If you've been playing Rainbow Six Siege for some time now, the inability to determine enemy footsteps might have caught you off guard more than once. Players often wonder if the sounds are coming from upstairs or downstairs, causing them to lose their confidence in discerning the situation. However, Ubisoft is now planning to adjust how sound works in Rainbow Six Siege, which may help players to determine precise echolocation in the game.
In a recent blog post, Ubisoft described how complex the game's sound engine is, which can cause the sound to escape through any holes in floors and walls. The game's sound engine determines the shortest path for sound to reach the player. This means that if you're unaware of a hole in a window, wall, or floor, you might find yourself confused when determining the origin of some sounds.
Ubisoft has stated that although smaller fixes will be carried out on how sounds propagate in the game, a full rework of the game's sound design will be necessary. The company also said that a sound propagation fix will be coming to the game in Year 5 Season 3, but the full rework is a big undertaking, and will not be finalized by the end of Year 5.
Speaking of the sound rework, it can have drastic effects on Siege veterans, who have learned to understand the game's sound propagation. Even slight sound adjustments (louder or softer) will force players to learn the sound mechanics of the game all over again.
In addition to the sound rework, Ubisoft is also working on improving the latency and accessibility in the game. Ubisoft recognizes that the acceptable 110ms ping isn't healthy for the game. The company is working toward adding additional servers in new regions. However, this will not be an immediate change either and will require a certain amount of time for assessment.
On the accessibility front, Ubisoft is working on improving the colorblind mode of Siege. The first step is by offering a variety of reticle color options for players to choose from. The company is also determined towards offering a full spectrum of colors for players. This means requiring to dynamically recolor multiple elements in the game, which will require a significant amount of effort and may take a longer time.
