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Soundcaster and Soundcaster Sessions

In the Wwise Soundcaster you can mix and play back audio and motion in real time in a simulation. This makes it possible for you to create prototypes and proofs of concept, as well as experiment and test your ideas.

Using the Soundcaster controls, you can make changes on the fly, edit and apply the properties for objects, Events, States, Switches, Triggers, and RTPCs, and then audition your changes, both in Wwise and in the game. When you are connected to the game, you can play back sound and motion associated with selected game objects and audition your States, for example, in the game context. You can also play back the pre-converted files if you want. Each Soundcaster layout that you have created can be saved as a Soundcaster session in the Sessions tab of the Project Explorer. A Soundcaster session is like a Preset that contains the Wwise objects and Events you have used in a simulation.

Interface Element

Description

(Soundcaster Session Selector)

A list of soundcaster sessions that currently exist within the project.

The name of the selected soundcaster session is displayed in the corresponding field.

Removes all the modules in the Soundcaster and stops any playback.

Soundcaster Controls

Determines whether the original or converted audio source is played back.

When selected, the object plays back in its original and pre-converted form. When unselected, the converted version of the object is played back, if one exists.

When you convert an audio file for a particular platform, it is converted to meet the specific hardware requirements of that platform. As a result, you may not be able to play back these converted files in Wwise if the authoring tool is running on a platform that does not support the file type.

When selected, only objects included in the selected platform are playable in the Soundcaster.

Stops playback of all Soundcaster modules.

Pauses playback of all Soundcaster modules. Clicking this button a second time will resume playback.

Delay

Indicates whether a delay has been applied to an Event Action or Random or Sequence Container. When there is a delay, this icon becomes blue during the delay period in the playback.

Fade

Indicates whether a fade has been applied to an Event Action or Random or Sequence Container. When there is a fade, this icon becomes blue during the fade period in the playback.

Stops playback in the Soundcaster and returns all property values to their original settings.

(Reset Selector Menu)

Opens the Reset Selector menu with the following options:

  • Reset All to stop playback and return all properties and settings to their original values.

  • Reset All Random and Sequence Containers to return a Sequence Container to the beginning of the playlist or to reset random playback properties for Random Containers.

  • Reset All Game Parameters to return all Game Parameters to their original settings.

  • Reset All Set Mute to clear all Mute actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Set Voice Pitch to clear all Set Voice Pitch Actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Set Voice Volume to clear all Set Voice Volume Actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Set Bus Volume to clear all Set Bus Volume Actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Set Voice Low-pass Filter to clear all Low-Pass Filter actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Bypass Effect to reset all Bypass Effect actions that have been triggered for the objects.

  • Reset All States to clear all Set State actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Switches to clear Switch actions for the objects.

  • Reset All Music Tracks Force Usage to clear any music tracks from being forced to play in the Transport Control.

  • Reset All Source Editor Play Cursors to clear all Source Editor Play Cursors actions for the objects.

  • Reset Position to reset the position of the listener within the Attenuation Preview control to its default position.

Set Voice Volume

Indicates whether a Voice Volume Action has been applied to an object. When there is a Voice Volume Action applied, this icon becomes blue during playback, remains blue in the Soundcaster until you reset the volume.

Set Pitch

Indicates whether a Pitch action has been applied to an object. When there is a Pitch action applied, this icon becomes blue during playback and remains blue in the Soundcaster until you reset the pitch.

Mute

Indicates whether a Mute action has been applied to an object. When there is a Mute action applied, this icon becomes blue during playback and remains blue in the Soundcaster until you reset the Mute.

Voice Low-pass Filter

A recursive filter that attenuates high frequencies based on the value specified.

The units for this filter represent the percentage of low-pass filtering that has been applied, where 0 means no low-pass filtering (signal unaffected) and 100 means maximal attenuation.

(For more detail, see Wwise LPF Value Cutoff Frequencies .)

Default value: 0
Range: 0 to 100
Units: %

Enable Bypass

Indicates that an Enable Bypass action has been applied to an object. When an Enable Bypass action has been applied, this icon becomes blue during playback and remains blue until you reset the Bypass action.

States

When selected, displays all the State Groups and States that have been created in the project and not just the States and State Groups associated with the objects loaded into the Soundcaster.

(State Group)

The name of each State Group associated with the objects in the Soundcaster.

(State)

The name of each state associated with the currently selected State Group.

Switches

When selected, displays all the Switch Groups and Switches that have been created for the objects in the Soundcaster in the project and not just the Switches and Switch Groups associated with the object loaded into the Soundcaster.

(Switch Group)

The name of each Switch Group associated with the objects in the Soundcaster.

(Switch)

The name of each Switch associated with the Switch Groups.

RTPCs

When selected, displays all the RTPCs that have been created in the project and not just the RTPCs associated with the object loaded into the Soundcaster.

(Game Parameter Name)

The name of each Game Parameter in the object's hierarchy.

(Value)

The Game Parameter values that you can modify during playback to audition the RTPC effect.

Displays all the Triggers associated with the current music object in the Game Syncs area.

(Trigger Name)

The list of Triggers associated with the objects in the Soundcaster.

Calls the corresponding Stinger to play over the currently playing music object.

Soundcaster Modules

Interface Element

Description

(Title Bar)

The name and icon of the project element that has been added as a Soundcaster module. The following project elements can be added to the Soundcaster:

Events

Sound SFX

Sound Voice

Random Container

Sequence Container

Blend Container

Switch Container

Actor-Mixer

Audio Bus

Music Segment

Music Playlist Container

Music Switch Container

Stops playback of the Soundcaster module.

Pauses playback of the Soundcaster module. Clicking this button a second time will resume paused playback.

Plays the selected Soundcaster module.

Hold Shift while clicking Play to have Wwise play the loaded object while bypassing its properties. That is, somewhat like a PFL (Pre-Fader Listen) found in some DAWs, Wwise will play the object without its hierarchical properties (including such things as volume, pitch, filters, delays, Effects, Auxiliary Sends, Attenuation Curves, RTPC curves, States, positioning, and bus routing), but with its behaviors (such as fades, trims, loop points, and random and sequence playback) still intact.

[Warning] Be Careful!

If you use the Play - Bypass properties shortcut, the resulting sound may be uncomfortably loud or off-pitch.

Clicking on the Transport's Play button plays the clip from the Play Cursor's position. Clicking on the Play button while a Play Cursor continues to run will add another Play Cursor that will concurrently play from the same starting position as the first Play Cursor.

Delay

Indicates whether a delay has been applied to an Event Action or Random or Sequence Container. When there is a delay, this icon becomes blue during the delay period of the playback.

Fade

Indicates whether a Fade has been applied to an Event Action or Random or Sequence Container. When there is a Fade, this icon becomes blue during the fade period in the playback.

Controls the Mute and Solo states for the object and shows the implicit mute and solo states for the object.

Muting an object silences this object for the current monitoring session. Soloing an object silences all the other objects in the project except this one.

A bold M or S indicates that the Mute or Solo state has been explicitly set for the object. A non-bold M or S with faded color indicates that the object's Mute or Solo state was implicitly set from another object's state.

Muting an object implicitly mutes the descendant objects.

Soloing an object implicitly mutes the sibling objects and implicitly solos the descendant and ancestor objects.

[Tip] Tip

Hold the Ctrl key while clicking a solo button to exclusively solo the object for which the solo button is associated.

[Note] Note

Mute and Solo are designed to be used for monitoring purposes only and are not persisted in the project or stored in the SoundBanks.

Voice Volume

The attenuation (level or amplitude) applied on the current object before it is routed to a bus or sent to an Auxiliary Bus. Refer to Understanding the Voice Pipeline for more information about volumes.

Default value: 0
Range: -400 to 400
Units: dB

[Note] Note

The default slider range is from -96 to +12 dB. You can go over those limits by entering the value directly or by rolling the mouse while the focus is on the edit control.

Voice Pitch

The playback speed of an audio object, where:

  • Pitch 0 = Normal speed.
  • Pitch 1,200 = 2 x speed.
  • Pitch 2,400 = 4 x speed.
  • Pitch -1,200 = 0.5 speed
  • Pitch -2,400 = 0.25 speed
[Tip] Tip

1,200 cents is equivalent to one octave.

Default value: 0
Range: -2400 to 2400
Units: Cents

Voice Low-pass Filter

A recursive filter that attenuates high frequencies based on the value specified.

The units for this filter represent the percentage of low-pass filtering that has been applied, where 0 means no low-pass filtering (signal unaffected) and 100 means maximal attenuation.

(For more detail, see Wwise LPF Value Cutoff Frequencies .)

Default value: 0
Range: 0 to 100
Units: %

High-pass filter

A recursive filter that attenuates low frequencies based on the value specified.

The units for this filter represent the percentage of high-pass filtering that has been applied, where 0 means no high-pass filtering (signal unaffected) and 100 means maximal attenuation.

The high-pass filter has a link indicator and an RTPC indicator, see Working with the Property Editor for more information.

Default value: 0
Range: 0 to 100
Units: %


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