Voice chat and spatial audio

Empower your users to speak their minds. Read on for more information about Breakroom's spatial audio feature, as well as step-by-step instructions for disabling voice chat.

Overview

Voice chat is a key conference system function—but at Breakroom, we empower you to build your World, your way. On this page we'll review instructions for disabling voice chat when needed, as well as discuss the spatial audio feature and how it works.

The instructions provided in this section presume an advanced working knowledge of Breakroom. Please consult our documentation if you need help installing and positioning virtual objects, or editing the RoomFurniture component.

Disabling voice chat

There may be occasions where you want to disable voice chat on a Region-wide basis, or disable voice chat in an individual breakout area or voice zone.

Disabling voice chat for an entire Region

Pictured: VOIP options available through the Region Information window.

To disable voice chat entirely for a Region, follow these steps.

1. Log in to your Breakroom World and navigate your avatar to the Region you would like to edit.

2. Click the Region Information button located above the mini map.

3. Click the Edit button in the Permissions panel.

4. Scroll down to the section titled VOIP. Check the box next to the "VOIP is disabled in this Region" option.

5. Scroll down and click the Save button.

To restore voice chat to a muted Region, repeat the steps above and check the box next to the "VOIP is enabled for everyone by default" option.

Muting voice chat through the Region Information window will not remove the Microphone button from the conference system. However, the button will no longer work if clicked.

Disabling voice chat for a single voice zone

To disable all media sharing options in a voice zone (including voice chat, webcam, and screen sharing), follow the steps below.

Pictured: The RoomFurniture component for a Breakroom Voice Zone object, with the Zone Type property highlighted.

1. Log in to your Breakroom World and navigate your avatar to the Region you would like to edit.

2. Open the Region Editor by clicking the Edit Region button at the bottom of your screen.

3. Click the Objects Button to launch the Objects window.

4. In the Objects window, locate the Breakroom Breakout Area or Breakroom Voice Zone object you want to edit. (Tip: You can use the search field at the top of the window to search for a specific object.) Click on the object name to launch the Inspector window.

5. In the Inspector window, locate the RoomFurniture component. Expand this component by clicking the > arrow located to the left of its name.

6. In the Zone Type field, enter the word "silent."

7. Click the Reset Zones button to reset the conferencing system.

8. Click the Save button to store your changes.

After you have closed the Region Editor, leave the voice zone and then return to it. You will see that most of the media buttons are gone, and that the Microphone button is grayed out to indicate that it is inaccessible.

If you prefer, you can turn voice chat off while leaving other media sharing options available by editing the Zone Voice property located under the RoomFurniture component. However, if you have nested voice zones, users may still be able to hear and participate in voice chat from surrounding voice zones (including the Global voice zone).

Spatial audio

Pictured: An example of a voice zone boundary indicator. This user will need to move inside the boundary indicator if she wants to be heard by others in the breakout room.

Global voice zones have spatial audio set up by default. This means that a crowded virtual event will sound much like a similar event in "real life"—you'll be able to easily hear the people standing right next to you, while you may not be able to hear someone standing on the other side of the room. In a virtual world like Breakroom, this can initially confuse some users.

If you're having trouble hearing someone in voice chat even though you can see their avatar, make sure that you're both standing in the same voice zone. (If someone is standing in an auditorium voice zone, for example, and someone else is standing just outside of it, they will not be able to hear each other.) If you're both in the same voice zone, try moving closer together.

If you're still having trouble using voice chat, please consult our troubleshooting tips. If you want to edit the spatial distance for a specific breakout area or voice zone object, or turn off spatial audio altogether, please consult our RoomFurniture component documentation.