Simple Voice Mechanics

Realistic mob reactions to voice in Minecraft. Uses Simple Voice Chat for dynamic audio detection with volume and distance-based behavior.

Features

• Real-time Audio Analysis: Opus decoding with dB calculation
• Dynamic Range: Louder voices heard from further away (40%-220% of base range)
• Environmental Modifiers: Biome & time-based acoustics (caves echo, forests dampen, night = more sensitive)
• Vanilla+ Acoustics: Rain, sneaking, wool, carpet, and solid blocks muffle voice
• Mob Group Alerts: Hostile mobs call reinforcements (zombies summon hordes, wolves hunt in packs)
• Natural Behavior: Probabilistic reactions, cooldowns, eye contact, investigation before attacks
• 4 Mob Categories: Hostile (attack), Neutral (look), Peaceful (look/flee/follow), Warden (anger system)
• Sculk Sensors: Per-sensor voice activation on loud voices

Mob Behavior

Category	Reaction	Threshold	Special Features
Hostile	Investigate/Attack	-40 dB	Last heard location, then targeting and alerts
Neutral	Look (8s)	-35 dB	60% reaction chance
Peaceful	Look (10s)	-30 dB	Flee at >-20 dB, Follow with temptation item
Warden	Anger +15-60	-20 dB	Volume & distance dependent
Sculk	Activate	-20 dB	Only on loud voices

Peaceful Mobs Details:

• Normal speaking: Look at player
• Loud speaking (>-20 dB): Flee 3 blocks away
• Sneaking + Speaking + Eye contact + temptation item: Follow for 60s

Environmental Effects

Environment	Range Modifier	Sensitivity	Example
Cave + Night	~2.0x	-13 dB	VERY DANGEROUS - Mobs hear whispers from far away
Forest + Day	0.75x	+3 dB	Safer - Vegetation dampens sound
Nether	1.3x	Normal	Sound carries in open spaces
Mountain + Night	1.56x	-8 dB	Sound echoes across peaks

Mob Group Alerts:

• Zombies: Call 5 allies within 16 blocks → Horde attack
• Wolves: Alert pack within 20 blocks → Coordinated hunt
• Piglins: Summon group within 18 blocks → Group combat

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.18+ (Paper or compatible)
• Java 17+
• Simple Voice Chat Plugin

Note: Sculk Sensors require Minecraft 1.19+

Installation

1. Install Simple Voice Chat
2. Place SimpleVoiceMechanics JAR in plugins/ folder
3. Restart server
4. Adjust plugins/SimpleVoiceMechanics/config.yml as needed

Configuration

Global Settings

detection:
  max-range: 16.0
  min-range: 2.0
  falloff-curve: 1.0        # 0.5-2.0 (0.5=linear, 2.0=steep)

Environmental Modifiers

environmental-modifiers:
  biome-modifiers:
    enabled: true           # Caves echo, forests dampen
  time-modifiers:
    enabled: true           # Night = 30% more range, 8 dB more sensitive
  weather-modifiers:
    enabled: true           # Rain/thunder muffle voice

Vanilla+ Acoustic Modifiers

detection:
  sneaking-reduction:
    enabled: true
    decibel-reduction: 6.0  # Sneaking makes voice quieter, not silent
  obstruction-muffling:
    enabled: true
    max-db-reduction: 18.0
    wool-db-reduction: 12.0
    solid-block-db-reduction: 4.0

Sculk Sensor Range

sculk-hearing:
  volume-threshold-db: -20.0
  range-offset: 0.0        # Added to each sensor's vanilla listener range
  min-range: 2.0

range-offset is signed: 0.0 keeps vanilla sensor range, positive values extend it, and negative values reduce it.

Voice-triggered sculk behavior uses a vanilla game event from the speaker position after plugin checks pass, so vanilla handles the sensor activation and vibration particle.

Mob Group Alerts

mob-hearing:
  hostile-mobs:
    group-alert:
      enabled: true
      only-after-targeting: true
      max-alerts: 5         # Max mobs to summon per detection
      ranges:
        zombie: 16.0        # Horde radius
        wolf: 20.0          # Pack radius
        piglin: 18.0        # Group radius

Per-Category Settings

peaceful-mobs:
  enabled: true
  volume-threshold-db: -30.0
  max-range: 8.0
  natural-behavior:
    reaction-chance: 0.7    # 70% reaction probability
    look-duration: 10       # Look duration in seconds
    reaction-cooldown: 3    # Cooldown between reactions
  flee-behavior:
    enabled: true
    flee-volume-db: -20.0
    flee-distance: 3.0
    flee-duration: 3
  follow-when-sneaking:
    enabled: true
    require-tempt-item: true
    require-eye-contact: true
    eye-contact-range: 4.0
    eye-contact-memory: 5
    duration: 60
    max-distance: 12.0
  blacklist: []             # Exclude EntityTypes

Volume Scale (dB)

• -60 dB: Whispering
• -40 dB: Normal speaking (Default Hostile)
• -30 dB: Quiet to normal (Default Peaceful)
• -20 dB: Loud speaking (Default Warden/Sculk)
• -10 dB: Shouting

Commands

• /simplevoicemechanics reload - Reload config
• /simplevoicemechanics toggle <hostile|neutral|peaceful|warden|sculk> - Toggle category
• /simplevoicemechanics status - Show current config

Aliases: /svm, /voicemechanics, /voicelistener, /vl

Permissions

• simplevoicemechanics.admin (default: op)
• simplevoicemechanics.bypass (default: false)

Legacy aliases voicelistener.admin and voicelistener.bypass are still accepted for existing servers.

Preset Examples

Stealth Server

hostile-mobs:
  volume-threshold-db: -50.0  # Whispers detected
  max-range: 24.0
  falloff-curve: 0.8
environmental-modifiers:
  biome-modifiers:
    enabled: true             # Caves are extra dangerous
  time-modifiers:
    enabled: true             # Nights are terrifying

Action Server

hostile-mobs:
  volume-threshold-db: -25.0  # Only loud speaking
  max-range: 12.0
  falloff-curve: 1.5
  group-alert:
    enabled: true
    max-alerts: 8             # Larger mob groups!

Warden Extreme Challenge

warden:
  volume-threshold-db: -60.0  # Hears everything!
  max-range: 32.0
  falloff-curve: 0.5

Hardcore Survival

environmental-modifiers:
  biome-modifiers:
    enabled: true
  time-modifiers:
    enabled: true
mob-hearing:
  hostile-mobs:
    volume-threshold-db: -50.0
    group-alert:
      enabled: true
      max-alerts: 10          # Massive hordes!

Gameplay Examples

Cave Exploration at Night:

• Biome: Cave (1.5x range, -5 dB)
• Time: Night (1.3x range, -8 dB)
• Combined: ~2x range, -13 dB more sensitive
• Result: Whispering attracts zombies from far away. 1 zombie calls 5 more → 6 zombies attack!

Forest Stealth (Day):

• Biome: Forest (0.75x range, +3 dB)
• Time: Day (normal)
• Combined: 0.75x range
• Result: Vegetation dampens sound. Normal speaking is safe.

Nether Fortress:

• Biome: Nether (1.3x range)
• Mobs: Piglins (18 block alert)
• Result: 1 Piglin hears you → alerts 5 nearby Piglins → coordinated group attack

Rainy Night:

• Rain reduces voice range and makes detection harder
• Sneaking lowers voice impact further
• Wool or carpet between speaker and listener can prevent sculk-style detection

Hostile Investigation:

• First normal voice detection sends hostile mobs to the last heard position
• Repeated, close, or very loud voice escalates to direct targeting
• Group alerts happen after targeting by default

Debug Options

debug:
  audio-logging: false
  range-logging: false
  detection-logging: false
  warden-logging: false
  sculk-logging: false
  peaceful-logging: false
  environmental-logging: false
  group-alert-logging: false

Technical Details

Detection Flow:

1. Audio packet received → Decode Opus → Calculate dB
2. Apply acoustic modifiers (biome, time, weather, sneaking)
3. Check category threshold → Calculate effective range
4. Probability-based detection → Natural behavior check
5. Apply cheap obstruction muffling for viable listeners
6. Execute action (Investigate/Attack/Look/Flee/Follow)
7. If hostile targeting escalates, alert nearby allies

Formulas:

Effective Range = Config Range × Biome Mult × Time Mult × (1.0 + (dB - Threshold) / 25.0)
Capped: 0.5× to 2.5×

Detection Probability = (1 - normalized_distance)^falloff_curve
100% at ≤ min-range, 0% at ≥ max-range

Mob Alerts = Dynamic (1-5 based on distance, closer = more alerts)

API Usage

@EventHandler
public void onVoiceDetected(VoiceDetectedEvent event) {
    Player player = event.getPlayer();
    double decibels = event.getDecibels();
    // Custom logic
}

// Access config
ConfigManager config = plugin.getConfigManager();
double threshold = config.getHostileVolumeThresholdDb();
boolean biomeMods = config.isBiomeModifiersEnabled();

// New utility classes
Biome biome = location.getBlock().getBiome();
double rangeMultiplier = BiomeModifier.getRangeMultiplier(biome);
boolean isNight = TimeModifier.isNight(world);
boolean isSocial = MobGroupAlert.isSocialMob(EntityType.ZOMBIE);

Developer API

Other plugins can integrate through the Bukkit service API:

import de.tecca.simplevoicemechanics.api.HookPriority;
import de.tecca.simplevoicemechanics.api.MobReactionType;
import de.tecca.simplevoicemechanics.api.SimpleVoiceMechanicsApi;
import org.bukkit.Location;
import org.bukkit.plugin.RegisteredServiceProvider;
import org.bukkit.plugin.java.JavaPlugin;

public final class RegionVoiceBridge extends JavaPlugin {

    private SimpleVoiceMechanicsApi voiceApi;

    @Override
    public void onEnable() {
        RegisteredServiceProvider<SimpleVoiceMechanicsApi> provider =
                getServer().getServicesManager().getRegistration(SimpleVoiceMechanicsApi.class);

        if (provider == null) {
            getLogger().warning("SimpleVoiceMechanics API is not available");
            return;
        }

        voiceApi = provider.getProvider();
        voiceApi.registerMobReactionHook(this, HookPriority.NORMAL, context -> {
            if (context.getReactionType() == MobReactionType.HOSTILE_TARGET
                    && isInProtectedRegion(context.getPlayer().getLocation())) {
                context.setCancelled(true);
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public void onDisable() {
        if (voiceApi != null) {
            voiceApi.unregisterHooks(this);
        }
    }

    private boolean isInProtectedRegion(Location location) {
        return false;
    }
}

Available service hooks:

• registerDetectionHook can cancel voice mechanics or adjust effective dB before normal processing.
• registerMobReactionHook can cancel specific mob reactions such as hostile targeting, invisible-player investigation, group alerts, fleeing, following, or Warden anger.
• registerSculkActivationHook can cancel individual sculk sensor activations.

Players with simplevoicemechanics.bypass do not trigger mob or sculk voice mechanics. The legacy voicelistener.bypass permission still works.

Building

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/SimpleVoiceMechanics.git
cd SimpleVoiceMechanics
mvn clean package

License

MIT License

Credits

• Audio calculation adapted from Simple Voice Chat (henkelmax)
• Built for Paper
• SimpleVoiceChat API
• Environmental acoustics inspired by real-world sound propagation