Improved sounds

[PengiBuilds]

I have had the game for a few weeks now, and I'm loving it, but it still lacks some things (early access I know). One of the few things that has especially been bothering me are the sounds. Not because they're bad, but they could use quite a few improvements for more realism. Here is what I would fix/add to improve the sounds:

- Better loops. The run and engine sounds of most trains aren't looped in the best way, so there is a pattern in them which keeps repeating and gets very annoying after a while.

- Difference between exterior and interior sounds. The interior and exterior sound exactly the same which isn't the most realistic. 

- Tunnel echo. 

- Weather sounds. Sounds like raindrops hitting the windshield or the wind blowing would increase immersion. 

- Louder horns. This is an issue i have experienced in many train sims where the horns are not loud enough on the exterior. Horns should be ear-shatteringly loud and have an echo which can be heard from a distance. A better doppler effect and different horn variations for a single train type would be nice too.

Doppler example:

 

Example of how loud a horn can be:

"Meowing" EP07 🙂 

 

Notice how this EP07s horn sounds different

- Louder brake squeal. The brakes, especially on Intercity wagons are very loud in real life, and I would appreciate seeing this in SimRail aswell. 

(Skip to 2:40)

 

- Improved station announcements. Announcements at large stations like Warszawa Centralna and Katowice should be louder and echo more. It would also be nice to have chimes and voices similar to the ones of the real stations (like IVONA TTS). Also in my opinion, having announcements in different languages in unneccessary as it doesn't sound realistic and they are not very important for gameplay. They should be kept in Polish (and English at some stations)

Do I even need to explain this:

 

- The beep sound that you hear when you recieve a radio message in some trains (you can just about hear it in this clip)

- More distorted radio sounds for realism (toggleable perhaps)

 

[Atoka220]

I agree with this. Sound is a massive immersion factor

I would expand this with some more ideas:

The ear deafening vibrations inside the cab during a wheelslip and the hellish moans and groans of wheels when they are locked up during an emergency braking
A roaring wind sound effect when i open the window at high speed
When applying emergency brake, we should hear a huge rush of air at the valve (though i don't know how oerlikon and other valves behave in polish locos)
Deep roars and all those noises in the cab when driving on uneven track (especially in old locos) - i guess the team's drivers know what i mean, i can't describe it in english 😅
And with that, better interior sounds when driving over track joints or junctions
A stereo effect inside the cab as as the driver, we are surrounded by the noise sources, enclosed in a cab
And overall louder train noise as irl we can hear a train from a few kilometers, however ingame it's a few hundred meters at most.

 

Also that meowing siódemka must be my favorite polish train video now. Just what is wrong with polish train horns? 😄

Edited October 13, 2023 by Atoka220
typo

[BigVern]

Well sounds are very subjective. The locos and MU's in SimRail (including the Pendolino) sound much better than what DTG have managed recenetly with TSW.

The new routes with TSW4 are accompanied by trains with either very quiet or poorly mixed sound. Class 801 Azuma on the ECML has almost no sound in the cab, even after following initial complaints DTG claimed to have given it a buff. The Austrian EMU on the Vorarlberg route has sounds aliased from a different EMU, with DTG claiming OBB refused them access to the real train to make recordings. The F125 on Antelope Valley is okay but being a modern Caterpillar powered diesel tends to be quiet anyway. The Vectron is the best of the bunch and quite nice to drive, with the steam loco Flying Scotsman the least said the better.

So I don't know what level of access the Simrail team got from PKP to record their sounds but they actually did a very good job and with the mixing - another case where DTG's audio department lets them down with quite often evident looping and levels too quiet (the recently release Class 700 being a case in point).

I do agree though that Simrail need to look at implementing reverb when passing under bridges or through tunnels and a bit of rumble and clatter crossing iron bridges. The sounds for jointed track and points/crossings could also do with a bit of a buff.

But overall I would rate Simrail effort at sound (so far) as 8/10 vs DTG at 5/10. Hoping they keep up the high standard with the EN57 and the steam loco, whenever they arrive.

[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]

Yup but you are comparing SimRail, with rubbish Vern.

OpenRails has better sounds than TSW4 and most are freeware.

[Gazz292]

it would be nice for each loco variant in SimRail to have slightly different sounds,  especially for things like the horns which will all sound different due to aging, the air circuits being partially blocked, the diaphragm wearing etc,