The Spatial Audio Temple demonstrates both the native spatialization approaches of Unreal Engine and a variety of technologies that take advantage of the engine’s support for third-party spatialization plugins. It is intended as a subtle and atmospheric experience; one that highlights the nuance possible with well-resolved spatialization technology.
It is a repurposing of our Sun Temple Map, chosen for its realistic architecture and materials (which we found useful in cases of demonstrating wave propagation).
We designed and implemented an ambient soundscape to bring the gentle seaside temple to life. A solo viola improvisation provides listeners with a focal sound, which you can reposition at runtime to hear the effects of spatialization, occlusion, and indirect wave propagation.
We also implemented a character controller with a first-person footstep system to provide the user with a listener-to-listener reference point for the soundscape.
Playing the Level
The player controller is set up in a typical first-person perspective. Move the mouse to rotate the camera, and use the WASD keys for navigation:
| Key | Movement |
|---|---|
| W | Forward |
| A | Left |
| S | Backward |
| D | Right |
The following map shows four important locations in the Level:
You'll start at location 4 in the map above.
Statues at the other locations act as emitters for the music. When you first play the Level, the music will be emitting from the statue at location 2.
Using the number keys at the top of your keyboard, you can control which emitter position is active. You can also mute the music.
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | Mute the music. |
| 1 | Play music from Statue One, which is located in the balcony area at the far end of the temple.  |
| 2 | Play music from Statue Two, which is located in the large interior chamber.  |
| 3 | Play music from Statue Three, which is located just inside the temple corridor. 
|
Use headphones for the best effect, as all of the third-party plugins output binaural stereo. However, the built-in audio is also effective in 7.1 surround sound.
Auditioning Plugins
By default, the Project is set to use Built-in spatialization plugin. You can change this setting to try the effects of spatialization plugins from other third-party vendors.
To audition any of the other plugins, use the following general procedure:
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Enable the third-party plugin you want to try.
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Specify the specific Spatialization, Reverb, and Occlusion plugins to use.
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Load the Level that is designed for use with the third-party plugin you chose.
Because the third-party plugins are so different in their approaches, we've designed separate Levels with different implementations.
See the following sections for step-by-step instructions.
Built-In Plugins
Steps
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With the project open, select Edit > Project Settings from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Platforms > Windows category, and find the Audio settings.
- Under Audio, load the Built-In set of plugins:
- Spatialization Plugin: Built-In Spatialization
- Reverb Plugin: Built-In Reverb
- Occlusion Plugin: Built-In Occlusion
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From the Content Browser, under Content > Maps, load the SunTempleNativeAudio map.
- Play the level.
Resonance Audio
Steps
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With the project open, select Edit > Plugins from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Built-In > Audio category.
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Enable the Resonance Audio plugin.
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Restart the editor when prompted.
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With the project open, select Edit > Project Settings from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Platforms > Windows category, and find the Audio settings.
- Under Audio, load the Resonance Audio set of plugins.
- Spatialization Plugin: Resonance Audio
- Reverb Plugin: Resonance Audio
- Occlusion Plugin: Built-In Occlusion
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From the Content Browser, under Content > Maps, load the SunTempleResonanceAudio map.
- Play the level.
Steam Audio
Steps
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With the project open, select Edit > Plugins from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Built-In > Audio category.
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Enable the Steam Audio plugin.
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Restart the editor when prompted.
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With the project open, select Edit > Project Settings from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Platforms > Windows category, and find the Audio settings.
- Under Audio, load the Steam Audio set of plugins.
- Spatialization Plugin: Steam Audio
- Reverb Plugin: Steam Audio
- Occlusion Plugin: Steam Occlusion
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From the Content Browser, under Content > Maps, load the SunTempleSteamAudio map.
- Play the level.
Oculus Audio
Steps
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With the project open, select Edit > Plugins from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Built-In > Audio category.
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Enable the Oculus Audio plugin.
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Restart the editor when prompted.
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With the project open, select Edit > Project Settings from the main menu.
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Navigate to the Platforms > Windows category, and find the Audio settings.
- Under Audio, load the Oculus Audio set of plugins.
- Spatialization Plugin: Oculus Audio
- Reverb Plugin: Oculus Audio
- Occlusion Plugin: Built-In Occlusion
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From the Content Browser, under Content > Maps, load the SunTempleOculusAudio map.
- Play the level.