The Environmental FX package augments the functionality of WA 3D Audio by simulating the acoustical interactions that occur in the natural world. These effects provide stunningly realistic recreations, above and beyond that possible with just 3D positional control. Simulating reverberation is essential for establishing the spatial context of an auditory scene. Reverberation gives information about the size and character of the surrounding space, it is very useful for correctly perceiving distances, and it adds greatly to the realism of the simulation.
Distance cues Distance cues allow the listener to determine the proximity of the sound.
An important distance cue is the loudness of background reverberation relative to the loudness of the foreground sounds. When the object is approaching the listener, the pitch is higher than the resting pitch of the object, and when the object is receding, the pitch is lower. Air absorption Air absorption occurs when sound propagates through air, some high frequency energy is absorbed by the air. This phenomenon can be audible for distant sounds. Object occlusion Object occlusion happens when a sound source is occluded by another object, such as a pillar, this causes an audible attenuation of the sound, particularly at high frequencies.