So obviously on a timeline you can put a clip down in a single instrument and change the length of it to fade it out or cut it off before the clip finishes fully playing, but how do you do that in a scatterer or multi-instrument? Like I want my scatterer to play through its playlist but randomize how much of each clip it plays. I should specify: I am not just looking to play less of the clip, I am also looking to do so while always starting at the beginning. I can play a smaller amount of the clip using start offset, but what I’m looking for would essentially be called “end offset” or “cut time” or something. I guess maybe this could be set up in nested events, but that would be painstaking and I believe wouldn’t be able to have the length automated/modulated/randomized like other properties. I really don’t know why this isn’t right below/next to “start time” at least down on the individual clip level, but it must be possible somewhere since this is seems like a really basic operation.
As of the time of writing (August of 2026), there is no way to randomize the length of a single instrument in a multi instrument or scatterer instrument playlist.
That being said, it is possible to achieve this behavior by placing an event instrument in a multi insturment or scatterer instrument’s playlist. The content of the referenced event can be anything you like, so you could potentially use logic markers to make it end after a random interval.
Regardless of automation or modulation though, how can you get a clip to play through partially? Is the only way to do that to use another event unless you’re using a single instrument that isn’t async?
What’s a good way to achieve a random time value (float) for stopping an event? Can logic markers do that in a way that’s continuous and not just deciding which transition marker is active? I can think of two ways to do it*
Nested event:
Audio clip asset in a single instrument
Create parameter (float, 0-1)
Transition marker across entire range you want for random end
Trigger conditions: if [parameter] = 1
Destination marker at end of event after end of instrument
Add command instrument at the beginning of your event
Use Set parameter: [parameter], value: 1
Trigger behavior: Set delay interval to range of transition region.
*scratch that, the other way involved modulating a property on the parameter that I now see can’t be modulated.
This seems like a huge workaround for what feels like it should just be this, with another property right under Start Offset that basically works no differently:
But also you’d need to go through that whole process separately for every audio clip in a multi-instrument or scatterer if that’s what you were using. There really isn’t another way to do this?
There are two ways to make an asynchronous instrument stop playing before it finishes its contents:
Enable the instrument’s “Cut” toggle button. This ensures that the instrument stops playing as soon as it is untriggered.
Add an AHDSR modulator to one or more of the instrument’s properties. This ensures that the instrument stops playing once that AHDSR modulator’s release period ends. (When an AHDSR modulator is on an instrument property, its release period ends when the instrument is untriggered.)
When an asynchronous instrument has multiple things that would cause it to stop playing (e.g.: cut mode enabled and an AHDSR modulator or multiple AHDSR modulators), it stops after the last AHDSR modulator on one of its properties has reached the end of its release period.
Synchronous instruments are easier to stop. As you know, they stop immediately when untriggered.
As you can see, these methods of making a clip stop playing all require you to untrigger the instrument that plays the clip.
There’s a few ways to do this. Personally I favor giving the instrument a local parameter condition, adding a randomization modulator to the parameter to ensure it starts at a random value, and giving the parameter a velocity so that it’s guaranteed to untrigger eventually regardless of its starting value - but you could just as easily add the parameter condition to a transition region instead.
Another method would be to use a multi instrument set to one of the sequential playlist selection modes or an action sheet set to consecutive mode, and populate its playlist with a silence instrument followed by a command instrument. By randomizing the length of the silence instrument, you can randomize how long it’ll be until the command instrument is triggered.
There really isn’t. “Cutting off a clip at a random point” is just not a feature anyone has asked for; according to our records, you’re the first person to request it. (It’s far more common to want to stop a clip in response to a change in game state, or at specific points in time.)
Would you mind describing an example of an event you’d like to use this feature in? I’m adding this suggestion to our feature and improvement tracker, and including details about your intended use-case will help us understand how to design the feature to suit your needs.
