In the hunt for authentic sound, the developers of the EA SPORTS WRC game went to extraordinary lengths.
Engine sound is a crucial element within a driving game, and sometimes it can be overlooked in favour of handling precision or graphical prowess.
But it should never be underestimated. Imagine a representation of a historical car in a video game looking exactly like the real deal, only to sound like a tumble dryer. A complete immersion robber.
I personally always thought that the raucous soundtrack to 2019’s DiRT Rally 2.0 was one of that simulation’s strong suits, especially in direct comparison to contemporary rivals. It was the rallying equivalent of a Hans Zimmer film score.
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, DiRT Rally 2.0
Then the Southam-based Codemasters development team secured the rights to the FIA World Rally Championship it would be fair to assume that they simply carried across the engine sounds to the new title.
While that may be the case in some instances, it did go through the trouble of re-recording available noises for cars that were in both DiRT Rally 2.0 and EA SPORTS WRC.
One such vehicle is the Seat Ibiza Kit Car.
To my ears, the previous platform’s depiction of its engine was bombastic, with a resonance that sounded as if the car could vibrate itself into small pieces at any moment.
But, to the creation team, it was irksome. As it turns out, the tone was not a facsimile, but rather an approximation created by amalgamating other models.
“The team had struggled to source a Seat Ibiza rally car as they are a particularly rare marque with only a few produced when it was homologated for the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup,” explains Codemasters to OverTake.
“Until now, the team had a workaround for the sound of this vehicle, which included the recording of a number of F2-class cars over the years, which were spec matched with alternate engine audio assets for the Ibiza.”
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, DiRT Rally 2.0
That was not good enough this time around. With a dearth of running Ibiza F2s, a cunning plan was formed.
1996 British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans was a Seat driver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, entering 20 events in an ‘Evo2’ specification model. The Welsh rally star and present-day car dealership owner challenged for a second British rally title in 1998 and 1999, finishing runner-up in both seasons using one of the Spanish hatchbacks.
So enamoured was he by the front-wheel-drive buzz box, that he purchased an ex-competition car for himself, occupying floor space in his Suzuki and Ford franchise.
In theory, then, Codemasters could ask politely to borrow his example and record the sound of its 2-litre naturally aspirated engine.
Except, while it was visually appealing sat in the Dolgellau showroom, mechanically it needed some work. A hiccup if you need to record engine sounds for an upcoming video game.
However, on a recent episode of the idiosyncratic rally programme Yn y Garej (In the Garage) with Evans’ former co-driver Howard Davies, it was revealed that a unique plan had been hatched.
“Codemasters offered a good deal, which doesn’t happen often for me,” enthuses Evans, father to current World Rally Championship contender Elfyn, on the show.
“If you notice in their game, there’s a Seat featured, [and] they needed the sound of the car.
“They helped me rebuild the whole car.”
As the EA SPORTS WRC team explains, there was a significant amount of work required to acquire the necessary audio:
“We connected with Gwyndaf Evans, who still had his old rally car.
“It needed a fair amount of work to get it commissioned for recording. The engine was the only facet that remained intact, as it required a new fuel cell, injectors, gearbox, drivetrain, exhaust, pumps, wiring loom and suspension, among other elements.
“A total of six months of work by the team of engineers at Bill Gwynne Motorsport was carried out.”
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, EA SPORTS WRC with its newly recorded engine acoustics
That appears to have been prohibitively expensive, but everything is relative, as it transpires.
“The cost of this rebuild equated to the fee for an on-track recording session, so the team enabled the work,” clarifies Codemasters.
“For the first time, the team was then able to use a working Seat Ibiza Kit Car for recording and include its sound in EA SPORTS WRC.”
Come to think of it, back-to-back, you can notice the difference – the latest WRC title’s recreation has a deeper grumble low down and is softer. Controlled aggression, and closer to the (VHS converted) on-board videos of the real car in action, if lacking the duo having a mid-stage debate.
It has been like a lot of work for an engine note, but not only do sim driving fans get the benefit of a more accurate sound, but there is a dealership in Wales now with a pristine example of rally history...
Engine sound is a crucial element within a driving game, and sometimes it can be overlooked in favour of handling precision or graphical prowess.
But it should never be underestimated. Imagine a representation of a historical car in a video game looking exactly like the real deal, only to sound like a tumble dryer. A complete immersion robber.
I personally always thought that the raucous soundtrack to 2019’s DiRT Rally 2.0 was one of that simulation’s strong suits, especially in direct comparison to contemporary rivals. It was the rallying equivalent of a Hans Zimmer film score.
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, DiRT Rally 2.0
Then the Southam-based Codemasters development team secured the rights to the FIA World Rally Championship it would be fair to assume that they simply carried across the engine sounds to the new title.
While that may be the case in some instances, it did go through the trouble of re-recording available noises for cars that were in both DiRT Rally 2.0 and EA SPORTS WRC.
One such vehicle is the Seat Ibiza Kit Car.
To my ears, the previous platform’s depiction of its engine was bombastic, with a resonance that sounded as if the car could vibrate itself into small pieces at any moment.
But, to the creation team, it was irksome. As it turns out, the tone was not a facsimile, but rather an approximation created by amalgamating other models.
“The team had struggled to source a Seat Ibiza rally car as they are a particularly rare marque with only a few produced when it was homologated for the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup,” explains Codemasters to OverTake.
“Until now, the team had a workaround for the sound of this vehicle, which included the recording of a number of F2-class cars over the years, which were spec matched with alternate engine audio assets for the Ibiza.”
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, DiRT Rally 2.0
That was not good enough this time around. With a dearth of running Ibiza F2s, a cunning plan was formed.
1996 British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans was a Seat driver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, entering 20 events in an ‘Evo2’ specification model. The Welsh rally star and present-day car dealership owner challenged for a second British rally title in 1998 and 1999, finishing runner-up in both seasons using one of the Spanish hatchbacks.
So enamoured was he by the front-wheel-drive buzz box, that he purchased an ex-competition car for himself, occupying floor space in his Suzuki and Ford franchise.
In theory, then, Codemasters could ask politely to borrow his example and record the sound of its 2-litre naturally aspirated engine.
Except, while it was visually appealing sat in the Dolgellau showroom, mechanically it needed some work. A hiccup if you need to record engine sounds for an upcoming video game.
However, on a recent episode of the idiosyncratic rally programme Yn y Garej (In the Garage) with Evans’ former co-driver Howard Davies, it was revealed that a unique plan had been hatched.
“Codemasters offered a good deal, which doesn’t happen often for me,” enthuses Evans, father to current World Rally Championship contender Elfyn, on the show.
“If you notice in their game, there’s a Seat featured, [and] they needed the sound of the car.
“They helped me rebuild the whole car.”
As the EA SPORTS WRC team explains, there was a significant amount of work required to acquire the necessary audio:
“We connected with Gwyndaf Evans, who still had his old rally car.
“It needed a fair amount of work to get it commissioned for recording. The engine was the only facet that remained intact, as it required a new fuel cell, injectors, gearbox, drivetrain, exhaust, pumps, wiring loom and suspension, among other elements.
“A total of six months of work by the team of engineers at Bill Gwynne Motorsport was carried out.”
Seat Ibiza Kit Car, F2, EA SPORTS WRC with its newly recorded engine acoustics
That appears to have been prohibitively expensive, but everything is relative, as it transpires.
“The cost of this rebuild equated to the fee for an on-track recording session, so the team enabled the work,” clarifies Codemasters.
“For the first time, the team was then able to use a working Seat Ibiza Kit Car for recording and include its sound in EA SPORTS WRC.”
Come to think of it, back-to-back, you can notice the difference – the latest WRC title’s recreation has a deeper grumble low down and is softer. Controlled aggression, and closer to the (VHS converted) on-board videos of the real car in action, if lacking the duo having a mid-stage debate.
It has been like a lot of work for an engine note, but not only do sim driving fans get the benefit of a more accurate sound, but there is a dealership in Wales now with a pristine example of rally history...
