When using the “virtualize” stealing mode is it possible to make the event virtualization be based only on distance and not “quietest” event?
I am having a lot of issues with virtualization combined with our occlusion system. Basically for performance reasons we are not doing occlusion raycasting for virtualized events, but the sometimes results inevents flickering between being virtualised and not because the occlusion effects affect virtualization. I would like them not to, and only use distance.
I actually found a weird workaround where I can use the Channel Mix effect instead of the Gain effect for our occlusion, because apparently FMOD’s event virtualization system doesn’t care about attenuation caused by the Channel Mix.
However, I am a bit worried this could have other negative effects, like confusing FMOD’s automatic voice virtualization system, because it apparently does not understand that the event is quieter when occluded when using then Channel Mix effect…
Apologies for the delayed response over the new year.
It’s a little bit hacky, but the best way to handle this would be to move the plugin(s) you’re using to attenuate the event for occlusion to a non-master track, while keeping the spatializer on the master track. This should work with Studio’s virtualization system, as audibility is only calculated using attenuation applied to the event. You can read more about how this works in Studio in the Event Polyphony with Channel Stealing On section of the Virtual Voices white paper.
As for why attenuation applied by the Channel Mix plugin isn’t affecting virtualization, it’s likely that the attenuation isn’t being included as a part of the aforementioned calculation. This may or may not be intentional, due to the intended use of the Channel Mix plugin vs other attenuation plugins, but I’ll pass it along to the development team for further investigation.
Thank you for the response. Sadly putting the effects before the master does not work for us, because of our custom “portal system” build around the suggestion in this thread. Because the portal send happens right after the master fader, we need occlusion and spatialization to happen after that point.