Azuma Sounds - Poll

Fairly widespread dissatisfaction with the above which look set to ruin what is an otherwise perfectly good train. Now we have heard little from DTG on the subject other than they had to use AP sounds in turn based on the Electrostar, but that notwithstanding something needs to be done.

I normally dislike polls but in this instance feel one is necessary to highlight the issue and persuade DTG to recall the audio department and have another go. So please consider the options and vote for one of them.

 

Personally I think when I can hear the sounds they're good. But they need to be alot louder. All the AZUMA sounds so. (Apart from the vigilance alarm)

 

The traction motor sounds need to be louder

 

I haven’t played the game much (takes all night to download on Hotel WiFi) but based on all the YouTube videos I’ve watched of both the real and TSW train and a couple of runs, I’d say they are fine. Just needs the AWS boosting, but they’ve already said that will happen.

I certainly wouldn’t say the audio team have done a bad job here.

 

I didn't find them to be as bad as I feared after reading some initial feedback. Maybe they could do with turning up a little and the AWS ping adjusted to a suitable level, so I chose increase the relative level. I think my TV volume was turned up higher than usual as they seemed a good level to me, until I used the horn and my cat ran for cover! I don't know if it is correct but the horn sounds quite loud in comparison to the rest.

If in the future they can get a proper recording with an Azuma in action that of course would be wonderful.

 

AWS/Traction motor sounds need to be raised. The horn and Vigilance however are fine.

 

Ooooh I love the horn!

 

Honestly i feel the electrostar motors work fine on the azuma, most modern electric units have similar high speed running sounds anyway

 

I think using the word ruin is taking it a bit far, but I certainly like to hear the train that I'm pretending to drive.

 

Whatever the case, in the Dovetail Direct stream they were massively bigging themselves up about having amazing sounds across the board.
But now we see the talent 1 sounds aren’t accurate at all, the Flying Scotsman is using existing sounds that already aren’t great, and now there’s clearly problems with the 801.

a little bit frustrating.

 

No. They absolutely do not sound similar.

 

Appreciate the response Matt.

Now the wife and I took a walk alongside the Wilts and Berks Canal at Wootton Bassett which parallels the GWML in some places. Passed by several GWR 8xx’s and these things are loud. You certainly can hear the traction motors whining under power. That does not come over at all in respect of what I’m hearing in game.

So I do maintain that the audio department definitely needs another go at this, whether buffing and remixing the existing sounds or sourcing anew.

Also worth remembering in a sim there is a bit of a buff over what you would normally hear in the cab anyway, for entertainment value. The classic diesels run with the external “thrash” audible in the cab which, if you’ve ever watched a cab ride video in reality is barely audible. One of the reasons I never really engaged with AP replacement sounds as they went for realism over fun.

 

To be fair to AP they did start adding ‘Thrash Factor’ to their stuff, I think to get around that. It is just external noise but it can be fine tuned from 1 - 10.

 

That shuts me up. As you say it's the levels and maybe needs a bit of extra thrash "magic" adding to enhance the in cab experience.

Another possibility is to remove the cab door interlock so we can run with them open and admit some of the exterior sound.

Anyhow will have a more extensive drive with it later after finishing the AVL trip and look forward to enjoying the ECML itself.

 

I think the sounds are nearly there if I'm honest with just some fine tuning/ balancing which is in hand.
Side note can I just say how big a difference it makes having the bridge /tunnel reverb sounds. Can this be standard feature in every new release going forward?
Adds so much to the immersion/ sense of speed.
Also a bug I've found is the vigilance sounding even when in sat in neutral. Neutral should bypass this prototypically.

 

Yes this is probably the biggest single QOL for me on the driving side in the core. Just a shame there are now so many routes in the back catalogue that probably won't get it unless they can be uncooked, updated then recooked and put out with a patch/update. Routes like NTP with many tunnels and thrashing the noisy diesels would really benefit.

 

It would be interesting to see if it could be linked to the asset and not the track retrospectively. I.e removing the need to adjust track properties/audio manually.

 

All I really care about them is that they are as realistic as possible. If they are quiet in real life, then keep them quiet in game. If they need a boost to be realistic then give them a boost. Having never been on an 801 and definitely never been in the cab of one I can't make a comment either way. A train cab is a workplace and typically drivers want as little noise as possible so for all we know it is quiet and isolated in real life.

I do find the AWS quiet to the point where I need to be very attentive to hear it though.

 

Great news. The AWS sounds are so quiet, I managed to miss one entirely and the train was brought to a standstill as a result!

Oddly, the AWS sounds are louder outside of the cab, on a par with the joint sounds (which should of course be louder outside of the cab) - so perhaps the sound has mixed incorrectly?

Edit: the AWS sounds are only louder outside the cab when it’s a confirmation sound (green signal) When the alarm sounds, it is not any louder outside the cab than inside.

 

Levels definitely seem to be the place to start as if you sound the warning horn it is really loud, yet you can barely hear the track or traction audio. The Azuma seems to have fallen into the same trap as the Class 700 in this respect.

 

At least you could open the windows on the 700.

 

I’m pretty sure I’ve been in the 801, 3 times (it was a LNER service on the Newcastle Edinburgh section.) the last time being summer last year.

they weren’t particularly overly loud inside the passenger coaches, definitely unlike the class 994, though I don’t recall total silence, I’ve never been in the cab.

sounds should be as close as possible to reality is what I will always say, it does sound like they may be a bit quiet in cab, but as said above I don’t know the cab personally.

 

Why can't you just use AP sounds? They seem pretty good. Just curious.

 

The PR term "amazing" is so overused that it's become meaningless.

Or would you sell your work saying "Buy this mediocre product!"?

 

Modern trains, especially passenger trains, are designed to a much higher quieting spec than old ones used to be. I seem to recall the drivers' union threatened industrial action over the noise levels in the Class 66 cab.

 

I have no idea if they're accurate but they sound ok to my ears. I'd probably prefer them to be a bit louder in the cab so i picked the "adjust levels" option.

OTOH, does any one else find the OBB Talent sounds to be just awful? Again no idea on accuracy, but i hear a crazy looping effect that is really hard on my ears. Compared to the Vectron, which sounds amazing, it really stands out as bad.

Honestly my only big disappointment with TSW4 so far- overall it's very good.

Edit: PC/Steam with headphones fwiw

 

However as I mentioned earlier there is also the entertainment vs authenticity issue. I want the cab to be louder and more thrash than it is IRL, with that being said the Azuma seems still too quiet to start with.

Ultimately it would also be nice to get more options for audio, including the ability to adjust cab level independent of anything else and, as alluded to earlier in the AP reference, an option to mix what the traction unit sounds like externally into the cab interior view.

 

Agreed, but there’s a lot going on in the audio space of a train IRL, in game the sound set overall is very ‘sterile’ - so when you get low cab volumes, you just don’t feel ‘there’.

 

And actually travelling on a "Knotweed" in the passenger accommodation is anything but quiet. When the train is under power you certainly know it and if you sit over the bogie, passing over jointed track or points/crossings very firm and clunky ride.

 

The horn sounds lovely as it is. Nice and loud and what I would expect it to sound like. Don’t know what the running sounds should sound like, but I would like to hear them. At the moment they do seem rather quiet (unless it’s running in diesel mode), which most I’ve encountered so far seem to be running in. Maybe there was a power cut.

 

It is 801 sounds from ap but I've read reviews that ap used electrostar running sounds. However they have been modified by dtg to make it sound like an azuma so not exactly electrostar sounds

 

I think on the Controller for PS5 the alarms are WAY too quiet but apart from that I’m not too fussed

 

All these modern electric trains sound the same to me but the one run I have done with it so far I thought the Azuma running 125mph sounds no louder than reverse parking a Tesla. I couldn't find a way to open the windows so I thought I might be able to open the door and let some noise in like the MML HST.....well it opens but the train comes grinding to a halt with an emergency brake application.

 

You jest, but the electric motor and regenerative charging on my Yaris Hybrid is actually louder and more fulfilling than these Azuma sounds!

 

Actually I don't dislike the 801 as much as I thought I would; it's a step- up from an electrostar even though it's a joystick to drive ( pun intended ).

Call me an old Neanderthal, but give me a Deltic or a Class 47 or 50 any day. Electrics are to railways like social media is to civilized society. The death knell.

 

One thing to remember also: the Azuma (and all class 80x afaik) end cars are trailers (DPT, Driving Pantograph Trailers), so you won't hear the motor whine from the cab. I do agree the traction sounds should probably be louder (especially interior, those things are loud If you're in a motor trailer), but other than volume/mix the sounds seem accurate to me, form quite a few EDI-KGX return trips in the last few years. I like that it captures the switch in traction around 36-ish mph!

 

Oh definitely. They're a lot louder than other EMUs.

Also anyone who thinks the 800 sounds the same as an Electrostar or a Desiro needs to get their hearing checked. Unless it's just the usual moaners who won't be happy with any train unless it's a Deltic.

I see the differences in sounds between EMUs as like different musical notes. They all have different pitches and whine in different ways, especially the Desiro family which sounds like a spaceship. There's just as much difference between the various classes as there is between say, a 47 and a 40. I'm now fully expecting every member of this forum above the age of 40 to come down on me like a tonne of bricks.

All I'll say is this- I've frequently driven each of the BR diesel locos in TSW and asked what my father (who was an enthusiast in the 70s and 80s) what he thinks of the sounds of each class. His answer has always been the same- "it's just a diesel".

 

Those were diesel-electric right?

 

Social media is actively toxic. Electric trains, are faster, more efficient and better for the environment. Not sure what point you're trying to make other than "I don't like modern trains".

 

I swear some day someone will make an electric car that sounds exactly like an electrostar or a desiro or smth. XD

 

I understand the cabins airtight or something amd sound needs something to travel through right. I'm pleased in the main but certainly having never been in the cab wouldnt object (or adversely receive) a couple decibels more.

 

Indeed. In fact this point has come up for those of us who want to see the old Southern third rail EMU’s in the game. With the exception of the 4 CEP’s most had the powered car in the middle, the end driving cars were trailers so in reality you wouldn’t hear much. However that’s where a bit of entertainment licence comes in.

 

If they were to make the sounds unrealistically loud then personally I feel it should be optional. Personally I prefer the experience to be as realistic as possible even if it means the cabs are quite quiet. I can always drive a class 40 when I want to hear some thrash.

If there was to be a "bashers" mode or something so you could have maybe the external sounds in the cab that would be a good compromise, however that is adding to the options on the menu. I suppose if you start catering for everyone the menu could end up being cumbersome.

 

I don´t mean sounds are perfect in Azuma because in general most sounds in game are very soft and fade too early with distance, but as general rule any modern soundproof cab is not so noisy. What produces noise in the cab is the air hitting the cab itself and only at high speeds but that still depends on the train design itself. The other thing you will notice is the high pitch and continuous sound of rails and that´s in general quite realistic in game on the modern high speed lines. I remember the TGV as one of the best cabs in game in terms of sounds, or at least it used to be the past.

As said also some posts above distributed power trains generate noise where the tractive axis are located, so along the train lenght and below it but not in the cab. You will only hear some things the cab in case you have the first tractive axis close enough to seat, any converters nearby (on floor or roof) and in some cases the brake pipes or the horn. Even the horn itself is not so loud depending on where it´s located because if it´s below the nose it´s basically very soft in cab. If you have an engine room behind that would change because you could hear the main switch opening/closing and more general noises like fans and electrical sounds. German locomotives in game are the perfect example of that because the high pitch noises are very noticeable in cab, they change the frequency as soon as converters do their job and they are very disturbing in some of the locomotives. That´s how it´s meant to be. They can be a nightmare in real life depending on the model, even for people on the platforms...

However with windows open at standstill you should be able to listen to lots of things like fans, compressors, the horn and even the electrical clacks of the pantos on catenary in some cases, and those things are in general quite silent in game in that case. When another train passes by on a track next to you and you have windows open that can be quite loud in real life in many cases and you can clearly notice every single detail, including wheels, converters, air conditioning fans, etc, but in game cab is basically a living room and it still makes very few difference to keep windows open or closed in many trains unless they have some really loud sounds that fade the rest of the sounds.

Cheers

 

Just wanted to check the door sounds are known about as well? I've just recently started playing TSW4 and can't help but notice they seem almost inaudible.

Many thanks

 

From my trips they are a pretty quiet train in all honesty, good soundproofing built in. Stand at Kings X filming like I do and you can often be surprised by one accelerating out. I rode the GC Adelente’s and these are quite a bit noisier as you’d expect from an older unit.