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OpenAL FAQ
Last Updated on: 2000-09-16 01:43:28

OpenAL, the Open Audio Library, seeks to become the audio counterpart to OpenGL for audio. With OpenAL it is possible to create three-dimensional sound across many platforms, such as Linux, Apple Macintosh, Windows and more, with quality suitable for professional projects like games and multimedia applications. OpenAL is supported by a growing number of hardware vendors and developers with the goal of creating a powerful, elegant C-based API for creating rich, high-quality 3D sound content, with cross-platform compatability as a design goal.

1. Install

• 1.1 Where should I get OpenAL, and what version should I get?

2. Usage

• 2.1 How can I use the esound daemon with OpenAL?

3. Troubleshooting

• 3.1 Why doesn't OpenAL work with my card?

1. Install

• 1.1 Where should I get OpenAL, and what version should I get?
  
  
  Get OpenAL via cvs. First, login (password is guest):

  	cvs -d:pserver:guest@cvs.lokigames.com:/cvs login
  

  Next, check out OpenAL:

  	cvs -d:pserver:guest@cvs.lokigames.com:/cvs co openal
  

  If you are checking out OpenAL for use with a particular binary application, you should take care to note whether the application uses an old version of OpenAL. If that is the case, you may need to specify the branch to check OpenAL out from:

  	cvs -d:pserver:guest@cvs.lokigames.com:/cvs co -r stable-pre-1-0 openal
  

  The -r stable-pre-1-0 tag specifies that the cvs server give you the version of OpenAL that corresponds to the general interface specified prior to the 1.0 specification. For a list of Loki games which use OpenAL which require this specific branch of OpenAL:

  	Heavy Gear II
  	Sim City 3k Unlimited
  	Soldier of Fortune
  

  all other Loki games should use the latest OpenAL drivers in the regular branch.
  
  

2. Usage

• 2.1 How can I use the esound daemon with OpenAL?
  
  
  Upgrade to the latest version of OpenAL appropriate to the application in question and configure it as follows:

  	./configure --enable-esd [additional options]
  

  make, and install as needed by your application. Then, in your ~/.openalrc file, place the following line:

  	(define devices '(esd native))
  

  This tells OpenAL to first try the esound daemon, then try normal native drivers. You may need to enable TCP connections for your esound daemon.
  
  

3. Troubleshooting

• 3.1 Why doesn't OpenAL work with my card?
  
  
  It is possible that OpenAL does not work out of the box on your audio hardware. Many cards (such as many Aureal cards) have drivers that do not support required functionality, such as a working select() call. If you have a card that does not support select(), please try the latest version of your drivers. If you find that OpenAL will still not work on your card, update to the latest version of OpenAL appropriate for your application and try adding the following to your ~/.openalrc:

  	(define native-use-select #f)
  

  Please note that by bypassing the select call on your card, you are reducing the robustness of any applications which rely on OpenAL for sound.