Before generating the SoundBanks for each of your platforms and languages, you need to define your SoundBank settings. The following SoundBank settings can be defined at the project level:
Defining SoundBank project settings - Determine what information is to be included with the generated SoundBanks.
Specifying a location for your saved SoundBank - Determine the location on your hard drive or network to save a SoundBank.
Defining steps to be performed pre/post SoundBank generation - Determine which tasks will be performed immediately before SoundBank generation.
Defining steps to be performed pre/post SoundBank generation - Determine which tasks will be performed immediately after the SoundBank generation.
Although these settings are defined at the project level, you can create custom user settings by overriding these project settings. For more information on overriding the SoundBank project settings, refer to Configuring user SoundBank settings.
Before generating your SoundBanks, you need to determine what information will be part of the generation process, how it will be included, and in what format will it be generated. The settings you choose will depend on how the data and media within the SoundBanks are accessed by your game.
To define SoundBank project settings:
Open the Project Settings dialog by doing one of the following:
From the Project menu, select Project Settings.
Press Shift+K.
Switch to the SoundBanks tab.
In the SoundBank Settings group, select any of the following options to define custom settings for your SoundBanks:
Allow SoundBanks to exceed maximum size to generate SoundBanks even if they exceed the maximum size specified.
Generate SoundBank content files to create files that list the contents of each SoundBank. The content files include information on Events, Busses, States, and Switches, as well as a complete list of streamed and in memory audio files.
Generate header file to create a header file that maps Event, State, Switch, and Game Parameter names to IDs.
Max attenuation to include maximum attenuation information in the SoundbanksInfo.xml file for each Event.
Estimated duration to include the estimated maximum and minimum duration for each Event, as well as whether a sound loops infinitely or is a one-shot sound, in the SoundbanksInfo.xml file for each Event.
Use SoundBank Names to use SoundBank names (checked) or IDs (unchecked) to name generated SoundBank files (BNK) and to reference one bank within another bank. For more information, refer to SoundBanks Tab.
If you chose to generate a header file, you must decide where it will be saved. To do so, do one of the following:
Click the text box and directly type a path into it.
Double-click the text box or click the browse button […] to prompt a browser to navigate to the location of your choice.
![[Note]](/images/2024.1.0_8669/?source=Help&id=note.png)
Note You can use a full path or a relative path to specify the location where the header file will be saved. When using a relative path, use the project folder as the origin of the path.
If you chose to generate SoundBank content files, you can select the desired text file format with the SoundBank content file format option.
![[Tip]](/images/2024.1.0_8669/?source=Help&id=tip.png)
Tip If you have file paths, object names or object notes that contain non-ANSI characters, you should use the Unicode format.
Click OK to apply the settings.
When you generate the SoundBanks for your project, the default save folder is:
ProjectName\GeneratedSoundBanks\Platform\
If this location is not convenient for you, you can change it to any directory on your workstation or network.
When specifying the location for your saved SoundBank, you can use a full path or a relative path. When using a relative path, use the project folder as the origin of the path. For example, the following full path and relative path specify the same location:
C:\Wwise Projects\My Project\GeneratedSoundBanks\Windows
GeneratedSoundBanks\Windows\
To specify a new location for your saved SoundBank:
Open the Project Settings dialog by doing one of the following:
From the Project menu, select Project Settings.
Press Shift+K.
Switch to the SoundBanks tab.
In the SoundBank Paths group, specify a path by doing one of the following:
Type a path directly in the text box.
Click Browse and use the browser to navigate to the location of your choice.
Click OK to apply any changes you made.
| Note |
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If Copy Loose/Streamed Media is enabled in your project settings, then this setting also determines where your media files will be copied. Refer to SoundBanks Tab for more details. |
Depending on your workflow, you may have a certain step or task that needs to be performed immediately before or immediately following the generation of your SoundBanks. For example, you may want to check out specific SoundBank files from your source control system before generating them or you may want the streamed files to be copied to the SoundBanks directory immediately following generation.
In Wwise, these types of tasks are defined by creating command lines. A special command line editor exists within Wwise making it easy for you to build as many command lines as you need. To simplify the process even further, the editor contains a list of all the Wwise-specific and other Windows environmental variables that can be used in a command line.
The specific Wwise variables available for writing custom command lines are as follows:
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Command Line Variable |
Description | |||
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Specifies whether SoundBanks can be generated even if they exceed the maximum size specified. This variable is set to true when the Allow SoundBanks to exceed maximum size option is selected. | |||
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Specifies whether files that list the contents of each SoundBank are created. The content files include information on Events, Busses, States, and Switches, as well as a complete list of streamed and in-memory audio files. This variable is set to true when the Generate SoundBank content files option is selected. | |||
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Specifies whether a header file is generated that maps Event, State, Switch, and Game Parameter names to IDs. This variable is set to true when the Generate header file option is enabled. | |||
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Specifies whether the maximum attenuation information is generated for Events. This variable is set to true when the Metadata Options: Max attenuation option is enabled. | |||
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Specifies whether the estimated maximum and minimum duration and duration type information is generated for events. This variable is set to true when the Metadata Options: Estimated Duration option is enabled. | |||
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The full path of the header file, which is: $(HeaderFilePath)\Wwise_IDs.h | |||
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The path or location where the header file will be saved. This path is taken from the Header file path text box. | |||
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The full file name of the current platform's Info file. | |||
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Specifies whether Wwise was launched from the command line with the | |||
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The list of languages passed to the command line or the selected languages in the SoundBank Manager.
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The name of the current platform. | |||
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The list of SoundBanks passed to the command line or the selected SoundBanks in the SoundBank Manager.
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A text file containing the list of SoundBanks passed to the command line or the selected SoundBanks in the SoundBank Manager. This option may prove useful when dealing with a long list of SoundBanks.
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The path or location where the current platform's SoundBanks are saved. | |||
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Specifies whether SoundBank names ( This variable is set to | |||
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The drive letter on your workstation where the Wwise executable (Wwise.exe) is located. | |||
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The path or location of the Wwise executable (Wwise.exe). | |||
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The numerical Process Identifier of the Wwise executable (Wwise.exe). | |||
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The drive letter on your workstation where the Wwise project is located. | |||
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The name of the current project. | |||
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The path or location of the Wwise project. | |||
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The port used by WAAPI for the WAMP protocol. | |||
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The port used by WAAPI for the HTTP protocol. |
| Note |
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Additionally, all environment variables, such as |
To be as flexible as possible, Wwise allows to define different command lines for the following types of steps:
Global opening step - A command line that applies to all platforms and is performed before any other step.
Platform-specific pre-generation step - A command line that applies to a specific platform and is performed before the SoundBanks are generated.
Platform-specific post-generation step - A command line that applies to a specific platform and is performed after the SoundBanks are generated.
Global closing step - A command line that applies to all platforms and is performed after all other steps.
By default, every project includes a platform-specific post-generation step command line that copies the streamed files to the SoundBank directory. You can, however, automate any type of task by executing a different command line. Wwise also ships with another Factory command line that uses the File Packager to generate a package containing all data and media within your SoundBanks. For more information about the File Packager, refer to Managing file packages. For more information about loading factory command lines, refer to Loading factory/custom command lines.
You can also save the command lines you create to a file (WCMDLINE) so that you can use them later on, within the same project, across projects, or if you want to share them with other users. For more information on saving commands, refer to Saving custom command lines to a file.
To define tasks to be performed before SoundBank generation:
Open the Project Settings dialog by doing one of the following:
From the Project menu, select Project Settings.
Press Shift+K.
Switch to the SoundBanks tab.
To create a global Pre-Generation Step, click the browse button […] to open the Global Opening Step Editor.
The Pre-Generation Step Editor opens.
In the Description text box, type a name that clearly describes the step or task that will be performed.
Click in the Commands text box to begin creating your command line.
Note The Commands text box works like most other text editors, which means you can add new lines of text by pressing Enter, delete text by selecting it and pressing Delete, and so on.
If you want to insert built-in macros and environment variables in your command, do the following:
In the Macros group, select one of the following options:
Built-in Macros - To display a list of Wwise-specific variables that can be used within the Wwise command lines.
Environment Variables - To display a list of Windows-specific environment variables that can be used within the Wwise command lines.
To add a variable to the command line, do one of the following:
Double-click a variable in list.
Select a variable from the list and then click Insert.
Continue to add variables to your command line, as required.
If you need to perform a second global pre-generation step, simply go to the end of the first line, press Enter, and then start creating a new command line.
Click OK to save the command line and to close the Pre-Generation Step Editor.
Note If you want to save the command line to file, click the Save As button in the editor. For more information on saving custom command lines, refer to Saving custom command lines to a file.
To create a platform-specific pre-generation step, repeat steps 3-8 for each platform.
Note You can load factory and previously saved custom command lines into the editor by clicking the Load button. For more information on loading factory/custom commands, refer to Loading factory/custom command lines.
To define tasks to be performed after SoundBank generation:
Open the Project Settings dialog by doing one of the following:
From the Project menu, select Project Settings.
Press Shift+K.
Switch to the SoundBanks tab.
In the Post-Generation Step group, you will notice that the Copy Streamed Files command line is added by default. To modify this command line or to add an additional one, click one of the browse buttons [...].
The Post-Generation Step Editor opens.
In the Description text box, type a name that clearly describes the step(s) or task(s) that will be performed.
In the Commands text box, click at the end of the current command line and press Enter. You can now begin to create a new command line.
Note The Commands text box works like most other text editors, which means you can add new lines of text by pressing Enter, delete text by selecting it and pressing Delete, and so on.
If you want to insert built-in macros and environment variables in your command, do the following:
In the Macros group, select one of the following options:
Built-in Macros - To display a list of Wwise-specific variables that can be used within the Wwise command lines.
Environment Variables - To display a list of Windows-specific environment variables that can be used within the Wwise command lines.
To add a variable to the command line, do one of the following:
Double-click a variable in list.
Select a variable from the list and then click Insert.
Continue to add variables to your command line, as required.
If you need to perform an additional pre-generation step, simply go to the end of the first line, press Enter, and then start creating a new command line.
Click OK to save the command line and to close the Post-Generation Step Editor.
Note If you want to save the command line to file, click the Save As button in the editor. For more information on saving custom command lines, refer to Saving custom command lines to a file.
Repeat steps 3-8 for the global closing step and/or for each additional platform.
Note You can load factory and previously saved custom command lines into the editor by clicking the Load button. For more information on loading factory/custom commands, refer to Loading factory/custom command lines.
Wwise ships with a few command lines that have already been created, including one that copies the streamed files to the SoundBank directory, and another that groups the streamed files and SoundBanks into a package. These are called factory command lines. You can load these factory command lines or custom command lines that you previously saved to file.
To load a factory/custom command line:
From the Pre/Post Generation Step Editor, click Load.
From the shortcut menu, click one of the following:
From Factory Folder - To open the Explorer/Finder to the directory where the Wwise factory command lines are located.
From Last Location - To open the Explorer/Finder to the directory from which you last loaded a command line.
The Open dialog opens.
Select the command line you want to load and click Open.
The command line is loaded into the editor.
You can save the custom command lines you create to file so that you can use them later within the same project, across projects, or if you want to share them with other users.
To save a command line to file:
In the Pre-Post Generation Step Editor, write your command line(s).
When you are finished, click Save As.
The Save As dialog opens.
Navigate to the folder where you want to save your command line, name it, and then press Save.
The command line is saved as a WCMDLINE file and can now be re-used at any time.
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