Wwise User'sGuide 2015.1.9 Wwise Wwise User'sGuide Wwise 2015.1.9 Revision 1910 Copyright © 2016 Audiokinetic Inc. This document (whether in written, graphic or video form) is supplied as a guide for the Wwise® product. This documentation is the property of Audiokinetic Inc. (“Audiokinetic”), and protected by Canadian copyright law and in other jurisdictions by virtue of international copyright treaties. It may be used by you in accordance with the following. This documentation may be duplicated, reproduced, stored or transmitted, exclusively for your internal, non-commercial purposes, but you may not alter the content of any portion of the documentation. Any copy of the documentation shall retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained therein. The content of this documentation is furnished for information purposes only, and its content is subject to change without notice. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this document, however, we disclaim all representations, warranties and conditions, whether express, implied or arising out of usage of trade or course of dealing, concerning this documentation and assume no responsibility or liability for any losses or damages of any kind arising out of the use of this guide or of any error or inaccuracy it may contain, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage. Wwise®, Audiokinetic®, Actor-Mixer®, SoundFrame® and SoundSeed® are registered trademarks, and Master-Mixer™, SoundCaster™ and Randomizer™ are trademarks, of Audiokinetic. Other trademarks, trade names or company names referenced herein may be the property of their respective owners. 2 Table of Contents Welcome to Wwise 2015.1.9 ............................................................................ xi I. Where to Begin? ............................................................................................. 1 1. Wwise Roadmap ................................................................................... 3 Where to Begin ................................................................................. 4 Guide to the Wwise Roadmap .......................................................... 4 Document Conventions .................................................................... 4 Wwise Help ....................................................................................... 5 Contacting Support ........................................................................... 7 2. Getting Started ...................................................................................... 8 Starting and Exiting Wwise ............................................................... 9 Exploring the Wwise Interface ........................................................ 10 Wwise Interface Basics .................................................................... 12 Personalizing Your Workspace ......................................................... 23 Speeding Up the Way You Work ..................................................... 38 II. Setting Up Your Projects ............................................................................ 50 3. Working with Projects ......................................................................... 52 Overview .......................................................................................... 53 Managing Projects ........................................................................... 55 Defining your Project Settings ........................................................ 60 Defining the Default User Settings for your Project ........................ 88 Troubleshooting Your Project .......................................................... 90 The Learning Annex - More on Obstruction and Occlusion ........... 96 Project Management Tips and Best Practices .................................. 98 4. Managing Platforms .......................................................................... 100 Overview ........................................................................................ 101 Platform Manager .......................................................................... 101 PS Vita Hardware Versus Software Platforms ................................ 104 5. Managing Workgroups ...................................................................... 107 Overview ........................................................................................ 108 Dividing Your Project into Work Units ......................................... 111 Viewing the Status of Your Project Files ........................................ 120 Using Wwise with Your Source Control System ............................ 122 Resolving Project Inconsistencies .................................................. 123 Managing Project Files Using a Workgroup Plug-in ...................... 125 Workgroup Tips & Best Practices .................................................. 138 6. Managing Media Files in Your Project .............................................. 142 Overview ........................................................................................ 143 The Importing Process .................................................................. 143 Importing Media Files ................................................................... 151 Replacing Media Files .................................................................... 167 Managing File Import Issues ......................................................... 170 Re-Organizing Media Files within the Originals Folder ................ 172 iii Wwise Clearing Your Cache ...................................................................... 173 Editing Audio Files in an External Editor ...................................... 174 Creating Audio and Motion Sources Using Plug-ins ..................... 176 Media File Management Tips and Best Practices ........................... 177 7. Building Your Actor-Mixer Hierarchy ............................................... 178 Overview ........................................................................................ 179 About Properties in the Project Hierarchy .................................... 185 Building the Actor-Mixer Hierarchy .............................................. 194 Enhancing Sound and Motion by Randomizing Property Values ........................................................................................................ 200 Building Actor-Mixer Hierarchy Tips and Best Practices ............... 201 8. Building the Structure of Output Busses ........................................... 206 Overview ........................................................................................ 207 Defining the Properties of a Bus ................................................... 212 Structuring a Bus Hierarchy - Example ......................................... 217 III. Using Sounds and Motion to Enhance Gameplay ................................... 220 9. Defining Object Playback Behaviors ................................................. 222 Overview ........................................................................................ 223 Defining the Playback Behavior for Sound and Motion Objects ........................................................................................................ 223 Defining the Playback Behavior for Random/Sequence Containers ...................................................................................... 230 Defining the Contents and Behavior of Switch Containers ............ 242 Defining the Contents and Behavior of the Blend Container ........ 248 Object Playback Tips & Best Practices ........................................... 259 10. Defining Positioning for Sound and Motion ................................... 261 Overview ........................................................................................ 262 Understanding Positioning in Wwise ............................................ 263 Working with 2D Sound, Music, and Motion FX Objects ............. 267 Working with 3D Sound, Music, and Motion FX Objects ............. 269 Applying Distance-Based Attenuation ........................................... 271 Defining Spatial Positioning Using Animation Paths .................... 287 Routing Audio Signals to the Center Speaker ................................ 298 Positioning Tips and Best Practices ............................................... 299 Understanding Channel Configurations ........................................ 306 Speakers vs Headphones Panning Rules ........................................ 308 11. Managing the Priority of Sounds and Motion ................................. 310 Overview ........................................................................................ 311 Understanding How Wwise Prioritizes Sounds and Motion Objects ........................................................................................... 313 Limiting Object Playback Instances ............................................... 316 Defining Playback Priority ............................................................ 320 Managing Low-Volume Sounds and Motion Objects .................... 323 Priority Tips and Best Practices ..................................................... 325 12. Managing Effects ............................................................................. 329 iv Wwise Overview ........................................................................................ 330 Using Effects .................................................................................