Plasma Rifle sound: let's discuss our favorites

The following post in the unpopular opinions thread got me thinking:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2525874

What is your favorite plasmagun sound for doom 2 maps, or other games?

For me, it is a tossup between original Doom 1-2 sound and Doom Zero replacement.

- Original sound is just so beefy and distinctive. It is perfect for unloading plasma salvos at monster crowds. Sounds almost like music! It is also a perfect sound cue for plasma-firing hell monsters, like arachnotrons or plasma-firing custom enemies.

- Doom Zero plasma sound is a middle ground between Quake 3 and Doom 1-2. It is less loud than the original sound, yet it manages to preserve the feel of original almost completely. I wish more mapsets were using something like Doom Zero replacement instead of puny Doom 3 plasma sound!

Bonus opinion

While OG Doom Plasma sound is the my favorite among official games, Doom Eternal's plasma rifle comes pretty close. I especially like how it sounds with heat blast weapon mod equipped. The charge up blips and Heat Surge-empowered plasma bolts add even more power to an already impactful sound of Eternal Plasmagun.

Definitely the original, no other sound has ever brought me a rush like it has.

For me it's gotta be the PSX Plasma gun sounds (reminds of the the laser guns in Terminator).

The plasma gun, much like the chainsaw is just too loud for me compared to the other sounds in the game. I'm a fan of anyone replacing it with something a bit softer - the Doom 3 one being a good example of this.

I like the PSX plasma rifle better than the original, the original while distinctive, sounds too loud and kinda weird for an energy weapon, at least Bobby Prince gave it a distinctive sound in comparison to sticking to a generic "laser blast" from the SFX library they were working with. 

Maybe it sounds hypocritical and the PSX plasma gun' sfx is actually a generic "sci-fi energy gun" but, its not as loud as the original plasma gun, so it doesn't drown out other sounds like those from active enemies and the projectiles sound like they're electrically charged, as plasma is supposed to be, ionized.

The Sunlust one, wherever it's originally from

I keep using the sound from Aliens.wad. It came from James Cameron's Aliens movie. It is particularly effective with a higher rate of fire & lower damage per bolt to keep things balanced...

Strongly agree on Eternal plasma rifle soumd. It has a nice amount of punch without it being too loud.

The PSX/Doom 64 plasma rifle sound is pretty good as well, but it's not satisfying at all.

1 hour ago, DuckReconMajor said:

The Sunlust one, wherever it's originally from

It's from Doom 3, if I remember correctly :-)

I love the Doom 3 one, not so much for the firing sound (which is fine), but the reloading sounds, so you get the clunk-clunk *dweeeeeeee* sound of it powering up.

My favorite Plasma Gun sound is when you play Vanilla/Chocolate Doom with like 3 sound effect channels, comes off as a lot more smooth and badass, the Plasma Gun sounds like earrape on every other source port.

Doom 3 for sure, I used to use a wad to replace the sound back in the day.

If it weren't for the bad loop of the original classic plasma, then it would be my favorite. Other than that, I really enjoy how smooth the Doom 3 plasma sounds. It's great for constant firing.

I think all of the Doom plasma guns sound awesome except for the Doom (2016) plasma gun, kinda sounds like a mix between the Doom 3 sound and white noise.

Doom 3's plaz is probably one of my favorites.

(That, and the Quake 2 hyperblaster, if that was to count)

Doom 3, without any hesitation.

But also my another favorite is Quake 3 one.

Doom 3.

5 hours ago, Stabbey said:

I love the Doom 3 one, not so much for the firing sound (which is fine), but the reloading sounds, so you get the clunk-clunk *dweeeeeeee* sound of it powering up.

That reload sound reminds me of old cameras that would make a similar noise between each picture taken. It is a satisfying sound.

Quake 3 with the bass boosted is awesome but the classic PR is my favorite version. It's too loud and harsh but it fits, it sounds powerful and almost primitive, kind of a rough draft or prototype before the BFG came around.

9 hours ago, Piper Maru said:

For me it's gotta be the PSX Plasma gun sounds (reminds of the the laser guns in Terminator).

The funny thing is, a longer version of this sound was used in Dwango5 a few months before PSX Doom came out. I’m convinced Aubrey snagged it from there! (Also I ageee that it’s a better plasma sound in general)

I was hoping there would be a comparison video between the PSX version of the plasma rifle and the original version, but alas, I was not able to find one. But here are the plasma rifles from the other games. It even includes the Brutal Doom and Project Brutality versions too.

As for me, I'd pick the Project Brutality Plasma Rifle sound. It's not extremely loud like the OG plasma rifle, but it still sounds beefy and powerful. Oh, and honorable mention goes to the plasma rifle sound from Dwango5. It's pretty satisfying to listen to.

3 minutes ago, Lizardcommando said:

I was hoping there would be a comparison video between the PSX version of the plasma rifle and the original version, but alas, I was not able to find one. But here are the plasma rifles from the other games. It even includes the Brutal Doom and Project Brutality versions too.

 

As for me, I'd pick the Project Brutality Plasma Rifle sound. It's not extremely loud like the OG plasma rifle, but it still sounds beefy and powerful.

Conveniently, the 64 uses the same sounds as PSX.

Quake 3 by a good margin.

Although with that said, I do love Doom 3 Plasma's reload sound. It's ASMR material.

PSX, Doom 3 & Quake 3. But I preferably use Doom 3 one in my personal sound replacement mod.

Doom 3 for the win.

In Elementalism I included an option for choosing between the classic plasma rifle sound, and the one from Doom 3.

In all the streams and recordings I've watched, I recall just one person opting for the original sound. Which says a lot really!

Hot take: Vanilla Plasma Rifle is too loud and sounds kinda unpleasant. PSX Doom did it right. 

Haha , thanks for creating a thread from my unpopular opinion !

For me , original plasma gun sound wins since I rarely play on Zdoom.

About custom ones, I love the cheesy one from Slugfest.wad. It feels a lot more like an alien gun. (see at 32:50 for the sound) 

I like the one that doesn't make threads about which sound iteration of it i like.

I like the cheesy one from Slugfest as well along with Doom Eternal and Project Brutality ones best. All three of them are fun, Eternal and PB's both have some beef to them and all three of them are a lot nicer on the old ears.

I made a D3PLSMA.wad to load alongside wads that keep original sound. Any replacement that lets you focus on other sounds is good in my book though.