
Your audio settings in Windows will be the basis for everything else. Moreover, on vertical maps such as Nuke and Vertigo, the direction sound can be very confusing and it takes a trained ear to recognize where the footsteps are headed on these maps. However, keep in mind that these can also be used to bait you by making sound on a certain texture or spot on purpose to trick you into predicting a certain play or rotation, only to slowly make their way to another unexpected spot. Consequently, these audio cues are very powerful indications as to someone’s position. Someone running on metal will sound different from someone stomping on wood or gravel. Secondly, the sound of players running will change depending on the floor texture. Try to spot the exact moment where someone’s footsteps become audible to players and pay attention to the locations on a map where players start walking. Another good method to get familiar with these positions is by watching demos or pro games with x-ray enabled. This means that you will have to figure out on your own how far you can run until your enemies will hear you, mostly through trial and error. While this gives a general indication of just how far sound will travel, it won’t be that useful to you in-game. The only soundless action that can be undertaken in CSGO is walking, which consequently is a very strong part of your toolkit in clutch situations or surprising flanks. Generally, you must assume that any sound you make will travel for a little over 1000 units, or about 83 feet/25 meters.

Be aware of this in your decision-making, as any of these cues will give very valuable information to the enemy team. For example, the sound of someone running will travel further than the sound of someone scoping with their AWP. Before we get into the technical stuff, let’s take a look at some of the things you must realize to take full advantage of this information.įirst of all, different sounds will travel to different distances. Consequently, the quality and accuracy of these auditory cues are of crucial importance.

How Studio Works In-GameĬSGO boasts its own positional audio simulation and allows you to determine an enemy’s position with pinpoint accuracy by hearing alone.

In this guide, we look at some of the ways in which you can make sure that you are getting the most accurate and expansive auditory information in CSGO. Consequently, getting your audio settings right will help you construct the vital foundation needed to build your in-game skills. You may have the highest skill level in the world, if you are being fed the wrong information, you will come to the wrong conclusions and make the wrong choices. Just like training artificial intelligence, the ‘garbage in, garbage out’ principle fully applies to competitive gaming.
