Why random sound bytes/files?

[mak 0]

You've all heard the sounds.  You're in the middle of nowhere, and you hear a random zombie grumble.  Or... Maybe you hear a gate swing open or closed.  Maybe it's footsteps following the gate closing/opening.  Maybe it's the sound of a gun being handled or loaded/unloaded.

 

But my main question is why?  Why do these sounds occur in the background audio?  I look around and find nothing but bushes, trees, and possibly a rabbit.  Why am I hearing these noises?

 

Secondly, for those of you with the higher-end audio setups, you've also probably heard the very quiet LOOP of other sounds.  These are generally the sounds of a character eating or drinking something.  Again, this loop is very hard to hear and unlike the other sounds I'm hearing because they play on a loop.  They do not stop....  I can't hear them while my character is running, jogging, moving in general.  But I can hear them while not moving.

 

Just in case you are wondering... my audio setup consists of Sennheiser HD-600s, a dedicated headphone amplifier, and a dedicated digital-to-analog converter (DAC) via USB to the PC.

 

Any thoughts or comments on this topic would be appreciated.

[Etherious 907]

You've all heard the sounds.  You're in the middle of nowhere, and you hear a random zombie grumble.  Or... Maybe you hear a gate swing open or closed.  Maybe it's footsteps following the gate closing/opening.  Maybe it's the sound of a gun being handled or loaded/unloaded.

 

But my main question is why?  Why do these sounds occur in the background audio?  I look around and find nothing but bushes, trees, and possibly a rabbit.  Why am I hearing these noises?

 

Secondly, for those of you with the higher-end audio setups, you've also probably heard the very quiet LOOP of other sounds.  These are generally the sounds of a character eating or drinking something.  Again, this loop is very hard to hear and unlike the other sounds I'm hearing because they play on a loop.  They do not stop....  I can't hear them while my character is running, jogging, moving in general.  But I can hear them while not moving.

 

Just in case you are wondering... my audio setup consists of Sennheiser HD-600s, a dedicated headphone amplifier, and a dedicated digital-to-analog converter (DAC) via USB to the PC.

 

Any thoughts or comments on this topic would be appreciated.

That's because they do not have all the sounds they want into some stuff. So, actually they use placeholders for most of the ambient noises.

[Katana67 2907]

I thought it was just a bug/series of bugs.

[Hetstaine 10852]

I had to quit game a few days ago as the short zed noise..just the 'Rah!' got stuck in a loop and drove me nuts .Hope that sound guy is worth his salt. 

Edited April 13, 2014 by Hetstaine

[Thaeggan 2]

its more of a bug than place holders in my experience. My buddy and I often get haunted by sounds that follow us and play every 10 seconds or so. Usually its ammo being moved in inventory, sometimes a zombie attacking, and last night it was food being eat'n. These sounds wouldn't be so bad if they weren't suppose to be signals of other people around or if we were the only ones who could hear them <_<  I mean it really sucks to have bugged sounds following you with everyone to hear, the worst was my buddy's reloading sound kept happening periodically... about every minute, talk about a dead giveaway.

[liquidsnake 275]

Loneliness is slowly turning you insane. Soon you'll start seeing stuff as well  :o

[Buffaloe 87]

"Why" is an interesting question indeed. I can't really think of a reason for such weird bugs to exist. The placeholder argument doesen't sound right. Why would they add placeholder sounds that distract the shit out of people?

 

It'd be awesome if someone with insight could bring clarity. :D

Edited April 13, 2014 by Buffaloe

[Facetentacles 92]

Pretty much just a bug honestly, and has something to do with server lag in a way, I believe. I never get it if I get on low pop servers but you hear it on full servers almost constantly. It will get fixed in the future.

Until then enjoy your descent into madness

[cpthiner 6]

I cannot agree that these are placeholder sounds. When I am in a low pop server, I don't hear any of these sounds. Move to high pop, and they are constant. You know how you can hear all chat for an instance when you are logging in? that makes me think the sound leaks from your client to the server, then across all other clients. this link has to exist already for you to hear what players close to you are doing, I just don't think it is properly implemented yet. So when someone else is fighting a zombie far away, you hear the zombie, when they move their ammo. you hear it. etc.

 

that is a rough guess, but there is no way they are placeholders.

[Recklezz84 10]

I love it how everybody speculates on what it can be but everybody states their opinion as a fact.. while only the devs really know xD

 

I haven't really got much sound bugs myself though.. only sometimes a gate opening and closing.. but nothing else..

[The-MCV- 149]

I cannot agree that these are placeholder sounds. When I am in a low pop server, I don't hear any of these sounds. Move to high pop, and they are constant. You know how you can hear all chat for an instance when you are logging in? that makes me think the sound leaks from your client to the server, then across all other clients. this link has to exist already for you to hear what players close to you are doing, I just don't think it is properly implemented yet. So when someone else is fighting a zombie far away, you hear the zombie, when they move their ammo. you hear it. etc.

 

that is a rough guess, but there is no way they are placeholders.

 

Exactly. I don't hear them apart from full servers either. I believe the same thing like you, you hear them, it means someone somewhere is eating, stacking ammo, etc.

[MagneticToast 102]

Very annoying. One sound that plays (which is an ambient noise, not a bug) is one that sounds like a harddrive writing for a second and then it stops.

[Grimey Rick 3417]

I thought it was just a bug/series of bugs.

 

It is, I read somewhere that when the server has a lot of people on it, you hear these noises because the server can't squelch them fast enough or something. That's what I've always gone with. Maybe it's an optimization thing? You always seems to hear half of whatever noise it is you're hearing. That's how I tell them apart.

 

I don't know how many times I've been playing with my beautiful wife only to reassure her every ten seconds there are no zombies around us.

 

"But I heard one!"

 

"It's just a glitch, dear."

 

"OMG SOMEONE JUST RELOADED!!!"

 

"Yes dear, but they're nowhere near us. We're in the middle of the forest."

 

"But I heard it! You're a jackass."

 

"Yes, dear."

[razgriz93@gmail.com 228]

I like to think that it's the paranoia taking over my character.

[hrdrok 183]

"Why" is an interesting question indeed. I can't really think of a reason for such weird bugs to exist. The placeholder argument doesen't sound right. Why would they add placeholder sounds that distract the shit out of people?

 

It'd be awesome if someone with insight could bring clarity. :D

 

They don't test the game with us in mind. If they want to use zombie sounds for rabbits bouncing through the woods, then they will. No point in making new sounds just to test if they work. I think it's placeholder personally, but good chance its a bug too.