Addressing Audio Manipulation in Unreal Engine

Author: Daniel Ben Zvi

Date: 10/13/2023 EST

Part 1: The Problem

As a team member working on our game project, I encountered a challenge related to audio manipulation through the game's user interface (UI). Our project included various UI elements that needed to control different audio aspects, such as the master volume, music, and sound effects. The issue arose when I tried to manage audio assets associated with multiple sound classes and link them to the same audio element, for instance, when we needed to adjust both the master volume and the music volume for a specific audio track. In Unreal Engine, it's essential to define sound classes and mixers to control audio assets through blueprints. While this approach worked for single sound class interactions, it didn't fully address scenarios where an audio asset needed to belong to multiple sound classes.

Part 2: Problem Solution

To overcome this challenge, I began researching and implementing the use of sound classes and mixers in Unreal Engine. While this worked well for controlling audio assets through individual sound classes, I encountered a dilemma when multiple sound classes needed to affect the same audio asset. This scenario arose when, for instance, we needed both the "master" and "music" sound classes to adjust the volume of a specific audio track.

My proposed solution is to create a custom blueprint script to manage audio assets that require membership in multiple sound classes. By scripting this solution, we can connect the audio asset to both the "master" and "music" sound classes, allowing sliders from each class to interact with the audio asset without conflict. This approach will ensure that users can adjust audio elements seamlessly through our UI.

In the coming days, I will further refine this blueprint script to ensure smooth audio asset management, enhancing the end-user experience. This solution simplifies the process of controlling audio elements and, ultimately, provides a more enjoyable and user-friendly game environment for our players.