Way to reduce volume of footsteps?

[Gurthang]

Hi there,
i'm aware that the way the footsteps sounds walking in snow is pretty noisy, nonetheless i'm asking myself if there's a way to reduce the soundvolume in particular the footsteps.
Even tough i love the soundtracks of the game, i'd like to listen to my own music once in a while and the footsteps are realy dominant. I still want to hear the ambience in the background while listening to my music. Perhaps there's a hidden way in the config? Or how are you guys handeling it, i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one "struggeling" with it.

[Lenny Rat]

Aside from turning down the volume in settings, no.

Clearly you do not play on higher difficulty levels. If you truly played to survive then you would understand the value in having the sound of footsteps, or more specifically wolf steps and bear huffs, clearly audible.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by JayXL:

Creeping around and stopping for a moment to listen, only to hear the soft register of unseen wolf footsteps in the snow nearby, is one of the most terrifying things in this game.

I've been wanting that dang cup emoticon for the longest time...

[Gurthang]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

Aside from turning down the volume in settings, no.

Clearly you do not play on higher difficulty levels. If you truly played to survive then you would understand the value in having the sound of footsteps, or more specifically wolf steps and bear huffs, clearly audible.

I know for some of you it might be hard to understand, but i'm not playing the long dark because i want to prove myself or anyone anything, it's a singleplayergame and i play it the way i like it, i don't care about telling anyone i survived on stalker 500 days. I just want to enjoy the games amience after a 12 hourshift at the hospital and i'd prefere listening my music while doing that.

So yes you're right, i'm not playing on any hard difficulty, do i care? no. Should you? I don't care

[rhwilson1953]

Originally posted by Sabaoth:

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

Aside from turning down the volume in settings, no.

Clearly you do not play on higher difficulty levels. If you truly played to survive then you would understand the value in having the sound of footsteps, or more specifically wolf steps and bear huffs, clearly audible.

I know for some of you it might be hard to understand, but i'm not playing the long dark because i want to prove myself or anyone anything, it's a singleplayergame and i play it the way i like it, i don't care about telling anyone i survived on stalker 500 days. I just want to enjoy the games amience after a 12 hourshift at the hospital and i'd prefere listening my music while doing that.

So yes you're right, i'm not playing on any hard difficulty, do i care? no. Should you? I don't care

Another big Thank You for the service you do for others. My DW is in housekeeping at a local healthcare facility. Though what she does may not seem as glamorous or rewarding as your job, she does what you should not have to take time away from caring for others.

[Ranger Joe]

First - I can totally relate to wanting to immerse yourself in the quiet after a shift at the hospital - I am also a healthcare worker and have played this game a lot since COVID.

Second - the commenters who replied earlier are nice people and I think they were just worried that you would turn down the sound and have an unidentified consequence of not hearing wildlife.

Third - I also wish I could hear less of my footsteps while still being able to hear that wolf / bear just over the hill or behind that rock.

All of which is to say, no I don't know of a way to turn down the sound of just your own footsteps, but I certainly understand why you asked the question.

Stay warm!

[Buffer]

It was disappointing to read the comments and I apologize on behalf of others. Every game's community has elitists who feel attacked if anyone doesn't play like they do.

Back to your original question though, footsteps are annoying but I can live with them. But what's made me mute the game were the pants when you're fully exhausted. Or just ran out of stamina. The grunts are very obnoxious.

What's worse, if you get broken ribs and your clothes give -50% stamina. You hear the loudest grunts... every damn second. I had the option of either muting the game or taking off a piece of clothing. But I was living in a dangerous area and needed sound, and it was very cold so I needed my bearskin coat. This dilemma made me spend the next 120 consecutive hours only resting and passing time, just so I could unmute the game.

I love TLD. But everyone hears differently and some sounds are more abrasive to some than others. Sadly there are no mods yet that can remove some sound effects

[Nosteru]

Originally posted by Buffer:

It was disappointing to read the comments and I apologize on behalf of others. Every game's community has elitists who feel attacked if anyone doesn't play like they do.

Back to your original question though, footsteps are annoying but I can live with them. But what's made me mute the game were the pants when you're fully exhausted. Or just ran out of stamina. The grunts are very obnoxious.

What's worse, if you get broken ribs and your clothes give -50% stamina. You hear the loudest grunts... every damn second. I had the option of either muting the game or taking off a piece of clothing. But I was living in a dangerous area and needed sound, and it was very cold so I needed my bearskin coat. This dilemma made me spend the next 120 consecutive hours only resting and passing time, just so I could unmute the game.

I love TLD. But everyone hears differently and some sounds are more abrasive to some than others. Sadly there are no mods yet that can remove some sound effects

None of them acted like elitist. They just told how useful the footstep sound, it can save your life in a permadeath game.
Suddenly when OP said he work in a hospital everyone started to apologise.
While his/her work is very respectable we dont need to apologise for anything here.
I only play on pilgrim and as the OP I enjoy the chilling gameplay, but that not diminish the fact the footsteps or other sound can mean life or death on harder difficulty.

[Buffer]

Originally posted by Nosteru:

None of them acted like elitist. They just told how useful the footstep sound, it can save your life in a permadeath game.
Suddenly when OP said he work in a hospital everyone started to apologise.
While his/her work is very respectable we dont need to apologise for anything here.
I only play on pilgrim and as the OP I enjoy the chilling gameplay, but that not diminish the fact the footsteps or other sound can mean life or death on harder difficulty.

You've misunderstood in several ways. I was disappointed when I read the first few comments. OP's profession didnt affect me and I didnt even mention it. But I can understand why you'd misinterpret that because of the comment before mine.

I stand by my assessment. When someone comes into a thread, completely ignores the OP's request/concern and instead states why they shouldn't even be doing such a thing... that is by definition elitist. Because you're so fixated on your own playstyle that you dont even acknowledge something different than you. Imagine you asked in a forum "Is there a way to make brownies without eggs?" and the first few comments you got were "You must not want to be healthy. Eating sweet stuff is bad for you" how would you feel?

TLD is a wonderful game, and the community is too. My hope and goal is to maintain that. I'm sure the members who commented are actually good people. Of course, just one comment doesnt define any person. I was doing what was right. If tomorrow you were in their shoes, I would defend you too :-)

[Buffer]

in OP's shoes*

[Nosteru]

Originally posted by Buffer:

in OP's shoes*

The 1st comment contained the answer, included with the added info. Others joined the ride and extended it. Even the OP didnt asked for that.
I learned many trick and info in these forums, some of it was hidden in an offtopic talk, like here.

[Buffer]

Originally posted by Nosteru:

Originally posted by Buffer:

in OP's shoes*

The 1st comment contained the answer, included with the added info. Others joined the ride and extended it. Even the OP didnt asked for that.
I learned many trick and info in these forums, some of it was hidden in an offtopic talk, like here.

I agree. I've gotten good tips from offtopic spoilers too. But the point is it was kind of weird to assume that the OP doesnt value footsteps. Or that even if you can value something, an annoyance can be so strong it can can outweigh the value.

Anyway. TLD has a lot of amazing sounds... but like I said everyone hears differently (look up misophonia). I googled for footstep removing mods, and learned that a few people hate the sound of drinking/eating. Where as those are my favorites. So maybe there needs to be sound UI options that can lower various categories of sound effects.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by mskitty:

Originally posted by JayXL:

lol?

I can't speak for any one else, but I made a comment that I intended only to provide information and hopefully be helpful. Nowhere in my comments did I insinuate that playing any certain way is incorrect or better/worse, nor do I feel "attacked" if someone doesn't play like I do. I have several friends who play Pilgrim, and I played Voyager for years. I have, several times on this forum, said that people should play however makes them happy. I'm not sure where "elitist" fits into this mindset.

I think people need to settle down a bit and stop making accusations and assumptions about other people who they don't know at all. One can play a certain way and still be tolerant and respectful of all other styles of play. I'm pretty sure the others who offered advice in this thread meant well too.

I am settled down. It was the comment "if you truly played to survive" that was uncalled for. But if you can't see that then there is nothing I can say that will convince you otherwise.

Very entertaining reading.

So you have proclaimed the right to decide that my comment was "uncalled for"? And you folks run around calling others "elitist"? I recommend you all find a mirror.

When I speak it is to give advice and feedback, which I've been doing on this forum for years. That's what I did. If the OP doesn't like it, or anybody else for that matter, then don't take it to heart. "If you truly played to survive" was the foray into the point I wanted to make. I didn't say that anything was wrong with the OP's request, or their play style, or their career choice. Really?

That was all created by a bunch of folks that have nothing better to do than overthink what they read until they can dream up some sort of nefarious intent.

That is a truly sad state of affairs.

[MadBone12]

Originally posted by mskitty:

"If you truly played to survive" was the foray to point out that they would understand the value of hearing the footsteps. Everybody that is playing this game is playing to survive. On pilgrim mode the animal footsteps are irrelevant because they run from you, the player footsteps are loud, annoying, and not necessary, there is nothing hard to understand about that.

Depending on your playstyle, people playing in Pilgrim or a custom game with passive animals might still need the sound of animal steps, such as being able to hear better in low-visibility hunting situations, or avoiding wolves (which can still attack in Pilgrim if you sneak up on them, something that happened to me recently during very heavy fog in ML, on the lake), or just for ambience.

Personally, I have never found the footsteps to be too loud on any map, but obviously there are players who are bothered by it. I don't think there is a way to switch off just the footsteps or lower the volume. Maybe suggest it in the Suggestions forum as a setting.

[gothmog77]

It is easy to be uncertain about others' intentions, and when in doubt we are hardwired to lean toward assuming hostile intent. In the past, that has been a good strategy for survival (despite being epistemically flawed). In modern society, it is not so much the case any more (but our instincts remain). I recommend leaning toward extending the Principle of Charity to counteract this, at least when in civilized society, and at least for the first few interactions.

I believe that most if not all of the people in this thread have good intentions. However, each person has a different perspective. Person 1 says A Thing, but Person 2 hears A Different Thing, because everything you hear gets filtered through your particular perspective. This is an inescapable consequence of having different perspectives. Because of this, I recommend making a habit of asking clarifying questions, and withholding judgment until after a lot of clarification.

I have more that I might say, but this is an Unserious Place for Unserious Words, and I am using a lot of Serious Words. I will pace myself and wait for feedback.

Stay Warm

[Buffer]

Originally posted by gothmog77:

This is an Unserious Place for Unserious Words

I recommend making a habit of asking clarifying questions

Amen. FWIW I appreciate your "serious words" :-) I've thought of the second part before but... you're right it needs to be made into a habit. Unfortunately sometimes emotion can take over. But thanks for the reminder

I think nextgengranny worded what I felt... much better than what I was trying to explain.

I'll also add that another problem is that there truly is a trend in gamers out there, where someone who doesnt have an X playstyle, or Y difficulty, or Z settings, they're looked down upon. My hope is TLD is a better community than that. For me everyone is the same whether they play pilgrim or interloper. Whether they play casually with music and dont want to experience some game elements (there is a reason custom mode exists), or they play like me sitting in a dark room IRL, freezing in a blanket with a candle glowing trying to get the full "immersion" of the game. Whatever makes someone enjoy the game, that's what matters. No playstyle is better or worse.

That's all from my side though on this topic. No hard feelings @Lenny Rat. My apologies if my word choice was poor, but I get easily triggered and over defensive for other people not being treated how I think they deserve to. Cheers