Audio

LCE’s audio system is built on the Miles Sound System (MSS) library, wrapped in a two-class hierarchy. ConsoleSoundEngine defines the platform interface, and SoundEngine provides the shared implementation. The system handles positional 3D audio, background music streaming, and UI sound effects.

Architecture

ConsoleSoundEngine (base class)

ConsoleSoundEngine in Common/Audio/Consoles_SoundEngine.h defines the pure virtual interface:

class ConsoleSoundEngine {
public:
    virtual void tick(shared_ptr<Mob>* players, float a) = 0;
    virtual void destroy() = 0;
    virtual void play(int iSound, float x, float y, float z, float volume, float pitch) = 0;
    virtual void playStreaming(const wstring& name, float x, float y, float z,
                               float volume, float pitch, bool bMusicDelay = true) = 0;
    virtual void playUI(int iSound, float volume, float pitch) = 0;
    virtual void updateMusicVolume(float fVal) = 0;
    virtual void updateSystemMusicPlaying(bool isPlaying) = 0;
    virtual void updateSoundEffectVolume(float fVal) = 0;
    virtual void init(Options*) = 0;
    virtual void add(const wstring& name, File* file) = 0;
    virtual void addMusic(const wstring& name, File* file) = 0;
    virtual void addStreaming(const wstring& name, File* file) = 0;
    virtual char* ConvertSoundPathToName(const wstring& name, bool bConvertSpaces) = 0;
    virtual void playMusicTick() = 0;

    virtual bool GetIsPlayingStreamingCDMusic();
    virtual bool GetIsPlayingStreamingGameMusic();
    virtual void SetIsPlayingStreamingCDMusic(bool bVal);
    virtual void SetIsPlayingStreamingGameMusic(bool bVal);
    virtual bool GetIsPlayingEndMusic();
    virtual bool GetIsPlayingNetherMusic();
    virtual void SetIsPlayingEndMusic(bool bVal);
    virtual void SetIsPlayingNetherMusic(bool bVal);

    static const WCHAR* wchSoundNames[eSoundType_MAX];
    static const WCHAR* wchUISoundNames[eSFX_MAX];
};

The sound name tables (wchSoundNames and wchUISoundNames) map sound type enums (defined in Minecraft.World/SoundTypes.h) to human-readable names. These are defined in SoundNames.cpp and must stay in sync with the enum order.

SoundEngine (implementation)

SoundEngine extends ConsoleSoundEngine with the Miles Sound System backend:

class SoundEngine : public ConsoleSoundEngine {
    static const int MAX_SAME_SOUNDS_PLAYING = 8;

    HMSOUNDBANK m_hBank;      // sound bank handle
    HDIGDRIVER m_hDriver;      // audio driver handle
    HSTREAM m_hStream;         // streaming handle
};

Miles Sound System integration

The Miles Sound System headers are included per platform:

Platform	Header path
PS3	PS3/Miles/include/mss.h
PS Vita	PSVITA/Miles/include/mss.h
Xbox One (Durango)	Durango/Miles/include/mss.h
PS4 (Orbis)	Orbis/Miles/include/mss.h
Windows 64	Windows64/Miles/include/mss.h

Xbox 360 uses the native XAudio system instead of Miles.

The sound pipeline

Game code never touches Miles directly. The chain goes:

Entity/Level code
    |
    v
LevelListener::playSound()
    |
    v
ServerLevelListener --> LevelSoundPacket (network)
    |
    v
SoundEngine::play()   -- 3D positioned sound
SoundEngine::playUI()  -- non-positional UI sound
SoundEngine::playStreaming() -- music / jukebox

When SoundEngine::play() fires, it builds a Miles event name like "Minecraft/mob.zombie" from the dot-separated string and enqueues it to the event system. ConvertSoundPathToName() handles the conversion from dots to the slash-separated event paths that Miles expects.

3D audio

Listener system

The engine supports multiple listeners for split-screen:

AUDIO_LISTENER m_ListenerA[MAX_LOCAL_PLAYERS];
int m_validListenerCount;

Each listener has:

typedef struct {
    bool bValid;
    AUDIO_VECTOR vPosition;       // world position
    AUDIO_VECTOR vOrientFront;    // facing direction
} AUDIO_LISTENER;

Splitscreen listener handling

In splitscreen, the engine can’t just set one listener position. Instead, it calculates the Manhattan distance from each sound to every active player, picks the closest one, and uses that distance for the 3D falloff. The listener is placed at the origin and the sound is placed along the Z axis at the calculated distance. This gives reasonable spatial audio across all screen splits.

Sound playback

The AUDIO_INFO struct describes a sound to play:

typedef struct {
    F32 x, y, z;           // world position
    F32 volume, pitch;
    int iSound;             // sound type ID
    bool bIs3D;             // positional audio
    bool bUseSoundsPitchVal;
} AUDIO_INFO;

Key playback methods:

Method	Purpose
play(iSound, x, y, z, volume, pitch)	Play a 3D positional sound
playUI(iSound, volume, pitch)	Play a non-positional UI sound
playStreaming(name, x, y, z, volume, pitch, bMusicDelay)	Start streaming music

The MAX_SAME_SOUNDS_PLAYING = 8 limit stops the same sound effect from stacking too much. Per-sound tracking is kept in CurrentSoundsPlaying[eSoundType_MAX + eSFX_MAX].

Sound invocation from game code

LevelRenderer is the bridge between game events and audio:

void playSound(int iSound, double x, double y, double z,
               float volume, float pitch, float fSoundClipDist = 16.0f);
void playStreamingMusic(const wstring& name, int x, int y, int z);

The fSoundClipDist parameter (default 16 blocks) controls how far away a sound can be heard.

Sound attenuation

All 3D sounds use a custom linear falloff function instead of the default Miles rolloff:

F32 AILCALLBACK custom_falloff_function(
    HSAMPLE S, F32 distance, F32 rolloff_factor, F32 min_dist, F32 max_dist)
{
    // Thunder has no attenuation at all
    if (max_dist == 10000.0f)
        return 1.0f;

    // Linear falloff: full volume at distance 0, silent at max_dist
    F32 result = 1.0f - (distance / max_dist);
    if (result < 0.0f) result = 0.0f;
    if (result > 1.0f) result = 1.0f;
    return result;
}

The max_dist parameter (called distanceScaler in the code) controls how far a sound carries:

Sound type	Distance (blocks)	Notes
Most sounds	16	Default fSoundClipDist
Ghast sounds	30	Audible from further away
Ender Dragon	100	Boss sounds carry far
Thunder	10,000	Effectively infinite, always full volume
Music discs	64	Jukebox carries 4x further than normal

Sound categories

Sounds are grouped by naming prefix. Every sound in the game has an entry in the eSOUND_TYPE enum in SoundTypes.h.

Mob sounds (mob.*)

Ambient, hurt, death, and step sounds for every mob:

Enum pattern	String name pattern	Notes
eSoundType_MOB_ZOMBIE_AMBIENT	mob.zombie	Idle groaning
eSoundType_MOB_ZOMBIE_HURT	mob.zombiehurt	Taking damage
eSoundType_MOB_ZOMBIE_DEATH	mob.zombiedeath	Dying
eSoundType_MOB_CREEPER_HURT	mob.creeper	Creeper hurt
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_BARK	mob.wolf.bark	Wolf barking
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_HURT	mob.wolf.hurt	Wolf hurt
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_DEATH	mob.wolf.death	Wolf death
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_GROWL	mob.wolf.growl	Wolf growl
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_PANTING	mob.wolf.panting	Tamed wolf panting
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_WHINE	mob.wolf.whine	Wolf whine
eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_SHAKE	mob.wolf.shake	Wolf shaking off water
eSoundType_MOB_CAT_HISS	mob.cat.hiss	Cat hiss
eSoundType_MOB_CAT_PURR	mob.cat.purr	Cat purr
eSoundType_MOB_CAT_PURREOW	mob.cat.purreow	Cat meow
eSoundType_MOB_CHICKEN_AMBIENT	mob.chicken	Chicken clucking
eSoundType_MOB_CHICKEN_HURT	mob.chickenhurt	Chicken hurt
eSoundType_MOB_CHICKEN_PLOP	mob.chicken.plop	Egg laying
eSoundType_MOB_COW_AMBIENT	mob.cow	Cow mooing
eSoundType_MOB_COW_HURT	mob.cowhurt	Cow hurt
eSoundType_MOB_PIG_AMBIENT	mob.pig	Pig oinking
eSoundType_MOB_PIG_DEATH	mob.pig.death	Pig death
eSoundType_MOB_SHEEP_AMBIENT	mob.sheep	Sheep bleating
eSoundType_MOB_GHAST_AMBIENT	mob.ghast.moan	Ghast moaning
eSoundType_MOB_GHAST_DEATH	mob.ghast.death	Ghast death
eSoundType_MOB_GHAST_FIREBALL	mob.ghast.fireball	Ghast shooting
eSoundType_MOB_GHAST_SCREAM	mob.ghast.scream	Ghast screaming
eSoundType_MOB_BLAZE_HIT	mob.blaze.hit	Blaze hurt
eSoundType_MOB_BLAZE_DEATH	mob.blaze.death	Blaze death
eSoundType_MOB_BLAZE_BREATHE	mob.blaze.breathe	Blaze ambient
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERMAN_IDLE	mob.endermen.idle	Enderman ambient
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERMAN_HIT	mob.endermen.hit	Enderman hurt
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERMAN_DEATH	mob.endermen.death	Enderman death
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERMAN_PORTAL	mob.endermen.portal	Enderman teleport
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERDRAGON_GROWL	mob.enderdragon.growl	Dragon growl
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERDRAGON_HIT	mob.enderdragon.hit	Dragon hurt
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERDRAGON_WINGS	mob.enderdragon.wings	Dragon wingflap
eSoundType_MOB_ENDERDRAGON_END	mob.enderdragon.end	Dragon death
eSoundType_MOB_SILVERFISH_AMBIENT	mob.silverfish.say	Silverfish ambient
eSoundType_MOB_SILVERFISH_HIT	mob.silverfish.hit	Silverfish hurt
eSoundType_MOB_SILVERFISH_DEATH	mob.silverfish.kill	Silverfish death
eSoundType_MOB_SILVERFISH_STEP	mob.silverfish.step	Silverfish walk
eSoundType_MOB_GOLEM_HIT	mob.irongolem.hit	Iron golem hurt
eSoundType_MOB_GOLEM_DEATH	mob.irongolem.death	Iron golem death
eSoundType_MOB_GOLEM_WALK	mob.irongolem.walk	Iron golem walk
eSoundType_MOB_GOLEM_THROW	mob.irongolem.throw	Iron golem throw
eSoundType_MOB_SLIME_BIG	mob.slime.big	Large slime
eSoundType_MOB_SLIME_SMALL	mob.slime.small	Small slime
eSoundType_MOB_MAGMACUBE_BIG	mob.magmacube.big	Large magma cube
eSoundType_MOB_MAGMACUBE_JUMP	mob.magmacube.small	Magma cube jump

Block/tile sounds (step.*, dig.*, tile.*)

Enum	String name	Used for
eSoundType_STEP_STONE	step.stone	Walking on stone
eSoundType_STEP_WOOD	step.wood	Walking on wood
eSoundType_STEP_GRAVEL	step.gravel	Walking on gravel
eSoundType_STEP_GRASS	step.grass	Walking on grass
eSoundType_STEP_CLOTH	step.cloth	Walking on wool
eSoundType_STEP_SAND	step.sand	Walking on sand
eSoundType_STEP_SNOW	step.snow	Walking on snow
eSoundType_STEP_LADDER	step.ladder	Climbing ladders
eSoundType_DIG_GRASS	dig.grass	Breaking grass blocks
eSoundType_DIG_STONE	dig.stone	Breaking stone
eSoundType_DIG_WOOD	dig.wood	Breaking wood
eSoundType_DIG_GRAVEL	dig.gravel	Breaking gravel
eSoundType_DIG_CLOTH	dig.cloth	Breaking wool
eSoundType_DIG_SAND	dig.sand	Breaking sand
eSoundType_DIG_SNOW	dig.snow	Breaking snow
eSoundType_TILE_PISTON_IN	tile.piston.in	Piston retracting
eSoundType_TILE_PISTON_OUT	tile.piston.out	Piston extending

Random/gameplay sounds (random.*)

Enum	String name	Used for
eSoundType_RANDOM_EXPLODE	random.explode	Explosions
eSoundType_RANDOM_BOW	random.bow	Firing a bow
eSoundType_RANDOM_CHEST_OPEN	random.chestopen	Opening a chest
eSoundType_RANDOM_CHEST_CLOSE	random.chestclosed	Closing a chest
eSoundType_RANDOM_DOOR_OPEN	random.door_open	Opening a door
eSoundType_RANDOM_DOOR_CLOSE	random.door_close	Closing a door
eSoundType_RANDOM_CLICK	random.click	Buttons, levers
eSoundType_RANDOM_GLASS	random.glass	Breaking glass
eSoundType_RANDOM_FIZZ	random.fizz	Fire extinguish, lava pop
eSoundType_RANDOM_LEVELUP	random.levelup	Experience level up
eSoundType_RANDOM_POP	random.pop	Item pickup
eSoundType_RANDOM_ORB	random.orb	Experience orb pickup
eSoundType_RANDOM_SPLASH	random.splash	Water splash
eSoundType_RANDOM_DRINK	random.drink	Drinking potion
eSoundType_RANDOM_EAT	random.eat	Eating food
eSoundType_RANDOM_ANVIL_USE	random.anvil_use	Using an anvil
eSoundType_RANDOM_ANVIL_LAND	random.anvil_land	Falling anvil landing
eSoundType_RANDOM_ANVIL_BREAK	random.anvil_break	Anvil breaking
eSoundType_RANDOM_FUSE	random.fuse	TNT fuse
eSoundType_RANDOM_BOWHIT	random.bowhit	Arrow hitting target

Ambient sounds (ambient.*)

Enum	String name
eSoundType_AMBIENT_WEATHER_RAIN	ambient.weather.rain
eSoundType_AMBIENT_WEATHER_THUNDER	ambient.weather.thunder
eSoundType_AMBIENT_CAVE_CAVE	ambient.cave.cave

Other categories

Prefix	Examples	Purpose
portal.*	portal.portal, portal.trigger, portal.travel	Portal effects
fire.*	fire.ignite, fire.fire	Fire sounds
damage.*	damage.hurtflesh, damage.fallsmall, damage.fallbig	Player damage
note.*	note.harp, note.bd, note.snare, note.hat, note.bassattack	Note blocks
liquid.*	liquid.water, liquid.lava, liquid.lavapop	Liquid sounds
minecart.*	minecart.base, minecart.inside	Minecart movement

UI sounds (ESoundEffect)

UI sounds are a separate, smaller enum:

enum ESoundEffect
{
    eSFX_Back,       // "back"
    eSFX_Craft,      // "craft"
    eSFX_CraftFail,  // "craftfail"
    eSFX_Focus,      // "focus"
    eSFX_Press,      // "press"
    eSFX_Scroll,     // "scroll"
    eSFX_MAX
};

These get played through SoundEngine::playUI() and are routed to the "Minecraft/UI/" event path in the soundbank.

Music system

Music file enumeration

The eMUSICFILES enum lists all music tracks:

Overworld:

• eStream_Overworld_Calm1 through Calm3
• eStream_Overworld_hal1 through hal4
• eStream_Overworld_nuance1, nuance2
• eStream_Overworld_piano1 through piano3
• Creative mode tracks (non-Xbox): Creative1 through Creative6
• Menu tracks (non-Xbox): Menu1 through Menu4

Nether:

• eStream_Nether1 through Nether4

The End:

• eStream_end_dragon, eStream_end_end

Music discs (CD):

• eStream_CD_1 through eStream_CD_12

Total: eStream_Max entries.

File paths follow the pattern music/<trackname>.binka for background music and cds/<discname>.binka for music discs. The .binka format is Bink Audio (compressed, from RAD Game Tools).

Music types

enum eMUSICTYPE {
    eMusicType_None,
    eMusicType_Game,   // background music (not 3D positioned)
    eMusicType_CD,     // jukebox music (3D positioned, attenuates with distance)
};

Background music plays globally with no 3D positioning. Jukebox music is 3D-positioned at the jukebox block with a distance scaler of 64 blocks (4x the normal sound range).

Music streaming state machine

enum MUSIC_STREAMSTATE {
    eMusicStreamState_Idle,
    eMusicStreamState_Stop,
    eMusicStreamState_Stopping,
    eMusicStreamState_Opening,
    eMusicStreamState_OpeningCancel,
    eMusicStreamState_Play,
    eMusicStreamState_Playing,
    eMusicStreamState_Completed,
};

The state transitions:

Idle --> Opening --> Playing --> Completed --> Stop --> Stopping --> Idle

OpeningCancel handles the case where a new track is requested while one is still opening.

Music streaming runs on a dedicated thread:

C4JThread* m_openStreamThread;
static int OpenStreamThreadProc(void* lpParameter);

Music selection

getMusicID(int iDomain) picks a random track that fits the current dimension:

int SoundEngine::getMusicID(int iDomain)
{
    switch (iDomain)
    {
    case LevelData::DIMENSION_END:
        return m_iStream_End_Min;  // always plays dragon-alive track
    case LevelData::DIMENSION_NETHER:
        return GetRandomishTrack(m_iStream_Nether_Min, m_iStream_Nether_Max);
    default:
        return GetRandomishTrack(m_iStream_Overworld_Min, m_iStream_Overworld_Max);
    }
}

The track ranges are configurable per texture/mash-up pack:

void SetStreamingSounds(int iOverworldMin, int iOverWorldMax,
                        int iNetherMin, int iNetherMax,
                        int iEndMin, int iEndMax, int iCD1);

GetRandomishTrack(iStart, iEnd) selects a track, using m_bHeardTrackA to avoid playing the same track back to back. Once all tracks in the range have been heard, the array resets. It doesn’t try too hard, so occasionally you will hear the same track twice.

Music tick

playMusicTick() is called each game tick. It manages the delay between tracks (m_iMusicDelay, up to about 3 minutes of random delay) and drives the streaming state machine. playMusicUpdate() handles the actual state transitions.

CD music (jukeboxes)

Music disc playback is tracked separately. The m_CDMusic field stores the current disc track name. GetIsPlayingStreamingCDMusic() and SetIsPlayingStreamingCDMusic() manage this state. The track name gets matched against the m_szStreamFileA array to find the right file.

Volume control

Method	Purpose
updateMusicVolume(float fVal)	Set master music volume (0.0 to 1.0)
updateSoundEffectVolume(float fVal)	Set master SFX volume (0.0 to 1.0)
updateSystemMusicPlaying(bool isPlaying)	Handle system music (e.g., Spotify) overlay
getMasterMusicVolume()	Get effective music volume

The master volumes (m_MasterMusicVolume, m_MasterEffectsVolume) are set from the Options class values.

Sound bank and driver

The Miles Sound System uses:

• HMSOUNDBANK m_hBank is the loaded sound bank containing all SFX (Minecraft.msscmp)
• HDIGDRIVER m_hDriver is the digital audio driver
• HSTREAM m_hStream is the current streaming music handle

Sound files and music files get registered through add(), addMusic(), and addStreaming() during initialization.

DLC audio

DLC packs (mash-up packs) can provide their own audio through DLCAudioFile.h. The TexturePack::hasAudio() method tells you whether a pack includes custom audio. When a DLC pack with audio is active, SetStreamingSounds() reconfigures the music track ranges.

Audio resources are stored in:

• Common/res/audio/ for base game sound banks
• Common/res/TitleUpdate/audio/ for title update audio additions

Platform-specific notes

• PS3: initAudioHardware() has a platform-specific implementation for Cell audio initialization
• PS4 (Orbis): Uses int32_t m_hBGMAudio for the background music audio handle
• PS Vita: Miles integration through a Vita-specific MSS build with updateMiles() called during the mixer callback
• Xbox 360: Uses native XAudio instead of Miles (no mss.h include)

MinecraftConsoles differences

MinecraftConsoles adds a large batch of new sound types to SoundTypes.h. These cover mobs and features that don’t exist in LCEMP:

Firework sounds

• eSoundType_FIREWORKS_LAUNCH
• eSoundType_FIREWORKS_BLAST / _FAR
• eSoundType_FIREWORKS_LARGE_BLAST / _FAR
• eSoundType_FIREWORKS_TWINKLE / _FAR

Bat sounds

• eSoundType_MOB_BAT_IDLE, _HURT, _DEATH, _TAKEOFF

Wither sounds

• eSoundType_MOB_WITHER_SPAWN, _IDLE, _HURT, _DEATH, _SHOOT

Horse sounds (the longest batch)

• eSoundType_MOB_HORSE_LAND, _ARMOR, _LEATHER
• Variant death sounds: _ZOMBIE_DEATH, _SKELETON_DEATH, _DONKEY_DEATH, _DEATH
• Variant hurt sounds: _ZOMBIE_HIT, _SKELETON_HIT, _DONKEY_HIT, _HIT
• Variant idle sounds: _ZOMBIE_IDLE, _SKELETON_IDLE, _DONKEY_IDLE, _IDLE
• _DONKEY_ANGRY, _ANGRY, _GALLOP, _BREATHE, _WOOD

Witch sounds

• eSoundType_MOB_WITCH_IDLE, _HURT, _DEATH

Mob step/ambient sounds

A bunch of mob step sounds are added that LCEMP was missing:

• eSoundType_MOB_COW_STEP, _CHICKEN_STEP, _PIG_STEP
• eSoundType_MOB_ENDERMAN_STARE, _SCREAM
• eSoundType_MOB_SHEEP_SHEAR, _SHEEP_STEP
• eSoundType_MOB_SKELETON_DEATH, _SKELETON_STEP
• eSoundType_MOB_SPIDER_STEP
• eSoundType_MOB_WOLF_STEP
• eSoundType_MOB_ZOMBIE_STEP
• eSoundType_LIQUID_SWIM

Bug fix

eSoundType_MOB_CAT_HITT (typo with double T) is fixed to eSoundType_MOB_CAT_HIT.