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Try as they might, no computer-generated audio can replicate the sound of a real engine. Forza developers know that, which is why they get their audio for exhaust noises the old-fashioned way: by recording it first-hand.The Forza crew recently uploaded a video to its YouTube channel documenting exactly how it captures the ultra-realistic-sounding car audio for its upcoming open-world Horizon 5 video game. How it works is, developers bring each subject car to a wide-open closed course such as an airfield or race track, then strap a bunch of microphones to the exterior and interior. There are several by the exhaust pipes and some in the cabin, there to capture the car's sounds from different perspectives. This makes sense, since what you're hearing from the driver's seat will differ from what you're hearing from the outside of the car.

After the microphones are connected and recording, the car is driven in every imaginable way possible. There are soft launches, hard launches, full-throttle accelerations, half-throttle accelerations, hard decelerations, drifts, donuts, flybys, and more. This is done so developers can get as much audio to work with as possible, so whenever someone does something with a car in-game, there's a corresponding sound to match it.Of course, some of the more valuable cars to show up, like the Jaguar XJ220 and the two Lancia rally cars in the video above, don't pull off all of those stunts. So it's up to the developers to use what they're able to get from simple accelerations and flybys to generate enough audio for the game.

Forza Horizon 5 will be available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, and Steam beginning November 9, 2021.