FSX-MS Landing Sounds

[Mithras 87]

I just bought a Buttkicker 2, fantastic piece of chair rumbling kit, and it does everything I expected.

It converts bass sounds into chair vibrations. Unfortunately, I was wanting and expecting a big thud or vibration when touching down, but so far nothing. I ve checked the landing sounds, bm-touch and cn-touch, in the sound folder of FSX, I think they are called, and played them independantly. Played like that at 100% volume, the bass kick through the Buttkicker almost knocks me off my chair! Why is there so little of this when in the sim?

 

I've tried boosting the bass on these files using Audacity, with no noticeable effect. Tried landing real hard, too.

 

Not sure what else to try. The sounds themselves certainly have a bass kick, but its not translating well in the sim.

[KingGhidorah 209]

Instead of boosting the bass in those files, see what happens when just boosting the amplitude of the whole thing. I'm not sure what plane you're using, but I think that even though you can feel a satisfying kick when you play the .wav in Mediaplayer, it might just be getting lost in the engine noise and gear drag vibration, and from a volume/base standpoint also might not be sufficiently differentiated from the ground roll. So instead of feeling the engines, getting a distinct thump, and then the ground roll, it feels more like engine sound, then ground roll, as if you never really hit the pavement. Make sure your low pass filter is off, too. What plane in particular are you using this with? Also, are you Stereo, 4.1, 5.1, or 7.1?

 

What you're doing right now is a task that I have on my to-do list. What I'm saying is just based on the previous observations I made. I haven't actually modified any touchdown sounds yet. I'm curious to see what you discover.

 

If you have F1 King Air, observe the landing sounds. That plane seems to have rather bassy touchdown sounds that actually give an almost-acceptable bump compared to nearly everything else. Observing how that plane "feels" with the Buttkicker might help you define better what you need to do for other sounds.

[Mithras 87]

I've tried a couple of planes, but I'm working with the Flight 1 BN-2 Islander ... and you're dead right, I get lots of bass from idling engines prior to touchdown, then straight into bass from the ground roll with no 'bump' from landing which I've experienced in airliners and GA planes in RL. I'll have a look at the low pass filter on the BKer, off you say?

 

Cheers.

[KingGhidorah 209]

Yes, I would turn that Off (out), and also play around with the high freq filter to see if it makes any difference. Or, I might as well just tell you that I already did quite a bit of playing around with those, and was unsuccessful enhancing any touchdown sounds that way!

 

 

I think what the solution is going to be is the most obvious one: find an appropriately bassy .wav file, not necessarily of an airplane touchdown even, that delivers the correct bump, and then just add it in to the sound.cfg for the touchdown sound sections. I think you can have multiple .wav files for each so you can augment the touchdown tire "chirp" that is already there, instead of just replacing it completely. I also use Accu-feel, and while those sounds definitely add to the audio, and enhance the Buttkicker vibration, the thump from the touchdown is no better at rumbling the BK.

 

May I suggest you get one of the moderators to change the title of this topic to "Buttkicker Landing Sounds". There are quite a few people who use these things, and having that in the title might better attract the attention of a BK users who may have already found the correct solution.

[Mithras 87]

I think creating or borrowing my own wav file might be the answer, especially if you have already tried the various setting optiond. This is no big deal really, I like the Buttkicker, but it would be a cool part of the flying experience...

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL 663]

Check the touchdown effects to assure there is something listed, might be you can grab a soundfile from a "heavy " and assign it instead  

 

[EFFECTS]
wake=fx_wake
water=fx_spray
dirt=fx_tchdrt
concrete=fx_sparks
startup=fx_engstrt_xp38n
touchdown=fx_tchdwn_s, 1
EngineFire=fx_engfire_f18
EngineDamage=fx_engout

[KingGhidorah 209]

Let us know if you find a .wav that really does the trick. Also, although I use EZDOK and Active Sky, I did some looking into OpusFSI, and apparently there are "buttkicker controls" in there to do exactly what is being discussed-tying seat vibration to events like landing or turbulence. It might be worth checking out.

[Mithras 87]

Hi Chuck, they're visual effects though, aren't they? Can I put another bassy wav file in there to work?????

[racklefratz 4]

I get lots of bass from idling engines prior to touchdown, then straight into bass from the ground roll with no 'bump' from landing which I've experienced in airliners and GA planes in RL.

 

It sounds like realism is low on your priority list.  If, as you note, you have experienced landings in real life aircraft, then you know that the fewer "sounds" there are, the better landing it is.  In other words, the objective in real life is to make landings as "soundless" as you can, as a pilot, since loud noises are those that come from hard landings, which can damage both the pilot's ego, as well as the airframe.  The transition from flying to taxiing, when done correctly, is as quiet as possible, and normally just involves a slight "chirp" from the tires against the runway.

[KingGhidorah 209]

racklefratz, with all due respect, do you even know what a Buttkicker is, how it works, and what it does? Please reread Mithras' first post where he explains it.

[Mithras 87]

Hi racklefratz, I understand what you mean, but I had a few hard airliner landings, with a jolt on the runway (Naples on a Brussels Airlines flight comes to mind!). And many others, of course where the ground rumble began with no jolt at all. The aim is of course a perfect transition onto the runway, I'm just trying to provide that kick you get when a plane hits the runway at an uncomfortable rate of descent.

 

The buttkicker is a vibration device that converts bass sounds into physically felt sensations.

[JonP01 104]

Pulling this topic back up after 5 years as I wondering if anyone came up with a special sort of wav file that does the trick with a Buttkicker? I tried some basic sine wavs in Sound Forge Pro for testing at combinations of low frequencies with little success, though I suppose it could be further refined as it sort of half worked lol. Problem is there is a fine line between something that produces the desired physical sensation but is also not audible. I am hoping however than five years on there might be a good solution to this without having to resort to complex add-on packages when all that is required is to elicit a physical bumping effect upon touchdown.