Why is the HL2 SMG so loud

loud = funny

[microwavedbattery]

they increased the smg's firerate in a later update to HL2, making the sounds overlap each other.

[sinaalami]

After playing "Half Life 2 SMG Firing.mp3" at max volume for 7 hours I can confirm that the sound is now slightly reduced but I'm unable to hear anyone speaking to me unless they shout in my ear.
Was worth it in my opinion, now I'm able to enjoy Highway 17 for the 264th time this month playing through Half Life 2.

[slavyori]

You should definitely give a listen to how SMG used to sound like in release 1.0 version of Half-Life 2
It's mostly the same but it also got some *BASS* to it.

[orangelessjuice]

There's a reason hearing loss can be abbreviated as HL

[nahman-fo]

Gordon still doesn't need to hear all this he's a highly trained professional!

[Rapgodhoursclean]

It might be loud but you can’t deny how fine that sound is

[Sercil]

I actually have permanent tinnitus for about 10 years now. It started while playing Episode 1 and I kept thinking the SMG sound is painful for the ears, even though I always had the volume pretty low. There's something about that sound frequency. I noticed that after playing, my ears would still be faintly ringing, so I stopped. It never went away and I do have bad hearing in certain frequencies, around where that SMG sound is.
I'm not solely blaming the game. I had pre-existing hearing damage before this and always had very sensitive ears. That kind of frequency also always stressed me out quicker than others. If it wasn't for this, I'd still have tinnitus by today, I'm sure. But I'm also certain that this sound caused it at the time and I've reduced my volume to 5% before clicking on this video.

You can mod the game to reduce individual sounds.

[spellwhomstve]

There should be a line on the HEV Suit that says "HEARING LOSS DETECTED"

[drawter]

this stimulated my senses, i like it.

[LazyScoutJace]

I remember my brother playing on the family PC back in Christmas of '04. My Dad told our guests, "oh don't mind the soldier over there" Lmao I remember the SMG being so damn loud.

[seendon]

I like how they put a grenade launcher on an MP7.

[jafetlamadrid]

I never noticed it being loud until I saw this. Damn.

[krychur]

I remember this being a stock AK-47 sound effect. it was also used in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance as an M16 sound, and in Rogue Warrior as an MP5 sound. Valve definitely made it louder, which is odd considering this is an smg, not an assault rifle.

[the_furry_inside_your_walls]

This is literally the reason why I don't bother using the SMG outside of its secondary fire.

[ItsChevnotJeff]

Nothing can beat the original classic SMG from Half Life 1

[leandroingrassia]

This is a completely valid concern which should have been addressed 18 years ago.

[BaronVonPurp]

I love how he doesn't even need to earrape it. It's just that loud.

[kanakanaka]

This and death sounds. I wouldn't be easily jumpscared by horror games, but HL has time and time again keep jumpscared me when I died

[JackJonValois]

When my friends and even my cousin wanted to play this game back then, I replaced its spot in the loadout on each level with a AK-47 from the only open SWEP mod I could find and made the SMG's consumable properties act as ammo for it.

I even played through the game with the AK-47 and it was much more enjoyable and didn't break the balance.

[racer]

The funny thing is it sounds like an SMG in 9x19mm, whereas the MP7 PDW chambers 4.6 which makes more of a crack or snap firing sound.