Music segments now support MIDI files and play virtual instruments created using standard container hierarchies and source synthesizers. Feature overview:
The Wwise Sample Project, available from the Wwise Installer, contains a new interactive music example named "MIDI" using a mix of pre-recorded music, MIDI sequences, instruments and source plug-in patches (Synth One). We suggest you take a look at this documentation and project to get inspiration on how to take advantage of MIDI.
Music tracks can now contain sub-tracks set to play according to switches. It can be used with audio content and it can also be used with MIDI content especially in contexts where rapid and seamless transitions are required.
Wwise Synth One is our first source plug-in that really acts as a synthesizer and that can be used, not only for music, but also to replace rendered audio files for ambiances, room tones, UI sounds, etc. by a synthesized counterpart. It reduces resources and adds flexibility as all parameters can be attached to game parameters, MIDI CC, LFO and Envelopes.
In the RTPC tab LFO and Envelope Modulators can be added to control an RTPC.
A recursive filter that attenuates low frequencies, it is available everywhere the Low-pass filter is available.
The focus parameter preserves the original channel position of the audio files especially when used in tandem with the Spread parameter that has a tendency to blur channels together otherwise.
New channel configurations with height channels are now supported in Wwise, on busses and in the Multi-Channel File Creator. They can be used with some 3D virtualization plugins.
The mixer plug-in framework provides a new type of plug-ins that are inserted on busses but which operates on each individual sources routed to it. The first sets of plug-ins available are from our 3rd party partners specialized in 3D audio such as Gen Audio, Auro 3D and IOSONO. This framework is also open to any game developers interested in alternative panning or mixing rules not provided by Wwise. A mixer plug-in has access to a lot of information from each source (per channel volumes, priorities, etc.) and can operate on them before they get mixed.
Wwise offers a highly flexible binding scheme that adapts to a variety of workflow. Single or multiple hardware controllers can be used. Work sessions can be operated in different modes:
Game parameters can now be interpolated in units per seconds or in absolute duration. Interpolating game parameters eliminates abrupt changes generated by the game and results in a smoother experience.
The following game parameter sources can be selected in the Game Parameter Editor:
These sources are automatically set by Wwise at runtime based on the game-object and listener positions, occlusion and obstruction values.
It is now possible to import media files from a tab-delimited text file (also known as tab-separated files).
The tab-delimited file can define the following elements:
Suspend/background mode available on all platforms using functions of the SDK.
More control is now available from the bus and voice volume callback (AkSpeakerVolumeMatrixCallbackInfo). The input and output channel configurations, separate base volume versus channel spatialization matrix are passed, as well as interfaces to the input and mixer contexts from which you can obtain positioning data, mixing services, and more.
A new callback is also available from bus processing in order to obtain metering data, such as K-weighted power values used to compute ITU-R BS.1770-compliant loudness.
See Important Migration Notes 2014.1 and Advanced Mix Customization Using the Speaker Matrix Callback for more details.
Wwise running on Mac is available since 2013.2.7, but we believe it's worth mentioning it in this major release. Except for the File Packager that is currently not available on Mac, you’ll get the same features and workflow than the Windows version.