Pre-GDC: RAD Game Tools Releases Miles 8

Kirkland, Washington-based developer RAD Game Tools (Bink video codec, Granny 3D) announced the release of Miles Sound System 8 which offers new features like Miles Sound Studio and other additions for sound programmers. Miles Sound Studio is a high-level application enabling sound designers to create soundscapes without programmer involvement. Users can script and audition all aspects of sounds before importing them into a game. They can also work on the audio independently, and after they've created the soundscape, they can deploy the audio to multiple platforms. Miles 8 provides new features for sound programmers, too. The updated tool adds support for new platforms (PSP and iPhone), Sony PS3 SPU optimizations that allow the entire audio system to run on the SPU, a new clean-room OGG implementation allowing Ogg Vorbis to be used in non-LGPL games, and RAD Game Tools's new Bink Audio codec. Bink Audio is the same codec used inside RAD Game Tools's Bink Video codec and is now integrated into Miles 8. The developer claims the codec is 30 percent faster than MP3 or OGG, uses less memory, and has no licensing constraints. "We're excited about this new version - we've added huge advances for both sound designers and sound programmers," say RAD Game Tools president Jeff Roberts. "We expect most of our users will switch to Bink Audio - it's perfect for games."