audio-systems

Audio Systems

Implementation Workflow

Follow this pattern for professional audio integration:

1. Architecture - Set up audio manager and pooling
2. Integration - Connect middleware (FMOD/Wwise) or native engine
3. Spatial - Configure 3D positioning and attenuation
4. Mixing - Balance levels and apply dynamic ducking
5. Optimization - Limit voices, compress assets, stream large files

Unity Native Audio Manager

Step 1: Create Pooled Audio System

// Production-ready audio manager with object pooling
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class AudioManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public static AudioManager Instance { get; private set; }

    [System.Serializable]
    public class SoundBank
    {
        public string id;
        public AudioClip[] clips;
        [Range(0f, 1f)] public float volume = 1f;
        [Range(0.1f, 3f)] public float pitchVariation = 0.1f;
        public bool spatial = true;
    }

    [SerializeField] private SoundBank[] _soundBanks;
    [SerializeField] private int _poolSize = 20;
    [SerializeField] private AudioMixerGroup _sfxMixer;

    private Dictionary<string, SoundBank> _bankLookup;
    private Queue<AudioSource> _sourcePool;

    void Awake()
    {
        if (Instance != null) { Destroy(gameObject); return; }
        Instance = this;
        DontDestroyOnLoad(gameObject);

        InitializePool();
        BuildLookup();
    }

    public void PlaySound(string id, Vector3 position)
    {
        if (!_bankLookup.TryGetValue(id, out var bank))
        {
            Debug.LogWarning($"Sound '{id}' not found");
            return;
        }

        var source = GetPooledSource();
        source.transform.position = position;
        source.clip = bank.clips[Random.Range(0, bank.clips.Length)];
        source.volume = bank.volume;
        source.pitch = 1f + Random.Range(-bank.pitchVariation, bank.pitchVariation);
        source.spatialBlend = bank.spatial ? 1f : 0f;
        source.outputAudioMixerGroup = _sfxMixer;
        source.Play();

        StartCoroutine(ReturnToPool(source, source.clip.length));
    }

    private void InitializePool()
    {
        _sourcePool = new Queue<AudioSource>();
        for (int i = 0; i < _poolSize; i++)
        {
            _sourcePool.Enqueue(CreateNewSource());
        }
    }

    private void BuildLookup()
    {
        _bankLookup = new Dictionary<string, SoundBank>();
        foreach (var bank in _soundBanks)
        {
            _bankLookup[bank.id] = bank;
        }
    }

    private AudioSource GetPooledSource()
    {
        return _sourcePool.Count > 0 ? _sourcePool.Dequeue() : CreateNewSource();
    }

    private AudioSource CreateNewSource()
    {
        var go = new GameObject("AudioSource");
        go.transform.SetParent(transform);
        return go.AddComponent<AudioSource>();
    }

    private IEnumerator ReturnToPool(AudioSource source, float delay)
    {
        yield return new WaitForSeconds(delay + 0.1f);
        source.Stop();
        _sourcePool.Enqueue(source);
    }
}