Hey everyone,
Welcome to Dev Brief #99!
This week we're having a blast as we give you a first look and listen at the new explosions coming to Hell Let Loose in Update 8!
These improvements to explosions will really ramp up the intensity of battle, so to go into all the glorious detail I'll hand you over to Lead Developer Max...
A Message from Max - New Explosion Details!
Hi everyone!
We’re diving in deep today on the new explosion sound effects as we know it’s such a critical area that we know has long been overdue for a proper rework.
Explosives are a prominent tool in warfare, and are a huge part of creating an iconic and authentic battlefield soundscape. They’re also an aspect of the game we haven’t updated since our initial release into Early Access (over a year ago!).
We’ve gone back to the drawing board on the way we build our explosive sounds - from both a sound and visual perspective (we’ll tackle the visual side in a later brief).
Drawing inspiration from different games, real world footage and film we have applied our own spin to the sounds whilst maintaining a realistic aesthetic. These will seem louder and more fierce than previous. We have taken a similar approach when creating the new explosion sfx as we did to our weapon audio. This method consists of using multiple layers that are mixed and attenuated individually in the game engine, allowing us to have a plethora of explosion variations without taking up too much storage space.
We can pick and choose assets from the categories “Small, Medium and Large” allowing us to mix and match sound layers depending on the type of explosive ordinance whether it be an MK2 grenade, an 88mm shell or a satchel charge.
The explosion audio uses our custom Audio Volumes that control the environmental layer of the sound meaning in time we will have interior reflections represented. We use a volume ducking feature to reduce certain sound groups when an explosion takes place, this method better highlights the explosion whilst maintaining its original volume to help it stand out within the whole audio mix. The soundscape should seem far more dynamic in Update 8 due to the fact we have extended the presence of explosions over a larger distance.
To add to this, what would new explosion sounds be without some new vehicle gun audio? Coming with Update 8 will be reworks of the vehicles main guns from the Luchs 20mm autocannon all the way up to the Howitzer artillery pieces. The vehicle shells will also have new ricochet audio and internal damage within vehicles will be touched up.
Don't forget within the Audio Settings we have the option to increase the amount of sounds heard at any one time, just set the Audio Channel Count from Low to Med/High/Epic allowing 32, 64, 96, 128 simultaneous channels.
The video below is designed to demonstrate the difference in explosions at different ranges. Please note that this is an early version of Hurtgen Forest used to demonstrate the distance differences. It is now far more complete!
Dev Brief 100 - We want your questions and comments!
That wraps up your first look and listen at our new explosions that'll be booming their way into Update 8.
Whilst we're really pleased with how they are, please remember they are a work in progress and we'll be fine tuning them before they drop!
Now, lets talk about next week and Dev Brief 100 shall we!
Next week is our 100th consecutive weekly Developer Briefing and what a milestone it is. To celebrate we'll be interviewing Lead Developer Max about all things Hell Let Loose, from where it began to where it's going.
That's where you come in! We want to ask some of your community questions to Max in the interview and get you some juicy answers.
To have your question put into consideration please post it in the comments section of today's brief. You have until Tuesday morning on October 27th as we'll be doing the recording on that day.
If you have any nice comments or stories you'd like read to Max, feel free to pop those down too - it'd be great to share them with him.
Now we'll leave you this week with a reminder that Hell Let Loose is 25% off until Monday afternoon, so if you've not joined the frontline yet now is a damn good time to:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/
Also a huge welcome to all our new players who have joined us in the sale so far, we hope you're having a brilliant time!!
Have a great weekend everyone.
See you on the frontline.