Volume control in Skyrim

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Anyone here playing Skyrim?

If so, do you know of a way to control the volume with the volume roller on a Logitech G-series keyboard without exiting the game?

I know there's a "master volume" in game but that only controls the game volume, not the overall volume of the computer. So, unless I remember to crank the volume up before I start the game, I have to exit the game, turn it up, then restart it. Meanwhile, the handy-dandy volume roller on my G19 keyboard stops working while in game.

(I've checked the Logitech forums and, while this question has been asked, there is no reply yet. ... just had a thought, I haven't checked to see if there are Skyrim support forums.... )

SpyderArachnid

SpyderArachnid

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

United States

Lords Of Noh [LoN]

Me/

Go to your audio settings in control panels (->Sound->Manage Audio Devices). Go to your speakers (or whatever you use) and go to Properties.

Under Enhancements, check the box for Loudness Equalization. Then click OK.

Now your sound will be fixed in Skyrim.

Edit: Bah nevermind. Thought you were having low sound issues, then realized it was for controlling sound with your controller. My bad.
Edit2: Wait, you're cranking the volume on your computer just for Skyrim? Then yes, listen to the above. It fixes the low sound issue.

Star_Jewel

Star_Jewel

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2010

Denizen of Tyria since Feb. 2009

You may have already come across this, or already found your solution another way, but there's a bit of discussion about this at the Steam Forums. Maybe one of their suggestions could help you.

ruk1a

ruk1a

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

UR MOM LOL

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES

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So you want to change the volume of the computer without exiting the game? Don't your speakers have a volume button? I personally use head phones and have my computer volume at max always and on my phones I got a volume scroll. Weird that so many people had this trouble with skyrim.

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Actually, after looking through various forums etc, this is one of the major complaints with Skyrim, and there seems to be no solution to it yet. I don't expect it to be fixed until some patch comes out (if ever). There are some work-arounds such as controlling the volume with the volume control on the speakers or headphones/headset, but this doesn't always work satisfactorily and becomes a nuisance very quickly as it's the only app on the computer that requires such measures. (The volume difference is very large)

Another major complaint is the piss-poor user interface.

Overall, Skyrim seems to be a decent game but anyone who has played MMOs like WoW or GW on a PC will find the user interface to be a real Pain in the Butt. Most of the problem seems to come from the fact that it's a (badly done) console port. So, if you are into the Xbox, you may not find the interface quite so annoying.

I only bought it for something to play while waiting for GW2 and/or SW:tOR to be released, so maybe it's only a temporary PitB.

Edit - I've also noticed a number of glitches, including having the game exit to the desktop spontaneously.

The forth fly

The forth fly

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2008

england

Mo/

The UI is the only problem I have with skyrim its clunky and has a problem with my mouse not moving to select something

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Do you have the Logitech Gaming Software installed?

Also, are you using ATI or Nvidia for your graphics card? (Unrelated to the volume control, but there is a new driver for ATI cards that improves Skyrim performance.)

ruk1a

ruk1a

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

UR MOM LOL

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES

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I don't quite get what's so bad about the UI... I play it on PC, it's a step above oblivions UI that is for sure. When you press Q on your favorites menu you can select 1-9 to set skills if that's what you are referring to, not having enough skill bind options. I have no problem with it ;s love the game

For a game like elder scrolls you don't need much on the UI other than the mini map it gives you and it displays everything you need to know. Locations, enemies, etc. I guess I'm just used to all of this since I played the earlier ES games.

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Perhaps if one is a console gamer (Xbox, PS3,etc) you can accept the crappy menu system. It probably works well when your only input is a "controller", but on a PC the UI system on Skyrim just plain sucks.
There is also the lack of a mini-map and the normal "round" compass, that I find annoying. In order to see where you are, you have to hit "M" for a world map (much as in GW) and then hit "L" to view a local map and then hit "M" again to exit back to the game. (No viewing a mini-map while you play.)
I also find the UI control system annoying. Again, it's obviously a port from a console controller and very non-intuitive for a PC user. For example you hit "E" to search a corpse, but you can't hit E, see nothing you want, and hit E again to exit - no, you have to hit "Tab" to exit the search.
Also, although you can re-assign the keys for various functions, many of them, such as "E" seem to become erratic when you do - it seems as though some of the functions are hard wired, so if you reassign the some of the keys, the new keys only partially work or cause problems with other menus.

Skyrim definitely makes you appreciate the UI from games like GW, WoW, LOTRO, etc.

In any case, the volume control thing seems to be an un-resolved problem at this point. One must suffer.

P.S - Skyrim seems to be, so far, a fairly good 'game', it's just the control system and UI that sucks. At least I don't have to be concerned that I'll get too involved in Skyrim to play GW2.

ruk1a

ruk1a

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

UR MOM LOL

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker View Post
Perhaps if one is a console gamer (Xbox, PS3,etc) you can accept the crappy menu system. It probably works well when your only input is a "controller", but on a PC the UI system on Skyrim just plain sucks.
Like I said I'm playing it on PC and have no problems lol. I think you're just being a bit picky, like pressing tab instead of E to get out of a menu.. o noes it's like less than 2 inches away you don't put any more effort into it than pressing E.

Clearly you never played the earlier ES games if you hate the minimap, it's fine you just need to get used to it. You would have hated oblivion though.. IIRC you had to click everything while in a menu there was no simple option like E on the PC version.

They did this one very well. People will complain about anything I suppose. I like skyrim better on PC than on PS3 however I liked oblivion better on PS3 than PC.

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker View Post
Perhaps if one is a console gamer (Xbox, PS3,etc) you can accept the crappy menu system. It probably works well when your only input is a "controller", but on a PC the UI system on Skyrim just plain sucks.
There is also the lack of a mini-map and the normal "round" compass, that I find annoying. In order to see where you are, you have to hit "M" for a world map (much as in GW) and then hit "L" to view a local map and then hit "M" again to exit back to the game. (No viewing a mini-map while you play.)
I also find the UI control system annoying. Again, it's obviously a port from a console controller and very non-intuitive for a PC user. For example you hit "E" to search a corpse, but you can't hit E, see nothing you want, and hit E again to exit - no, you have to hit "Tab" to exit the search.
Also, although you can re-assign the keys for various functions, many of them, such as "E" seem to become erratic when you do - it seems as though some of the functions are hard wired, so if you reassign the some of the keys, the new keys only partially work or cause problems with other menus.

Skyrim definitely makes you appreciate the UI from games like GW, WoW, LOTRO, etc.

In any case, the volume control thing seems to be an un-resolved problem at this point. One must suffer.

P.S - Skyrim seems to be, so far, a fairly good 'game', it's just the control system and UI that sucks. At least I don't have to be concerned that I'll get too involved in Skyrim to play GW2.
Refer to my post above, still waiting on your answers.

And as far as the UI goes, you may like it when this mod is released:

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarun View Post
Refer to my post above, still waiting on your answers.
OK.

No, I don't have the Logitech gaming software installed, just some of the LCD apps amd the key profiler (unless that's what you are referring to). And, no, according to other forums, it wouldn't help if I did. And, no, I'm not going to install it either, since I consider Skyrim to be an interim diversion and the problems are not worth screwing with my system to fix.

I use an ATI card with the latest (or maybe next-to-latest) drivers. I don't have any problems with the graphics, except perhaps that the crashes may be related to some driver.

Bottom line - the game is a console port. I'm not sure if many of the problems are directly related to this, but I will tend to stear clear of such ports in the future as they are the only programs that seem to cause such problems - plus, they tend to have crappy (controller based) user interfaces.
(I have a controller btw, but again, this is just a temp diversion so I'm not going to spend time getting used to a controller only to have to go back to keyboard and mouse when GW2 is released.)
(I would have tried a demo which would have helped me avoid this by not buying this game, but I couldn't find one and so many people seemed to have such good things to say about it.)

Note to mods - the volume control issue appears to have no resolution at this time, so this thread could be closed.

Gill Halendt

Gill Halendt

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2008

I'm playing it with a 360 controller.

It works so much better with a gamepad I didn't even bother checking the mouse/keyboard combination.

While it's pretty much ok for me, I see where you're coming from. I'd expect a PC port to feature better controls with keyboard and mouse, which are the most common and obvious devices for this system.

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker View Post
OK.

No, I don't have the Logitech gaming software installed, just some of the LCD apps amd the key profiler (unless that's what you are referring to). And, no, according to other forums, it wouldn't help if I did. And, no, I'm not going to install it either, since I consider Skyrim to be an interim diversion and the problems are not worth screwing with my system to fix.

I use an ATI card with the latest (or maybe next-to-latest) drivers. I don't have any problems with the graphics, except perhaps that the crashes may be related to some driver.

Bottom line - the game is a console port. I'm not sure if many of the problems are directly related to this, but I will tend to stear clear of such ports in the future as they are the only programs that seem to cause such problems - plus, they tend to have crappy (controller based) user interfaces.
(I have a controller btw, but again, this is just a temp diversion so I'm not going to spend time getting used to a controller only to have to go back to keyboard and mouse when GW2 is released.)
(I would have tried a demo which would have helped me avoid this by not buying this game, but I couldn't find one and so many people seemed to have such good things to say about it.)

Note to mods - the volume control issue appears to have no resolution at this time, so this thread could be closed.
The Logitech Gaming Software won't hurt anything. In fact, it enhances a lot of things and it wouldn't hurt trying it.

Also, since you're using ATI with Skyrim, you should install and use this driver if you're on the 5xxx/6xxx series: http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...rformance.aspx

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarun View Post
The Logitech Gaming Software won't hurt anything. In fact, it enhances a lot of things and it wouldn't hurt trying it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker
And, no, according to other forums, it wouldn't help if I did.
In other words, others have tried that (or already have it installed) and it doesn't help.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarun
Also, since you're using ATI with Skyrim, you should install and use this driver if you're on the 5xxx/6xxx series: http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...rformance.aspx
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker
I don't have any problems with the graphics
HD4870 (until GW2 and/or the HD7xxx series are released)

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Even if it doesn't help, being able to program your G-keys is nice and very useful to have. My G110 - while lacking the screen - has 12 g-keys and some other nice extrasm which I can tune using the Logitech Gaming Software.

As far as the ATI card of yours, no, the drivers wouldn't benefit you at all since it's 5xxx/6xxx. On my 5970 I saw a nice FPS gain running Ultra in Skyrim. Literally doubled my FPS. I can't wait to see how well it runs with CrossFireX fixed.

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarun View Post
Even if it doesn't help, being able to program your G-keys is nice and very useful to have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker
No, I don't have the Logitech gaming software installed, just some of the LCD apps and the key profiler
Do you ever actually read my posts?

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker View Post
Do you ever actually read my posts?
Yeah I do read them and I'm unaware of anything else that lets you program the LCD or G-keys aside from the Logitech Gaming Software. So, care to explain how you have a key profiler and those LCD apps?

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Lol. Apparently, that must be what you mean when you say "Logitech Gaming Software". I thought it was something else. There were some things that came with the keyboard, that I didn't install.

And, anyway, if you actually did read my posts, you would have pointed that out instead of suggesting I install something I already have.

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

It's more of the confusion of the fact that it used to be called something else (which we probably still have on a cd) and I cannot recall the name for it. Their new software is really nice and makes things a breeze. Just wish they did better with updating profiles for games.

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Btw, I don't think the volume knob relies on the key profiler to work. But, if you were suggesting that I bind some G-keys to do volume functions - I haven't tried it, but from what I've read, that doesn't work either.
I have discovered that the volume roller still works on the Skyrim startup screen, which is usually about the point I remember to turn it up.

The more I play Skyrim, the less attractive it becomes. Too many glitches, bad animations, controls suck, targeting sucks. I don't think GW2 needs to worry.

Tarun

Tarun

Technician's Corner Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2006

The TARDIS

http://www.lunarsoft.net/ http://forums.lunarsoft.net/

Yeah I'm waiting for ATI 11.11c which will have CrossFireX working for my 5970 and to see if patch 1.2 has any issues that need sorting. I've heard that it has broken resistances among other things.