Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:58:28 GMT, John Adams <me RemoveThis @none.invalid> wrote:

>Even when you zoom in on the cities they are quiet? They are quiet until
>you zoom in.

Thanks for responding! I had just about given up on getting any help.
Not that I blame anyone. This problem is strange. I also posted in a
SC3k forum, but no replies there as of yet.

Yes, it fails at all zooms. I hear the swoosh sound as it zooms in or
out because the sound effects work. If I go under the city to lay
water pipes, I never hear the drip of water for instance. The game
works fine on another machine (too slow for the game though) so it
definitely has something to do with this computer. Probably the
onboard sound. I upgraded and even tried downgrading the sound drivers
to no avail. Ambience is checked and volume is up. I already tried
reinstalling the game and shutting off all background tasks. I am out
of ideas. If you have an idea yourself, please let me know, I'll give
it a try.

I am thinking of getting SimCity 4 but the region concept of building
multiple cities does not appeal to me so I would rather just get 3K
working correctly.
 >> Stay informed about: Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working 

Mike S. wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:58:28 GMT, John Adams <me.RemoveThis@none.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Even when you zoom in on the cities they are quiet? They are quiet until
>> you zoom in.
>
> Thanks for responding! I had just about given up on getting any help.
> Not that I blame anyone. This problem is strange. I also posted in a
> SC3k forum, but no replies there as of yet.
>
> Yes, it fails at all zooms. I hear the swoosh sound as it zooms in or
> out because the sound effects work. If I go under the city to lay
> water pipes, I never hear the drip of water for instance. The game
> works fine on another machine (too slow for the game though) so it
> definitely has something to do with this computer. Probably the
> onboard sound. I upgraded and even tried downgrading the sound drivers
> to no avail. Ambience is checked and volume is up. I already tried
> reinstalling the game and shutting off all background tasks. I am out
> of ideas. If you have an idea yourself, please let me know, I'll give
> it a try.
>
> I am thinking of getting SimCity 4 but the region concept of building
> multiple cities does not appeal to me so I would rather just get 3K
> working correctly.

I never did buy SC4 but the reviews say it is better than SC3K.
Personally, I like SC2K better than SC3K.

Maybe it is a sound codec issue. Sometimes just updating to the lasted
Windows Media Player can fix issues like that as it installs latest
codecs too but those are for multimedia and not ingame sounds that are
usually just wave files and now sometimes mp3 files. Try this, run
DXDIAG by typing that into the run box, go to sound and lower hardware
acceleration a notch or two. Some cheap soundcards don't work too well
with full acceleration. But if it doesn't fix it then consider getting
yourself a new soundcard like an X-Fi gamer edition.
 >> Stay informed about: Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working 

On Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:23:00 GMT, John Adams <me DeleteThis @none.invalid> wrote:

>Maybe it is a sound codec issue. Sometimes just updating to the lasted
>Windows Media Player can fix issues like that as it installs latest
>codecs too but those are for multimedia and not ingame sounds that are
>usually just wave files and now sometimes mp3 files.

Well I am already running WMP11 and I use Microsoft's Windows Update
regularly to download all critical and most optional updates.

>Try this, run
>DXDIAG by typing that into the run box, go to sound and lower hardware
>acceleration a notch or two. Some cheap soundcards don't work too well
>with full acceleration. But if it doesn't fix it then consider getting
>yourself a new soundcard like an X-Fi gamer edition.

OK I tried the DXDIAG thing at all settings. Nothing. However, I may
have just found a solution. I mentioned that I tried older drivers,
but I just found OLDER drivers and these appear to be working. I went
into the game a few times, and each time the ambient sound started
playing. So I am going to assume I am ok now. If the sound ever stops
working at this point, I am just going to give in and get SimCity 4.

Thank you again for responding.
 >> Stay informed about: Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working 

Mike S. wrote:

> OK I tried the DXDIAG thing at all settings. Nothing. However, I may
> have just found a solution. I mentioned that I tried older drivers,
> but I just found OLDER drivers and these appear to be working. I went
> into the game a few times, and each time the ambient sound started
> playing. So I am going to assume I am ok now. If the sound ever stops
> working at this point, I am just going to give in and get SimCity 4.
>
> Thank you again for responding.

OK, don't forget you always have the option of putting in a better
soundcard too. Most onboard sound is just an afterthought and not really
meant for gamers.
 >> Stay informed about: Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working 

On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 22:47:02 GMT, John Adams <me DeleteThis @none.invalid> wrote:

>OK, don't forget you always have the option of putting in a better
>soundcard too. Most onboard sound is just an afterthought and not really
>meant for gamers.

My whole computer is not meant for gamers.
 >> Stay informed about: Simcity 3K Unlimited - Ambient sound not working