All About our Whistles!

This is the first of many development videos where we can show you behind the scenes updates as we create our game. Today's Dev Vlog is all about the haunting voice of the iron horse: whistles! Listen to our patent-pending tech and how it can simulate over 60 unique whistles with unparalleled realism and tone. We hope you are as thrilled with the quill as we are, and we look forward to having you along for the ride on our development journey!
--Studio 346
studio346.net/
s.team/a/2517940/ - Steam Page
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[@Hyce777]

Of all the secrets that had to be kept during the first year of development, this is the one that killed me the most to not be able to share... "GUYS JUST LISTEN?!?!"

[@TheOofertaffy]

It's ok Hyce. Now you are able to post it and all of us can experience eargasms!

[@Armageddon_71]

Hearing the awesomeness now that must have eaten you up from the inside.

[@WasatchWind]

Worth the wait. These are probably the best whistles I've heard in any train game. Hopefully they feel just as good to quill in game.

[@lizzard3699]

THIS IS LITTERALLY THE COOLEST THING OMGOSH

[@legdig]

Now I wanna know if you have a whistle for each single note so we can line up in the yard and play at being a calliope!

[@TheMrbigtires]

"Patent-pending sound software" that's when you know that the devs are some of the best is when they patent something entirely new in the process of making a game.

[@joeclaymore]

Actually a lot of software companies are careful about saying they have a patent. Gives competitors the oppotunity to reverse engineer your tech. Albeit, this is damn cool whistle tech.

[@moqube]

i don't know. didn't some patent an arrow pointing to a mission objective? and didn't nintendo try to patend being able to look at stuff or something like that?

[@machintrucGaming]

Good thing software patents don't apply in europe then !

[@connormclernon26]

@@moqubeBandai Namco patented interactive loading screens and it only expired in the last five years

[@idemanddonuts]

I bet they're using a physics simulator to simulate the sounds.

[@stevephares]

That echo simulation is wicked good.

[@mudman3022]

Fr

[@Etienne_H]

Just some normal reverb

[@croom1278]

im so glad yall had it so you see the steam from the whistle before you hear it at a distance, because light is faster than sound

[@andrewhofmann5453]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@WhitzWolf92]

These crazy fools modeled the speed of sound...in a video game...for whistles. LOVE IT!

[@TheSmokyMountain1495]

That was such a good touch, just…… *yes*

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

@@WhitzWolf92 Probably for everything, to be fair. And I love it. That was one of the things that made my jaw drop like Linus drops hardware back in the day when Rise of Flight was released in 2009. Which BTW also had pretty well done trains, especially since it's a flight sim...

[@boxed_in4357]

​@@CakePrincessCelestiayeah, if you already have the basic frame of implementing the speed of sound you can basically add it to every directional sound in the game!

[@TransTaey]

Hearing the Huber 6-Chime made it smile so much. Knowing how proud Mark is of his own whistle is joyful!!

[@highball5550]

I fully expected Mark to go “What’s up guys, this is Hyce” at the beginning but using his real name threw a curveball at me. 😂 Also the fact you put a Powell 3 chime in is just awesome. It’s one of my favorite whistles up there with the N&W Hooter. I can tell I’ll be using either whistle interchangeably when I get my hands on the game. That Powell is such a part of my childhood, watching the Thunder on the Rails VHS tape at my grandparents house.

[@supernintenjoe974]

No way! I had that tape growing up too!! My mom bought it for me from a thrift shop when I was fourteen lol I loved that tape ❤

[@JPofCT]

My god...I had it too, but forgot what it was called!

[@WasatchWind]

The commitment to little details like actually changing the whistle model to be accurate is beautiful.

[@Lazarus7000]

My first thought was "Ah, good to see Hyce's been able to use all those whistle recordings he made for other games" but no, Hyce has taken a page from his grandpappy's book and made technological advancement.

[@JohnTK]

The instant he said “simulate whistle” i was impressed. It sounds so real too!

[@a.j.rivera4619]

Man, I have never been happier to support a project than this one! Can't wait to see the final results!

[@slanderedstone]

The fact that you have created an entirely new sound system for this game is phenomenal and the fact all of the whistles are simulated is amazing! It sounds just beautiful, and not to mention that heavenly reverb!

[@buckduane1991]

I have the biggest, dumbest grin on my face hearing these whistles! So excited for this game!!!

[@YoLo-bb2vc]

mine came at 5:11 because like hyce im biased to his wihistle its just such a powerful noice that announces your arrival

[@buckduane1991]

@@YoLo-bb2vc the Powell 3 Chime did it for me… Nevada Northern #40 aka “the Ghost Train”, because during WWII the copper mining company had decided to scrap her since she was a 1910 10 wheeler… but the railroad crews loved her too much, so at night when they found out a scrapper search crew was going to check an area in the morning, they would fire her up and with all lights off and the firebox covered with planks to hide even the light from that would run her to a new location and camouflage her with anything not nailed down to hide her-causing the locals of Ely, McGill, Ruth, and Keystone, NV to say the railroad was “haunted by a ghost train” when they heard that whistle at crossings in the night but it was dark and no lights were visible, since the crews didn’t want to risk local lives as they moved her… needless to say, the locals of course recognized the whistle after 30 years of hearing it and were all in on it, but to the corporate goons who didn’t live there, it made them scratch their heads and spooked them in the night a few times. They did this over three years until the war ended and Kennecott Copper Corporation gave up the search. It’s the only thing that saved her and why we still have her today.

[@Tristan_S346]

I'm so incredibly excited to be able to share this with you all! It's just too dang good!

[@michaelbarrett5149]

I sure would love that game on nintendo switch that is if it becomes avaliable

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

@@michaelbarrett5149 If only Switch wasn't running on 2012 silicon... anyway, being able to play this on handhelds decently sure would be great! That and VR.

[@rocketplane8862]

I think my favorite thing about this is the long-distance shot where you can see the delay between pulling the whistle lever and the sound reaching the camera.

[@Pyrotrainthing]

Hearing those whistles and the fact there's no audio files for them feels so spoiling, like this game shouldn't exist because there's no way somebody would go through those details and yet here I am watching a video of the people making that game, it's so awesome I'm so hyped for this game

[@PyroTechitten]

This game just bleeds passion. This is like with music, where you can tell just how much genuine love is being poured into it. I think this and BG3 are going to be the games with the most soul in them for the last 4 or more years.

[@engineerskalinera]

If the whistles sound this good, I wonder how good a loco pulling a heavy freigh uphill will sound from the other side of the canyon

[@penguinproductions1056]

I'm super curious as a programmer myself how the heck you managed to do that! That's freaking AWESOME!!!

[@BrooksMoses]

Yup. I am totally ready for that to go from "patent-pending" to "patented" so I can read the patent.

[@penguinproductions1056]

@@BrooksMoses absolutely

[@Etienne_H]

Reverb?!

[@Railman1225]

0:55 Excuse me, *_WHAT?!!!_* That's so cool! I love it! It sounds so authentic, too, which just adds to the experience! That is amazing, and the two whistles I've heard already sound great. Amazing job, all of you!

[@ericbonanno5214]

That "Southern Pacific 6 Chime." ❤❤❤❤ It almost sounds like Hyce took inspiration from it when coming up with his own 6 chime. 😅😅

[@Ferit2813]

Now I want to see a train run. Everything looks amazing and those whistles, they're perfect. Easily my most anticipated game

[@STLSF]

If you want to get a taste of what this game has to offer, be in Denver between 8/30/22 and 9/2/22. ;)

[@Ferit2813]

@@STLSF unfortunately I live in NZ

[@EngineerDaylight]

These whistles are Beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking. I cant wait to try these whistles myself

[@thegamesweplayvm4265]

My question is, are diesel horns simulated the same way? As someone who worked on a shortline for a few months, the air horns on the old diesels (like the White Pass ALCOs in your trailer) have almost as much character as a steam whistle.

[@ironeh]

I had this very same thought and would love to know the answer as well. I would kill to hear a BC Rail K5H/K5L properly simulated. No horn sounds better in my mind.

[@user-hs1ct7qv4g]

might be i saw a diesle in the end of the game trailer

[@adem9599]

I love how you captured the CNJ 3 Chime ie. the whole changing chords aspect. And the Hooter squeak.

[@babythorgaming2166]

Hearing the lunkenheimer whistle from down the mountain gave me a stupid wide grin. I am so excited for this game.

[@polarvortex6496]

Long comment time. 1) Mark Huber? Talking about whistles? Well, I never. 2) Pretty cool how the first devlog is on whistles - you could have started with the basics, but this isn’t a basic game. The focus is on the details. 3) Looks like I was right when I asserted S346 wouldn’t accept anything less than their best 4) I think it’s unfathomably cool that your grandpa developed one of the first audio systems for model trains, and now here you are, however many years later, spearheading a patent-pending system for virtual model trains. 5) Whistle designer please (I want to try and be as cool as you)

[@brucethebatcat5084]

All of these whistles sound incredible!

[@jacobwoods8738]

Congratulations on such a wonderful invention. Recorded whistle looping had gotten good, but naturally always required a good clean recording, this is software engineering and railway engineering coming together at its finest, and what a commendation you deserve. The attention to detail from my perspective a historian is also most tantalising for your game. It is my hope your lineup of whistles will include a Baldwin 3 chime flat top for “as delivered” and South American sounds, and most of all a sweet sounding IRCA 3 chime, how the late Jorge Diaz could make 205 and 204 sing coming out a rock cut, and 40 sounds quite melodious at the Loop.

[@caelumvaldovinos5318]

You know a game's gonna be lit when the devs create a whole new program for sound

[@guhsher1851]

Those whistles sound nothing short of gorgeous! Genuinely tear worthy, especially the fact this is possible to hear in a game. 👍

[@BeefTechnology]

One small thing that would make this game more unique would be speed of sound simulation. As seen on the far away shot you hear the whistle instantly along with the effect but having the sound and reverb delayed more or less depending on the distance between the player and the whistle would be quite neat. Other than that I am quite hyped to see and play the first release. Also good luck at the narrow gauge convention thing, I won‘t make it sadly.

[@kevinbeverly4086]

That is amazing. The thought and quality put into this game is remarkable. It is going to be amazing when it gets finished.

[@michaelhayes1678]

More tears! Those whistles are just divine! AND YOU EVEN ACCOUNTED FOR LIGHT VERSUS SOUND TRAVEL SPEED DIFFERENTIAL!!! (like you see a firework explode before you hear it, same with the steam plume and whistle) Wow! You folks have done such a beautiful and thoughtful....work of passion and art.... wow

[@InterurbanEra]

My goodness, that's absolutely spectacular work. I hope the patent gets granted, I could see it being an entirely new way to do model railroad sound decoders.

[@railwayjade]

LOVE the ECHOES!! Can't wait to hear the chuff reverbs!

[@rambling_railfan]

My favourite whistle is either the Hyce/Huber 6 chime or the Star Brass 5 chime. Great video!

[@CoryAY82383]

THANK YOU for adding Canadian whistles. BTW Newfoundland Railway was also 3 for narrow gauge so maybe a little flavor from your northern neighbors would be neat

[@Dan_Gyros]

This is insanely cool. You can really tell how much love and effort yall have already put into this, and we appreciate yall for it!

[@KnapfordMaster98]

OK after accomplishing the very difficult task of putting aside how incredible this sounds and how exciting it is, can we talk about how fucking beautiful the draw distance and lighting are? This is probably the most excited. I have been about a train game since my dad and I picked up Trainz 2004 at circuit city. The level is just like… I don’t want to name names, but it’s like you look at the current landscape, and take all of your grievances of “why can’t they just do this?“ and you’re building an entire game that is entirely all of that stuff.

[@crazyadam111]

Unbelievable job to all the devs and everyone working so hard to make this happen! These whistles sound absolutely INCREDIBLE so far & can’t wait to get my hands on the game. If there’s any chance that CP 2860 “The Royal Hudson” could make it on there, I and my childhood self would go insane!!

[@drachengott95]

You made my day when you used the N&W class A hooter whistle! Glad to hear 1218's whistle again.

[@Squigdude13]

This is the game version of those old cds with like 30 hours of train vids. How i begged for those growing up lmfao, itll never get old

[@kellhound7227]

Listening to this, on ear buds at max volume, I find myself deaf. But it was worth it to hear these whistles, and watch Hyce playing other train games with poor whistles choices and I understand the pain of not having access to the better whistles! Can’t wait to see what’s coming for this project!

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

Earbuds... tell you what: My neighbours listened to this because of my 5.1 setup cranked to eleven :)

[@stormworksgamer922]

@@CakePrincessCelestia jeez

[@infidel1322]

Are we gonna have actual, chest pounding chuffs and hisses?! I think this means yes! Sound is so important to steam sims. I’m so happy Mark and the crew is doing this.

[@Junior-vt9ly]

60 whistles already and y’all are basically in alpha-ish by the looks of it. Keep up the good work, hope to see some good horn options for the diesels as well!

[@austinmace4883]

Wow. The way you were able to recreate the echo was chills inducing. Absolutely stellar work. I hope this eventually makes its way into the model railroad industry as well. Sounds fantastic.

[@cowboy_civ]

This gave me goosebumps and warm fuzzy feeling. The whistles sound amazing.

[@anthem7582]

I have to admit, CoS is now my favourite Train game ever the whistles are amazing including Hyce's 6 chime i can not wait for the games full release

[@YupItsAiden]

This has gotta be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. They all sound absolutely beautiful. I can't wait.

[@stratos2]

I love that you implemented the speed of sound, that you can see the delay of steam coming out and then the sound coming later when viewed from far away. Just make sure guys, that game pla fun doesn't get lost under all the details. I wish you the best of success!

[@spagelsmegal]

I remember hearing the whistle eco months back and being amazed it’s still incredible

[@darkstorm_omega]

Of course the Lunkenheimer 3 was used to show off the echo at a distance- I'd expect nothing less from the team. Seriously though, this little preview of the whistles alone is fantastic, and I'm extremely excited to see development continue. I wish good fortune to all of Studio 346 with this project!

[@aaronpedrick2007]

This game already looks beautiful.

[@Naviss]

Amazing! Sound makes everything come more alive!

[@justinmeeks1868]

Finally, someone has paid attention to the important nuances of the steam whistle in a game. Those sound perfect, that Powell is as haunting as the real thing.

[@BD12]

You guys need to loan this to the guys who are making ocean liner games, I'm sure it could be upscaled to use for old steamship hooters.

[@NorfKhazad]

You need to license this whistle tech to one of the DCC sound decoder manufacturers. Preferably TCS as they make the best steam sound decoders currently.

[@WasatchWind]

Man that'd be sweet.

[@leverettrailfan5414]

W o a h. Absolutely wicked, WICKED cool. I never knew I could be so blown away by whistles in a video game until now. And the scene shown is positively gorgeous. Can't wait to see what else you have in store!

[@oriontherealironman]

This will be a literal experience not just a game.

[@LOONA_666]

Good luck to the dev team can’t wait for the game great job so far

[@swordkirbyfilms7747]

Hoping whatever whistle ET&WNC #12 (Tweetsie) has will make it in.

[@Yardmaster_Media_110]

Well, if Mark said that over 60 whistles will be available in game, I would think that a Baldwin 3 chime would be in there somewhere. I’m a big fan of that whistle myself.

[@Rushyboi1]

@@Yardmaster_Media_110 same

[@Curious_Skeptic]

HOLY AMAZING BATMAN! OMG! This made my day! Best of luck, be happy to support you guys! This is really really beautiful! The sim I thought would never happen! Here you guys are making it behind the scenes!

[@lakenhines2237]

I wanna start off by saying that this game looks amazing already, and I am so excited for what's to come! And I also wanna say thank you to Hyce and the Studio 346 crew. It feels so good to see a group of people who KNOW railroading, and who care about it- who care about the little things, the details, the realism, making a game for not only railfans like myself, but for everyone young and old to enjoy! A game that brings the true experience of railroading to the virtual world. I feel like a game of this quality is (sadly) long overdue and that the Train Simulator industry has been cornered and misrepresented by the money-minded folks at (*cough* *cough*) Dovetail Games. I am genuinely excited for Century of Steam's release and I want to thank EVERYONE from Studio 346 for working so hard to bring the world something good. - Laken (Your fellow railfan 😊)

[@The_Cookie_Crumbles]

That Lunkenheimer 3 chime brings back memories when I was down at my grandparents. They lived near Cass WV, and I could hear the 3 chimes from the Shays echoing through the hollers and over mountains. Gorgeous, spot on.

[@TaterTot11]

Those whistles are untouchable, invincible, un-friggin-believable. My heart aches with each one. If this is the kind of effort you're going to on the sound, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the rest of the game. Of all the new train sims coming out, this one has me very excited and I can't wait to see how y'all are going to add to the community.

[@RGH2007]

This is looking so good, let’s hope I can come to the convention and play a little bit of it

[@FrederickG1992]

The echo is awesome thru the headphones like you are there in person hearing it.

[@cat793cdumpy]

They are the best in game whistles I have ever heard. And you have some echo as well. Bloody awesome from Australia,The land down under.

[@nexus8765]

they sound just amazing.

[@PowerTrain611]

Mark and whoever else is involved with this project... you guys are absolute madlads. The synthesized whistles idea was something I was thinking about a lot recently because of the whistle from "Steam Engine Simulator". Looks like y'all have pretty much mastered it!

[@TarisSinclair]

Bloody heck that demo scene looks awesome. At first I thought it was a static render with aftereffect stack smoke until you moved the camera. Holy Shay that looks soo good. The foliage, the rock texture and detail..

[@krikcet-163]

This is awesome. I'm really hyped for this. I recently got into train games, and have been looking into derail valley. Which led me to Hyce's channel, which led me to this.

[@Taloth1969]

Love the almost ghostly echo of the whistles. Nicely done :)

[@Tank245]

HyaSynth sounds like it would be a revolutionary technology for DCC model trains.

[@JFulls94]

I cant wait for this to come out boy it sounds and looks so damn good!

[@CertifiedDoc]

That's absolutely incredible. The whistles themselves are fantastic, and that echo is just unreal.

[@RailroadProductions]

Holy crap the whistles sound amazing can’t wait for the game also love the Huber six chime

[@Austin4050x]

Hyce, this stuff is absolutely amazing! Seriously game-changing in the RR sim world. Keep up the good work, cant imagine what else might be in store for us

[@christopherwelsh1785]

Dude, the realism is literally making me so happy, they sound so good I can't even find words to describe it

[@sksofficial5908]

just stopping by to see how the game coming and dam them whistles sound Fn awesome and the fact u made ur own audio simulator is amazing i want the game just to play with choo-choo sounds

[@loficampingguy9664]

This might be some of the best sound design ever put into a train game. Hell, any game. Keep it up!

[@Octopat]

I’m so happy to see the “Hubert” 6 chime will be coming. Super happy

[@ThePCPitStopInc]

OMG i love it your custom made whistle you built a while back sounds really good man good for you man keep up the great work the whistles sound amazing

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

0:56 How awesome is that? 1:18 Badum Tss! 3:42 Speed of sound delay modelled: ✓ 5:07 Totally legit.

[@vegetable2139]

Ooh, ho ho HO! Now is this is some promising stuff. We can certainly tell the team is putting in the effort because WOW. Keep up the good work and I hope you get some attention at the narrow gauge convention ❤

[@Snailrider_Actual]

This is insane. Easily the best whistle audio I've EVER heard in a game. Hyped to say the least!

[@ethanvote6251]

Absolutely amazing! Sounds awesome! And looks beautiful! Can’t wait, but will definitely need a better pc before then. Great job Mark and all the others!

[@grit9938]

I love the Hyce 6 chime! It was so cool watching you make that and I was hoping it would make an appearance!

[@RailwayProductions]

Really nice work. The Powell really sounded like the one that Cumbres and Toltec 489 carried for years. The real game changer is the echoes and tonal change at various distances. Quite nicely done.

[@DannyBTrainz]

This is game-changing stuff. Great job, Hyce and Team Studio 346.

[@masonkuykendall]

This is the most exited I have been for YEARS. Holy shiiiiiii. All of you deserve goodness, holy crap. Amazing job yall!!!!!!!!!

[@MrLaszloBerta]

wow... sounds amazing! Great Work!

[@nuttynathan]

The echo! (Chef's Kiss!) All the hairs on my arms are on end. Rock on Studio 346! Stoked for this game!

[@firewolf2079]

Must say hearing that reverb, the amount of whistles, the ability to really quill the whistle. I can't tell you how excited I am for this. I was grinning extremely wide hearing that whistle echo. Keep up the good work you wonderful people. Side note: anyone else notice the smoke box pop up at the end as hyce/mark went around the loco? *insert devilish grin*

[@realtrainbridge528]

I’m crying tears of JOY for this game. I have NEVER been more happy to hear or see something like this. I don’t care what the price of the game will be once it fully releases. I’M BUYING THIS MASTERPIECE

[@Captain_Timezone]

My favorite whistles are the western Maryland J1 3 chime whistle because it sounds scary and the L&N Shay #5 3 chime passenger whistle because it sounds like an angel train.

[@nielsleenknegt5839]

Have you mad lads also fractured in the speed of sound in that distand echo shot?

[@BigMeechEJ25]

I know you said you don't have much involvement in the actual development, but I'm sure the rest of the team is as passionate about rail roading as you are. Its good to have you on board a project like this, us Rail Simmers need a genuinely good product made by people who care.

[@BEEBO168]

hell yes. these whistles are beautiful, genuinely sent shivvers down my spine. in a good way

[@questionblechoices]

This is so cool! Best I have heard. This is going to be a great game just for this.