Configure character audio

Adjust character speech playback volume, enable spatial audio attenuation, and configure the interrupt fade duration on the Convai Chatbot component.

Character speech is played through UConvaiAudioStreamer, which extends Unreal Engine's UAudioComponent. All standard Unreal audio settings — volume multiplier, spatial audio, attenuation — are therefore available directly on the Convai Chatbot component in the Details panel alongside one Convai-specific property for interrupt fade behavior.

Default audio behavior

Setting	Default	Notes
Playback volume	1.0	Full volume. Controlled by the inherited Volume Multiplier in the Sound category.
Spatial audio	Disabled	AttenuationSettings is null — speech plays at the same volume regardless of distance.
Interrupt fade duration	Configurable	See Configure interrupt fade duration.

Adjust playback volume

1

Open the character Blueprint

Open the character Blueprint in the Blueprint editor.

2

Select the Convai Chatbot component

Select the Convai Chatbot component in the Components panel.

3

Expand the Sound section

In the Details panel, expand the Sound section (inherited from UAudioComponent).

4

Adjust the Volume Multiplier

Set Volume Multiplier to the desired level. 1.0 is full volume; 0.0 is silent.

To mute or unmute the character's speech at runtime from Blueprint, call SetVolumeMultiplier(0.0) or SetVolumeMultiplier(1.0) on the Convai Chatbot component reference. This adjusts playback volume only — it does not affect whether the character receives or processes speech.

Enable spatial audio

By default, character speech does not attenuate with distance. To add distance-based falloff:

1

Create a Sound Attenuation asset

In the Content Browser, right-click and select Sounds > Sound Attenuation. Name it (for example, SA_ConvaiCharacter). Open it and configure the attenuation shape, falloff distance, and volume curve to match your scene scale.

2

Assign the attenuation to the chatbot component

Open the character Blueprint and select the Convai Chatbot component. In the Details panel, expand the Attenuation section (inherited from UAudioComponent). Enable Override Attenuation and assign your SA_ConvaiCharacter asset.

3

Test the attenuation

Enter Play mode. Walk toward and away from the character. Speech volume should change with distance according to the falloff curve.

When spatial audio is working, the character's voice fades with distance. If the volume does not change, confirm that Override Attenuation is enabled on the component and that the attenuation asset's inner radius is smaller than your expected interaction distance.

Configure interrupt fade duration

When InterruptSpeech is called on UConvaiChatbotComponent, the character's speech fades out over a configurable duration rather than cutting off abruptly.

Property	Category	Description
InterruptVoiceFadeOutDuration	Convai	Seconds over which speech audio fades to silence when interrupted. Shorter values feel more responsive; longer values sound more natural.

To configure it, select the Convai Chatbot component and find Interrupt Voice Fade Out Duration in the Convai category of the Details panel. You can also override the fade duration per-call by passing InVoiceFadeOutDuration directly to InterruptSpeech in Blueprint — the per-call value takes precedence over the component default for that interruption.

Troubleshooting

Character speech is too quiet or inaudible

Symptom: The character's voice plays but is very quiet or cannot be heard at all.

Cause: Volume Multiplier on the chatbot component has been reduced below 1.0, or a spatial attenuation asset is configured with a falloff that drops to zero at short distances.

Fix: Select the Convai Chatbot component and check Volume Multiplier in the Sound category. Reset it to 1.0. If attenuation is enabled, review the attenuation curve and widen the inner and outer radii.

Verify: Enter Play mode and confirm the character's voice is audible at normal volume.

Character speech does not attenuate with distance

Symptom: The character is audible at the same volume regardless of the player's distance from it.

Cause: Spatial attenuation is disabled by default (AttenuationSettings = null).

Fix: Follow the Enable spatial audio steps above.

Verify: Walk toward and away from the character in Play mode and confirm volume changes with distance.

Speech cuts off instead of fading when interrupted

Symptom: When InterruptSpeech is called, the character's audio stops instantly with no fade.

Cause: InterruptVoiceFadeOutDuration is set to 0 or a very small value.

Fix: Select the Convai Chatbot component and increase Interrupt Voice Fade Out Duration in the Convai category.

Verify: Trigger InterruptSpeech during character speech and confirm the audio fades out over the configured duration.

Next steps

Configure conversation input