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Wwise SDK 2023.1.9
Audio Plug-ins

Wwise lets you extend its capabilities by building your own plug-ins. You can create different types of plug-ins such as audio effects and sound sources such as synthesizers, physical modeling, and so on.

Note: For an example of the step-by-step creation of a plug-in, refer to Example: Developing a Lowpass Filter Plug-in.

Overview of a Plug-in

A Wwise audio plug-in is composed of two parts: the Authoring part and the Sound Engine part.

Overview of the Authoring Part of the Plug-in

This is the part that runs in the Wwise Authoring application. It can be found in:

  • <Wwise>/Authoring/x64/<Config>/bin/Plugins

It is composed of two files:

  • An XML definition of the model, that is the plug-in's properties.
  • A dynamic library (.dll) providing the implementation of SoundBank generation and a graphical interface.

Refer to Writing the Authoring Part of an Audio Plug-in for information on writing this Part of the Plug-in.

Note: If you intend to update an existing plug-in, consult Migrating to 2021.1 Authoring Plug-in API.

Overview of the Sound Engine part of the plug-in

This is the code that runs in the Sound Engine to produce or modify the input sound based on settings defined by the user in Wwise. These settings are provided to the sound engine as parameters in SoundBanks.

The code is provided as both a static library and a dynamic library for platforms that support it. The Sound Engine plug-in library files are located along with the Wwise libraries in the SDK:

  • <Wwise>/SDK/<Platform>/<Config>/bin
  • <Wwise>/SDK/<Platform>/<Config>/lib

A header file is also expected in the Wwise include directory:

  • <Wwise>/SDK/include/AK/Plugin

The static library is also linked to the Authoring dynamic library so it can be used in the Wwise Authoring application.

Refer to Writing the Sound Engine Part of an Audio Plug-in for information on writing this part of the plug-in.

Plug-in Creation Resources

Multiple resources ease the creation of a plug-in, most notably the use of the development tool wp.py (Wwise Plugin).

Development Tool: wp.py

A command-line tool written in Python is provided with the Wwise SDK installation. It can be found in your Wwise installation at:

  • <Wwise>/Scripts/Build/Plugins/wp.py
Note: wp.py must be run from the directory you want to work in, not from its install location, e.g.,
C:\Workspace> python "%WWISEROOT%/Scripts/Build/Plugins/wp.py" --help

The capabilities of the tool include:

  • Generating a ready-to-use project from templates.
  • Generating solutions for your target platforms.
  • Building these solutions.
  • Packaging your plug-in for use in the Audiokinetic Launcher.

Refer to Using the Development Tools for information on the plug-in development tools provided with this SDK.

Let's create a simple lowpass filter plug-in

Refer to Example: Developing a Lowpass Filter Plug-in a step-by-step example of the development of a functional plug-in.

Sample Code

The Wwise SDK provides ready-to-build sample plug-ins to get you started. They can be found in:

  • <Wwise>/SDK/samples/Plugins

The following sample plug-ins are provided:

Refer to Sample Effect Plug-in for information on sample effect plug-ins provided with this SDK.

Related Pages

More details are available in these sections:

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