Alternating sounds with headphones

[Anile8]

I recently plugged headphones into my T5 and began playing Zuma and started a new game. After the part when the frog was put down on the board, when it was showing the trail to the skull I noticed sometimes the sound came out the left earpiece, and sometimes out the other. Is this a problem?

[Kristopher]

If you have ever experienced this problem with Mp3 playback, the problem is most likely your earphone hardware.
If you are experiencing this problem with all Astraware games, the problem is Astraware's audio engine.
If not, then the problem is probably in the production of the Zuma music, or was intentionally produced as a mono sound file that keeps moving around.
:)

[Anile8]

It happens too when I use a Hyper Cube in Bejeweled 2. I suppose it isn't my hardware...

[Kieren]

Both Zuma and Bejeweled use our Aurora Audio Engine, and one of it's features is the ability to pan sounds from one side to the other, if you have moving objects or if a sound effect demands this.

Given the small size of the screen the amount of separation between left and right is relativley small, the difference between the game deciding it should play a sound on the left, and playing it on the right is quite small...and all this calculation has to be done at the same time as playing the game, reducing the amount of processing time you have available to working out what is in reality a rather complex problem :)

That said, there is a known bug in Bejeweled 2 where some sound effects are played out of the wrong speaker (left when it should be right, and vice versa), and it's possible that Zuma might have a similar problem.

Warmest regards,
Kieren