Watch, Listen: Minecraft Integrated With High Fidelity 3D Spatial Audio

Earphones on to hear a whole new way of experiencing Minecraft -- integrated with High Fidelity's 3D audio API. This not only makes it possible to talk with players around you on the same Minecraft server, but also experience the world itself in immersive audio, so when Creepers are groaning behind you, it will sound as if they are actually behind you, and when you're walking along a river, it'll sound like the river is literally right beside your computer, and so on: 

In a rather unconventional way, we managed to create a Minecraft mod which implements 3D spatial voice chat using High Fidelity's Spatial Audio API. While we think it's pretty cool, it only scratches the surface of what's possible.

Currently, the 3D audio space you connect to is hardcoded on modpack startup. It is possible to dynamically create spaces depending on what world or dimension the player is in.

Also, High Fidelity's spatial audio API can be used for more than just audio chat. It can also be used for music, ambient environmental sounds, procedural sounds, livestream recordings and probably lots of other ideas you may have!

All the details for doing so here from High Fidelity's Sabrina Shanman. Warning: Integration requires some special setup, but it should be fairly straightforward for anyone who already has their own Minecraft server.

"We really want people to understand that the API is crazy simple to use and has a ton of possible applications," as Ashleigh Harris of High Fidelity puts it to me. "We have people getting up and running with it in under 30 minutes."

Comments

[Adeon Writer]

Even if this were just "Fan adds voice chat to minecraft" it would be impressive, as Minecraft has none at all.

[Nodoka Hanamura]

That's nice.. but I feel that Philip has been overhyping High Fidelity. He's making it out to be this next best thing, when in reality it'd be better attuned to being a easy to implement 3D Audio service with an extensible API that could compete with systems like VIVOX and the sort.