Memory Management - Loading Sound Effects - Cocoa Xcode

Question

So it has been brought to my attention that I should optimise the way I load and use sounds in a small game that I am developing for iOS.

I load a "boing" sound and play it every time I tap the screen, making the sprite jump (like mario). I want to be able to play the sound every time, even if the sound is already playing from the previous jump...

Below are the 2 ways I'm currently using:

1st implementation:

   //load the music from file
   -(void)LoadMusic{
          jumpSound = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"boing" ofType:@"mp3"];
   }

   //call in viewDidLoad
   - (void)viewDidLoad{
          [self LoadMusic];
          ...
          [super viewDidLoad];
   }

   //play sound when called
   -(void)playSound{
          jumpAffect = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
          [jumpAffect play];
   }

   //tap/touch to jump (& play sound)
   -(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *) event{
          [self playSound];
          jumpUp = 16;
   }

2nd implementation:, this is similar except I load the same file 5 times, and loop through to the next one (so the same sound affect can be called even if it's already in previous session).

   int soundStage = 1;

   //load the music from file
   -(void)LoadMusic{
           jumpSound = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Boing" ofType:@"mp3"];

           jumpAffect = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
           jumpAffect.delegate = self;

           jumpAffect2 = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
           jumpAffect2.delegate = self;

           jumpAffect3 = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
           jumpAffect3.delegate = self;

           jumpAffect4 = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
           jumpAffect4.delegate = self;

           jumpAffect5 = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
           jumpAffect5.delegate = self;
   }

   //call in viewDidLoad
   - (void)viewDidLoad{
          [self LoadMusic];
          ...
          [super viewDidLoad];
   }

  //tap/touch to jump (& play sound)
   -(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *) event{

          jumpUp = 16;

         if(soundStage == 1){
             [jumpAffect play];
             soundStage = 2;
         }
         else if(soundStage == 2){
             [jumpAffect2 play];
             soundStage = 3;
         }
         else if(soundStage == 3){
             [jumpAffect3 play];
             soundStage = 4;
         }
         else if(soundStage == 4){
             [jumpAffect4 play];
             soundStage = 5;
         }
         else if(soundStage == 5){
             [jumpAffect5 play];
             soundStage = 1;
    }

I'm wondering which why is the better way? I'm hoping to avoid memory leaks and just optimise it by being able to continuously have the same sound play when the screen is tapped. Thanks.

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 09 '14 at 23:14

AVAudioPlayer plays multiple sounds simultaneously, one sound per audio player. So better is to load/play your quick sound inside the touchesBegan method without keeping the reference:

-(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *) event
{
    NSString *jumpSound = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"boing" ofType:@"mp3"];
    AVAudioPlayer *jumpAffect = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:jumpSound] error:NULL];
    [jumpAffect prepareToPlay];
    [jumpAffect play];
    jumpUp = 16;
}

Memory Management - Loading Sound Effects - Cocoa Xcode

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