A Whisper in the Shadows: The Enigmatic Cough of Civ 7’s Age Transition Camo
“During an Age Transition, players may hear unusual sounds,” 2K acknowledges.
Players of Civilization 7 report hearing coughing and grunting noises while attempting the game’s Age Transition feature – and now publisher 2K has recognized this issue.
A long reddit discussion on this topic includes instances of strange audio clips recorded by players – and yes, it appears that you might also distinctly hear something happening in the background, amidst the Age Transition menu’s soaring orchestral music.
“I initially thought maybe I had left a stream running or was somehow on a Discord call,” one player noted, “but I checked again and no. You can genuinely hear someone clearing their throat and coughing while the music plays. I’m not sure how this is happening, but it’s quite amusing if you ask me.”
Numerous examples shared on YouTube feature clips of characters grunting, or the sounds of sword fighting.
However, rather than the actual soundtrack of the game being interrupted by someone with a cough, 2K has mentioned that a more benign reason is likely at fault.
“During an Age Transition, players may hear unusual noises,” a 2K representative confirmed in a post on the official Civilization support forum. “This is likely due to audio from the Main Menu overlapping with the Age Transition screens.”
“This implies you might hear brief voice lines, shuffling sounds, and general idle noises while in the Age Transition menu.”
Various players report hearing audio from the leader they are playing as looping in the background, including murmurs and the rustling of clothing.
Earlier today, Firaxis issued a blog post recognizing Civilization 7’s mixed feedback from players thus far, pledging a series of updates aimed at addressing key community-requested enhancements and features.
These will include improvements to UI interactions and map clarity.