How is Ambisonics meant to be used in UE?

[virtualHC]

@anonymous_user_91e79014

In my experience of working in VR, ambisonics are mainly useful for ambiences which don’t have to deal with the finer points of rotation, distance etc. like an air conditioning hum, or background traffic ambience etc. They behave oddly and I don’t think (though I could be wrong) that they’re supported in the way you’re trying to use them.

Mono files do spatialise really well, and you have to use mono for a point source that is then spatialised. The standard thing to do is simply to use a mono file, and then have it spatialised ambisonically within the engine.

Ambisonics indeed works better for ambient sounds since it’s hard to make it work for point sources that are intended for the user to approach and listen to from different distances, but I don’t believe it behaves oddly (unless not properly setup). Ambisonic sound fields do rotate and that is what actually produces amazing results paired with a VR headset since you can then simulate a diffuse field as it happens in reality. When I experience VR that neglects this (i.e. leaving the ambient sound completely non-responsive to head rotation) I notice it and find it to diminish the illusion of presence. This is what ambisonics is great for. I’ve recorded ambisonic soundscapes using a 2nd order microphone (OctoMic) and listening to them in VR, with proper headtracking and rotation, really gives you that “gut” intuitive response that makes you feel like you are in that place, including very defined sources at a distance (e.g. a duck flying and quacking and hitting branches a few meters away).