Wwise CUBE 2019 – CHAPTER 04 A: Wwise – Clean Up

Created By: Game Audio Resource Ltd     Date: 15/07/2019      Version: 2.00

Chapter 04 – Wwise
Clean Up

This guide will clean out all audio assets and hierarchy that comes with the downloaded Wwise project. This enables us to start with almost a fresh blank project. This also allows us to add new audio assets and hierarchy to the project that is completely different to the Wwise 101 training tests and will teach you many processes not available in that online course.

Guide Steps

• STEP 01: Duplicating The Project
• STEP 02: Hierarchy Removal
• STEP 03: SFX Silent Container
• STEP 04: Events Restructure
• STEP 05: File Manager Assets Removal
• STEP 06: Sound Bank Generation
• STEP 07: Test & Integrity Report

Task Time Needed: 1>2 Hours

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Video Guide

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Written Guide

Chapter 04 – Step 01
Duplicating the Project

First, we back up the project. The reason we do this is so if anything goes wrong and we want to check any original project settings, we can still access the original project data and assets.

• TIP: In a commercial environment this step will not be needed. For the purpose of learning this step is extremely helpful

1. Find the master Wwise default install on your PC. If Default installed, it “should” be under
   “C:\Wwise (Build number here, e.g.2019.1.1)

• TIP: This should be the same place as you set up the shortcut to your desk top window as mentioned in previous guides

2. Create a folder called Wwise_CUBE_Default_BACKUP on another drive or location on your C drive. Then simply copy the entire Wwise folder to the new back-up folder.
3. Test the Wwise project and the cube game will open in the new back-up location.
4. Also ensure Wwise can connect to the cube game, in the new location and that the profiler displays info as the game is played.

Chapter 04 – Step 02
Hierarchy Removal

In this step we shall remove most of the actor mixer hierarchy

1. Select the toolbar Layout > Designer or press F5
2. In the Project explorer select the audio tab
3. Open the Actor mixer hierarchy > Default Work Unit and Music WWU’s
4. Under Default Work Unit, ALT + mouse select the folders “Main” & “Maps”
   Also, under Music, ALT Select Boss-D Suling Samples, Arpeggio Synth and Melody Synth
5. Right click any of the selection, then select delete or press the delete key on your keyboard
6. Under interactive Music Hierarchy > Music WWU, ALT+ mouse select “Singers” + “Wwise 201 Music”
7. Right click select delete or press the keyboard delete key
8. Under Master-Mixer Hierarchy > Default Work Unit > Master Audio Bus > Environmental > SFX, ALT+ Mouse click “Items, Main, Character, Monsters, and Weapons,
   Also select Voice under environmental
9. Right Click, then Select delete or press the keyboard delete button
10. Under Master-Mixer Hierarchy > Default Work Unit > Master Audio Bus > Music select Wwise 201 Music.
11. Then drag the SFX & Environments audio BUSSES under the Master Audio BUS.
12. Delete the Environmental Audio BUS & the Master Secondary Bus
13. Now save the project updates CTRL + S or in Wwise toolbar “Project > Save”

Chapter 04 – Step 03
SFX Silent Container

Before we can delete the sound event properties, we will need to set up a Wwise silent container for all events to be assigned to.

1. In the Project Explorer > Actor-Mixer Hierarchy, right click the Default Work Unit, select New Child > Sound SFX
2. Rename the new container “Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot”
3. Select the new container. Then in the Content editor window select Add Sources > Wwise Silence.
4. The container is now assigned properties as if an audio asset has been assigned.

Chapter 04 – Step 04
Events re-structure

In this step we will remove the events default hierarchy structure, replacing it with a temp unused folder.
NOTE: We are not removing events, only the associated properties with all default content.

1. In the Project explorer select the Events tab, open up all the folders content by right clicking the hierarchy, select Expand options > Expand All.
2. Now drag & select the mouse curser over all content in the hierarchy or ALT select all content.
3. Once all content is selected, hold SHIFT and deselect anything that is not a sound event icon.
4. Select all sound events, then drag all the content into the Default Work Unit.
5. Delete the redundant folders Main > Death, Foot, Grunt, Pain and Weapons and Maps > DCP_the_core
6. Let us add a new folder to store all these unused sound events. Right click the Default Work Unit, select New Child > Virtual Folder. Name the new folder “Unused”.
7. Now select all sound events and drag then into the new Unused folder.
8. Select each sound event and remove any associated content to each sound event highlighted in the Event Editor window.
   Simply select the content and press Delete on your keyboard.

• TIP: Be careful not to delete any sound events as these are mostly hardcoded.

9. With all events cleared of data, we need to add a simple play property.
   Select the first event in the list (e.g. Boss_Start).
   In the event Editor > Icon Window, right click and select New Action > Play.
   Then In the Target Column we need to assign an asset to play.
10. Let us assign the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot we created in the last guide step.
    Right click the Target, then select browse. Find the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot Container. However, it is quicker to drag an audio asset from the actor mixer hierarchy onto the sound event properties.
    Return to the Project Explorer Audio tab, find the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot container and simply drag it on the sound event Target column.

• TIP: if you accidental select the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot the sound event properties will disappear. Navigate back to the sound event you were editing (e.g. Boss_Start) then repeat the dragging points above.

11. Re-select this new Play property with the assigned Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot_Asset, then copy it (CTRL + C)
    Now paste (CTRL + V) this property into every sound event available.
12. One you have updated all available sound events Properties, save the Wwise Project updates.

Chapter 04 – Step 05
File Manager Asset Removal

The File Manager is a handy tool to view and edit audio assets that have been imported into the project. We will use the File Manager to remove all Default project audio assets.

1. In the Wwise toolbar > Project > Select File Manger
2. Select the Source Files tab.
3. Ensure your “View mode” is set to “Tree”
4. In the List of all audio assets currently implemented into the project, Under the “SFX” Folder select all audio assets.

• TIP: All assets selected should say in the usage column as “Not Used”. In other words, they are not assigned to anything in the project.

5. Right click the selected content, then select Delete or press delete on your keyboard.
6. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.

• TIP: All default project audio assets have now been fully removed from this Wwise project.

7. 5 folders will be left Under the SFX folder, If you try to delete them, they will not disappear
   To fully delete them, we have to delete manually.
8. Right click the SFX folder and select “Open Containing Folder”.
9. In this folder, CTRL + A to select all content, then press the keyboard Delete key. This will also remove Wwise reference data to the deleted assets we have just removed. Then close the Window.
10. Now open the voices > English folder, select all “Enter” voice assets, right click, then select delete.
11. To confirm all content has now been correctly deleted, close the file manager. Then reopen it. Re-check the hierarchy. The list should now only show the header folders left in the list.
12. Save your Wwise Project update updates.

Chapter 04 – Step 06
Sound Bank Generation

Sounds banks are all your Wwise project data and audio assets packaged up. The game associated to this project will use the sound banks to play audio in game.
We need to update the sound banks so that Wwise is using the latest data updates we have added.

1. In the Wwise tool bar > Layouts > Sound banks or press F7
2. As this may be the first time you have run the banks for this project you will need to set up the properties to build the sound banks
   Tick Default Work unit (this also selects all child sound banks
   Tick Windows or Mac depending on your operating system
   Tick Languages English(US)

• TIP: if the “Generate” button is greyed out or inaccessible it will most probably mean you haven’t ticked all properties to build sound banks

3. Click the Generate Selected button. This starts the sound bank creation
4. If all of the steps in this guide have been completed correctly, the sound banks will state completed when they have finished being Generated.

• TIP: If any errors messages occur in red writing, restart this guide checking over all content has been removed correctly. The most probably source of any errors maybe a sound event with associated data hierarchy assigned.

Chapter 04 – Step 07
Test & Integrity Report

The final step is to error check the updates.
We have confirmed the sound banks have built correctly, so we just need to check the data integrity of the Wwise hierarchy & quick test the game.

1. In the Wwise Toolbar select Views > Integrity Report
2. If you are running this for the first time you may need to set up properties to run the log.
   Check that the following are tick:
   The platform is set to your Operating system type
   Languages = English(US)
   Report = All 4 boxes are ticked (audio files and Sources, Hierarchies, Broken References and Optimisations)
3. Now click the Generate button.
4. A log is now produced highlighting any errors with project.
5. If your log looks like this, you have successfully removed most of the original downloaded content.

• TIP: If you see errors related to content, restart this guide checking all steps have been fully implemented.
  If errors occur, I suggest to check your sound events first as this is the most likely place of errors.

6. Close the integrity report.
7. Boot up the game and test no audio is being heard. You should see in the Wwise Profiler all sound events being triggered play the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot asset.

Your project is pretty much clean of the old data, so we can now start a fresh implementation of a new hierarchy structure.