diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
index 591ebc0..ccb3d8a 100644
--- a/docs/DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -178,12 +178,13 @@ above, including:
 - **Fewer, smaller messages.** Molds show only a small percentage, red when blocked or spoiled and gold when a casting waits for F; details are in the hover panel. Bars dropping, blocked molds and set castings no longer pop up cards or toasts. Fan heat is a red marker on the fan; melted tubes and machines get a short red label where they were. Status lines are one short sentence. The owner found the messages too large and too many.
 
 - **World sounds are local.** Sounds from the world (water sizzling on hot metal or lava, and
-  any other event with a place) fade with distance from the view and pan left or right; they go
-  silent one screen width off-screen. The owner heard a constant snapping that followed the bot
-  in an older world but not in a new one. It was the sizzle: in the owner's world, water that
-  had found its way down to hot basalt and granite (480-800°C, about 500 grains below the
-  surface) boiled about 48 times a minute, and every sizzle played at full volume.
-
+  any other event with a place) are heard around the bot, whatever the zoom: full volume within
+  24 grains, fading to silent at 96, panned left or right. The owner heard a constant snapping
+  that followed the bot in an older world but not in a new one. It was the sizzle: in the
+  owner's world, water that had found its way down to hot basalt and granite (480-800°C, about
+  500 grains below the surface) boiled about 48 times a minute, every one at full volume. The
+  first fix faded sounds with distance from the view; zoomed out they were still heard, so the
+  owner asked for a radius around the bot instead.
 - **The silo has pixel art in the pixel look**, drawn grain by grain like the rest of the world;
   the smooth look keeps the illustrated silo. The owner noticed it looked the same in both.
 
diff --git a/docs/PROJECT_MAP.md b/docs/PROJECT_MAP.md
index 12e2d3f..fe29b86 100644
--- a/docs/PROJECT_MAP.md
+++ b/docs/PROJECT_MAP.md
@@ -354,10 +354,10 @@ Smooth look: a WebGL2 pass that turns the per-grain buffers drawWorld fills (col
 - functions: smCompile, smoothAvailable, smUpload, smoothDraw, smoothPace
 - variables: SM, SM_VS, SM_FS, smBytes
 
-### src/ui/audio.js (228 lines)
+### src/ui/audio.js (230 lines)
 Audio: chiptune effects and generative music that changes with depth. Everything is synthesized with WebAudio, no samples.
 - functions: auInit, auVolumes, rateOk, tone, noiseBurst, sfxPlace, playSfx, auAmbient, mtof, zoneForDepth, scaleNote, musicScheduler
-- variables: AU, SFX, ZONES
+- variables: AU, SFX, SFX_NEAR, SFX_FAR, ZONES
 
 ### src/ui/state.js (67 lines)
 Game shell (src/ui/): browser only. This file: settings, the GAME state object, DOM helpers, toasts and the status line.
diff --git a/docs/agent-log.md b/docs/agent-log.md
index 532b3ed..b4aaba3 100644
--- a/docs/agent-log.md
+++ b/docs/agent-log.md
@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@ What agents have done, newest first. Add an entry for every piece of work: the d
 note or request it was for, what changed, the files touched, the tests run, and anything left
 open or not verified. Keep each entry short; the git history has the details.
 
+## 2026-10-23: world sounds are heard around the bot, not the view (Claude Code)
+
+Note: "the sound effect is still heard when the player's zoom level is farther out… sounds
+shouldnt be heard based on the viewport, but rather in a radius from the player."
+
+- `src/ui/audio.js` `sfxPlace`: gain from the distance to the bot's centre (full within 24
+  grains, silent at 96), pan from the horizontal offset; zoom no longer matters.
+- `test/play.py`: the audio checks use points relative to the bot; a new check zooms out to 2
+  and plays a visible sizzle 200 grains away: silent (it played before). `play.py` and all 11
+  headless suites pass. `docs/DESIGN.md`.
+- Open: nothing.
+
 ## 2026-10-23: F on an ingot mold does nothing and says nothing (Claude Code)
 
 Note: "now that ingot molds empty themselves, F still makes a message…"
diff --git a/src/ui/audio.js b/src/ui/audio.js
index edfef2d..bc8199e 100644
--- a/src/ui/audio.js
+++ b/src/ui/audio.js
@@ -118,10 +118,12 @@ const SFX = {
   sale() { if (!AU.ctx) return; const t = AU.ctx.currentTime; [784, 988, 1175, 1568].forEach((f, k) => tone(f, 0.09, { wave: 'p25', vol: 0.05, at: t + k * 0.06 })); },
   discover() { if (!rateOk('disc', 500)) return; const t = AU.ctx && AU.ctx.currentTime; tone(880, 0.06, { wave: 'p25', vol: 0.04, at: t }); tone(1175, 0.1, { wave: 'p25', vol: 0.04, at: t + 0.06 }); },
 };
+// World sounds are heard around the bot, whatever the zoom: full within 24 grains, silent at 96
+const SFX_NEAR = 24, SFX_FAR = 96;
 function sfxPlace(x, y) {
-  if (typeof R === 'undefined' || !R.bw) return { gain: 1, pan: 0 };
-  const dx = Math.max(R.vx0 - x, 0, x - R.vx0 - R.bw), dy = Math.max(R.vy0 - y, 0, y - R.vy0 - R.bh);
-  return { gain: Math.max(0, 1 - Math.hypot(dx, dy) / R.bw), pan: Math.max(-1, Math.min(1, (x - R.vx0 - R.bw / 2) / (R.bw / 2))) * 0.6 };
+  if (typeof bot === 'undefined' || !bot.w) return { gain: 1, pan: 0 };
+  const dx = x - (bot.x + bot.w / 2), dy = y - (bot.y + bot.h / 2), d = Math.hypot(dx, dy);
+  return { gain: Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (SFX_FAR - d) / (SFX_FAR - SFX_NEAR))), pan: Math.max(-1, Math.min(1, dx / SFX_FAR)) * 0.6 };
 }
 function playSfx(name, arg, x, y) {
   if (!AU.ctx || !SFX[name]) return;
diff --git a/test/play.py b/test/play.py
index d1e346e..1c00853 100644
--- a/test/play.py
+++ b/test/play.py
@@ -26,15 +26,18 @@ with sync_playwright() as p:
     pg.wait_for_timeout(500)
     ev = pg.evaluate
     ev("window._maxStatus = ''; const _ss = setStatus; setStatus = function (s, k) { if (s && s.length > _maxStatus.length) _maxStatus = s; return _ss(s, k); }; 0")
-    # World effects use the view, and inaudible ones must not throttle nearby sounds.
+    # World sounds are heard around the bot at any zoom, and inaudible ones must not throttle nearby sounds.
     ev("auInit(); window._noiseCalls = 0; window._noiseBurst = noiseBurst; noiseBurst = function (...args) { _noiseCalls++; return _noiseBurst(...args); }; 0")
+    ev("window._bc = (dx, dy) => [bot.x + bot.w / 2 + dx, bot.y + bot.h / 2 + dy]; 0")
     try:
-        far = ev("(() => { const n = _noiseCalls; AU.last.sizzle = 0; const x = R.vx0 + R.bw * 3, y = R.vy0 + R.bh / 2; playSfx('sizzle', 0, x, y); return [_noiseCalls - n, sfxPlace(x, y).gain, AU.last.sizzle]; })()")
-        check('a sound far off-screen is silent', far == [0, 0, 0], far)
-        near = ev("(() => { const n = _noiseCalls; AU.last.sizzle = 0; const x = R.vx0 + R.bw / 2, y = R.vy0 + R.bh / 2; playSfx('sizzle', 0, x, y); return [_noiseCalls - n, sfxPlace(x, y).gain, AU.bus == null]; })()")
-        check('a sound on screen plays', near == [1, 1, True], near)
-        quiet = ev('sfxPlace(R.vx0 + R.bw * 1.5, R.vy0 + R.bh / 2)')
-        check('a sound just off-screen is quieter', 0 < quiet['gain'] < 1 and quiet['pan'] > 0, quiet)
+        far = ev("(() => { const n = _noiseCalls; AU.last.sizzle = 0; const [x, y] = _bc(200, 0); playSfx('sizzle', 0, x, y); return [_noiseCalls - n, sfxPlace(x, y).gain, AU.last.sizzle]; })()")
+        check('a sound 200 grains from the bot is silent', far == [0, 0, 0], far)
+        near = ev("(() => { const n = _noiseCalls; AU.last.sizzle = 0; const [x, y] = _bc(10, 0); playSfx('sizzle', 0, x, y); return [_noiseCalls - n, sfxPlace(x, y).gain, AU.bus == null]; })()")
+        check('a sound next to the bot plays at full volume', near == [1, 1, True], near)
+        quiet = ev('sfxPlace(..._bc(60, 0))')
+        check('a sound 60 grains to the right is quieter and panned right', 0 < quiet['gain'] < 1 and quiet['pan'] > 0, quiet)
+        zoomed = ev("(() => { const z = SET.zoom; SET.zoom = 2; resizeRender(); const n = _noiseCalls; AU.last.sizzle = 0; const [x, y] = _bc(200, 0); const vis = x < R.vx0 + R.bw; playSfx('sizzle', 0, x, y); SET.zoom = z; resizeRender(); return [vis, _noiseCalls - n]; })()")
+        check('zoomed far out, a visible sound 200 grains away stays silent', zoomed == [True, 0], zoomed)
     finally:
         ev('noiseBurst = _noiseBurst; delete window._noiseBurst; delete window._noiseCalls; 0')
     look = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else 'pixel'