Electrostars And Their Frustratingly Bad Sounds

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Krazy, Sep 17, 2022.

  1. Krazy

    Krazy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2020
    Messages:
    654
    Likes Received:
    1,508
    This is something that's been bothering me ever since the release of the Brighton Mainline (London Commuter) in October. I kept on hearing people say things like "The LBN sounds are incredible, I wish the ECW 377 and SEHS 375 had these amazing sounds!". And whenever I hear someone praise the sounds of the 377, 387, and the new 375, I feel like I'm going insane. Because, well, they're awful!

    The sounds themselves? Yes, wonderful. The actual sounds being used for the Electrostar trains are great. But the way they're implemented makes these trains some of the most unbearable things to drive in the entire game. When inside the cab, it is dead silent. Genuinely nothing can be heard below 20 mph, and when the train gets up to speed, it's still so unbelievably quiet! I don't feel like I'm flying down a busy mainline at 70 mph, I feel like I've accidentally muted the game or something! Of course, I could open the window. This way, I can actually hear the sounds a little bit more (still kind of quiet). But no! The wind overpowers everything, and it's poorly looped!

    "But Dovetail Games forum user Krazy, why don't you just turn up your volume?" some of you may be asking. Well you see, the train has AWS. If I activate AWS (which is a very useful tool for alerting me of amber and red signals), and happen to pass by a green signal, the *ding* will blast my eardrums off, because it just so happens that it's the only sound in the cab to not be insanely quiet. Also, if I ever decide to go into the exterior cameras (which I often do), guess what? The exterior sounds are actually at a proper volume! It's ONLY the sounds inside of the train that are poorly balanced.

    So I'm left very confused whenever I hear praise of the sounds of the Electrostars. Sure, if you drive the entire journey with external cameras, you'll experience some wonderful train sounds. But most people (including myself) spend the majority of their time inside of the cab, where the sounds are bad in every single way. These are sounds that ruin the entire experience of a very well-made route in the Brighton Mainline. I was disappointed to see these very same sounds make their way over to Southeastern High Speed. The East Coastway is the only way to experience an Electrostar that the player can actually hear.

    I just want DTG to fix these interior sounds. Surely all it takes is turning up a few sliders in the audio files, right? It's all I want. Sound is an incredibly important part of any game, and if the sound is terrible, the game isn't fun to play.
     
    • Like Like x 10
  2. CK95

    CK95 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2019
    Messages:
    3,177
    Likes Received:
    9,162
    The LBN 377, 387 & now 375 do have the best sounds when it comes to electrostars, mostly because unlike the older versions from ECW/SEHS they actually sound like electrostars.

    The way we are hearing them is the issue, DTG have been told plenty of times that the AWS & DSD alarms are poorly balanced, the cab sounds are messed up overall.

    To defeat the wind noise issue, just open the right side cab window only (the window furthest from you), this will give you more motor audio without the wind.

    I believe the wind issue has been corrected in the upcoming patch for the 375, we just need that fix porting to the 377 & 387.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  3. arek#2842

    arek#2842 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2022
    Messages:
    479
    Likes Received:
    506
    Don't forget about the in-cab sound of rain drumming in the roof as we would be siting in a tin can, not a modern train's cabin. It's only well done for 387.
     
    • Like Like x 4
  4. james64

    james64 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2020
    Messages:
    1,176
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    I'm sorry but I simply can't agree. I've driven the 377 and 387 for 30+ hours on London Commuter and the sounds are completely fine to me. A little quiet in the cab for sure, but I don't expect an Electrostar to sound loud to begin with. They have a silent and effortless quality to them which I quite like.

    I'm still going to keep screaming at DTG until they port them over to ECW, and if they still have the current flaws you mention then so be it. The 377 on ECW is unplayable to me as it stands.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. LIRRGuy

    LIRRGuy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2019
    Messages:
    605
    Likes Received:
    1,197
    Im sorry i have never experienced anything bad about the sounds on the Inside, it sounds fine too me, but they are a TAD too low. At least its not the M7
     
  6. LIRRGuy

    LIRRGuy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2019
    Messages:
    605
    Likes Received:
    1,197
    Even Better, PORT the LBN 377 to ECW and scrap the ECW 377 in TSW 3
     
    • Like Like x 1
  7. Krazy

    Krazy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2020
    Messages:
    654
    Likes Received:
    1,508
    I guess that’s my main issue, the fact that it’s a “little” quiet. It seems like a small thing, but it bothers me to no end how I can be cruising along at 70 mph and hear NOTHING. Even the quietest of trains are still able to be slightly heard when accelerating and speeding along the mainline.
     
  8. steveownzzz#6107

    steveownzzz#6107 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2021
    Messages:
    583
    Likes Received:
    874
    The junction sounds could be louder. I thought the traction motor sounds from the cab were pretty appropriate though, judging from cab rides I've watched on youtube.
    Even in the video linked above, when slowing down to a stop, the whine seems pretty faint from the cab.
    Would be cool if we had the ability to adjust more sound sliders (warning systems, tractions motor sounds, etc), although idk how easy or impossible that is to implement.
     
  9. aeronautic237

    aeronautic237 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2022
    Messages:
    1,564
    Likes Received:
    1,324
    I always wondered if the sounds in the cab were really that quiet, until I got in the passenger cabin of London Commuter. It sounded exactly like I remembered it (I've never been in the cab IRL, but I have ridden on a couple). That, and the above cab ride led me to believe that the sounds were created really well.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  10. kekanha#4892

    kekanha#4892 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2021
    Messages:
    472
    Likes Received:
    176
    Open the windows.
     

Share This Page