Question about current state of SOUND and LIGHTS development

[REDEYE_CVW-66]

Sorry if this has already been discussed (Which I am sure it has, given the enormous amount of posts and threads).

 

The F-14 is one of my absolute favs, both in RL and DCS. I think that HB raised the bar on so many levels, and I am incredibly thankful for their dedication and effort. So do not read this as complaining;)

 

I know the sound has been discussed before, but are there any answers from the devs on the path ahead. Currently, while the overall sound is pretty decent, there are still some issues.

 

1. When starting up, a very noticable CUT as the main engine sounds comes in (No fade, it just suddenly starts playing after the spool up. It is very noticable and not very slick.

 

2. The extreme range of the sound when at idle (Being able to hear the idle aircraft for miles and miles away as your head is still stuck in the intake.

 

3. The flyby sounds, which are both bugged (In terms of sounds suddenly cutting in) and also a bit sub-par when compared to other premiere modules.

 

Are these things that are just accepted as 'done' or are the plans to tune this?

 

Second, the LIGHTS.

 

Ingorant as I am, I never got why some DCS modules have great use of external lights, while others don't. Is the tecnology and shaders simply not shared? I have noticed that Razbam has gone from having the absolute worst exterior lights, to now having the very best of them all. Meanwhile, the lights of the Tomcat are only visible of you are actively staring at them, and I frequently need to zoom in and check if they are in fact on. Any words on these as well?

 

So to sum up: LOVE the aircraft, but these flaws are very noticable (Though still 'minor' depending on your area of interest), but some improvements here would really be the icing on the cake.

 

Cheers.

[draconus]

3. The flyby sounds, which are both bugged (In terms of sounds suddenly cutting in)

You mean the flyby over Mach 1?

[Belphe]

You mean the flyby over Mach 1?

 

I see what you did there :megalol:

[IronMike]

With sounds we are running into one very distinctive problem for us, and that is that DCS has a glass ceiling for the amount of sounds you can have. Because Jester adds several thousands of sound files on his own, this is a problem we have to deal with in the Tomcat. One of these results is the flyby sound that cuts in the first time you do it. It is a workaround we had to implement to prevent a very nasty CTD when hitting the sound limit.

 

That said, we are looking to improve what we can, but sounds in general are of a lower priority atm.

 

The lights are higher up on the list, but something we did not get around to doing yet. I'll see if we can push it a bit.

[REDEYE_CVW-66]

Thanks for the reply!

[Nealius]

Is there an example of this "cutting in" during flyby sounds? I've never experienced it.

[IronMike]

Is there an example of this "cutting in" during flyby sounds? I've never experienced it.

 

 

 

 

the first time you press F3 the sound starts with a delay, that is what I meant with "cutting in".

[Nealius]

Ah, I thought that delay was part of the ED update where they faded-in sounds when switching between views.

[RustBelt]

With sounds we are running into one very distinctive problem for us, and that is that DCS has a glass ceiling for the amount of sounds you can have. Because Jester adds several thousands of sound files on his own, this is a problem we have to deal with in the Tomcat. One of these results is the flyby sound that cuts in the first time you do it. It is a workaround we had to implement to prevent a very nasty CTD when hitting the sound limit.

 

That said, we are looking to improve what we can, but sounds in general are of a lower priority atm.

 

The lights are higher up on the list, but something we did not get around to doing yet. I'll see if we can push it a bit.

 

Oh, I thought Jester was riding on a connection as an independent component interfacing through the "intercom". Like the ATC. Or like in \\civilian Sim Product originally written by Bruce A.// how add-ons do copilot mods through FSUIPC.

 

The whole thing is baked into the main aircraft module?

[IronMike]

Oh, I thought Jester was riding on a connection as an independent component interfacing through the "intercom". Like the ATC. Or like in \\civilian Sim Product originally written by Bruce A.// how add-ons do copilot mods through FSUIPC.

 

The whole thing is baked into the main aircraft module?

 

 

Yes, one could say it is "baked" into the main aircraft module, it does not need any intercom etc, since Jester is singleplayer only (means he does not need to communicate with a RIO). We don't use FSUIPC or anything like that.

 

It is also not that all files get used, or that the glass ceiling is hit by the amount of files you have in the module, but how many sound files are being played at the same time. So for example around a busy airport we'd run into the issue earlier than somewhere out over the desert on your own if that makes sense.

 

For the time being the solution we got is the best compromise regarding everything connected to sound. We might retouch on sound slightly here and there, but no major changes are planned for now.

[QuiGon]

The lights are higher up on the list, but something we did not get around to doing yet. I'll see if we can push it a bit.

Yes please. The nav lights as well as missing cockpit lighting (RIO white flood light!!) are one of the more annoying things of the Tomcat for me :thumbup:

[RustBelt]

Yes, one could say it is "baked" into the main aircraft module, it does not need any intercom etc, since Jester is singleplayer only (means he does not need to communicate with a RIO). We don't use FSUIPC or anything like that.

 

It is also not that all files get used, or that the glass ceiling is hit by the amount of files you have in the module, but how many sound files are being played at the same time. So for example around a busy airport we'd run into the issue earlier than somewhere out over the desert on your own if that makes sense.

 

For the time being the solution we got is the best compromise regarding everything connected to sound. We might retouch on sound slightly here and there, but no major changes are planned for now.

 

Oh it's Juggling sounds for the DCS world Core side of things. Yea, we get what we pay for with the DCS World core.

[Donut]

I am all for more/improved Tomcat sounds and less Jester. He can be a bit much at times, especially while refueling. I would rather Jester voice only mission critical information.

[BonerCat]

I am all for more/improved Tomcat sounds and less Jester. He can be a bit much at times, especially while refueling. I would rather Jester voice only mission critical information.

 

The "boring jester" option is (or at the very least was advertised to be. Never checked for it myself) in special options, and should get you what you're looking for

[Donut]

The "boring jester" option is (or at the very least was advertised to be. Never checked for it myself) in special options, and should get you what you're looking for

 

I am not seeing that option...

[draconus]

The "boring jester" option is (or at the very least was advertised to be. Never checked for it myself) in special options, and should get you what you're looking for

http://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/dcs.html?highlight=boring#hb-dcs-f-14-specific-configuration-options

Boring Jester

Disables Jester embellishments and jokes. Currently not implemented.

[Mr. Big.Biggs]

+1!! Put a sock in jester and use the bandwidth for other issues. Yes, he appears to be mission critical for ops but 99% of his jabber is useless. With all those who complain about incorrect rivet spacing and an exterior view with a shadow or two amiss, I can’t believe it’s even still considered appropriate. SUCH an immersive killer.

Great looking model tho and you can bet that if I ever get basics figured like how to sign in, create an account ect, I’ll give her a shot.

Keep up the excellent work!

[DD_Fenrir]

+1!! Put a sock in jester and use the bandwidth for other issues. Yes, he appears to be mission critical for ops but 99% of his jabber is useless. With all those who complain about incorrect rivet spacing and an exterior view with a shadow or two amiss, I can’t believe it’s even still considered appropriate. SUCH an immersive killer.

Great looking model tho and you can bet that if I ever get basics figured like how to sign in, create an account ect, I’ll give her a shot.

Keep up the excellent work!

 

And yet there a many more people here who think Jester is a marvellous feat of software design, and while he still has some rough edges, is a vital and immersion enhancing feature for SP operation of the F-14.

 

Given that you appear to not even own the module I'm wondering how you think your opinion has any weight here.

 

(By the way, if you did own the module you'd know there is an option to silence Jester. Ain't choice grand?)

[Cornelius]

And yet there a many more people here who think Jester is a marvellous feat of software design, and while he still has some rough edges, is a vital and immersion enhancing feature for SP operation of the F-14.

 

:thumbup:

[Nealius]

Tell Jester to go silent before plugging up. Problem solved.

[IronMike]

The refueling sound spool off bug is unfortunately still something happening from time to time. We thought we fixed it, but it seems the fix only reduced how often it is happening. Hopefully we can fix this fully some time soon.

 

As for Jester, there won't be less of him, only more in the future, even if not very much more, but still more. He's a crucial feature and while some few do not like his humor (not everyone will always like everything), the vast majority's feedback is incredibly positive and appreciative both of his functionality and pop culture persona, which basically exists to set a cultural frame for the time of the Tomcat. Those who lived through the 80s will likely understand it a bit more than those who came afterwards, but be that how it may, we of course stand by him very much.

[Manuel_108]

Regarding the sounds, I asked on the A-10 forum if I could turn down the switch sounds on the F-14 and other 3rd party aircraft as well, now that we have an extra switches sound slider.

 

btd from the ED team answered:

 

"By default - No. They will have to make minor edits."

 

Unfortunately, I cannot try it out for a couple of weeks as I am away from my PC for that time, so I just kindly want to ask, are these minor edits planned at the moment?

[BuzzU]

Mike.......Would using Voice Attack add to the sound problem?

[IronMike]

Mike.......Would using Voice Attack add to the sound problem?

 

 

No, not at all. Voice attack just sends inputs after getting the voice command from you, it doesnt add sounds, and for those game where it does, like Elite Dangerous, those voice files also run outside the game.

[IronMike]

Regarding the sounds, I asked on the A-10 forum if I could turn down the switch sounds on the F-14 and other 3rd party aircraft as well, now that we have an extra switches sound slider.

 

btd from the ED team answered:

 

"By default - No. They will have to make minor edits."

 

Unfortunately, I cannot try it out for a couple of weeks as I am away from my PC for that time, so I just kindly want to ask, are these minor edits planned at the moment?

 

 

Not at the moment, no. We'll take a look though if that is possible in our case, or if it might break things.