Wwise CUBE 2019 – CHAPTER 07 D: Footstep – Enemy Entity

Created By: Game Audio Resource Ltd     Date: 22/07/2019      Version: 2.00

In this guide we will implement a basic generic footstep hierarchy for enemy entities.
NOTE: We are taking full use of all new material types we have added in Chapter 07 A>C

Guide Steps:

• STEP 01: Wwise Hierarchy
• STEP 02: Wwise Positioning
• STEP 03: Test & Integrity Report

Task Time Needed: 1 hours per entity type

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Video Guide

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Written Guide

Chapter 07 D – Step 01
Wwise Hierarchy

In this step we will set up the basic hierarchy that can be applied to any enemy entity type.
For this example we will use the entity type Hellpig

1. In the Actor-Mixer Hierarchy, right click the Footstep Work Unit, then select New Child > Switch Container.
   Name the new container Footstep_Hellpig
2. In the Property Editor > General Settings tab, under Switch > Group select Switch Groups > Default Work Unit > Foot
   Set the default Switch/State to Left
3. In the Output Bus, assign the Footstep Audio Bus.
4. Now return to the hierarchy, select the Footstep_Hellpig Switch Container. Right click > New Child > Switch Container.
   Name the Container Footstep_Hellpig_Run
5. Right Click the new Switch Container and add 11 new Random Containers.
   Name each one individually each material types available:
   Concrete, Grass, Gravel, Metal, Pebbles, Sand, Stone, Tile, Undergrowth, Water and Wood.
6. In the Property Editor > General Settings tab > Under Switch > Group select Switch Groups > Default Work Unit > Material
7. Select the Switch Container Footstep_Hellpig_Run.
   In the Content Editor assign the corresponding material types to the assigned Objects list.
8. Select the Switch Container Footstep_Hellpig
   In the Content Editor assign the Footstep_Hell_Pig_Run to the Left and Right Assigned Objects.
9. Now import audio assets to the corresponding material type Containers.
   Place them under SFX > Footstep > Hellpig
10. Finally, lets associate the hierarchy to a sound Event.
    In the Project Explorer go to the Events tab, Under the Footstep Wwise Work Unit select Foot_Hellpig.

With the event properties highlight, return to the Audio tab. Then drag the Footstep_Hellpig Switch Container onto the target column (replacing the Placeholder_Silence_One_Shot reference)

Chapter 07 D – Step 02
Wwise Positioning

In this next step we shall set up a default set of attenuation’s that we can associate with different sized entities.
Attenuation’s enable the sound event to get louder the closer to the player character the event is triggered.

1. In the Project Explorer, select the ShareSets tab.
2. Under Attenuation’s, My Cube right click the Footstep Work Unit, then select New Child > Attenuation
   Name the new attenuation Footstep_Medium.
3. Double click the attenuation to open the Attenuation Editor.
4. Select the Curves > Output Bus Volume. Change the Max Distance to 50
   Drag the First point marker to Output bus 7 & Distance 0.0
   Drag the second point marker to Output bus 35 & distance -30
5. Right click the red line in between the 7 & 35 points. Then assign a Sine curve.
6. Now select the Low-pass Filter in the Curves list. Change the Curve to custom.
7. Reduce the end point at 50 to around 50.
8. Right click the blue line, then select Exponential Curve.
9. Finally, if you want to make the attenuation more focused, Enable the Cone attenuation and adjust the settings (when you test in game)
10. Copy this new attenuation twice. Then rename them Individually Footstep_Small & Footstep_Large
11. In the Footstep_Small attenuation change the Max distance to 35
    Change the first point marker to Output bus 10 & Distance 0
    Change the second point marker to Output Bus 50 & Distance -35
    Change the curve between the 2 point markers to Logarithmic (Base 3)
12. In the Footstep_Large attenuation change the Max distance to 130
    Move the first point to Output bus 10 & Distance 0.00
    Move the second point to Output Bus 105 & Distance -35
    Change the curve between the 2 point markers to Logarithmic (Base 3)
    This sets up a basic sized attenuation set that we can rename / reuse across all future guide chapters.
13. Finally, let us assign the Footstep_Medium attenuation to the Footstep_Hellpig Hierarchy.
    Return to the Audio Tab, select Footstep_Hellpig Switch Container Parent, then in the Property Editor, select the Positioning tab.
    Change the drop-down menu 3D Spatialization to Position + Orientation
    Then in the Attenuation Box assign the new attenuation Footstep_Medium
    (Or under the Attenuation use the arrow to navigate to My Cube > Footstep > Footstep_Medium)
14. Save your Wwise project updates, then generate the sound banks.

Chapter 07 D – Step 03
Test & Integrity Report

In this step we will test the Hellpig Footsteps in game to see how it sounds.

1. 1. Boot up the cube game + connect Wwise to the game.
   2. Solo the Footstep_Hellpig Hierarchy.
   3. Load a Single Player map from the menu.
      Run around the map until a Hellpig spawns.
   4. Make any balancing changes you wish to add.
   5. Save your Wwise Project updates. Then generate the sound banks.
   6. Lastly, run a quick Wwise Integrity Report to validate your Wwise updates.

Using the steps in this guide, Set up either unique or shared hierarchy for all other entity types entities.
The next and final footstep chapter (07 E) will look at a unique hierarchy structure for the enemy entity Bauul