Complete Audio Manager Tutorial

What is the Audio Manager?

The Audio Manager is the core brain of your entire audio system. It's a singleton component that controls all audio playback, manages audio sources, handles volume settings, and provides the API for playing sounds throughout your game.

Finding the Audio Manager

After Quick Setup:

• Look in your Hierarchy for "USM" GameObject

• Select it to see the USM component in the Inspector

Manual Check:

• If no USM exists, go to Tools → USM → Quick Setup

Understanding the Audio Manager Components

Main Settings in Inspector:

Configuration Section:

• Audio Library: Reference to your audio database

• Initial Pool Size: Number of audio sources to create (default: 20)

• Global Volume: Master volume affecting all sounds (0.0 to 1.0)

• Music Volume: Volume for music tracks only (0.0 to 1.0)

• SFX Volume: Volume for sound effects only (0.0 to 1.0)

What Each Setting Does:

Audio Library:

• This is the database containing all your audio assets

• Automatically assigned during Quick Setup

• Contains all your SFX and Music definitions

Initial Pool Size:

• Pre-creates this many Audio Source components

• Prevents runtime allocation stalls

• 20 is good for most games, increase for audio-heavy games

Volume Controls:

• Global Volume: Affects EVERY sound (like master volume on a stereo)

• Music Volume: Only affects music tracks

• SFX Volume: Only affects sound effects

• All volumes are multiplied together for final output

How the Audio Manager Works

The Singleton Pattern:

• Only ONE Audio Manager can exist per scene

• Automatically available via USM.

• Accessible from anywhere in your code

• Survives scene changes if configured

Audio Source Pooling:

• Creates a pool of Audio Source components at startup

• Reuses them instead of creating/destroying constantly

• Prevents audio crackles and performance issues

• Automatically manages free audio sources

Smart Audio Management:

• Automatic cleanup: Stops finished sounds and returns sources to pool

• Volume mixing: Applies global + category + individual volumes

• Priority system: Manages limited audio hardware resources

• Spatial audio: Handles 2D and 3D sound positioning

Basic Audio Manager Setup

Step 1: Initial Configuration

1. Select the USM in Hierarchy

2. In Inspector, set your preferred volumes:

   • Global Volume: 1.0 (full volume)

   • Music Volume: 0.8 (80% - typically lower than SFX)

   • SFX Volume: 1.0 (100% - sound effects at full volume)

Step 2: Pool Size Adjustment

• For simple games: 10-15 audio sources

• For action games: 20-30 audio sources

• For audio-intensive games: 30-50 audio sources

• Don't set too high - wastes memory

Step 3: Audio Library Assignment

• Make sure the Audio Library field is assigned

• If empty, click the circle and select your Audio Library asset

• Usually found at: Assets/Kitler dev/USM/Data/

Playing Sounds with the Audio Manager

Method 1: Simple Playback (Recommended for Beginners)

// Play a sound effect
USM.PlaySFX(Audio.Sounds.Explosion);

// Play background music
USM.PlayMusic(Audio.Sounds.BackgroundMusic);

// Play sound at specific position
USM.PlaySFXAtPosition("Gunshot", transform.position);

// Play sound attached to GameObject
USM.PlaySFXAttached("Engine", gameObject);

Method 2: Builder Pattern (Advanced Control)

// Chain multiple settings together
USM.PlaySFX(Audio.Sounds.Explosion)
   .SetVolume(0.8f)
   .SetPitch(1.2f)
   .SetPosition(new Vector3(10, 0, 5))
   .SetLoop(true);

Method 3: Using Auto-Generated Names

Your created Audio will show here in the Audio.Sounds

// After creating sounds, use these clean names:
USM.PlaySFX(Audio.Sounds.Explosion);
USM.PlayMusic(Audio.Music.MainTheme);

Music Management

Playing Background Music:

// Basic music playback
USM.PlayMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic);

// Music with fade in
USM.PlayMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic).SetVolume(1).SetPitch(1); // 2-second fade

// Crossfade between music tracks
USM.CrossfadeMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic,0.3f); // 3-second crossfade

Music Control Methods:

USM.StopMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic);

// Pause/resume music
USM.PauseMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic);
USM.ResumeMusic(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic);

// Set music volume
USM.SetMusicVolume(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic,0.5f,1f); // 50% volume over 1 second

Advanced Audio Features

Audio Ducking (Automatic Volume Control)

// Enable auto-ducking (lowers music when SFX play)
USM.AutoDuckEnable(0.5f, 0.5f, 1.0f);
// Parameters: duck amount, fade in time, fade out time

// Manual ducking control
USM.DuckMusic(0.3f, 0.5f); // Duck to 30% volume over 0.5 seconds
USM.UnduckMusic(1.0f); // Return to normal over 1 second

// Check ducking status
bool isDucked = USM.IsMusicDucked();
bool autoDuckEnabled = USM.IsAutoDuckEnabled();

Global Volume Control

// Set volumes globally
USM.SetGlobalVolume(0.8f); // 80% master volume
USM.SetMusicVolume(0.6f);  // 60% music volume  
USM.SetSFXVolume(1.0f);    // 100% SFX volume

// These affect ALL sounds immediately

Audio State Management

// Stop all audio
USM.StopAll();

// Stop all sound effects only
USM.StopAllSFX();

// Stop all music only
USM.StopAllMusic(true, 2.0f); // With 2-second fade

// Check what's playing
bool isPlaying = USM.IsPlaying(Audio.Music.BackGroundMusic);
bool musicPlaying = USM.IsMusicPlaying();
string currentMusic = USM.GetCurrentMusicID();

Performance Optimization

Best Practices:

Pool Size Management:

• Start with 20 audio sources

• Monitor performance in complex scenes

• Increase if you hear sounds cutting out

• Don't exceed 50 unless absolutely necessary

Memory Management:

• The Audio Manager automatically cleans up finished sounds

• No manual memory management required

• Audio sources are reused efficiently

CPU Optimization:

• Spatial audio (3D sounds) use more CPU

• Keep most UI sounds as 2D (spatial blend = 0)

• Use audio compression on source files

• Limit simultaneous complex audio effects