL like. It is absolutely something that has to be experienced. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Todd Walker http://twalker.d2g.com Nikon Coolpix 950 http://twalker.d2g.com/galleries.htm DIGITAL CAMERA REVIEW SITES: http://www.dpreview.com http://www.steves-digicams.com http://www.digitalkamera.de -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- On Tue, 26 Jun 2001 23:56:10 -0600, "mark jeangerard" <[email hidden]> wrote:
Quoted text (14 lines)>1. Lowest common denominator - In the audio world the key is communication. A product has >to reach the intended audience with clarity. If the audience is in their cars on the >freeway, the dynamic range must be reduced to only a few dB to be understood. Sim audio >must work on the second worst sounding audio reproduction units in the world. The typical >computer audio playback system ranks just barely above TV, which is the bottom of the >barrel. Extremely reduced frequency and dynamic ranges, plus high levels of distortion and >noise don't give developers the incentive to produce high quality audio in their programs. >Plus, lot of low end could put a lot of cheesy speakers out of commission when the cheesy >amps driving them square like mad. (Distort in a very heat inducing manner.) > >2. Physics - While a good audio engineer may suspend your disbelief and articulate a >performance perfectly to you and millions of others who were never there to witness the >original, he/she can never make a pair of little plastic diaphragms that fit in your ear >sound like a Steinway. It's not physically possible to recreate the energy through them.
I had never been to a car race before but I happened to be near Daytona the week of the 500 a few years ago. I couldn't get tickets to the Winston Cup race (there's a shock) so I went to the Busch race. The sound those cars make could only be duplicated (maybe) in a Dolby-equipped movie theatre. No home speakers can do it justice. The earth shakes. Along the same topic, no "speed shot" on TV can compare to standing a foot from the fence watching those cars come at you at 180+. I could not stop myself from taking a step back. Your body is *convinced* you're gonna get hit, and it wants OUT of there! "Todd Walker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I learned this first hand the first time I saw top fuel cars drag > racing in person. I had been watching on TV for years but there is NO > way that television can even come remotely close to capturing what > these things sound and FEEL like. It is absolutely something that has > to be experienced.
My apologies to all! I should have been more specific. After I made this post, I did a few laps in F1RS. I should have done this prior to the post. You are all right. I believe that I'm using a third party engine sample, however I will try to better describe what sounds a bit unrealistic to me on my system. When I barely press the throttle, the sounds of the increasing engine RPMs seem to have a stair- step effect in F1RS (I'm not talking about the shift between gears). On the other hand, when you stomp the gas and keep the throttle down, the sounds are fairly realistic. It just seems that the engine sounds in GPL respond perfectly to the amount of pressure on the throttle and appear to have a smoother sound curve. I hope this makes more sense. Thanks to all! Larry On Tue, 26 Jun 2001 13:23:06 GMT, "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote:
Quoted text (21 lines)> Most modern F1 sims use digitized recordings of current machines. but >when some of those are spinning at up to 22k per minute(alluded to by the >Speedvision anchors, last I heard 19krpm was the limit) that is pretty much >how they sound...rather weak compared to the full throated bellow of slower >spinning engines. > One only has to listen to the sounds from a mixed engine race like LeMans. >You can close your eyes and tell when the Corvettes are passing by, or the >Judd's or other types. >With F1, since the formula is the same, about the only difference is how the >different manufacturers build their engines to be able to rotate that >quickly. That's why the Mercedes/Ilmor in the Mclaren's sounds so high >pitched compared to the rest of the field, but all the cars sound like tinny >toys compared to car engines of the past, due mostly, to incredible >rpms.(nice sentence run-on eh?) >dave henrie >"Skandar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed >> previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much >> better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks! >
In article <[email hidden]>, Todd Walker <[email hidden]> wrote: >I learned this first hand the first time I saw top fuel cars drag >racing in person. I had been watching on TV for years but there is NO >way that television can even come remotely close to capturing what >these things sound and FEEL like. It is absolutely something that has >to be experienced. Yep. Top fuel and funny cars are in a league by themselves where sound is concerned. Standing along the fence at a professional drag race is something that no words can describe. The exhaust plumes from the nitro cars are so powerful these days that they literally feel like shock waves pushing against you when the cars pass by. -Bill
You should be in my room with the sound turned up on my 8 speaker 3 subwoofer system with forcefeedback wheel and the intensor seat turned up (throw in the 3d glasses).. load up GPL, youd think you were there in real life..... or damn close to it! hehe.. I know im crazy..... PassedYa Alexpez wrote:
Quoted text (15 lines)> youll be amazed. > > they scream and theres a really low bass line that is lost on tv that > literally makes your pants vibrate and your lungs bleed. > > we dont quite get that in sims. > > not sure why. > > pez > Skandar <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > I'm sorry to ask about a topic that I'm sure has been discussed > > previously. But, why is it that the engine sounds in GPL are so much > > better and realistic than in a sim like F1RS, F1RC etc.? Thanks!

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