Hearing the ocean waves inside your house

[Red Cat]

I did some testing building houses to see exactly where you can hear the ocean from your house and where you can't. I figured it was somehow based off of acres, since measuring a house's distance from the ocean itself is hard to do since the ocean boundary isn't straight and it covers half-spaces.

The town I did testing in has the ocean on the western side. I tested some houses (well actually just tents since I don't have the time to create characters and then start paying off their houses only to delete them later) near the ocean on the west side. If I marched off 64 spaces west from the the eastern cliff and then plotted a tent there, I could hear the waves pretty well in the tent, but if I marched off only 63 spaces west from the eastern cliff, then I could not hear any waves at all inside the tent (and I had the volume maxed out). I tried this for two locations which were a good distance away from each other north and south, and one of the locations was a bit closer to the actual ocean than the other, but the results were the same. I could hear waves from 64 spaces away from the opposite side of the map, but not 63.

I also did some testing for the southern part of the beach, but only in one location because my town is not very good for testing that situation with the plaza and villager houses getting in the way. If I marched off 52 spaces south from the train tracks, then I could hear the ocean waves in the tent, but if I marched off only 51 spaces, then there were no waves inside the tent.

I'm not going to say that I really know how the game decides which plot locations have the ocean waves and which are too far away, but I figured I'd post this just to give people an idea. I don't know if this is the same for other towns or if you can just flip things around for eastern oceans. If other people want to test this, you can just create a new character, then talk to Isabelle and then Nook, plot your tent (make sure you remember exactly where you do it), and then go inside immediately and listen for ocean waves. You don't even have to save the new character if you don't want to, so whatever you destroy in the process of plotting tents can be undone as long as you don't talk to Isabelle again. I'd love to hear results from anyone who tests this because I think it would be cool to have a definitive guide on ocean waves for people who really want to hear ocean waves in their houses or for people who really don't want to hear them.

 

[Shimmer]

I know for a fact that if you're near a cliff, you'll hear the ocean/wind because I placed my house near a cliff.
It makes sense. xP

 

[Red Cat]

I know for a fact that if you're near a cliff, you'll hear the ocean/wind because I placed my house near a cliff.
It makes sense. xP

Yeah, but "near a cliff" isn't very specific. I have a house that is 6 spaces away from the cliff and I can hear waves, and another that is 2 spaces away from the cliff and I can't hear waves.

 

[Orieii]

Oh wow! This is pretty cool :-D I'll have to test it out since I live directly next to the waterfall and cliff

 

[Belle of Pripyat]

If your house is near a waterfall, you'll hear the ocean. Stand somewhere outside and if you can hear the ocean, put your house there. Don't overthink it.

 

[Greggy]

I don't know that you can listen to the waves of the ocean inside of your home. That's some nice observation right there!

I wonder if villager houses also have the ocean sounds when their houses are near the seashore/waterfall. I think I'll do some observations around Beau and Bones' houses, because they live in the beach the nearest.

 

[Soshi]

one of my criteria for my perfect map is being able to hear the ocean from my house. it also has to be secluded. my mayor's house is 5 patterns distance from the southern cliff and i can hear the ocean. i believe that's the furtherest you can be to hear it because my cycle town mayor house is 6 patterns away (i just counted) and i can't hear it, but it's a cycle town so i don't care lol. really should have put the house somewhere convenient but habit >.<

 

[Red Cat]

If your house is near a waterfall, you'll hear the ocean. Stand somewhere outside and if you can hear the ocean, put your house there. Don't overthink it.

I've tested that theory and it isn't necessarily true. There are some spaces where I could hear the waves outside, but when I put a house there, I could not hear the waves inside. I understand that a lot of people don't really care about this and if they want to hear ocean waves, they will just put their house as close to the cliff as possible, but for people who are super OCD like me, I would like to see a definitive guide on it if possible.

 

[Belle of Pripyat]

I've tested that theory and it isn't necessarily true. There are some spaces where I could hear the waves outside, but when I put a house there, I could not hear the waves inside. I understand that a lot of people don't really care about this and if they want to hear ocean waves, they will just put their house as close to the cliff as possible, but for people who are super OCD like me, I would like to see a definitive guide on it if possible.

I guess I've just been lucky. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. I understand OCD as I suffer from it myself.