Yes, you can install multiple versions of Wwise and the Wwise SDK on the same computer. This allows working on different projects that use different versions of Wwise. It is also useful when you want to take a look at a new version of Wwise while still keeping your current environment intact for a while.
There are just a couple things you need to know (refer to the Installation and Migration Guide for the most up to date information):
Multiple Wwise versions: your project opens in the wrong version of Wwise
Problem: You are trying to open the project by double-clicking on the .wproj file in Windows Explorer, but the wrong version of Wwise opens. It either fails to open the project, or it prompts you to migrate it to the new version.
Cause: The .wproj files are always associated to the last version of Wwise that was installed on your computer (not the most recent version, but the most recently installed version). This means that if you try to open a project by double-clicking on the the .wproj file in Windows Explorer, it may not be opened with the version of Wwise you want to use to edit it. Note that if you want to migrate your project to the latest version of Wwise, this is fine, but if what you want is to open your project in the older version of Wwise, this won’t work.
Solution: To open a project in a specific version of Wwise and that version is not associated with .wproj files, you should launch the version of Wwise you want to use (using the shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu) and open the project from the Project Launcher dialog box.
Multiple SDK versions: your game is building with the wrong SDK version
Cause: The SDK installer creates an environment variable named WWISESDK that points to the SDK location. Each time you install a subsequent version of the Wwise SDK, this variable is overwritten. This means that it will always point to the last version that was installed on your computer (not the most recent version, but the most recently installed version). If your game projects are using the WWISESDK environment variable, they may be using the wrong SDK if you have multiple SDKs installed.
Solution: To avoid inadvertently using the wrong SDK, manually set the environment variable by doing one of the following:
- Use the build script/tool to set the environment variable to the appropriate path before building the game.
- Set the variable in a command prompt before launching the build script/tool.
This way you can have different game builds using different versions of the Wwise SDK on the same computer.
Note: In the Wii build environment, the WWISESDK environment variable cannot contain any spaces. If it does, the build will fail. When you install the SDK, the environment variable is set using a “short path” (something like: “C:\PROGRA~1\AUDIOK~1\WWISES~2.4BU”) so that it doesn’t contain any spaces. You might want to save a copy of the current value of the WWISESDK environment variable before installing the new build, so you can set it back to the correct value, without spaces, when you need to use the older version of the SDK.
