Which cross platform C++ sound API do you recommend?
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I'm developing a cross platform OSX/Linux/XP/Vista game using the Irrlicht graphics engine. I'm researching sound C++ APIs. Our game is 3D but a top down space game. So I don't require extremely high end 3D sound processing.
I know about these:
IrrKlang (cost: ~$150)
http://www.ambiera.com/irrklang/
OpenAL (open source)
http://www.openal.org/
SDL_sound (open source)
http://icculus.org/SDL_sound/
FMOD Ex (shareware license: $100)
http://www.fmod.org/index.php/products#FMODExProgrammersAPI
Opinions about either? Can anyone recommend another I'm missing?
Thanks! :)
[Edited by - Castaa on June 10, 2008 12:19:52 PM]
FMOD is free for non-commercial use and Is really easy to use compared to the other free/open source alternatives. OpenAL is a bit harder to use, from what I saw. I also used SDL_sound and its very easy to use.
I would suggest either FMOD or SDL_sound.
I would suggest either FMOD or SDL_sound.
I think he's stating that it IS for commercial/shareware use so FMod might not be worth the money.
Also, I don't know if the ModPlug library used by SDL_sound has been ported to Linux yet. If you're just using a music module player and some simple pitch-shifting audio, I'd recommend the MikMod library directly rather than wrapping it in SDL_sound. That should save some memory and still be portable to many operating systems. It also is LGPL like SDL_sound so there should be no license conflicts.
Also, I don't know if the ModPlug library used by SDL_sound has been ported to Linux yet. If you're just using a music module player and some simple pitch-shifting audio, I'd recommend the MikMod library directly rather than wrapping it in SDL_sound. That should save some memory and still be portable to many operating systems. It also is LGPL like SDL_sound so there should be no license conflicts.
Author
Ya our game is a small scale MMO. It's not really shareware but it's not a full commercial title either. Obviously a huge jump for the $100 license to the full $6000 one for FMOD.
So no one is using IrrKlang? I guess maybe only Irrlicht users would be interesting in using that library.
Thanks for the input so far. It's appreciated.
So no one is using IrrKlang? I guess maybe only Irrlicht users would be interesting in using that library.
Thanks for the input so far. It's appreciated.
OpenAL is free and on there are a couple of pretty good tutorials on devmaster.net. That would be my choice..
I am using IrrKlang right now. I was using DX sound but that went the way of the dinosaur. I was going with OpenAL, but I don't feel like messing with coding the multi-threaded self buffering sound code it would need, though it wasn't too hard to get working. IrrKlang does the multi-threading for you, so I chose it instead, and it wasn't that hard either. $150 isn't really all that much to pay for the commercial license either, especially considering that Irrlicht itself is free(which I also use). For example, I believe the indie license for Torque Game Engine Advanced(the newer one) from garagegames.com is $250 last I checked, though it is much more mature and proven than Irrlicht. I happen to like Irrlicht myself though, and members of the Irrlicht community have made scenenodes that combine Irrlicht scenenodes with IrrKlang sound.
Author
Quote:Original post by kburkhart84
I am using IrrKlang right now. I was using DX sound but that went the way of the dinosaur. I was going with OpenAL, but I don't feel like messing with coding the multi-threaded self buffering sound code it would need, though it wasn't too hard to get working. IrrKlang does the multi-threading for you, so I chose it instead, and it wasn't that hard either. $150 isn't really all that much to pay for the commercial license either, especially considering that Irrlicht itself is free(which I also use). For example, I believe the indie license for Torque Game Engine Advanced(the newer one) from garagegames.com is $250 last I checked, though it is much more mature and proven than Irrlicht. I happen to like Irrlicht myself though, and members of the Irrlicht community have made scenenodes that combine Irrlicht scenenodes with IrrKlang sound.
Thanks
I use OpenAL and I've had good experiences with it. The API is structured similar to OpenGL's so if you have an OpenGL background it may be a good choice.
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