Torque 2D advanced sound

#1 Did you see Simon's blog post?

Looks like the old way was annoying - random untested whack:

%source = alxCreateSource("Assets:MySoundAssetID");
// the alxSource* functions set parameters, alxGetSource* get the values.
// the AL_* enumerations are in source/audio/audio_ScriptBinding.cc near the top.
alxSource3f(%source, AL_POSITION, %posX, %posY, 0.0); // pretty sure camera looks "down"
alxSourceF(%source, AL_MAX_DISTANCE, %maxDist);
alxSourceI(%source, AL_LOOPING, 1); // wild guess that 1 is "true" - might be "loop once" but that seems weird.

#2 Hey Bruce!

The changes I've made were integrated into the development branch so all you need to do is

- set the scenewindow to process audio listeners
- create an AudioDescription with the appropriate Max_DISTANCE value
- call "Myfire.playSound("MyAssets:MySound, MyFancyAudioDescription);

The "ancient" method as described by Richard is how OpenAL works natively; any OpenAL tutorial/code snippet will show you how to modify sources.

Be sure to ALWAYS choose alx____ instead of the al____ functions, where ____ is the name of the function. the al_____ are for internal use only.

#3 Thanks... I assume this will be coming out with version 3.3.
I am currently working with (straight out of the box) 3.1 since 3.2 Android build and Android write file do not work. So I will wait... I have plenty of other areas to work on until then.

#4 If you are adventurous, you can always merge my branch (available here with a working version of the engine, it shouldn't break anything!

From what I know, version 3.3 will also feature many Android compilation fixes!

#5 Thanks... not that adventurous right now. I temporarily scripted a volume/distance to a x/y point (non-aural-directional) routine. I will revisit it when 3.3 is released.

#6 Are you using Android Studio or Eclipse with ADT? I fixed the Android Studio building myself which were merged into Development branch.

As for Eclipse/ADT I haven't updated since Google deprecated and stopped supporting that IDE and plugin 7 months ago.

#7 Eclipse with ADT. I thought there were problems with Android Studio and Torque 2D. Do you have a step-by-step Studio install for Torque 2D utilization?

#8 Thank you very much for continuing to develop this. Can't wait to see what 3.3 brings :)

#9 @simon - I am now using 3.3. Is the volume supposed to change between ReferenceDistance and MaxDistance? I am getting the same level no matter the distance. It appears to be either on or off.

new AudioDescription(AUDIO_LOOPING){
is3D = true;
isLooping = true;
ReferenceDistance = 5.0;
MaxDistance = 25.0;
volume = 0.5;
};

#10 @Bruce : The answer is a bit long but should help make it work for you. Make sure that you called MySceneWindow.setAudioListener(true); or 3d positioning simply won't work.

The Distance Model

The distance model used in T2D is AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE, while the OpenAL documentation point out that the default mode is AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE_CLAMPED. I did not change this from stock T2D but I think a tiny pull request might help clarify matters.

Both algorithms (and the math behind them) are described in the
OpenAL 1.1 documentation.

Max_Distance

From the docs :

Quote:used with the Inverse Clamped Distance Model to set the distance where there will no longer be any attenuation of the source

As such, Max_distance isn't taken into consideration with unClamped Distance models.
That being said, you can change the distance model in audio.cc, just search for AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE.

Reference_Distance

Once again from the docs :

Quote:
the distance under which the volume for the source would normally drop by half (before being influenced by rolloff factor or AL_MAX_DISTANCE)

#11 @simon - I did have the mySceneWindow.setAudioListener(true);

I have tried all of the following to no avail:
alDistanceModel(AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE);
alDistanceModel(AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE_CLAMPED);
alDistanceModel(AL_LINEAR_DISTANCE);

The volume is the same from the object till MaxDistance in which the sound stops.

I did notice that the 3.3 that I downloaded reports V3.2
==>echo(getengineversion());
v3.2
Did the version number not get updated or is there a problem with the download?

#12 I made some tests and you are right, with default settings, the sound doesn't seem to lower in volume as distance is increased.
I had made tests in this regard early on but the remaining work was mostly based on ensuring that panning works correctly.

Will have to test thoroughly.

I have no idea about the 3.2 engine version string.

#13 thanks... thought I was going crazy (short trip....)

#14 It seems as if the rollofffactor is not working.

#15 I've made some tests and it seems to work fine!

1 - Your audio file MUST be MONO in order for it to be considered at all for distance attenuation.

2 - A simple sprite moving across the center of the screen works as expected with the following AudioDescription (i.e. attenuates with distance)

new AudioDescription(LOOPS_ADESC){
   is3D = true;
   ReferenceDistance = 15.0;
   MaxDistance = 125.0;
   isLooping = true;
};

#16 edit : works with inverse_linear_clamped and inverse_linear

#17 works GREAT now - using out-of-box version and it was the STEREO .vs. MONO was causing the problem. Now to convert all my SFX to mono.

Great job on implementation.

#18 Thanks Bruce! You're probably the only other user who has tested this extensively so do not hesitate to share your findings or suggest improvements.

#19 And thanks for finding the version string. That would be my fault. I'll have to hunt it down and update it.