Unity's Reverb Zones

[MuscularMelvin]

I was searching through the Unity tutorials to get some info on what I could expect from modding Dusk when I came across an interesting bit in the audio section. Apparently, it's possible to set up "reverb zones" that affect the quality of the sounds. You could make it so if you fired the Hunting Rifle in the woods, it would create a windy echo through the trees.

https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/class-AudioReverbZone.html

I've been playing Unreal Gold lately and those vintage EAX reverbs sound really lush and incredible for their age. Would it be possible to mod these reverb zones into Dusk at a later date and publish them? I remember a "Doom PSX" mod that added reverb into all the indoor areas for GZDoom, but because it technically used copyrighted material, it could not be published in the /idgames archive.

[500_pts]

Yeah, it would be fairly trivial to do that when the SDK is made available.

[MuscularMelvin]

Okay, cool. If I'd still need permission to make a mod like that, I'll ask in the future. That PSX Doom TC was actually quite scary when every Imp's scream would echo through the dark hallways. I think The Cutty Mine in particular could really benefit from this Unity feature; it would go from being a pretty weak map to one of the most terrifying. Imagine being in the dark and suddenly you hear multiple chainsaws rev up and echo through both your eardrums.

Unity seems to have multiple ways of producing reverb, which is confusing. It's either on a per-sound basis or within areas placed within a map (which is why I'd need David's permission). There's presets available, but what I'd want would be deliberately lo-fi reverbs to imitate the early EAX 1.0 or A3D soundcards from 1998. I'm sure those parameters are listed on the internet somewhere.

[500_pts]

Mods dont really require permission when we're providing you with an SDK! Go nuts.

[MuscularMelvin]

Nah, this is David's game. If he didn't want reverb in Dusk, we shouldn't force the issue onto him. I just thought it would be an interesting mod to experiment with. God knows how much scarier the Wendigo encounters would be with the "Mood: Hell" EAX preset.

[MuscularMelvin]

You're a little late for that. Dusk has been in development since mid-2015, and all that needs to be finished is Episode 3 (which is due in March 2018). You also have to remember that David's developing singleplayer all by himself while a support team of 3 is working on the SDK and multiplayer. Any additional content at this point would cause Dusk to be delayed even further. David's been working with Unity for many years now, so I don't doubt he knows about all its features. It was his choice to not include reverb, and it's the dedicated fans' choice to add it in if they desire to.

Now, what I personally would really love for Dusk would be to implement an HRTF for 3D sound somehow. There is another Unity retro FPS called Devil Daggers that uses OpenAL Soft's HRTF, and it really adds a lot of immersion to the arena combat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWlqG2spanY
Certainly, it would make Wendigos less of a pain to deal with!

[MuscularMelvin]

HRTF and Reverb isn't modern, but ok.
https://youtu.be/vlxO4Wq5dGM?t=55s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oSlbyLAksM
I'll have you know that I've been practicing with Doom 1 maps to get a feel for when I get the Dawn SDK. Finding good reverb settings is very hard because usually the engine's presets are too overbearing for small or medium sized rooms. If they aren't, then they get completely drowned out by the music and you've just wasted 2 hours setting it all up.
EDIT: I think that Half-Life video has EAX set too loud, but that's besides the point.

[MuscularMelvin]

No dude, it was actually a big thing in the late 1990s until Creative sued Aureal out of the industry. You should look it up sometime, big upset to the PC gaming market back then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4xJKkFPHp8
Even Counter-Strike 1.6 supported this technology up until Valve removed it for the Linux update in 2013. Counter-Strike Source also supports something called CMSS-3D and it actually sounds slightly more precise than CSGO's HRTF.

[🌎Earth]

I just don't see how reverb zones would improve dusk. It wouldn't kill it, but it wouldn't make it any better either imho.

[MuscularMelvin]

You could literally say the same thing about HDR lighting or an abundance of particle effects. It's just an extra layer of audio/visual goodness that adds to the experience. In Dusk's case, there is a Wendigo jumpscare trap in the middle of E2 that would greatly benefit from having a "drugged" reverb preset.