FMOD 201 - Lesson 6 - synchrnzr

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Last update: 2025-06-22

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201: Interactive Music

Lesson 6: Interactive Re-sequencing

Finally we're going to crossfade between Explore and Combat music versions, and we'll also introduce a Defeated segment to be played when our character is defeated.

1. We'll first copy & paste all the Gameplay sequence back into the Gameplay Old event used by the Explore music. We'll start with the Logic Tracks and the 3 first track clips.
   
   
   


2. Now copy the remaining tracks by selecting the full track, so we'll be also copying their Automation setup.
   
   
   


3. Paste them below the 3 first tracks in Gameplay Old.
   
   
   


4. And shift the tracks to adjust their starting point.
   
   
   


5. We can get rid of the old Gameplay event.
   
   
   


6. And restore the Gamplay Old event to its previous Gameplay status, so remove the " Old" part.
   
   
   


7. We'll now define the parameter we'll use to decide whether our current context is Explore or Combat. Click on the main menu Create option and choose Add parameter...
   
   
   


8. Let's define the CombatLevel parameter, which is a Global continuous parameter that ranges from 0 to 10.
   
   
   


9. Now we'll need to create the appropiate Transition and Destination Zones so we'll jump between each depending on this parameter. Right-click the empty logic tracks space and choose Add Destination Region.
   
   
   


10. The Region A will appear. Adjust it to the first 16 measures of the combat music.
    
    
    


11. Now we'll create a Transition Region to this new region so we'll instruct FMOD what's the region that can jump to Region A. Right-click the empty logic tracks space again and choose Add Transition Region To > Regions > Region A.
    
    
    


12. Adjust the Transition Region so it fits the Explore Theme and the Multi-Instrument, leaving the 1st pre-entry measure out.
    
    
    


13. The default behavior of Transition Regions is jumping to the beginning of the Destination Region, but this music is designed with the same tempo and harmony for both Combat and Explore sections, so we'll use the Relative setting in the Transition Conditions panel.
    
    
    


14. Now we'll need to set a condition for the transition to happen. Click the Add Condition button and choose Add Parameter Condition > CombatLevel
    
    
    


15. Adjust the CombatLevel value range to 5.0-10.0. This means that when CombatLevel is above 5 it will jump to the combat clips.
    
    
    


16. You can now play the event starting and the beginning and try changing the CombatLevel value using the right panel. When the value goes beyond 5, the music should skip to the combat clips. However the transition will be immediate, so it will be a bit harsh. Let's try to soften it a little bit!
    
    
    


17. Right-click the Transition Region and choose Add Transition Timeline.
    
    
    


18. FMOD will join the Transition Region and Destination Region with an in-between gap. Now, we can choose what to do in this transition time (and, of course, adjust this time, which at this zoom level is very long)
    
    
    


19. We'll first adjust the Transition Timeline duration to 1 measure by dragging its right-side to the left and reducing zoom.
    
    
    


20. Now drag the left dashed rectangle to the right and the right dashed rectangle to the left. This will create a crossfade zone between the two tracks.
    
    
    


21. With a bit of patience, we'll do the same with all the tracks.
    
    
    


22. We can hide this Transition Timeline, so it doesn't disturb us while we continue edition. Just right-click over the Transition Region and choose Hide Transition Timeline.
    
    
    


23. We can also transition in the last Explore-Theme clip we left for the Bridge-Theme mixing part by the end. Copy and paste the transition we've just created and adjust it. You don't need to fit it in the loop region, we don't care about what's happening outside because we'll never reach that part. We've also copied the Transition Timeline of the Transition Region we've copied, the small circle at the top-right side of the rectangle is telling us a Transition Timeline is defined for that region.
    
    
    


24. Now we'll have to do the same to transition from the Explore-Bridge clip to the Combat-Bridge one. Create a destination region fitting the Combat-Bridge clip and copy one of the previous transition regions. This way we'll be copying the Transition Timeline too. We just need to change the destination for the copied Transition Region.
    
    
    


25. We can change the destination for this Transition Region by either clicking the destination option in the Transition Conditions panel and choosing Regions > Region B...
    
    
    


26. Or by right-clicking the Transition Region and choosing Set Destination to > Regions > Region B...
    
    
    


27. Now we need to do everything in the opposite direction. We need to transition from the Combat clips to the Explore ones when CombatLevel is below 5. I'll leave this as an exercise for you, this is how the result should look like (combat main section will directly jump to Explore-Theme and Combat-Bridge must jump to Explore-Bridge) Copying and pasting the Transition Regions will save a lot of time, you'll just need to change the destinations and the condition, CombatLevel must be in the 0.00-5.00 range:
    
    
    


28. Finally let's see another way to transition, the Magnet Region. Magnet Regions work the opposite Transition Regions do. We can understand it as "Jump to this region if the conditions met". We'll use it to add a Defeated segment when PlayerHealth goes down to 0. Import the file into the Timeline.
    
    
    


29. Right-click the Logic Tracks space over the clip and choose Add Magnet Region.
    
    
    


30. Adjust the Magnet Region to fit the clip.
    
    
    


31. Add the condition for the Magnet Region. Player Health must be 0.
    
    
    


32. Now the Magnet Region will play looped when Player Health is 0. We can stop it by adding a Sustain Point at the end of the click. Right-click the Logic Tracks zone and choose Add Sustain Point.
    
    
    


33. In the Sustain Point's Conditions panel add the condition of PlayerHealth being 0. This is the condition to keep the play cursor hooked in the Susatin Point. If the value was higher due to a player character respawn, then we'll get out of both the Sustain Point and the Magnet Region and follow the Timeline.
    
    
    


34. Now we'll just need to tell what to do after the player character is respawned. We'll want to jump to the beginning of the Timeline, so we'll add a new Marker right at the beginning by right-clicking the Logic Tracks zone and choose Add Destination Marker.
    
    
    


35. And at the end of the Death clip, we'll add a Transition To > Markers > Marker A.
    
    
    



Finally! We've got the resequencing behavior complete. Try this into the game, just rebuild the Bank and play the map in Unreal. As there are no enemies in the map, I'm sending a CombatLevel value of 10 when you're using the rocket launcher and back to 0 when you use the Assault Rifle. You can lose health by shooting the rocket launcher very close to the character.