ShadowDragon8685

Join Date 05/2007

Hasn't the sound problem been fixed yet?

This bug has seriously been present since beta!

Now I remember why I stopped playing Sins of a Solar Empire the first time.

Every now and then, it will spontainously "break" the sound on my PC. I don't know how else to describe it - it's one of the very few games that's ever done this - I think Sins is the one that 'breaks' it, though it affects Source-engine games as well.

I can be trucking along, just playing, having a high old time, and then... Ugh, it's hard to describe. The sound starts to, well, 'flicker', imagine someone with cards stuck in a bicycle's wheel spinning the wheel at a variable rate. The normal sound still plays, but the wierd, crackly sound overshadows everything.

Hasn't this been fixed yet? I just reinstalled Sins from Impulse literally yesterday, so I don't know my version number, though it's obviously the latest release version. Is there anything I can to do to prevent this from happening (besides, obviously, not playing the game I bought and paid for)?

The problem doesn't stop after a system restart. I have to try and dig up a driver update for my sound card and install it - but the problem never goes away completely, it just 'resets' the problem, and then after a few more hours of play, it'll break again, requiring me to reinstall the same soundcard update.

Since I know it's coming,

I'm running an Intel P4 with 2.8 Ghz, 1,536MB RAM, Windows XP Pro 5.1.

My video card is an NVidia GeForce 6600 GT (128MB RAM)

My sound card is an SB Audigy Audio B800 which came with my PC (A Sony Vaio PCV-RZ44G)

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kryo

Join Date 05/2003

+458

The problem doesn't stop after a system restart.

If the issue persists after a reboot even when you haven't run the game yet that session, that right there tells that it's a hardware or driver issue, not any fault of the game. And Creative's driver support has been pretty poor since Vista was released.

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Stop running X-fire. Fixed it for me for left for dead and many games. X-fire was the cauase of the stuttering sounds lock ups for me. If you are not running X-fire than I have no clue.

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goodgimp

Join Date 12/2003

+21

Sorry about your problem, but if it exists after a reboot, as Kryo says it can't be Sins causing the problem

I will say that I have a friend with a Audigy as well and he has no end of problems. For instance, if he tries to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB of RAM, his Audigy completely freaks out and all you get is a harsh, stuttery static. Doesn't matter what type of RAM he uses, the problem persists. His onboard audio works fine, however

Moral of the story is that Creative drivers really, really suck.

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Quoting kryo,

reply 1

The problem doesn't stop after a system restart.
If the issue persists after a reboot even when you haven't run the game yet that session, that right there tells that it's a hardware or driver issue, not any fault of the game. And Creative's driver support has been pretty poor since Vista was released.

Sins of a Solar Empire is the only game which causes the issue. Where the issue lies is immaterial - if I pay a mechanic to install a new fuel pump filter on my car, and it causes damage to the fuel pump due to back pressure because of an overly agressive fuel pump filter, one does not blame the fuel pump!

Quoting love9sick,

reply 2

Stop running X-fire. Fixed it for me for left for dead and many games. X-fire was the cauase of the stuttering sounds lock ups for me. If you are not running X-fire than I have no clue.

Not using X-Fire at all.

Quoting goodgimp,

reply 3

Sorry about your problem, but if it exists after a reboot, as Kryo says it can't be Sins causing the problem

I will say that I have a friend with a Audigy as well and he has no end of problems. For instance, if he tries to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB of RAM, his Audigy completely freaks out and all you get is a harsh, stuttery static. Doesn't matter what type of RAM he uses, the problem persists. His onboard audio works fine, however

Moral of the story is that Creative drivers really, really suck.

I'm not saying Creative drivers don't suck.

In much the same way a Ford Pinto sucks, the fact that the car itself is crap does not excuse a part, certified as reliable and functioning properly, causing a failure in other, stock parts on said car.

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