Audio Manager Progress Update

Audio Manager Progress Update

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Hi all. Been a little while so I thought Iā€™d just update yā€™all on where Audio Manager 3 is at and when to expect it at this point.


Is it nearly done? yes. The code is like 90-95% done. As normal the last 5% takes most of the time xD. I found a few bugs which took me a week or so to work out in the spare time I had recently. I think Iā€™ve got them at this point. I also had to add in a new system for an inspector player for audio. Something I couldnā€™t really leave out of the initial release. A little sneak peak above (right). Its more flexible than the 2.x solution with the option to use mode edit modules from the inspector and choose as few or as many as youā€™d like to use.

Iā€™ve got one more script to write for a music player inspector, but after that is done it is just a matter of sorting a few small demo projects, testing & finishing the documentation. The docs I have already started writing. Iā€™m hoping itā€™ll be ready before 2024, but Iā€™m annoyingly busy at the moment on the weekends where I can get the most done. So weā€™ll see if that happensā€¦.

Also new logo! All the assets have a new logo design as of this weekend. I’m slowly updating them everywhere as I get the time to do so and I’m not in a coding mood…. Audio Manager’s logo below:

Thatā€™s all for now xD

~ J,

Quick Tools Update

Quick Tools Update

Hi all,

Just a quick update to let you all know that it is likely that the Audio Manager release will be delayed a tad. Currently its got a few major development hoops to get through and Iā€™ve not had a massive amount of free time to work on the asset. I will try to avoid any massive delay, but I cannot grantee that it will be ready by the end of August at this time. At-least, not without cutting major features that were in the old 2.x version. Iā€™ll update you all on any updates to a release window as and when, but its now likely to be in September instead of August.

Today Iā€™ve been back-porting a fix to the asset indexing system, used in Save Manager & Build Versions currently. There was a bug with its initialization causing overriding assets to be generated when you already had them in the project. So youā€™d lose settings & data. This should now be resolved in 2.0.9 & 1.1.6 respectively which are both out on Git & Itch with the asset store early next week.

J,

Save Manager (2.0.9)


Github: https://github.com/CarterGames/SaveManager/releases/tag/2.0.9

Itchio: https://carter-games.itch.io/unity-asset-save-manager

Asset Store: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/utilities/save-manager-cg-176437

Build Versions (1.1.6)


Github: https://github.com/CarterGames/BuildVersions/releases/tag/1.1.6

Itchio: https://carter-games.itch.io/build-versions

Asset Store: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/version-control/build-versions-cg-205184

Audio Manager 3.x Progress

Audio Manager 3.x Progress

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Its been a while since I updated you all on the progress so far. So far the progress has been good. So here’s how things are shaping up:

Library Editor

Library Tab

The main library tab of the library editor has had a few changes to it. The main layout hasn’t changed much since I last showed it, but there are some subtle changes.

  • Update clips struct button, lets you update the Clip.??? struct with the latest data. You can edit the keys for the clips in this version so the entries in the struct need updating often. This is one feature I’ve yet to work out a good way to automate. So for now it and any other struct will have manual updates with the exception of when a new clip is scanned where it will happen automatically.
  • Clip Dynamic time preview. I’ve managed to actually draw on the waveform the time currently set for the dynamic start time. This system still needs work to make it more user friendly, but visually its where I wanted it to be.
  • Hints, these are on each main button and can be toggled in the asset settings. They are just to aid with new users to help them understand what important buttons do.

Groups Tab

The groups tab has been updated with some extra buttons and has been fixed up. Previously editing any clip would only edit the last one in the list and there were some issues with keeping the data in sync with the library asset in the project. This tab has the same struct generation button which you’ll see in all the tabs and will update the Group.??? struct.

Mixer Tab

The mixer tab is legit just a button to update the Mixer.??? struct & a button to access the mixer in the project. I have attempted to add the inspector of the mixer to the tab. However it didn’t really play ball. So for now its just a link to the asset in the project with room to extended it down the line.

Music Tab

This is still in development as I’ve only just started the music side of the new version as of writing. So it has the music struct button for Track.??? but nothing else at the moment as I work out how its all going to work xD

Music Management

Like with the audio manager in 3.x, the music setup is going to work mostly if not entirely static. The idea is to allow for a modular setup with the option to transition between tracks. Setup layed tracks which you can sync & transition between as well as playlists etc. Still need to work out the particulars, but it should be good if it all comes out as planned. I may also have a component for use in scenes to set some of this up. But its likely to be mostly a code based solution this time around for the flexibility.


That’s about it for now, so far its on track for end of August, but we’ll see how I do over the next month or so. I’ll post another update when its near release.

May 2023 Update

May 2023 Update

Its been about a month since my last update post. So its about time I updated you all on developments over the last few weeks. Starting on from the last post withā€¦

Save Manager 2.x

As you will have seen by now, the new Save Manager has been released! So far so good. There hasnā€™t been any major problems from what I can tell so far as Iā€™ve been using it in my personal projects to handle save data there. I have made a few minor updates to the asset since launch to fix some minor issues, most of which didnā€™t actually break anything. But they would throw some console messages which could confuse users.

As of writing the asset is on version 2.0.4. Some improvements were also made such as an option to hide the save keys for induvidual save values, reducing the clutter on the save editor. As well as a fix to allow the demo logic to be totally removed from the asset without any errors occurring. Before there was a direct type reference in the save editor window logic to determine if it would show the demo save object data. This has been changed to a type string comparison to fix the issue.

There are plans for some further QOL & feature updates in the future, such as save slots & a better API to allow for custom encryption options. These will be worked on once I get some time to look into it.

You can get the new Save Manager here:

Whatā€™s Next?

It wonā€™t be a surprise to those who read the year in review for 2022 or been following on the socials, that the next main project is the Audio Manager update. Like the Save Manager, it is getting a rewrite in the backend. This is mostly due to the 2.xā€™s setup not being easy to update for the new features & setup I want to implement next.

The current plan is to have this update out by the end of August. Similar to the deadline of April I gave myself for the Save Manager. So 4 months to fully develop & release the asset update. Now this isnā€™t a flexible deadline and may change if its just not ready in time. Likewise, if it is ready earlier than planned then itā€™ll release early. Iā€™ll post updates with progress and a release date nearer the time as well.

Functionally the Audio Manager wonā€™t change much for the end user, but behind the scenes a lot of work is going to be done to make it just a lot easier to use. Some of these include:

  • Automatic Library Management
    • Youā€™ll no longer need to manually scan for clips via and inspector or anything. When you import audio, the manager will find a process it automatically for you. There will be an option to manually scan still if needed. This also makes the setup simpler which is a bonus!
  • Static Audio Manager
    • While having the option of an instanced manager can be handy, 99% of the time it wonā€™t be needed. So in 3.x the whole system is static. So no need to use ā€œinstanceā€ when calling for audio to play.
  • New Library Window
    • While 2.x had a basic library editor for each audio manager file. 3.x will have a proper editor window with all the settings you need. You can even change the key of the clip! It also has a search option to search through the entire library and select any clip with ease.
  • Helper Structs
    • A new system for 3.x that will make typoā€™s a thing of the past. Instead of calling ā€œAudioManager.Play(ā€MyClipā€)ā€ youā€™ll be able to call a helper class called ā€œClipā€ to let you select the clip with intellisense. So that same call becomes ā€œAudioManager.Play(Clip.MyClip)ā€. There are other helper structs for groups and mixers as well.
  • Grouping
    • Speaking of groups, youā€™ll be able to group clips together in the audio library and call for a clip from that group to play. Handle if you have a lot of variations or want to play a clip from a range of options.
  • Dynamic Start Time
    • An experimental feature that tries to guess when the clip actually starts playing audio at a loud enough volume. Then sets the clip to start just before then instead of at 0. You can toggle the feature on/off globally, per clip in the library or via the method call itself. Youā€™ll also be able to adjust the settings to get a better guess time in the audio library.

Currently it is still early days and some of these features may change a tad. One thing I mentioned in my last post was a method chaining API for calling audio to play. Sadly Iā€™ve had to scrap this, but Iā€™m still working to make the API better as a whole. The amount of methods in 2.x was a bit much, so Iā€™ll be consolidating and using a better base method to avoid issues with call parameters.

Overall the idea is to build upon 2.xā€™s success with new QOL features & automation where possible. The music side of things is in the air at the moment, as Iā€™ve always struggled with a good generic solution for it. But if all goes well Iā€™ll have a little time to research something for that. Iā€™ve already had a few suggestions for it which I have noted down.

Other Projects

As mentioned in my last post. Iā€™m also working on a personal project as well to kind of replicate P5ā€™s turn based combat into a small demo game of just that mechanic. This is entirely for portfolioā€™s sake as itā€™ll make for a strong project that I can talk about in detail with a lot of systems. It also makes a good testbed for these asset updates. Save Manager 2.x was tested in the project to make sure it was all working before release and Audio Manager 3.x will get the same testing as and when its at that stage. That project is going well at the moment and I juggle my time between both it and the active Carter Games project to keep it fresh.

Organisation

This week I spent an evening or two organising the mess that was the Carter Games Notion. I legit didnā€™t use it as it was such a mess to find anything. With the new setup I will be using it a lot more. While its not something you see much, it does help to have a goal in mind and to write down tasks so you know where youā€™re at and what is left to do. Below is the Audio Manager task board for example:

The new structure has goals as ā€œEpicsā€ which then have ā€œTasksā€ to complete. Epics & Tasks are linked to ā€œProjectsā€ which hold branding, links & anything else specific to that project on them. Even this blog post is been written in Notion under the new Marketing section xD

Website & Socials

A little heads up that I plan to change up the discord a tad at sometime. Mostly just removing bloat channels and making super simple. Its not used that much anyways and I want to have a place for update notifications for assets/games as well as the general news/announcements section.

Iā€™ve also slowly been updating the documentation for all the assets to the new docs setup on the website. Iā€™m mostly there at this point with Leaderboard Manager being the only asset to fully update. Iā€™m hoping to have that all done at some point xD

So yea, thatā€™s about it for this post. Long story short; a lot going on behind the scenes xD Iā€™ll post another update around the end of June with progress if there is enough to share.

Progress Update

Progress Update

So, I’ve been quite for a few weeks, that’s because I’ve been busy on the last bits for the year. Here is a quick update on what has been going on and where everything is.

Patches & Updates

I’ve had a few, sadly bad reviews on our deer old Audio Manager. It is due a major update that is on the list for Q1 next year along with a new game prototype. I have the basic for the new version already, its just getting all the edge cases, polishing and testing the asset to ensure it works fully as intended before release. The update is a bit change, though should be easy to follow for our existing users. More on this in the new year.

On the flipside I’ve pushed a small patch to our latest asset Build Versions which automates the build number changes when changing the build increment time option. I have even more for this asset next year, with a possible custom build button with custom auto build file naming saving you even more work!

Leaderboard Manager

So I’ve been working on the new Leaderboard Manager! The new version is a total re-write of the asset to make it more flexible as the current version is rather rigid with only 1 leaderboard supported and no TestMeshPro support. The new version allows for as many leaderboards as you like! so you can have 1 per level if you want. There are more options to display the board, improved backend and more customisation options as well. I’ll be sharing more on this in the coming weeks as I finalize the version of the asset.

Game Prototype?

Yea, I’m planning to make a new game idea in Q1 next year, it’ll be a prototype to start with and if I still like it and people like it too then I will be working to make a full title out of it. More next year!

End of year stats

Like last year, there will be an end of year review where I summarise the stats for all our store fronts this year and compare our progress form last year as well as our goals for the new year!

That’s all for now, speak to y’all soon!