Sponsored: Microsoft XNA Microsite Adds XAudio 2 Reveal

Author: by Staff

In the second Microsoft-sponsored article on Gamasutra's XNA-themed microsite, Brian Schmidt, project manager for Xbox and Windows game audio and media presents an overview of the XAudio2 API for Windows and Xbox 360 development. The Gamasutra-affiliated XNA microsite continues to feature monthly updates "to give the development community a better view into the projects Microsoft is working on". The second in this series of valuable Gamasutra sponsored features, following an insider's look into the new features of XNA Game Studio 2.0, 'An Introduction and Overview of XAudio2' sees audio guru Schmidt explaining the new Windows/Xbox 360 audio API. As Schmidt details in his feature: "So what is XAudio2? Simply put, it is a flexible, cross-platform, low-level audio API designed to replace DirectSound for game applications on Windows and replace XAudio on Xbox 360. It allows game designers to create audio signal processing paths that range from simple wave playback to complicated audio graphs with submixes and embedded software-based DSP effects." After going into plenty of detail on the specifics of the new system, the article also later notes of its appending availability: "XAudio2 is available today as part of the November Xbox 360 XDK and DirectX SDK. If you haven’t taken a look, now’s a great time to do so. The first approved version for Xbox 360 and release version for Windows will be available in the March 2008 XDK/SDK, with updates and enhancements following in June. The audio team at XNA is tremendously excited about XAudio2 for both Xbox 360 and Windows. It completes a major piece of our cross-platform initiative for audio technologies that we’ve had in the making for some time, and it provides a strong foundation for game audio well into the future." The full Gamasutra sponsored feature on the subject includes a variety of info on XAudio2, including the history leading to its genesis, an in-depth list of its features, and explanations of how to work with its various modules.