Wwise 2015.1.9 Audio Creation Guide for Necropolis Modding

This guide covers creating sounds and music in Wwise 2015.1.9, including volume control and 3D spatial audio setup for Necropolis modding.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Creating a New Wwise Project
3. Importing Audio Files
4. Creating Sound Effects (SFX)
5. Creating Music
6. Setting Up Volume Control
7. Configuring 3D Spatial Audio
8. Event Creation
9. Generating Soundbanks
10. Testing Your Audio

Prerequisites

Required Software:

• Wwise 2015.1.9 (specifically version 2015.1.9.5452)
• Audio files in supported formats (WAV)

Recommended Knowledge:

• Basic understanding of audio concepts (mono/stereo, sample rate, bit depth)
• Familiarity with the Wwise interface

Creating a New Wwise Project

1. Launch Wwise 2015.1.9
2. Click File → New Project
3. Configure your project:
   • Project Name: YourModName_Audio
   • Location: Choose a working directory
   • Platform: Windows (or your target platform)
4. Click OK to create the project

Importing Audio Files

Step 1: Prepare Your Audio Files

• Use WAV format for best quality (16-bit, 44.1kHz or 48kHz)
• Ensure files are named clearly (e.g., footstep_01.wav, sword_swing_02.wav)
• For music, use stereo files
• For sound effects, mono or stereo depending on spatial needs

Step 2: Import into Wwise

1. In the Project Explorer panel, expand the Actor-Mixer Hierarchy
2. Right-click on Default Work Unit and select **New Child → Sound SFX
3. Right-click on your new container/sound and select Import Audio Files
4. Browse to your audio files and select them
5. Click Import

Creating Sound Effects (SFX)

For Simple Sound Effects:

1. Create a Sound SFX object:

   • Right-click Default Work Unit → New Child → Sound SFX
   • Name it descriptively (e.g., "Footstep_Stone")

2. Add audio source:

   • In the Property Editor (lower-right), go to Contents Editor tab
   • Click Add Source
   • Select your imported audio file

3. Configure playback:

   • Loop: Disable for one-shot sounds, enable for looping sounds
   • Playback Priority: 50-70 for normal SFX, higher for important sounds

For Randomized Sound Effects (UNTESTED):

1. Create a Random Container:

   • Right-click Default Work Unit → New Child → Random Container
   • Name it (e.g., "Footsteps_Stone_Random")

2. Add multiple Sound SFX children:

   • Right-click the Random Container → New Child → Sound SFX
   • Repeat for each variation
   • Import different audio files to each

3. Configure randomization:

   • In Property Editor, ensure Randomizer is enabled
   • Set Play Mode: Random (continuous) or Random (step)
   • Adjust Weight values for each child sound if needed

Creating Music

Step 1: Create Music Structure

1. Create a Music Switch Container:

   • In the Interactive Music Hierarchy (not Actor-Mixer Hierarchy!)
   • Right-click Default Work Unit → New Child → Music Switch Container
   • Name it (e.g., "GameplayMusic")

2. Create Music Segments:

   • Right-click your Music Switch Container → New Child → Music Segment
   • Create segments for different contexts:
     • "Combat_Music"
     • "Explore_Music"
     • "Boss_Music"

Step 2: Import Music Files

1. Select a Music Segment
2. In the Contents Editor tab, click Add Source
3. Import your music file (stereo WAV recommended)

Step 3: Configure Music Properties

1. Time Settings:

   • Set Entry Cue to 0 (starts immediately)
   • Set Exit Cue to match song length or fade point
   • Enable Loop if desired

2. Transitions:

   • In the Music Switch Container, go to Transition tab
   • Set up transition rules between segments
   • Configure Exit Source: End of current segment, Next bar, etc.
   • Configure Fade-out/Fade-in: 1-3 seconds typical

Setting Up Volume Control

Necropolis uses Game Parameters (RTPCs) to control volume. You'll want to hook into these:

Available Volume Controls:

• Master_Bus_Volume - Master volume
• SFXVolume - Sound effects volume
• MusicVolume - Music volume

For Sound Effects:

1. Select your Sound SFX or Random Container
2. In Property Editor, go to RTPC tab
3. Click + Add RTPC
4. Select Voice Volume
5. Select SFXVolume (or create if needed)
6. In the graph:
   • X-axis: 0 to 100 (volume slider value)
   • Y-axis: -96 dB to 0 dB (output volume)
   • Draw a curve: (0,0) → (100,0) for linear response
   • Or use logarithmic curve for perceived linear volume change

For Music:

1. Select your Music Segment Container
2. Follow same RTPC process but use MusicVolume parameter
3. Set up same volume curve

Configuring 3D Spatial Audio

CRITICAL: This is the most common mistake. 3D audio requires BOTH Positioning setup AND Attenuation configuration.

Step 1: Create Attenuation Profile

This step is REQUIRED - without it, sounds won't fade with distance!

1. In ShareSets, right-click Attenuations → New → Attenuation

2. Name it (e.g., "Standard_3D_Attenuation")

3. In the Property Editor for the attenuation:

   Distance Tab:

   • Enable Use Maximum Distance
   • Set Maximum Distance: 50-100 (game units, experiment with values)
   • Configure the Volume curve:
     • Point 1: (0, 0dB) - Full volume at source
     • Point 2: (20, 0dB) - Stays full volume to 20 units
     • Point 3: (50, -40dB) - Fades to near silence at 50 units
     • Point 4: (100, -96dB) - Complete silence beyond 100 units

Step 2: Enable 3D Positioning

1. Select your Sound SFX
2. In Property Editor, go to Positioning tab
3. Change 2D → 3D

Step 3: Apply Attenuation to Sound

1. In Positioning tab
2. Attenuation: Select your created attenuation profile
3. CRITICAL: If you forget this step, sound will not attenuate with distance!

Common 3D Audio Mistakes:

❌ Forgetting to assign attenuation → Sound never fades with distance ❌ Not enabling Position in Positioning tab → Sound plays as 2D ❌ Maximum distance too small → Sound cuts off abruptly ❌ No curve points defined → Wwise uses defaults (may not be suitable)

Event Creation

Events are how the game triggers your sounds.

Creating a Play Event:

1. In Events tab, right-click Default Work Unit
2. Select New Event
3. Name it clearly with a prefix (e.g., "Play_MyMod_Footstep")
4. In the Property Editor:
   • Action: Play
   • Target: Browse to your Sound SFX or Random Container
   • Fade-in time: 0 for instant, or short fade (0.1-0.3s)

Creating a Stop Event (for loops):

1. Create another Event (e.g., "Stop_MyMod_Footstep")
2. Action: Stop
3. Target: Same as Play event
4. Fade-out time: 0.5-2.0 seconds typical

Event Naming Convention:

Follow Necropolis patterns:

• MODNAME_Play_SoundName - Play sounds
• MODNAME_Stop_SoundName - Stop looping sounds
• MODNAME_Play_OnEventName - Event-triggered sounds

Important: Events must have UNIQUE names. If your event has the same name as a game event, yours will be ignored!

Generating Soundbanks

Step 1: Create SoundBank

1. Go to Layouts at the top, then select SoundBank (or press F7 to open SoundBanks Layout)
2. Under SoundBank Manager, Press New
3. Name your SoundBank (e.g., "MyModName")

Step 2: Add Content to SoundBank

1. Select your SoundBank
2. In Bottom panel, you'll see SoundBank editor
3. Drag your Events from the Events tab into the Hierarchy Inclusion area
4. Wwise will automatically include referenced sounds and structures

Step 3: Generate Banks

1. In SoundBank Manager, check your SoundBanks
2. Check Windows under Platforms, and English under Languages
3. Click File → Generate SoundBanks
4. Check your SoundBank in the list
5. Click Generate
6. Wwise will compile your audio

Step 4: Locate Generated Files

Generated banks are in your project folder:

YourWwiseProject/
  GeneratedSoundBanks/
    Windows/
      MyModName.bnk  ← This is your soundbank file!
      MyModName.txt  ← Human-readable event list

Testing Your Audio

Common Issues:

Sound doesn't play:

• Check that audio file was imported
• Verify Event action is "Play"
• Check that target is set correctly

3D sound doesn't attenuate:

• ✓ Attenuation profile created?
• ✓ Attenuation assigned to sound?
• ✓ Maximum distance enabled?
• ✓ Curve points defined?

Sound is too quiet/loud:

• Check source audio file volume
• Adjust RTPC volume curve

Integration with Necropolis

Your generated .bnk file needs to be loaded by the game:

Add Custom Banks via Modding Plugin

Use the CustomWwiseSoundbanks plugin system (see the separate BepInEx modding guide).

Quick Reference: Complete Workflow

1. Create Wwise Project
2. Import Audio Files
3. Create Sound Objects (Sound SFX or Random Container)
4. Configure Properties:
   • Pitch/Volume randomization
   • Loop settings
5. Set up 3D Audio (if needed):
   • Enable Position in Positioning tab
   • Create Attenuation profile
   • Assign Attenuation to sound
6. Create Attenuation ShareSet:
   • Define distance curve with multiple points
   • Enable Maximum Distance
   • Set curve from 0dB to -96dB over distance range
7. Create Volume Control:
   • Set up RTPC for SFXVolume or MusicVolume
8. Create Events:
   • Play event
   • Stop event (for loops)
9. Create SoundBank:
   • Add events to bank
10. Generate SoundBank:
    • File → Generate SoundBanks
11. Copy .bnk file to your mod distribution

Example: Creating a Custom Footstep Sound

Goal: Create a 3D footstep sound with multiple variations that responds to volume settings.

1. Import 3 footstep WAV files (mono, 44.1kHz)
2. Create Random Container: "MyMod_Footsteps"
3. Add 3 Sound SFX children, import one audio file to each
4. Configure Random Container:
   • Random (continuous)
   • Add pitch randomization: ±150 cents
   • Add volume randomization: ±3 dB
5. Create Attenuation: "Footstep_Attenuation"
   • Max distance: 30 units
   • Curve: (0,0dB) → (10,0dB) → (30,-60dB)
6. Configure each Sound SFX child:
   • Positioning tab → Enable 3D Position → Emitter
   • Assign Footstep_Attenuation
7. Create Event: "Play_MyMod_Footstep"
   • Action: Play
   • Target: MyMod_Footsteps
8. Create SoundBank: "MyMod"
9. Add Event to SoundBank
10. Generate SoundBank

Result: A randomized, 3D footstep sound that works with the game's volume system!

Next Steps

Now that you have your .bnk file, see the BepInEx Plugin Modding Guide to learn how to:

• Load your custom soundbank
• Trigger your events from C# code
• Replace existing game sounds
• Replace environment-specific music

Additional Resources

• Wwise 2015.1.9 Documentation: [Available in Wwise installation folder]
• Audiokinetic Community: https://www.audiokinetic.com/community/
• Necropolis Modding Discord: [Check modding community for latest info]

Good luck with your audio modding! 🎵