Steam Audio SDK 4.0.0
This is a major update to the Steam Audio SDK, and is not backwards-compatible with previous releases.
Major New Features
This release of Steam Audio introduces the following major new features:
- Pathing. Steam Audio can simulate and bake propagation paths from moving sources to moving listeners. This allows modeling how sound travels along corridors, through doorways, etc., and applying the appropriate filters and spatialization. Baked paths can also be updated in real-time to respond to occlusions by moving geometry.
- Hybrid Reverb. Steam Audio can render reflections and reverb using a technique called hybrid reverb. This is a hybrid of convolution reverb and parametric (artificial) reverb, which involves rendering the early reflections using convolution, and the late reverberation tail using parametric reverb. This allows realistic rendering of large, reverberant spaces, as well as detailed early reflections, with reduced CPU usage as compared to pure convolution reverb. Hybrid reverb also allows the reverb tail length to be controlled by designers to override the simulation results.
- The Steam Audio API has been significantly updated. One of the main changes is a cleaner separation between simulation and rendering, which provides more opportunities for designers (or custom game code) to intervene and fine-tune the results generated by Steam Audio. It also allows simulation results to be used outside of spatial audio rendering, for example, the loudness of sound propagation paths can be used to drive enemy AI.
- The API documentation has been significantly updated.
Improvements
- InstancedMesh objects (dynamic geometry) are now supported using the Phonon ray tracer. In particular, this allows dynamic geometry to be supported on Android.
- Direct path simulation (i.e., occlusion, transmission, etc.), reflection simulation, and pathing simulation can be run concurrently.
- Switched to using FlatBuffers for serialization.
- Materials are now stored in StaticMesh objects instead of Scene objects. This allows static meshes to be easily added and removed from a scene.
- OpenCL can now be initialized using existing command queues, instead of newly-created command queues in a newly-created context.
- Embree and Radeon Rays are now statically linked into Steam Audio.
- Upgraded TrueAudio Next to v1.3.1.1.
Fixes
- Disabled flushing denormal numbers to zero by default.
- Fixed various potential crashes when using Radeon Rays.
- Fixed bug in BVH construction when using the Phonon ray tracer.
- Fixed bug in convolution reverb on Android.
Steam Audio Unity Plugin 4.0.0
This is a major update to the Steam Audio Unity Plugin, and is not backwards-compatible with previous releases.
Steam Audio Unity Plugin 4.0.0 requires Unity 2017.3 or later.
Major New Features
- Updated to use Steam Audio SDK 4.0.0.
- Additive scenes are now fully supported. Multiple scenes can be additively opened in the editor, and exported to separate files. At run-time, scenes can be additively loaded (and unloaded), and Steam Audio will automatically add (and remove) the relevant geometry from its internal copy for simulation.
- Exported scene data and baked probe data is stored in .asset files, which can be placed anywhere in in your project's Assets directory, and referenced from within scenes or prefabs. This allows generation of self-contained AssetBundles that contain all necessary Steam Audio data referenced by scenes or prefabs in the AssetBundle. #136
- Steam Audio settings are now project-wide, instead of specified per-scene.
- There is now a single .unitypackage to import, which includes all binaries for all platforms, including Embree, Radeon Rays, and TrueAudio Next integration, as well as FMOD Studio support. (If you're not using FMOD Studio, you can uncheck the FMOD directory when importing the package.)
- The plugin UI has been significantly updated, in particular to allow the use of new Steam Audio features like pathing and hybrid reverb.
- The documentation has been significantly updated.
Improvements
- Occlusion and transmission simulation now run in the main thread.
- Distance attenuation, air absorption, and directivity calculations are now run in the audio thread.
- The update rate of reflection and pathing simulation can be controlled using the Simulation Update Interval parameter.
- The plugin's directory layout has been reorganized. C# scripts, native plugin binaries, and other data files are all placed in Assets/Plugins/SteamAudio.
- The project-wide settings are placed in the Assets/Plugins/SteamAudio/Resources/SteamAudioSettings.asset file.
- Acoustic materials are now placed in .asset files. The built-in materials are available in Assets/Plugins/SteamAudio/Resources/Materials. You can create your own materials and place them anywhere, and reference them from Steam Audio Geometry components.
Fixes
- Fix various unnecessary GC allocations.
- Added a workaround for a potential issue in Unity where distant sounds may play with the wrong volume for the first few frames.
- phonon_fmod.dll (or libphonon_fmod.so, etc.) is placed in the correct place in the Assets folder, so FMOD Studio can find and load it.
Steam Audio FMOD Studio Plugin 4.0.0
This is a major update to the Steam Audio FMOD Studio plugin, and is not backwards-compatible with previous releases.
Steam Audio FMOD Studio Plugin 4.0.0 requires FMOD Studio 2.0 or later.
Major New Features
- The plugin UI has been significantly updated.
- The documentation has been significantly updated.
Improvements
- Distance attenuation, air absorption, and directivity calculations are now run in the audio thread.
- Distance attenuation curves can be edited directly on the Steam Audio Spatializer. This means you no longer need to add an FMOD Spatializer effect just to control the distance attenuation curve.