What is that sound while in the gate?

[thelefthorse]

It sounds like someone hawking a loogie more than anything else. Is it supposed to be a horse sound? A sound from the gate or a jockey?

One of the best aspects of this game is the audio, but *every single time* I race I am pulled up short/thrown out of the moment by . . . someone hawking a loogie right before the gate opens. What is that about?

[HEX: Istential Crisis]

I think I know what you mean. There are two different sounds when starting. One if you hit the "perfect" part of the bar and one if you don't. I think the second one is the one you mean. That indeed sounds a bit weird.

[thelefthorse]

Yesss.

It comes just before the bar at the top starts going across indicating when to hit space to get a perfect start.

It seriously bears no resemblance to a sound horses make but sounds an awful lot like an uncouth human. I literally can't hear it without going, what the ?!

I would love to hear from someone who has an idea what it is supposed to be. My only guess is the sound of a horse snorting, but they have so many of those that sound very accurate, so what happened to that one?

[IcewaterCreek®]

Originally posted by thelefthorse:

It sounds like someone hawking a loogie more than anything else. Is it supposed to be a horse sound? A sound from the gate or a jockey?

One of the best aspects of this game is the audio, but *every single time* I race I am pulled up short/thrown out of the moment by . . . someone hawking a loogie right before the gate opens. What is that about?

That sound is horses passing gas as the mechanism that renders the gates open.
You see when horses leap from the gate, they pass gas in many cases.
A lot of times, gates are not the first on sheet for upkeep, so they have small issues that help scare the horses into action or wake up the occasional intoxicated driver/jockey.

[thelefthorse]

Originally posted by IcewaterCreek®:

Originally posted by thelefthorse:

It sounds like someone hawking a loogie more than anything else. Is it supposed to be a horse sound? A sound from the gate or a jockey?

One of the best aspects of this game is the audio, but *every single time* I race I am pulled up short/thrown out of the moment by . . . someone hawking a loogie right before the gate opens. What is that about?

That sound is horses passing gas as the mechanism that renders the gates open.
You see when horses leap from the gate, they pass gas in many cases.
A lot of times, gates are not the first on sheet for upkeep, so they have small issues that help scare the horses into action or wake up the occasional intoxicated driver/jockey.

So, okay, that's totally possible and you're right, probably accurate to real life. The sound I'm talking about, however, comes as the horses enter the gate, not when the gate opens. That being said, horses do pass gas occasionally, so your theory could still be correct.

This is a game, however, and if the sound is indeed meant to be that of horses passing gas, I would infinitely prefer one of the other myriad sounds one might expect while in the gate: metal clanging, jockeys or handlers soothing or calming the horses, hooves striking metal as impatient or uneasy horses kick the gate itself, etc. I could come up with twenty more plausible sounds.

I'm just saying, there are so many valid possibilities and so many options for unique sound effects that the sound of flatulence or loogie-hawking, far from adding to the atmosphere of the game, detracts from it significantly. At least for me.

[SilverWolf]

that is a true to life sound while you are in the gates. Believe me irl it is alot louder people get hurt horses won't settle in. sometimes when the gates open the horse refuses to even move. I workeed with horses of all type breed temperment and i have to say my time with the thoroughbreds was the most fun i ever had. As pissy and mean they sometimes can get those years i worked the hardest. When i was forced to retire after the last injury my wife knows how much i want to be back in there working with them. I miss it very much but my body can no longer do the job.