Hi Hayden, Well, part could be your sound setup. Understand that standard stereo headphones and/or speakers will not accurately render a 3d virtual audio environment. To really do this correctly you need a 5.1 stereo sound card, 5.1 speakers with 5 or more speakers, or some of the pro gamer headsets specially built for 5.1 surround sound. In other words if you really want to take full advantage of that 5.1 surround sound setup, even if the game supports it, you will have to purchase a couple hundred dollars worth of high end gear to play it.
The other issue you might be facing is DirectSound verses OpenAL, XAudio2, FMOD, etc. DirectSound was written in 1995/1996 for Windows 95 era computers. It was continually upgraded and maintained clear up to DirectX 8 was released. At the time DirectX 8 was released the best sound card available was the Creative Labs Soundblaster Live which initially had 4.1 channel stereo not 5.1. As a result since DirectSound 8 has not been officially updated since 2000 or so it does not really support 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound stereo as all newer sound cards have. That's why DirectX 9, 10, and 11 now use XAudio2 because it has 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound support. This has superior 3d audio support over DirectSound. On Linux and Mac OS OpenAL has been updated to support 5.1 and 7.1 sound cards as well. For that reason DirectSound isn't necessarily the right library for anyone looking into a high end virtual 3d audio environment. However, to answer your initial question why one is better than the other there are several reasons. For one thing libraries like FMOD Ex have built in formulas to properly calculate things like roll-off factor, doplar effects, and things of that nature. You can't really do that with a simple 2d pan control and volume. I guess you could if you want to do all the number crunching your self, but why do that when FMOD Ex has this already built into the sound engine? The main reason I see for 3d audio is with the proper hardware, the proper equipment, the sound is very very realistic. Have you ever played GMA tank commander with a set of 5.1 pro gamer headphones. You feel like you are right in the center of the battle field. It is way better than panning/volume by far. You have to hear it to believe it. Smile. On 2/4/11, Hayden Presley <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Ken, > I'm still confused; I haven't yet figured out why 3D audio is preferable to > plain 2D, even in a 3D environment. It seems to not pan correctly as you > turn so you have to kind of guess. > > Best Regards, > Hayden --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
