Many players do not know how sound is calculated in Tarkov. Also, it’s not always clear what difference Steam Audio makes in Escape From Tarkov. We’ll show you the advantages of binaural sound in a nutshell!
Current situation: The current Escape From Tarkov sound engine is incredibly flawed. It starts with simple aspects like locating the enemy and goes so far that the steps and shots you hear are completely wrong!
But what exactly is broken on Tarkov’s sound system & what is this ominous Steam Audio for?
This is How Sound is Created in Escape From Tarkov
That is why a change has to be made: As already mentioned, the current sound reproduction repeatedly meets with harsh criticism from the players. It is just stupid and imprecise you probably hear many users say. But nobody ever explains why that should be the case.
Basically, you can imagine it this way: Your character continuously sends out rays, called rays, to detect noises in the environment. Depending on what material and over what distance this sound then penetrates, the sound is adapted, recalculated and played through your headphones. It happens within milliseconds.
But now Tarkov has the problem that the sound engine often miscalculates all of this. If you are inside a building and yet in front of an open door or window, the sounds are processed differently for you than if you were to walk a meter further and stand outside.
This is because doors, gates, holes in walls and windows cannot be detached from the triggers placed around or in the walls of a building by the developer.
This can get really frustrating with stairs or if two players are on different floors. That’s where other players can literally be inaudible to you until they are a few steps away from you.
The exact reason for this is unclear. However, it is likely that, just like in front of windows and doors, barriers were also placed between stair sections to reduce the sound.
How does Steam Audio Works & Improves Sounds?
Steam Audio provides a remedy: Steam Audio is extremely diverse, but its most striking feature is binaural audio, which is also the name of the setting in the settings that you have to activate in order to be able to experience the experience.
Binaural audio describes the reproduction of sound sources from two directions or from a three-dimensional space.
Normally binaural sounds are recorded with special microphones. In the case of Steam Audio and Escape From Tarkov, however, they had to use a trick because all sounds are digital.
This is where HRTF comes in. This is an algorithm that can track the source of the sounds almost perfectly and transform it. That gives you a completely new frequency to hear. It makes it easier to spot enemies’ locations via sound.
Even with a normal stereo headset, you can hear everything as if you had a surround sound system.
You can activate Steam Audio by switching on the “Binaural Sounds” setting in the audio options. Then restart the game and you’re done!