Good sound effects are a must for any mmorpg if you ask me and so is musical scores. Both can convey situational feeling and an area or zone feels.
This is a couple of favs from FFXI:
Musical scores and sound effects are very important to me. I understand folks' different reasons for turning down or off their sound, but from EQ on, I got so used to listening for footsteps and/or environmental cues that something was about to happen, I can't imagine playing without them. For me, scoring provides emotional prompts from creepy night sounds in dark, dangerous places to swelling crescendos at expansive vistas. Sound (as well as visual) effects make the magic even more magical and the battle even more intense. I'm looking forward to what Pantheon will have for us!
I think sound plays a big part in setting the mood of a story; as much as it does in movies. But I also believe that studios have recently got caught in the "bigger is better" trap. A single distressing note can hold as much weight as a symphony orchestra.
And to that, I think they'd be wise to go with an original musical composer. It seems like the stock answer to making a soundtrack for an MMO is Jeremy Soule. He's great don't get me wrong, but he's just done too much work in the genre. I think a new voice would be cost effective and refreshing
Agree with all. Sound and music should be well thought out and properly executed. They heighten the story by conveying emotions . The point of this game is to get back to social interaction, relationship building, and a true rpg experience. Proper immersion is critical to that process.
KCRiley said:Well, the sound design and music in Vanguard and EverQuest were very possibly my favorite things about them. From EQ's earworm themes and immersive (for the time) ambient sounds, to Vanguard's dynamic layered music system, this is the sort of stuff I think of first when I think back to them.
I'm not sure how much I noticed while I was playing, but I know it's what I find myself missing most often.
Plane of Time...
The sounds and music are very important to immersion in the game world, imo.
I thought EQs first year music was beautiful and fit the zones so well.
The whoosh, crackel and tinkling of spells added an important dimension to the feel of the world around me.
Once I had heard the music and sound effects and such, I often tuned off all of the sound entirely. Sometimes only the music. Sometimes only the sound effects and left the music, or played my own.
I hunted in silence always. And pvp'd in silence also. Setting the camera far enough over my shoulder gave me all the information I needed to react to the enviornment.
I did like battle raid background noises thought. For those nights, my husband appreciated it if I wore my headset :).
So in short. Yes, music and ambient sound is very important to the game world, with the ability to listen or not. Imo.
Gotta be honest, I love great enviroment, spell, combat sounds and they add a TON for me (inno swamp sounds are so familiar heh) but as far as music goes, while I appreciate it, by the end of week one in any new game my music volume is turned down to zero. More so I think so I can focus on combat sounds, which if done right have distict sounds for whats happening, then a dislike of the music.
garmr
I have to admit I'm one of those people that listen to the music and the sound effects for the first week and then basically turn them off and have Spotify playing in the background instead. Not sure why but I just get tired of some game music because it is on an endless loop and once you've heard it a few times it just becomes boring. I am prepared to be proved wrong though!
Plus when you are talking to people over VoIP all the time you don't really listen to in-game sounds anyway as you are having a conversation. But that is just me.
Depends on the game.
EQ2 had horrible audio engineering for instance, so I never play that game with the sound on. EQ however had excellent audio engineering (despite low quality given the era) and I will often play P99 with the audio on just because of the dank nostalgia I associate with a lot of the sounds. The satisfying crunch sound on crit Backstabs (or other hard hits) has to be one of my favorite audio features in a game since pretty much ever. That kind of tactile feedback in combat added a lot to EQ imo.
That said, I agree that I will probably play with the volume off during raids so I can listen to music/VoIP, etc.
Music and scores are immensely critical to my enjoyment. Particularly the the ambient textures and background peices (EVE and ESO had excellent music). The combat themes I'm less a fan of. I'll buy soundtracks to games if the quality of the music is superb. And like Cromulent, I'll shut it off after a while if I find I don't like it much at all.
Sounds & Music are crucial and very important to any MMORPG.
As music set the tone for the game, adds style and emotion. And sound is the backdrop tapestry to any world...
More can be done in this department, as sound and good use of environment can now be established. (64bit builds)
I hope Visionary Realms pushed the Unity Engine limits when using actual 3d sound, in game. It is the future of MMORPG's... when knowing who is running next to you, based on the sound of each of your friends makes, different from each other, etc.
In EQ you could some times HEAR an orc camp, before you saw it..
Hieromonk said:Sounds & Music are crucial and very important to any MMORPG.
As music set the tone for the game, adds style and emotion. And sound is the backdrop tapestry to any world...
More can be done in this department, as sound and good use of environment can now be established. (64bit builds)
I hope Visionary Realms pushed the Unity Engine limits when using actual 3d sound, in game. It is the future of MMORPG's... when knowing who is running next to you, based on the sound of each of your friends makes, different from each other, etc.
In EQ you could some times HEAR an orc camp, before you saw it..
Well said, Heiromonk, I agree completely. I too hope that the soundscape we are presented in Pantheon is equal in quality to the landscape, the combatscape and all the other -scapes of the game.
I like game sounds and music but, I back in EQ1 in 2000, I was playing on a 800mhz processor pc and I had to disable my sound card to prevent the game from crashing. I literally played a deaf character until I got a new pc. Hill Giants in commonlands would sneak up on me because I coun't hear the foot steps lol. I remember hearing the footsteps in Velious on the snow for the first time, it was amazing. Now a days I listen to music so I may hear some fo the music but I mostly turn off the zone music and have combat and spell sounds on.
I know this is an older thread but i just Had to add my bit :)
Sound is VERY important!
I used to play Eq with the sound on, I had crappy £5 speakers and that was it, after they blew I didnt bother getting new speakers for years, I started playing other games and never really thought anything of it, Then I started to play SWG, my wife got me a creative headset for christmas so I plugged them in and put them on and the difference to my gaming experience was night and day, before the world felt kinda flat and dead I just never really thought about it, But with the headset on and being able to hear the ships flying past in the sky, to hear the grass move and the wind in the trees, to hear the waterfalls and the animals Etc etc, It made everything Feel alive.
Combat was also much better, being able to hear the effects made you feel Right there in the thick of things.
So from that day on i Always have the sound ON, i have the music on for a few days, but after that i turn the music right down but keep all other sounds ON.
With the improvments over the years in positional sounds, surround sound, headsets, sound cards/hardware in general I think good sound in games is a MUST.
It would be like watching a movie with the sound off. Sure you can See whats going on and you can get the General jist of things, but its not until you turn the sound on that things come alive, its the same with games, its not until you have those awesome sounds turned on that the whole world comes alive, it feels more vibrant, alive, you can hear the living breathing world around you.
I for one cant wait to be immersed in sounds of pantheon!
Sound and music are huge. I think the one thing we are all looking for is immersion and that is a large part of it. With all the videos and images, I have seen of the game to date that is the one thing I am looking forward too. Exploring and maybe sitting on some ridge just looking around and listening. Weather dynamics should also be heard in some cases. Rain storms should sound impressive with lighting popping and you should hear the soft crunching of snow as you walk on it. Music just adds to the package and should be as important as graphics performance. Gone are the days of the EQ combat tune and the single swing sounds and impact noises. That is so twenty years ago….
Ox
Ha! Tiberius you did wake up an old post. Seeing this also reminded me to pop back over to Pantheon's sound cloud. There is definitely some good music there. Hopefully they provide some updates again at some point. So far I have to say, it sounds really good.
I'll just pile on with the sound aspect. As it was very thoroughly stated here, it it is extremely important. I always think of movies as an example, especially horror, where they totally amp up your tension with the right timing in the music. It seriously ups it more than a scene would be without it. Sound in video games is very similar, this goes for music and environmental. You hear the right noises and you can suddenly be on high alert.
Hearing a grunt of a bear or a growl of a wolf that's just around the corner. You may not be able to see it, but you know its there and you are no paying closer attention to your surroundings and actions.
I absolutely find it totally relaxing when I'm running around an outdoor forest zone, exploring, and can hear the wind and the trees, maybe birds. If its hitting dusk same thing but crickets chirping instead of birds. If there is snow, hearing it crunch under my feet.
Music, when done well, and looped/cued in well so that it fades in and out properly as you go through an environment only adds to the experience and doesn't disrupt. Even while just running through the mountains by yourself. I'm not a fan of combat music at all, I only need the spell/combat noises. However, good creepy music when you enter a dangerous dungeon/area is also another good way to cue you into your surroundings
If a game has good environmental sound and music I will put on my noise canceling headphones, even with my husband in the room;), and just let myself zone into the game.
Kilsin said:How important are in-game sounds and music to you, do you play MMORPGs with the sound on or off and why?
Sound is YUGE..... hehehehe