[0.17.X] Sound design

[individuo_enlatado]

TL;DR

Make the sound of machinery, especially trains, assemblers and belts more "badass"/beffy

What ?

So I heard that now in 17.X sounds will be revised, and in my opinion, Factorio sounds are way too "clean". The train especially, sounds way too friendly. This is what I mean, look:

https://youtu.be/GKPDhTCffNw?t=81

See how many different sounds it makes, the tracks, the metalic sounds from the wheels, it's borderline scary stuff lol, and above all its loud. In general, I feel like almost all sound effects in this game are sort of too clean and friendly to some extent. The conveyor belts for instance, could have a more metalic sound like tank tracks, since in game they are all made of metal and gears, a bit like this:

https://youtu.be/NNVr2_VNHGg?t=37

You know, you can kinda hear the gears connecting with the tracks.

Also the assemblers would, in my opinion, benefit from having a more agressive industrial press sound mixed with the sounds it already makes. For example:

https://youtu.be/VjD2k9A-zRs?t=67


Point being, I think the game looks very gritty, but the sounds are way too friendly. Factories are loud, and things sounds like they could kill you if you don't pay attention. The train especially, its annoyingly quiet and sounds like a toy instead of a big dirty and industrial freight train.

Why ?

I think that atmosphere is the main reason, and also to make things sound more impressive/dangerous, as factories IRL are. Sound wise, the most important factor that creates a solid atmosphere at the moment in factorio are the musics, the sounds of the machinery themselves are rather negligible in my opinion, they are not fun to hear or have a presence. The train especially, it is such a remarkable moment when you unlock and build it, but the sound doesn't convey how badass this stage of the game you are in now is, it's a really weak sound.

I'm not suggesting that exactly these sounds that I posted gets implemented into the game, it's just a example of the nature of the sounds I think would be very fitting and add a lot to the immersion of factorio.

I created this thread in Reddit too, but there things get burried fast. There are a few other opinions on the subject by other players, worth check them out imo.
https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... nd_trains/

Thanks devs for the truly awesome job! This is one of the best games I have ever played!

[invisus]

Speaking of sounds... shout out for the Honk mod.

https://mods.factorio.com/mods/GotLag/Honk

The silly touch adds so much to trains!

[individuo_enlatado]

Speaking of sounds... shout out for the Honk mod.

https://mods.factorio.com/mods/GotLag/Honk

The silly touch adds so much to trains!

Lol this mod is fundamental! Only thing that would make it even more fundamental is if it was possible to program the train to honk at certain points of the track in automatic mode, like either when entering or leaving a station, or when about to go through a crossing point etc.

[ssilk]

I remember the discussions about sound some years ago: there where many reasons to have a sound that doesn’t distract you from game. That’s why it is like it is and the only implementation of this suggestion must be a mod.

[ssilk]

https://mods.factorio.com/query/sound?version=0.17

[individuo_enlatado]

I remember the discussions about sound some years ago: there where many reasons to have a sound that doesn’t distract you from game. That’s why it is like it is and the only implementation of this suggestion must be a mod.

That is a good point really, but I don't think that making sounds more imersive will make them more distracting than what they already are now. This what you say is absolutely true for trains and other stuff being heard from a long distance/being way too loud and everything becoming a mess, but making sounds overall more "rich" or detailed if you will, I don't think would be distracting. At least not more than they already are.

Like, a long train travel would only be made more interesting if the train had more detailed sound effects in my opinion. Same for those moments when you stop and stare at your factory, if the combination of belts and assemblers sounded more rich, these moments would be all the more special!

Point being, sounds already are distracting, and due to the repetitive nature and how poor they are in detail, some sounds are borderline annoying imo. Belts and assemblers being the big example here for me. They aren't fun to hear to in my opinion, it's just bland, functional.

Also, thinking more gameplay wise, the only difference in sound between all the tiers of belts for instance, is that one sounds faster than the other. But think about it, the yellow belt could have a simple, slow "tank track" stile of sound, while the red a more modern, clean sound like it is now but still with a little bit of the tank track noise, and the faster one, since it uses lube and all that, could sound real clean and quieter than the lower tiers.

This is something already present in the assemblers right, it's a interesting idea that could be better explored imo! The lower the tier, the more "mechanical" it sounds and the higher the tier, the more "modern" the sound could be. All these different sounds together could make a cool "industrial orchestra" of sorts, that is always present in the background. The music itself already has these quiet moments, these sound effects could fill that up better than what the actual sounds does imo.

Like, I don't think that sounds should be louder, just more detailed in some cases, more interesting to hear, you see. Point being, I do think that a more interesting sound design could be done without being distracting, at least not more distracting than what sounds already are.

https://mods.factorio.com/query/sound?version=0.17

Thanks for the link friend! I'll sure check some of these mods!

[BlueTemplar]

It sounds like the train sounds have become much quieter in 0.17,
IMHO way too quiet (compare with your footsteps !),
probably because of interaction with zoom level ?
(Trains being big and fast, we naturally zoom out much more when riding them...)

Now that I think of it, the same is true for car ! (And I guess tank, but I haven't gotten that far yet...)