Version
menu_open

Ducking Signals

At different points in your game, you will want some objects to be more prominent than others. For example, you may want the music to be lowered when characters are speaking in game. You can determine a signal's importance in relation to another using ducking. Ducking allows you to automatically lower the volume level of all objects passing through one bus in order for another simultaneous bus to have more prominence.

You can control how the signals are ducked by modifying the following properties and behaviors:

  • Ducking volume

  • Fade out

  • Fade in

  • Curve shape

  • Recovery time

  • Maximum ducking volume

The following illustration demonstrates how and where the properties and behaviors affect the ducked signal.

To duck a signal:

  1. Load a bus into the Property Editor.

  2. In the Auto-ducking group box, click Insert.

    The Project Explorer - Browser opens with a list of busses that can be ducked.

    [Note] Note

    A bus can't duck itself or its direct parent.

  3. From the list, select the bus that you want to duck when the current bus receives a signal.

  4. Click OK.

    The selected bus is added to the ducking list.

  5. Define the properties and behavior of the ducked bus by modifying the following settings:

    • Volume: The amount by which the volume of the selected bus is reduced when the current bus receives a signal.

    • Fade Out: The time to fade out from the original volume to the ducked volume.

    • Fade In: The time to fade back to the original volume.

    • Curve: The curve shape used to define the fade-out and fade in.

  6. In the Recovery time text box, specify the amount of time you want to pass from the termination of the current bus signal to the beginning of the fade-in for the signals that were ducked.

  7. In the Maximum ducking volume text box, specify the maximum amount by which the current bus volume can be attenuated when ducked by one or more busses.

[Note] Note

Ducking is not available in Auxiliary Busses.


Was this page helpful?

Need Support?

Questions? Problems? Need more info? Contact us, and we can help!

Visit our Support page

Tell us about your project. We're here to help.

Register your project and we'll help you get started with no strings attached!

Get started with Wwise