Add single localised clip to timeline

FMOD Studio
1

Hi Forum,

I have the situation that I have an event which contains some audio clips and one voice clip. The voice clip should be localised, but I do not want to use a programmer instrument because it is always the same voice clip (just in different languages). How can I accomplish this?

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The marked clip should be localised in the screenshot.

Thanks,
Simon

2

As of the time of writing (January of 2026), programmer instruments are the recommended way to specify that the asset played by an instrument should change depending on the current locale - and the only way to do it that takes advantage of our localization system, so that your game does not need to load the banks of multiple different locales at the same time.

Of course, it isn’t ideal that you have to choose between localizing dialog and being able to specify in advance which dialog line is associated with an instrument. We’re already working on a new instrument type that solves the problem, and we’ll release it in an upcoming major version of FMOD Studio… But for now, I’m afraid that programmer instruments remain the recommended option. (I’ll add you to the list of people who’ve expressed interest in this feature.)

All that being said, if you really do want to avoid programmer instruments, and don’t mind giving up the benefits of locale-specific banks, there is a workaround that could get you the behaviour you want:

  1. Instead of using a programmer instrument, use an event instrument.
  2. Inside the referenced event, create single instruments for each of your various locales’ version of the dialog line, and lay them out along a global labelled parameter that has one parameter value for each locale you support.
  3. Set the value of the global labelled parameter to the relevant locale whenever your player changes the game’s locale setting.

The downside of this method is that your game will load the assets for all locales instead of just the asset for the current locale, increasing its resource footprint.

3

Hi Joseph,

thanks a lot for your answer. I’m looking forward to the new instrument then, and will use the workaround until then! I think that this is, in this case, indeed the easier solution.

Thanks,
Simon