Sound Quality

A bit of backstory.

I started playing CoH on a craptacular tower way back in issue 3. I had the graphics set fairly low. I was using basic speakers, less than a gig of RAM, and a slooow processor.

As time progressed I purchased and upgraded several PCs, the first thing I installed in every one of them was City of Heroes. Every time I'd upgrade the processor, the RAM, and the Graphics cards whenever I got the chance or saw one on the cheap.

But only today did I ever think to, or bother, upgrading the speakers. I just purchased a generic 2.1 channel speaker system off the shelf for about $30 (less than any other upgrade I've ever performed, mind you!) and on firing off my first punch with super-strength I was in -love- with the sound quality.

Was it -always- this deep and vibrant before? Or is it only recently that sub-woofers and other accoutrements of audio bliss were able to be fully utilized by City of Heroes? Regardless of the answer to this question I offer heartfelt thanks to the Dev team and the sound engineers for their tireless work, and gleefully inform them of how happy it makes me!

-Rachel-

Ayup, the sounds have always been like that. With I6 they added the option for Surround Sound, but other than that what you've been hearing has been unchanged for 6 years. Well... lots of sound effects have been moved and swapped around, but many haven't changed, like super strength.

It's interesting you bring this up, as I feel that not enough people realize just how important good audio can be. I've seen people spend thousands on ever-bigger computers, hundreds on xbox hueg monitors, but still maintain the same set of ugly lumps of plastic sitting either side of that embarrassingly massive monitor, spitting out what can only be assumed to be an imitation of sound.

Heck, lots of people just mute the game and have loud music on full blast, oftentimes mangled through those speakers that were inherited from the very first pre-built PC they had. It makes me sad.

Me, I've got myself a Creative surround sound system and an X-Fi. Both cost me about £60 each ($100 USD). I bought them, oh... so many years ago. The X-Fi was 2005, the speakers a few years before that, and I have never had to replace them. This sound system was an investment. That X-Fi has remained in my PC, unchanged and undaunted, for five years.

And when I tell people to spend $70 on a sound card, they look at me like I'm some kind of diseased mutant with his face melting off. ;_;

k. That'll be the next thing I upgrade then.

i've had a 5.1 surround sound set of speakers for years now. It can be cool:

• Explosions - BOOOOOM says the sub woofer!
• Enemies - hey, i can hear foot steps on some maps. Where is that dude shooting at me, oh the sound is behind and to the left.
• The Atlas Park plaza theme music (yes i know its a "canned track) - still sounds very nice on 6 speakers.
• Glowies - yep their sound is postional as well - ahh its above ahead and to the right.

As someone who basically has to duck spousal aggro to even play this stinkin' game, I've grown accustomed to playing in silence.

If you think that the sound quality is good now, you should take a peek at the I17 Open Beta. It's not just the graphics that got an overhaul. A lot of things that used to be silent have sounds now, and the quality in general has been improved.

You can hear the rustle of paper bags when citizens carrying groceries walk by, flight has a new speed-sensitive sound effect, cars honk and have engine sounds specific to the models, and many maaaany more. I am really appreciative of the attention sound got this Issue.

One thing I'm going to say with utmost certainty is this: Get a decent sound card and a decent set of surround speakers. EVERYTHING sounds better with those.

Years ago, I got a set of Creative Desktop Theatre as a present, I think for my birthday. They were a fairly low-powere 5.1 surround setup, but they made things sound a LOT better. Years later, they broke down beyond repair, so I got me a new set of surround speakers that were much bigger, with a subwoofer the sound of a small fridge, with its actual speaker pointing at the floor. That made a WORLD of difference. Just cranking my music up a few notches became a religious experience, and everything in City of Heroes became just amazing.

I still play with the in-game music off, simply because it's not good enough and I occasionally play my own, but I never mute my actual sound. The quality is just too good for that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.