In Games EAX Advanced HD brings several new features that can be added into them:
Multi-Environment. Whereas the Live!/Live! 5.1 & other EAX supporting Soundcards can only apply/render 1 EAX preset at any time the Audigy supports using up to 4 simultaneously. This will, as you can guess, only be of use where multiple audio environments may exist, e.g. Near the entrance of a cave you may have 1 preset for the interior of the cave & another for outside the cave & so on. Not only is this be more realistic but should also make locating audio sources that bit easier given the correct EAX preset being applied to a source, based on the example above this would mean that should someone be shooting at you from outside the cave then the correct preset will be applied to that source rather than using just the one for the cave interior as would happen on other Soundcards.
Environment Panning. This makes spatializing & localizing environments in a 3D Audio space possible. As described in the Goldmine Demo this can be used for simulating an approaching environment in a Game, such as a tunnel in a racing game or as in the demo, dozens of bats flying out of a cave tunnel. The effect is rather impressive in Goldmine although it could (hopefully) prove a lot more interesting to see what could be done with this in Games.
Environment Morphing. This feature allows for a much more seamless transition between audio environments than currently exists. As many of you have probably experienced when playing an EAX Game you can probably tell with ease as you move from one particular audio environment to another, in some cases the Soundcard may even crackle at this change. The Morphing effect blends the different levels together offering a much nicer experience than exists currently. The Goldmine Demo shows this off fairly well & adds a nice touch.
Environment reflections. Audio reflections aren’t something all that new, at least for those who previously had an Aureal Vortex 2 you may have been treated to this in some A3D 2 or 3 Games. Reflections allow for audio sources to be affected by the environment in which they eminate, e.g. in a cave style environment you’ll hear echoes of sounds & so on (Reflections are essentially a further enhancement/extension to Reverb). In the Goldmine demo this is shown off by a bird flying around your head in a small enclosed canyon, with Reflections enabled you can hear the “Caw” the bird makes as it flys around echoing &/or being reflected off of the canyon walls, which is pretty damn nice indeed & as it happens my mother even came into the room as she thought a bird had actually flown into the room through the window.
Environment Filtering. This accurately simulates the propagation of sound in both open & closed environments. No demo in Goldmine was provided to show this of, although the effect should prove to be fairly subtle it would seem.
