Wave (.wav)

Introduction

Wav files can be used for sound effects in FRB. Wav files, which are uncompressed, are used because compression can introduce latency (delay before the sound plays).

SoundEffect and SoundEffectInstance

The FRB Editor can use .wav files to create two types of objects:

• SoundEffect

• SoundEffectInstance

By default .wav files are loaded as a SoundEffect, which is the simplest object to work with. The SoundEffect object allows fire-and-forget sound effects. Once a .wav file is added to FRB, the SoundEffect it creates can be used with a Play call as shown in the following code:

ExplosionSound.Play();

Once a SoundEffect Play call is made, the sound cannot be modified. It will play to completion and then stop. By contrast, SoundEffectInstances are single-instance sounds which can be played, and manipulated after playing. For example, the following code plays a sound, but then adjusts its volume after 0.5 seconds:

ExplosionSound.Volume = 1;
ExplosionSound.Play();

await TimeManager.DelaySeconds(0.5f);

ExplosionSound.Volume = 0.5f;

To change whether a .wav file is loaded as a SoundEffect or SoundEffectInstance, change its RuntimeType as shown in the following image:

Changing a .wav's RuntimeType

Adding a .wav to a FRB project

To add a .wav file to FRB:

1. Right-click on a Screen or Entity's Files item

2. Select Add File->Existing File

3. Navigate to the location of the .wav that you would like to use and click OK

You should see the .wav file in your project:

WAV file in the Enemy entity

Playing a SoundEffect in custom code

Once a .wav file has been added to your FRB project, your Screen, Entity, or GlobalContent includes an instance of a SoundEffect in generated code.

The following example assumes a file named GunShotSound.wav, so the code instance is named GunShotSound. The following code can be added to CustomActivity to play the sound when the space bar is pressed:

public void CustomActivity(bool firstTimeCalled)
{
   if (InputManager.Keyboard.KeyPushed(Keys.Space))
   {
       GunShotSound.Play();
   }
}

For the full SoundEffect documentation, see the MonoGame SoundEffect page.

For more information on SoundEffect in FlatRedBall, see the SoundEffect page.