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Audio Middleware Sound Designer Workflow

This guide completes TODOS.phase-72.72.28.1.15 and is bound by

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Source Of Truth#

This guide completes TODOS.phase-72.72.28.1.15 and is bound by V2/ue/Content/V2/Audio/AudioMiddlewareSoundDesignerWorkflow_V2_Contract.json.

The V2 launch audio runtime remains MetaSounds plus AudioModulation. Wwise, FMOD, and custom middleware authoring are optional handoff paths for partner studios and advanced production builds. Every middleware deliverable must preserve the native fallback path and the maya-audio built-in system so the default cook remains functional without external middleware.

This document covers the MetaSounds plus AudioModulation launch runtime, Wwise FMOD custom provider handoff, gameplay event ids and provider event names, generated middleware projects, hot reload development sessions, per-platform soundbanks, dependency sidecars, content cook build pipeline, and runtime fallback QA signoff.

Topic tags: MetaSounds plus AudioModulation launch runtime, native fallback path, maya-audio built-in system, Wwise FMOD custom provider handoff, gameplay event ids and provider event names, generated middleware projects, hot reload development sessions, per-platform soundbanks, dependency sidecars, content cook build pipeline, runtime fallback QA signoff.

Primary source docs:

  • audio-middleware-backend.md
  • audio-cooking.md
  • music-authoring-interface.md
  • music-system-composer-integration-guide.md

Contract dependencies:

  • AudioMiddlewareBackend_V2_Contract.json
  • WwiseSDKIntegration_V2_Contract.json
  • FMODStudioIntegration_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareAbstractionLayer_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareSpatialSourceManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareListenerManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareEnvironmentZoneManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareOcclusionRaycastManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareSoundbankStreamingManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareProfilingIntegration_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareGameplayEventTriggerManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareProjectGenerationManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareHotReloadManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareFallbackManager_V2_Contract.json
  • AudioMiddlewareBuildPipelineIntegration_V2_Contract.json

Middleware System Map#

Gameplay code talks to FV2AudioMiddlewareAbstractionLayer, not directly to a vendor runtime. The launch route remains custom/native audio, while optional provider rows mirror the same gameplay events into Wwise and FMOD:

  • Audio.Gameplay.Weapon.Fire
  • Audio.Gameplay.Player.Footstep
  • Wwise.Event.Weapon.Fire
  • FMOD.Event.Player.Footstep
  • CustomAudio.Event.Weapon.Fire

The production path is:

  1. Generate middleware project structure from AudioMiddlewareProjectGenerationManager_V2_Contract.json.
  2. Author events, parameters, switches, states, and banks in Wwise, FMOD, or the custom provider project.
  3. Validate gameplay event routes through AudioMiddlewareGameplayEventTriggerManager_V2_Contract.json.
  4. Validate 3D source, listener, environment-zone, and occlusion metadata before mix review.
  5. Cook per-platform soundbanks through AudioMiddlewareBuildPipelineIntegration_V2_Contract.json.
  6. Keep AudioMiddlewareFallbackManager_V2_Contract.json valid so unavailable middleware routes to maya-audio.built-in.

Sound Designer Deliverables#

Each middleware handoff must include these deliverables:

  • stable gameplay event ids for weapon fire and player footstep coverage;
  • provider event names for Wwise, FMOD, and custom middleware routes;
  • bank ids Audio.Wwise.Bank.CoreGameplay, Audio.FMOD.Bank.CoreGameplay, and Audio.CustomAudio.Bank.CoreGameplay;
  • generated project files for Wwise and FMOD event/bank structures;
  • per-platform soundbanks for Win64, PS5, and XSX;
  • dependency sidecars ending in .v2audiobankdeps.json;
  • surface switch, weapon intensity RTPC, and custom parameter coverage;
  • spatial source, camera listener, acoustic zone, reverb, occlusion, and obstruction metadata;
  • profiling labels for CPU usage, voice count, and memory usage;
  • native fallback confirmation for every optional middleware route.

Reference generated bank paths:

  • Content/Wwise/GeneratedSoundBanks/Win64/CoreGameplay.bnk
  • Content/FMOD/Banks/PS5/CoreGameplay.bank
  • Content/CustomAudio/Banks/XSX/CoreGameplay.bank

Reference cooked output:

  • Saved/Cooked/XSX/V2/Audio/Middleware/CustomAudio/CoreGameplay.bank

Authoring Workflow#

  1. Start from generated middleware projects. Use the project generation manager before hand-authoring banks so gameplay event names, bank ids, work units, and parameters match runtime contracts.
  2. Author event payloads against gameplay events. Weapon fire owns Audio.Control.Weapon.FireIntensity; footsteps own Audio.Control.Player.MovementSpeed and surface switch data.
  3. Keep provider event names stable once gameplay code references them. Rename work units or folders only when the generated project contract and all bank specs change in the same review.
  4. Use hot reload only in development sessions. A changed CoreGameplay soundbank should resolve Audio.MiddlewareHotReload.Accepted.ReloadChangedSoundbank and reload without restarting the game.
  5. Validate runtime routes through the abstraction layer before any provider SDK review. The same authored event must still play through the custom/native route when Wwise or FMOD are absent.
  6. Record profiling evidence after spatial/listener/environment routing works. CPU, voice, and memory counters should publish to the engine profiler before final mix signoff.

Content Cook And Build Pipeline#

Per-platform middleware bank cooking happens during content cook. The build pipeline integration accepts a platform cook only when content cook is running, generated middleware projects are available, native fallback is allowed, and the provider/platform/bank tuple exists.

Required cook behavior:

  • Audio.MiddlewareBuildPipeline.Accepted.CookPlatformSoundbank
  • deterministic cook commands for Wwise, FMOD, and custom providers;
  • per-platform soundbanks for Win64, PS5, and XSX;
  • dependency sidecars such as Saved/Cooked/Win64/V2/Audio/Middleware/Wwise/CoreGameplay.v2audiobankdeps.json;
  • rejection of missing content cook through Audio.MiddlewareBuildPipeline.Rejected.ContentCookNotRunning;
  • rejection of missing generated middleware projects through Audio.MiddlewareBuildPipeline.Rejected.GeneratedProjectMissing.

The general native audio cook remains documented in V2/docs/asset-pipeline/audio-cooking.md. Middleware bank cooking extends that content-cook flow but does not replace the native MetaSounds plus AudioModulation path.

Runtime Fallback And QA Signoff#

Middleware must be treated as optional at runtime. If Wwise, FMOD, or custom middleware is unavailable, Audio.MiddlewareFallback.Accepted.MayaAudioBuiltIn routes gameplay events to the maya-audio built-in system. QA signoff must verify that unavailable middleware does not block weapon fire, footsteps, spatial positioning, listener updates, environment sends, occlusion reporting, or core gameplay banks.

Signoff evidence must include:

  • a successful Wwise cook for Win64;
  • a successful FMOD cook for PS5;
  • a successful custom provider cook for XSX;
  • a missing-content-cook rejection;
  • a missing-generated-project rejection;
  • a hot-reload development session for CoreGameplay;
  • a fallback route to maya-audio.built-in;
  • runtime snapshot fields for build pipeline registration, per-platform cook readiness, dependency sidecar readiness, and last cooked output path.

Validation Commands#

Run the guide checker and adjacent middleware gates:

bash
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-sound-designer-workflow.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-build-pipeline-integration.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-fallback-manager.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-project-generation-manager.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-gameplay-event-trigger-manager.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-hot-reload-manager.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-middleware-soundbank-streaming-manager.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-audio-module.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-ci-workflow.py
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-buildgraph.py
python3 V2/tools/validate-v2-docs.py
python3 -m json.tool V2/ue/Content/V2/Audio/AudioMiddlewareSoundDesignerWorkflow_V2_Contract.json