One Minute Wwise | Simple Sound Positioning
Learn how to position sounds (2D and 3D) in your game with Wwise. Use Balance Fade, Steering, Automation, or Attenuation Spread to define the use of channels. No Commercials, no lengthy introductions - just "Wwiser" in about a minute.
How is Listener with Automation different from Emitter?
- The sound will automate relative to the listener, like flies buzzing around your head. Emitter is relative to the object, like bees flying around a beehive.
Resources:
- Wwise-101 | 3D Spatialization: https://www.audiokinetic.com/courses/wwise101/?source=wwise101&id=using_3d_game_defined#read
- Working with 3D Objects: https://www.audiokinetic.com/library/edge/?source=Help&id=working_with_3d_objects
- Steering: https://www.audiokinetic.com/library/edge/?source=Help&id=steering_paRonner_illustrated
- Effects of Spread: https://www.audiokinetic.com/library/edge/?source=Help&id=effect_of_spread
- Attenuation Curve Spread: https://www.audiokinetic.com/library/edge/?source=Help&id=defining_attenuation_curves_for_various_object_properties#wwise_properties_for_attenuation_curves_list
- Wwise/Unity Position, Attenuation, and Profiling: https://youtu.be/RoUUdfInrTs
Let's go through a few simple ways to position sounds with Wwise. For demonstration's sake, we'll use this looping sound with noticeably different channels. Let's begin.
After import, the default will be Direct Assignment, meaning no positioning is applied, but here we can use Balance Fade to focus on certain channels or steer (Steering) all channels into a certain direction. This, however, is not actual positioning but merely sending more of this sound into a certain channel, so let's add it to 3D space.
Start by telling Wwise that this object, will act as the emitter. Then put it in a 3D space. And let's also automate the sound, relative to the emitter. This will slightly offset the sound from where it's positioned in the game, so it sounds like it's moving around in that area. However, this sound already has birds positioned left and right, so let's leverage the multiple channels instead. So remove the automation, let the sound attenuate on distance, and then add some spread, so when distant both channels will come from the same point, but as you get closer the channels will proportionally surround the listener. That's it.