Sound quality lower in comparison to the original games

[TheNoseKnows]

Some sound effects in OpenRCT2 are noticeably more distorted when compared to the same sounds from the original games. For example, the game doesn't seem to handle rollercoaster sounds very well, including the high-pitched screams of the passengers. They sound a little distorted, like an old tape recording with static noise (popping and crackling). Simply moving the camera around, thereby changing the position of the coaster sounds via the stereo effect, is enough to trigger the popping and crackling. Also, the balloon pop is normally very distinctive and sharp, but in OpenRCT2 it sounds really soft, as if someone is tearing apart a loaf of bread. It's like I'm hearing a completely different sound effect.

I've tested the game using my motherboard's onboard Realtek HD sound as well as my X-Fi Titanium HD sound card. Both produced the same results. I'm running Windows 10 1903, and OpenRCT2 version 0.2.3-4170255.

Edited July 19, 2019 by TheNoseKnows

[Gymnasiast]

I recently noticed this too when I installed it on a friend's laptop. It only appears to affect Windows.

[TheNoseKnows]

I've played around with some older versions of the game, and found out that sound issues such as balloons not 'popping' properly are unrelated to the crackling and poppling. Instead, it turns out that the way certain sounds are played differ between 0.1.1 and 0.1.2. All OpenRCT2 versions from 0.1.2 and onwards no longer play sounds the same way as in the original games.

While sounds play as expected in 0.1.1 and below, in 0.1.2 and above, some sounds (e.g. the opening of menus) play at full volume, while other sounds are much softer, or in some cases significantly different, as in the case of the balloon popping.

This video I uploaded will hopefully explain what I mean:

While I can restore the softer sounds to their original volume, the qualitative nature of the sounds remain the same (so the balloon will still sound like torn bread, just louder), while any sounds that were being correctly played become unbearably loud.

Edited August 10, 2019 by TheNoseKnows

[TheNoseKnows]

This has also been reported elsewhere: https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/issues/7443

Quote

click sound "TOCK TOCK"
and
installing object sound "BOOK BOOK" is smaller than vanillla version.

He's obviously not a native speaker, and duncanspumpkin didn't really understand him.

He's using "tock" and "book" as onomatopoeias, and by "smaller", he actually means "lower". The two sounds you hear when you construct a ride are the higher-pitched "tock" from pressing the track piece icon in the construction menu and the lower-pitched "book" from the game placing down the selected track pieces. You can hear a clear difference in sound levels between 0.1.1 and 0.1.2+.

When comparing the original game with 0.1.2+, that difference is even more extreme. I've attached two sound files to demonstrate. In the one from RCT2 , you can hear the title music playing at a reasonable volume that doesn't drown out the clicking sound from the scenario select menu. Afterwards, you can clearly hear a ride being constructed. In the one from OpenRCT2 0.2.3, the title music almost completely drowns out the clicking sounds from the scenario select menu. Afterwards, you can only hear muted sounds of a ride being constructed. However, when I go into the ride menu to demolish the coaster, the sounds play at full volume, which is very jarring.

Basically, when game volume is set at 100, some sounds are far too loud, and some are far too quiet. Lowering the game volume will only serve to make sound effects like coaster construction impercetible. Likewise, increasing system volume to compensate for the quiet sounds will result in intolerably loud sounds elsewhere in the game.

RCT2.wav OpenRCT2.wav

Edited August 20, 2019 by TheNoseKnows