Sound Design

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Hey guys,
I just started playing Cyberpunk 2077 again after a long hiatus and need to make a comment.
Somewhere along the line a number of sound effects were added to the game that are just bloody awful.
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings or damage self esteem, okay?
I'm old, cranky, ex-military and not used to holding people's hands.
With that said the sound effect added to the camera literally gives me a migraine.
I don't understand it's purpose. (Camera gears are so quiet in the real world that they are, for all intents and purposes, inaudible.)
This is an awful, ridiculous, unnecessary sound effect that actually makes me wonder if you hate your players.
When you inflict sounds like this one upon your players you really need to consider what it's going to be like to listen to them for an extended period of time.
Adding a high-pitched, anxiety and stress producing whine to a situation that doesn't even require a sound effect seems like a wasteful and counterproductive use of your resources to me. Especially when the game is literally rampant with bugs and annoying little glitches that could really use attention.
I guess that's it.
Please don't ban me for the lack of warm fuzzies in my post.
Thank you.
 
I am not sure what noise you are talking about. I just took this and tried to listen for any camera noises and the game is virtually silent. The second I go into camera mode the game hushes all background noises. Are you on PC or console, Perhaps you have a bad install or can you tell me how to recreate the sound?

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Are you talking about the scanner (the view with all the extra info / hacks in). I can't say I'd particularly noticed the noise but have the game uninstalled for now. Have you checked you haven't got any strange EQ settings set on your system? It's also possible you may be hearing the electronic noise of your system itself being picked up by the audio wire, although maybe not if you say it happens specifically with one action in the game.
 
Frankly I'm amazed that only one person knows what I'm talking about.
Yes, when hacking a camera and looking at the world from inside that camera there is a high-pitched whine whenever I change the direction the camera is facing. That sound is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I feel it in the middle of my skull and it makes playing any kind of netrunner virtually impossible as it gives me migraine headaches. It also serves no purpose as, in the real world, cameras are quiet.
There are a number of sounds like that one that are new (err... for me) and many of them are just as awful. The crafting noise is another. Fortunately most things seem to be able to be crafted en masse now so it's a small complaint but I have memories of spending quite a substantial amount of time upgrading crafting components and, if I had to listen to that bloody noise throughout all of it, I suspect I simply wouldn't.
 
so the noise you are talking about is in this clip? Does your noise sound the same as this when crafting?

 

R001c

Forum regular
SInce your old and cranky.(I'm getting there myself) are you perhaps going a bit deaf to certain frequencies so that you instinctively turn the volume up only to find the frequencies, your not deaf to, start to grate?
There are some problems with sound levels on this game but they have done a lot of work on the soundscape for 1.5. I can hear the noise you talk about. It helps that the cameras make noise because it warns you that one is nearby its not there to annoy you. Having it make noise when you move it is probably for dramatic effect in the same way that Starwars space battles make noise instead of being entirely silent as they would be in real life. They have been adding more sounds. including things like enemy footsteps and city noises. New barks for npc's too. Things likes the swishing of your clothes(until your stealth and level improves when they will get quieter) The balance is still out in places but the only thing I find grating is when you have the radio and some combat music going on at the same time or even worse 3 radio stations playing 3 different songs and the combat music. The sound you get when crafting something doesn't seem obnoxious to me but its all subjective in the end.
Also I'm pretty sure the people at CDPR would like to get to know people first before they decide to hate them ;) .
 
Frankly I'm amazed that only one person knows what I'm talking about.
Judging from the OP, i'm more inclined to say you explained it poorly the first time.
However, now that the problem is laid bare, I can imagine the game slightly overemphasizes the workings of the mechanical design. But I, like some others, never noticed nor experienced it as hindering to the extend you describe
Not sure if you are able to record from an external source what you are hearing, because as it stands its very difficult to ascertain what the real issue is.
Yes, when hacking a camera and looking at the world from inside that camera there is a high-pitched whine whenever I change the direction the camera is facing. That sound is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I feel it in the middle of my skull and it makes playing any kind of netrunner virtually impossible as it gives me migraine headaches. It also serves no purpose as, in the real world, cameras are quiet.
Judging from this I'm inclined to think you may experience something which is not intended by the game.
There are a number of sounds like that one that are new (err... for me) and many of them are just as awful. The crafting noise is another. Fortunately most things seem to be able to be crafted en masse now so it's a small complaint but I have memories of spending quite a substantial amount of time upgrading crafting components and, if I had to listen to that bloody noise throughout all of it, I suspect I simply wouldn't.
You mean the noise when the bar fills? Hmm very peculiar.
 
SInce your old and cranky.(I'm getting there myself) are you perhaps going a bit deaf to certain frequencies so that you instinctively turn the volume up only to find the frequencies, your not deaf to, start to grate?
There are some problems with sound levels on this game but they have done a lot of work on the soundscape for 1.5. I can hear the noise you talk about. It helps that the cameras make noise because it warns you that one is nearby its not there to annoy you. Having it make noise when you move it is probably for dramatic effect in the same way that Starwars space battles make noise instead of being entirely silent as they would be in real life. They have been adding more sounds. including things like enemy footsteps and city noises. New barks for npc's too. Things likes the swishing of your clothes(until your stealth and level improves when they will get quieter) The balance is still out in places but the only thing I find grating is when you have the radio and some combat music going on at the same time or even worse 3 radio stations playing 3 different songs and the combat music. The sound you get when crafting something doesn't seem obnoxious to me but its all subjective in the end.
Also I'm pretty sure the people at CDPR would like to get to know people first before they decide to hate them ;) .
I was too polite to raise this, but I do wonder if either there is a problem with the OP's EQ, or they may be going deaf, because the actual sounds do not correspond to what the OP is describing. Alternatively if, say, the OP is playing with headphones, the headphones may be too bright (ie they are balanced to the higher pitches, which can become unbearable very quickly). But there are, if I remember rightly, different audio settings for different speaker types in CP.

On hearing loss, classically, hearing is lost as you say at different frequencies, which can cause other frequencies to feel overemphasised. The security camera noise is useful to know that the cameras are there -- it is necessary for gameplay -- and is not particularly high pitched.

PS if you want to check for the opposite, try Elder Scrolls Online, where the sound designers themselves were plainly going deaf. The bass is ludicrously excessive and will probably cause hearing loss.
 
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Yeah camera sounds (the one that activates when you are detected and follow your movement) are one of these which annoy me as well. I understand that they put them there so players could be aware of their function or presence.

There is bunch of other sounds which are just tiring as hell like noises when reading shards. Makes you want to close it right away on headphones. I dont really like all those clicks when picking up loot (and one more if you automatically dismanting it). Its just too many high pitch sounds. In game I switched off detection sound but there is almost everything I could do from menu options.
 
I think that the sound design in general did a fantastic job and I find Cyberpunk 2077 to be one of the lesser tiring games.

Hey guys,
I just started playing Cyberpunk 2077 again after a long hiatus and need to make a comment.
Somewhere along the line a number of sound effects were added to the game that are just bloody awful.
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings or damage self esteem, okay?
I'm old, cranky, ex-military and not used to holding people's hands.
With that said the sound effect added to the camera literally gives me a migraine.
I don't understand it's purpose. (Camera gears are so quiet in the real world that they are, for all intents and purposes, inaudible.)
This is an awful, ridiculous, unnecessary sound effect that actually makes me wonder if you hate your players.
When you inflict sounds like this one upon your players you really need to consider what it's going to be like to listen to them for an extended period of time.
Adding a high-pitched, anxiety and stress producing whine to a situation that doesn't even require a sound effect seems like a wasteful and counterproductive use of your resources to me. Especially when the game is literally rampant with bugs and annoying little glitches that could really use attention.
I guess that's it.
Please don't ban me for the lack of warm fuzzies in my post.
Thank you.
If you're talking about the frequency filter when holding right-click while listening to dialogues, then I totally agree, this sound effect is very annoying. Not only does the effect make the affected dialogues sound metallic (tin-boxy, wiry, cold, ice-picky, not sure what's the best word to describe it), it also boosts the affected audio by adding a short-delayed echo layer on it. This echo, in combination with EQ or other effects, probably amplifies some frequencies that weren't problematic in the original audio.


My advice to the sound designer:

  • Rule #1: Never ever boost frequencies when mixing or balancing audio. Instead, lower the frequencies that are not in use. I'm assuming that a high cut at 8 KHz and a low cut at 600 Hz should do the job.
  • You don't need to boost the volume if the audio already became more focused due to low and high cuts. The audio will cut through the mix naturally. You just need to find the right spot for the range, and the range shouldn't be too small.
  • You could put an additional and stronger high-cut on the wet echo itself, e.g. at 1000Hz.
  • BTW I think that room echos on radio music are also too loud, e.g. when being inside the Afterlife. This feels especially weird when wearing headphones.
 
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Sound design in film/tv/videogames usually prioritises safety, clarity and legibility above realism. Sound is often used to telegraph things the viewer may not be able to see or is not aware of, so the sound draws your attention to it.

A security camera with an unrealistic whirring/humming noise is a sensory trigger that draws your attention to the fact there is a camera nearby, even if you cannot see it. This tells you you should be careful with your movement because you may be spotted.

The more you delve into sound design the more you realise how much of it is a lie for the sake of the audience - to help them anticipate things that have not occurred yet, to evoke a sense perception they are familiar with, to not permanently damage their hearing etc.

In Game of Thrones when riders are galloping towards Winterfell, that is the sound of a dude in a sandbox clomping coconut shells and rattling a bike chain 10cm from a condensor mic. Then it is cleverly mixed with the sound of the same dude smashing celery sticks with a hammer, to evoke the sound of hooves churning plants and soil.

If you actually tried to record the sound of real horses galloping at a distance of 200m on a hill in Northern Ireland, the only thing you would hear is wind distortion. Most people never rode a horse in their life, let alone while wearing chainmail. Most of us have never heard the sound of a hundred LARPers marching towards us, re-enacting a fantasy battle.

So we go with the coconuts and the sandbox because it has auditory clarity and is evocative of sounds we are familiar with from decades of film and television. The sound alone tells us what is happening, even if we cant see whats happening. This is the art of foley.

Same thing with gunfire and explosions in videogames/film/television. The shockwave of a real explosion 3 metres away from your head (assuming it doesn't kill you) will almost certainly permanently damage your hearing. Yeah, we aren't about making our audience deaf for the sake of realism. They don't go to the cinema to experience chronic injury.
 
Get detected in any gig by security camera and you will constantly hear extra sounds they make as they follow your movement or detect you again.
 
Sound design in film/tv/videogames usually prioritises safety, clarity and legibility above realism. Sound is often used to telegraph things the viewer may not be able to see or is not aware of, so the sound draws your attention to it.

A security camera with an unrealistic whirring/humming noise is a sensory trigger that draws your attention to the fact there is a camera nearby, even if you cannot see it. This tells you you should be careful with your movement because you may be spotted.

The more you delve into sound design the more you realise how much of it is a lie for the sake of the audience - to help them anticipate things that have not occurred yet, to evoke a sense perception they are familiar with, to not permanently damage their hearing etc.

In Game of Thrones when riders are galloping towards Winterfell, that is the sound of a dude in a sandbox clomping coconut shells and rattling a bike chain 10cm from a condensor mic. Then it is cleverly mixed with the sound of the same dude smashing celery sticks with a hammer, to evoke the sound of hooves churning plants and soil.

If you actually tried to record the sound of real horses galloping at a distance of 200m on a hill in Northern Ireland, the only thing you would hear is wind distortion. Most people never rode a horse in their life, let alone while wearing chainmail. Most of us have never heard the sound of a hundred LARPers marching towards us, re-enacting a fantasy battle.

So we go with the coconuts and the sandbox because it has auditory clarity and is evocative of sounds we are familiar with from decades of film and television. The sound alone tells us what is happening, even if we cant see whats happening. This is the art of foley.

Same thing with gunfire and explosions in videogames/film/television. The shockwave of a real explosion 3 metres away from your head (assuming it doesn't kill you) will almost certainly permanently damage your hearing. Yeah, we aren't about making our audience deaf for the sake of realism. They don't go to the cinema to experience chronic injury.
I think it's all about building tension in contrasts and finding space for information that either supports or develops an idea. Sounds don't need to be realistic as long as they seem logical, either based on human experience and imagination, physics/math, or some sort of substitute. e.g. a gun shot could get replaced by light effects in a muted scene, if timed correctly. sound waves or light waves, in the end it doesn't matter as long as it contributes to the release of tension.
 
Get detected in any gig by security camera and you will constantly hear extra sounds they make as they follow your movement or detect you again.
Just shoot (destroy) the cameras or deactivate them if the sound is too annoying :)
(I generally deactivate them, but during Johnny memories, you can't. So generally, I simply destroy them directly, a single bullet is enough^^)
 
I recorded a video in the interest of clarification. (Note: if you're watching this in standard, ie. low res, it's because the video hasn't finished processing.)
Otherwise, thanks for your interest. Cheers:
Maybe because my "poor sound system" (just my TV^^), but it seem much louder on your video than I "feel" it when I play (and maybe I'm also less sensitive to that noise^^)
 
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