Games need to start using this tech.

[PvtRyan]

I've know this as binaural sound. It's based on the principle: if you can hear directional sound with just two ears, you only need two sources of sound to reproduce this sense of direction.

Problem with recording however, is that you need to record sound as you would hear it. Thus with a model of a human head and two microphones inside a simulated outer ear. I think it will be a while before computers can simulate that in real time to use in a game.

It also only works on headphones.

 

[Reginald]

The Whispered Sweet Nothings make me giggle like a little girl. I am so putting these on my MP3 player... when I get it.

 

[ríomhaire]

Yeah, left and right.

But up and down?

I was just pointing out an example of directional sound in a game, I didn't say it was on par with the link (though I haven't actually listened to it, having a lack of headphones ATM)

 

[giant384]

Actully, I'm fairly sure it doesn't require that much processing at its most basic level. Doing it with some sounds would be very easy. After all, you just need to make the sound holophonic.

However, if you want holophonic sound as part of the game engine it's be a little harder.

But theres nothing to say you can't put holophonic sound files in games for certain events.

However, the amount of people who'd play with headphones is fairly small, so there isn't much point.

well if you have decent speakers and fully surround then you will get the same effect.

 

[jverne]

well if you have decent speakers and fully surround then you will get the same effect.

no dude! that was beyond surround. not only because of the vertical movements but you actually felt presence of someone. i didn't even noticed i had headphones on. surround doesn't have such an immersing effect.

i think for this kind of sound we'd need a mathematical model of a human ear and process how would a sound behave going trough it.
yes i believe it would require a large amount of processing power. but that really isn't a problem nowadays with quad core processors and advanced sound cards.
i guesstimate it won't be long before this comes to the market.

 

[The Brick]

Actually jverne, speakers can sound as awesome as that. I'm not saying my setup here is that good, but I've definitely heard more convincing sound images. But surround speakers can't do up and down 12.1 Around setup anyone?

edit - btw, the speakers on which I heard the almost perfect sound images will be added to my setup somewhere april next year (€600 a pair :x)

 

[Qonfused]

This is beyond awesome.

 

[Ren.182]

I listened to it again.
It's just too awesome.
Would love there to be a psychological horror game or whatever with this tech.

 

[giant384]

I listened to it again.
It's just too awesome.
Would love there to be a psychological horror game or whatever with this tech.

awwww dude i know that would be AWESOME!!

 

[Warbie]

I dunno, it'd scare the shit out of me. Imagine hearing footsteps behind you, someone scratching on the door, taps on the window. argh /o\

 

[Ren.182]

I dunno, it'd scare the shit out of me. Imagine hearing footsteps behind you, someone scratching on the door, taps on the window. argh /o\

Haha. It's gotta be done. Just imagine walking down the corridoor of some old wooden house, thunder rumbling and lighting flashing outside. The rain tapping on the window. As you're walking down the corridoor you hear the boards creak BELOW you as you take each step. Then from out of nowhere you hear footsteps running towards you and within an instant your face is covered with a sack and you hear yourself dragged away while your attack breathes heavily (Yeah... it's a dirty game ) as he drags you along the floorboards. You hear him open a creaking door and pull up a chair. The door slowly creaks shut behind you and what little light you could see through the sack is gone, apart from the odd flash of lightning. The attack pulls you up onto the chair and sits you down and ties you there. In the background you can hear him messing with some metallic objects whilst coughing and splutting. All the time you can hear your character whimper and breathe manically (that a word? ) because he is cared shiteless! D:

Poor guy. But damn... Some bloody good games could be made from this.

 

[Solver]

Yep yep, give this to horror games! FEAR, Silent Hill, whatever... imagine, you could have sounds above you. You hear something unpleasant above you, look at the ceiling, nothing there. As you look down again, you see something nasty right in front of you... instant shock value.

I'm pretty sure that processing won't be a problem. Hardware becomes more powerful almost faster than you can follow it. 4 years ago no video card could even come close to handling fully dynamic lighting & shadowing or HDR. 5 years ago CPUs would choke when faced with the physics calculations such as those in HL2. I'm sure hardware manufactures will only be happy to make sound cards with integrated sufficiently powerful processing units.

 

[theotherguy]

I dont think it would be that difficult to do with adequate processing power. After all, its all just subtle pitch and phase shifts...you could have a processing pass that alters the sound based on a mathematical formula and its vector from the player.

 

[CookieCuttah]

Wait.. Didn't Thief 3 do this? I swear I can remember myself horrified by the knocking upstairs at the Cradle

 

[XIII]

for some reason it makes me giggle..

 

[ktimekiller]

****in Amazing

 

[Bad^Hat]

Heh, just had an idea today to use with this tech. A first-person game... where your character is blind :O

Think about it.

 

[Solver]

I'm pretty sure the majority of players would find it rather frustrating and it would hardly gain much popularity - but an original concept, for sure!

 

[Bad^Hat]

Heh, yeah... it'd be weird staring at a blank screen too >.>

Could be pretty nifty for a puzzle game, I thought. First person, and you need to arrange objects just by their sound or something. But then very few people are completely blind, so you'd be able to make out some light and vague colours... and you could always have a Daredevil-esque "radar-vision" thing as a limited use for when you're stuck

 

[Unfocused]

I thought I saw a speaker/headphones test with a little sphere flying around an object on the screen, indicating where the user should hear the sound (so you had an illusion of something flying around your head and making a noise). I thought it was some test in Windows, but I checked the CP and dxdiag and nothing. Anyway, the technology is not new it seems.

 

[The Brick]

It's not really a technology, it's a nice trick with 2 microphones.

 

[Bad^Hat]

It's not really a technology, it's a nice trick with 2 microphones.

Which ought to be technology! :sniper: :sniper: :sniper:

 

[Cole]

indicating where the user should hear the sound (so you had an illusion of something flying around your head and making a noise). I thought it was some test in Windows, but I checked the CP and dxdiag and nothing. Anyway, the technology is not new it seems.
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Theres something with AC sound that has that. But this takes it a bit furthor and allows sound to go up and down rather than just in a circle around you.