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Defining Playback Priority

When you reach the limit of objects that can be played at any one time, either at the game object or bus level, Wwise uses the priority or relative importance of each object to determine which ones will be played.

You can define the priority for each object using a standard numerical scale between 1-100, where 1 is the lowest priority and 100 is the highest priority. If objects have equal priority, you have the option to stop the newest or oldest instance that is playing.

Using Priority Offset Based on Distance

You can also alter the playback priority based on the distance the object is from the listener. Wwise applies an offset to the priority using the Max distance values defined in the Attenuation Editor. The amount of offset applied will depend on the object's relative position to the listener. Wwise linearly interpolates the offset between the source point, where no offset is applied, and the attenuation max distance, where the full specified offset value is applied.

Using Priority Based on Distance - Example

Let's say you have three different sound objects: Monster1, Monster2, and Monster3. All three sound objects have a priority of 50 and a priority offset of -10. The Max distance in the Attenuation Editor is set to 100 meters. At any point in the game, these monsters will be at different distances from the listener. For the sake of this example, however, let's say that the monsters are located at the following distances from the listener:

  • Monster 1: 10 meters

  • Monster 2: 50 meters

  • Monster 3: 100 meters

Because each monster is at a different distance from the listener and a priority offset based on distance is being applied, the priority for each sound will be different. The following graph shows how the distance from the listener will affect the priorities for each sound.

Since playback priority works together with playback limit, if the playback limit is surpassed, Wwise uses the priority of these sounds to determine which ones will play.

To define playback priority for objects:

  1. Load a top-level parent object into the Property Editor.

    [Note]Note

    If the object is not a top-level parent object, you must select the Override parent option before you can set the Playback Priority options.

  2. Switch to the Advanced Settings tab.

  3. In the Priority text box, type a number from 1 to 100 that represents the priority or relative importance of the object, where 100 is the highest priority.

  4. To offset the playback priority based on the distance the object is from the listener, select the Offset priority by x at max distance option.

  5. In the text box, specify the value by which you want the priority to be offset at the max distance.

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