Audio Problems with HL2

Status
Not open for further replies.
Same here - going to try the mixahead thing.

P4 2.4Ghz
768 MB RDRAM
80 GB HD
SB Audigy LS
Ati X800 256MB

desty
 
Just signed up for the same reason most of the headcrabs in this thread have... the infernal stuttering problem!

My System Specs:
ABIT AN7 NForce2 Motherboard
AMD 3200+ XP
1GB Dual Channel Corsair RAM
Leadtek Nvidia GeForce 6800GT
240GB in Raid 0 (2x120GB 7,200RPM Maxtors)
Creative Audigy 2 ZS with Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speakers
Windows XP with Service Pack 2

Although I have tried the audigy, I've also got some fantastic USB headphones (Plantronics DSP-500) which completely bypass the soundcard. I get the problem when using them too so it's *definitely* not Audigy-related.

My system is fully defragged; not running any unnecessary background programs. I've tried the snd_mixahead, heapsize and other commands but they don't help one iota.

I've also decided to sit this fantastic game out until we (hopefully) receive a patch.

Fingers crossed Valve get this one fixed as soon as possible.
 
Dai-San said:
Lol, just because someone has been registered here for a while or has a post count of 1,000,000 doesn't make em hardcore m8. I'm 40 years old and have worked in the computer/games industry for 20ish years but have only been registered here for a day.

Mebbe some of us don't feel the need to post threads in forums about every bit of inane drivel that pops into our head ;)
Click to expand...

lol.. so true man.. so true :) Welcome!
:afro:
 
I'm firmly convinced this is a problem with the game pulling data from the cache/library files for use in the game. This is not a sound problem, nor a video card problem, nor an SP1/SP2 issue, nor a problem with the amount of memory, or any settings in the cfg file will fix this.

What I'm really scratching my head at is why there are so many of us, with varying hardware, that are having this problem.
 
I just played Half Life: Source for a few minutes and didn´t have AN Y problems at all. While in HL2 I´ve got sound and video lags every 2-5 seconds, HL:S seems to be running perfectly fine. Which really bums me out since it´s the same engine. :eek:

Can anyone confirm this?
 
beppino said:
I just played Half Life: Source for a few minutes and didn´t have AN Y problems at all. While in HL2 I´ve got sound and video lags every 2-5 seconds, HL:S seems to be running perfectly fine. Which really bums me out since it´s the same engine. :eek:

Can anyone confirm this?
Click to expand...

nope, but a lot of people already reported they had the same glitch in HL:S, CS:S and i think i remember people reporting about the same thing in the Vampire game

the only game running really smooth is Codename Gordon
 
vBulletin Message
The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later.
 
Nothings works :( How is it possible that such a major bug that was also reported by many folks (also me) in CSS a long time ago is still in a game that was delayed for more then a year......???? Don't even talk about the fact that 5.1 sound isn't working correct, i would be happy when 2 speakers worked. Steam forums are down now so can't take a look at this new possible solution.
 
MNothing wrote on the Offical Forums
The audio stuttering problem seemed to be caused by a mp3 codec, not the valves one but one that was installed on my pc, there was somekind of a conflict between them.

So how to get rid of it?
Download ffdshow program (its used to configure different codecs).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow

select audio filter config and disable the mp3 ones. reboot and everything should work. I had a similar problem with pro evolution soccer 3 and silent hill3 but with an video (mpeg) codec, did this and got them to work.

If U get hl2 to work with this thank me later, play now!!


I Really Truly hope this helps.
atleast someone. somewhere.


.. oh and my config is:
amd 2800+ @ ~3000+
512Mb 400mhz ddr
win xp sp2
nforce2 onboard sounds (ac97)
radeon 9600xt
Click to expand...

Due to the offical forums being down at the moment due to about a million people signing up and wanting to complain about the sound stuttering so they have stopped the sign up process, i have not be able to reply to his post, can some one try this and see if it works cause im a novice.
 
Nope, I just tried the snd_mixahead thing with lots of values, but the stuttering is still very apparant, it did get slightly better, but it's best was still not good enough for me to enjoy the game.

*edit*
Just saw the above post and noticed I have the same onboard soundcard as that guy....gonna try what he suggests and see if it works.
 
I think people didn't report the glitch in CS: Source as much because a) there were so many fewer sounds to handle, and b) it could easily be mistaken for a lag spike.

It is kind of wierd that this bug would be missed... it seems to happen to pretty much every kind of system. ATI or nVidia graphics cards... Audigy or Realtek AC97... AMD or Intel... borderline or uber systems. And it is REALLY obvious when it happens.
 
I have a mate who has Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and there is no skipping or stuttering at all. His half life two has the same problems we all have.
 
Here's what MNothing wrote over at the Steam forum:

------------------------------------------------

The audio stuttering problem seemed to be caused by a mp3 codec, not the valves one but one that was installed on my pc, there was somekind of a conflict between them.

So how to get rid of it?
Download ffdshow program (its used to configure different codecs).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow

select audio filter config and disable the mp3 ones. reboot and everything should work. I had a similar problem with pro evolution soccer 3 and silent hill3 but with an video (mpeg) codec, did this and got them to work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

And like someone else said, let us work-bound folks know how it goes...

-Brad
 
Hello, from Vancouver.
Same probems, same frustrations.
All of the tweaks are not a fix for me either.
After exploring an area and getting through the hicups, it's smooth. And I can run it at 1280, medium settings too without lag :)

Barton [email protected]
A7V8X
Soundblaster live 5.1
512 Ram
Gforce 4800se(61.77 driver)
 
One more person with the problem. Hopefully this new mp3 codec solution will fix it up. Too bad I'm at work and I can't test it. Let us know.

--
ASUS P4T-E
P4 2.0A @ 2.2
768 MB RAMBUS
Gainward GF4 Ti4400
Audigy 2
 
bsearles said:
Here's what MNothing wrote over at the Steam forum:

------------------------------------------------

The audio stuttering problem seemed to be caused by a mp3 codec, not the valves one but one that was installed on my pc, there was somekind of a conflict between them.

So how to get rid of it?
Download ffdshow program (its used to configure different codecs).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow

select audio filter config and disable the mp3 ones. reboot and everything should work. I had a similar problem with pro evolution soccer 3 and silent hill3 but with an video (mpeg) codec, did this and got them to work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

And like someone else said, let us work-bound folks know how it goes...

-Brad
Click to expand...

Hmm i got ffdshow up and running, but there seems to be nothing linking to mp3 files?

there is no audio config ....

can anyone explain?
 
Pippinator said:
Hmm i got ffdshow up and running, but there seems to be nothing linking to mp3 files?

there is no audio config ....

can anyone explain?
Click to expand...

Me too. Cant find the audio config :angry:
 
ah ok you need the beta version - i got that and "disabled" mp3

rebooting now to give it a try
 
People have asked in the steamforums if that guy can post more detailed instructions. He's reported that a buddy tried his fix and is now no longer having problems.

Edit: Thanks pip, relayed that back to the Steam forums.
 
Yeah, the ability to disable the mp3 codec exists in the Audio Filter Configuration of the ALPHA version.
 
i had ffdshow but it was already disabled on mp3 codecs so forget that...

I think Valve must do something quick,,, this really blows so many users have this problem.
 
well booted up ffdshow turned of MP3 reset the pc, Rebooted HL2 still stutters all over the shop.
 
I can confirm that, for me at least, using the ALPHA version of FFDShow to disable the mp3 codec does NOT work.

The stuttering in HL2 still exists, as bad as before. :(
 
I WAS going to buy a copy for each of my pc's but i don't think i will now. There are obvious issues with the sound side of the engine. A 2.6ghz Athlon64 (BTW, they don't even sell them that fast) with 2 gb of ddr2HyperX and a x800xt PE and audigy2 platinum should not have these problems. My pc is faster than anything you can go and buy...and i am not bragging.

Looks like Valve needed another year.

I give HL2......6 out of 10. This issue sucks. glad i didn't pay for the game directly...just have an ATI coupon.
 
Oh well I am of to work in 20 mins. Getting the urge to uninstall it and wait till a patch comes out. Spent half of today messing around with configs, rebooting my pc etc.
 
Anyone tried downgrading there sound drivers?

I am sorry if this has been tried already (did not feel like reading through all 16 pages of post) but have you tried to run older soundcard drivers?

I have a SB Live X-Gamer audio card, and I am running the default XP drivers and the games runs perfectly. Just an Idea.


My system specs:

AMD 3200
512mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
MSI K7N2 Delta-L
Geforce 5200
80gb IDE HDD
SB Live X-Gamer
 
I reached BME, but the stuttering just ruins the scripted sequences, so I managed to stop myself playing again.
I tried some of those config options, but all they seemed to do was make scripted speech skip and play at the wrong time, overlapping with the next bit. It did little that I noticed to stop the loading stutter.
As with other posters, once the sounds finally load, the game runs nice and smooth for me, no problems on the video side.

This game is a beautiful work of art, but I have no idea how this problem got through QA. :(
 
FFdshow Mp3 disabling solution didn't work for me, still stuttering.
 
ffdshow stuff is not - i repeat - NOT working for me...
 
selecting 2 speakers i do get choppy sounds also with 5.1 i do get choppy sounds :sniper: ., If i select my proper setup wich is 4 speakers i get no sound at all. Can somebody explain to me how that works?

thx

P>S Is there an official petion in the making for Valve? :flame:
 
I tried the config changes and heapsize and also disabled MP43 codec and it stutters the same as before right from the start.

Did I disable the right codec, I unchecked MP43 and the remaining checked ones are XVID and DIVX codecs????

Won't be playing it until it's totally fixed... I have good system 2.55ghz Barton, FX5900, Audigy 1, NF7 - the game runs with good FPS and looks great but unplayable with the stutters.

I don't really understand how some people don't have any problems at all, makes me think it could be a certain motherboard/chipset type issue or perhaps something like the MPEG codec!!! Regardless I hope there's a fix soon.
 
i wish people would stop posting "solutions" that do not work. the disappointment is growing bigger each time... i feel the anger rising...
 
This thread needs to be a sticky please!!!! It is obvious the problem is very wide spread and this thread is better then the steampowerd one, VALVE LOOK HERE!!...22,000 views in this thread....damn.
 
Didn't read through all the pages of this post so I apologize if this has already been said.

- Autosaves cause stuttering but this isn't the only time there's a problem.
- My problem is mostly tiny pops and clicks in the audio when certain sounds are playing (like not a smooth start/finish to the clip.)
- Changing the setting from "Headphones" to "2 Speakers" seemed to help somewhat.
- Had the sound of the gunship crashing along the coast reapeat forever (until I moved on to the next load point.)

System:
- Audigy 2 ZS
- RAdeon 9800 Pro
- 1 GB RAM
- P4 2.53GHz
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

MFL
Fascinating look at the ongoing psychological evolution of flat hieirarchies.
Replies
2
Views
2K
Tollbooth Willie
Tollbooth Willie
B
From Warren Spector to Arkane Studios: Half-Life 2's cancelled Ravenholm episode
Replies
2
Views
10K
Clan Wolf 2
Clan Wolf 2
B
Marc Laidlaw releases Half-Life 2: Episode Three's plot
Replies
32
Views
39K
BabyHeadCrab
BabyHeadCrab
B
The other cancelled ports of Half-Life
Replies
3
Views
7K
Tollbooth Willie
Tollbooth Willie
B
Gabe Newell's AMA summary (January 17, 2017)
Replies
1
Views
24K
Gerzowktz
Gerzowktz
Back
Top