Comprehensive User Interface

• Keyboard shortcuts.
• Layouts for 8 User Interfaces optimized according to tasks.
• Unlimited number of Undo/Redo.
• Project settings and user preferences.
• Exposed shortcuts allow you to quickly edit audio files directly in your preferred audio file software.
• Layout manager.

Comprehensive Editing Management

• Multi-edit on every property to quickly change multiple objects simultaneously.
• Query view allows you to quickly search with precise criteria through every Wwise object.

Workgroup

• Using Workgroups in Wwise, sound designers, audio integrators, and audio programmers can work together on the same project.
• Teams can work together simultaneously by dividing different parts of a project into segments called work units.

Native Integration of Source Control

• A source control SDK is available for integrating the source control of your choice.
• Perforce and Subversion source control plug-ins ship with Wwise.
• Work-unit and Audio File source control management can be done from within Wwise.

Standard Properties for all Type of Objects

• Volume, pitch, low pass filter, and LFE.
• Output bus routing.
• Effect Insertion.
• 2D and 3D positioning (game-defined and user-defined).
• Limit playback sound instances.
• Playback priority (can be dynamically adjusted based on distance).
• Volume threshold management for optimizing playback performance with options like continue to play, kill voice, and set as virtual voice.
• Virtual voice management with different behaviors (Play from beginning, Resume, Play from elapsed time).
• Most object properties can be driven with Real-Time Parameter Control (RTPC).
• Support State Changes with interpolation time.
• Randomize almost all property values using the “Randomizer”.

Interactive Music

• Integrate dynamic game driven musical scores.
• Create Music Segments, Music Playlists, Music Switch containers, and Stingers.
• Musical elements follow and react to game state changes with seamless and fully customizable rule-based transitions.
• Like other objects in Wwise, RTPC, states, and effects can be applied to Interactive Music objects.
• Use multi-track content (stems) for added flexibility and control.
• Create, simulate, and validate musical transitions with no programmer interaction.

Sound Objects

• Infinite or custom looping time.
• In and out loop points supported, allowing attack, sustain (with number of loops), and release.
• Zero latency streaming with adjustable pre-fetch length.
• Multiple audio source versions can be used for a sound in order to test either different audio files or conversion settings.

Audio File Conversion Settings

• Import high resolution audio files at up to 24 bit and 96 kHz.
• Convert and compress high resolution files directly in Wwise.
• Discreet settings per sound and per platform.
• 300 Hz to 48000 Hz supported in game.
• 8 and 16 bit supported in game.
• Range of audio formats (PCM, XMA, Vorbis and ADPCM).
• Support from mono to 5.1 multi-channel files.
• Dithering can be applied when performing bit rate conversions.
• Optional DC-offset adjustment.

Random & Sequence Containers

• Play Randomly. Standard or Shuffle. Avoid repeating x number of objects.
• Play Sequentially.
• Random and Sequence containers can play their sounds with cross-fade, delay, trigger rate, or sample accurate transitions.
• Trigger rate option allows you to create automatic and semi-automatic weapon sounds.
• Play mode in Step or Continuous.
• Customizable weighting per randomized objects to fine tune playback probabilities.
• Can contain sounds or other containers as child objects.

Switch Containers

• Switch changes can be triggered by Switch, State, or RTPC ranges.
• Play mode in Step or Continuous.
• Can contain sounds or other containers as child objects.
• Hierarchies with multiple nested switch containers can be used to create a decision tree mechanism.
• The switch container is perfect for creating a footsteps mechanism, collision sounds with different intensity, voice graphs, etc.

Blend Containers

• Facilitate the creation of complex sound emitters that evolve over game parameter changes.
• Perfectly suited for creating car engine or crowd sounds.
• Organize child-objects in layers, associating different RTPC curves with each, and easily blend the transitions between different sounds using the adjustable cross-fade regions for these objects.

Dynamic Dialogue System

• Create and manage dynamic dialogue using rule-based functionality.
• Intuitive user interface eases the management of large dialogue decision tree structures.
• Create dialogue events that use Dialogue Arguments that define the particular conditions or outcomes in the game.
• Create sample accurate dialogue stitching for a wide range of dialogue uses, including play-by-play and non-playing characters.

Voice Asset Importer

• Quickly create Sound voice objects and optional random container parent objects in your Wwise project by importing an externally created tab-delimited text file.
• Sound Voice and Audio Source notes can also be automatically imported.

Master-Mixer Hierarchies

• Control bus hierarchy.
• Control buses automatically sub mix all sound objects routed to control buses when effects are applied to them.
• Parametrable automatic ducking support per bus can be used to soften music volume when a voice sound plays..
• Any type of sound object can be routed to any bus.
• State Change, RTPC, and voice limitation support.
• Standard properties, such as volume, pitch, low pass filter, and LFE.
• Add effects, including Peak Limiter, on the final output bus.

Events

• Over 40 different actions can be triggered by audio and dynamic dialogue events, including Play, Stop, Mute, Pause, and Set Volume.
• Unlimited number of actions per event.
• Properties including delay, fade time, and fade curve are available for each action.
• Most action properties can be randomized.
• Action scopes are Global or per Game object.

Game Syncs

• The RTPC editor allows binding a game parameter to a sound parameter on a graph.
• Edit multiple RTPC curves simultaneously.
• For RTPC editing, you can edit volume in linear or dB scales for smoother transitions.
• Each segment between points can have a different interpolation curve (log or exp, s-curve, linear, etc.).
• A Switch creates a callback system between Wwise and the game that triggers the matching sound objects according to the game code.
• A State provides a mechanism that effects audio properties, including volume, pitch, LPF, and LFE, in real-time based on game state changes.
• Sound designers can tweak the interpolation time between states in real-time.
• A Trigger is called by the game and then defines a specific Music Segment that can play along with currently playing Interactive Music objects..

Positioning

• 2D positioning consists of the straight assignation of the audio file channels to the speakers.
• An optional 2D panner allows for 2D positioning within the 4.0 Surround Sound space.
• Center % can be adjusted.
• LFE volume is determined at the object level.
• 3D positioning allows sound designers to use custom or shared attenuation curves based on distance:
• Attenuation curves are comprised of dry and wet volumes, LFE, Low Pass Filter, and Spread parameters.
• Spread parameter allows sources to transition from Surround to Point Source.
• Optional cone attenuation parameters enhance sound directivity.
• 3D position source can be user or game defined:
• 3D user-defined positioning allows for the creation of an animated path for moving sound emitters in the Surround Sound space.
• 3D game-defined positioning allows the actual game to determine the position and orientation of the sound in the Surround Sound space.
• 3D spatialization can be disabled as required.

Attenuation Curves

• Provide advanced granular control over the attenuation curves for 3D sounds in Wwise.
• Fully customizable attenuation curves provide control over attenuation parameters:
• Dry volume.
• Wet volume.
• LFE.
• Low pass filter.
• Spread.
• Custom attenuation curves are unique and can be applied to single objects and/or structures.
• Attenuation ShareSet curves can be shared and applied to multiple objects and/or structures.
• The Attenuation editor allows for viewing and editing all curves.
• Optional cone attenuation can also be applied to provide additional sound directivity parameters.

Effects Plug-ins

• The Wwise plug-in suite includes the following:
• Compressor.
• Expander.
• Peak Limiter that can also be inserted on the master control bus at the final mixing stage to tighten your mix and prevent your game from clipping.
• Wwise Matrix Reverb provides increased flexibility and parameter control that allows users to make decisions to maximize the critical balance between sonic quality and the impact on runtime CPU and memory performance.
• Three band Parametric EQ.
• Delay (SDK sample code available).
• Use reverb or delay audio effect as an environmental effect.
• Up to four audio effects can now be inserted into the audio path of all sound and music objects, as well as control busses, including the Master Control Bus.
• Allow you to pre-render effects on audio sources before SoundBank creation to save CPU cycles in real time..
• Support mono, stereo, and 5.1 channels.
• Effects properties can be modified in real-time in your game.
• Effects can be inserted on any object type, including sounds, containers, actor-mixers, interactive music objects, and buses.
• Open architecture for proprietary effects plug-ins.
• Proprietary audio effect plug-in properties/controls are exposed in the Wwise User Interface.
• Ability to expose the custom data of plug-ins directly in the SoundBank.
• Plug-ins automatically benefit from RTPC management as curves driven by game parameters can be created for any properties.

Audio Source Plug-ins

• Wwise provides the following:
• Tone Generator (SDK sample code available).
• Sine Generator (SDK sample code available).
• Audio Input (SDK sample code available).
• Silence.
• Open architecture for proprietary source plug-ins.
• Proprietary audio source plug-in properties/controls are exposed in the Wwise User Interface.
• Ability to expose the custom data of plug-ins directly in the SoundBank.
• Plug-ins automatically benefit from RTPC management as curves driven by game parameters can be created for any properties.

SoundBanks

• In order to be as flexible as possible and to meet the requirements of almost any type of game, Wwise now supports two different SoundBank data models.
• The traditional method uses SoundBanks that contain a mix of event metadata, sound structure metadata, and audio data. These are loaded / unloaded as required.
• Contextual loading dynamically loads audio media only when it is absolutely required based on given context (region, object, material, etc.). The event and the sound structure metadata can be packaged in different SoundBanks than the audio data. The audio data is loaded / unloaded on demand.
• SoundBanks can be created in Wwise manually or automatically by using the SoundBank definition files that are created by parsing game code.
• Header files are generated automatically when banks are built.
• Information files that describe, in a text file, the complete contents of a SoundBank are built for each SoundBank.
• Ability to specify a maximum size per SoundBank with a validation system that warns you when the maximum has been exceeded.
• Helps to avoid memory fragmentation.
• SoundBanks can be built automatically from the command line, which greatly eases the building process.
• Prepare events and Game Syncs in advance.
• Streamed and in-memory files can be packaged in the same SoundBank.

Schematic view

• To help you to quickly identify which objects drive the important parameters, any object hierarchies can be seen as a schematic representation, including:
• Icon Strip.
• Effect inserts.
• Positioning.
• Output routing.
• Game parameters.
• State groups.
• Advanced settings.
• The schematic view also allows the editing of the volume, pitch, low pass filter, and LFE properties.

Environmental Effect

• Supports an unlimited number of environmental effects (an environment is a reverb “preset”).
• Wet/Dry mix.
• Volume control per environment.
• Effects can be bypassed dynamically.

Occlusion / Obstruction

• Occlusion and Obstruction are managed programmatically.
• Using Wwise, designers can customize independent Volume and LPF curves for Occlusion and Obstruction.

Multiple Listeners

• Wwise supports up to 8 listeners.
• Provides the required flexibility to create advanced game play.
• Eliminates positioning inconsistencies typically associated with split-screen games.
• Spatialization can be either enabled or disabled per listener.
• Speaker volume offsets can be added per listener.

Simultaneous Multi Platform Editing

• Wwise currently supports Windows XP, Vista™, Xbox 360™, PLAYSTATION®3, and the Wii™.
• Editing is performed simultaneously on all platforms supported by your project.
• Wwise allows you to develop on multiple platforms simultaneously without being limited by the lowest common denominator platform by:
• Customizing your content according to each platform.
• Excluding Objects and Actions from any particular platform.
• Precisely tweaking properties per platform, including volume, pitch, and LPF, by unlinking them.
• Customizing conversion and compression settings of every sound per platform.
• Seamlessly integrating platform specific elements into the Wwise Authoring application.
• Allows you to exclude language sources per platform.

Localization Management

• Supports up to 38 languages.
• Offset the volume of language files per language in order to readjust post-production amplitude discrepancies between different languages.
• During the localization process, use a master language as a “stand-in” when sentences are missing in a given language.

Simulation

• Recreate in-game scenarios by using SoundCaster™ to simultaneously playback any events and sound/music objects created in your project.
• SoundCaster helps sound designers mix their games and validate their artistic direction months before the arrival of first graphics and game play.
• While simulating, game syncs (RTPC, Switch, and State) can be modified to simulate in-game behaviors.
• SoundCaster™ sessions can be saved and quickly reloaded.

Profiling

• Profiling is generated for any platform supported by Wwise using a network connection.
• Capture Log captures and records all information sent from the sound engine.
• Performance Monitor displays information about the performance in terms of CPU, memory, bandwidth, etc.
• The Advanced profiler view displays the following information:
• Voices Graph Tab displays the structure of each of the voice instances that are triggered by game objects and that are managed by the sound engine.
• Memory Tab shows how memory is managed by the sound engine.
• Stream Tab shows information on streamed files.
• Plug-in Tab shows information on the CPU % used by the Source and Effect plug-ins that are currently running.
• Environments Tab displays the wet/dry mix of every environment instantiated.
• Occlusion/Obstruction Tab displays the Occlusion and Obstruction factors applied to each game object triggering sounds for every listener instantiated.
• Listeners Tab shows game object assignation, speaker volume, and spatialization offsets.
• SoundBank Tab shows memory, Wwise objects, media files, memory pool names and explicit load information.
• Loaded Media Tab shows media file names, size and the associated SoundBanks name.
• Prepared Events Tab shows the event name and count information.
• Prepared Games Syncs Tab shows the Group Name, Game Sync Name and the Game Sync type
• The Game Object Profiler allows profiling and viewing of the real-time position and orientation of game objects and listeners using a 3D viewer.
• The Game Sync Monitor displays how game objects are using real-time parameter controls.

Documentation

• More than 1000 pages of Help documentation for the authoring application.
• SDK documentation, including various sample code examples.
• Contextual help both directly in the User Interface and in context.
• Knowledge base articles with best practices, tips and tricks, and other useful information.
• Video Tutorials.
• A downloadable Wwise sample project and two game integration examples: Cube and The Forbidden Terror on Station Z (Zorsis).