GS_Audio

1 - Audio Manager

The Audio Manager is the singleton controller for the entire audio system. It initializes the MiniAudio engine, manages mixing buses, loads audio event libraries, and coordinates score track playback. It also manages the instance lifecycle for Audio Event Graphs — pooling, firing, and releasing graph instances.

Like all GS_Play managers, it extends the Manager base class and responds to the Game Manager lifecycle automatically.

For component properties and API details, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• What It Manages
• Audio Event Graph Instances
• Quick Reference
• Glossary
• See Also

What It Manages

Audio Event Graph Instances

The Audio Manager is the runtime entry point for the Audio Event Graph system. Two patterns are available:

Fire-and-Forget

The simplest pattern — the Manager handles everything automatically:

PlayAudioGraph(assetPath) → plays the graph → auto-cleans up when finished

Manual Instance Control

For sounds that need to be modified after starting — looping ambience, sounds driven by game state variables:

AcquireAudioGraph(assetPath) → instanceId
FireAudioGraph(instanceId)
SetAudioGraphVariable(instanceId, "paramName", value)   ← update at any time
SetAudioGraphEntity(instanceId, entityId)               ← 3D tracking
StopAudioGraph(instanceId) or FinishAudioGraph(instanceId)
ReleaseAudioGraph(instanceId)

The manager pools idle instances internally — acquiring and releasing is cheap.

Quick Reference

Audio Event Graph

Mixing & Score

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

• The Basics: Audio Event Graph — Visual graph editor for sound events
• Framework API: Audio Manager — Full API reference
• The Basics: Mixing
• The Basics: GS_Managers

Get GS_Audio

GS_Audio — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

2 - Audio Event Graph

The Audio Event Graph is a visual node-based editor for authoring complex sound events. Instead of a single clip pool, you connect sources, filters, effects, and routing nodes into a graph that evaluates as a data-flow pipeline. Each .audiograph file is one sound event. At runtime, the graph maps directly to a live audio processing chain.

For component properties and C++ extension, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• How It Works
• Phase Lifecycle
• Nodes
• Using Variables
• Playing at Runtime
• Quick Reference
• Glossary
• See Also

How It Works

Nodes in an Audio Event Graph evaluate left to right in topological order. Connections carry AudioRoute values — handles to a point in the audio processing chain. The signal flows through:

1. An Entry node gates which phase is active
2. Source nodes create and output audio
3. Filter and effect nodes process the signal
4. Routing nodes (If/Switch) direct the signal based on variables
5. The Output node wires everything to a mixing bus

Only nodes affected by a change re-evaluate — the rest are skipped. This makes variable-driven sound modification cheap even for complex graphs.

Phase Lifecycle

Every Audio Event Graph supports up to three phases:

Phases transition automatically: Start fires once, Loop repeats while looping is enabled, Finish plays when FinishAudioGraph() is called. Not all phases are required — a simple one-shot only needs Start.

Entry nodes share routing freely. A source wired to both Start and Loop phases produces sound in both.

Nodes

Source Nodes

Both support volume, pitch, delay, looping, and 3D spatialization.

Filter Nodes

LowPass, HighPass, BandPass, Notch, PeakingEQ, LowShelf, HighShelf — all take audio_in and output audio_out. Parameters (cutoff, Q, gain) can be set per-node or bound to graph variables.

Effect Nodes

Routing Nodes

IfNode and SwitchNode route AudioRoute values based on conditions or a selector variable. Use these for conditional audio paths — different sounds based on surface type, weather, or character state.

Output Node

Aud_OutputNode wires the final signal to a named mixing bus. Every graph needs exactly one Output node.

Using Variables

Declare variables in the Variable Panel. Bind them to filter parameter slots (right-click > Convert to Reference) or use If/Switch nodes to route based on them.

At runtime, setting a variable re-evaluates only the nodes that depend on it — the rest of the graph is untouched.

Common patterns:

Variables are set from gameplay code via the Audio Manager:

SetAudioGraphVariable(instanceId, "underwater", 0.8)
SetAudioGraphVariableBool(instanceId, "isSprinting", true)

Playing at Runtime

All Audio Event Graph playback goes through the Audio Manager.

Fire-and-Forget

For one-shot sounds with no runtime modification needed:

PlayAudioGraph("Assets/Audio/Explosion.audiograph")

Manual Control

For sounds that loop, need variable updates, or need explicit stopping:

1. AcquireAudioGraph(assetPath) — get an instance ID
2. SetAudioGraphLooping(id, true) — if it loops
3. SetAudioGraphEntity(id, entityId) — for 3D tracking
4. FireAudioGraph(id) — start playback
5. SetAudioGraphVariable(id, name, value) — update variables any time
6. StopAudioGraph(id) or FinishAudioGraph(id) — stop cleanly
7. ReleaseAudioGraph(id) — return the instance to the pool

Quick Reference

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

• Framework API: Audio Event Graph — Full node catalog and extension guide
• The Basics: Audio Manager — Runtime playback API
• The Basics: Audio Events — Simpler fire-and-forget sound playback
• The Basics: Mixing — Mixing buses that graphs route through

Get GS_Audio

GS_Audio — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

3 - Mixing & Effects

The mixing system provides named audio buses with configurable effects chains. Each bus can have multiple audio filters applied for real-time audio processing. Audio Bus Influence Effects allow environmental zones to dynamically modify bus parameters based on the listener’s position.

For component properties and filter types, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• Available Filters
• Environmental Audio Influence
• Quick Reference
• Glossary
• See Also

Available Filters

Environmental Audio Influence

Audio Bus Influence Effects allow spatial zones to modify bus effects dynamically. When the listener enters an influence zone (like a cave or tunnel), the zone’s effects are applied to the specified bus with priority-based stacking. Multiple overlapping zones resolve by priority.

Quick Reference

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

For the full API, component properties, and C++ extension guide:

• Framework API: GS_Audio

For related systems:

• The Basics: Audio Manager

Get GS_Audio

GS_Audio — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

4 - Score Arrangement

Score Arrangement Tracks are multi-layer music assets for dynamic, adaptive game music. Each arrangement defines a time signature, tempo, fade behavior, and a set of independently controllable Score Layers. This enables music that responds to gameplay — adding percussion during combat, muting melody during dialogue, or transitioning between intensity levels.

For asset structure and playback API, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• How It Works
• Supported Time Signatures
• Glossary
• See Also

How It Works

A Score Arrangement Track is a data asset containing:

Each Score Layer is an independent audio stream within the arrangement. Layers can be enabled or disabled at runtime, creating dynamic music that evolves based on game state.

Supported Time Signatures

4/4, 4/2, 12/8, 2/2, 2/4, 6/8, 3/4, 3/2, 9/8

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

For the full API, component properties, and C++ extension guide:

• Framework API: GS_Audio

For related systems:

• The Basics: Audio Manager

Get GS_Audio

GS_Audio — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

5 - Klatt Voice Synthesis

GS_Play includes a built-in text-to-speech system based on Klatt formant synthesis. The KlattVoiceComponent converts text to speech in real time with configurable voice parameters. Voices are positioned in 3D space and attenuate with distance, making synthesized speech feel like it comes from the character speaking.

For component properties, voice parameter details, and the phoneme mapping system, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• How It Works
• Voice Configuration
• KTT Tags
• Phoneme Maps
• 3D Spatial Audio
• Quick Reference
• Glossary
• See Also

How It Works

1. Configure a voice using a KlattVoiceProfile — set frequency, speed, waveform, formants, and pitch variance.
2. Assign a KlattPhonemeMap — maps text characters to ARPABET phonemes for pronunciation.
3. Speak text from ScriptCanvas or C++ — the system converts text to phonemes and synthesizes audio in real time.
4. Position in 3D — the voice component uses KlattSpatialConfig for 3D audio positioning relative to the entity.

Voice Configuration

KTT Tags

KTT (Klatt Text Tags) allow inline parameter changes within speech text for expressive delivery:

"Hello <speed=0.5>world</speed>, how are <pitch=1.2>you</pitch>?"

The KlattCommandParser processes these tags during speech synthesis, enabling mid-sentence changes to speed, pitch, and other voice parameters.

For the complete tag reference — all attributes, value ranges, and reset behavior — see the Framework API: KTT Voice Tags.

Phoneme Maps

Two base phoneme maps are available:

Custom phoneme overrides allow project-specific word pronunciations (character names, fantasy terms) without modifying the base map.

3D Spatial Audio

The KlattSpatialConfig controls how synthesized speech is positioned in 3D:

• Voices attenuate with distance from the listener.
• The KlattVoiceSystemComponent tracks the listener position and updates all active voices.
• Multiple characters can speak simultaneously with correct spatial positioning.

Quick Reference

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

For the full API, component properties, and C++ extension guide:

• Framework API: GS_Audio

For related systems:

• The Basics: Audio Manager

Get GS_Audio

GS_Audio — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.