Hi all! I’m the creator of Stormcaller Lite, a free pack of 28 lightning / spell sounds (charge, cast, bolt, impact, chain lightning, layered strikes, shield, thunder, spell UI, plus 2 seamless loops). Here’s how I’d wire it up in UE so the sounds don’t get repetitive.
- Import settings
- The files are 48 kHz / 24-bit stereo WAV. Drag the folders into the Content Browser and keep the folder structure (01_charge, 03_bolt, 04_impact …).
- For one-shots you’ll spatialize (bolts, impacts, shield hits), consider making mono copies before import. 3D spatialization works best on mono sources, and mono uses half the memory.
- Keep thunder, the layered strikes and the two *_loop files stereo if you use them as 2D or ambient sounds.
- Loops: set Looping on the Sound Wave (or loop inside the MetaSound). They’re cut to loop seamlessly.
- Loading: short UI/impact sounds can stay on the default loading behavior. Set the long loops/thunder to Retain on Load or stream them, depending on your memory budget.
- MetaSound random selection with pitch/volume variation
- Create a MetaSound Source with an input “Play” trigger.
- Wave Asset array input → Random Get (WaveAsset:Array). Fill the array with e.g. bolt_fire_01, spark_shot_01, zap_hit_01. Set “No Repeats” to 1 so the same file doesn’t play twice in a row.
- Random (Float) node, range -2..+2 semitones → the Wave Player’s Pitch Shift input (in semitones).
- A second Random (Float), 0.8..1.0 → multiply the Wave Player output (volume variation).
- Wave Player On Finished → On Finished output.
- A small range (±1–2 semitones, -2 dB) is enough for rapid-fire spells. For big strikes (strike_full_01..03), use less pitch (±1) so they keep their weight.
- Attenuation / distance falloff suggestions (starting points; tune for your scale)
- Small zaps / spark_shot / UI-adjacent hits: inner radius 200 uu, falloff 1500 uu, natural sound falloff.
- Bolt impacts / shock_impact / chain lightning: inner 400, falloff 4000.
- Layered strikes + thunder_close: inner 1000, falloff 10000+. Add a low-pass over distance (air absorption) so far strikes sound dull, and use thunder_distant_01 for really far strikes instead of just attenuating the close one.
- Loops (static crackle / storm aura) on a character: inner 150, falloff 1200, so they read as “this unit is charged” rather than global ambience.
- Spell UI sounds (cooldown ready, spell select): 2D / no attenuation.
Free download (WAV + OGG): Stormcaller Lightning SFX - FREE Lite: 28 Sounds (WAV+OGG, Godot/Unity) by yetiancai
License (summary): royalty-free in unlimited commercial and non-commercial games and other projects. You can edit, layer, pitch, loop and ship the sounds inside your finished game. Credit (“Sound by yetiancai”) is appreciated but not required. You may not resell or redistribute the sounds as-is (or lightly edited) as a pack, or register them with Content ID. Full text is in LICENSE.txt in the download.
AI disclosure: Sounds are synthesized by code written with AI assistance. AI tool: Grok Bot coding assistant (used only to write the synthesis code; current version as of Oct 2026). This post was drafted with AI assistance.
Happy to answer questions about the MetaSound setup. And if a sound you need for a spell system is missing, tell me.