Are sound packs worth it?

[GarethJohn]

I have recently become the owner of a Smart TV and have watched Train Simulator downloads on the included You Tube channel the sound quality is mind blowing and extremely accurate. I have watched a number of Videos including Train Simulators own add on trailer Videos of Loco's and Route's from as early as TS 2012 and I have compared them too the Sound Pack trailers of the same Locomotive and as far as I can tell their is little difference between the two and the same applies when comparing the two on my Lap Top.

I currently play TS on a average Laptop so the sound is pretty poor it has reasonable graphics and frame rate,it will play with FSX turned on with rain affects although scenarios take longer to complete.
I looking too upgrade my laptop to a gaming version what is the sound quality like on these?
And would speakers be a better investment than a sound pack for each Locomotive?

 

[Domh245]

It really does depend. For example the 319/325 sound pack is in my opinion a must have - Not only do you then actually get the sound that you should have with a 319, rather than a 455 sound, but you also get additional functionality, such as DOO, Power source change, scrollable blinds etc.

 

[ModernRailways]

In my view, No. I simply don't see the point in spending an additional £5 when I don't have any idea what the proper loco is supposed to sound like. If it's a train I love and know the sound of, then I am more likely too, but even then DTG do a good job on sounds! It can't be easy to get permission to record sounds when trains will be out in service or undergoing maintenance or not even exist in a good working order anymore!

However, a lot of people will disagree with me, because DTG are evil and all they want is your money for shabby content. To that I say, have you played the ECML South? Have you played Liverpool to Manchester? Whilst Liv to Man is only short, the amount of detail is astounding and well worth the money, same goes for the vast majority of first party routes lately and most third party routes with the only notable exception being the South African route!

 

[londonboi]

In my view, No. I simply don't see the point in spending an additional £5 when I don't have any idea what the proper loco is supposed to sound like. If it's a train I love and know the sound of, then I am more likely too, but even then DTG do a good job on sounds! It can't be easy to get permission to record sounds when trains will be out in service or undergoing maintenance or not even exist in a good working order anymore!

However, a lot of people will disagree with me, because DTG are evil and all they want is your money for shabby content. To that I say, have you played the ECML South? Have you played Liverpool to Manchester? Whilst Liv to Man is only short, the amount of detail is astounding and well worth the money, same goes for the vast majority of first party routes lately and most third party routes with the only notable exception being the South African route!

I have to agree with ModernRailways in that no i wouldn't say there worth it either imho the sounds DTG do i am happy with otherwise i would not be buying DLC from them as mentioned the detail in the routes produced recently the amount of detail is outstanding.

 

[hurricanemk1c]

It all depends. I was happy with the default Deltic sounds, but picked up the Armstrong Powerhouse sounds recently in a sale, and personally they are far, far better. Same with the Class 158 sounds.

Look at the videos, listen to them and then decide for yourself. Ultimately, nobody can say what you want. If I don't know what it is supposed to sound like but sounds close enough (on looks), then it stays. The Just Trains Voyager has great sounds personally, but there is a sound pack for it.

As for speakers, I would say that they would be a good investment, as regardless of your laptop spec there should be some improvement in the sound. But check before you buy!

 

[londonboi]

i have surround sound speakers on my pc and it does make a difference i suppose a decent sound card inside the laptop might be just as good.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Yes, I consider third party sound packs to be worth the money if you notice the difference.

I'm not entirely sure why ModernRailways went off on a bizarre anti-anti-DTG tangent, but on the whole DTG sounds are pretty good all things considering. They reuse sounds for some locomotives and units, which is my biggest issue with them, but it's not always noticeable and definitely not if you've never heard the loco/unit.

 

[Darandio]

I'm not entirely sure why ModernRailways went off on a bizarre anti-anti-DTG tangent

You might want to read it again. :-?

 

[ModernRailways]

It all depends. I was happy with the default Deltic sounds, but picked up the Armstrong Powerhouse sounds recently in a sale, and personally they are far, far better. Same with the Class 158 sounds.

Look at the videos, listen to them and then decide for yourself. Ultimately, nobody can say what you want. If I don't know what it is supposed to sound like but sounds close enough (on looks), then it stays. The Just Trains Voyager has great sounds personally, but there is a sound pack for it.

As for speakers, I would say that they would be a good investment, as regardless of your laptop spec there should be some improvement in the sound. But check before you buy!

There's my point! You were happy with the original sounds. In my view, if you were happy with the original sounds why buy a separate pack for £5, that's just under half of what you paid for the actual train, but you're only getting sounds?


To me, if you're producing a Sound Pack it needs to be a bundle with a scenario pack, maybe charge £1 or £2 more, include 8 scenarios and new sounds.

The main problem I have is the fact that people seem to be content with someone (*cough* AP *cough*) charging them £5 for new sounds and accepting DTG's poor sounds. People moan but they then go and buy the sound pack and then buy more DTG stuff. You shouldn't have to spend more money on something you have paid for. For example, you wouldn't go to IKEA, buy a table, but then have to pay extra for table legs because the ones that come with the table are broken in half. It seems quite a joke on Facebook that whenever DTG release something, people will moan about the sounds and then ask AP to do a sound pack. Why don't you get DTG to provide a good quality product in the first place. And mainly why do you keep buying there stuff?

Look at the Class 91, the sounds were from an actual 91 yet somehow people fail to understand that. Do people really think DTG can just halt a train in service, and get permission to ride in the cab doing 125mph with huge sound recording equipment? Of course, they can't. The trains are made to be in passenger use earning revenue. But no, it ruins their experience...

Anyway, that's a mini-rant out of the way

 

[GarethJohn]

The quality of the players device appears to be the most important factor. Honestly I cannot tell the difference between AP's sound packs and what the original content sounds like. All the uploaded videos appear too sound the same and it's impossible for them too have uploaded from the same PC model and graphical setting which is where I can see a difference.
The thing with sound packs is they can only sound as good as your device is capable of.
I have compared them on You tube from the Laptop and my Telly. I may connect the TV to the Laptop but this then negates the benefit of having a portable Computer.

 

[jon91]

In response to ModernRailways's comment about buying from vendors other than DTG is simply that they have a massive team of developers who can make products much quicker than other vendors. Another issue for most people buying DLC for Train Sim is that its much easier to buy addons from Steam than having to go through third-party websites and then run an installer.

DTG now have rolling stock models and routes pretty much nailed down in terms of quality, the only downsides for me are the functionality (I've been spoilt with PMDG stuff for Flight Sim but that's a whole can of worms that can stay shut... ) and the default sounds, which is understandable considering the logistical nightmare that is creating a sound set within a product's dev timescale.

In my opinion (slightly biased as I own several AP packs and am a self-confessed audiophile), AP products are an optional extra, nice if you can afford the extra outlay but not essential if you're happy with what comes as default. One exception being their 321, that thing is essential on the GEML if your PC can cope...

If that was too much waffle I can only apologise.

 

[43367]

I did download the mtu hst sounds and if anything they messed up some of the hsts, and affected the way that the train handled, for example the brakes took an absolute age to release, and the sounds were ok if u went through the notches slowly, they seemed to marry up ok then but if u went to notch 5 quite quickly there was no difference in sound, so i would say the mtu ones aint that great, but credit where its due, i think we all expect it to be lifelike, dont forget how it all started out with microsoft train simulator even the worst sound package now would be revolutionary back then

 

[ModernRailways]

In response to ModernRailways's comment about buying from vendors other than DTG is simply that they have a massive team of developers who can make products much quicker than other vendors. Another issue for most people buying DLC for Train Sim is that its much easier to buy addons from Steam than having to go through third-party websites and then run an installer.

DTG now have rolling stock models and routes pretty much nailed down in terms of quality, the only downsides for me are the functionality (I've been spoilt with PMDG stuff for Flight Sim but that's a whole can of worms that can stay shut... ) and the default sounds, which is understandable considering the logistical nightmare that is creating a sound set within a product's dev timescale.

In my opinion (slightly biased as I own several AP packs and am a self-confessed audiophile), AP products are an optional extra, nice if you can afford the extra outlay but not essential if you're happy with what comes as default. One exception being their 321, that thing is essential on the GEML if your PC can cope...

If that was too much waffle I can only apologise.

The main problem with functionality is that DTG have to cater for the sim side and the game side. A lot of people don't want all the fancy bells and whistles and just want to be able to jump in and play. There are people who want to be able to dive into the game and be driving straight away with a few extras such as DSD. Then there are others who want a full realistic simulation experience with everything from cold starts to train faults. I'd count myself as the second one, I don't want to have to faff around starting a train up etc. I just want to drive a train.

As for the 321 I like DTG's model the same! Sounds are a bit meh, but other than that there is next to no difference. I remember when AP released theirs people were praising it, I posted a screenshot of DTGs model and everyone was mistaking it for the AP model, gained quite a lot of likes on Facebook then when I said it was DTGs model there was around 4 people who then unliked it.

 

[jon91]

I enjoyed the DTG 321 and to be fair the sounds were acceptable, ditto the model but it felt a bit listless. The AP model had a lot more going for it in terms of immersion but this was due to a longer development process and having small teams dedicated to individual aspects... and a shedload of scripting to glue it all together.

The ideal option would be to allow users to customise realism settings (such as DSD and cold starts where applicable in a scenario) but the current game engine would probably have a heart attack if they tried implementing that.

I'm not pro or anti-DTG, like any other company they have strengths and weaknesses, AP simply fill a niche within a niche for those who are obsessed with audio (I'm not guilty, your honour...). Its unfortunate that within such a relatively small community that there will always be a group of unpleasant individuals that will slate almost anything released by a particular company and denounce those that do buy from said company.

I've seen it in Train Sim and countless other simulator communities, the rivet counters come with the territory and DTG can't win either way.

 

[Retorus]

I love the MTU pro soundtrack for the HST. Really adds to the driving experience in my opinion.