Top Rated FMOD Alternatives
Super easy to setup complex scenes, especially with multiple sounds for the same action which can be shuffled or randomised with varying % of occurrence. Looping tools are useful especially for debug workflows when trying to establish how to improve the end user’s experience. Also the fact it is free made it low pressured and easy to get into without feeling forced. Educational resources online were also useful Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
For strictly 2D games it would be handy to be able to disable the 3D/surround sound options as these can often be misclicked by beginners whose games don’t support those features. Also we had to be taught how to use it at degree level as it wasn’t particularly instinctive to use, although it is a powerful piece of software once shown. Online tutorials were good though! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
21 out of 22 Total Reviews for FMOD
The balance in both the FMOD Studio sound-/music-designer app and the accompanying API is well-judged in terms of simplicity versus complexity. Really simple sound and music design takes no time at all, and a simple runtime sound engine based on the API is similarly simple to code up. Complex sound events, 3D positioning (with customizable roll-off behaviors), and sophisticated interactive music tracks can be designed and auditioned in the app. Admittedly this requires a little more technical knowledge but there's no need for knowledge of C++ programming to achieve this. The app can also connect to a live running game to tweak behaviors in response to the actual live game data, which is invaluable. More complex sound engines using the API are highly customizable too. The API is simple to use and the support forum is very active, and frequented by the actual Firelight Technology engineers (rather than representative to merely triage issues). They are very responsive, in my experience, and they are clearly keen to make FMOD the best it can be. Finally, having used the FMOD Studio app since its very early release, I was impressed with the engineering process (from an external view point) where the initial app was super basic yet developed over time. There is a strong sense that their internal processes for their roadmap prioritization and QA is working well (presumably involving extensive automated tests given the very few regressions I have experienced). Features were added as the FMOD Studio app and API version incremented and these are usually backwards compatible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I mentioned in my positive comments about the updates to both the FMOD Studio app and the API being "usually backwards compatible". This is less a negative point but something of which to be aware if choosing FMOD Studio as your audio middleware. The FMOD team are great at trying to maintain this compatibility, but sometimes in software engineering there comes a point where a breaking change is, unfortunately, a necessary evil! Due to the way FMOD Studio is developed, improved (and how bugfixes are applied) perhaps the only rational approach if adopting it is to always stay as up-to-date as possible (rather than sticking to a specific point release version for a project). You need to be aware of this in your own project management processes and would recommend including a strategy for updating breaking changes as they happen, rather than accumulating your own technical debt. This is pretty simple to do if you work in an Agile way, especially as the releases of the updates of FMOD are on a predictable schedule. As I said, FMOD appears to respect this problem and avoids breaking changes, they're pretty rare in my experience. As examples there may be times where all the .fspro projects needed to be updated and migrated to new version (clearly this impacts the work of your sound and music teams). On the engineering and QA side there maybe breaking API changes, but these seem to be (and I can't remember an exception) of the type where the build just fails and code needs to be adjusted accordingly (i.e., that's a kind-of good thing!!), rather than subtle behavior changes that could slip through your QA processes. Unless you have a really robust (i.e., full coverage) testing strategy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
FMOD is a very powerful tool that let's you implement audio into videogames faster than other middleware software. I has a graphic interface that makes it very easy to tune different elements of an asset. Tuning loops and adaptive music is also very easy with FMOD. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It lacks some functionalities that are offered by the competition. It is limited to 8 listeners which could be a problem for some users. One tool I miss is an included synth, which again it's offered in the competitors software.
Also, because they tried to make a friendly and pretty interface panel, a lot of tools are hidden in menus, which can become annoying at times. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
the GUI and very intuitive control. Easy to do very complex manipulation based on outside parameters and logic set up inside the fmod project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Having to switch between windows all the time. Would like to have a small mixer view in the editor, to tweak things quickly. Generally more "see everything on one page" would be nice. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The layout is just like that of a DAW so it all feels very familiar and works very intuitively Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I feel the mix windows and snapshot windows could be differentiated better.. I have on occasion been mixing in the wrong window Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
FMOD is a really musician/composer-friendly software as it is build similarly to DAWs which makes it easy to navigate! The interface looks really clear and you can easily learn it on your own (without any previous experience in implementing an interactive music). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I wish there is an automatic option to include a reverb tail. It would fasten composers work.
I would include that too if possible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There are many great features, like the multi-instrument or the scatterer-instrument, and the possibility to put your audio tracks directly into the parameter timeline (great for adaptive musicscapes).
The best thing about FMOD, though, is the graphic interface, that makes the middleware looks a lot a classic DAW. This helps a lot smoothing the learning curve for a sound designer or a composer and allows the user to add and edit the audio clips really fast in an intuitive way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The lack of inter-events modulation. I would also love to have the possibility to insert a loop auto crossfade, which would crossfade the end of the loop with its own beginning.
Also, a more extensive documentation and learning material would be a great addition and would definitely help FMOD become more popular within the game audio community.
Finally, a larger choice of effects, both for pure sound design and for spatial audio, would be a huge improvement to the usability and elasticity of the software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
FMOD has an interface similar to that of a DAW, so the learning curve does not feel as steep as that of other middleware. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Not much! The recent switch to Catalina has brought about some compatibility issues with FMOD but that of course will be smoothed out with updates. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It's very quick and easy to pick up and learn, very intuitive and rewarding when you get something to work!
Very stylish GUI too Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There's a lack of a auto loop crossfade, would speed things up rather than adjusting yourself.
Also maybe some online documentation for further reading to get into the nitty gritty! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
