Will it ever be possible to engineer players voices into an actual multiplayer game environment?

Submitted by ThoughtsAtRandom t3_zzkjnq in gaming

I listen to proximity chat in games like Warzone and wonder if we will ever reach a point where a person no longer sounds like they’re just a voice over the speakers, but rather actually within the game environment with actual depth effects and sound reflections - all in high fidelity. If you’re in a house and your opponent is on the second floor, their voice actually sounds muffled like it’s coming from the floor above you. If you’re in an open field, in a canyon, in a parking garage, in a sewer: same thing. If they’re close, they sound like they’re close. If they’re far, they sound like they’re far. No different than in real life.

Just wondering if anyone knows about games that already employ this or if there is tech aiming to do this.

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___Paladin___ t1_j2c5xw0 wrote

We've definitely had the tech to do this as early as 2005. Probably earlier. The trick is justifying the time and money to do it since people will buy a game even if it doesn't have it.

I could see it gaining prominence and implementation if people start caring about it more.

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Chipdip88 t1_j2c74bd wrote

Why would I want to hear the muffled voice of a 12 year old telling me that he fucked my momma last night? I think I can live without that bullshit.....

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Hanzo_The_Ninja t1_j2c8bhu wrote

This is far more processor intensive than you realize. For example if you have five players in a game, each in different areas with unique materials and sound reflections (eg: upstairs, ground floor, basement, backyard, and front yard) that are all shouting out to one another, then you have to apply precise filter and reverb/echo effects to twenty audio streams in realtime. This is achievable but the processor cost can quickly get out of hand. And how do you deal with audio input lag?

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DefiantDeviantArt t1_j2carwd wrote

I wish we could upload voices of well known people or your own to in-game characters. That would be fun.

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