Firelight Technologies has updated FMOD to v4.30. This new update of the FMOD Ex API and FMOD Designer brings new features and updates. Also in this update, you'll get a preview of the upcoming FMOD Designer 2010 release.
Changes in FMOD v4.30:
- MP3 License now free on PS3. MP3 support now runs through Sony decoder. No more separate license required for MP3 with FMOD PS3. Also means performance boost and lower overhead.
- Profiler now lets you see runtime volume levels for each DSP node, per speaker. Display is visualized through vertical volume bars in each node.
- Added CELT codec support. Celt is supported via FMOD's FSB format as a new encoding format. This format is better than mp3 and uses far less overhead at runtime than Ogg Vorbis.
- iPhone and PSP speed improvements. Assembler optimized 3GS and PSP mixers.
- Streams now seek/reflush in FMOD_NONBLOCKING thread instead of the stream decode thread. This has the advantage of not stalling other streams that are playing while the seeking stream flushes. Basically it improves sound stability = less stuttering while seeking.
- Reduce overall memory usage and DSP effect optimizations (i.e. Delay effect).
- '3D Speaker spread' feature now supports mono sounds. A mono sound can be spread around the speakers rather than pinpointing a certain speaker location.
- Wii - greater WiiMote speaker control with new FMOD_Channel_SetControllerSpeakerSubchannel function.
- Added parameter ramping for DSP Lowpass and DSP Highpass filters to avoid clicking when parameters are suddenly changed.
- Added DLS cache for MIDI files to reduce memory and increase loading speed.
- Unicode support for driver names on Windows. See new getDriverInfoW and getRecordDriverInfoW functions added.
- Many FMOD Designer fixes and GUI improvements.
Coming Designer 2010 update and Unreal 3 Engine integration:
- The upcoming FMOD Designer 2010 contains new features such as: Improved workflow with event editor now prominently displayed in event hierarchy screen. No more switching between the two.
- Bulk edit - now multi-selecting events will bring up a fader panel to control many events at once in a familiar mixer layout.
- Bird's eye view - see all event properties laid out in front of you relatively in a graphical interface. Great for over-viewing hundreds or even thousands of events at once.
- Unlimited undo/redo support.
- Deep Unreal 3 integration, Access your Designer generated content in Unreal World Editor/Browser/Script/Kismet/Matinee. See this article for more detailed information.
- Priority based deferred file I/O support. Programmers can now defer/delay file reads from fmod file callbacks to a later time and continue with game logic. This is a huge win for streaming game engines when the data 'might not be ready yet'.
