AudioDevTool — BGM & Sound Effect Testing for ASA
About AudioDevTool
AudioDevTool allows server administrators to preview ARK: Survival Ascended music and sound effects directly in-game.Browse categorized playlists, switch between audio assets, jump to a specific entry, or automatically advance through a playlist at a configurable interval.
Key Features
BGM Playlists: Preview music organized into categories such as combat, boss encounters, missions, and completion themes.Sound Effect Playlists: Browse sound effects grouped into creature sounds, weapons, ambience, voices, UI sounds, movement, and other effects.
Playback Navigation: Move to the next or previous entry, or jump directly to a specific playlist number.
Automatic Playback: Automatically advance through a playlist at a configurable interval.
Individual Audio Playback: Play a specific asset path or a short alias registered in the configuration.
BGM Override: Temporarily replace normal combat music, with handling for mounting and dismounting. Stopping playback restores the previous music state when the plugin still owns the music slot.
Named Audio Export: Save the current audio asset path with a custom name to
output_bgm.txt.Configurable Playlists: Edit audio paths, playlist names, and playback order through
config.json.Requirements
AudioDevTool requires an ARK: Survival Ascended Dedicated Server and ASA API 2.03.Playback commands require administrator access. No Permissions plugin dependency is required.
Installation
Download and extract the ZIP archive, then copy theAudioDevTool folder into your server's plugin directory:ShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/ArkApi/Plugins/Load the plugin or start your server.
If upgrading from AudioTest, unload the old plugin and move its folder outside the Plugins directory before installing AudioDevTool. Both plugins use the same commands and hooks.
Back up your custom configuration and
output_bgm.txt before updating.Commands
Enter these commands in the in-game chat.| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/audio play battle | Starts the combat BGM playlist. |
/audio play boss | Starts the boss BGM playlist. |
/audio play se_ui | Starts the UI sound playlist. |
/audio skip | Plays the next entry. |
/audio back | Plays the previous entry. |
/audio 25 | Jumps to entry 25 in the current playlist. |
/audio auto | Enables automatic advancement for the current playlist. Starts the se playlist if no playlist is active. |
/audio auto 3 | Sets automatic advancement to a three-second interval. |
/audio auto se_ui 3 | Starts the UI sound playlist with a three-second interval. |
/audio auto off | Disables automatic advancement while leaving the current audio playing. |
/audio stop | Stops playback and automatic advancement. |
/audio playlists | Lists available playlists. |
/audio playlist battle 1 | Displays the first page of the combat playlist. |
/audio status | Displays the current playlist, entry, audio path, and automatic playback status. |
/audio output name | Saves the current audio path under the specified name. |
/audio list | Lists configured sound aliases. |
/audio reload | Reloads the configuration. |
/audio help | Displays command help. |
Individual Audio Playback
Play a configured sound effect alias:/audio se hit_character selfPlay a configured BGM alias for 60 seconds:
/audio bgm combat_day_heavy self 60 overrideAudio asset paths can also be supplied directly instead of aliases.
Supported targets are
self, all, and eos:EOSID. Playlist navigation and named export require an in-game player.For the in-game console, use commands such as:
Code:
cheat audio.play battle
cheat audio.jump 25Configuration
All settings are managed throughconfig.json.Sounds — Defines short aliases for individual audio asset paths or supported built-in sound selectors.BgmPlaylists — Defines named BGM playlists and their playback order.SePlaylists — Defines named sound effect playlists and their playback order.DefaultBgmSeconds — Sets the default duration for individual BGM playback.AutoAdvanceSeconds — Sets the default interval between entries during automatic playback.The included configuration contains 237 BGM candidates across 28 categories and 43,320 sound effect candidates, organized into a combined SE playlist and seven categories:
se_creaturese_weaponse_ambientse_voicese_uise_movementse_other
/audio reload. Restart an active playlist to apply changes to its contents or order.Named Audio Export
Use the following command while an AudioDevTool audio session is active:/audio output boss_phase_1The plugin writes the current asset path to
output_bgm.txt in the AudioDevTool folder:
Code:
{
"boss_phase_1": {
"Source": "/Game/Folder/AudioAsset.AudioAsset",
"MaxSeconds": 0
}
}MaxSeconds is exported as 0; it is not a measured audio duration.Playback Notes
Automatic playback uses a fixed time interval, rather than detecting when an audio asset finishes. Longer audio may be interrupted, while shorter audio may finish before the next entry starts.The included paths and categories were collected from local game archive indexes. Asset types, intended uses, and playback availability have not been verified for every entry. Some assets may fail to load or produce no audible sound.