In Halo’s CE, 2 and 3 there would be this sound effect of like a gust of wind that would play in the background. I believe this sound effect mainly plays in forerunner buildings and places in Halo where it is cold such as maps like avalanche or sidewinder. It’s as nostalgic as the old energy shield recharge sound effect to me, but no one seems to talk about these wind sound effects even though they are in all three of the original trilogy games.
I found a video of ambiance in Halo CE’s Sidewinder. Right from the start of the video you can hear the ‘gust of wind’ sound effect play. This sound effect is in Halo’s 2 and 3 as well, but for the purpose of demonstrating the sound effect for those of you who don’t know what I’m taking about, the sound effect is much louder in Halo CE.
Here it is:
I remember playing Halo CE on the PC when I was really young, playing multiplayer games and hearing the wind sound effect play as explosions and gun fire echoed in the distance. I really miss this sound effect and I think it’s just as important as the recharging energy shield sound effect that was in the latest Halo Infinite trailer. 343 seems to be taking a lot of inspiration from Halo CE and the sense of scale and mystery it captured so well, so I hope that when they were looking back on Halo CE for inspiration, they noticed the wind sound effect that would play occasionally.
To me at least, it’s a very unique sound effect and it really helps create the sense of wonder and scale 343 seems to be going for in Halo Infinite, as you hear a loud gust of wind coming through the halls of immaculate forerunner architecture in Halo CE (I’m remembering the mission Assault on the Control Room where you endlessly fight in copy pasted rooms). That wind sound effect plays a whole lot in that mission and really helps with the sense of adventure, mystery and scale.
It really is a big piece of Halo’s identity that has been sadly forgotten
I love posts like this. They always serve to remind you there’s so much magic going on in the background and make you have yet another “aha” moment where you get a deeper understanding of why you hold the older games so near and dear.
I get the feeling that 343i has begun to understand and, more importantly, embrace the magic that made the older games so good. The engine demo left me with a great sense of wonder and excitement that I had not felt since Halo: Reach (or H2A, but one can argue that it’s still the same game as the one from 2004). I hope to see more of the same in the full game and maybe even some of those wind gusts
This is honestly underrated! The ambient sounds are crucial to truly capturing our hearts and immersing us, please make ambient sounds more prominent, it will amplify any emotion you’re trying to provoke. For example, the feeling of wonder could be accompanied with subtle background noises like wind and what not.
Sad to say, I can’t really share your nostalgia because I didn’t get into Halo until about 2008, about a year after Halo 3 was released. So I never played on Sidewinder until Halo: Combat Evolved was brought to MCC. I had no real reason to go into the custom games on the original because I had no one to play with other than my step brother.
But the ambiance was pretty neat, unsure why they cut it out or lowered the volume or whatever they did. I’d understand doing it in Forge because now you can add your own ambiance in the FX tab. But adding more fitting ambiance would be nice!
Was just playing Halo 4’s Spartan Ops and after the loading screen, the load out menu appeared and the FIRST thing I heard was the EXACT wind gust sound effect from CE!
I am shocked I hadn’t noticed it was in Halo 4, but to be fair, during gameplay the wind gust sound effect is extremely quiet unlike in CE.
I assume this sound effect is also in Halo 5’s list of ambient sound effects, so I apologize for making it seem like 343 ditched the wind gust sound effect I grew up nostalgic for
Regardless, I still hope Halo Infinite carries this wind gust sound effect and make it clearly audible during gameplay like in CE.
I’m also surprised at everyone’s reaction to my post of a simple wind gust sound effect haha! Thank you for being so understanding and positive towards my nostalgia of a simple gust of wind sound effect
Although this is a topic I rarely think about, I do immediately recognize that the original trilogy had some good ambient sounds. With that said, because I’ve played 343i’s games far less, I don’t have as good a recollection of how they compare.
I would say that doing good ambients is about much more than wind. At best, the ambient sounds can define a particular environment. For example, when I think of good ambient sound design I think of Epitaph. Outside you have your standard wind with some distant thunder sounds. But inside you have all these eerie sounds that can only be heard in large mysterious tombs of advanced ancient civilizations: strange hums that can only be assumed to be from the wind rushing through the building and resonating with it, unexplainable breathing sounds and clangs, Gregorian hums tuned down an octave, high pitched noises of holograms. It’s such a rich unique soundscape that sounds eerie but also somehow comforting, which is exactly what you’d expect from that kind of place.
Ambient sounds are not just to make the environment feel alive and more real, but they’re also there to transport you to that particular place. And part of the level design is to add elements that can provide interesting soundscapes, like the huge satellite dishes on Standoff that turn every now and then with a deep rumble, as well as the missiles that fly above you every now and then. In that sense, I think a good level designer will think of how to make the sound designer’s work interesting.
I think this applies generally even to the 343 campaigns. I remember quite well Halo 1-3 having nice ambient sounds/music, but I cannot recall them at all in Halo 4/5. They may be there- but they just don’t stick out as they used to.
The classic games had some terrific ambient sound effects that were lost in the Anniversary versions and later titles. I would to see 343i put a bit more effort into the sounds of the environments and draw inspiration from the effects of the classic games. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already done this for Infinite.
> 2535445300127549;1:
> In Halo’s CE, 2 and 3 there would be this sound effect of like a gust of wind that would play in the background. I believe this sound effect mainly plays in forerunner buildings and places in Halo where it is cold such as maps like avalanche or sidewinder. It’s as nostalgic as the old energy shield recharge sound effect to me, but no one seems to talk about these wind sound effects even though they are in all three of the original trilogy games.
>
> I found a video of ambiance in Halo CE’s Sidewinder. Right from the start of the video you can hear the ‘gust of wind’ sound effect play. This sound effect is in Halo’s 2 and 3 as well, but for the purpose of demonstrating the sound effect for those of you who don’t know what I’m taking about, the sound effect is much louder in Halo CE.
> Here it is:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQxcV48pa5A
>
> I remember playing Halo CE on the PC when I was really young, playing multiplayer games and hearing the wind sound effect play as explosions and gun fire echoed in the distance. I really miss this sound effect and I think it’s just as important as the recharging energy shield sound effect that was in the latest Halo Infinite trailer. 343 seems to be taking a lot of inspiration from Halo CE and the sense of scale and mystery it captured so well, so I hope that when they were looking back on Halo CE for inspiration, they noticed the wind sound effect that would play occasionally.
>
> To me at least, it’s a very unique sound effect and it really helps create the sense of wonder and scale 343 seems to be going for in Halo Infinite, as you hear a loud gust of wind coming through the halls of immaculate forerunner architecture in Halo CE (I’m remembering the mission Assault on the Control Room where you endlessly fight in copy pasted rooms). That wind sound effect plays a whole lot in that mission and really helps with the sense of adventure, mystery and scale.
>
> It really is a big piece of Halo’s identity that has been sadly forgotten
Everything from the original triology that anybody remembers as iconic deserves to come back if you ask me
