Improve Audio with iKALiZER
Let’s have a chat about the underlying technologies in Urban Terror for a moment. Urban Terror is built upon id Software’s Tech 3 engine. For the average player, it would seem that knowing the engine the game runs on is (in general) pretty useless knowledge. However, this tidbit of information is much more interesting than first meets the eye. The GPLd game engine is why the game can be provided for free (without advertisements), why it is available on nearly all platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac), why it will continue to be available in the future, and why it can support recompiled binaries with extra features. What? You didn’t know about those?
I’m not talking about cheats or aimbots. I’m talking about built-in VoIP, enhanced multiprocessor support, anaglyph graphics (with 3D glasses), and support for full 5.1 surround sound. I told you that knowing the engine the game runs on would prove interesting, didn’t I? Today I’m going to introduce one of the most common recompiled builds out there: iKALiZER. Other special binaries (such as Mitsubishi’s Optimized Build) exist, but those are another article entirely. For starters, “iKALiZER” is an improved audio engine that is available for Urban Terror.
Why Use iKALiZER?
I hear all of you out there asking questions: “Is it fair? Will it improve my game? Why bother?” Well, here are a few reasons to consider using iKALiZER.
- It might improve your game: Reading through the Urban Terror Forum thread on iKALiZER is very technical. But even if you don’t know what the terminology means (Holographic, HRTF, Cinema AGC, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious), here is the simple truth: the built-in audio that Urban Terror supports is rather abysmal. Go into the sound settings, and you will see what I mean; two options: Dopplar sound and quality. Using iKALiZER will help you improve sound quality, which may help you utilize sound to better help you figure out where enemies are, hear incoming grenades, and become a better player. It’s worth a shot, right? This is especially true for players in clans, because why not try a simple tweak that could improve your game instead of (or in addition to) spending hours on strategy and practice.
- Take advantage of expensive audio equipment you (wish you) have: I use the cheapest headphones money can buy, some bargain bin headset that cost <15$ USD. I can already anticipate the furious criticism some readers will give me. Anyway, I have played with others who swear by their Sennheiser studio headphones that apparently (according to them) do sound as good as they cost. I have played with others who use full 5.1 surround sound with speakers mounted tactfully to “play the game” the way it was meant to be played. Using iKALiZER will allow players with thousand dollar stereo systems to get the most from the game.
- Enable SMP support for sound processing: For those of you with a computer that is newer than 2 years old, it’s likely that you have a dual-core or even a quad-core. Urban Terror is notorious for being unable to utilize multi-core systems (see “fix graphics problems on Urban Terror with affinity”), but by using iKALiZER one can at least process some of the game on more than one core. This may improve frame rate and lead to smoother gameplay.
- Because you can. I don’t know about you readers out there, but I like to tweak things to their fullest potential. From my mouse sensitivity to positioning my chair the correct distance from the screen, if it is customizable I will personalize it. I don’t know about European leagues, but iKALiZER has the “okay” for use in FTWGL. It’s not considered cheating, so try it out and see if you like it.
Should you use iKALIZER?
I feel there is no real cost to at least trying out iKALiZER, but to make it easier for you all, I’ve created a flow chart. Click on the graphic to make it larger if you can’t see it.
It is also my understanding that one can choose to use alternate sounds or not. I enjoy the original sounds, but some players may find the alternate sounds to be more authentic. I find the alternate sounds kind of metallic and grating to my ears, but others do enjoy them.
iKALiZER in Practice
Below are a few videos showcasing some play on a public server. Each video is the same, except that they have been exported from Urban Terror using different audio settings. First and foremost, I played this match using normal sound. Also, I know I suck, so please no “you’re a noob” comments. I’m not the best player out there, I’m admitting it so you don’t have to. It’s also likely that the terribleness of other players made me look better than I really am. For the record, this is not about “showing off” play, but rather about the audio. You may also notice that I’m not particularly good at aiming, and most of my kills come from flanking my enemies. I use sound heavily when playing the game.
The audio setting I used for all of the iKALiZER videos on youtube is (0×24) Dolby Pro Logic II compatible material. I was able to play the clip/demo with 5.1 surround sound (0×61/0×60), but I could not get Urban Terror to export with working audio (I’m not sure it matters much as I believe youtube compresses the audio anyway).
Normal Sound:
iKALiZER Alternate Sound Effects, Dolby Pro Logic II:
iKALiZER with Normal Sound Effects, Dolby Pro Logic II:
Click on one of the videos and view other videos by me to see an iKALiZER video with +20dB. I’ve removed it because videos filled the page and disrupted this post too much.
Like what you heard? Install it!
From what I understand, there are two versions of iKALiZER: one that enables alternate audio (such as different weapon sounds), and one that does not (and only adds the extra sound features).
- First, head on over to the Urban Terror thread and download yourself up some iKALiZER. The files should also be available on here: http://www.ikalizer.com/. If the links aren’t up you may find it here, or here.
- Extract the files to your Urban Terror folder. I would suggest making a backup copy of ioUrbanTerror.exe and autoexec.cfg prior to overwriting it with iKALiZER.
- Start up Urban Terror. Enter these commands in the console:
- /s_useIkalizer 1
- seta ikalizer_LimiterLevel 0 (a volume limiter)
- seta ikalizer_ChannelMode 0×60 (This sets iKALiZER to 5.0 surround sound. Other options can be found here)
- seta ikalizer_EnableSMP 1 (This will give you benefits if you have a multi-core processor).
- Restart Urban Terror. Check if the settings took by typing /s_useIkalizer. If it comes back as “1” the settings were saved.
- Play some Urban Terror and tweak to your liking.
Final Thoughts
iKalizer is one of the best alternate builds out there for Urban Terror as it is an interesting concept and a real treat for audiophiles. I think that the biggest drawback is that there is no support for Mac or Linux. This lack of support might lead to it getting banned in league play, since it gives some players an advantage that others cannot use. There is an argument on both sides, however, as players with faster computers and better connections also have an advantage.
I did notice some fps slowdown on certain audio settings, even though I have a quad-core. It was nothing major but it needs to be mentioned. Finally, the install method is not very elegant and can leave a player without working sound if instructions are not followed carefully. I would suggest reading the install advice on the Urban Terror forum thread before “jumping in.” Overall, I would highly recommend players take it for a test drive, but in the end, I would hope that players use what they like best.
Related posts:
- An Interview with iKALiZER’s Christophe Gossa I got a chance to catch up with the programer of iKALiZER for an interview. I asked him about upcoming features, estimated release dates, and about his motivation for allowing iKALiZER to interface with Urban Terror. So, without further ado, here is the interview!...
iKALiZER is great. I could never go back to the default sound, although using the newer SVN ioquake3 builds with OpenGL is better it is still not as good as iKALiZER because of the customization features.
It is worth learning how to use it!
So based on the chart, I’m assuming the program only works with Windows. This was an interesting read, but if my assumption’s correct, I won’t be using it until the Mac version is made.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to the Linux version. I primarily use Linux and am a little jealous that there is no support for iKALiZER on that platform.
Full disclosure: I originally took on this article to find more about when a linux version will be released. It sounds like work is still being done, so there is still hope!
Yeah, I hope there’ll be a Version for Mac, too :-p
Yea… me too i’m using linux and that audio server seems very interessting !
Make me know if you sucess to know when it ll be released
really interesting.
Is the UrT client still “pure” after installing ikalizer?
Fired this up without any issues.
It’s amazing the level you can adjust it to and how you can tweak it. I do find some of the weapons lose that over-driven sound that they have in the game, but I find the other qualities make it an excellent addition and install.
The nade quality is just fantastic.
F1 like huge!
It’s very interesting, this sound technology. But sadly, I have an iMac, and so I can’t get it.
I’ve been enjoying this for almost a couple of years and the game sounds odd without iKALiZER.
My favorite showcase for how iKALiZER works in comparison to the standard game audio engine, as well as those who swear by their “3d” or 5.1/7.1 headphones is this: fire up a normal exe, and do a local /map ut4_casa. Where you spawn, go forward toward Market and stop below the window above you, before going through the underpass. Look directly up at the window, then look directly down and observe the sound. THEN, fire up iKALiZER exe and do the same thing–it’s a world of difference!
iKALiZER is pre-processing, whereas an X-Fi 3d effect or surround headphones are post-processing, and they simply can’t compare to iKALiZER’s sound shaping.
Interesting, indeed. I love the sound of the nades.
Lets hope there’ll be support for the mac and linux peeps in the future.
Am I the only one who is so used to the normal sounds of UrT that the addition of iKalizer makes it difficult to pinpoint locations?
It’s a nice setup, however I prefer speed over the iK setup.
Yes the iK will give you a slight advantage, but it can be a distraction to what is more important: aim.
by speed, I mean FPS
Why when i write /s_useIkalizer i have on my console “UnknowCOmmand”?
Man, I don’t know how to get ikalizer, i have downloaded it, i have extracted the files to my Urban Terror folder, but i don’t know how to make it run, I started the UrT and put those commands but it does’t work, what I have to do for run ikalizer???
First, like I mentioned, there is only a windows version.
Next, download the files. (There are two downloads. One with alternate sound and one with regular sound. I think they are essentially the same except the alternate one comes with, you guessed it, the sound files. )
For ease, just download both.
Unzip them into your Urban Terror folder. When it prompts if you want to overwrite the files, say yes.
Then open ioUrbanTerror.exe
Then run those commands. If it says command not found, then you are not running the recently downloaded ioUrbanTerror.exe. I had this problem myself. Turns out I had two installs of Urban Terror spread over my hard drives and my shortcut to open it only pointed to one that I hadn’t replaced.
So, make sure that you are opening the right .exe. And then, like I said, run the commands and restart. Head over to Urban Terror forums for more support if this can’t help you.
is sometimes difficult to get used to new sounds, but nades is the first you say: OKEY! THIS IS THE SOUND I SPECTED FOR THIS WEAPON !!
pistols sounds are toys alike =x
thanks for this post, is great to tweak games !
All Macintosh Users I’ve found something similiar, which actually gives you nearly the same sound-effect. It’s called Hear! There are many Pre-Settings & Stuff! Can’t imagine playin without it again! (http://hear.en.softonic.com/mac)
About new sounds…
“Pistols sound are toys alike =x”
Movie pistols sounds are not realistic at all. Real pistols have theses sounds… like toys !
And new nade sound is not very realistic… But I’ve done some experiments with different materials and hardwares without enough success… But I have the chance to live near Ruggieri (now Lacroix) and in the past I’ve done or got some audio records.
All this sound research provide the actual “nade” sound.
i need a linux version!!!!!!
Improved audio (laugh) more like an unfair advantage not intended by the developer.
Passport will restrict clients to the default.
Passport will be a failure if it becomes too restrictive. I doubt leagues will use it.
Not like FS is testing it or anything, unless they have a super secret QA which doesn’t tell me shit.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Unless they are also in the business of banning those with nice headphones, big screens, and high quality mice, I doubt they consider iKALiZER to be “an unfair advantage not intended by the developer.”
But, on the other hand…
2. I’ve also yet to see ANYTHING about passport that is more than smoke and mirrors. Here’s a (pessimistic) prediction about it anyway: they take so much time trying to use passport to prevent people from using iKALiZER and Mitsubishi’s optimized build that when UrT 4.2 is released, passport won’t do what it was meant to do: catch hacks.
I seem to have spent ages looking for sites like this, yours is the best I have seen today! Well done! Google blog search has you pretty well indexed for Little Warrior it seems! you have some and informative stuff on smoking here! are you on twitter?
Hi! iam instal this ikalizer but i have headphones with high bass and when i hear the sound of nade i have a headache. there is any possibility to change the sound of HE nades or turn off that sound?
Apparently, the site doesn’t like me. I can’t find a working download.