Major audio improvements are coming in Season 6 of Fortnite – footsteps, Gliders, and more

Epic Games have announced that they will be implementing major changes to some of the audio when Season 6 launches in Fortnite Battle Royale.

The changes to audio in Fortnite will be implemented in two phases – some will be implemented right at the launch of Season 6, while other features will be added at some point during the season. 

The first set of changes, which will come as part of the v6.00 update, will improve footstep sounds and Glider audio tells.

Season 6 – v6.00

• Footstep sounds
  • More contrast between above/below steps. 
    • We want this to be easier to determine on the fly, especially while other sounds are playing (gunfire, harvesting, etc).
  • More high frequency audio content to improve your ability to pinpoint the location of steps, and to prevent them from getting drowned out during intense combat.
• Glider audio tells
  • Increased awareness when an enemy is gliding in your vicinity.
    • Doppler-based glider audio for incoming threats. This will create that “car passing by” effect when a player glides over top of you.
    • Improved spatialization of both skydiving and gliding players.
    • Ability to hear the open/close sounds of gliders from further away.

The next set of changes, which will be made during Season 6, will add audio tells for in-air movement options, as well as discover and address cases where sounds don’t play at all. 

During Season 6

• A system to add audio tells for in-air movement options (falling, Bouncers, Shockwave Grenades, etc).
  • In Fortnite there are a lot of options for players who want to send themselves flying through the air. We want to add sound to players as they fly.
  • This will provide additional tactical information and reduce cases where a player launches behind you without you knowing it.
  • Better info to help you predict where your enemy may approach from.
• Discover and address cases where sounds don’t play at all.
  • Due to the chaotic nature of the game, sometimes important cues fail to play or are lost in the mix. We’re working on identifying and fixing cases where this occurs.

In addition to these changes, Epic Games are looking into other audio features for Fortnite they can add and/or improve upon in the future.

Two features they are currently exploring are Sound Propogation, which would make how sound travels in Fortnite more like the real world, and Head-related transfer fucntion filtering, where sounds around players would be filtered to sound as if they’re passing through their bodies. 

• Read More: This ‘Custom Games’ menu concept for Fortnite would be an amazing addition to the game

Season 6 in Fortnite will launch on September 27, with a 400% Match XP promotion event announced from now until September 24 at 8 AM ET.