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Anamon

Loud engine noise in ArmA:CWA

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Since my other thread about sound problems (with different problems in different versions of the game) failed to get any response, I thought I'd open a shorter one to specifically ask about the one bug, in the latest CWA v1.99, currently keeps me from playing the game.

Whenever I am in a moving vehicle, the vehicle's engine noise is much too loud. It is so loud that even if the rest of the game is at a moderate volume, I immediately have to turn down my amplifier. All volume sliders in the game are on default setting. If I turn down effects, all the other sounds will get softer too of course, but the engine sounds are always much too loud in relation.

I do not have these problems on pre-CWA version of OFP. On one hand because the engines are never that loud in the first place, but also because in older versions the engine faded out after a second or two. This does not happen in CWA.

I am playing on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and DirectX 11.0. I have an on-board Realtek HD audio chip as well as a PCIe ASUS Xonar D2X interface. I tried both the Realtek and the Xonar interface in software mode, and the Xonar in hardware mode (with GX setting for the driver), but the problem with the engine noise remains the same, leading me to believe that this is some issue in the game itself.

What I am wondering though is why so far I found no one else who complained about the same problem, since it makes the game practically unplayable. I don't think my system configuration is "special", and I have not modified or reconfigured CWA in any way. I also contacted BI support, and unfortunately they weren't able to help me either. Does no one here have the same problem, or used to have it? Or do you experience it too, but simply put up with it?

Here is an example recording to show how bad it is. I fire a couple of shots, then get in a Jeep and drive away: ofp-engines.mp3

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I'm using the Realtek HD chip myself on my laptop, and I haven't experienced any of the problems you've described. The one thing I do always do right away after reinstalling is to make sure that Hardware Accelleration and EAX are both disabled as they have caused artifacting and inconsistent volume output on every system I've ever played the game on. Are either of those enabled?

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I don't have a solution unfortunately.

All I can add,is that I too have onboard realtek audio.And this isn't an issue for me either.

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Cool, thanks for your replies! I had tried with both hardware acceleration on and off, it didn't make a difference. However, now I played around some more, and I wouldn't say I know what the problem is or how to solve it, but at least I've found some kind of workaround.

I remembered that the only thing I didn't try to change or reconfigure is my speaker configuration. I have a 5.1 speaker system, so that's the way both the Xonar and the Realtek are configured in Windows. I tried changing that setting to Quadrophonic or Stereo, and it actually made a difference in the engine volume! When I switch from 5.1 to Quadrophonic, it's still loud and makes dialogue inaudible, but it's a bit softer than on 5.1. If I switch all the way back to Stereo, the volume of the engines sounds is more or less fine! Of course it's not a very good workaround since I will lose 2D positional audio (which worked fine before, by the way). But at least I can play the game somewhat now!

It's weird, it's like the engine volume is increased proportionally to the number of speakers, which doesn't make much sense. And as I mentioned, I also own the original OFP, and I don't have the problem in any version from 1.00 to 1.46 on the same system, so it's probably a bug introduced with the CWA upgrade. May I ask what kind of speaker setup you guys are using?

One other thing, the issue with engine noise not fading out over time remains. Dialogue is still hard to understand without subtitles. At least now I don't have to constantly turn back the volume, but if the fade-out would work again, maybe I could even play on Quadrophonic and have multi-channel audio again. How is it on your system, are the engines just "not too loud" but constant in volume, or do they get more quiet after a few seconds like it used to do in OFP?

Edited by Anamon

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Ah yeah forgot to mention that. On my surround set I always have to set the configuration to a 4-speaker (Quadrophonic) setup too, as with 5.1 or 7.1 settings I miss half the sounds being played from the front and back (sound from the sides is ok though). Has been that way since 1.0.

Whenever I leave Hardware Accelleration and EAX turned on, the weapon sounds from my own weapon alternative between normal volume and being at least twice as loud.

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Whenever I leave Hardware Accelleration and EAX turned on, the weapon sounds from my own weapon alternative between normal volume and being at least twice as loud.

Yeah, these settings are pretty hit and miss! When I activate EAX, I really have to turn the speakers down because it will play all the sounds from everywhere on the entire island; a bug that I've seen mentioned before. On just hardware acceleration, as I described in my other thread, this happens to radio chatter: OFP_3_choppy_radio.mp3 :rolleyes:

Interesting to hear that you need to change your speaker configuration too, even though you have a different problem. I wonder if all of this is related to the new audio stack introduced with Vista. When I have more time I might try installing on an XP machine and see what happens.

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Interesting to hear that you need to change your speaker configuration too, even though you have a different problem. I wonder if all of this is related to the new audio stack introduced with Vista.

That old thing runs on XP SP3, so that can't be it.

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