[IT IS CORRECT] External sound too quiet when the plane is coming from the front

Hi mates, just wonder what do you think about how quiet the sound becomes when the hornet is coming from the front...the sound in general is very nice, and maybe this is just a matter of yet being worked but imho, the sound becomes too quiet when the plane is not watched from behind or very lateral, is like there is no sound at all which is not realistic. At the same time, when you cut the engines to idle, the sound is too loud at all aspects when it should be almost quiet.

Of course, Im not talking about a supersonic speed but when subsonic.

To demonstrate this a bit, I made a little mod so you all can test this.

Just drop the files to: Sounds/sdef/Aircrafts/FA-18 making first a back up of your original ones in case you want to go back.

With the files you will notice more ambient sound and the actual presence of the plane around you even when its coming from the front...also, the blending of the whole sound stage is much smoother and the coherence of all the sounds is higher.

The purpose is just to support my point and make the sound team, in case they are not awared already, to know this because I think it sounds much better with the edited files and not to make the mod itself, thats why I post this here.

bye!!

Hornet sound mod.rar

I can't really comment on the loudness but I think they may have done some changes to the sound in that latest patch. It seems a bit quieter from the front and now you get the howl / whistle / whining sound. That seems new to me.

This is an example of a .sdef file and in it are the parameters that will let you change the sound the way you want to hear it.

D:\user programs 64\DCS World OpenBeta\Sounds\sdef\Aircrafts\FA-18

wave = "Effects/Aircrafts/FA-18/Afterburner"

distance_filter_offset = 200

inner_radius = 250

outer_radius = 1200

cone_inner_angle = 10

cone_outer_angle = 45

cone_outer_gain = 0

direction = {-1, 0, 0}

release = 0.2

gain = 1

No it’s really like that. I have stood under many, many a Hornet at 29 Palms and you don’t really hear them until they’re on top of you and going past.

 

Don’t underestimate the sneakiness.

Yes quite true.

I was at an air show last summer and an F18 came up from behind w/o me hearing it and only when it was on top of me did it make noise...lots of noise.

Depends a lot on the speed as well. If the F/A-18 approaches just below the speed of sound you naturally can't hear it until it passes you ;)

Depends a lot on the speed as well. If the F/A-18 approaches just below the speed of sound you naturally can't hear it until it passes you ;)

Waitin for someone to say this

I can concur the Hornet's sneakiness. I've seen it coming barely hearing anything, once very near the sound goes loud FAST.

I work on the f-18, and compare to f-16 and f-15, the high pitch from the fan is a lot lower. All fighter a subdue from pointing at you, but the f-18 smaller engine make it quieter. And remember that high frequency are traveling less then lower one. I do like the sound of the f-18 when the a/c is breaking on top of us going idle.

If anyone has been to a Blue Angels demo, they know how sneaky the #5 and #6 jets are. You will not hear them until they are right on top of you.

Depends a lot on the speed as well. If the F/A-18 approaches just below the speed of sound you naturally can't hear it until it passes you ;)

This was at an airshow flying within city limits, I don't know if they would be going that fast...maybe?

To be honest Im surprised you think its ok as it is now...let me explain a few things...

I know that fighter aircrafts can be "sneaky" or inaudible, like the blue angels pass BUT, take into account that in that "sneaky" pass the Hornet is flying at VERY HIGH speed so the plane is close to the speed of sound and it flies faster than the shock cone of mechanical waves it leaves behind so you see the plane fly by and after you hear its sound...this is not the case Im talking about. Im talking about when the plane is simply making a full 360º turn for instance at quite low speed (so SUBSONIC), in this case, the plane doesnt make almost any sound when coming directly to the spectator and Im very sure this is not the case in real life for any jet plane not only for the hornet (and I have watched MANY Hornet displays as Im from Spain so also very familiar with its sounds). Another factor to take into account would be the distance, which would act as a "spring", delaying the sounds when reaching the listeners giving the impression that the plane is emiting sound when watched from the front while that sound is actually the one emited when the plane was showing its rear...that doesnt seem to be the case either as watching real life displays and videos the planes emit more sound after enough time coming from the front (after I can hear the decreased sound presure with respect the previous time the plane was showing its rear to the camera).

A few days ago I had the opportunity to listen, once again, to a Spanish Hornet in a big festival here in Spain and there was a hell of a lot more sound coming from it no matter the aspect except, of course, when the plane performed very high speed maneuvers.

Another point is that if you watch any display video you will notice how there is much more sound coming from the plane even when viewed from the front. Before you tell me videos dont represent the real life and such, which is true, they work quite fine for the matter Im talking about in this thread because the camera wont capture what is NOT there so if there is more SPL in the videos in the situation Im talking about then it means these sounds were actually there in real life.

Example:

Note how there is a pretty much CONSTANT sound coming from the plane at any aspect...of course, the high speed pass is a different thing and in fact this is not a constant but a variable, changing constantly depending of the speed of the plane at any certain moment but in DCS right now as soon as you are looking at the hornet at any angle from the front there is almost no sound at all even at very close distances. With my modded files it feels much better imho because you get that "ambient" roar at any aspect angle..dont you think it sounds much more natural with the modded files??.

Of course, this is not a "complain" and maybe this is just a matter of being worked as we speak but thing is I dont think its working fine as of now imo so I decided to post it. Other than that the sound is very very nice and also noticed the latest additions of high speed pass sounds which are great.

thanks!

Yes they can get to transonic, just can't bust the sound barrier and blow out windows in office buildings for miles around. Actually happened at a Miramar airshow and the Navy spent boucoup bucks replacing a lot of windows in the greater San Diego metropolitan area.

That would be amazing to experience!

Even at 400kts 500' AGL when it passes overhead it's very impressive.

watermanpc - Pm sent.

Cheers

Jafa.

We had the Blues fly into Waco this year for the airshow @TSTC. This was the first time I've seen Hornets live. I live on the approach and while making their familiarization flights, they'd pass overhead. I was honestly surprised how much quieter they were than the T Birds F-16's coming head on. I didn't hear them until they were right on top of me and passing by.

@watermanpc

The aircraft in your video never goes very far from the camera, either, there is no opportunity for the sound to die off.

I live at the end of the runway for the Fort Worth Joint Reserve Naval Base. F-18s, F-35s, and C-130s fly directly overhead every few minutes usually. Even revved up for takeoff, you usually don't hear them until they're fairly close.

TLDR : Doppler effect. All there is to it.

@watermanpc

The aircraft in your video never goes very far from the camera, either, there is no opportunity for the sound to die off.

 

I live at the end of the runway for the Fort Worth Joint Reserve Naval Base. F-18s, F-35s, and C-130s fly directly overhead every few minutes usually. Even revved up for takeoff, you usually don't hear them until they're fairly close.

 

TLDR : Doppler effect. All there is to it.

Thats what I meant, in DCS right now, even when the plane is performing maneuvers very close to the listener as soon as the plane shows its nose to you there is almost no sound which is not realistic imho so you agree with me because the sound level in DCS when flying at similar distances as in the video is way different.

That would be amazing to experience!

Even at 400kts 500' AGL when it passes overhead it's very impressive.

It is ;)… Couple of times I happened to be under the B1b low level flight path. He was in full blowers... I don't miss those moments:mad:

I just got the new update and yes it's not as realistic anymore. Goes from zero to max at high speed. There is a transition, even if it's very fast.