Page 4: SoundSOUND
Phew! It’s a deaf man writing this. In January 2006 I asked Steel
Beast’s sound guru Volcano about the sound FX, he said he was working on
the recordings since 2000. Where SB1 had around 105 different sound files,
SB Pro now has over 650 different sounds, "and counting" (Volcano) – and
the various radio messages and comm-files are even not included in this
number. That’s much more than the first SB had – and that already came
with a beast of a sound. However, the main interior sounds for the tanks
have been carried over from the first incarnation of SB and why not if
these were so damn good that many people said they kept playing just to
listen to this tank opera. There are new interior sounds as well, making
the sound environment more detail-rich. It seems to me some more diversity
is to be heard with the various guns and cannons, and it is likely that
the existing sound library will see further increase in the future. So far
we are talking not about complete replacement of the SB1 sound library (I
feared they eventually would replace the sounds and in that process maybe
would mess up things), but a massive supplementation. A whole lot of radio
comms now is implemented in the sound library, too.
There is no "fictional" constant background battle noise (for example a
long sound file that is repeated in an endless loop), but every noise and
sound you hear is referring to an actual event in the virtual world around
you. So you can trust your ears in this sim, you can orientate yourself
according to what you hear and from what direction the noise is coming,
and nothing you hear will be a dummy effect. You especially know this
effect from war movies, or maybe even from reality if you were a soldier
in your life: you stand in the desert (like I was positioned in the desert
of the 73 Easting scenario), and then you hear, almost feel this heavy,
deep rumble in the air, you look around and become nervous, but you do not
see anything, and the rumble in the air becomes louder, and then behind a
dune the first dust trails appear and tell you that tanks and IFVs are
nearby. The same effect also increases the drama when you wait for tanks
appearing from behind a hill, or in a forest, the deep rumbling noise seem
to be everywhere, and even at the monitor you imagine that you actually
can feel it. Impressive!
Of course, it all is digital recording of the real things. In most
cases, you easily hear the difference between the heavy Diesel of a Leo2
and the turbine of an Abrams, a Bushmaster auto- cannon sounds different
than a Marder’s, an assault rifle different form a tank-mounted 12,7 mm or
a 0.5 cal. Range also distorts the sound of different weapons. There are
many acoustic details inside the tank, from the complete loading
procedure, over servomotors and hydraulics to the clipping sound when
switching different magnifications in the optical system. Artillery is
horror for your neighbors, the aggressive Hooosssshhh! of the TOWs is a
hot needle penetrating your ears, impacting rounds at your position makes
your boxes on the table move, a battlefield with shooting tanks and
artillery impacting really is a maelstrom of noise. No other sim out today
can rival the acoustic inferno SBP is creating in the sound department,
believe me! Additionally, many voice commands now will be heard, and the
sound environment at the height of the battle cannot be described, it must
be heard, or better: felt. Very, very well done sound, the most impressive
I have heard in any sim so far. It’s a frightening affair, really. The
traveling time of the sound is also calculated, so you can see the
muzzle-flashes in your binoculars, the puffing smoke clouds from the
cannons, then hear your wingman blowing up eventually, and then the Tocka!
of the enemy’s gun finally reaches your ear. I don’t know how often I got
killed in SB without ever knowing what hit me and from where. It hasn’t
changed. Most times I don’t see it coming and I don’t hear it as well.
Thinking Operation Flashpoint was a lethal game? Think twice! This is a
training sim and it surely teaches you one thing: you don’t get a second
chance, so make your tactics working and your first shots to score, or get
out as quick as you can.
While eight different languages are supported in writing, the spoken
communication folders are complete for only five or six of these, for the
time being, the Dutch and the French still have to wait for their share.
Let it rock! I said: R O C K...!!!
