Firstly, we
ve changed the underlying technology used to play the music. Weve completely rewritten the music player from scratch, so it now uses a bank of instruments built into the game itself rather than using whatever your soundcard happens to have. This has the advantage that the music sounds the same regardless of your computer, rather than varying from machine to machine. This in turn allows us to fine-tune the music exactly, instead of having to try to get something which generally works. Our new music technology should also be more compatible, meaning the music works correctly on more operating systems and soundcards than before!
Secondly, weve gone through every single song in the game, (a huge undertaking: there are nearly 500 songs), and hand-tuned each one to sound optimal with our new instrument set! As a result, many of the songs are sounding better than ever before, and you can finally hear them as we intended them to sound.
You may also notice the shiny new button on the log-in page. This lets you turn off the log-in music to preserve your speakers while you pop off to get a snack or take a break, all without interfering with your music settings in-game.
So, if youve been put off listening to the music for one reason or another, nows the time to turn it on and enjoy the ambient delights!
Were still planning some more tweaks to the system to improve your auditory experience, so keep checking the front page for news.
In other news...
In addition to the big soundbank update today, weve added equip sounds to armour and weapons.
