Using External Audio Assets

Setting up External Files

In bard_audio_system there's a macro for EXTERN_SOUND_FOLDER - this is the folder where the editor will look to find any external audio assets you have, located in your project's "Included Files." If you're browsing your project files on your computer filesystem, those files are located in [folder containing your .yyp]/datafiles/[EXTERN_SOUND_FOLDER].

Just as with internal project assets, how you name and organize your sub-folders here matters. You'll want to use your folder structure to group together assets that you want to use together so that you can design logic for them in the editor. Loading files externally also means that you won't have access to Game Maker;s builtin audio conversion, so you need to make sure you use files that are the correct format. .ogg files can be used for streaming sounds, and .wav for everything else. wav files must be signed 8 or 16 bit. .wav files can be stereo or mono, but only mono wav files will have the capability for 3D spatial effects.

Also, one Caveat...

On most modern gaming consoles, you are strictly limited in how often you can access the file system. If you have a lot of included audio file assets that you expect to load in, you will run into issues with certification and/or have your load speed severely throttled. I would not recommend you rely on external audio assets if you are developing for console platforms.

This limitation will not apply if you are developing for PC, Mac, or... mobile? (I think?)