[2.1.7][Linux] Ghost entities playing same, scratchy sound

[darthruneis]

When opening the interface for a ghost entity, all entities (at least the ones I've used so far - inserters + assembly machines in this save) seem to play the same, off/scratchy sounding sound effect for the interface opening.

Normal entities seem to play their audio normally, and inserters have a different sound from assembly machines, etc. I expect the same for ghost entities.

Noticing this on linux, but haven't tested for this on Windows so not sure if it is Linux specific.

[Donion]

Thanks for the report.
This is very much intended. Ghost entities play a special ghost sounds for opening their GUI, also closing, building the ghost, etc.

[nighthawk2400]

+1

While intended, it's a really unpleasant sound. Maybe you can filter off some of the high frequencies? I think OP's description of "scratchy" is spot on. Configuring ghosts is one of the most common things you do in the game so it's really important to have a good sound. The regular open/close sound is a really satisfying ka-thunk.

[_CodeGreen]

Regardless of intent, this sound hurts my ears. It's perceptually louder than every other entity gui sound in the game, and I had to mod it to be silent.
I am not opposed to ghost gui sounds, however the current ones are not ideal.
I even thought I had a bug in one of my mods while updating it to 2.1, because these new sounds sound exactly like when you layer the same sound multiple times and it gets blown out. The fact that multiple people think it's a bug in the first place should be an indication that something needs to change.

Here's someone else's message from the community discord when I finally figured out what it was:
> Watching someone stream 2.1 the other day, we were wondering where the odd loud noise was coming from…

[Hokome]

I also thought it might be a bug and I'm surprised it isn't, the sound is actually painful to my ears. At this point changing the sound is not a matter of personal preference but accessibility in my opinion.

[Harkonnen]

+1 it sounds like an alert to grab attention

[Dorenkosh]

Yet another voice here to say this seemed like an error. When I first noticed the sound, I thought it was possibly related to this person's audio issues: viewtopic.php?p=695290 and so I changed the audio driver from Pipewire to PulseAudio. When it persisted, I looked again, and found this thread and was confused.

A distinct sound for interacting with ghost entities is a neat idea. This particular sound is unpleasant.

[Donion]

I have forwarded this to our sound designer for consideration.