00:25OPERATION FLASHPOINT
00:30We've strived to record every vehicle and every weapon in the game.
00:33We know how passionate people are about the game
00:35and how passionate people are about the sounds of the game.
00:38Audio element really enhances the visual aspect of Flashpoint.
00:41We've got all sorts of different ambiences
00:43that really immerse the player in the world
00:45and visuals are just one part of that.
00:46Audio plays a very big part as well.
00:48For example, when you're walking through a forest,
00:50you get ambient birdsong
00:52and the guides have actually gone out and found
00:54the animals that inhabit that part of the world
00:57to make sure it's authentic.
00:57Silence can be just as important as terrific noises.
01:01As you're moving through forest, you hear the audio,
01:03you hear the crack of twigs, etc.
01:05But as well as that, some of the vehicles that we have,
01:07you can even identify what they are just from the sound that they're making.
01:10We're allowed to mic up these tanks and vehicles
01:13with many mics just to get every intricate detail
01:16of doors opening, closing, engines,
01:18interior sounds of these vehicles moving,
01:20all of which you'll hear in the game.
01:25We use audio as a tool in Flashpoint.
01:28It lets you know that you're under fire.
01:29It lets you know where the fire's coming from.
01:31Audio plays a vital role within every mission in Operation Flashpoint.
01:35It's really important to dictate the mood of what's going on,
01:37whether you're hearing very long-distance gunfire in combat
01:41to know where particularly large engagement's happening,
01:43or whether you're using it to cue in where the enemy are located
01:47for Spec Ops missions.
01:48Artillery is one area where the audio really helps
01:51the visual aspect of the game.
01:53When artillery shells land across the valley,
01:55you actually get the sound delay,
01:56so you'll see the flash, you'll see the explosion,
01:58and then we model the speed of sound,
01:59so the actual shock wave will shake
02:01as the bass hits you from the explosion.
02:08The sounds that we place within missions
02:10really do aid the player to find their way through the missions.
02:13They're going to know where the key installation is
02:16that the enemy have because they can hear it from a distance away.
02:19They're going to know where the quiet areas are away from forces
02:22because they can hear crickets churning.
02:24In Flashpoint, we use audio to really enhance the immersion
02:27the player gets from being in certain situations,
02:30so when they enter a building, gunshots feel louder,
02:33explosions sound more muffled if they're happening outside.
02:46When someone's firing at you from 500 metres away
02:49or 1,000 metres away,
02:51it's an actual asset of that weapon being fired at that distance.
02:56It's not trickery.
02:57There's no filtering or EQ being applied.
03:03We went to the Marine's Production Assistance Office
03:05specifically to make sure that what we had matched marine procedures
03:09and marine conduct,
03:11so that we had a very genuine feel of how marines actually talk.
03:15We have different stress states for your squad's speech,
03:17so, for example, if you're under fire,
03:19your squad will use a loud, clear voice to project their orders.
03:22If you're in the stealth mode, your guys will be whispering,
03:25it'll be a forced whisper.
03:26One of the best feelings in Flashpoint,
03:29and the one that gives you the fear the most,
03:31is hearing the bullets whizz and snap past your head
03:34and hit the brick wall in the background
03:36and smash a window and hit the stairs and zing off it.
03:39These things really make you panic,
03:41and it was one of the most important things to get in to Flashpoint,
03:44and you think that when you start coming under fire
03:47and the PLAs start really suppressing you,
03:49you're not going to want to put your head up over those sandbags
03:51because one of those bullets could tag you in.
03:53That'll be it.
