Dhatz Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 1 is it worth buying 5.1 sound system for GTA IV? 2 is there anything special in IV that makes 5.1 system reaproduce the sound realistically? 3 or does it just adjust the volume of sounds according to distance from virtual(ingame) speaker position? 4 I've also heard about dolby digital 5.1 virtual effect for any headphones, what do you think about the tech? 5 (optional)what experience do you have with 5.1 sound systems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_f_mac Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 1.: Solely because of IV, it is not. 2-3: Probably not. 4.: 2 sound membranes cannot create full 5.1 sound. Any of them. 5.: Good experiences in watching movies with DD 5.1 audio. Bad experiences with 5 cables to trip over them or accidently pulling a satellite off a shelf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhatz Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 4 of course not,dolby is just trying to make something they cannot manage to because no headphones have position sensors. Which is a shame because that is all you need to create realistic sound(as we have 2 vector-ignoring ears). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynTerro Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 There are surround headphones, I never tested it though, and I am deaf in one ear so mono is fine for me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhatz Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 There are surround headphones, I never tested it though, and I am deaf in one ear so mono is fine for me . lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesushumper Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Even with one good ear you can still somewhat tell where a sound is coming from, cun't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynTerro Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Even with one good ear you can still somewhat tell where a sound is coming from, cun't you? Not as easy but yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topeira Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 i doubt buying a 5.1 system for one game is a good enough reason. i have a 5.1 system and some games make terrific use of it. in COD4 MP i can tell when ppl are coming from and such. in hardcore mod its important. in GRID i can hear a car coming from behind me. also a little useful. the best use of 5.1 in a game that i know of is crysis. it's sound effects are amazing and using the 5.1 in a terrific way. when bullets hit all around me and i can hit every "twing" and "zang" from a different direction it feels so awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTA3Freak-2001 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Well San Andreas didn't feature any 5.1 sound well if it did it wasn't very good but I am hoping that given the 360 and PS3 versions can do 5.1 sound or support it should mean GTA IV on PC will get at least basic 5.1 support. Honestly in some games that offer good 5.1 sound, its well worth having 5.1 speakers especially if you have a good sound card. Even onboard sound cards sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
¤FireStyle¤ Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 The PC version of gta4 should definitely support 5.1 surround. I mean it's is quite standard for games these days. But I cannot recommend that you buy a 5.1 setup just for 1 game.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divinee Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?&act=ST&f=36&t=367080 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhatz Posted August 12, 2008 Author Share Posted August 12, 2008 (edited) i doubt buying a 5.1 system for one game is a good enough reason. i have a 5.1 system and some games make terrific use of it. in COD4 MP i can tell when ppl are coming from and such. in hardcore mod its important. in GRID i can hear a car coming from behind me. also a little useful. the best use of 5.1 in a game that i know of is crysis. it's sound effects are amazing and using the 5.1 in a terrific way. when bullets hit all around me and i can hit every "twing" and "zang" from a different direction it feels so awesome. that was the answer i hoped for. I got GRID and Crysis. If i didn't have a brother,i'd had COD4 as well. the newegg link in divinee's post is also useful. Edited August 12, 2008 by Dhatz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrKlorox Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 (edited) 1 is it worth buying 5.1 sound system for GTA IV?2 is there anything special in IV that makes 5.1 system reaproduce the sound realistically? 3 or does it just adjust the volume of sounds according to distance from virtual(ingame) speaker position? 4 I've also heard about dolby digital 5.1 virtual effect for any headphones, what do you think about the tech? 5 (optional)what experience do you have with 5.1 sound systems? Finally, a subject I can speak on! I bought a soundcard capable of decoding Dolby Digital for GTA4 in May. Short answer: 5.1 rocks when put to proper use, GTA does not put it to proper use. 1 ) In GTA4 (as well as 5.1/7.1 in the PC version of San Andreas) DOES NOT make proper use of Dolby Digital/5.1 sound design, and therefore is definitely not the game for which to buy a 5.1 surround system. 2 ) Not really. As I said before, there is no subwoofer output throughout the whole game (unless your system has some low frequency crossover built in, which rockstar must expect -- LAZY). The 3d world (on foot) is heard only through the front and rear channels. Cutscene, cellphone and in-car conversation takes place in the center channel. Music in-car only plays through the front channels. Cutscenes have a little bit of environmental sound in the front speakers. The pause menu music is kinda cool in surround... different instruments in each (front and rear) channel. That's about it. You would expect better use of the technology with all that they hyped about it. 3 ) Are you referring to pro-logic style visualization emulating dolby digital on stereo signals? Or do you mean Niko having five virtual ears, each mapped to a channel? It's still neither. 4 ) I primarily use headphones and my soundcard is capable of decoding dolby digital and putting it into headphone mode. This game is not made for this method because of the lack of subwoofer, and the fact that the front and rear channels play the same environmental sound effect at different pitches/etc... resulting in something that sounds similar to taking paper towel tubes and putting them over your ears. perhaps a mod would correct this by muting the environmental effects (similar to SA which only sounded BETTER with more speakers -- select 7.1, launch game, let the menu make a sound, get to headphone mode on your soundcard via alt-tab or plug headphones into your front bay if you have auto headphone enabled {soundcard dependent]). 5 ) Make sure it has the capability of decoding Dolby Digital if you have a console you are playing through your monitor/speakers. My "5.1" is an old quad surround with a powered subwoofer and an old hi-fi I'm using for the center channel. My soundcard is a Fatal1ty Platinum (bought card and fornt bay separately) that turns out not to be able to decode dolby digital fast enough for online gaming (150 ms delay ). But it does function. I also have a BK-GR buttkicker gamer that I use extensively and switch it between my headphones and subwoofer channel. Games that have proper use of a subwoofer like Bad Company (on 360... I haven't gotten to try any modern games on PC due to my better CPU dying before I got this soundcard) are worth buying a 5.1 system for, as well as a buttkicker for your chair. Make sure the 5.1 system you buy has the ability so split your subwoofer out so you can jack that into your buttkicker, which you WILL want. I'm a diehard fan of my buttkicker gamer. In fact, I ordered my second one last night. I've got a chair that has it's back supported by a left and right bar. I have the buttkicker attached to the right bar instead of to the hydraulic leg pole like most computer chairs have, and it feels MUCH louder and cleaner than on the leg (due to less resonance being lost through the feet/wheels). I also have the sub from my quad surround under my feet as a resonating footrest. EDIT: To clarify: SA has the same surround design as GTA4 except for the ambient environmental effect that makes headphones sound worse with more virtual speakers instead of better. Edited August 14, 2008 by MrKlorox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhatz Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 In da end,it only does matter what R* does with the PC version. There is one thing left: hope. Hope that R* doesn't blow the premiere of their R.A.G.E. on PC platform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrKlorox Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 It'll be the exact same game. The sound design will be a straight port virtually untouched by human hands. Glad to see my post obviously helped you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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