Sound Issues When Not Facing NPCs

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MonkeyBoy 2 Sep, 2024 @ 3:05pm

Hi, guys!

I have sound issues with some Steam games on my new PC, which runs on Windows 11, and it's an issue I never had on my old PC, which ran on Windows 7.

It started with State of Decay 2. If I face an NPC, I can hear them clearly, but as soon as I rotate my character, the sound of their voice drops significantly, to a point where I can barely hear them, even if they're literally standing behind me. Funny thing is, I don't recall having this issue when I recently played State of Decay: Year-One.

At first I thought it was a bug in the game, but now I also had the same issue with Road 96... and for some reason, I don't have this issue with Road 96: Mile 0, even if I run away from the talking NPC!

Below are a few examples of people that have encountered the same sound issues as me, but with different games (just to give you a better idea).

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/643660/much-lower-volume-while-not-facing-npcs

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/sound-level-altered-when-not-facing-source-of-sound/1595453

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1135608-Npc-voice-lower-it-self-depending-on-what-angel-i-face-the-npc-the-voice-come-from

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/120165-dialog-volume-drops-too-low-when-turning-away-from-the-speaker/

Now, I understand this could be related to my video card or my sound settings in Windows 11, but I can't figure it out. Also, it's a sound issue that's solely related to certain Steam games it seems, because everything else that needs sound works just fine. Could it perhaps be a setting in the game itself or in Steam? If the latter is the case, why doesn't it affect all my games then?

Mind you, I'm not that super technical. I've tried every single setting I could think of, but just don't ask me to open my PC and do difficult things with my graphic card or whatever, haha.

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Showing 1-15 of 18 comments

RPG Gamer Man 2 Sep, 2024 @ 3:09pm

That sounds like a echo issue in the game. Check the sound settings and see if anything is causing it to echo. You may have to experiment with settings to find out. I think it has something to do with 3d sound.

MonkeyBoy 4 Oct, 2024 @ 1:46pm

First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

RPG Gamer Man 4 Oct, 2024 @ 6:45pm

Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

Believe it or not, i also seen this same bug on FF XII-2.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/292140/discussions/0/619573787350413142/

Last edited by RPG Gamer Man; 4 Oct, 2024 @ 8:53pm

Garcia 30 Nov, 2024 @ 2:56pm

Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

Thank you so much! I was having this stereo issues and I couldn't find a good way to look for the issue on the web!

Skillbert 4 Dec, 2024 @ 5:14am

Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!!

RPG Gamer Man 4 Dec, 2024 @ 10:56am

I found out there is sound issues with the new update for windows 11 version 24h2.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-confirms-game-audio-issues-on-windows-11-24h2-pcs/

This also could be the cause too sadly.

Last edited by RPG Gamer Man; 4 Dec, 2024 @ 10:56am

Lettuce 6 Mar @ 11:20am

Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

ABSOLUTE LEGEND

RPG Gamer Man 6 Mar @ 11:22am

Originally posted by Lettuce:
Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

ABSOLUTE LEGEND

I heard about this issue causing echo effects distortions in games too on pc. Glad you got it fixed.

Nestorfield 13 Apr @ 7:25pm

Originally posted by PeterTheZoo:
First off, I would like to thank RPG Gamer Man for taking the time to respond to my issue. :-)

Secondly... IT IS SOLVED! However, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to Raffaele S. from PLAION Player Support for being very patient with me and coming up with possible solutions. It took over a month, but we got there in the end, haha.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I did, and hopefully this will help other players in the future, who are dealing with this issue as well (just so you know, this is written with Windows 11 in mind).

Right click on the audio icon in the bottom right corner and then click on Audio Settings. From there, under Output, I clicked on Speakers. Under Output Settings, simply disable Audio Enhancements. That solved it for me! :-D

As an extra, while you're there, you can also switch your Audio Output Format from 24 bits, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) to 16 bits, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and see if it does anything. If you're using headphones, try enabling Spatial Audio.

Hopefully this will help you! Just bear in mind, that my Windows 11 is in Dutch, so even though I tried to translate some settings to English as best as I could, some of it may be worded a little differently on your computer. My apologies for that.

Good luck, fellow gamers! :-)

But without audio enhancements you lose all eq settings. Did you find a better solution?

Dranak 14 Apr @ 3:41am

Make sure lets say you have 2 speaker now and 3D emulated sounds that sounds card support has now switch left or right or corrected it now, this is seen before and with emulated 3D sound you can end up with as op said a narrow field have to look 100% at a NPC if not sounds get reduce alot,

Did people here even mention check sound card drivers at all. or i forgot this atm. then i wrote this.

Nope did a quick search , post do not mention this at all, welcome to amature paradise here.
be happy i dare say this, thats should have been mention by all.

Sense noone did this and if this is onboard device we are still over in lack of BIOS update and its chipset driver + sounds card driver from support.

And no im not the rude one your are for not meation or said you did this OP.

and yes its pc user own problem, its not us here that need to write have you done this.
its mention in every pc board that update is nessary.

ps.
what ppl here sem to forget old windows user from 3,11 to xp and whatnext OS driver was everything, and we learn this the hardway.

i dount i need to tell a MS Dos user here how we get push on place by soundcard support if you did not have newest driver.

ppl here today at steam, is clueless how often we have to recheck driver, even if you did it 3 days ago.

Last edited by Dranak; 14 Apr @ 3:52am

#10

MoonRaker 6 May @ 11:38am

I also noticed this issue today with SoD2 and also a couple of other games on Windows 11 (eg Metro 2033 Redux).

My fix was to enable "Sonic for Headphones" on my main audio out.
--> Control Panel/Sound/Realtek Digital Output/Properties/Spatial Sound/ and set "Windows Sonic for Headphones" ON.

For some reason this works (even though I'm using an optical digital cable to my speakers) and allows voices behind me (in-game) to be heard again.

You can also enable "Sonic for Headphones" on the "Speakers" option in Control panel, and have it enabled on both if you switch between the two.

Last edited by MoonRaker; 6 May @ 11:40am

#11

Nestorfield 6 May @ 3:30pm

Originally posted by MoonRaker:
I also noticed this issue today with SoD2 and also a couple of other games on Windows 11 (eg Metro 2033 Redux).

My fix was to enable "Sonic for Headphones" on my main audio out.
--> Control Panel/Sound/Realtek Digital Output/Properties/Spatial Sound/ and set "Windows Sonic for Headphones" ON.

For some reason this works (even though I'm using an optical digital cable to my speakers) and allows voices behind me (in-game) to be heard again.

You can also enable "Sonic for Headphones" on the "Speakers" option in Control panel, and have it enabled on both if you switch between the two.

This is not a solution, I don’t want to enable spacious sound.

#12

BlacKy #SlavaIsraelini 14 Sep @ 8:02am

Originally posted by MoonRaker:
My fix was to enable "Sonic for Headphones" on my main audio out.
--> Control Panel/Sound/Realtek Digital Output/Properties/Spatial Sound/ and set "Windows Sonic for Headphones" ON.

TYVM! It fixed my gameplay sound that was the problem mentioned in the OP in specific games (mines were CoD Cold War and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands). The only thing i did differently was that i've changed this setting in 'Speakers' rather than 'Realtek Digital Output', as its that oen who's marked green for me.

Last edited by BlacKy #SlavaIsraelini; 14 Sep @ 8:02am

#13

Dunko 24 Sep @ 7:46am

mono hearing settings, just turned it on or off depending on what your issue is.

#14

RPG Gamer Man 24 Sep @ 11:45am

Funny enough, i just changed my headphones from stereo to headphones and it seems to fix this issue both in this game and in the second game. Strange fix, but it worked for me.

The games i had sound issues in was Horizon Zero Day remastered and Horizon Forbidden West complete edition. As OP said, i also had certain NPC's voice lines turning off when talking. Luckily i have subtitles on. I have had it turned on for most games, so i did not really miss what they were saying, it is just their voice lines did not work.

Last edited by RPG Gamer Man; 24 Sep @ 11:46am

#15

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Date Posted: 2 Sep, 2024 @ 3:05pm

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