Understanding the gunshot sounds



Gunshot Sound

Bullet Crack/Whizz Effect

You see the muzzle flash

After ~1 sec you hear the crack/whizz (assuming no air drag)

After ~3 sec you hear the gunshot

So what does this mean in a nutshell?

Each gunshot sound you hear in game has propagation delay based on distance between source and the listener.The propagation velocity is 340m/s so if a pistol is shot 340m away from the listener, he will see the muzzle flash first and hear the gunshot after 1 second If gunshot is fired from indoor or there is no direct or approximate line of sight (obstructed), the reverb effect and LPF are applied to the sound effectBullet crack effect (or bullet bow shockwave) is generated when a supersonic projectile passes in close proximity to the listener. The effect can be heard in a closest point on bullet trajectory line. Basically, the sound source is always perpendicular to the trajectory line, so if you hear a bullet crack just in your left headphone, you know that the shooter is either directly in front of you, or behind you.Most of our weapons are supersonic. This means that you will hear the crack/whizz before you hear the actual gunshotIn a scenario where you see a shooter 1000m away, using AWM (>900m/s muzzle velocity) the events will occur in such order:Bullets passing close to the player will generate a crack sound, the ones passing further away will only generate whizz effect.We blend between different sound samples based on distance (the maximum distance and attenuation characteristic is also affected by suppressor attachment). The close gunshot sounds louder and more clear than the distant one.In the current public build, all bullets generate a sound crack effect. We've changed this mechanic by adding a velocity check, so bullets travelling slower than speed of sound will not generate the crack effect but just whizz.While getting shot you will hear the bullet hitting the ground or you before hearing the actual gunshot.What's more is that most players treat the bullet crackI see too many players being shot then looking in the direction of where the bullet has hit rather than in the direction of the shooter.I've done it, you've done it, in PUBG getting used to this comes down to practice, something players from the ArmA series already have.