Audiokinetic's Community Q&A is the forum where users can ask and answer questions within the Wwise and Strata communities. If you would like to get an answer from Audiokinetic's Technical support team, make sure you use the Support Tickets page.

Should I place ambient sounds on actor instances or a level in a map?

0 votes
I'm working on an MMORPG with Wwise in UE4. In the past we have been using akAmbient actors (customized) to place ambient sounds on the maps in most situations. However, this method is not very ideal in terms of workflow. Not only we have to place all sounds manually but also we have to double-check the level whenever the map designers modify it. I'm considering to change the integration mode to a more actor-based way, meaning that we should place ambient sounds as a component to existing actors, such as mesh actors or blueprints, as much as possible. This method also has its cons. Like it is more complicated to apply the multi-position mode in Wwise since you cannot just place independent actors into the map to use the function. Also, we have to frequently ask the map design team to create classes or blueprints for those objects who need a common sound, otherwise we have to place components manually on each instance of those actors in the level.

I believe there is no absolute solution for this question, but I guess there could be an industry standard or a guide that we can follow? Does anyone know how big title games deal with the ambient sounds?

Thanks in advance.
asked Nov 16, 2021 in General Discussion by Zhuolun Z. (930 points)

Please sign-in or register to answer this question.

...