Game Sounds messed up after update [January 2022]

Both volume sliders appear on my PC and I’ve never noticed them to be missing. I wonder if what you’ve spotted could be them testing switching on new features in the new UI?

Whatever you’ve seen, I don’t think it’s related to the issues above.

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Gang - I’ve flagged this up to the team that handles in-game audio and asked them to tease apart the symptoms you’re describing and figure out what’s happening.

So thanks for flagging this up to us. As always, it helps to know your particulars

  • Which OS platform you’re using
  • Which game version you’ have
  • Screenshots of visuals like the setting menu are always helpful.
  • Tell us about the audio chain downstream of your Zwifting computer because we we have no way of knowing about your setup. i.e. built-in laptop speakers vs. external speakers vs earbuds or USB speakers vs. wireless Bluetooth earbuds vs feeding audio to a TV via HDMI, etc.
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Windows 10.
Zwift v.1.21.1 (but been same for several updates now)
Monitor speakers driven from Nvidia graphics card (same on multiple; off the top of my head - GTX 1050, GTX 1050 Ti, GTX 960, RTX 2060 Super).
Different monitors.
HDMI and DisplayPort.

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• iPad Pro 12.9 in. (2018, 3rd gen.)
• iPadOS 15.2.1 (always updated to latest within a few days)
• Zwift v.1.21.1 (but major changes to sounds since November 2021 update, IIRC; modification/cut-off of triggerable audio like ‘Ride On’ noticed in mid-December.)
• Screenshot of Settings menu in post #13 above
• Audio paths (either/or):
i) Direct from device speakers. (Note: obviously, most details like tyre and drivetrain end up sounding like indistinguishable white noise, especially when competing with real drivetrain, trainer, etc.)
ii) Bluetooth to Aftershokz Aeropex (bone conduction headset).

• Windows 10
• Zwift v.1.21.1 (same as Roule, major changes to sounds since November 2021 update, IIRC; modification/cut-off of triggerable audio like ‘Ride On’ noticed in mid-December.)
• Audio paths:
Using TV Audio, connected via HDMI from PC to TV and using Nvidia Sound Card (drivers untouched), so it’s not related to Nvidia drivers.

Ever since an update or two ago, my volume sliders disappear and I can’t turn volume down. Specifically the “3D World Volume” slider will disappear, and the volume goes to full blast. Now I can’t hear my teammates on Discord. I unstalled Zwift and re-installed, and it happened again on my very first ride.

Windows 10 Laptop. I’m on the latest version of zwift but I think it actually started more than one update ago.

I have a similar issue, the game sounds volume slider has disappeared but I have the 3d fx one. I haven’t been able to figure out why. This only appears to be an issue on my dedicated zwift PC running windows 10. My laptop, also win 10, shows both volume sliders.

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I have the same problem as discussed here, the in game sounds aren’t great. They sound like a constant “freight train” who is moving :frowning: :

OS platform you’re using: Windows 10 Enterprise version 21H2, OS build 19044.1466 - Intel(R) Core™ i7-9750H CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.59 GHz
Which game version: 1.21.2 (100353)
I use a connection via HDMI to a LCD TV other sounds from eg. Spotify are ok.

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Another annoying sound I’ve been hearing on the TdZ is towards the top of climbs ( Richmond Libby Hill KOM and Volcano KOM I know of for sure), there are lots of sounds like unclipping (click-clack) - but no one was stopping. Maybe it is meant to simulate people shifting.

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Another annoying sound I’ve been hearing on the TdZ is towards the top of climbs ( Richmond Libby Hill KOM and Volcano KOM I know of for sure), there are lots of sounds like unclipping (click-clack) - but no one was stopping. Maybe it is meant to simulate people shifting.

I have been hearing this as well on multiple climbs, e.g. the Alpe. I think I usually hear them when I’m in a group. It’s not always clear that someone has stopped.

And during the TdZ, the unclipping sound was playing enough that it got really, really annoying.

I don’t think the sound is meant to simulate anyone shifting. It sounds to me like my chain is skipping (e.g. derailleur out of adjustment). Zwift managed to mess up the in-game weight of the Dura Ace 9200 groupset, so maybe this is a metaphor or something.

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I also have sound problems in-game. I can hear the sound of my virtual drivetrain but that sound suddenly stops for a couple of minutes and than suddenly returns.

I play zwift on a Win10 desktop using Nvidia 1050ti GPU. Sound is being played through a a Anker Motion+ speaker connected to the onboard audio card using a jack cable.

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I’m not sure I’ve heard the clip-in or clip-out sound but I have heard random sounds which seem to get played in the background and out of place which could be the same thing. For example when I was going up the Alpe in Stage 2 of the TdZ I heard what sounded like the drums you hear in Makuri. Not all the drums - just a single drum beat, repeated again and again. This could be the hardest of the issues for Zwift to diagnose but I feel like it could be that it starts playing the start of a sound file and then restarts it again and again, rather than letting noises play to the end (e.g. we only hear the first second of a 3-second sound).

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Sorry, this is a cross device bug. The team could start Zwift and can hear it by their own. Updates passed, but Zwift just doesn’t care.

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My first go on Zwift since October - and very upset by the sound update - running on Mac.

I always ride with the sound up - it makes everything much more immersive for me.
Previously the way riders around you sounded was one of the best things about Zwift - the lovely sound of tyres on tarmac, and very realistic when single riders or big groups pass you in either direction. It also very important for immersion that you can ‘hear’ your own speed - this also used to be very realistic, and changed with very tiny changes in speed.

Now there seems to be no sound of tyres on tarmac at all - instead you can hear your own chain?!? This is terrible for immersion, and gives no feedback on your own speed.
You also seem to be able to hear the chains of other riders going in the same direction as you, but not their tyres either.
For riders going in the other direction, there seem to be snatches of wind noise, but these can get cut off halfway through, and are not reflective of the size or speed of the group either.

The worst bit is the sounds starting and then getting cut off - this completely destroys immersion - it takes you straight out of a world surrounded by riders, back out to having some poorly chosen sound samples played at you through buggy software that keeps clipping them.

Can we have the old sounds back please?

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Hi all.

After a few months of trying to get used to the new bicycle sfx implementations, I can say that I can’t get used to the chain noise at all. I guess I’m lucky enough not to be experiencing the cutting-out others have reported, but hearing the angry mob of hornets forces me to switch off the audio completely anyway.

My specific issues with the chain noise are

  • Disproportionately loud compared to the wind/tyre sounds(personally IRL outdoors I don’t actually hear my chain at all)
  • No variation to it based on cadence
  • Inability to switch this feature off

In addition, I have noticed that in the ZRL streams, these chain noises are not present at all! Have a listen to(there are a few points with in-game audio) the recent Zwift Racing League Premier Division - Race 6 if you need to.
My guess is that it is deemed too ‘annoying’ for streams. Well, I find it annoying in-game as well. Why is this not optional for us? It ruins the immersion for me completely and just makes me angry.

@shooj any comment regarding the above?

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I moved from an iPad to Apple TV for Zwift about three weeks ago. Found the same overbearing/annoying game sounds problem there when setting up, so I’ve ended up not using game audio at all.
It’s a pity, since resources have obviously been invested in changing the sound aspect of Zwift, but I’m now used to it being only a visual (and obviously less immersive) experience, while I listen to something else during a ride.
Can’t say I miss the ‘Ride On’ calls and pings, ‘Hammer time’ and all the rest of them at all, either.

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The game sounds introduced a couple of updates ago are terrible. The only saving grace is that road racing season is in full swing and I have a GCN+ subscription. So, Zwift is just always muted so that I can listen to the commentary. I definitely hope they make a change soon, though.

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This is a short vid of the clicking sound I heard. There is a bunch of background noise from my fan. Please pardon me on that score, I made a spur of the moment decision to grab my iPhone and take a video.

Again, the noise I’m complaining about is a game sound that sounds like my chain is skipping on a cog; I was under the impression that the game sometimes (?) plays a pedal clipping out sound when an avatar stops, and I thought the sound was just that clip out sound repeated many times. On reflection, I’m not sure if it is a clip out sound, but it’s very annoying when it presents.

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Happened throughout the TdZ. I’m on Windows, this isn’t platform-specific.

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That is not limited to TdZ. I heard it several times when doing Radio Tower repeats for the Wahoo Climb Mission.

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