Build a Map
Sound & music
Players have their own volume sliders in Settings, Audio: Master, Music, SFX, Ambience, Dialog, TV and media, and Voice. Your map's sounds can follow them, so a player who turns music down also turns down the music in your world.
Why it matters
A sound that is not connected to a slider only follows Master. If your map plays loud music and a player has Music turned down, they still hear yours at full volume, and the only way to quiet it is to quiet the whole game. Connecting it takes one click.
Placed sounds
- Drag a sound into your level. Unreal places it as an Ambient Sound.
- Select it and find VR Realms in the Details panel.
- Set Volume slider to Music, SFX, Ambience, Dialog or TV / Media.
Select several sounds to set them all at once. Not connected puts a sound back on Master only. The Play and Stop buttons in the Sound section still preview it as usual.
Which slider to pick
| Slider | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Music | Background songs, a radio, a DJ booth |
| SFX | Doors, buttons, pickups, impacts, game sounds |
| Ambience | Wind, rain, crowd murmur, machine hum, birds |
| Dialog | Voice lines, narration, announcers |
| TV / Media | Sound that belongs with a video or screen you built yourself |
The ready made TV screens and jukeboxes are already connected. You do not need to do anything for those.
Sounds played from a Blueprint
If a Blueprint plays the sound, connect it with Unreal's own fields. Set the sound asset's Sound Class to cover it everywhere it plays, or set Sound Class Override on an Audio Component to cover just that component. Pick one from /Game/VRRealms/Sounds/: SC_Music, SC_SFX, SC_Ambience, SC_Dialog or SC_Media.
Those files come with the kit so you have something to pick. They never go into your pak. In game your sound links to the real slider.
Your own volume still works
Volume Multiplier, attenuation, fades and anything your Blueprint does to volume all behave as normal. The player's slider multiplies on top: a sound you set to half volume plays at a quarter when the player has Music at half.
Checking your map
When you pick your map in the Workshop panel, validation lists every placed sound that is still on Master only. It is advice and never stops a build.
Do not make your own Sound Class
A Sound Class you create yourself ignores every player slider, Master included, so nobody can turn it down. Use the ones in /Game/VRRealms/Sounds/ instead.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| No Volume slider in Details | Update the kit. The row only appears on Ambient Sounds; for Blueprints use Sound Class Override |
No /Game/VRRealms/Sounds/ folder | Update the kit, or pick a slider once on any Ambient Sound and the kit adds it |
| The slider does nothing in game | The sound is Not connected, or uses a Sound Class from somewhere other than /Game/VRRealms/Sounds/ |
| Too quiet in game | Check your own Volume Multiplier and attenuation first; the slider only ever makes it quieter |