THE QUICK ANSWER
Facepunch documents inserting a cassette, using RMB to record and LMB to replay. Cassettes have 10, 20 or 30 second varieties; recording is not a Steam inventory audio export.
01
Check the Recorder and inserted cassette
The Voice Props developer explanation treats the cassette as the stored audio and the Recorder as the device. Identify both objects before reporting an empty playback: holding a Recorder alone does not identify a recorded tape.
Facepunch lists 10, 20 and 30 second cassette varieties. Read the actual tape length rather than expecting a continuous soundtrack or a whole song.
Keep the tape through the whole process
Cassette
Choose the actual tape and its length.
Recorder
Insert it and use the recording control.
Playback device
Replay that tape in the Recorder or a supported Boom Box.
Original media-and-device diagram. The cassette is the link between recording and replay.
Original explanation · not an account screenshot02
Use the documented record and playback controls
Facepunch’s controls are RMB to record after inserting a cassette and LMB to play recorded audio. Read the current bindings if you changed mouse actions.
Make a short recording only when you intend to replace the tape’s content. Before changing a cassette used for another purpose, keep its identity and existing use clear. A second tape is a separate object, not another view of the first recording.
- Locate the Cassette Recorder and the tape you intend to use.
- Insert that cassette.
- Use the configured record action when ready to capture audio.
- Use playback and confirm that you are listening to the same tape.
03
If the tape seems silent
Facepunch documents an Options control for disabling recorded audio. Check that setting when a recording exists but cannot be heard. It is separate from the Internet Audio Streams setting used by radio.
State whether recording never starts, playback starts silently or the wrong cassette is inserted. Those descriptions identify different stages and avoid blaming pack delivery for a playback control.
What kind of silence is it?
No recording starts
Check the inserted tape and record binding.
Playback is silent
Check the recorded-audio option.
Different content
Confirm that the intended cassette is in this device.
An original failure-stage map, not a claim that a test recording was made.
Original explanation · not an account screenshot04
Play the tape on the intended device
The current Voice Props store page says recorded audio can also play on portable and deployed Boom Boxes. Match the cassette itself when moving between devices; a similar Recorder is not proof that the same tape followed it.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE
Quick checklist
- Identify the Recorder and actual cassette.
- Read the tape length.
- Use the record and playback bindings for that device.
- Check recorded-audio settings if playback is silent.
Official sources
Public game documentation and item descriptions reviewed on 26 October 2026 (America/Toronto). Community-maintained references are labelled where used.
- Facepunch — Wounding Update & Voice Props DLC: cassettes (1 July 2021) · reviewed
- Facepunch — Voice Props pack: Cassette Recorder and playback devices · reviewed
The original developer control explanation and current pack page were read directly. No recording, microphone access, tape overwrite, item craft or playback test occurred. The cited controls are documented defaults, not a fresh capture of the current client.
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