Thanks for the insight, I don't know the technicals but I imagine 3d audio must be a complex thing from a design and implementation standpoint, also when dealing with unknowns of what various consumers will be using for output, varying quality of setups etc. I'm really glad its getting more utilized in games in general, these are old now but the first time I experienced an hrtf audio demo in VR it was mind blowing. The head tracking combined with hrtf truly felt like sound was filling a volume around me. The work Sony has put into 3d audio on PS5 has given me high hopes for some great experiences on PSVR2.
Out of curiosity are you able to reveal what game you worked on?
Thank you. Sony offers a lot of help to developers in terms of Tempest and the audio capabilities of the console in general. There are still quality updates, which are set by them but are not in the current SDK. There are tons of documentation and examples, plus HRTF updates and how all games played on the PS5 (including PS4 titles) take advantage of the Tempest Engine on a system level. With the right system settings, the same software (for example, I recently tested Mass Effect Andromeda) and the same hardware (newer Gold headset) PS4 games can sound quite a lot better on PS5 than on the PS4 Pro. We are talking about basic spatial audio output for all non-3D games playable on the console.
Unfortunately, I can't go into detail or specifics considering the NDAs my company signed, but the audio part on the PS5 is anything but PR. And it already works great for me and many of my colleagues in the industry.
I hope the next revision of Switch will have a big update when it comes to audio because at the moment you practically have to rewrite your entire audio system to work on the Nintendo console (cpuuuuuuuuu...) if you've previously released your game on PS, Xbox consoles or PC, using 3D / surround audio and more than five audio tracks at the same time in the runtime of the game.
As for the game - it is from 2018 and is called
Elea (can be played in 4K at 60FPS on PS5 and Series X) -
CEEGA and
Game Audio Awards
Also, something about Returnal:
"The ballet of Returnal" - you can select specific battles in the video if you want to skip exploration. IMO, playthroughs like this are showing the game better than any review in the galaxy (I am playing btw.). It is at least on par with Vanquish in my book (I am also a huge Treasure fan).
One of the later biomes (No Spoilers -
5:29 and
16:25 are quite intense battles):
