MonoGame/MonoGame

Drop OpenAL in favor of a better audio library

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#7,817 opened on May 23, 2022

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Description

While OpenAL does exactly what MonoGame needs for the most part and is available on a wide range of systems, it is hardly compatible with XAudio.

XAudio is the API toward which MonoGame (and formerly XNA) has been design for. The problem is that XAudio isn't available outside of Windows and Xbox platforms.

OpenAL came as a workaround and has been used to implement an XAudio-like API on macOS, Linux, iOS/iPadOS, and Android.

However, OpenAL functions quite differently than XAudio and there are many features (like effects, or even applying a pitch/pan) which renders differently. This isn't just mathematical conversion issues. The effect API for instance, is so differently designed that it is plainly impossible to make an OpenAL effect to consistently sound exactly like its XAudio counterpart.

If we'd like to aim for accuracy and have all platforms sound the same, we should be looking into replacing OpenAL with a sound library that allows 1:1 XAudio mapping, and be available on macOS, Linux, iOS/iPadOS, and Android.

So far, the best candidate is FAudio, though it would need mobile ports.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
apiperformance
Issue type
refactor
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
5
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
over 1 week
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Audio API knowledgeC#Cross platform developmentMonoGame internals
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
15
Research direction
Begin by studying the current OpenAL audio implementation in MonoGame, located in the audio subsystem. Then, investigate FAudio's source code and its XAudio API mapping to assess compatibility. Consider porting FAudio to mobile platforms (iOS/Android) and review the issue comments for any prior discussions on alternatives.