Show-off 5.1 Sounds • Gaming • General Gaming • Eurogamer.net

Machiavel 29 Nov 2002 12:01:27 5,964 posts
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What games do you folks think make best use of, or show off most judiciously, the capabilities of the Xbox's dolby digital sound?

I have yet to splash the cash for such a system, but I'm taking my stuff over to a friend who apparently has a decent home cinema setup.

The idea is to 'wow' him with my gaming taste and make him get an Xbox, as well as test out for myself how necessary this kit is for my own home.

It may also severely annoy his girlfriend, who is campaigning to redecorate the spare room - so this is all in a 'good' cause.

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 12:09:35 2,100 posts
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I would recommend taking Halo first, and bombing around in the warthog, skidding and wheelspinning. You hear the dirt been thrown around to awesome effect.

Also, get into a battle against a banshee and you'll hear the eerie whistling circling you. Another nice one is to let a marine man the machine gun on the warthog when a banshee is around, he'll starting firing on it, and depending on your position, you'll hear dozens of shell casings hitting the ground in perfect positional sound.

There is loads of excellent use of 5.1 in Halo, but these are the examples that spring to mind.

edit: ALSO! get into a battle involving needlers!

Edited by gizmo at 12:11:18 29-11-2002

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 12:13:36 19,142 posts
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Halo is the best so far and probably the simplest to get impressive results from.

Nemesis 29 Nov 2002 12:28:39 20,312 posts
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Halo without a doubt.

Let you know about SC!

Polymath 29 Nov 2002 12:29:36 121 posts
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SC's not bad.
But I don't think the voice acting flows as well. But the localization for sound sources is excellent.

Machiavel 29 Nov 2002 12:29:40 5,964 posts
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Thanks. Halo it is then, but any fond memories from other games? Trapped in front of my stereo system, I've wondered about the whispered "Slayer" voices in Buffy, the watery ambience of Morrowind and the sheer sonic frenzy of Jet Set Radio Future.

So it's now "Not only, but also..." :-)

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 12:31:31 19,142 posts
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He would need to have an amp with ProLogic II and they are quite rare. I have one

and whilst RL is impressive ProLogic II does not compare very well to DD.

eviltobz 29 Nov 2002 12:31:53 2,511 posts
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otto, dont forget eternal darkness with it's PL2 sound effects

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 12:56:18 2,100 posts
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Tried Rogue Leader through my setup, and compared to Halo, it was erm, can't actually remember, and therefore forgetable!

I'm not console baiting, I'm comparing audio effects.

Tiitiz 29 Nov 2002 13:04:46 1,128 posts
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Halo for sure. The sound of the dirt landing around you from grenades and stuff rule. SC works great as well for stealth moving but keep the volume up high.

BartonFink 29 Nov 2002 13:15:00 35,268 posts
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Defiantely has to be Halo. Go into one of the outdoor areas and blow up some shit. The debris can be heard falling down all around you and on your suit absolutely amazing.

otto - comparing PLII to DD I think not...tut tut
DD is the daddy

Edited by BartonFink at 13:31:53 29-11-2002

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 13:26:53 19,142 posts
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I think Otto was just messing around actually.

BartonFink 29 Nov 2002 13:31:34 35,268 posts
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I certainly hope he was ...

BartonFink 29 Nov 2002 14:00:32 35,268 posts
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Garn we believes ye

MrWorf 29 Nov 2002 14:01:23 64,187 posts
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wahey man!

Deleted user 29 November 2002 14:33:34

Does Silent Hill 2 Xbox support DD? That could be a good demo too... I _think_ the PS2 version supported DTS, not sure about that though.

quantumsheep 29 Nov 2002 16:02:37 3,129 posts
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I'm pretty sure Mech Assault supports it. Not 100% sure though...

Khab 29 Nov 2002 16:50:02 6,583 posts
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Right, since you lot are all discussing audio here I'll take my chance and try to get an answer to this:

I only get mono sound out of my GC. I dunno if I'm doing something wrong, I'm using the official Ninty RGB cable, and I've got a nice stereo TV. Still I only get mono. Which is a bit poor.

Anyone have any idea of what's up? Do I need other cables? Do I need to connect it in some other manner? Am I a fuckwit?
Let me know.

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 16:52:40 19,142 posts
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It should work fine - I'm using the official RGB SCART cable and extracting the stereo feed fine.

Have you set the appropriate games output to stereo?

Does the GC have a stereo/mono option in the startup menu?

Khab 29 Nov 2002 16:53:51 6,583 posts
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Yes and yes, I've set it to Stereo lots of times...

Maybe I should try bringing the Cube over to a mate's and check so it's not the hardware...

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 16:54:22 2,100 posts
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Khab, do you get the same sound out of both speakers, or just one speaker works?

also, are you using a scart block or plugging in video,audio left, audio right via the rca cables ?

Obviously you have stereo selected in options

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 16:54:37 19,142 posts
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Good idea - it could be a ducked cable or console.

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 16:55:44 2,100 posts
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yeah, I was thinking it might be a dry joint in the scart block?

Khab 29 Nov 2002 16:57:38 6,583 posts
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It's a scart block, so I suppose that could be it then.

Edit: I do get sound out of both speakers, tho. But the telly still tells me it's only in mono. I don't suppose it could be wrong?

Edited by Khab at 16:59:06 29-11-2002

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 16:59:20 2,100 posts
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next thing to try is to either try it with just the rca connectors if you have the inputs, or do you have another stereo device to plug into the tv's scart socket to make sure that hasn't got the problem.

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 17:01:40 2,100 posts
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I have a toshiba 32ZD08b and there is an LED indicator on the front labelled 'stereo' which lights up when it receiving a NICAM stereo transmission. As I never use the aerial (sky/dvd/consoles etc) it is NEVER lit. Its not something like that is it ?

Khab 29 Nov 2002 17:03:34 6,583 posts
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Nah, I've got a Philips that has funky on-screen text saying Mono, Nicam Stereo, etc.
Er... does that mean I actually HAVE stereo, is it just the telly's not recognizing it?

ssuellid 29 Nov 2002 17:05:29 19,142 posts
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Its probably because the GC outputs normal stereo NOT NICAM stereo. They are different.

I would say that you have stereo GC sound coming out of your TV but as its not off broadcast terrestrial TV i.e. NICAM the TV does not say it has a stereo source.

Which is essentially what gizmo was saying.

Edited by ssuellid at 17:08:22 29-11-2002

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 17:07:06 2,100 posts
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Its possible, you need to do the stand in one place and keep spinning your character whilst close to a sound source test (tm) and you should obviously hear the sound shift speakers.

gizmo 29 Nov 2002 17:08:04 2,100 posts
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AHA, thats another good one in Halo, do that by the waterfalls.