All settings related to the Wwise Integration can be found in the Unreal Project Settings (Edit > Project Settings), under the Wwise section. You can copy and paste data from one platform setting structure to another, even if the structures are not identical. Unreal copies matching data and ignores the rest.

Platform Initialization Settings

This section includes initialization settings for all of the supported Wwise platforms that are available in your Unreal Engine installation. Modifications to settings in editor will only be taken into account after restarting the editor; however, using the "Standalone" play mode will initialize a new instance of the SoundEngine with the current settings.

Common Settings

• Sample Rate
  Sampling rate in Hz. The default value is 48000. Use 24000 for low quality audio. Any positive, reasonable sample rate is supported. However, very low sample rates might cause the sound engine to malfunction.
• Maximum Number of Memory Pools
  Maximum number of memory pools. A memory pool is required for each loaded bank.
• Maximum Number of Positioning Paths
  Maximum number of automation paths for sound positioning.
• Command Queue Size
  Size of the Command Queue.
• Samples Per Frame
  Number of samples per audio frame (256, 512, 1024, 2048).
• Streaming Look Ahead Ratio
  Multiplication factor for all streaming look-ahead heuristic values.
• Number Of Refills in Voice
  Number of refill buffers in voice buffer. Set to 2 for double-buffered. The default value to 4.

Main Output Settings

• Audio Device ShareSet
  The name of a custom audio device to use. Custom audio devices are defined in the Audio Device ShareSet section of a Wwise project. Leave this empty to output normally through the default audio device.
• Device ID
  Device-specific identifier when you are using multiple devices of the same type. Leave the setting at 0 (default) if you are using only one device.
• Panning Rule
  Rule for 3D panning of signals routed to a stereo bus. In "Speakers" mode, the angle of the front loudspeakers is used. In "Headphones" mode, the speaker angles are superseded by constant power panning between two virtual microphones spaced 180 degrees apart.
• Channel Config Type
  A code that completes the identification of channels by uChannelMask. Anonymous: Channel mask == 0 and channels. Standard: Channels must be identified with standard defines in AkSpeakerConfigs. Ambisonic: Channel mask == 0 and channels follow standard ambisonic order.
• Channel Mask
  A bit field, whose channel identifiers depend on AkChannelConfigType (up to 20).
• Number of Channels
  The number of channels, identified (deduced from channel mask) or anonymous (set directly).

Communication Settings

• Initialize System Comms
  Indicates whether or not to initialize the communication system. Some consoles have critical requirements for the initialization of their communication systems. Set to false only if your game already uses sockets before sound engine initialization.
• Pool Size
  Size of the communication pool.
• Discovery Broadcast Port
  The port where the Wwise Authoring application broadcasts "Game Discovery" requests to discover games running on the network. The default value is 24024. It cannot be set to 0.
• Command Port
  The "command" channel port. Set to 0 to request a dynamic/ephemeral port.
• Network Name
  The name used to identify this game within the Wwise Authoring application. Leave empty to use FApp::GetProjectName()

Advanced Settings

• Use Head Mounted Display Audio Device
  Enable when working on projects for head-mounted displays with audio capabilities.
• Max System Audio Objects
  Maximum number of System Audio Object to reserve. Other processes will not be able to use them. The default is 128.
• Enable Multi Core Rendering
  When set to true, distributes SoundEngine processing tasks across the Unreal Engine Task Graph. If you change this setting, you must restart the Editor.
• Max Num Job Workers
  The maximum number of workers that the Sound Engine can request at any time. If you change this setting, you must restart the Editor.
• Job Worker Max Execution Time Usec
  Maximum time allotted for Sound Engine processing tasks in microseconds. If you change this setting, you must restart the Editor.
• IO Memory Size
  Size of memory pool for I/O (for automatic streams). "It is rounded down to a multiple of <tt>uGranulrity</tt> and then passed directly to <tt>AK::MemoryMgr::CreatePool()</tt>."
• IO Granularity
  I/O request granularity (typical bytes/request).
• Target Auto Stream Buffer Length
  Targeted automatic stream buffer length in milliseconds. When a stream reaches the buffer limit, it is only scheduled for I/O except if the scheduler is idle.
• Use Stream Cache
  If true, the device attemps to reuse I/O buffers that have already been streamed from disk. This is particularly useful when streaming small looping sounds. However, there is a small increase in CPU usage when allocating memory, and a slightly larger memory footprint in the StreamManager pool.
• Maximum Pinned Bytes in Cache
  Maximum number of bytes that can be "pinned" using AK::SoundEngine::PinEventInStreamCache() or AK::IAkStreamMgr::PinFileInCache().
• Enable Game Sync Preparation
  Set to true to enable AK::SoundEngine::PrepareGameSync usage.
• Continuous Playback Look Ahead
  The number of quanta ahead where continuous containers instantiate a new voice before the following sounds start playing. This look-ahead time allows I/O to occur, and is especially useful to reduce the latency of continuous containers with trigger rate or sample-accurate transitions.
• Monitor Queue Pool Size
  Size of the monitoring queue pool. This parameter is ignored in Release builds.
• Maximum Hardware Timeoput Ms
  Time (in milliseconds) to wait for the hardware devices to trigger an audio interrupt. If there is no interrupt after that time, the sound engine reverts to silent mode and continues operating until the hardware finally responds again.
• Debug Out Of Range Check Enabled
  Debug setting: Enable checks for out-of-range (and NaN) floats in the processing code. Do not enable in any normal usage because this setting uses a lot of CPU. It prints error messages in the log if invalid values are found at various points in the pipeline.
• Debug Out Of Range Limit
  Debug setting: Only used when Debug Out Of Range Check Enabled is true. This defines the maximum values samples can have. Normal audio must be contained within +1/-1. Set this limit to a value higher than 1 to allow temporary or short excursions out of range. The default value is 16.

Integration Settings

Reverb

• Max Simultaneous Reverb Volumes
  The maximum number of Ak Reverb Volumes that can affect a sound. Setting this to zero disables all Ak Reverb Volumes in game. Note that Ak Late Reverb Components found on an actor that also contains an Ak Room Component are not affected by this setting.

Installation

• Wwise Project Path
  The location of the Wwise project for the UE game. The Wwise integration requires this path to create the Wwise assets required for the game using the Generate SoundBanks function within the Unreal Content Browser (or Build menu). This path is relative to the Unreal Project directory, as given by FPaths::ProjectDir() in the Unreal Engine.
• Root Output Path
  The location of the folder that contains the Wwise project metadata, specifically the ProjectInfo.json file. This file contains the locations of the generated SoundBanks, which are required to play sound in the game. The path is relative to the Unreal project's content directory, as given by FPaths::ProjectContentDir().

  Note: If you are using external sources, changes to this path must be reflected in the External Source settings in your Wwise project.

Cooking

• Wwise Staging Directory
  The directory to which .bnk and .wem files will be copied when staging files during cooking.

Occlusion

• Default Occlusion Collision Channel
  The default collision channel used for audio occlusion calculations.

Fit to Geometry

• Default Fit to Geometry Collision Channel
  The default value for Collision Channel when fitting Ak Acoustic Portals and Ak Spatial Audio Volumes to surrounding geometry.

AkGeometry Surface Properties Map

• Ak Geometry Map
  Associates an AkAcousticTexture and a transmission loss value to Physical Materials. It is used with the AkGeometryComponent that converts meshes to Spatial Audio Geometry. You can associate the Physical Materials used in the meshes to an AkAcousticTexture and a transmission loss value here.

Audio Mixer

• Audio Input Event
  Input event associated with the Wwise Audio Input. For more information, see Using the AkAudioMixer Module.
• Init Bank
  The unique Init Bank for the Wwise project, which contains the basic information necessary to properly set up the Sound Engine.
• Unreal Audio Routing
  Audio routing options that determine whether to use Unreal or Wwise audio exclusively, the two together, or to route Unreal audio through AkAudioMixer or AudioLink. For more information, refer to Selecting Audio Routing Options.
• Wwise Sound Engine Enabled
  Indicates whether the Wwise Sound Engine is enabled, depending on the selected audio routing option.
• Wwise Audio LInk Enabled
  Indicates whether the Wwise AudioLink is enabled, depending on the selected audio routing option.
• Ak Audio Mixer Enabled
  Indicates whether the Wwise AkAudioMixer is enabled, depending on the selected audio routing option.

Localization

• Unreal Culture to Wwise Culture
  Mapping of Unreal Culture code to Wwise Language. This enables calling Set Current Audio Culture directly with an Unreal Culture code. See Localizing Audio Assets for more information.

Asset Creation

• Default Asset Creation Path
  The path in which to create assets dragged from the Wwise Browser.

Viewports

• Visualize Rooms and Portals
  Visualize rooms and portals in the viewport. The "realtime" setting must be enabled in the viewport.
• Show Reverb Info
  When enabled, information about AkReverbComponents will be displayed in viewports, above the component's UPrimitiveComponent parent. The "realtime" setting must be enabled in the viewport.

Reverb Assignment Map

• Clear Map
  Clears all entries in the map.
• Insert Decay Key
  Click to insert a key to the Environment Decay Aux Bus map. Any Decay value higher than the highest key is assigned to the Default Reverb Aux Bus. Any Decay value between X and Y keys is assigned to the corresponding Y key Reverb Aux Bus.
• Global Decay Absorption
  The global absorption value used when estimating reverb decay values. The default value is 0.5. See Automatically Assigning the Aux Bus for more information.
• Default Reverb Aux Bus
  The default aux bus to use when using the aux bus auto-assignment feature. See Automatically Assigning the Aux Bus for more information.
• Environment Decay Aux Bus Map
  A collection of mappings from decay values to aux busses used for auto-assigning reverb aux busses. See Automatically Assigning the Aux Bus for more information.

RTPCs

• HFDamping Name
  (Legacy workflow) The name of the RTPC used to set the high-frequency damping produced by the environment. Overridden by the HFDamping RTPC value, if there is one.
• Decay Estimate Name
  (Legacy workflow) The RTPC name used to estimate the time taken for the sound pressure level to reduce by 60dB. Overridden by the Decay Estimate RTPC value, if there is one.
• Time to First Reflection Name
  (Legacy workflow) The RTPC name used to set the time taken for the first reflection to reach the listener. Overridden by the Time to First Reflection RTPC value, if there is one.
• HFDamping RTPC
  The RTPC used to set the high-frequency damping produced by the environment.
• Decay Estimate RTPC
  The RTPC used to estimate the time taken for the sound pressure level to reduce by 60dB.
• Time to First Reflection RTPC
  The RTPC used to set the time taken from the first reflection to reach the listener.

User Settings

Installation

• Wwise Windows Installation Path
  The location of Wwise Authoring on your Windows development machine. This option will need to be updated when a new version of Wwise Authoring is required by the integration changes.
• Wwise Mac Installation Path
  The location of Wwise Authoring on your Mac development machine. You must update this value when integration changes require you to install a new version of Wwise Authoring.

Note: If these installation paths are not correctly set, Unreal cannot generate the Wwise SoundBanks required for the game.

• Root Output Path User Override
  The location of the folder that contains the Wwise project metadata, as determined by a user override in the Wwise User SoundBank Settings. The folder includes the ProjectInfo.json file, which contains the paths to the generated SoundBanks.

WAAPI

• WAAPI IP Address
  IP Address used to connect to the Wwise Authoring API (WAAPI).
• WAAPI Port
  Port used to connect to WAAPI.
• Auto Connect to WAAPI
  Enables the automatic connection of the Unreal Editor to Wwise through WAAPI.
• Auto Sync Selection
  Whether to synchronize the selection between the Wwise Browser and the Wwise Project Explorer.

Error Message Translator

• XML Translator Timeout
  Maximum time allotted to search for IDs (milliseconds) for the XML file reader. Set to 0 to disable.
• Waapi Translator Timeout
  Maximum time allotted to search for IDs (milliseconds) through the WAAPI connection. Set to 0 to disable.

The Error Translators purpose is to transform numerical IDs in error messages into human-readable names, whenever the information is available. There are two methods available: through SoundBanksInfo.xml and through WAAPI. If the SoundBanksInfo.xml file is present beside the SoundBank files (it is optional), using the XML method is faster. WAAPI has the advantage of reading directly from an instance of Wwise, with the latest information. But the network communication can be very slow. Because of that it is disabled by default.

Assets Reload

• Ask for Wwise Assets Reload
  Opens a notification that the user must accept before reloading Wwise Asset Data when working in the Unreal Editor.

Spatial Audio Settings

• Max Sound Propagation Depth
  Maximum number of portals that sound can propagate through.
• Movement Threshold
  Amount that an emitter or listener has to move to trigger a recalculation of reflections/diffraction. Larger values can reduce the CPU load at the cost of reduced accuracy.
• Number Of Primary Rays
  The number of primary rays (cast from each listener) used in stochastic ray casting.
• Reflection Order
  Maximum reflection order between 1 and 4.
• Diffraction Order
  Maximum diffraction order: the number of "bends" in a diffraction path. A high diffraction order accommodates more complex geometry at the expense of higher CPU usage. Diffraction must be enabled on the geometry to find diffraction paths. Set to 0 to disable diffraction on all geometry. This parameter limits the recursion depth of diffraction rays cast from the listener to scan the environment, and also the depth of the diffraction search to find paths between emitter and listener. To optimize CPU usage, set it to the maximum number of edges you expect the obstructing geometry will traverse.
• Diffraction on Reflections Order
  Maximum possible number of diffraction points at each end of a reflection path. Diffraction on reflection allows reflections to fade in and out smoothly as the listener or emitter moves in and out of the reflection's shadow zone. When greater that zero, diffraction rays are sent from the listener to search for reflections around one or more corners from the listener. Diffraction must be enabled on the geometry to find diffracted reflections. Set to 0 to disable diffraction on reflections.
• Maximum Path Length
  Maximum length of a reflection/diffraction path.
• CPU Limit Percentage
  Controls the maximum percentage of an audio frame the raytracing engine can use. The ray tracing engine dynamically adapts the number of primary rays to target the specified computation time value. However, the computed number of primary rays can never exceed the value specified in Number of Primary Rays. A value of 0 indicates that there is no limit on the amount of CPU used for raytracing, and the number of primary rays is fixed and determined by Number of Primary Rays.
• Load Balancing Spread
  The computation of spatial audio paths is spread on LoadBalancingSpread frames. Spreading the path computation on several frames can prevent CPU peaks. The spread introduces a delay in the path computation.
• Enable Geometric Diffraction and Transmission
  Enables the computation of geometric diffraction and transmission paths for all sources that have the Enable Diffraction and Transmission box selected in the Positionning tab of the Wwise Property Editor. This flag enables sound paths around (diffraction) and through (transmission) geometry. Set Enable Geometric Diffraction and Transmission to false to ensure that geometry is only used to calculate reflection. Diffraction edges must be enabled on geometry for diffraction calculation. If Enable Geometric Diffraction and Transmission is false but a sound has "Enable Diffraction and Transmission" selected in the positionning tab of the Wwise Authoring tool, the sound only diffracts through portals but passes through geometry as if it were not there. Disable this setting if the game performs its own obstruction calculation, but geometry is still passed to spatial audio for reflection calculation.
• Calc Emitter Virtual Position
  When set to true, Wwise Spatial Audio calculates the apparent or virtual position of emitters that diffract through portals or around geometry, and then sends the position to the sound engine.

Wwise Simple External Source Manager Settings

• Media Info Table
  Table of all information required to properly load all external source media in the project. All files in this table are packaged in the built project.
• External Source Default Media
  Optional table that defines a default media entry in the MediaInfoTable to load when an External Source is loaded.
• External Source Staging Directory
  Staging location for External Source media when cooking the project. This is the location from which to load External Source media in the built project.

Initializing the SoundEngine

The SoundEngine initialization steps are performed in the FAkSoundEngineInitialization::Initialize() method. In this method, the memory, streaming, IO, sound engine, platform, music engine, and communication settings are configured from values set in the Wwise Initialization Settings for each platform.

For more information on SoundEngine initialization, refer to the Initialize the Different Modules of the Sound Engine section in the Wwise SDK documentation.