ValheimProxChat - Proximity Voice Chat for Valheim

A free, open-source BepInEx mod that adds proximity-based voice chat to Valheim. Talk to nearby players using your microphone — the closer they are, the louder you hear them.

Features

• Proximity-based voice: Volume scales with distance — full volume when close, fading to silence at max range
• Push-to-talk or voice activation: Choose your preferred input mode
• Configurable range: Set the maximum voice distance and fade curve
• Visual indicators: See who's speaking with on-screen icons above players
• Microphone level display: Real-time volume bar shows your mic input level
• Low bandwidth: Mu-law compression reduces audio data by 50% with minimal quality loss
• Low latency: 20ms transmit interval with immediate playback — no pre-buffering delay
• No external servers: All voice data travels through Valheim's built-in networking (ZRoutedRpc)
• Live config reload: Edit the .cfg file while playing — changes apply instantly
• Low bandwidth mode: Optional setting for players on slower or overseas connections
• Fully configurable: Adjust sample rate, volume, distances, keybinds, and more via BepInEx config

Requirements

• Valheim (Steam version)
• BepInEx 5 (Denikson's BepInExPack for Valheim)
• A working microphone (for transmitting; listen-only works without one)
• All players in the session need this mod installed

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Install BepInEx 5 for Valheim
2. Download the latest ValheimProxChat.dll from Releases
3. Place ValheimProxChat.dll into your Valheim/BepInEx/plugins/ folder
4. Launch Valheim

Thunderstore (r2modman)

1. Open r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager
2. Search for "ValheimProxChat"
3. Click Install

Multiplayer Notes

• All players who want to use voice chat must have the mod installed. Players without it are unaffected.
• No extra ports or servers needed — voice data travels over Valheim's existing game connection.
• All clients should run the same version of ValheimProxChat to avoid packet format mismatches.
• No server-side installation required — the mod is client-side only.

Configuration

After first launch, a config file is created at:

Valheim/BepInEx/config/com.valheimproxchat.mod.cfg

Config changes are applied live — just save the file and they take effect immediately, no restart needed.

Audio Settings

Setting	Default	Description
MaxVoiceDistance	50	Maximum hearing distance (meters)
FadeStartDistance	5	Distance where volume starts fading
MicrophoneBoost	1.5	Mic input multiplier (1.0 = no boost)
OutputVolume	2.0	Playback volume gain (applied to audio samples, not clamped to 1.0)
SampleRate	16000	Audio quality (8000/16000/22050 Hz)
MicrophoneDevice	(empty)	Specific mic device name, or empty for default
ReverbMix	0.0	Valheim reverb zone mix (0.0 = no reverb, 1.0 = full)

Input Settings

Setting	Default	Description
PushToTalk	true	Require holding a key to transmit
PushToTalkKey	v	Key to hold (Unity KeyCode name)
VoiceActivation	false	Auto-transmit when you speak
VoiceActivationThreshold	0.01	Minimum level to trigger voice activation

Network Settings

Setting	Default	Description
TransmitInterval	0.02	Seconds between voice packets (20ms)
LowBandwidthMode	false	Forces 8000Hz / 100ms for slower connections (~8 KB/s)

UI Settings

Setting	Default	Description
ShowSpeakingIndicator	true	Show icon above speaking players
ShowVoiceRange	false	Debug: show voice range circle

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 6.0+
• Valheim installed with BepInEx 5 (Denikson pack)

Build Steps

1. Clone this repository
2. Set the VALHEIM_INSTALL environment variable to your Valheim directory:

   # Linux
   export VALHEIM_INSTALL="$HOME/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Valheim"
   dotnet build ValheimProxChat/ValheimProxChat.csproj -c Release
   
   # Windows (note: quotes around the entire set argument to handle parentheses)
   set "VALHEIM_INSTALL=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Valheim"
   dotnet build ValheimProxChat\ValheimProxChat.csproj -c Release

   Or pass it directly to MSBuild:

   dotnet build ValheimProxChat/ValheimProxChat.csproj -c Release -p:ValheimInstall="C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Valheim"

3. The output DLL will be in ValheimProxChat/bin/Release/netstandard2.1/

How It Works

1. Microphone Capture: Uses Unity's Microphone API to capture audio from your default input device
2. Compression: Audio samples are compressed using mu-law encoding (8-bit), cutting bandwidth in half
3. Network Transport: Compressed audio chunks are sent to all players via Valheim's ZRoutedRpc system
4. Distance Filtering: Receivers discard packets from players beyond MaxVoiceDistance
5. Volume Scaling: Audio volume is scaled linearly between FadeStartDistance (full volume) and MaxVoiceDistance (silence)
6. Playback: Each remote player gets a dedicated AudioSource with a streaming circular buffer

Bandwidth Usage

At default settings (16kHz sample rate, mu-law compression, 20ms transmit interval):

• ~16 KB/s per speaking player
• Only transmitted while actively speaking (PTT or voice activation)
• With LowBandwidthMode = true: ~8 KB/s per speaker
• Voice packets are sent only to nearby peers (not broadcast to all players)

Important: Valheim has a built-in ~50-64 kbps per-connection send rate limit. Voice data shares this with game traffic (ZDO sync, position updates). The default 16kHz sample rate is chosen to balance quality against this limit. If you experience game lag while voice chatting, lower the SampleRate or enable LowBandwidthMode.

Architecture

ValheimProxChat/
├── Plugin.cs                    # BepInEx plugin entry point
├── Configuration.cs             # Config bindings
├── Patches.cs                   # Harmony patches for game lifecycle
├── PlayerTracker.cs             # Player position utilities
├── VoiceChatUI.cs               # IMGUI overlay (mic status, speaking indicators)
├── Audio/
│   ├── MicrophoneCapture.cs     # Unity Microphone input handling
│   ├── AudioCompression.cs      # Mu-law encode/decode
│   └── AudioPlaybackManager.cs  # Per-player AudioSource management
└── Network/
    └── VoiceNetwork.cs          # ZRoutedRpc voice packet send/receive

Troubleshooting

• No microphone detected: Check that your mic is plugged in and set as default in your OS audio settings
• Can't hear other players: Ensure all players have the mod installed and are within MaxVoiceDistance
• Audio is choppy: Try increasing TransmitInterval or lowering SampleRate
• Voice too quiet/loud: Adjust MicrophoneBoost (sender input) and OutputVolume (receiver gain). Both are applied to samples, not clamped by Unity.
• Too much reverb/echo: Set ReverbMix to 0 (the default). This bypasses Valheim's reverb zones on voice audio.
• Audio delay: Ensure TransmitInterval is low (default 0.02). If you have an old config file, delete it to regenerate with new defaults.
• PTT key doesn't work: Make sure you're not in a menu/console. Check the PushToTalkKey config value
• High bandwidth usage: Enable LowBandwidthMode in the config for slower connections

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or pull request on GitHub.

Disclaimer

This mod is not affiliated with Iron Gate Studio or Coffee Stain Publishing. Valheim is a trademark of Iron Gate AB. This is a community-made modification created for personal, non-commercial use.