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Dark Souls Switch still suffers with Compressed Audio

Skittzo

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
domthybomb said:
While the Switch version is about the same size as the 360/PC version, that doesn't mean the files are the same. The PS3 version of PTDE is ~ 5 GB. The difference comes from the intro/ending movies and container size. PS3's container sits at ~ 3.41 GB while PC is 3.24 GB. The movies on the other hand difference is huge. PC is at ~ 387 MB while PS3's come in at 1.55 GB.
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The bigger point about the file size is that 3.9GB (the size of the Switch version) can't actually fit on a 4GB card, meaning it's on an 8GB card and has at least 3 more GB of room to spare. Which means there is plenty of room for higher quality audio if that was indeed the issue.
 
JYOUNG188

JYOUNG188

Member
Nov 3, 2017
202
Audio issues bugged me at first but I totally forgot about them / got used to them until this thread popped back up in my alerts here on era.

I'm absolutely falling back in love with this game after dropping off each sequel faster and faster as the years went on. Dark Souls 1 is a masterpiece and it's amazing to have it on the go.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,911
I tend to forget about the audio until an NPC starts speaking and it sound like a film from 60 years ago. Music and ambient noises are okay-ish but the dialog immediately pulls me out.
 
Gustaf

Gustaf

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
14,926
so i played docked yesterday and yeah, the sound it's bad, but not a dealbreaker i guess,

i think the only sound that i felt was very very very bad was the noise after you make a counter attack.
 
cucholix

cucholix

Member
Oct 30, 2017
935
SwitchedOff said:
It doesn't for me. It's good it's not a problem in the Switch version, but the awful sound quality still means that I won't buy it until it's fixed.
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Of course not, strange that remaster dropped the ball like that in the sound department was looking for the issue TransEuropaExpress mentioned and it's really outputting, glaring sound glitch.

For what is worth I really doubt bamco will release a sound pack for Switch if they wouldn't even fix a more serious sound problem in other platforms.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,010
Yeah, knowing FROM's history (I know they didn't develop this port). I doubt a patch will ever happen.
 
jonamok

jonamok

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,117
I still can't tell there's a problem with the audio. If this is stopping you buying this, please reconsider.
 
Braaier

Braaier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
13,237
I noticed the audio issues when I first started but now I've grown accustomed I suppose. Still worth buying
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,227
Spain
I've been playing this lately and yeah, with the built in speakers it's fine but as soon as you connect earphones it's immediately noticeable. If it's because of space, they could just release an optional audio pack as free DLC :/
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,911
Space isn't an issue. It shipped on an 8GB card (confirmed via dumps) but the game file is only 3.9GB.
 
Shadowrun

Shadowrun

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,748
The sound issue to me feels like the audio is coming out of the wrong channel occasionally, typically the opposite one that it should. Like when talking to Gwyndolin and facing her, she sounds muffled. But if you turn the camera away from her to your back, she comes out loud and clear.
 
cucholix

cucholix

Member
Oct 30, 2017
935
Shadowrun said:
The sound issue to me feels like the audio is coming out of the wrong channel occasionally, typically the opposite one that it should. Like when talking to Gwyndolin and facing her, she sounds muffled. But if you turn the camera away from her to your back, she comes out loud and clear.
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I'm playing it in a high end sound system and the channel separation is accurate as far I can tell, fwiw I turn the bass way up to mask the cheap quality like sounds, it's kinda bereable now, but boss music is beyond repair, so I just muted the BGM altogether.
 
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Simba1

Simba1

Member
Dec 5, 2017
5,383
Yeah, finished like half of game and having blast with this game on Switch (around half of game in handheld mode and around half of game in docked mode),
despite sound deffeintly is not best.
 
GiantEnemyCrab

GiantEnemyCrab

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,644
It's especially bad with the Catharina Knights' voice lines because they are muffled to begin with because of their helmets. Here I can hardly understand them.
 
horkrux

horkrux

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,719
I've had some success replacing the sounds with higher quality ones, but it's quite an annoying process right now. Also because they had to replace the odd track with something else, because of course they had to.

So if they never patch it and you're not afraid of hacking your Switch, there will still be a way to get good audio at some point.
 
Epilexia

Epilexia

Member
Jan 27, 2018
2,675
horkrux said:
I've had some success replacing the sounds with higher quality ones, but it's quite an annoying process right now. Also because they had to replace the odd track with something else, because of course they had to.

So if they never patch it and you're not afraid of hacking your Switch, there will still be a way to get good audio at some point.
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Good solution: not to be able to play the game online, because your Switch will be banned.

And not to be able to make a purchase in the eShop ever again, because you Switch ID will be also banned, once you try to connect to buy a game.

Also, please explain me how do you plan to update the game without relying in pirated sites to obtain future patches, if your Switch will not be able to connect again to download updates.
 

SwitchedOff

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,516
horkrux said:
I've had some success replacing the sounds with higher quality ones, but it's quite an annoying process right now. Also because they had to replace the odd track with something else, because of course they had to.

So if they never patch it and you're not afraid of hacking your Switch, there will still be a way to get good audio at some point.
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Sounds like a great idea, well done on what you've done so far, I hope that you are successful in fully upgrading the audio quality of the sounds and music. I'm still hoping for an official patch from Bamco but it does seem unlikely - once the audio is fully fixed then I'll buy the game, but in the meantime I'll do without the game (currently playing Diablo 3, which is excellent).
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
38,397
Ibis Island
Epilexia said:
Good solution: not to be able to play the game online, because your Switch will be banned.

And not to be able to make a purchase in the eShop ever again, because you Switch ID will be also banned, once you try to connect to buy a game.

Also, please explain me how do you plan to update the game without relying in pirated sites to obtain future patches, if your Switch will not be able to connect again to download updates.
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Let's not derail the thread. The topic is on the quality of audio and how it could be fixed and not Piracy.
 
cucholix

cucholix

Member
Oct 30, 2017
935
horkrux said:
I've had some success replacing the sounds with higher quality ones, but it's quite an annoying process right now. Also because they had to replace the odd track with something else, because of course they had to.

So if they never patch it and you're not afraid of hacking your Switch, there will still be a way to get good audio at some point.
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It could be cool to create a fake update so the physical game takes the audio files from there. But yeah, currently homebrew in Switch is not very friendly and there's the risk of being banned from Nintendo Online.
 

SwitchedOff

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,516
horkrux said:
I've had some success replacing the sounds with higher quality ones, but it's quite an annoying process right now. Also because they had to replace the odd track with something else, because of course they had to.

So if they never patch it and you're not afraid of hacking your Switch, there will still be a way to get good audio at some point.
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I see over on gbatemp that some people have been taking a look at the sound files and working out how to extract and re-pack them and so on.
 
Sub Boss

Sub Boss

Banned
Nov 14, 2017
13,441
This 'remaster really makes one appreciate the PS4/Xbox ONE versions huh, even those pretty new effects
 
cucholix

cucholix

Member
Oct 30, 2017
935
No luck on my end :c, this is bamco via mail:
Bamco said:
Dear Sebastián,

Unfortunately, this service did not receive any updates regarding this escalated issue. We apologize for any inconveniences caused. We can only recommend checking our social media pages below from time to time as that would be the best place to see patch updates.

Sincerely,
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TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,777
Video Games
SoundLad said:
I dropped Bandai Namco a brief message about the issue, just doing my bit.

https://service-en.bandainamcoent.eu/ (EU)
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Dash Kappei said:
Did my part
The whole process was confusing to say the least and it took 5 minutes but our only (feeble) hope is to have people send theirs
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cucholix said:
Done
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anybody else got this as a response?

[...]
Also we want you to know that this issue is not a matter of poor audio or insufficient space in the card for better audio compression, this issue comes with the fact that the switch has less audio performance, it's about compression and platform capabilities.
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Oo
 
Dash Kappei

Dash Kappei

Member
Nov 1, 2017
4,833
So me and a couple buddies with the same "problem" wrote to support and got 2 replies so far.

The first told me that the problem is "with your copy of the game since there are no known issues with the music of the game and the solution I can advice you is to contact the seller GAME to get a different copy."

LMAO
Next time they'll tell me to check if the speakers cable are connected or to update the console :D

But the second one... oh boy, brace yourselves:

"Dear [redacted] we are very sorry to hear you aren't satisfied with your purchase. We think the team has done an incredible job in bringing Dark Souls to the Nintendo Switch system for the first time, unfortunately not everything can be made as good as other versions since the Nintendo Switch audio and video capabilities are just much weaker than PC and next-gen consoles but it's more than worth it to have the ability to play Dark Souls wherever you are and with the all new features Remastered [sic]. [...]"

How do you even reply to that?
I wish I had gotten that response, I'd freakin' lol at them so hard I'd crack my jaw
 
noyram23

noyram23

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,372
mazi said:
damn, are they really going with "switch audio is weaker than 'next gen' consoles"?
unbelievable
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Can you reply 'how do you explain the last gen having better audio'? Switch is definitely weak but I don't think audio will be affected that much by the console's performance. The sales probably isn't good so they won't bother anymore
 
cyba89

cyba89

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,628
User Warned: Console Warring
Lol, Switch weaker than any budget 2003 MP3 player confirmed.

Thread title should be changed to "Switch still suffers with poor audio performance". :P
 
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