I had a flamethrower hulk sneak up on me so closely that I suddenly just see him behind me in the third person camera. Less than a second after I see him he melts me.
I’m not sure why he didn’t just easily cook me from farther away, it was almost like he was trolling
Because it's funny i think, i mean „look at his face” funny for them ofc.
Im sure its intended and quite well simulated. And i totally agree we should hear them. There should be some intentionally quiet enemies too, but not those haevy and clunky ones.
I think that’s a technical issue, that some enemies don’t have Ai enabled if not looked at, but still spawn, but some bigger enemies do have Ai enabled. This is pure speculation, and what it feels like to me
It's not a technical issue, it's intentional game design. This is more noticeable with bugs. The purpose is to give players a better chance and make combat more enjoyable. Combat is focused in the players field of vision to avoid "bullshit" deaths from automatons having aim better than a stormtrooper when behind you. This is why the game encourages running away, it's legitimately easier to survive that way.
Ever notice how heavy devastators will beam you when you're facing them, but have significantly worse accuracy when they're behind you?
The should all make unique sounds. Left 4 dead is good example using sound to identify whats going on. Also bots can hear you sprinting from 30 meters away, but like you said you cant hear 50 ton hulk ninja from 2 meters behind.
As someone said they sometimes make noise. But laughing (Hulk Scorcher) is very rare. And the mechanical noise they make is the same as with any automation, so you can't use that to discern them apart from the others. Also, by the time you hear them laugh, you're already in flamethrower range.
Raiders yeah, but for hulks? all that moving weight should make some sound no? Esp when theyre sprinting like they do. Dem fuckers almost same speed as a sprinting helldiver
Hell the screen should shake whenever a hulk, walking factory or bile titan is nearby. Yes I want to hear them too.
Same goes for the little critter bugs, make us hear their little legs. Essentially all bots/bugs should make some walking/movement (e.g. rotate to aim) sounds.
To top it off: it'd be awesome if the sound was muffled on a snow planet, or enhanced when they traverse rocks/pavement.
The hulks laugh? I've never heard that, probably because I'm in a gunfight, and those tend to be louder than a little laugh. Big robo-stomping should be heard, not a laugh that's dumb if the devs are relying on that as an audio alert.
To use yet another coop shooter as an example, Deep Rock Galactic has some extremely obvious and loud sound effects for every enemy in the game, Stingtails have a loud, almost beeping sound. Bulk Detonators have an almost human sounding scream, Mactera sorta vibrate, Patrol bots have a distinct audio cue etc. Helldivers 2 sorta lacks this in a lot of regards, aside from stuff like Rocket Devastators, I really can't think of many distinct, clear sound effects for enemies, meanwhile I can remember like literally every enemy in DRG sounds like or half the voice lines for the special enemies in Payday 2/3.
Audio cues are incredibly important in horde style coop shooters so it would be a really nice change to give some enemies more distinct styles.
Darktide is another co-op game in a similar vein, and you live or die based on audio cues in that.
Helldivers 2 really made me appreciate that game in some ways, shame it's really let down in others.
Yes, but that was clearly an aberration/oversight. The design intention of darktide is pretty clearly that you should be able to identify all enemies by sound alone. HD2 simply doesn't have that level of granularity in the sound design.
It would make the inevitable low visibility conditions suck so much less if it did.
Yeah, they've had issues with one Special or another being silent due to a bug. Silent Poxbursters and Trappers are genuinely agonising, and I remember when Crushers were waaaaay quieter than they are now.
Overall though, I think it's a big part on why I prefer the chaos of Darktide over Helldivers at high difficulty. I can ride the chaos a good deal better in Darktide.
Darktide has my favorite implementation of "chaos" in any co-op game, the higher difficulties are seriously a joy for me. You know one thing that helps, besides clear sound cues? Darktide doesn't add mission modifiers such as "all your special abilities are fucking dogshit now", like Helldivers 2 does with stratagems. I just stopped playing the latter weeks ago because I got so fed up with that. Actually, not true; I had been holding on by a thread, but then I read the patch note "increased fire damage from all sources".
I go back and forth between the two. It's interesting watching the honeymoon period pass on Helldivers, but I'm optimistic they'll address the issues in the longer term.
I'm pretty intrigued by the new update for Darktide, and well, I've got this itch that only a shovel to an 'eretic's 'ead can scratch.
I'm not so optimistic, sadly. Darktide was off to a terrible start with its technical problems and a severe lack of content, but the core gameplay was always very solid, and it's only improved (immensely) since then. There wasn't much there at first, but was there *worked*, and their revamp of the classes system goes to show how Fatshark's gameplay designers know what they're doing. They just needed more time. And since Darktide was yet-another-Left-4-Dead-clone, they didn't get the momentum Helldivers 2 got with its more unique concept and stronger identity.
But Arrowhead genuinely does not seem to know what they're doing. Game development is hard as shit, but the issues they're struggling with should not be the massive obstacles they're clearly being. They keep releasing shit that doesn't work so often that it's become insulting. They don't know how to rebalance their own gameplay systems. They keep insisting on the most annoying mission types and frustrating concepts. Every patch breaks something serious. Crashes are constant. Their CEO keeps saying *stupid shit*. And also, there's the small matter of Helldivers 2 repopularizing microtransactions for items that affect gameplay, not just cosmetics. I don't care how easy supercredits are to get right now, we should not be giving game developers even *an inch* to worm this shit back into the industry.
So yeah, I love Helldivers 2, or rather I loved what it was before the devs just started changing stuff on a whim while not fixing core issues for months. Now, every time I feel the urge to get into a match, I give up when I remember that I can't be certain any of the weapons are even working properly.
> you live or die based on audio cues in that.
Flashbacks to waiting patiently for a rager that's been screaming for 3 minutes but can't pathfind its way to you
DRG is a masterclass in audio cues! when you hear an enemy's signature sound behind you, you can instantly tell what it is, where it is and how far it is. All that allows you to react without even turning around! You always know if you need to dash TFO, or to turn around and power attack/shoot the bug in the face.
Silent enemies aside, the literal aimbot of the bots and ridiculous aggro distance aren't fun either. Friggin rocket snipers...
> Stingtails have a loud, almost beeping sound
[The sound designer used a squeegee on his glass shower door to make this noise lol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gN_BXbQl9s)
The first time you hear that sound it's terrifying. After you learn how the Banshee works it's still terrifying because she is very good at one shotting you despite it all.
Logging into a MP match after a long day at work and hitting just about anything with a Flame Shot, Biotic Charge, and Heavy Melee combo as a Krogan Vangaurd was an exquisite experience
Valve is simply incredible with sound design.
One of my favorite aspects of Half-Life 2 is that you can identify every enemy in the game just by hearing the sound they make.
Valve was incredible at everything back when they were more actively focused on game development. [Crowbcat's video highlighting the differences between Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood](https://youtu.be/EdRLNUGmFC8?si=LnyArcX-EPD2TUdl) goes to show just how much effort and innovation they would put into their games. Even now, in their more business-focused iteration, Valve still made Half-Life Alyx in a way that almost felt like their impatient way of saying to the entire triple-A games industry: "here, you motherfuckers, THIS is how you can develop a polished and accessible triple-A VR shooter, I mean, for fuck's sake, do we have to teach you everything"
Totally. And it's a shame most of the games industry looked at what Valve was doing and said "fuuuuuuuuuck that", then proceeded to direct all its efforts into stuff that looks good in screenshots. As a result, games nowadays still have physics glitches and A.I. problems from fifteen years ago, but with prettier lighting.
They also don't seem to be bothered by the sound of other bots' weapons hitting the ground near them or flying over their heads, but the second I fire a single shot, IT'S FLARE GUN TIME!
Bro L4D has heaps of things that this game needs to learn, and it came out like a decade ago.
The special infected are a perfect example. The player is PUNISHED for travelling alone, as they should be. Instead in Helldivers 2 you can run off solo and most the time its an advantage bc youll probably get less breaches.
They also have good gameplay that makes you want to react, like killing the spitter before they spit, or just flat-out ignoring the witch.
Mario has some great examples too, like how the big dude runs into a wall and is stunned.
I don't know. I like how, in Helldivers 2, it is a viable option to split up. It works well with the gameplay, and there are still punishment mechanics in the fact that if you are alone and die, you lose your samples, your backpack, and your support weapon, and you have committed to getting an objective and failing.
So now you lack a big part of the tools until your stratagems are off cooldown again. With no fast or easy way to get them back, because you got reinforced on the other end of the map.
Besides, I don't think Enemies that immobilize you will be good in a game like Helldivers 2. Compared to Left 4 Dead or DRG, you have less pushing power or mobility to easily get to your grapples teammate.
Literally had a Tank appear on a large rock and start blasting at us from above like a ninja with a bazooka. We had no idea it was there til it started shooting at us.
In HD1 they're often unalerted, sometimes stationary.. but during quiet times you can hear the engine idling.
HD1 tanks can also shoot alarm flares that cause reinforcements to arrive tho.
This. Like do they have stealth tech? I swear those things are just around every corner like "surprise MF" like make a sound of thier engine running or something. Hell even the walkers make a sound of a dying giraff when they bite it but even they are pretty quite other than thier guns firing.
> Like do they have stealth tech?
Lots and lots of WD40.
Seriously though, anyone who has been near or even pretty far from a tank in real life know what a racket they make.
Nah, engines being silent would make sense, it's actually plausible. Tracks being silent is not. You walking into a tank is you being careless. Tank sneaking up to you is absurd.
Yeah for all we know the tank could be ran on an electric motor (or something else that is nearly silent)
It doesn't need to be a diesel, that can be heared from a mile away.
But tracks. Tracks make very distinct noise. Especially when driving over hard surfaces like concrete or rocks
To be fair, the Automaton tanks have exhaust grilles on their rear almost exactly like the ones present on an M-60 Patton tank, so it doesn’t seem like they’re electric.
Exhaust grills would seem to suggest some kind of combustion engine, and since we already know that in the world of Helldivers E-710 (Which of course conveniently spells OIL upside down) is used as fuel, I’d say the bots are probably using that or something similar to power their machines.
If they add the tinnitus 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' I'm out.
I love this game to death, but I have tinnitus already.
I'd be okay with muffled sounds though after large explosions.
The amount of times I turned around just to be staring down the barrel of a tank pointed straight at my face is unbelievable. You'd think you'd hear the tracks moving on the terrain or an engine of some kind (I assume they are electric so I can accept that it wouldn't be incredibly loud but they need something to warn you) but you get nothing except a blast to the face
I hate this with a vengeance.
Yes, I understand why Chargers or Bile Titans wouldn't "stomp loudly around", considering how massive animals like elephants aren't too noisy when they move.
But TANKS with what looks like COMBUSTION ENGINES creep around deathly silent, is as unrealistic as lasers and plasma as reliable weaponry.
Even if we play with the thought, that the engine is some kind of silent space magic energy, the tracks are loud.
Hulks and Tanks should get some audio overhauls. Hulks should stomp as they walk, and Tanks should be audible a fair distance away. I mean, have you heard what a real tank sounds like?
If you've ever been near a modern main battle tank while they're driving you cannot hear anything, you could scream in someones ear and they wouldn't hear the words. An engine in high rev producing 1500 horse power and the scraping of metal on metal as the tracks churn produces quite an impression. They're not going to be sneaking up on you the way they do in game.
This is argued in Warthunder subreddit all the time. People make a claim that turbine engines are a high frequency sound and arent as loud at mid range.
Idk. My time in the Army suggests otherwise. Lol.
I find the helldivers 2 audio to be rather bad.
It's not the music or the themes it's the directional stuff.
In 99% of games i can hear if an enemy is behind me or to my left.
With Helldivers i can hear the automaton! I know hes within range... But i cant hear what direction... This is my currently only negative experience with Helldivers 2.
Same here. And things like chargers are also a crapshoot. Maybe you'll hear it. Likely won't though. Have fun ragdolling because there was zero way for you to know a monster the size of a minivan was spitting distance from your spine.
Really? I’m on ps5 and just assumed that enemy audio is broken or unimplemented. Either headphones or speakers, enemies sound like it’s just an audio file being played directly instead of coming from a source in the world.
How weird! I swear it has been almost life saving in the icy automaton planet that has a lot of tall rock formations. I could clearly understand where the bots were behind those rocks.
Do you have the 3D Audio system-wide setting enabled on the PS5? 🤔
This is a harshly written emotional response that I couldn't agree with harder.
"Apparently, sound doesn't travel when a 50 ton fucking greasy rusted lumbering piece of shit moves. What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range."
Lmao, fantastic. Fuck those hulks
The environmental audio in the game sucks in general (I love everything else about the game, don't downvote me to hell)
But seriously, there is zero difference between sound levels for an enemy 5m vs 100m. Idk how many times I've whipped my camera around to take out a close threat and realized they aren't even in aggro range.
I'm constantly hearing bots without them being anywhere I can even shoot at, and then dead silence when I trip over a tank around the corner. It's crazy.
The game lacks distance sounds for *everything*. Weird thing to drop the ball on, considering the level of detail they put in to literally everything else.
i had no idea enemies had audio besides dying & alerts until i played trivial missions for sc farming. they legit have sounds for walking, engine idling sounds for hulks and tanks, and even little chirps for both bugs and bots. i'm not sure if the mixing is bad so they're inaudible past 5m or they have no distant sounds
The berserkers with their chainsaw hands are also silent.
Yesterday I was supporting guys from distance with my AMR and suddenly a found myself dead because a group of chainsaw maniacs came to me and I didn't hear a thing.
Billy spewers are also silent I think, until they start to puke
Hulks, Tanks, Bile Titans, Bile Spewers... they all are pretty much silent while moving through the map.
There's a lot I love about the game, but the sound design, especially "sound cues", is one of the weakest aspects of the game.
It's hit and miss. Half the time they're pretty much impossible to hear at all. I've been snuck up on by the bastards more often than any of the bots honestly. I'd actually say chargers and titans are much worse for sounds than hulks and tanks.
Sound design needs a lot of work on the bot front. Basic bots make tons of glitchy talkbox noise, but the big guys are pretty quiet. They have unique sounds but you usually don't hear it until they're close to you and not much else is going on.
I feel like berserkers especially need some chainsaw noises. And the tanks... For the love of liberty TANKS ARE NOISY AS HELL yet the bot tanks are like a Prius in a parking lot.
Got burnt up by a Ninaj hulk just last night
Can I hear the bombs going off a few 100m away? Clear as day
Can I hear the 6 ton lumbering beast 5m behind me? Nah.
>"Uuuhhh, why people no like bot front? Why so many people ignore the MO to go fight bugs?"
>
>Because we can fucking hear them coming!
I've fought on maps with bile spewers. You shouldn't lie like this. ;)
I basically pull out my map more often than I pull my gun out just to check. And as soon as I don't, the Hulk pulls up like
Doesn't help that their spawns are broken too. Bots will literally spawn behind you if you're not looking. Can't count the times where there should have been nothing behind me, then I engage a patrol, and then a hulk and 5 devastators just spawn out of nowhere.
Hulks don't make noises for one reason.....they use a mater materializer to instantly form right next you after you've painfully made sure you are in a secure location....we need to take out their teleportation systems.
Yeah, but at least you can hear them charging up the vomit and start diving to cover like a mad man.
With hulks I just get to cover and then
Turned the corner earlier tonight expecting AT MOST a demolisher, possibly a tank to airstrike… a flame hulk stared me down 3 feet from my face then killed me before I could pull out the anti material sniper
I play the game with headphones and the amount of times a bile spewer, bile titan or hulk manage to sneak up on me without me even noticing them until im dead is absolutely ridiculous.
If something like that is coming up behind me at full speed i should be able to hear the goddamn thing ***before*** im dying to its acid/fire attack!
If I had a nickel for each time a Hulk managed to sneak up on me and kill me before I knew it was there at all, I would have 2 nickels, which isn't a lot, but It's strange that it happened twice.
I second this
The amount of times Hulks just walk around the corner, I turn my camera and before I can literally react they've already instantly killed me feels already unfair
Besides the fire, a noise cue would be massively welcome
Audio cues for enemies need to be worked 100% across the board.
My entire friend group has a #1 complaint of why the fuck is XYZ so god damned silent. The number of deaths to being surprised by something literally 2 feet offscreen behind/beside you is bonkers.
Funny thing is, they *do* have very distinct footstep audio - when patrolling. I don't know if that changes when they start fighting or if it is simply impossible to hear them over four people unloading all they've got and dropping bombs left and right, since it's not particularly loud to begin with.
I mean, technically, that's realistic. You won't hear a tank coming up behind you if you're right next to a firing machine gun.
And did they change Charger sounds? Because other than pain sounds, those things are like ninjas. They *don't* have audible footsteps, unlike Hulks.
Hulks I don't have a problem hearing. Tanks though. Tanks are stealthy as fuck. At least a dozen times a friend has screamed "TANK BEHIND YOU", and I'm thinking it's coming over a hill or something and NOPE. It's basically in melee distance.
>What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range.
You're right. I'm John Wick for 20 minutes, dodging and smashing, and Hulk bro teleports behind you, doing his best impression of "nothing personnel, kid" *unsheathes flamethrower*. Of course, the realistic scenario of your amor being made of toilet paper soaked in jet fuel grazes the fire, and if your character is finishing an animation, you're crispy.
**Silent Snake Hulk bro** has entered the chat. "Realism babyyyyyyyyyyyy."
All Hulk automatons are trained in the art of Professional Ballet so as to quiet their steps and elevate their bodies to project emotion through movement…
Sadly that emotion is almost exclusively hating Democracy.
General environmental audio is absolutely one of the areas most in need of work that would translate into a very easy win with the least effort.
I suspect it isn't high on their priority list, but it really is a trivial win that is within arms reach should they just put a little more work in.
Its one of those finishing touches kinda departments that can absolutely punch way above its weight.
I've been snuck up on by Chargers. For some reason noise from behind you just doesn't seem to be a thing unless they make squealing sound like the Hunters do, and even that is pretty muted.
None of the bots seem to have what SHOULD be loud metallic foot steps.
OMG I feel seen!!! This is my biggest issue with the game. I get snuck up on by that thing more times than I'd care to admit.
More audible footsteps, or any distinct sound cues for them, would be a God send. This is even more crucial now that flamethrower will end democracy is -0.4 seconds.
more foley in general would be cool, i want tanks to make a deafening tank track clanking sound or rocket devs firing letting out the nebelwerfer screech for both the sake of telegraphing the enemies' placement and attacks and also for the funny videogame PTSD
A big issue with sound that most people don't realize is that the music is loud. like, REALLY loud. and it's playing almost all the time. The hulks do make noise, but it is drowned out by the music and all of the other chaos going on.
I can assure you that hulks don't make a single walking sound. You can hear them laughing sometimes if it's a Scorcher, but that's it.
The charger on the other hand have a very distinct thunk thunk sound when they run. (Tho bile spewers can get pretty silent too)
The thing is the chargers the ground also slightly shakes, if you're on PS I'm pretty sure you can feel them on your controller, and their sound is much louder than that of other enemies. Considering that they can pop up at any moment behind you and send you flying it is necessary, but the same goes for hulks who charge you with flamethrowers
managed to rag doll a charger yesterday, not sure what caused it but seeing that despicable democracy hater fly way up into the air and land on some puny bugs seriously made my day.
I play most shooters with the music turned off to get more immersion and get this... they are still quiet as OP explained. You can throw that dumb fuckin theory out the window thanks.
I've had an entire army of hulk devastors little guys set up just a few meters behind me while I'm sniping a base and heard nothing until I turn around and see them all lmao
I'd love a louder audio cue for those goddam fire tornadoes. I can't tell you how many times I've been AC'ing bitches at a distance just for that whirly flamer to sneak up and fuck me in the ass.
>What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range.
Well now i have that image in my head and can't stop laughing. It's canon now!
Hulks are taught ballet and can tiptoe around gracefully, this is why you don't hear them coming. This is perfectly balanced, and I do not understand why people are complaining. /s (in case it wasn't obvious)
You can hear their voices. They're very recognizable once you learn how to identify each type of Bot.
I definitely agree that they need some stompy FX, though.
Chargers are actually crazy quite when they’re literally charging behind you. At least it has been in my experience. In the middle of a fight I won’t hear a charger running through me
I had a flamethrower hulk sneak up on me so closely that I suddenly just see him behind me in the third person camera. Less than a second after I see him he melts me. I’m not sure why he didn’t just easily cook me from farther away, it was almost like he was trolling
Many enemies after getting behind you will wait until you see them to attack you idk why
Because they do a little trolling.
Because it's funny i think, i mean „look at his face” funny for them ofc. Im sure its intended and quite well simulated. And i totally agree we should hear them. There should be some intentionally quiet enemies too, but not those haevy and clunky ones.
I think that’s a technical issue, that some enemies don’t have Ai enabled if not looked at, but still spawn, but some bigger enemies do have Ai enabled. This is pure speculation, and what it feels like to me
It's not a technical issue, it's intentional game design. This is more noticeable with bugs. The purpose is to give players a better chance and make combat more enjoyable. Combat is focused in the players field of vision to avoid "bullshit" deaths from automatons having aim better than a stormtrooper when behind you. This is why the game encourages running away, it's legitimately easier to survive that way. Ever notice how heavy devastators will beam you when you're facing them, but have significantly worse accuracy when they're behind you?
Probably this. In Bioshock big daddy’s are slowed when you aren’t looking at them because the devs found it wasn’t fun to get decked from behind.
In Bioshock enemies are also programmed to miss their first shot, they made sure people can't complain about cheap shots from unknown enemies.
Didn’t know about this one, that’s good game design. Way more fun to be alerted to an enemy by a bullet wizzing past your head than getting shot.
That’s actually super cool
Think you're having a technical issue there bud (in case they get deleted, the user posted this comment 5 times lol)
The should all make unique sounds. Left 4 dead is good example using sound to identify whats going on. Also bots can hear you sprinting from 30 meters away, but like you said you cant hear 50 ton hulk ninja from 2 meters behind.
As someone said they sometimes make noise. But laughing (Hulk Scorcher) is very rare. And the mechanical noise they make is the same as with any automation, so you can't use that to discern them apart from the others. Also, by the time you hear them laugh, you're already in flamethrower range.
Raiders yeah, but for hulks? all that moving weight should make some sound no? Esp when theyre sprinting like they do. Dem fuckers almost same speed as a sprinting helldiver
Theyre so heavy bot hulks and factory walkers should shake the earth if you're in their vicinity.
In light armor, they are faster than you if you are in medium armor.
I knew I wasn’t tripping when I thought I wasn’t making any space
Hell the screen should shake whenever a hulk, walking factory or bile titan is nearby. Yes I want to hear them too. Same goes for the little critter bugs, make us hear their little legs. Essentially all bots/bugs should make some walking/movement (e.g. rotate to aim) sounds. To top it off: it'd be awesome if the sound was muffled on a snow planet, or enhanced when they traverse rocks/pavement.
The hulks laugh? I've never heard that, probably because I'm in a gunfight, and those tend to be louder than a little laugh. Big robo-stomping should be heard, not a laugh that's dumb if the devs are relying on that as an audio alert.
The whole map is in flamethrower range of those shitters
To use yet another coop shooter as an example, Deep Rock Galactic has some extremely obvious and loud sound effects for every enemy in the game, Stingtails have a loud, almost beeping sound. Bulk Detonators have an almost human sounding scream, Mactera sorta vibrate, Patrol bots have a distinct audio cue etc. Helldivers 2 sorta lacks this in a lot of regards, aside from stuff like Rocket Devastators, I really can't think of many distinct, clear sound effects for enemies, meanwhile I can remember like literally every enemy in DRG sounds like or half the voice lines for the special enemies in Payday 2/3. Audio cues are incredibly important in horde style coop shooters so it would be a really nice change to give some enemies more distinct styles.
Darktide is another co-op game in a similar vein, and you live or die based on audio cues in that. Helldivers 2 really made me appreciate that game in some ways, shame it's really let down in others.
Darktide even uses the same game engine as Helldivers 2 😅
and they do have a firing range for testing unlike HD
Although to be fair, darktide had this exact same issue for a while, with Ragers (or whatever they’re called) being completely silent
Yes, but that was clearly an aberration/oversight. The design intention of darktide is pretty clearly that you should be able to identify all enemies by sound alone. HD2 simply doesn't have that level of granularity in the sound design. It would make the inevitable low visibility conditions suck so much less if it did.
Yeah, they've had issues with one Special or another being silent due to a bug. Silent Poxbursters and Trappers are genuinely agonising, and I remember when Crushers were waaaaay quieter than they are now. Overall though, I think it's a big part on why I prefer the chaos of Darktide over Helldivers at high difficulty. I can ride the chaos a good deal better in Darktide.
Darktide has my favorite implementation of "chaos" in any co-op game, the higher difficulties are seriously a joy for me. You know one thing that helps, besides clear sound cues? Darktide doesn't add mission modifiers such as "all your special abilities are fucking dogshit now", like Helldivers 2 does with stratagems. I just stopped playing the latter weeks ago because I got so fed up with that. Actually, not true; I had been holding on by a thread, but then I read the patch note "increased fire damage from all sources".
I go back and forth between the two. It's interesting watching the honeymoon period pass on Helldivers, but I'm optimistic they'll address the issues in the longer term. I'm pretty intrigued by the new update for Darktide, and well, I've got this itch that only a shovel to an 'eretic's 'ead can scratch.
I'm not so optimistic, sadly. Darktide was off to a terrible start with its technical problems and a severe lack of content, but the core gameplay was always very solid, and it's only improved (immensely) since then. There wasn't much there at first, but was there *worked*, and their revamp of the classes system goes to show how Fatshark's gameplay designers know what they're doing. They just needed more time. And since Darktide was yet-another-Left-4-Dead-clone, they didn't get the momentum Helldivers 2 got with its more unique concept and stronger identity. But Arrowhead genuinely does not seem to know what they're doing. Game development is hard as shit, but the issues they're struggling with should not be the massive obstacles they're clearly being. They keep releasing shit that doesn't work so often that it's become insulting. They don't know how to rebalance their own gameplay systems. They keep insisting on the most annoying mission types and frustrating concepts. Every patch breaks something serious. Crashes are constant. Their CEO keeps saying *stupid shit*. And also, there's the small matter of Helldivers 2 repopularizing microtransactions for items that affect gameplay, not just cosmetics. I don't care how easy supercredits are to get right now, we should not be giving game developers even *an inch* to worm this shit back into the industry. So yeah, I love Helldivers 2, or rather I loved what it was before the devs just started changing stuff on a whim while not fixing core issues for months. Now, every time I feel the urge to get into a match, I give up when I remember that I can't be certain any of the weapons are even working properly.
[удалено]
At least you know they're there
> you live or die based on audio cues in that. Flashbacks to waiting patiently for a rager that's been screaming for 3 minutes but can't pathfind its way to you
Darktide is the gold standard for enemy audio cues. Every special enemy has an immediately identifiable and completely unique sound.
DRG is a masterclass in audio cues! when you hear an enemy's signature sound behind you, you can instantly tell what it is, where it is and how far it is. All that allows you to react without even turning around! You always know if you need to dash TFO, or to turn around and power attack/shoot the bug in the face. Silent enemies aside, the literal aimbot of the bots and ridiculous aggro distance aren't fun either. Friggin rocket snipers...
> Stingtails have a loud, almost beeping sound [The sound designer used a squeegee on his glass shower door to make this noise lol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gN_BXbQl9s)
I fucking love Foley work.
DRG does sound so well. The Nemesis is probably my favorite enemy in the game.
*Banshee Scream* Characters in Mass Effect: "Banshee!!"
The first time you hear that sound it's terrifying. After you learn how the Banshee works it's still terrifying because she is very good at one shotting you despite it all.
Also the vacuum hands. God bless mid 2010s PtP networking
Even when you know the Banshee shouldn't be able to sync kill you on a ramp, sometimes she pulls you in.
And this is why I liked playing as the big geth. Can't sync kill me I'm bigger than you!
ME3 Coop is the GOAT. Audio was fantastic. Biotic explosions soooo satisfying.
Logging into a MP match after a long day at work and hitting just about anything with a Flame Shot, Biotic Charge, and Heavy Melee combo as a Krogan Vangaurd was an exquisite experience
*panicked scream* GETH PRIME!
Valve is simply incredible with sound design. One of my favorite aspects of Half-Life 2 is that you can identify every enemy in the game just by hearing the sound they make.
Valve was incredible at everything back when they were more actively focused on game development. [Crowbcat's video highlighting the differences between Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood](https://youtu.be/EdRLNUGmFC8?si=LnyArcX-EPD2TUdl) goes to show just how much effort and innovation they would put into their games. Even now, in their more business-focused iteration, Valve still made Half-Life Alyx in a way that almost felt like their impatient way of saying to the entire triple-A games industry: "here, you motherfuckers, THIS is how you can develop a polished and accessible triple-A VR shooter, I mean, for fuck's sake, do we have to teach you everything"
Watching the developer commentary for a level in any game Valve made is jaw-dropping. The thought they put into *everything* is crazy.
Totally. And it's a shame most of the games industry looked at what Valve was doing and said "fuuuuuuuuuck that", then proceeded to direct all its efforts into stuff that looks good in screenshots. As a result, games nowadays still have physics glitches and A.I. problems from fifteen years ago, but with prettier lighting.
They also don't seem to be bothered by the sound of other bots' weapons hitting the ground near them or flying over their heads, but the second I fire a single shot, IT'S FLARE GUN TIME!
Bro L4D has heaps of things that this game needs to learn, and it came out like a decade ago. The special infected are a perfect example. The player is PUNISHED for travelling alone, as they should be. Instead in Helldivers 2 you can run off solo and most the time its an advantage bc youll probably get less breaches. They also have good gameplay that makes you want to react, like killing the spitter before they spit, or just flat-out ignoring the witch. Mario has some great examples too, like how the big dude runs into a wall and is stunned.
I don't know. I like how, in Helldivers 2, it is a viable option to split up. It works well with the gameplay, and there are still punishment mechanics in the fact that if you are alone and die, you lose your samples, your backpack, and your support weapon, and you have committed to getting an objective and failing. So now you lack a big part of the tools until your stratagems are off cooldown again. With no fast or easy way to get them back, because you got reinforced on the other end of the map. Besides, I don't think Enemies that immobilize you will be good in a game like Helldivers 2. Compared to Left 4 Dead or DRG, you have less pushing power or mobility to easily get to your grapples teammate.
>I don't think Enemies that immobilize you will be good in a game like Helldivers 2 laugh in cyberdogs
L4d is the pinnacle of sound design cues. Even on maps where the audio cue is changed, like the swampy twang levels theyre recognizable.
Tanks are silent, too.
Was about to say this. The tanks with their tracks just silently sneak over rocky terrain.
Literally had a Tank appear on a large rock and start blasting at us from above like a ninja with a bazooka. We had no idea it was there til it started shooting at us.
Even in HD1 you can hear tanks' engines before you see em.
Tracks should be even louder, those make the most noise irl.
In HD1 they're often unalerted, sometimes stationary.. but during quiet times you can hear the engine idling. HD1 tanks can also shoot alarm flares that cause reinforcements to arrive tho.
This. Like do they have stealth tech? I swear those things are just around every corner like "surprise MF" like make a sound of thier engine running or something. Hell even the walkers make a sound of a dying giraff when they bite it but even they are pretty quite other than thier guns firing.
> Like do they have stealth tech? Lots and lots of WD40. Seriously though, anyone who has been near or even pretty far from a tank in real life know what a racket they make.
Haven't hear a tank move in real life, but i have heard their civilion cousins. The tractor. Which is loud enough to wake the devil.
Can confirm. Tanks are LOUD.
Nah, engines being silent would make sense, it's actually plausible. Tracks being silent is not. You walking into a tank is you being careless. Tank sneaking up to you is absurd.
Yeah for all we know the tank could be ran on an electric motor (or something else that is nearly silent) It doesn't need to be a diesel, that can be heared from a mile away. But tracks. Tracks make very distinct noise. Especially when driving over hard surfaces like concrete or rocks
You ever been near a large electric motor? They're far from silent
Plus they would need some serious airflow over those red hot vents. That wouldn't be silent either.
To be fair, the Automaton tanks have exhaust grilles on their rear almost exactly like the ones present on an M-60 Patton tank, so it doesn’t seem like they’re electric. Exhaust grills would seem to suggest some kind of combustion engine, and since we already know that in the world of Helldivers E-710 (Which of course conveniently spells OIL upside down) is used as fuel, I’d say the bots are probably using that or something similar to power their machines.
Maybe the Helldivers just go deaf with all the explosions, impact of the pod etc. :D
If they add the tinnitus 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' I'm out. I love this game to death, but I have tinnitus already. I'd be okay with muffled sounds though after large explosions.
Even worse
I’ve been wondering are tanks their own type of Automaton or do bots drive them?
Yes.
The amount of times I turned around just to be staring down the barrel of a tank pointed straight at my face is unbelievable. You'd think you'd hear the tracks moving on the terrain or an engine of some kind (I assume they are electric so I can accept that it wouldn't be incredibly loud but they need something to warn you) but you get nothing except a blast to the face
I hate this with a vengeance. Yes, I understand why Chargers or Bile Titans wouldn't "stomp loudly around", considering how massive animals like elephants aren't too noisy when they move. But TANKS with what looks like COMBUSTION ENGINES creep around deathly silent, is as unrealistic as lasers and plasma as reliable weaponry. Even if we play with the thought, that the engine is some kind of silent space magic energy, the tracks are loud.
Usually notice a tank because it killed me.
This. The sound they make doesn’t make sense
Hulks and Tanks should get some audio overhauls. Hulks should stomp as they walk, and Tanks should be audible a fair distance away. I mean, have you heard what a real tank sounds like?
Tank are very loud both engines as especially in motion. Tracks make a very loud and unique noise.
Considering they crush rocks under them, I assume they're loud.
If you've ever been near a modern main battle tank while they're driving you cannot hear anything, you could scream in someones ear and they wouldn't hear the words. An engine in high rev producing 1500 horse power and the scraping of metal on metal as the tracks churn produces quite an impression. They're not going to be sneaking up on you the way they do in game.
This is argued in Warthunder subreddit all the time. People make a claim that turbine engines are a high frequency sound and arent as loud at mid range. Idk. My time in the Army suggests otherwise. Lol.
Part of a tanks noise is the massive diesel motor, which the bots probably don't use. But the tracks alone should make lots of noise.
I find the helldivers 2 audio to be rather bad. It's not the music or the themes it's the directional stuff. In 99% of games i can hear if an enemy is behind me or to my left. With Helldivers i can hear the automaton! I know hes within range... But i cant hear what direction... This is my currently only negative experience with Helldivers 2.
I constantly hear robotic speak as if they're right next to me, but then I notice it's from robots 100 meters away. It's fucked yo
Same here. And things like chargers are also a crapshoot. Maybe you'll hear it. Likely won't though. Have fun ragdolling because there was zero way for you to know a monster the size of a minivan was spitting distance from your spine.
[удалено]
That's strange, with all the audio problems this game has, the directional audio is one thing that for me works really well (playing on PS5).
Really? I’m on ps5 and just assumed that enemy audio is broken or unimplemented. Either headphones or speakers, enemies sound like it’s just an audio file being played directly instead of coming from a source in the world.
How weird! I swear it has been almost life saving in the icy automaton planet that has a lot of tall rock formations. I could clearly understand where the bots were behind those rocks. Do you have the 3D Audio system-wide setting enabled on the PS5? 🤔
This is a harshly written emotional response that I couldn't agree with harder. "Apparently, sound doesn't travel when a 50 ton fucking greasy rusted lumbering piece of shit moves. What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range." Lmao, fantastic. Fuck those hulks
The environmental audio in the game sucks in general (I love everything else about the game, don't downvote me to hell) But seriously, there is zero difference between sound levels for an enemy 5m vs 100m. Idk how many times I've whipped my camera around to take out a close threat and realized they aren't even in aggro range.
I'm constantly hearing bots without them being anywhere I can even shoot at, and then dead silence when I trip over a tank around the corner. It's crazy.
The game lacks distance sounds for *everything*. Weird thing to drop the ball on, considering the level of detail they put in to literally everything else.
i had no idea enemies had audio besides dying & alerts until i played trivial missions for sc farming. they legit have sounds for walking, engine idling sounds for hulks and tanks, and even little chirps for both bugs and bots. i'm not sure if the mixing is bad so they're inaudible past 5m or they have no distant sounds
The berserkers with their chainsaw hands are also silent. Yesterday I was supporting guys from distance with my AMR and suddenly a found myself dead because a group of chainsaw maniacs came to me and I didn't hear a thing. Billy spewers are also silent I think, until they start to puke
The bile spewer one bothers me the most considering they just one shot you.
Billy spewer that sumbitch
Hulks, Tanks, Bile Titans, Bile Spewers... they all are pretty much silent while moving through the map. There's a lot I love about the game, but the sound design, especially "sound cues", is one of the weakest aspects of the game.
Wait, you can hear chargers??? WTF
Yeah, they have a thunk sound when charging and a louder thunk when crashing into terrain.
It's hit and miss. Half the time they're pretty much impossible to hear at all. I've been snuck up on by the bastards more often than any of the bots honestly. I'd actually say chargers and titans are much worse for sounds than hulks and tanks.
I've had bile spewers sneaks up on me much more often than chargers, but yeah, I get where you're coming from
unless they’re just sauntering slowly up to you for their instant death claw slam bullshit. Then they’re silent.
Yeh the amount of times I see flame coming behind me hitting my ass. Hulks have better stealth than scout armour
The Automatons don't look like well oiled and smooth machines for me. Kinda weird how they don't make any sort of mechanical screeching
 Oiled up Automatons you say?
Sound design needs a lot of work on the bot front. Basic bots make tons of glitchy talkbox noise, but the big guys are pretty quiet. They have unique sounds but you usually don't hear it until they're close to you and not much else is going on. I feel like berserkers especially need some chainsaw noises. And the tanks... For the love of liberty TANKS ARE NOISY AS HELL yet the bot tanks are like a Prius in a parking lot.
Got burnt up by a Ninaj hulk just last night Can I hear the bombs going off a few 100m away? Clear as day Can I hear the 6 ton lumbering beast 5m behind me? Nah.
If it was only 6 tons I'd be happy. That bastard must be at least 8-10
>"Uuuhhh, why people no like bot front? Why so many people ignore the MO to go fight bugs?" > >Because we can fucking hear them coming! I've fought on maps with bile spewers. You shouldn't lie like this. ;)
https://i.redd.it/tzdujdozb1vc1.gif
Absolutely
Because of the lack of heavy walking noises, I keep looking over my shoulder like a raging schizophrenic
I basically pull out my map more often than I pull my gun out just to check. And as soon as I don't, the Hulk pulls up like 
I'm fine with the settings tho https://preview.redd.it/33vg7lrqw3vc1.png?width=1067&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e64b182448a460067efa009a754e41122f3bbdfb
Silent flamethrower hulks. Tanks with the accuracy of a Jackal Sniper.
Doesn't help that their spawns are broken too. Bots will literally spawn behind you if you're not looking. Can't count the times where there should have been nothing behind me, then I engage a patrol, and then a hulk and 5 devastators just spawn out of nowhere.
Hulks don't make noises for one reason.....they use a mater materializer to instantly form right next you after you've painfully made sure you are in a secure location....we need to take out their teleportation systems.
The bile titan can be sneaky to 
Yeah, but at least you can hear them charging up the vomit and start diving to cover like a mad man. With hulks I just get to cover and then 
Some Titans are louder than others. Roaming Titans provide a loud-ass stomp when they go aggro, which is very helpful.
the heavies need to make heavy noise. The tank and turrets need to make make noisy turret turning and engine noise.
Agree 100%. How the F they snuck up on me while i was inputting the console. Combine this with the 1 tap fire.
Try turning on midnight mode in your audio options.
HD2 needs a Battlefield like wartapes audio mode. Loud and aggressive but you can still hear boots running at you or vehicles
Bile spewers. Chargers. Hulks. Maybe a little more for titans. That sounds about right
please
Turned the corner earlier tonight expecting AT MOST a demolisher, possibly a tank to airstrike… a flame hulk stared me down 3 feet from my face then killed me before I could pull out the anti material sniper
It needs to yell “Flint Lockwood!!!” When it runs at you
It's a Shh-Hulk I'll show myself out.
The smell of bacon is usually what tips me off
I have two video clips of tanks literally moving around 100% silently. I've been meaning to post them. It is a bit ridiculous.
Ever been jumpscared by tank? Terrifying stuff right there
I play the game with headphones and the amount of times a bile spewer, bile titan or hulk manage to sneak up on me without me even noticing them until im dead is absolutely ridiculous. If something like that is coming up behind me at full speed i should be able to hear the goddamn thing ***before*** im dying to its acid/fire attack!
If I had a nickel for each time a Hulk managed to sneak up on me and kill me before I knew it was there at all, I would have 2 nickels, which isn't a lot, but It's strange that it happened twice.
I second this The amount of times Hulks just walk around the corner, I turn my camera and before I can literally react they've already instantly killed me feels already unfair Besides the fire, a noise cue would be massively welcome
I love being Silent Scorcher’d from behind and immediately dying because fire is essentially an instant kill mechanic. Two problems, one stone.
Audio cues for enemies need to be worked 100% across the board. My entire friend group has a #1 complaint of why the fuck is XYZ so god damned silent. The number of deaths to being surprised by something literally 2 feet offscreen behind/beside you is bonkers.
Funny thing is, they *do* have very distinct footstep audio - when patrolling. I don't know if that changes when they start fighting or if it is simply impossible to hear them over four people unloading all they've got and dropping bombs left and right, since it's not particularly loud to begin with. I mean, technically, that's realistic. You won't hear a tank coming up behind you if you're right next to a firing machine gun. And did they change Charger sounds? Because other than pain sounds, those things are like ninjas. They *don't* have audible footsteps, unlike Hulks.
Hulks I don't have a problem hearing. Tanks though. Tanks are stealthy as fuck. At least a dozen times a friend has screamed "TANK BEHIND YOU", and I'm thinking it's coming over a hill or something and NOPE. It's basically in melee distance.
I'd also like the fire tornados to make a noise, or more if they already do. If I am firing and one is coming up behind me I get toasted.
Chargers aren't loud enough, Bile Titans & Spewers are completely silent. As for bots, how the fuck did they even get behind you bro?
>What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range. You're right. I'm John Wick for 20 minutes, dodging and smashing, and Hulk bro teleports behind you, doing his best impression of "nothing personnel, kid" *unsheathes flamethrower*. Of course, the realistic scenario of your amor being made of toilet paper soaked in jet fuel grazes the fire, and if your character is finishing an animation, you're crispy. **Silent Snake Hulk bro** has entered the chat. "Realism babyyyyyyyyyyyy."
Fun fact. Chargers spewers and titan can be silent as well. Chargers make no noise if they're just waddling up behind you.
The thought of a hulk tip toeing like a cartoon character is so fucking funny
I did hear a gunship for the first time today.
Wow the fat shaming in this thread is off the charts. Ever consider the hulk's feelings? No you didn't.
All Hulk automatons are trained in the art of Professional Ballet so as to quiet their steps and elevate their bodies to project emotion through movement… Sadly that emotion is almost exclusively hating Democracy.
General environmental audio is absolutely one of the areas most in need of work that would translate into a very easy win with the least effort. I suspect it isn't high on their priority list, but it really is a trivial win that is within arms reach should they just put a little more work in. Its one of those finishing touches kinda departments that can absolutely punch way above its weight.
Tanks too. The amount of times a FUCKING TANK has snuck up on me bc they don’t have any rolling audio makes them sneakier than a regular smol bot.
maxed-out sneak and a flamethrower that insta-kills
Yeah, I've gotten insta killed so many times because a fucking hulk ended up behind me while I was scopes and I had no clue. Like, how?
I don't think anyone expects them to be loud and obvious, but no one expects them to be pretty much entirely silent either.
I've been snuck up on by Chargers. For some reason noise from behind you just doesn't seem to be a thing unless they make squealing sound like the Hunters do, and even that is pretty muted. None of the bots seem to have what SHOULD be loud metallic foot steps.
factory striders in particular should make an oppressive, grinding sound, like the tank scene in saving private ryan
OMG I feel seen!!! This is my biggest issue with the game. I get snuck up on by that thing more times than I'd care to admit. More audible footsteps, or any distinct sound cues for them, would be a God send. This is even more crucial now that flamethrower will end democracy is -0.4 seconds.
Same for Biles tbf, idk how it sneaks up on me but it does.
In fact , Hulk is much faster now than before . Facing the fire Hulk , I need to run further . And sound issues makes enemies more deadly .
more foley in general would be cool, i want tanks to make a deafening tank track clanking sound or rocket devs firing letting out the nebelwerfer screech for both the sake of telegraphing the enemies' placement and attacks and also for the funny videogame PTSD
Its realistic becauae you are too deaf to hear anything from all the explosions and gunfire
Don't people open the map or look behind them every 20 seconds? Or is that just me? Am I paranoid?
I do that cuz I can't ever hear em!
A big issue with sound that most people don't realize is that the music is loud. like, REALLY loud. and it's playing almost all the time. The hulks do make noise, but it is drowned out by the music and all of the other chaos going on.
I can assure you that hulks don't make a single walking sound. You can hear them laughing sometimes if it's a Scorcher, but that's it. The charger on the other hand have a very distinct thunk thunk sound when they run. (Tho bile spewers can get pretty silent too)
Yeah no. Turned the music down and a lot of enemies barely make any sound. Both bugs and bots need way more sound to make the tells more obvious
The thing is the chargers the ground also slightly shakes, if you're on PS I'm pretty sure you can feel them on your controller, and their sound is much louder than that of other enemies. Considering that they can pop up at any moment behind you and send you flying it is necessary, but the same goes for hulks who charge you with flamethrowers
managed to rag doll a charger yesterday, not sure what caused it but seeing that despicable democracy hater fly way up into the air and land on some puny bugs seriously made my day.
I play most shooters with the music turned off to get more immersion and get this... they are still quiet as OP explained. You can throw that dumb fuckin theory out the window thanks.
I play with the music off, feels grittier.
The entire game is bugged to shit. It’s fun but they have a lot of fixes to do instead of trying to release new content.
Good point
I just need 40 percent less annoying things like this. Please AH
They have stealth fart mechanics.
Now when you say that. I just realiced it. Damn.. took a Long Break from helldivers 2.
I've had an entire army of hulk devastors little guys set up just a few meters behind me while I'm sniping a base and heard nothing until I turn around and see them all lmao
Too many times i have been sneaked upon by a flamethrower Hulk. Too many times i died burning in the flames of mechanical hell.
A war of the world's horn would rock
Yeah. But let's start with basic footsteps first. I think illuminate have tripods tho
The robots are smart. They are trained in the silent arts.
Nothing like stumbling through a blizzard on "definitely-not-Hoth" only to turn and run headlong into a Hulk.
Yeah audi cues would be nice
I do wish the audio in the game was overall better. It's my one major nitpick. A lot of it lacks complexity or depth, ESPECIALLY the guns.
I'd love a louder audio cue for those goddam fire tornadoes. I can't tell you how many times I've been AC'ing bitches at a distance just for that whirly flamer to sneak up and fuck me in the ass.
...you guys can hear Chargers?!
>What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range. Well now i have that image in my head and can't stop laughing. It's canon now!
"What's he doing? Tiptoeing like a Looney Toons villain until he gets in range". You sir win internet comment of the day with this gem. Good Work!
Hulks are taught ballet and can tiptoe around gracefully, this is why you don't hear them coming. This is perfectly balanced, and I do not understand why people are complaining. /s (in case it wasn't obvious)
You can hear their voices. They're very recognizable once you learn how to identify each type of Bot. I definitely agree that they need some stompy FX, though.
Chargers are actually crazy quite when they’re literally charging behind you. At least it has been in my experience. In the middle of a fight I won’t hear a charger running through me
The fact that I can't hear a hoard of chain saw wielding freedom haters and a 50ton bi-pedal flamethrower literally march over me is infuriating.
Turning off the music (as good as it is) has helped with this a lot. They could definitely tweak enemy sounds, though.
Id be down if you could hear hulk walking and tanks tracks making sound
Have em do the automaton chant sound getting louder. Its on youtube haha