The sounds of Half-Life 2

[aeroripper]

Doesn't it seem like they have really good some good sounds down for Half-Life 2. The one that really caught me off guard was the difference between the wood breaking sound in the 2003 e3 and the 2004. The first was kind of generic "wood" sounding... but man that part when he was in ravenholt (sp?) and was using the crowbar on the boards on the entrance to that toolshed. They had the sounds right on for what it would sound like and when i first heard it i was like "woah!, they really got the correct, and very sharp sound for that!"

any other examples of other cool sounds? Outside of the zombies screaming cause that's already in another thread :rolling:

 

[Sedako]

I think the buggy sounds great, as do the "air cows"

 

[aeroripper]

What i thought was cool about the buggy is that even its controls worked... which was a nice touch... a lot of games just cheez out on the finer details like that and just put a "sticker" texture on it.

 

[Sedako]

What i thought was cool about the buggy is that even its controls worked... which was a nice touch... a lot of games just cheez out on the finer details like that and just put a "sticker" texture on it.

on one of the videos, if you listen close, you can hear the high pitch squeal of the nitro.

 

[aeroripper]

lol, really? Didn't know they'd need that a buggy

 

[Sedako]

lol, really? Didn't know they'd need that a buggy

Yeah, you can also see the nitro tank in the video with those roller mine things. I do think it is neat the the displays in the buggy are all functional.

 

[aeroripper]

YEA the rollermine things also had a really cool sound... sounded like a weird alien pinball machine :-D very cool

 

[evil^milk]

the explosions are awesome, and the amazing "gurglified" combine voices too.

 

[lans]

I think the buggy sounds great, as do the "air cows"

Normally I'd disagree, but valve have amazing sound designers. I was always put off by the sound of the warthog in halo - luckily valve hasn't used a generic "vroom" and used a much better one for their fast vehicle.

 

[oopsmaster]

Wasn't there a thread many months back that explained a lot of the sounds and images (like the green zombie splats when it was crowbarred) were "placeholder" effects?

I agree, the wood breaking noise was great. I was impressed by that.

A lot of the sounds all together, like in the opening train station sequence worked well to set the mood and atmosphere. Probably sounds better in real life instead of handycam. I've also always liked the bullet ricochet sounds from the Coastline movie, and it's too bad we didn't see more of this in the new video.

 

[lans]

The radio reporting, the female voice making announcements with a loudspeaker, and the combine walky talkies alive really set the atmosphere in both the scenes.

 

[denlife7]

I like the Strider sounds in the e3 2k4 vids. Sounds like Chewbacca crying through a flute.. bewdiful

 

[Absinthe]

Everything sounds amazing so far, so a big Kudos to Valve.

The voice acting? Great.
The ambient noises? Immersive.
The zombie moans? Disturbing.
The Combine radio chatter? Way f-ing cool.
The... Of forget it! Everything sounds amazing!

 

[The Monkey]

When Gordon brakes those planks in "Traptown-video" it looks really stupid.

 

[Brian Damage]

Yes, The_Monkey, we know. It's been fixed. It was just a glitch in the demo playback anyway...

 

[Keiko]

Everything sounds amazing so far, so a big Kudos to Valve.

The voice acting? Great.
The ambient noises? Immersive.
The zombie moans? Disturbing.
The Combine radio chatter? Way f-ing cool.
The... Of forget it! Everything sounds amazing!

Agree with that. The best sounds I've ever heard.

 

[Burning Fish]

The sound of the shotgun sounds waaaay cool too! It will be my favorite weapon again like in Half-Life 1.

 

[Rupertvdb]

in the E3 one it is sorted, down boy...

The sounds are magnificent though, well made and sound perfect.

 

[Katana]

those burning zombies, their screams.. ah, i almost get nightmares

the wodden planks, cant understand how they got such realistic sound, cant wait for the binks for that toolhouse-part (my favourite)

anyone know when they´re released? :S

 

[NeLi]

I really liked the sound of that alien gunship. When Gordon shot it with a rocket, or when it first discovered him on the beach, it let off this odd noice. Me luv it.

The alarm sounds sound very cool too, like, when the chopper started chasing Gordon in his Hovercraft... and...yeah, well, all sounds sound cool. :O

 

[Play4Fun]

I really liked the sound of that alien gunship. When Gordon shot it with a rocket, or when it first discovered him on the beach, it let off this odd noice. Me luv it.

Yeah! that was neat!!! ^_^

 

[Synthaxx R-or]

*whistles halflife 2 music while he's blasting around in the buggy*

Oh, what was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you over the great sound of HL2 :cheese:

 

[PvtRyan]

The best effect is the doppler effects. Gunfire from a distance turns in *pop pop* noices. A lot more realistic, and everything sounds different depending on their distance. The best example of this is in the rollermines clip with the combine soldiers firing.

 

[urseus]

^^^^yep first game that ever blew me away with this was the Battlefield 1942 single player demo.

Sitting there in the back base of torbruk, and hearing this occasional soft pop crack boom waaaaay off in the distance of the front lines. Any game that doesnt have that now is a big let down in the sound department.

 

[Organizer]

I really like the combine voices, especially in the E3 2004 demo, where Gordon arrives on his buggy and fights the combines and roller mines... as you fight them you hear "Outbreak, outbreak, outbreak" and other various cool backround sounds.

 

[PvtRyan]

^^^^yep first game that ever blew me away with this was the Battlefield 1942 single player demo.

Sitting there in the back base of torbruk, and hearing this occasional soft pop crack boom waaaaay off in the distance of the front lines. Any game that doesnt have that now is a big let down in the sound department.

BF1942 faked it though, at least as far as I could tell.

I tested it with someone else, even when you fired one shot, you heard a prerecorded burst of 3 shots in the distance.
It was nice though, but HL2 does it real time.

 

[aeroripper]

I thought the way the helicopter shot at you was awesome... it was like a hailstorm of fire all around you... way cool

sounded awesome too

 

[Varsity]

Does sound refract around corners properly in HL2?

 

[kaf11]

i like the alarm going off when gordon takes the hovercraft into the wide open area in the e3 2k4 video. also, the way the music is so immersive and atmospheric in the apartment and in the opening train station is very cool.

 

[ferd]

I think wath's so good about the sounds is, that they are not exagerated, like ni other games.

 

[Murray_H]

The explosions are awesome, it's not a KABOOM with a bccchhh sound (lol i can't replicate it with sounds) it's like a dull thud explosion which is awesome.

The USP sound is just fantastic and the popping of guns at a distance is bloody cool!

And the combine radio was my favourite sound of the new vids, just the beeps and everything, it sounds great!

Oh and the wood, don't get me started on that, i think that will be my favourite thing to play around with in HL2, sounds great, breaks cool

 

[oopsmaster]

I forgot about one: The Combine Fortress Wall in the '03 Strider sequence. The metallic moaning, screeching noise it made when it moved forward was great!

So was the sound of the wind howling through the corrugated metal walkways during the Source engine HDR Rendering Bink video - I thought that was a really neat touch.

Ditto on the sounds of distant gunfire in the Strider movie and the Combine radio chatter.

 

[Paintballer]

Does sound refract around corners properly in HL2?

Yes.

It might not bounce off ALL the walls in the most realistic fashion ever, but it will bounce off walls, and you won't hear people through a 1' thick masonry wall anymore. I forgot where Valve said this, but they did.

 

[Vegeta897]

Sounds are great.

I LOVE the Combine sounds. Even the little clicks and stuff of the buttons in the trainstation map. And the beeps of he radio, and of the roller mines... too cool.

I love how they have a variaety of sounds for EVERY type of collision. Metal on wood, plastic on concrete, cloth on cardboard, EVERYTHING!! Too cool!!

 

[Crusader]

Everything about HL2 is so awesome..

I want it now

 

[DrJones]

I really like the sound for the pistol in HL2, I liked it so much I tried to put it in CS but it didn'twork for some reason.

 

[guise]

Yes.

It might not bounce off ALL the walls in the most realistic fashion ever, but it will bounce off walls, and you won't hear people through a 1' thick masonry wall anymore. I forgot where Valve said this, but they did.

phew, i got worried for a second.

 

[Kazuki_Fuse]

i like it how you can hear the buggy change gears. As well as those fast zombies in the graveyard in Ravenholm (e32004 vid). I also love the sound of the striders machinegun, it's like a "chugging" sound, ****en so unique.