Ambience (also called ambience sounds or ambient sounds) are sounds that can be heard in specific conditions. They were created by C418 and Samuel Åberg. Currently, there are 136 different ambience sounds.
Ambience is divided into groups of ambience sounds that play under same condition/s. Currently, there are ''Cave'', ''Underwater'' and ''Nether'' ambiences.
In Java Edition, the volume of ambient sounds can be changed individually through "Music & Sounds" in the Options menu by changing the "Ambient/Environment" bar. However, this also affects the sounds of firework rockets and such.
All ambience can be played using the /playsound minecraft:<code name> command. All ambiences' code names start with ambient.<unique code name>.
Note that player needs to put into the command more variables than just name of the sounds. See playsound for more info.
Cave ambience
Cave ambience (eerie noises according to subtitles) is a set of sounds that occasionally play when the player is in proximity to a dark space. There are 19 different cave ambience sounds in total.
Cave ambience can be played in any dimension, and can be heard in both singleplayer and multiplayer.
Cave ambience may occur when the player is in the vicinity of an air block with a light level lower than 9, without lighting from the sky. In addition, it can be played in the void. The air block that actually plays the sound does not have to be sealed off from the player. There is an interval of several minutes before another sound can be played. When cave ambience is to play, one of the sounds is chosen randomly. Cave ambience can be used to locate caves, but can also serve as a warning that the area may be prone to hostile mob spawns.
Its code name is ambient.cave
| Name | Sound |
|---|---|
| Cave 1 | |
| Cave 2 | |
| Cave 3 | |
| Cave 4 | |
| Cave 5 | |
| Cave 6 | |
| Cave 7 | |
| Cave 8 | |
| Cave 9 | |
| Cave 10 | |
| Cave 11 | |
| Cave 12 | |
| Cave 13 | |
| Cave 14 | |
| Cave 15 | |
| Cave 16 | |
| Cave 17 | |
| Cave 18 | |
| Cave 19 |
Underwater ambience
Underwater ambience plays while the player's head is underwater. There are 22 different underwater ambience sounds in total.
They can be heard within a body of water of any size and in any dimension.
Underwater ambience is divided into 2 groups. "Loop" and "Loop Additions". Both of these plays indepently on each another while player is underwater. Additionally, "Loop Additions" are divided into 3 more groups.
Its code name is ambient.underwater.<group code name>
| Group | Info | Code Name |
|---|---|---|
| Loop | Plays in never-ending loop for as long as player is underwater | ambient.underwater.loop |
| Loop Additions | Plays commonly while player is underwater | ambient.underwater.loop.additions |
| Rare Loop Additions | Plays uncommonly while player is underwater | ambient.underwater.loop.additions.rare |
| Ultra Rare Loop Additions | Plays rarely while player is underwater | ambient.underwater.loop.additions.ultra_rare |
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Underwater Ambience | Loop | |
| Bubbles 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Bubbles 2 | ||
| Bubbles 3 | ||
| Bubbles 4 | ||
| Bubbles 5 | ||
| Bubbles 6 | ||
| Water 1 | ||
| Water 2 | ||
| Animal 1 | Rare Loop Additions | |
| Bass Whale 1 | ||
| Bass Whale 2 | File:Bass Whale 2.ogg | |
| Crackles 1 | ||
| Crackles 2 | ||
| Driplets 1 | ||
| Driplets 2 | ||
| Earth Crack | ||
| Animal 2 | Ultra Rare Loop Additions | |
| Dark 1 | ||
| Dark 2 | ||
| Dark 3 | ||
| Dark 4 |
Nether ambience
Nether ambience plays while the player is in the Nether. Each biome has its own unique ambience. There are 126 different nether ambience sounds in total.
Nether ambience is divided into three groups. "Loop", "Loop Additions", and "Mood." All of these plays independently on each other while the player is in the Nether.
Its code name is ambient.<biome>.<group code name>
| Group | Info | Code Name |
|---|---|---|
| Loop | Plays in never-ending loop for as long as player is in the biome | ambient.<biome>.loop |
| Loop Additions | Plays commonly while the player is in the biome | ambient.<biome>.additions |
| Mood | Plays once every 6000-17999 ticks while the player is in the biome | ambient.<biome>.mood |
Nether Wastes ambience
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Nether Wastes Ambience | Loop | |
| Nether Wastes Addition 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Nether Wastes Addition 2 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 3 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 4 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 5 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 6 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 7 | ||
| Nether Wastes Addition 8 | ||
| Nether Wastes Dark 1 | ||
| Nether Wastes Dark 2 | ||
| Nether Wastes Ground 1 | ||
| Nether Wastes Ground 2 | ||
| Nether Wastes Ground 3 | ||
| Nether Wastes Ground 4 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 1 | Mood | |
| Nether Wastes Mood 2 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 3 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 4 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 5 |
Crimson Forest ambience
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Crimson Forest Ambience | Loop | |
| Crimson Forest Addition 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Crimson Forest Addition 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Addition 3 | ||
| Crimson Forest Particles 1 | ||
| Crimson Forest Particles 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Particles 3 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shine 1 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shine 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shine 3 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shroom 1 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shroom 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Shroom 3 | ||
| Crimson Forest Twang 1 | ||
| Crimson Forest Voom 1 | ||
| Crimson Forest Voom 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Mood 1 | Mood | |
| Crimson Forest Mood 2 | ||
| Crimson Forest Mood 3 | ||
| Crimson Forest Mood 4 |
Warped Forest ambience
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Warped Forest Ambience | Loop | |
| Warped Forest Addition 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Warped Forest Addition 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Addition 3 | ||
| Warped Forest Addition 4 | ||
| Warped Forest Addition 5 | ||
| Warped Forest Addition 6 | ||
| Warped Forest Enish 1 | ||
| Warped Forest Enish 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Enish 3 | ||
| Warped Forest Help 1 | ||
| Warped Forest Help 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Here 1 | ||
| Warped Forest Here 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Here 3 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 1 | Mood | |
| Warped Forest Mood 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 3 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 4 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 5 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 6 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 7 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 8 | ||
| Warped Forest Mood 9 | ||
| Warped Forest Creak 1 | ||
| Warped Forest Creak 2 | ||
| Warped Forest Creak 3 | ||
| Warped Forest Creak 4 | ||
| Warped Forest Creak 5 |
Soul Sand Valley ambience
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Soulsand Valley Ambience | Loop | |
| Soulsand Valley Sand 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Soulsand Valley Sand 2 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Sand 3 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Voices 1 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Voices 2 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Voices 3 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Voices 4 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Voices 5 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 1 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 2 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 3 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 4 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 5 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 6 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 7 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Whisper 8 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Wind 1 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Wind 2 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Wind 3 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Wind 4 | ||
| Soulsand Valley With 1 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Mood 1 | Mood | |
| Soulsand Valley Mood 2 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Mood 3 | ||
| Soulsand Valley Mood 4 |
Basalt Deltas ambience
| Name | Sound | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Basalt Deltas Ambience | Loop | |
| Basalt deltas active 1 | Loop Additions | |
| Basalt deltas active 2 | ||
| Basalt deltas active 3 | ||
| Basalt deltas active 4 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Basalt Ground 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Basalt Ground 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Basalt Ground 3 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Basalt Ground 4 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 3 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 4 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 5 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 6 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 7 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Click 8 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Debris 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Debris 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Debris 3 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Heavy Click 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Heavy Click 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Long Debris 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Long Debris 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Plode 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Plode 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Plode 3 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Twist 1 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Twist 2 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Twist 3 | ||
| Basalt Deltas Twist 4 | ||
| Soul Sand Valley Wind 1 | ||
| Soul Sand Valley Wind 2 | ||
| Soul Sand Valley Wind 3 | ||
| Soul Sand Valley Wind 4 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 1 | Mood | |
| Nether Wastes Mood 2 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 3 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 4 | ||
| Nether Wastes Mood 5 |
History
| alpha | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.3 | Added 13 different cave ambient sounds. | ||||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.2.1 | 12w07a | The map format was updated to the Anvil format, which now allows ambience to be heard in multiplayer. | |||
| Cave Ambience was known to play only in 3×3×3 spaces or larger, but it's been heard playing in spaces of smaller size. | |||||
| 1.9 | 15w43a | Added cave sound 14. | |||
| 1.10 | pre2 | Added cave sounds 15 and 16. | |||
| 1.12 | 17w13a | Added cave sounds 17 and 18. | |||
| 1.13 | 18w02a | Added cave sound 19. | |||
| 18w10a | Added 22 different underwater ambient sounds. | ||||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.16 | 20w10a | Added 95 different nether ambient sounds for the nether wastes, crimson forest, warped forest and soul sand valley. | |||
| 20w12a | New mood detection algorithm for cave ambience. Two factors increase the mood gradually: Being underground and being in low light levels. The mood works by increasing or decreasing the percentage between 0% and 100%, and when it reaches 100%, cave ambience plays. Percentage can be seen in the debug screen. | ||||
| 20w15a | Added 31 new ambient sounds for the basalt deltas. | ||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Ambience", "Cave ambience", "Underwater ambience", or "Nether ambience" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
Cave 14 viewed in a spectrogram.
- When "Cave 14" is viewed in a spectrogram, it appears to show the face of a creeper.
- Ambience still shows up in the subtitles even when turned off.
- Some Warped Forest additions appear to depict endermen.
- Some Basalt Delta clicks appear to be a geiger counter.
See also