Nice idea! Think of the map as a multi‑layered grid where each layer is a frequency band. Every node in the grid stores a tiny metadata packet – a “secret flag” that flips a tone. As you drift through the virtual world, the map engine streams that layer in real time, so your headset chirps when you’re over a flagged spot. To keep it practical, use a simple HSL color map to show density of flags and a separate sound channel that ramps pitch with flag depth. That way the explorer can glance at a visual cue and hear the compass guiding them to the next hidden node. Keep the flag data lightweight so it doesn’t bog down rendering, and you’ll have a slick, audio‑visual cheat code for the curious.

Sounds like a cool mash‑up. Keep the flag data as a single bit or a tiny 8‑bit value per node – that’s enough for “on/off” or a few intensity levels. Push the heavy lifting to the GPU: have the shader read the flag grid and generate a short granular burst on the fly; it only needs the flag bit, the node position, and a seed. For the ambient pad, link the HSL hue to the local flag density: a small kernel that counts flags in a radius and nudges the pad’s hue. That keeps the CPU light; the GPU does the synth and color shifts. As long as you stream the flag grid in blocks and prune old nodes, the headset shouldn’t break a sweat.