Gunshot noise

[nuxes 4]

I always knew my Lee-Enfield was loud in game, but I was shocked to find out that it was three times louder than an M16 or AK. After doing some research and math, I came up with these numbers for realistic distances at which various weapons would attract zombies.

The db values are taken from varius sources, and some are my estimates. If you can find better data, please comment and I'll update.

Edit: forgot that decibels are logarithmic, corrected.

Current zombie alerting range (meters)

M9 SD: 0.1

PDW: 52.8

M9: 52.8

G17: 52.8

Makarov PM: 52.8

Revolver: 59.4

M1911: 59.4

Winchester 1866: 125

Double-barreled Shotgun: 90

M1014: 90

Remington 870: 90

MP5A5: 52.8

MP5SD6: 0.1

Bizon PP-19 SD: 0.1

AK-74: 80

AKM: 149.4

AKS-74U: 80

FN FAL: 180

L85A2 AWS: 80

Lee Enfield: 234

M16A2: 80

M4A1: 80

AS50: 455.4

M107: 455.4

SVD Camo: 180

DMR: 180

M24: 180

CZ550: 180

M14 AIM: 180

M249 SAW: 180

M240: 180

Mk 48 Mod 0: 180

Realistic gunshot noise (db)

M9 SD: 75

PDW: 159.8

M9: 159.8

G17: 159.8

Makarov PM: 159.8

Revolver: 157

M1911: 157

Winchester 1866: 145

Double-barreled Shotgun: 161.5

M1014: 161.5

Remington 870: 161.5

MP5A5: 159.8

MP5SD6: 75

Bizon PP-19 SD: 75

AK-74: 155

AKM: 159

AKS-74U: 157

FN FAL: 156.2

L85A2 AWS: 157

Lee Enfield: 158.5

M16A2: 155.5

M4A1: 157

AS50: 180

M107: 180

SVD Camo: 158

DMR: 156.2

M24: 156.2

CZ550: 156.2

M14 AIM: 156.2

M249 SAW: 155.5

M240: 156.2

Mk 48 Mod 0: 158

Relative noise level (180db=1, logarithmic)

M9 SD: 0.005

PDW: 0.25

M9: 0.25

G17: 0.25

Makarov PM: 0.25

Revolver: 0.21

M1911: 0.21

Winchester 1866: 0.08

Double-barreled Shotgun: 0.29

M1014: 0.29

Remington 870: 0.29

MP5A5: 0.245

MP5SD6: 0.005

Bizon PP-19 SD: 0.005

AK-74: 0.17

AKM: 0.22

AKS-74U: 0.21

FN FAL: 0.21

L85A2 AWS: 0.21

Lee Enfield: 0.22

M16A2: 0.17

M4A1: 0.21

AS50: 1

M107: 1

SVD Camo: 0.22

DMR: 0.21

M24: 0.21

CZ550: 0.21

M14 AIM: 0.21

M249 SAW: 0.17

M240: 0.21

Mk 48 Mod 0: 0.21

Corrected zombie alerting range, using .50cal rifles as base (meters)

M9 SD: 4.1

PDW: 113.9

M9: 113.9

G17: 113.9

Makarov PM: 113.9

Revolver: 95.6

M1911: 95.6

Winchester 1866: 36.8

Double-barreled Shotgun: 132.0

M1014: 132.0

Remington 870: 113.9

MP5A5: 113.9

MP5SD6: 4.1

Bizon PP-19 SD: 4.1

AK-74: 77.4

AKM: 77.4

AKS-74U: 95.6

FN FAL: 95.6

L85A2 AWS: 95.6

Lee Enfield: 100.2

M16A2: 77.4

M4A1: 95.6

AS50: 455.4

M107: 455.4

SVD Camo: 100.2

DMR: 95.6

M24: 95.6

CZ550: 95.6

M14 AIM: 95.6

M249 SAW: 77.4

M240: 95.6

Mk 48 Mod 0: 95.6

I think the best way to improve zombie reaction behavior would be to have them gain 360 degree vision, out to about 150m, after hearing a gunshot. There's no way a zed could immediately lock on to someone half a click away just because they fired a .50cal.

Sources: http://www.freeheari...firenoise.shtml

http://dayzdb.com/database/weapons

http://world.guns.ru/

http://www.gcaudio.c...geloudness.html

Edited July 12, 2012 by Nuxes

[KennyNZ 121]

How did you come to these figures?

[Wazza 274]

And for this you receive a gold star... keep up the good work

[nuxes 4]

How did you come to these figures?

Sources: http://www.freeheari...firenoise.shtml

http://dayzdb.com/database/weapons

http://world.guns.ru/

I used some estimation for weapons that I couldn't find exact figures, like the .50cal sniper rifles, I just used the value from a M2HB. The Winchester is a guess on my part, I couldn't find decibel values for any black powder weapon, just people saying that it is quieter than a modern weapon, but still loud enough to need hearing protection (>140db).

[Bogeyman 23]

Valiant effort, but you need to consider the fact that decibel is a logarithmic unit. Simply put (from wikipedia):

"A change in power ratio by a factor of 10 is a 10 dB change. A change in power ratio by a factor of two is approximately a 3 dB change."

So an M9 SD is not ~27% as loud as an AS50. It is... um... oh screw it, let's just say it's INSANELY more quiet than an AS50.

edit: oh, it's actually rather simple. Let's say a M9 SD is 50 dB, an AS50 is 180 dB. 180 - 50 = 130. So that means a AS50 is 10^13 times as loud as an M9 SD.

To spell it out for you, it's:

10 000 000 000 000 times as loud.

or ten trillion times as loud, or if you prefer ten million million times as loud.

Also, there are other things to consider, such as the lower threshold for being able to hear sounds.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Bogeyman

[BurritoBandit 24]

I think some things need to be fixed before gunshots can be heard from that far, like zombies slowly walk to the location rather then run like fuck to whoever shot it.

[nuxes 4]

Valiant effort, but you need to consider the fact that decibel is a logarithmic unit. Simply put (from wikipedia):

"A change in power ratio by a factor of 10 is a 10 dB change. A change in power ratio by a factor of two is approximately a 3 dB change."

So an M9 SD is not ~27% as loud as an AS50. It is... um... oh screw it, let's just say it's INSANELY more quiet than an AS50.

Also, there are other things to consider, such as the lower threshold for being able to hear sounds.

Louder sounds carry logarithmically more energy, but doesn't the sound level also drop off logarithmically? So wouldn't the two cancel each other out?

I think some things need to be fixed before gunshots can be heard from that far, like zombies slowly walk to the location rather then run like fuck to whoever shot it.

Yeah, my point was more that the current system is ridiculous.

[matt.gilmurray@gmail.com 46]

Damn send those statistics to BIS they would like to see that just as much as the dev team.

[East Clintwood 30]

Are you taking into the account the SD weapons ingame are firing subsonic ammunition, which is significantly quieter than if they were firing conventional ammunition through a supressor?

[EnermaX 59]

Nice!

"You can't go there!"

[Bogeyman 23]

Good point Nuxes. I don't have a clear answer (beyond: it's not so simple). Like I said, the lower threshold of human hearing will make simple ratios of dB to be pointless.

Obviously, a sound at 180 decibels won't be audible at a distance ten trillion times farther than a sound at 50 decibels. So you can't compare raw power. But let's say you couldn't hear a sound below 20 dB (I don't know the exact numbers, and besides, the numbers vary depending on the frequency). A sound at 50 dB will reach sub-20 dB without going nearly as far as a sound at 180 dB.

Again: screw the numbers, I'm just saying it's not so simple. You need some proper equations to figure this stuff out.

[E-Z 25]

so you want a zombie to hear a m9 SD at 123m? seems legit

[nuxes 4]

Good point Nuxes. I don't have a clear answer (beyond: it's not so simple). Like I said, the lower threshold of human hearing will make simple ratios of dB to be pointless.

Obviously, a sound at 180 decibels won't be audible at a distance ten trillion times farther than a sound at 50 decibels. So you can't compare raw power. But let's say you couldn't hear a sound below 20 dB (I don't know the exact numbers, and besides, the numbers vary depending on the frequency). A sound at 50 dB will reach sub-20 dB without going nearly as far as a sound at 180 dB.

Again: screw the numbers, I'm just saying it's not so simple. You need some proper equations to figure this stuff out.

I fixed the ratios using logarithms. This site has a chart showing difference in "loudness", but it admits that this is a tricky and subjective thing to measure.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/voltageloudness.html

[tagg 13]

so you want a zombie to hear a m9 SD at 123m? seems legit

why not lol..... you can be seen without moving while crouched at 200+ yards.......through buildings..... why not pull the entire town of cherno with a winchester... or a revolver? xD add that 'special survival' aspect to the game.... lol and... bandits would have way to much fun with that xD (sees a person sneaking through the city... shoots a Lee shot to aggro all the zombies in the entire map... which means that at least a couple would aggro onto the bandit's Victim as it ran past lol...... and seeing how bandits tend to be in towers or places with ladders... they dont really have to worry at all lol)

^_^ I approve those changes for Extreme difficulty lol

edit: AND... yeah... it pretty much would aggro every city on the map with a single shot of a Lee... if a m9 SD

was audible at 123m and the Lee's audible levels were held to that same scale

Edited July 12, 2012 by tagg

[LifeHackz (DayZ) 17]

I completely agree, the way zombies lock on to you after a shot is shocking, especially if you shoot way out of line of sight, and all of a sudden you have 300 zombies coming right round the corner at EXACTLY where you are, maybe they should use the loitering system after gunshots or something, and the stats for the Enfield, I shot once in Cherno, never again did I use that weapon..

[Bogeyman 23]

Um, you have changed the values of noise levels for weapons, e.g. the silenced weapons. Now it says an M9 SD makes a noise equal to a "kitchen appliance" (according to the freehearing.com link you posted), i.e. 75 dB. Looking at some videos of an M9 SD I'd say 75 dB might be reasonable, but I really don't know. Sound captured with a digital device doesn't necessarily sound much like the real thing.

When I first read your post it said 49 dB for the M9 SD, which would be about 1/8192 as loud as an AS50 at 180 dB, or 0.00012 times as loud as an AS50, which if it can be correlated to how far the sound can travel before becoming inaudible (which is I highly doubt, as it doesn't take into account the lower threshold for human hearing, but maybe that has less of an impact than I assume) would mean that if the sound of an AS50 is audible over 455.4 meters then a M9 SD would be audible over 0.05 meters, or rounded up 0.1 meters.

Again, these numbers aren't correct either as not all variables are taken into account, such as frequencies. And it's not about being able to hear, it's about being able to attract attention which requires a significantly louder noise.

So where did you get the old numbers, and where did you get the new numbers for the silenced weapons?

[nuxes 4]

So where did you get the old numbers, and where did you get the new numbers for the silenced weapons?

I don't remember where I got the 49db, some random website, but Wikipedia says the Welrod pistol is 75db, and that's supposed to be one of the quietest weapons ever. A converted weapon, like the MP5SD, or a screw on silencer, like the M9SD, would have to be louder than that, but I can't find any exact numbers.

Movies would have you believe that silencers turn a gunshot into a whisper, but truth is, the sound is still pretty loud. The idea is more to make it sound like something other than a gunshot. And if you were using it in a noisy environment, like a city, 75db would blend in to the ambient noise. No one would think twice about hearing a "pop" sound over the din.

Listen to this video, you can still hear the silenced shots echoing.

[tatelewis 0]

you my sir, are one smart man

i like the idea of this

[Tigger (DayZ) 24]

so you want a zombie to hear a m9 SD at 123m? seems legit

In a forest, you could easily hear a silenced shot at 200m. The silencer takes it from "stupid, ouch my ears, loud" to "quite loud".

Edit: Next time I'll finish reading the thread, someone already responded to it.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Tigger

[wolfstriked 143]

I heard that silencers lower volume somewhat but the big advantage is that you can't hear where the shot is coming from.

[Archon (DayZ) 14]

The biggest problem with sounds is that Winston Zedamore immediately and unerringly locks onto the source of the sound regardless of situational factors.

As quiet as it is in game (death of industry, no cars, etc) you'd be able to hear a .22 LR being fired in Cherno from Elektro...

I think it'd be less cartoony if Zed and pals would be alerted by sounds, i.e., the first gunshot or two... head for it, and then lock on to whatever they happen to see on the way or at the perceived source of the sound.

As it is, they should be flipping out on the Churches every 15 minutes or so, because those are LOUD.

Regardless of EVERYTHING else, the Enfield is absolutely absurd. I own one. Yes, it's loud. The problem is, all of the 7.62x51s and 7.62x54Rs (At least the SVD) are as loud or louder.

And the M249 fires 5.56x45, yet it is as loud as the 7.62x51 LMGs? It's the exact same round as the M16/M4s, they will even accept STANAGs IRL.

[Timmymachine109 (DayZ) 235]

I would say that in reality the distances would be a lot bigger than that. You can hear an sa80 (l85a2) firing from over a km away and can pretty accurately pinpoint the firing point at over 300m.

Edit: was typing on phone as guy above posted. I fully agree with him

Edited July 13, 2012 by Timmymachine109

[keep_pabst_blue 0]

So true about movies/games and silencers. A silenced shotgun or automatic rifle is MUCH louder than you'd believe watching movies and playing games. Cool pistol video too. Very nice demonstration of this fact.

[nuxes 4]

I would say that in reality the distances would be a lot bigger than that. You can hear an sa80 (l85a2) firing from over a km away and can pretty accurately pinpoint the firing point at over 300m.

This isn't about how far a human could hear. I guess we could start arguing about how good zombies' senses are, but I decided to just scale the numbers according to the values for the loudest weapons as they are in the game.