Wwise: Getting Started

• Required Downloads and Information
• Wwise Student Game Demo(s)
• Integrating Wwise into Unreal
• Integrating Wwise into Unity
• Building a Project With Wwise
• Getting Started: Wwise --> Unreal

Required Downloads and Information

This page will show the necessary downloads and provide insightful information for getting started with Wwise.  The video below is a Unity project with Wwise integrated into it.  It utilizes some basic components of the Wwise Authoring Tool.

In order to get get started using Wwise, you will need to open up Audio Kinetic's website and download the Wwise Launcher application.  The link to AudioKinetic's download page will be provided here , where you can choose the platform you wish to download it on.

With it installed and opened, there are a few tabs in the lefthand view you can navigate through.  The Home tab showcases ongoing events related to Wwise, upcoming events, projects showcasing Wwise, and all sorts of cool content that will familiarize you with the ways in which the software is used.

The Projects tab...

The Wwise tab shows all versions of Wwise you currently have downloaded.  When you decide to integrate Wwise into a game engine (i.e. Unity, Unreal), it is important to know WHAT versions of Wwise are compatible with WHAT versions of a game engine.  You can find this information on the Release Notes page on AudioKinetic's website. 

Use the dropdown menu in the top left to choose a version of Wwise, then check the release notes for the game engine you're interested in by navigating the left-hand menu and finding the game engine dropdown with each version's release notes.  You will be provided with the what versions of the game engine compile with Wwise and what the Wwise version was tested with.

The Plug-Ins tab provides a list of plug-ins that enhance Wwise's capabilities.  Some of these plug-ins are not free or will require being crediting of some sort, so keep this in mind as you check them out.

The Unity tab will display every Unity project that was located on the computer being used.  If you recently unzipped a project file and are not seeing it in the view, make sure Unity Hub has located your project file first before expecting AudioKinetic Launcher to find it.

The Unreal tab will display ever unreal project that was located on the computer being used.  If you recently unzipped a project file and are not seeing it in the view, make sure Unreal has located your project file first before expecting AudioKinetic Launcher to find it.

Samples contains projects that use Wwise, many of which are complimentary of the certification courses you can go through.  They are very helpful for understanding Wwise's capabilities.

The Wwise certifications are free, as are the downloads for any Sample game they provide.  The exams, however, cost money and will get you two attempts at the exam.  You can find the page with all of the certification courses here.  the certifications include:

- WWise 101 (Wwise Fundamentals)

- WWise 202 (Interactive Music)

- WWise 251 (Performance optimization & Mobile Considerations)

- Wwise 301 (Unity Integration)

Licensing

Wwise has annual subscriptions for unlocking premium features, as well as direct support from the Audio Engineering Team.  That being said, projects that are not game-related and are for non-commercial, education, or non-gaming purposes can be registered for licensing.

As you can see above, I can happily say that there is an option for obtaining Wwise licensing through an Indie Game project.  This is a recent advance made by AudioKinetic that has really opened Wwise up to the game development community and has made it more open-source.  You can access this page for more info and video here.

YouTube

Lastly, seeing other Audio Engineer creations, how-to videos, and blogs are a great way to familiarize yourself with some popular features in games achieved by Wwise.  here are some sources below for you to explore:

- LIMBO Wwise Demo Reel (Youtube)

- Cujo Sound (YouTube)

- Coding versus Blueprints in UE (Blogs Series)

- Using Wwise's Query Editor (Blog)

- Wwise & Reaper Implementation (Youtube)  Great video on composition formatting in Reaper, and effective integration into Wwise.

Wwise Student Game Demo(s)

The Wwise Demo is a Unity project purposed towards demonstrating some of Wwise's capabilities.  It is recommended you play through this experience before reading the page.  To determine version compatibility between Wwise and Unity, visit the Release Notes Page on AudioKinetic's website.

You can access the doc made to compliment this experience, linked here.

DICTIONARY

Profiling a game containing Wwise

Profiling a game in Wwise is a useful way to debug the audio events in your project.  Profilers let you see how events are being communicated between the sound and game engine, providing many useful insights.

In this tutorial, we will be exploring different ways to use a profiler.  Each method will be split into categories that can be navigated through the table of contents.

Integrating Wwise into Unreal

The most recent version of Unreal that Wwise can integrate into is Unreal 5.2  For updates and information on Wwise's compatibility, visit the Release Notes Page on Audiokinetic's website.

Integrating Wwise into Unreal is a simple process.  As an alternative to a textual guide, a video series will be linked below that covers Wwise and Unreal setup and use cases.  Below that video is a shorter video geared specifically towards the integration process.

Learning Wwise with Unreal | Video Series

Integrating Wwise into Unreal | Short Video

It is assumed you have the Epic Games Launcher application for opening Unreal projects.  If you do not, the link here will take you to a download page.

STEP 1:  Selecting Your Unreal Project

Whether your project is old or new, Wwise can integrate into the Unreal project.  Just be sure to check you are using a version of Wwise that is compatible with the version of Unreal you choose to use.  This can be determined using the 'Release Notes Page' link and navigating to the version of Unreal you are using.

When you've confirmed the versions of each software work together, go ahead and open the Wwise Launcher application.  This can be found using the search bar or may be on your home screen.

This is the interface that should pop up.  This is where you go to integrate Wwise into Unreal or Unity projects.  Other game engines involve a different process and there are tutorials that are a search away for learning how.

On the left-hand menu, click Unreal.  Any projects on your computer, whether on its drive or an SSD, will appear in this view.  For the project you want Wwise integrated into, locate it and click the "Integrate Wwise Into Project..." button.

You will be brought to this screen to configure integration properties.  There are many potential error messages in the instance above, all of which I purposefully set myself to encounter for you to see.  Starting at the top, you need to make sure Unreal is not running on your computer.   Second, make sure you have the correct version of Wwise installed. If you don't it presents a button for downloading the correct version.  Lastly, the launcher may get upset if an important add-on was not installed alongside with Wwise, leading to the error message on the bottom.

When you have accounted for all of these potential error, you will be able to click the "Integrate" button at the bottom.

The integration will start after agreeing to whatever terms you must accept.  The terms may vary depending on what partner plug-ins you choose to have in your Wwise project, but that will not change having to select the "Accept" button to start the integration.

You should get this message when the integration is complete.  We can open Unreal and access Wwise through the Wwise launcher application.  Simply click the "Open in UnrealX.X" button beneath your project.  You can also open up the corresponding Wwise project from here.

This completes the integration process!  To access your project hierarchy from the Wwise project, navigate to the Window tab on the Unreal toolbar, then click Wwise Pickers in the dropdown menu.

Until you have created Events and generated a soundbank in Wwise, there will be nothing in this view.  To learn more about Unreal, visit the SCiL Wiki Book on Unreal here.

Integrating Wwise into Unity

The most recent version of Unity compatible with Wwise is 2022.2.2f1 . For updates on compatibility with this game engine, visit the Release Notes Page for more information.

Before starting, below is a video tutorial that goes through this process.  

Integrating Wwise into Unity | Tutorial

Keep in mind that certain versions of Wwise compile with certain versions of Unity.  When going through this process, refer to the 'Release Notes Page' linked above that tells you what versions of Wwise are compatible with specific versions of Unity.

Assuming you have downloaded the Wwise Launcher, you can open it with the search bar or by clicking the icon on your home screen.

When you open the Wwise Launcher application, you will be brought to this screen.  On the left-hand menu, click Unity to bring up a list of Unity projects that exist either on the computer's hard drive, or an SSD that is plugged in.

You will be brought to an integration properties screen, where you can configure how you want Wwise to integrate into Unity.  If your Unity project is running, you will get an error message like the above picture that prevents you from integrating Wwise.  Make sure your Unity project is closed.

If Unity is closed and you have a version of Wwise that supports your project, you should not have any errors in the integration settings.

Specify where the installation should happen under Unity Installation.  If you have a Wwise project already created, you need to specify the Wwise Project Path, though I recommend letting the launcher create a fresh project for you.

When the installation is complete, you will get a green message, like above, and can open your Unity project.

Wwise is now connected to Unity!  There is a lot you can do to quickly set up a soundscape, which you can learn about through the Getting Started --> Wwise & Unity Chapter.

(Currently does not exist.  You can refer to Audio Kiinetic's certification Lessons to learn more about using Wwise with Unity. LINK)

If you have not learned Wwise's tools, I recommend going through lessons from the link above to get familiar with Wwise.  Afterward, the lessons from the 301 certification will apply what you've learned to a game engine. LINK

Building a Project With Wwise

Getting Started: Wwise --> Unreal

Assuming you know how to integrate Wwise into Unreal, this page will go over how to view your project hierarchy from Wwise in Unreal.  In the case your Wwise Events are not appearing, troubleshooting methods and scenarios will be shared below.

The Third Person Template will be used for this tutorial, as well as a fresh Wwise Project.  After reviewing how blueprints work and where Wwise comes into play, we will aim to do two things in this scene: post music at the start of play mode, and have footsteps be posted each step the player takes.

Above is a Wwise project with music and footstep objects tied to a Wwise event, which can be posted through an Action in Unreal.  The footsteps are an open source WAV file created for SCiL using lab equipment.  You can access the sound effects repository here.

To access your Wwise assets in Unreal, you need to open the Wwise Picker Tab.  This can be found by navigating to Window --> Wwise Pickers.  There are different tabs that pop up but the one we'll be focusing on is the Wwise Picker Tab.

If you have a new project open, chances are there is nothing appearing for you under the Wwise picker Tab.  This is because you need to generate your sound banks in Wwise or Unreal and make sure the project file and generated sound bank file('s) directories are where Unreal is expecting them.  If these are not configured properly, you will get an insightful message that says where Unreal is looking for something, and what you should check to determine if your designations are correct.

In Wwise, make sure you have a sound bank with your events tied to the bank in the sound bank layout.  You can get to the sound bank layout by navigating to Layouts --> Sound Banks.  Your events should contain the audio objects you wish to be posted in Unreal.  In the picture above, a switch container containing multiple sound objects has been dragged into the Demo_Level sound bank.  After doing this, I checked off all the boxes in the Soundbank Manager and clicked 'Generate All'.

The Cog dropdown icon in the top right is where you can access your project settings and check for proper directories, as also seen above.  If your directories are not properly configured, it will most likely be because your platform directories are incorrect, or the Root Output Path is incorrect.

If you ever become unsure of what your directories are for a Wwise project, you can access them on the Wwise Launcher application.  When you go to the project you need the directories for, click the blue 'show more' icon next to the grey boxes with white text.  Mine currently says 'show less' because the details of my project's directory are already showing.

Finally, we move into your Project Settings in Unreal.  You can access these by navigating to Edit --> Project Settings.  Once there, scroll down in the left-hand menu until you see the Wwise Header and click 'Integration Settings'.  Under the Installation Path dropdown, you can see your 'Wwise Project Path' and 'Generated Sound banks Folder' directories.  Depending on where your files are allocated in your file explorer, make sure these directories identify where the Wwise project file, and generated sound banks are located.