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Sound in space?

This is where you can discuss your homework, family, just about anything, make strange sounds and otherwise discuss things which are really not related to the Lancer-series. Yes that means you can discuss other games.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:27 pm

Sound in space?

There wouldn't be any sound in space hehe. Not that it makes the game any worse with it in the game, it would be pretty boring without it. But sound can't travel in a vacuum so you wouldn't hear ships buzzing by you or explosions and the like. Lightwaves can travel through space but sound waves cannot...there is no sound in space. Sound waves need something to travel through and there is no air in space. Sound is the result of vibrations that travel though air. A plucked guitar string vibrates, causing the air around it to vibrate. The vibrations zip through the air, into your ears and you hear. Space is an empty and airless vacuum. No air means no noise. This has been proven scientifically. I always find it amusing that all space games and all movies about space have it where you can hear the laser beams and explosions and such where in reality you never would. You would hear things inside your craft because there's air in there and also you could use the radio because radio waves don't need air to travel. I confess it needs to be there for entertainment value, just amusing is all :-)

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:37 pm

If games and movies are being made too realitic, there wont be games and movies any moore.
There are only few realstic games and movies that are really good.
That´s why, this genre is called science fiction. If there wasnt science fiction
there wouldnt have been Star Trek, Star Wars, Matrix, Wing Commander, Privateer and finally Freelancer.
Therefore I dont care if there are sounds in the space. Ecspecially when the sounds are that cool as they are in Freelancer.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:38 pm

I agree, it needs to be there for entertainment value as I said before. I just don't think most people realize there isn't really sound in space is all :-)

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:41 pm

That's correct. If games and movies where extremely realistic, they wouldn't be any fun. Indeed there is no sound in space, but you also see (in some movies set in space) that there's a spaceship on fire, but in reality something can't be burning in space because of the lack of oxygen.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:50 pm

True about the fire also, the only fires that can occur in space are one such as the sun because it's "burning" hydrogen to helium and there is no need for oxygen there. Also absence of oxygen does not preven nuclear burning.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 2:38 pm

Sound is also used as a cue as to what is happening around you. Without it you would not realise somethings. Some games use this quite a lot and give extensive audio cues that technically shouldn't be there, but make the game somewhat more handleable.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 4:00 pm

In space there would also be no maximum speed (well...speed of light...theoreticaly ), even if you had the dinkiest engine on a train freighter. It'd just take a looong time to get up to speed and to stop At first it felt very artificial to me (after playing i-war 2) but I've gotten used to the fact that freelancer is more action-ish than sim-ish. I wonder, could a mode create a realistic inertial newtonian flight model? The code is already kinda there with the 'Z' key...hmm.

-Stregone

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 4:42 pm

I think you could have brief fires in space. When a ship explodes, it's contents are exposed to space. What's in most space ships? That's right, air. What does fire need to burn? Air. That's how I've always thought of it, at least.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:09 pm

I realized it, but it would truely suck not having to be able to hear other ships, ect. I did notice that though while I was playing! hehe

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:12 pm

Actually you can Stregone, remove the drag coefficients from all of the vehicles, but that's another subject entirely...

-End of Line-

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:14 pm

You'd still have that 200/300 whateverunitfreelanceruses speed limit wouldn't you?

-Stregone

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:16 pm

I want to shoot open a ship and see the pilot get sucked out the hole.

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:18 pm

There called thrusters, they're placed all over your ship even though you cant see them in game, you'll just notice the ones at the back. But, it's the tiny thrusters at the front of the ship that cause you to stop, and thrusters on the side that enable you to strafe. You can only go as fast as the thrusters push you, not any faster, you dont gain magic speed. heh

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:23 pm

In a vacuum there is no drag to slow you down. Given infinite time and even the tiniest amount of thrust you could theoreticaly reach the speed of light. If you throw a baseball into space at 60mph it will continue going 60mph untill it hits something.

-Stregone

Post Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:34 pm

That's crazy. However, I believe there is still friction even in space, and as you threw that ball it is being slowed down, just very very very slowly. Todays equipment probably wouldnt even be able to measure it. So, and if the universe was infinite the ball would eventually come to a complete stop. That's just my theory.

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