Sounds!

[damlaren]

Add sounds for events, like explosions, as well as ambient sounds. Reverb would help to make it sound more "underwater."

Good sound design will do a lot to enhance the feeling of this game.

This can also be broken up into different issues (different sounds for different events), but if not, it'll be good to track the sounds we still need or have ideas for here.

UPDATE: Sound isn't just important for atmosphere, it's important for gameplay. A player that has their sub's engines throttled down can sit and listen for suspicious activities (like engine noise, explosions, or sonar pings) that can reveal the location of another sub.

[damlaren]

Possibilities for things to add:

• A better sound for explosions (depth charges) is a must
• Engine noise, especially revving up and down as sub speeds up
• Creaking & rattling noises, esp. after an explosion
• Sonar beeps
• Ambient ocean noises
• Whales

[damlaren]

So far added sounds for:

• depth charges
• engine noise
• ambient underwater noise

Still to add into the game:

• impact/rattling/creaking noises for collisions and scrapes
• the sonar
• the occasional whale
• an alarm noise that could play when health drops to 25%
• weapon launch sound(s) (but actually I haven't looked, this may be in there)

[damlaren]

Weapon launch sound is in place.

[damlaren]

Updated TODOs:

• impact sound on high-impact collision
• alarm when health drops low?
• whales, maybe
• engine/propeller sound for torpedo instead of sonar ping?

[damlaren]

For comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqDNSFzWNTA

[damlaren]

I'm not an audiophile, but one thing I read a lot is that high frequency sounds are muffled underwater. Unreal supplies sound mixers that can be used to clip the high end; this seems like a reasonable way to get something that sounds more appropriate for an undersea environment.

[damlaren]

Added a sound mixer to muffle the sounds. Changed torpedo sound to a whining propeller.

Remaining sounds:

• player death
• impact for damaging collision (maybe)

[damlaren]

Also, the audio is now spatialized so you can hear the direction! This is actually not realistic for underwater audio-- sound moves too fast in water for humans to be able to tell the direction-- but it can enhance gameplay.

[damlaren]

Actually, all the essential sounds are there, including player death. We could maybe mix in more sounds (metal clanging or groaning, etc.) on taking damage.

[damlaren]

Added an impact sound that plays sometimes for damage instead of glass. Also removed the half-second delay before playing damage sound because this felt disconnected.

[damlaren]

Sounds are in.