Stream Effects: Overlays, Alerts & Sound

Effects are the visual and audio actions VPE fires in response to stream events. An effect might be a celebration overlay for a big donation, a sound effect for a new follower, or a scene transition for a raid.

Each effect has layers — individual pieces that make up the complete experience. A 'Big Donation' effect might include: a video overlay (confetti animation), a sound effect (airhorn), and a text ticker showing the donor's name.

Effects are defined in the Named Effects catalog. You create them once, and policies reference them by name. This keeps your automation rules clean and your effects reusable.

VPE supports five effect layer types: video/image overlays, audio (SFX), music, text (tickers/notifications), and custom (direct OBS commands).

Each type routes to a specific channel in OBS. Video overlays go to your VPE_overlay source, SFX goes to your VPE_sfx audio source, music to VPE_music, and text to VPE_ticker.

Each channel handles conflicts differently. Overlays replace each other (newest wins), sound effects queue up (up to 4 play in order), music crossfades to the new track, and text notifications can stack (multiple show at once).

Open the Effects tab in VPE. Click 'New Effect' to create one from scratch, or choose from preset templates (alert, reaction, fun, transition, ticker).

Each effect has: a unique ID, a display name, one or more layers, a priority level, a duration, and an optional 'big' flag (for effects that should be protected from interruption).

Layers specify what happens: which file to play (video/audio), what text to show, how long it lasts, and what OBS source to target. You can preview effects without going live.

Every effect has a priority (1-10). When two effects compete for the same slot, the higher priority wins. A raid celebration (priority 8) will interrupt a follower notification (priority 3).

Effects marked as 'big' are protected from interruption. Once a big effect starts playing, nothing can cut it short — even higher-priority effects wait until it finishes.

VPE prevents effect spam automatically. Even if events flood in, it won't fire more than your configured effects-per-minute limit, keeping your stream clean.

Effects can be bundled into packs — portable collections of effects, policies, and assets that work together. Install a pack to get a complete automation setup instantly.

VPE comes with a starter pack that includes basic alerts for donations, follows, raids, and subscriptions. You can modify these or create your own packs.

Packs can be exported and shared. Create your own effects, bundle them into a pack, and share with other streamers. Each pack includes all assets (images, audio) it needs.

Use the 'Fire' button next to any named effect to trigger it immediately. This sends the effect through the full pipeline — you'll see it appear in OBS exactly as it would during a stream.

The Scenarios tab lets you simulate full event sequences. Run a 'big_donation' scenario to see your donation celebration effect fire with realistic timing and data.

In dry-run mode, effects are logged but not sent to OBS. This lets you verify that your policies trigger the right effects without affecting a live stream.