SOUNDS (WWISE)

To create an interactive and living audio experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, we use Audiokinetic Wwise, the most advanced commercial sound engine currently available. If you are not familiar with it, you can find the download and all the documentation directly through the Audiokinetic web site:

IMPORTANT! When installing Wwise, you should select 2019.2.5 Build 7349 to install, and in the Wwise Launcher, also check the Wwise SoundSeed Air and Wwise Convolution boxes. Both plug-ins are used in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

 

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, there are two ways to integrate sounds on a SimObject, and these are both outlined below. Note that in both cases, files must be located in the "sound" folder of the SimObject Hierarchy. For AI aircraft (non-player aircraft) files must be located in the "soundai" folder, in the same SimObject parent folder.

 

For both pipelines, you will need to build your packages using The Project Editor.

 

Before reading about the basic pipelines explained below, we recommend that you take a moment to study the AudioKinetic Wwise Tutorial from the following link:

 

After that we also suggest that you then read our own section on how to use Wwise before continuing. This will give a you basic understanding of the sound creation process for add-on packages:

 

 

Wwise Data Pipeline

We highly recommend using this audio pipeline, as the full potential of the Wwise audio engine allows much more than the legacy wav format pipeline. All of Asobo's default aircraft have been developed using this pipeline.

 

The Wwise Data pipeline uses the following files:

  • Sound.xml (or Soundai.xml): this contains the definition of all the sounds of the SimObject.
  • SimObjectName.PC.PCK (or SimObjectName_AI.PC.PCK): this contains the audio resources and the corresponding Wwise setup.

 

Sound.xml and Soundai.xml

These XML files define every sound and the accompanying sound parameters of a SimObject. They detail the conditions for playing and stopping a sound, the SimVars mapping into Wwise game parameters in order to perform audio processes at runtime, the acoustic parameters, and much more.

 

You can find all the necessary information to set up your sounds through sound.xml in these pages:

IMPORTANT: Every sound using the WwiseData pipeline must be tagged as such in the sound.xml, using the WwiseData="true" attribute.

 

SimObjectName.PC.PCK

Rather than referencing each individual *.wav file in the aircraft sound folder, the Wwise data pipeline compiles all the SimObject sounds into a single Wwise soundbank, which is itself included in a Wwise package file (PC.PCK extension). Soundbanks are created and generated from the Wwise editor and packaged through the Wwise File Packager tool.

 

To create your own PC.PCK files, you need to use the WwiseSampleProject template which is available in the Microsoft Flight Simulator SDK folder, and make sure you have installed the correct version of Wwise (2019.2.5 Build 7349) on your machine.

Note: 2019.2.5 Build 7349 can be downloaded and installed from the Wwise launcher, found from the following URL: https://www.audiokinetic.com/download/.

Before getting started please consult the following pages that introduce the Microsoft Flight Simulator Wwise project template, as they will help you to create your own aircraft soundset using the Wwise Data pipeline.

 

 

Wave Data pipeline

This is the legacy wav format pipeline, centered around individual .wav files. Few known issues currently remain, but this pipeline will be improved with live updates. See thew section on Legacy Sound for more details.

 

As with the Wwise Data pipeline (explained above), the resources are located in a "sound" folder inside the SimObject's parent folder. In this folder, a sound.cfg file and/or a sound.xml file is required:

  • sound.cfg: This is the legacy sound configuration format. It is compatible with the current system. For information about the legacy system, see here.
  • sound.xml: The new sound configuration format. You will find all the information in the sound.xml configuration pages
  • Individual wave files

Note: Every sound using the Wave Data Pipeline must be tagged as such in the sound.xml file, using the WwiseData="false" attribute.