Ok after being a bit "hot headed", I ask again, this time with my game being registered
When I start Terran Conflict lately, it started to "change the sound", more specificly, the main menu theme sounds way worse than usualy, but as soon as I press any button (Esc, Up Arrow, Enter, whatever) I hear that "tick" sound (You know, like when you scroll thru the menus) and then the sound (meaning the main theme) magically "changes" to High quality.
I asked before, if somebody 'd start up their game, and without pressing any buttons, listen if the music "changes" after pressing a button.
INGAME sound is fine, as are all other games, so it might be a engine problem or something everybody has?
No changes for myself with a vanilla game (apart from when I forget to select 4.0/4.1 speaker layout before launching the game and instead use surroundsound 5.1 with Vista or Win7 and X3's DirectSound - forgetting that those OS no longer support it).
I suspect that your system has some sound configuration or codec loaded by another game or application that you use that is not optimum for the X3 intro music. When the X3 game exe program gets further in, it requests its own sound configuration that replaces the sound set-up with a better one for X3. Just a guess.
There is no other application running who can use any sound, besides the OS.
Codecs, I never install any others.
Sound settings and drivers are ok, everything up to date, and no other game is doing this, no Video, no MP3 player, nothing, ONLY X3 does this.
I noticed that some music files are, as I said before, reused from X2, and have a low bitrate/sampling rate.
I know they say they ARE high quality, but you (meaning I, I'm having some tools here since I do soundrecording, hobbywise) can encode a pcm to mp3, but even when it says "320kb, 44khz", that doesnt mean that the information actully has that... I can make a white-noise MP3 with 320kb and 48khz, so it will also have "high quality", but the actual info is just useless white noise.
It is less noticeable once ANOTHER SOUND plays: I muted soundeffects and voice, music up tp 100%.
After restarting the game, as soon as I hovered over a button in the Menu (New Game, Quit), when it would usually play that "select" sound, you can hear a change in quality - Music changes from 8khz to 44khz.
If I move the mouse somewhere else, nothing would happen, only when another Sound effect played once, like the game needs to "lock in" something, weird.
Now that I remember - I think I always had that issue - it doesnt really matter, I hope, since it only happens when I first start the game.
And to top it off, the background music in main menu is actually the only thing affected, as I said, it doesnt go away on its own, its like I have to "Manually clear" something.
To test, I will try some things, I changed the Music for the menu, and will try some other things.
And I've read about people with "low samplerate music" ingame, but the excuses with "missing codecs" or "wrong this and that" dont help me - I know my system, and it must be something game-wise.
Since no other game never does anything like that.
I wanted as many people as possible to check, since I might hopefully not be the only one with that issue.
*UPD 1* - changed Music: now even more noticeable - straight from the X3-Splash Screen, Main menu. Music Muffled, as soon as any button is touched (with mouse or keyboard), music "clips" to a much higher quality.
*UPD 2* - Tried several Settings and compatability modes - no change.
Ingame sound - perfect. Menu sound - upon first startup low-quality, then magically changes.
I would require EVERYBODY to check on their game, if it does the same thing.
BTW, it is less if not at all noticeable on my speakers, only my headset its really noticeable, hmm. I already know from other Games that my headset is "overly audible" when it comes to certain sounds... maybe it IS intended or something, but I'm the only one noticing, since my Headset is REALLY sensitive.
I mean, I'm definite it's only X3 who does it, and I'm 99% sure it's always been like that, but I only noticed it lately, since I raised the music volume a bit.
Just turn all Volumes to 0 but Music, restart game, then don't press any key until your in the main menu, then listen to the music for 7-10 seconds, then press ANY key, right click or hover over a button, and you will maybe notice a "quality change".
And I see everybody checking this thread out, but are you all thinking "Ah to Hell with him", if yes, why is that - it just takes 2 minutes, even less to check!
I'm just trying to test something, and asked nicely if people could cooperate and test.
And yeah, thanks to Alan, but I need somebody with a "less special" System, sure, I dont have a high-quality soundcard, so it might be different. And indeed, on my speakers it IS less noticeable, since they appear to be "weaker" on some frequencies.
It'd take some people just 2 minutes, to turn off sound effects, music all the way up, restart, and wait and listen closely before selecting "new game".
Besides that, yeah I am kind of a perfectionist, and as soon as something even as little as that happens, it freaks me out.
Btw., game and PC have been reinstalled, no change.
Hi again. No-one is saying 'to hell with you', it is just that you are posting in a Tech Sp forum where most of the readers will have game issues of their own that they consider a tad more important to them than yours. If you want more of the 'normal' players to test things in-game for you, then post a simple question in Universe or even in Off Topic as a 'just out of interest' post rather than in Tech Sp. You can include a link to this thread if you want.
Sound quality variations are almost always a product of interacting drivers and codecs so if you do want us to look at this as an active Tech Sp issue then you need (as the perfectionist you claim to be) to read the first Announcement on this forum and comply with that.
Finally please use the edit button to add stuff where yours is still the last post on the thread rather than keep reposting and bumping!
I doubt its any driver and codec thing, since no other game does it (cant say it often enough), and that wouldnt explain the "sudden change" - if the music were 8bit all the time, I'd see the sense, but a change after the press of a button/sound effect that played?
I watched several Let's Plays, but people are always talking in the important parts. But I've listened closely, and at least one video has the same issue, but its masked by a sound effect playing/the Person speaking.
I'm positive that quality of speakers, soundcard and other influences affect that "problem".
I tried your suggestion of turning down all but music and restarting. I did not notice any change in quality when after 7-10 seconds I went into another menu.
I only have a low level SB audigy card in my rig and I could not reproduce your problem, even after several different restarts both in vanilla and modded.
I have had sound issues in the past but that was down to using an on board sound chip rather than a separate card.
Thanks Vayde for the Testing <3 really appreciate.
I have now watched one commentless X3TC gameplay from a russian guy, and heard definetly the same thing - he lets the music play for some seconds, and as soon as he hovers over "new game", it makes a short "tick" and the music gets a bit "better" - it might be only audible/happen to people without soundcards.
Also, I made a 47 episode Lets play in July 2012, and in my FIRST Episode, in the exact moment I shut myself up, and *BOOM* as soon as I hover over "new game", a silent "click" noise, and music changes (a bit).
So whatever it is, it is either in my computer or only happening to a few people - problem is, that since I heard the same thing in my old Video plus in one Gameplay from somebody else, puzzles me, plus the fact that nobody seems to have the problem, or never notice it.
And here comes the big BUT: it doesnt matter.
The fact that it only happens ONCE (the low music quality that is), and ONLY in THIS game, AND never in Windows, Skyrim, Fallout 3NV, and many other games, led me to the conclusion that whatever it is, its weird but, meh - simply "meh", because not playing the game because of this is too much of a waste of a otherwise perfect game.
So uninstalling the game is out of the question (a shame to even think of that!), and not playing it = the same thing.
And to top it off, even when there were sound problems, most of them would go under in the gameplay, haha - I'm sinking so deep into the game, someone could sneak past me and still all my stuff from my appartment.
So thanks again for the testing, but although inexplicable, the problem itself is basically irrelevant due to the fact it never persists and reappears once the game is fully started/menu interaction has happened.
