BF6 Audio Feedback: 200m+ Sounds Die Instantly – Please Bring Back the Echo
Hello DICE Audio Team,
Thank you for "War Tapes V.A.L."; the saturation is excellent. However, I’ve identified two specific acoustic issues in both Default HDR and V.A.L. that break immersion:
Close-Mid Range (10–100m): Heavy Vehicles sound "Boxed-in".
Distant Sound (200m+): All sources lack environmental persistence.
1. Close-Mid Range Heavy Vehicles: "Cockpit" Effect
The issue is isolated to Tank and IFV primary cannons. Unlike small arms which maintain definition, heavy vehicles sound unnaturally muffled, as if the player is trapped inside a sealed cockpit or behind thick armor plating.
The Problem: Excessive Low-Mid Build-up (200–500Hz) is causing "mud," which buries the High-Mid Transients (3k–8kHz)—the metallic "crack" of the breech and the sharp shockwave.
The Goal: Restore the "Punch and Snap." These cannons need to sound mechanically violent and dangerous, not dull and filtered. We need to hear the mechanical action over the low-frequency pressure.
2. Distant Sound (200m+): "Clicks" instead of "Boom"
Small arms, explosions, and vehicle weapons all suffer from the same issue at range: a lack of spatial decay.
Current State: At 200m+, sounds become flat, dry "clicks." The RT60 decay is too short, and the High-Pass Filter (HPF) cuts the 80–400Hz bodytoo aggressively. Sounds die instantly instead of interacting with the environment.
Real-world Reference: Comparative analysis of real-world combat footage (e.g., from Ukraine) shows that sustained medium-to-long range small arms fire exhibits significant ground coupling and atmospheric refraction. Instead of a sharp "click," distant gunfire carries a thick, rolling low-mid tail that feels like it is resonating through the earth and hanging heavy in the air. This "environmental inertia" is currently missing in BF6, making distant engagements feel weightless.
The Goal: In reality (BF3/Squad), distance creates prolonged echo tails. A distant explosion shouldn't just be quieter; it should have a lingering low-frequency rumble and reverb that makes the world feel massive. Currently, V.A.L. does nothing to fix this—it adds distortion up close but inherits the same "sterile" distant logic.
3. Occlusion: Physical Filtering over Digital Silence
When a sound originates behind cover, it should follow physical acoustic rules, not visibility checks.
The Fix: Replace digital muting with heavy low-pass filtering. The high-frequency "crack" becomes a muffled thud, but the structural rumble and low-mid reverb (150–400Hz) must pass through geometry. The world should feel "thick," not toggled on/off by line-of-sight.
4. Biome Identity (Critical)
The lack of reverb kills the unique identity of your maps:
Siege of Cairo (Urban Canyons):Distant gunfire and explosions should produce sharp, distinct flutter echoesbetween concrete facades. Currently, these reflections are truncated, killing the "hollow" city feeling. We need that haunting, spatial delay.
Golmud Railway (Open Expanse):Needs prolonged low-frequency rumble and atmospheric refraction. Distant booms should feel like a deep, rolling wave across the horizon—not a flat click.
5. Proposed Adjustments (Default & V.A.L.)
Default Mix (The Balanced Base):
Heavy Vehicles (10–100m): Cut the 200–500Hz mud on cannons. Boost the 3k–8kHz transient "snap" to restore mechanical aggression.
Distant Sound (200m+): Extend RT60 slightly (+0.5s). Raise HPF cutoff to retain 80–150Hz rumble for all distant sources.
Occlusion: Allow structural low-mid reverb to pass through walls for all sound types.
V.A.L. (The Immersive Extreme):
Distant Sound: Significantly extend RT60 (+1.5–2s). Reduce HPF aggression to preserve 150–400Hz resonance at range. Stop being just a "gun filter"—become a "world immersion" filter.Occlusion: Emphasize the structural rumble passing through materials.6. Conclusion
BF6 has the best audio engine in the series, but the artistic mixing is currently too timid.
Clean up the muffled Heavy Vehicle cannons and restore the environmental persistence of distant sounds. This fulfills the "All-Out Warfare" promise by making the battlefield feel alive, without compromising the clarity of infantry combat.
Thank you for your time and dedication.
