User:Spheroidite/Video game car audio: Difference between revisions

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The Codemasters audio team recorded real Formula 1 engines and transmissions using DPA lavs and Zoom H4 recorders onboard Force India and Mercedes GP cars, in a Scuderia Ferrari engine dyno, and track-side during races. They stitched together these various recordings into cohesive files able to modulate from 5 to 18k rpm. F1 test driver Anthony Davidson helped accurately tune the audio. The AI-cars employ a simplified audio model due to CPU restrictions.^[2]

To recreate authentic car sounds, the developers recorded nearly 50 real rally cars by placing up to 10 microphones in the engine bay, at the intake, above the exhaust, and inside the cabin. The audio mix depends on the player's camera location, and also the surrounding environment due to modelling of reverb on each stage.^[3] The audio team also captured details such as gravel kick-up, waste-gate chatter, and the whine of straight-cut transmissions. They primarily recorded on-track rather than on a dyno in order to capture off-throttle deceleration.^[4][5]

For car audio, the team used up to 16 mics mounted in- and outside real cars. Changes such as camera position and damage affect the sound.^[6][7]

track down cars, borrow and respect historical cars with bodyshop tape and suction cups over vinyl wrap; use -20 dB inline attenuators; also recorded damper and coil spring compression with contact mics over speed bumps; gravel kick-up; 1-2 hours setup per car to install mics and cabling; record moving cars on race track; lav mics at engine, exhaust, omnidirectional or stereo in cabin/near transmission to capture distinct character of car; capture cars on load full throttle and off load full sweep of rpm, look at spectograph for fundamental harmonics, give number of cylinders, engine type, and pitch-flatten into loops. The tool chops into grains according to cylinder count and plots them across pitch range; and in anger to capture gear changes; implementation is loop and grain based; middleware is wwise, thus far recorded 200 cars since 2009

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Dirt 4 new direction in more realistic sound design, rejecting hollywood over the top and preserving dynamics; car audio aside, rolling surface, kick-up, crowds, impacts, weather and ambient; tracks used instead of dynos due to wanting off-load sound and dynos being noisy in themselves^[8]

The developers focused on creating more realistic audio for DiRT 4. The team recorded cars with a variety of microphones, capturing engine, exhaust, transmission, and cabin noise. To capture proper driving up and down on the full rev range of the engine, they recorded cars on-track rather than a dyno. The audio model used a loop and grain approach. They used Wwise middleware to implement sounds into the game. Codemasters had recorded 200 cars from 2009 up to this game. Other recorded sounds include rolling surface, gravel kick-up, spring and damper compression, crowds, impacts, weather, and ambient.^[8][9]

^[10] As with other Codemasters racing games, audio was meticulously recorded from inside and out of each car in the game, capturing isolated tracks of intake, exhaust, turbo/superchargers, transmission, and cabin noise.^[11][12]

The sound design team recorded over 69 cars for the game, capturing intake, exhaust, transmission, and cabin sounds to properly characterize each car.^[13]

The Forza Motorsport 2 audio team set out to create a more realistic soundtrack that improves gameplay, immerses the player, and changes with car customization. They recorded actual cars on dynos with an array of microphones. To implement the audio, they matched the sample loops to engine speeds and used DSP techniques to enhance the sound. Additional recording was done on turbochargers, superchargers, straight-cut gears, tires, and collisions.^[14]

The sound design team created car sounds by recording each car or at least each engine featured in the game. They added to their extensive library of engine sounds from previous games by recording actual cars either locally, by traveling, or by partnering with others perform the recording sessions. The team always used a specific mic and input setup on the cars while running them on chassis dynos for consistent sound. Tire noise is crucial for communicating feedback to players on their car handling at the limit of grip. The developers set out to capture the full range of traction and grip sounds by recording tires on different surfaces, and then implemented that into the game audio system. For in-game programming, the developers used FMOD API with custom code and debug menus to module audio sound effects such as distortion, panning, EQ, volume, and compression—all as functions of car physics parameters.^[15]

Turn 10 identified sound as a cornerstone of the Forza experience, and that accuracy and excitement are key to that.^[16] The audio team for Forza Motorsport 4 set out to make car sounds "more visceral" than prior entries in the series.^[17] Sound from over 500 cars was captured on a dyno in a Redmond, WA garage, using the same recording setup first used with the Bizarre Creations' PGR games beginning in 2001. Fans of the game were also solicited to bring their own cars for recording.^[16] An 8 to 10 channel recording device captured sound from microphones at the engine, intake, and exhaust.^[18] High SPL mics were used on the loudest of cars, notably the Mazda 787B, to reduce distortion.^[19]

The audio channels were mixed, sliced, and recombined to span rev range. The sounds are then applied to the car physics model, applying DSP and filters based on how the car is driven.^[18] The team licensed a distortion effect, iZotope's Trash plugin on FMOD, to achieve the "on the limit" feeling of sound distorting in your head.^[17][20] The sounds are then mixed with transmission and tire sounds, and finally the distance and environmental model to form the final soundtrack heard by the player.^[18] DSP also changes the sound of the car after engine upgrades, rather than swapping samples as was done in prior games.^[21]

Along with the physics team making a new tire physics model with data from Pirelli, the sound team added more granular tire sounds to differentiate skidding from braking, steering, or wheel spin.^[17] A Tesla Roadster was used to record the game's tire sounds, due to its near-silent electric motor which allowed them to record the sounds cleanly without engine or exhaust noise. Two microphones were mounted to the car and pointed at the tire for recording.^[21] The tire model contains hundreds of sounds for each surface and varies dynamically depending on lateral and vertical load. This detailed tire feedback improved lap times among hardcore Forza drivers within Turn 10.^[17]

In Autovista mode, engine startups were recorded in 5.1 from the perspective of the driver's head plus mics near the engine and exhaust.^[18]

The sound design team used FMOD Studio to try new techniques for the game. The car audio model accepted inputs such as throttle position, engine load, boost pressure, gear selection, clutch position, and RPM (independent for engine, turbo, supercharger, and transmission). The team hired Skywalker Sound to create an action movie soundscape based on a lap of the Bernese Alps track in Forza Motorsport 4, and as a result tailored the game audio for player engagement versus passive movie watching.^[22]

The sound team recorded actual cars for the game, capturing intake, engine, and exhaust sounds. They used a looping model to implement car engine sounds in-game. The looping model shifts the pitch of cross-faded loops over the rev range, and was created from recordings of a car on a dyno making full-throttle runs. Vehicle recording was performed by Warner Bros. Post Production. The team used lavalier and omni mics around the car to capture audio, relying on high SPL mics and pre-amp attenuators for certain race cars can reach 130 dB SPL.^[23]

The Playground Games audio team recorded exhaust, intake, supercharger, and turbocharger sounds on real cars, and each sound is independent and modeled separately. To create loops through the rev range, they paired the sounds to each rotation of the engine. The mix of intake or exhaust notes depends on the camera position inside or outside the car. The team used the increased power of the Xbox One to playback assets of higher quality and loop length. They recorded environmental sounds like raindrops hitting the car, skidding on wet and dry surfaces, and debris kick-up.^[24]

The sound team recorded actual cars for the game, capturing intake, engine, and exhaust sounds. They employed the looping model from Forza Motorsport 6 in conjunction with a granular synthesis model to implement car engine sounds in-game. The looping model shifts the pitch of cross-faded loops over the rev range, and was created from recordings of a car on a dyno making full-throttle runs. The granular model is made of audio tracks of a car under acceleration and deceleration, and was built by recordings of cars driven on track from idle to redline and back. Vehicle recording was done by Warner Bros. Post Production. The team used lavalier and omni mics around the car to capture audio, relying on high SPL mics and pre-amp attenuators for certain race cars can reach 130 dB SPL.^[23]

Playground Games took a new approach to car audio in Horizon 5, switching implementation from looping to granular synthesis. To prepare audio recordings for this, they captured cars performing full acceleration sweeps from idle to redline and then let the cars slow to a stop. Microphones with flat frequency responses were selected, and padded to prevent damage and clipping from loud exhausts. Cockpit noise was recorded with both stereo and ambisonic microphones mounted centrally in the car. The team, with assistance from audio outsourcing companies, recorded 320 engines for the game, some samples usable for multiple cars that share engines. Additional recording included ambient environments and collisions. All sounds were recorded just for the game, with none being sourced from existing libraries. The soundtrack can be output through Dolby Atmos.^[25][26]

Criterion prioritized compelling sound as key to the Burnout experience. Using the RenderWare Audio component, developers evolved the soundtrack over the years with each iteration of the game. The first Burnout used Fourier resynthesis for the engine sounds. Burnout 2 used a wavefolder with distortion and turbo/supercharger noises to add more realism. For the next game, the team began developing a granular playback system, which shipped with the Xbox 360 release of Burnout Revenge.^[27]

...and was recorded with an eight-microphone setup in order to accurately replicate engine, turbo, exhaust, and transmission sound in-game.^[28]

Sound quality is improved from the previous game, with Bizarre dedicating a sound team to record and implement car audio in the game using the Xbox 360's new audio capabilities.^[29]

As with the prior entry in the series, PGR 4 features engine and exhaust sounds recorded on a dyno from actual cars.^[30] Tire noise is reproduced in three distinct bands providing feedback for when the car begins to lose traction, down to which tire is skidding.^[31]

• http://blog.lostchocolatelab.com/2012/05/racing-game-sound-study.html
• ^[32][33][34]

The audio team affixed microphones to cars and had Kiki Wolfkill, one of the few developers with track racing experience, drive around the track while they recorded.^[35]