quake part I: the beta version
jason olenick (jolenick@chat.carleton.ca):
The only thing I don't like about Quake is the sound effects. Sure, some of them are neat, but they just aren't as good as other games out there (including Doom). The only ones I like are the nails hitting a wall, coming up for air from under water, and when body parts hit water or slime. Other than that, they really aren't that great. What happened to Thomas Dolby doing the sound FX?
matt portune (mportune@telerama.lm.com):
Not only that, the sampling acoustics for some sounds are really poor. Put on headphones, then jump. The dry "grunt" sample sounds like it was recorded in an aluminum outhouse. Plus, they just aren't scary. The chanting Mages in Hexen scared the HELL out of me. THAT was creepy. Otherwise, the other sounds are pretty cool. Especially when people explode.
robert walters (pinhead@inlink.com):
Agreed. The shotgun sound is incredibly weak. Remember that double-barrel blast from Doom 2? With my subwoofer, that thing could shake my room. Quake's seems very muffled in comparison.
the lord leto II (t951@academic.nemostate.edu):
The Doom 2 Super Shotgun was absolutely wonderful. The Quake SFX really bite. Too bad Trent doesn't have an e-mail address so we can tell him, "Hey, your sounds SUCK." I absolutely hate the double-barreled shotgun in Quake, even though it was my absolute favorite Doom weapon. Why didn't they hire someone who was both qualified and had experience?
malleus maleficarum (primenet.com):
The Doom 2 double-barrel shotgun sounds very much like a sawed-off shotgun in real life. The unique sound comes mostly from the short barrel rather than two barrels at once. The extra barrel just makes it louder and more powerful. If they included a subtle metallic tink as the shotgun fired it could account for a unprofessional hacksaw job on the barrel. That would be cool.
The Quake double-barrel sounds like a wimpy piece of crap. Probably a double .410 rather than a .12- or .10-gauge....
benjamin black (guest@lawmail.cc.columbia.edu):
Do you think Trent went out and fired a double-barreled shotgun to hear what it sounded like?
valentino zanin (zenin@m5.sprynet.com):
He should have. I love the effect, but the sound sucked. I tried patching the sound to Doom's (subtracting the reload sound) and had a jolly good time until 1.01 came out. D'oh. Now I have two versions of the game! Hope the registered comes out rea l quick!
marcus hast (marcus.hast@mailbox.swipnet.se):
It might very possibly be just that. A direct sample of a double-barreled shotgun, that is. Yeah right, you say! A shotgun doesn't sound like that! I've heard them in Doom, and on TV, and....
Basically ALL sounds sound weak when sampled. Even many of the sounds you hear in a wildlife documentary are faked. Sure, when you hear a lion growl, it IS a lion growling...just not THAT particular lion. It would kinda ruin the film to have the sound guy standing five feet from the lion -- would look kinda out of place, huh?
Trent Reznor's music will rule for Quake. But they could have used somebody else for the FX.
What happened to that satisfying *CRUUNSH, arghhh* when you fell from a high place in Qtest, by the way? I LOVED that!
scott morrison (smorrison@ee.net):
That's the great thing about Quake -- unpack your file and extract the Doom 2 sound! ('Course you may need the registered version....)
LLL (lll@individual.eunet.pt):
Top 10 -- What destroyed Quake and Id:
gerald mori (britec@interlog.com):
Fair enough. When can we expect YOUR 3-D game to hit the shelves? And what will it be called, so I can keep an eye out for it? Oh, you don't have one in the works? Hmm, perhaps you shouldn't be so quick with the criticism, then. If you don't like Quake, don't play it. It's really that simple.
ted mika (tedmika@skypoint.com):
You know, I am already starting to see some of the LAMERS who were trashing Qtest running around asking "how do I play Net Quake?" I expect when the full version is out and everyone is playing Quake, more of these twits will conveniently forget that they hate Quake and be on here whining for help playing the game.
I suppose this idiot already has the CD version of Quake with the music on it? Probably he had one of his own sucky CDs in the drive while playing Quake and thought it was Reznor's.
jefftoe (jefftoe@iadfw.net):
Has anyone noticed that some of the Zombie sounds are snores? Maybe someone at Id got drunk and passed out one weekend and they recorded the snores as a joke.
Just a thought. I do like the SFX, by the way.
chris somers (somers@ibm.net):
I don't know who you sleep with, but they sure sound like cows to this city slicker.
william harris (william@carsinfo.com):
Snoring? Never thought that. I get the sound of a guy in distress on a commode. "Uhhhhhh.... Ohhhhh...." Maybe they recorded someone after a marathon drinking bout?
a traveler of the orion spiral arm (jdweiner@bu.edu):
Personally, I think the Knights sound kind of constipated. ("Unnnngh...Urrrrghhhh....") Don't want to think how they might have recorded THAT at Id....
eric calcagni (calcagni@3-cities.com):
You know, I know Trent was supposed to be recording all the sound effects, but I'm not really sure. I have recognized a sound that comes right out of Magic Carpet 2, and another one that the television show E! used for video transitions. There was another one in there, but I can't remember. And these are ones that I have noticed.
I am fairly certain that he did not create all of the sounds. I think Id used sounds that were in the can in some areas. Of course, I could be wrong and it is my mind that is just playing with me, but I have played enough Magic Carpet to recognize one of the sounds. (A groaning sound before you enter the skill level portals.)
mary menn (bags@gold.com):
Quake makes a fool out of Trent Reznor. Poor guy, ventures out to launch Nothing Interactive (ironic name, suits the game) and ends up being the coolest thing about the CD. This could be a bad thing if Quake remains looking like a silver turd.
Recycled sound FX? C'mon, what's with the DUKE PIG COP sound for the Ogre? You have the MASTER of digital media doing audio, so you still need to use Robert Prince's rehashed samples? Jeezus. NIN pisses on this decision. (Me, too.)
stefano cavestri (scavestri@iol.it):
Hexen had some sounds from Doom, Duke 3D had some from Hexen, Quake has some from Duke 3D (Ogre=Pig Cop).
Why? I dont want Pig Cop's grunt in my Quake....
michael houston (houston@webframes.com):
Yeah, what's the deal with this? Is Trent friends with 3D Realms as well? The Pig sound is EXACTLY the same as the Pig Cop in Duke. How hard is it to make sounds from scratch? The other day I heard some Doom sounds on Reboot. Muzak for video games.
ben hoffman (rhinov@erols.com):
Actually, I heard that the registered version has mostly all-new SFX. Supposed to totally immerse you in the game. As for the shareware SFX: A few are recycled from other games. Trent didn't have much of a role in them. I think everyone will be surprised by the improvement in the registered version.
Although it seems a little business-ignorant to make the shareware lacking in so many ways. Who wants to buy it when it's missing good SFX, etc.? But I already pre-ordered Quake, and I think I will be happy with what I get.
