How spatial audio works
Voices get louder as you walk closer, just like real life.
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How does spatial audio work in flat.social?
Spatial audio means you hear people based on where they are. Someone right next to you comes through at full volume; someone across the room fades to nothing. Walk up to a group and you can hear them, step away and you can have a private word. It works the way sound does in a real room.
What is spatial audio?
Spatial audio is sound that changes with distance and direction. In flat.social, a voice is loudest when you stand close to that person, gets quieter as you move away, and pans to your left or right depending on which side they are on.
How distance changes the volume
Flat.social maps volume to how far apart two avatars stand. Up close, around 5 metres, you hear someone at full volume. As the gap grows their voice drops, and by about 15 metres it fades to silence. Direction matters too: a person on your right sounds like they are on your right, with left and right stereo panning that helps you tell voices apart in a crowd.
That falloff is what lets a dozen conversations share one room without everyone talking over each other.
How to use it: join, mingle, step away
Picture a networking event. You spot two people chatting near a plant. Walk over and their voices rise as you arrive, so you slip into the conversation naturally. When you want a quiet one-on-one, walk to an open corner together and the room noise drops away.
- To join a chat: walk up until you can hear the group clearly.
- To leave one: walk a few metres away and the voices fade.
- For privacy: find an empty area, or a zone the host has set up to isolate audio.
Hosts can build rooms with areas that keep audio inside them, like a private booth. Step into one and the rest of the room can't hear you, even if they're close on the map.
Can't hear someone you're standing next to? Check your speaker and their mic before assuming distance is the problem. See Spatial audio issues.