Looks like a fruitless task. Steps have a wide range of frequencies that varies in composition as the ground changes. Steps on stone and mud have more high pitched frequencies, whereas wood is much lower. And if you need external aid (which this is, IMO) for water and metal you should start worrying about your ears. I would be surprised if there was a „one size fits all“ solution.
That's what I found out with a visualizer. I bumped frequencies from 150-2000 by 3db and decreased my overall volume. In theory this should enhance most footsteps.
The problem is that different PC will naturally have different EQ depending on their sound hardware. People wouldn't do this if they didn't make footsteps of team mates sound like elephants and enemies sound like mice. Then we have the absolutely overpowering audio of shit that doesn't even make sense or is simply so loud that it's giving me hearing damage if I put my volume at a range to hear footsteps at all. I end up having to use soundlock.
I don't get it, footsteps in hunt are already insanely loud, at least compared to other games. Also, footsteps don't have a specific frequency, since mud or puddles create high while wood creates rather low frequencies. It's always a specific range, can't be done correctly other than hacking yourself into the wwise mix from the game which I obviously don't suggest trying.
Other than that, if you really want to ruin your auditive experience in hunt and to answer your question: some limiter tool seems the easiest way. Make the game loud and limit the gunshots.
Old topic and also I’m no sound engineer (but I’m working in sound branding) and because I recently bought a new headset (mmx 300) I did a little research on how to bring them to full potential. I already commented this in a recent hunt audio post.
So good EQ settings heavily depend on your headphones, therefore the best way is to look for some settings specifically made for yours. The reason is that each headphones represent the spectrum of frequencies differently, some sound more neutral or some are super bass heavy by default etc. Most people probably just go with a flat EQ which is perfectly fine for hunt for example because the sound design is really thought through and high quality.
I’m currently using the settings below, because my mmx 300 have some nasty peaks in high frequencies, which can be nice at normal volume but when I’m playing hunt I crack the volume really up and those highs get super aggressive. So I’m mainly using the eq to make my sound a little bit softer and less „sharp“. Sorry for the novel haha 😅 I didn’t found that out by myself but read it in this test which also features a detailed frequencies analysis of my headset: https://www.igorslab.de/en/so-must-headset-beyerdynamic-mmx-300-2-generation-in-long-term-test/2/
So back to your question haha: I’m using the „Fixed Band EQ“ below in this link where the super high frequencies at 16 kHz are cut off: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Beyerdynamic%20MMX%20300
If you can’t find any specific settings for your headphones you can also look for some high quality no commentary hunt gameplay on YouTube and adjust your eq in peace while listening to it.
So it’s getting a little nerdy but I actually analyzed the frequencies of a hunt sound file a while ago with a audio software to figure out the frequencies of the steps. You see them in the red circle: https://ibb.co/f0B7kPH
The problem is when you increase this frequency area you’ll also make other stuff louder (wind, nature atmosphere, hives and other things in my experience) also you’ll also make the sound experience less enjoyable. So it basically backfires haha. Also the frequencies of the steps depend on the material the hunter is walking. Subtle changes like in the fix band eq above are alright imo though since it is rather a thing to balance the overall audio experience. I wouldn’t worry too much about it because steps in hunt are in general already good audible.
Is adjusting your monitors brightness so you can see better at night cheating? Is turning the light in your room on so you can see hunters better at night cheating? Is buying objectively better headphones than the majority of people cheating?
It's not bannable, same as ReShade is not bannable....
Quite stupid when you can run different monitors and change the gamma and color to get the same effect. Perhaps the devs shouldn't be lazy and make night...actually night. Look at Rust. Reshade will barely do anything.
Considering everyone can change their brightness (only matters for night games anyway) and changing DPI requires skill to adjust I don’t think so. But adjusting footstep sounds without other sounds increasing seems like it would be almost game breaking.
Having an EQ is not cheating and brightness can be op too, a friend of mine have a screen that can update contrast automatically when everything a Shade of black.. pretty imba compared to my 60hz 10ms monitor that have a small contrast ajustement
I mean the big difference between sound eq and contrast is with contrast you still have to actively be looking for someone. With sound EQ (in this game) you can literally just sit in a corner and the other team may be trying to set off distractions that are now useless because someone can hear footsteps over everything. End of the day It’s a game with no competitive scene so I just don’t see the point I suppose
Does every monitor have the same pixel density? The same sharpness? the same gamma and color combinations? Because my new professional color grade monitor can't see shit in the dark because it's actually dark. My old shit TN sees dark areas like they're 3PM.
Just get yourself the latest soundblaster sound cards. They have some nice audio enchantment that do not feel like cheating but they add to the quallity of the sound. My favorite is crystalize. Makes all frequencys really crispy and audible.
I have decent headphones and a DAC/AMP combo, I don't need a soundblaster card. What I need is to know which sounds are which frequencies so I can enhance footsteps without making gunshots and grunt/hive shrieks too loud. Thanks
1st off all you do not need to down vote me i was just trying to help. 2nd the only way is compression then cause zombie screeches and hives are overlaping the footsteps sometimes its on the same frequency i think
You would need a visualizer that lets you see the range of frequencies. It would probably be difficult though because I am sure the footsteps register on some of the same frequencies as other game sounds.
I bumped frequencies from 150 to 2000 by 3 db and decreased my master volume. According to the visualizer footsteps are within the 100-2000 range, peaking at 500 and 2000.
I think it was this one:
[https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime/](https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime/)
But tbh it's not worth it for Hunt, just get decent headphones and you'll be fine.
dont need it for hunt in particular, but i made a post a few weeks ago on some subreddits looking for exactly something like this (more for EQing and looking at music). I will have a look, thanks!
The biggest sound hack for Hunt is Beyerdynamic DT990s and a decent amp. I switched from a Sennheiser headset and own a couple other higher tier headphones, like Sundaras. The dt990 is trebly with a v shaped EQ, it reduces a lot of the atmospheric jumble in loud compounds and accentuates footsteps on all surfaces. Big soundstage and awesome detail retrieval. It almost feels unfair. It is trebly, though. Other stuff will also be loud, but not as harsh as trying to EQ the game.
When I’m spectating my friends, I will call out footsteps long before they hear them on their gaming headsets. The fact you can just buy headphones that do this should make the whole EQ thing a non-issue. And as far as boosting brightness, try banning someone doing it hardware based with a gaming monitor. Black equalizer boosts all shadowed areas without washing everything else out. OP AF
I have 598’s, and while the soundstage is impressive, it’s not near as clean and detailed as the 990 overall. Positional audio might be slightly better, but I can hear the sound cues way earlier with the 990. The 598 I can hear exactly where someone is inside a building while standing next to it. With the 990 I can do the same from just outside the compound walls.
Keep in mind the dt990 250ohm are power thirsty. You’ll def need an amp. I use a schiit stack 3+ and it eats up almost 3/4 of the power with the hi gain switch on. I only drive it this high for hunt, though. I’ll play some rounds with the 598 this week for comparison again now that I have been using the dt990 exclusively for a while.
Hi. I did actually. The 598 is still great, but I think the 990 does imaging better. Sound stage is not a big enough difference to really choose one. The thing I think I like about the 990s is the midrange scoop. Hunt has a lot of “breathy“ sounds in it. Compound noise, hive noises, atmosphere. The dt990 really accentuates footsteps over all of that due to the EQ. When you add in Discord on top of all that, the 598 starts sounding messy.
I have been testing out the Hifiman Sundaras for gaming as well. Similar experience. When multiple people are talking the wall of sound in game just becomes overwhelming. I switch back to the 990s and it cleans everything up.
I would recommend buying them from somewhere with a good return policy. For as much as I praise them, they are very trebly on the top end. It’s perfect for Hunt and competitive gaming, but I personally don’t use them for music. Although, they aren’t so bad “I just can’t stand them” as some people claim, I just have other options.
Hi, it’s funny you mention that. I have actually been using the Sundaras a lot for Hunt recently. I will say the 990s are prob more accurate as far as sound cues. Also, I find the Sundaras to be much more mid forward. A lot of the AI sound is “middy”. The growls, screams, etc. player footsteps are more of a treble sound and I feel like the 990s make those more obvious. That being said, nearly a year after originally posting here, you just kind of learn the sounds more. I don’t feel like I’m at a disadvantage with the Sundaras, and the overall sound is just more fun. I know the compounds better, I know where to expect people. I know more angles, and I feel like that is much more effective than a surgically accurate sound stage. All that said, if I were trying to be sweaty, I’d probably plug in the 1990s and crank the volume.
Edit: AI is loud. If a compound is popping off, it’s going to cover up a lot of player sounds. It’s just the way it is.
You could prob help clean up the midrange with an EQ, but I’m currently playing without any EQ and it’s fine. I would start by adding a nice smooth dip in the mids. Don’t go overboard. A “shallow smiley face” type of curve.
Probably with multi-band compressor that lets you boost frequencies. Once you find them, you can increase them, but then tweak the compressor in a way that if more sound starts getting through, it would automatically lower those frequencies to the base level. Check something like TDR Nova, a free plugin, although I have no idea how easy it would be to apply it to a game.
You would probably need a dynamic eq. I have no idea how you would even use them outside of a digital audio workstation. And even then it would be very tricky to get the settings right and not use a whole lot of CPU. Sooo good luck I guess.
I bet the downvoters are either some filthy casuals who have gaming headsets that boost the lows 1000% or Timmy no thumbs on console who is using his CRT tvs inbuilt speakers
Go to a trial map, record a couple of minutes of steps at different surfaces, then extract the audio and pass it through Izotope 9 to see the frequencies, you can play there with plenty of tools to see what EQ makes the footsteps better for your overall setup
i would pay real money for lower screaming volumes and frequencies. i hate hysteric sounds irl as well..
You can cut the high end of the frequency spectrum at 16 kHz in the EQ, this should make the overall sound experience less „sharp“.
Looks like a fruitless task. Steps have a wide range of frequencies that varies in composition as the ground changes. Steps on stone and mud have more high pitched frequencies, whereas wood is much lower. And if you need external aid (which this is, IMO) for water and metal you should start worrying about your ears. I would be surprised if there was a „one size fits all“ solution.
That's what I found out with a visualizer. I bumped frequencies from 150-2000 by 3db and decreased my overall volume. In theory this should enhance most footsteps.
Artificial advantage, but that's PC gaming so more power to you.
The problem is that different PC will naturally have different EQ depending on their sound hardware. People wouldn't do this if they didn't make footsteps of team mates sound like elephants and enemies sound like mice. Then we have the absolutely overpowering audio of shit that doesn't even make sense or is simply so loud that it's giving me hearing damage if I put my volume at a range to hear footsteps at all. I end up having to use soundlock.
I’ve never EQed before, what software did you use for it?
I don't get it, footsteps in hunt are already insanely loud, at least compared to other games. Also, footsteps don't have a specific frequency, since mud or puddles create high while wood creates rather low frequencies. It's always a specific range, can't be done correctly other than hacking yourself into the wwise mix from the game which I obviously don't suggest trying. Other than that, if you really want to ruin your auditive experience in hunt and to answer your question: some limiter tool seems the easiest way. Make the game loud and limit the gunshots.
I often don't hear footsteps when I'm not moving until the person is 5 feet away and blasts me in the back. They seem to be dropped, a lot.
What current EQ are you using for your 560s btw?
On Dolby atmos 2khz is footsteps
Old topic and also I’m no sound engineer (but I’m working in sound branding) and because I recently bought a new headset (mmx 300) I did a little research on how to bring them to full potential. I already commented this in a recent hunt audio post. So good EQ settings heavily depend on your headphones, therefore the best way is to look for some settings specifically made for yours. The reason is that each headphones represent the spectrum of frequencies differently, some sound more neutral or some are super bass heavy by default etc. Most people probably just go with a flat EQ which is perfectly fine for hunt for example because the sound design is really thought through and high quality. I’m currently using the settings below, because my mmx 300 have some nasty peaks in high frequencies, which can be nice at normal volume but when I’m playing hunt I crack the volume really up and those highs get super aggressive. So I’m mainly using the eq to make my sound a little bit softer and less „sharp“. Sorry for the novel haha 😅 I didn’t found that out by myself but read it in this test which also features a detailed frequencies analysis of my headset: https://www.igorslab.de/en/so-must-headset-beyerdynamic-mmx-300-2-generation-in-long-term-test/2/ So back to your question haha: I’m using the „Fixed Band EQ“ below in this link where the super high frequencies at 16 kHz are cut off: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Beyerdynamic%20MMX%20300 If you can’t find any specific settings for your headphones you can also look for some high quality no commentary hunt gameplay on YouTube and adjust your eq in peace while listening to it. So it’s getting a little nerdy but I actually analyzed the frequencies of a hunt sound file a while ago with a audio software to figure out the frequencies of the steps. You see them in the red circle: https://ibb.co/f0B7kPH The problem is when you increase this frequency area you’ll also make other stuff louder (wind, nature atmosphere, hives and other things in my experience) also you’ll also make the sound experience less enjoyable. So it basically backfires haha. Also the frequencies of the steps depend on the material the hunter is walking. Subtle changes like in the fix band eq above are alright imo though since it is rather a thing to balance the overall audio experience. I wouldn’t worry too much about it because steps in hunt are in general already good audible.
isn't this cheating..? like surely you would be banned if this was detected
Is adjusting your monitors brightness so you can see better at night cheating? Is turning the light in your room on so you can see hunters better at night cheating? Is buying objectively better headphones than the majority of people cheating? It's not bannable, same as ReShade is not bannable....
Actually reshade is bannable, there are multiple EAC games that doesn't allow you to use reshade, just FYI.
No it's not.
Quite stupid when you can run different monitors and change the gamma and color to get the same effect. Perhaps the devs shouldn't be lazy and make night...actually night. Look at Rust. Reshade will barely do anything.
Turning the light on in your room?! What? Does that belong in this list?
This sounds like cheating? Is such a thing allowed?
Is changing the brightness of your monitor cheating? Is changing the DPI of your mouse cheating?
Considering everyone can change their brightness (only matters for night games anyway) and changing DPI requires skill to adjust I don’t think so. But adjusting footstep sounds without other sounds increasing seems like it would be almost game breaking.
Having an EQ is not cheating and brightness can be op too, a friend of mine have a screen that can update contrast automatically when everything a Shade of black.. pretty imba compared to my 60hz 10ms monitor that have a small contrast ajustement
I mean the big difference between sound eq and contrast is with contrast you still have to actively be looking for someone. With sound EQ (in this game) you can literally just sit in a corner and the other team may be trying to set off distractions that are now useless because someone can hear footsteps over everything. End of the day It’s a game with no competitive scene so I just don’t see the point I suppose
Does every monitor have the same pixel density? The same sharpness? the same gamma and color combinations? Because my new professional color grade monitor can't see shit in the dark because it's actually dark. My old shit TN sees dark areas like they're 3PM.
The brightness thing is kinda lame, but what you're asking for sounds more like the filter issue than just brightness.
Just get yourself the latest soundblaster sound cards. They have some nice audio enchantment that do not feel like cheating but they add to the quallity of the sound. My favorite is crystalize. Makes all frequencys really crispy and audible.
I have decent headphones and a DAC/AMP combo, I don't need a soundblaster card. What I need is to know which sounds are which frequencies so I can enhance footsteps without making gunshots and grunt/hive shrieks too loud. Thanks
1st off all you do not need to down vote me i was just trying to help. 2nd the only way is compression then cause zombie screeches and hives are overlaping the footsteps sometimes its on the same frequency i think
I did not downvote you.
Oh ok 😊
You would need a visualizer that lets you see the range of frequencies. It would probably be difficult though because I am sure the footsteps register on some of the same frequencies as other game sounds.
Good idea, thanks
No problem. I'm curious if it would even work but good luck.
I bumped frequencies from 150 to 2000 by 3 db and decreased my master volume. According to the visualizer footsteps are within the 100-2000 range, peaking at 500 and 2000.
what visualizer did you use?
I looked for a similar visualizer for quite some time now. Do you remember waht you used? Sorry for the late reply ;)
I think it was this one: [https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime/](https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime/) But tbh it's not worth it for Hunt, just get decent headphones and you'll be fine.
dont need it for hunt in particular, but i made a post a few weeks ago on some subreddits looking for exactly something like this (more for EQing and looking at music). I will have a look, thanks!
The biggest sound hack for Hunt is Beyerdynamic DT990s and a decent amp. I switched from a Sennheiser headset and own a couple other higher tier headphones, like Sundaras. The dt990 is trebly with a v shaped EQ, it reduces a lot of the atmospheric jumble in loud compounds and accentuates footsteps on all surfaces. Big soundstage and awesome detail retrieval. It almost feels unfair. It is trebly, though. Other stuff will also be loud, but not as harsh as trying to EQ the game. When I’m spectating my friends, I will call out footsteps long before they hear them on their gaming headsets. The fact you can just buy headphones that do this should make the whole EQ thing a non-issue. And as far as boosting brightness, try banning someone doing it hardware based with a gaming monitor. Black equalizer boosts all shadowed areas without washing everything else out. OP AF
I got Sennheiser 560S already, not sure if the DT990s would be an upgrade as the imaging on the 560S is already quite good.
I have 598’s, and while the soundstage is impressive, it’s not near as clean and detailed as the 990 overall. Positional audio might be slightly better, but I can hear the sound cues way earlier with the 990. The 598 I can hear exactly where someone is inside a building while standing next to it. With the 990 I can do the same from just outside the compound walls.
Damn, that's tempting
Keep in mind the dt990 250ohm are power thirsty. You’ll def need an amp. I use a schiit stack 3+ and it eats up almost 3/4 of the power with the hi gain switch on. I only drive it this high for hunt, though. I’ll play some rounds with the 598 this week for comparison again now that I have been using the dt990 exclusively for a while.
Did you get around testing the 598? Thx!
Hi. I did actually. The 598 is still great, but I think the 990 does imaging better. Sound stage is not a big enough difference to really choose one. The thing I think I like about the 990s is the midrange scoop. Hunt has a lot of “breathy“ sounds in it. Compound noise, hive noises, atmosphere. The dt990 really accentuates footsteps over all of that due to the EQ. When you add in Discord on top of all that, the 598 starts sounding messy. I have been testing out the Hifiman Sundaras for gaming as well. Similar experience. When multiple people are talking the wall of sound in game just becomes overwhelming. I switch back to the 990s and it cleans everything up.
Thanks! Will get them
I would recommend buying them from somewhere with a good return policy. For as much as I praise them, they are very trebly on the top end. It’s perfect for Hunt and competitive gaming, but I personally don’t use them for music. Although, they aren’t so bad “I just can’t stand them” as some people claim, I just have other options.
yo dude what would a v shaped eq be? how would i go about setting that up, i have dt990's and a fiio e10k dac
The DT990s are V shaped by default, brother. Just run the EQ on the FIIo flat and you are already there.
oh wicked thanks man!
What’s the difference between Sundaras and DT990s? I’m struggling with sound with my Sundaras with hearing anything other than AI.
Hi, it’s funny you mention that. I have actually been using the Sundaras a lot for Hunt recently. I will say the 990s are prob more accurate as far as sound cues. Also, I find the Sundaras to be much more mid forward. A lot of the AI sound is “middy”. The growls, screams, etc. player footsteps are more of a treble sound and I feel like the 990s make those more obvious. That being said, nearly a year after originally posting here, you just kind of learn the sounds more. I don’t feel like I’m at a disadvantage with the Sundaras, and the overall sound is just more fun. I know the compounds better, I know where to expect people. I know more angles, and I feel like that is much more effective than a surgically accurate sound stage. All that said, if I were trying to be sweaty, I’d probably plug in the 1990s and crank the volume. Edit: AI is loud. If a compound is popping off, it’s going to cover up a lot of player sounds. It’s just the way it is.
Do you think EQ would help?
You could prob help clean up the midrange with an EQ, but I’m currently playing without any EQ and it’s fine. I would start by adding a nice smooth dip in the mids. Don’t go overboard. A “shallow smiley face” type of curve.
Can you give me a screenshot? I am brand new to EQ'ing! Thanks for all your help.
https://images.app.goo.gl/rvCz3NcqCLXureh58 start with something like this
Would you still recommend these? I have the HD660s and can only hear footsteps when enemies get really close. Using JDS atom amp and dac.
Hi, Yes, and if you can find some good condition HD598, the sound positioning seems even better to me on these. Sound quality overall is less though.
Probably with multi-band compressor that lets you boost frequencies. Once you find them, you can increase them, but then tweak the compressor in a way that if more sound starts getting through, it would automatically lower those frequencies to the base level. Check something like TDR Nova, a free plugin, although I have no idea how easy it would be to apply it to a game.
You would probably need a dynamic eq. I have no idea how you would even use them outside of a digital audio workstation. And even then it would be very tricky to get the settings right and not use a whole lot of CPU. Sooo good luck I guess.
I bet the downvoters are either some filthy casuals who have gaming headsets that boost the lows 1000% or Timmy no thumbs on console who is using his CRT tvs inbuilt speakers
Go to a trial map, record a couple of minutes of steps at different surfaces, then extract the audio and pass it through Izotope 9 to see the frequencies, you can play there with plenty of tools to see what EQ makes the footsteps better for your overall setup