Gears 5 Sound Design Development

Gears 5
#1

@TC_Sera Hello and good morning/evening. I hope you are having a great day. First and foremost I just wanted to bring one main issue that many Gears 5 players in specific are experiencing which diminishes and takes away from the experience TC is trying to provide to the player base. I know you take quite a bit of time browsing and sifting through the forums so I am hoping this is something you can pass onto the studio which may be looked into at some point in the future.

The main issue that I alongside other friends and players have, is the terrible sound design in the game (multiplayer in specific). I have no idea if it can be fixed from a patch since it would need to be completely reworked or redesigned as I imagine it’s no easy task to do since it has not been addressed since the launch of the game. I would completely understand if it isn’t possible but if you could at least provide a reply to shed some insight upon me/ the players it would be much appreciated.

If it can however be fixed which I think sounds to be possible, (as many other multiplayer games nowadays have patches that fix glitches sound design, etc.) it would be nice to bring it up at the next board meeting as to how to approach the longevity for the future of Gears.

Thank you for your time to read through this.

EDIT: Since some people are confused what I’m talking about specifically, it’s the footsteps that you can hear across spawn (which sometimes you can’t decipher where they are coming from) and the frag detonation sounds which sometimes occur after they have exploded.

4 Likes
#2

I’m praying they fix/address this soon

#3

Audio quality has always been horrific in this game. It’s the only game I own on Xbox One with audio issues.

The occasional “jumping” is annoying enough in the menu and general gameplay, but nowhere near as bad as the footstep and frag audio which is easily the worst of the entire Franchise.

4 Likes
#4

Idk. After playing 4 for a few hours yesterday 5 at least has shown improvement with audio lol.

#5

Gears 4s audio was a lot better

This one is so jumpy too often it’s untrue. I think it’s my earphones then I play something else and they’re crystal clear

2 Likes
#6

If would help if you provide specifics to your problem, because for me “terrible sound design” sounds a little vague.

You need to be aware that there is a big possibility that TC has no clue at all that there is something wrong with the audio, hence the need for specifics in the rare chance they acknowledge there is an issue in the first place and even rarer if they actually decide to fix it.

Sera will tell you to submit a ticket and then close the thread, I hope I’m wrong here and you get something better.

#7

You must have had your TV muted when playing Gears 4 then.

#8

Ear buds.

And I don’t play on a tv either.

#9

#10

People who say there is an audio issue with sound effects or footsteps either play audio through TV or don’t use headphones. I’ve been using these Razer headphones for about 2yrs now and can say everything sounds fine. Sorry if this isn’t what you’re talking about OP but you didn’t really touch into details the specific audio cues that bother you.

Also Gears 4 audio is definitely worse, take this from someone whose been playing it since Gears 5 latest tuning dropped. It took a few days to adjust.

1 Like
#11

Very insightful, thanks for supporting my point.

#12

There isn’t really a “specific” issue more over the whole multiplayer audio is bad as I have stated, mainly in Versus. I did however add an edit in my post. Also I play with my Sennheiser HD Cs597 headphones which are about $300 on amazon (got them for 150 on black Friday 2years back) But they are PROFESSIONAL Studio quality headphones with rich bass and amazing sound quality. I can tell you almost every movie/game I watch and play feels like I’m in a theater, or perhaps even better surround sound. It is definitely not my headphones as I use them for music when I’m playing guitar as well.

#13

Okay I understand now…I will admit to this day the actual direction of where footsteps come from in Gears 5 was kind of lackluster. It kind of just felt universal to all footsteps and everyone sounds similar. I Could be wrong on this but I remember in Gears 4 that teammate footsteps seem quieter than enemy ones.

Far as frags and direction sounds I’d have to play both games again with the intent of research.

1 Like
#14

I like when people spend hundreds on headphones/headsets for video games. The lolz

1 Like
#15

Well if you got the money why not lol? and i didn’t just spend it solely for video games.

#16

My friends have them. I use $30 skull candy and here just as well as theirs.

1 Like
#17

Gears 5 audio is really bad, ive been saying this from day one. As some one who does game sound design for a living 5 days a week, 4’s is much better from both an aesthetic and mix production value. The gib sound, the slide sound, the lancer sound (i could go on forever) all just sound so weak. I actually ran some game play through a spectrum analyzer and it literally looks like they rolled off all the low end in the game using a hi-pass filter. The panning is bad, the depth perception is bad, the list goes on and on.

2 Likes
#18

I’ve used Astro A50’s and the audio output on these with Dolby Atmos (and without) is top notch for directional audio. I have no issues with games such as Halo deciphering where an enemy is at on most games but in Gears 4/5 the audio is confusing.

I will hear an enemy as if they’re directly behind me when they’re clear across the map but they will make no noise when they’re directly behind me. A good example of this would be an enemy spawning on Checkout while I’m at frags or Longshot. Add in the fact that I’m often killed by grenades that explode before the “tink tink beep beep” sound happens is concerning. I’m positive it’s not a case of “that may have been their second grenade” because the second one goes off after that one does.

This is definitely an issue, along with many others, that TC needs to address. I understand game development is very difficult but these are things that don’t happen on other Indie or AAA games. So it’s something you as a studio need to address.

1 Like