Stories are more than dialogue and visuals.

They're the sound of waves rolling onto a beach. The birds singing in a forest. The distant rumble of thunder before a storm.

Today, we're excited to introduce Ambience, a brand-new feature designed to help creators build richer, more immersive worlds.

A New Layer of Storytelling

Ambience is a dedicated audio layer for environmental sounds.

Unlike Sound Effects, which are designed for short moments and actions, Ambience is built for continuous environmental audio that helps establish a scene and bring locations to life.

Creators can now add sounds such as:

• Ocean waves
• Forest birds
• Rainfall
• Wind
• Crowds
• City streets
• Spaceship interiors
• Fantasy environments

Music and Ambience Together

One of the biggest advantages of the new system is that Audio and Ambience can now play simultaneously.

Create a romantic beach scene with gentle music layered over the sound of crashing waves. Add rainfall to a dramatic moment. Fill a bustling city scene with distant traffic and crowd noise.

The result is a more immersive reading experience that helps your world feel alive.

Independent Controls

Ambience includes its own playback controls, looping options, and volume settings.

Creators can independently control the volume of both Audio and Ambience, allowing for greater flexibility when designing scenes.

Volume changes can also transition smoothly between frames, making it possible to create natural fades and evolving soundscapes throughout a story.

A Dedicated Ambience Library

To support the new feature, Story Thyme now includes a dedicated Ambience resource category.

Environmental sounds can now be uploaded, organized, and managed separately from music and sound effects, making audio libraries easier to navigate and maintain.

Bring Your Stories to Life

Visuals show readers what they see.

Dialogue tells readers what characters say.

Music tells readers what they feel.

Ambience tells readers where they are.

Whether you're creating a peaceful slice-of-life story, a fantasy adventure, a mystery, or a science-fiction epic, Ambience provides another tool to help bring your stories to life.

We can't wait to hear what you create.