ResourceImporterWAV: Enable QOA compression by default

[DeeJayLSP]

Modifies ResourceImporterWAV's compression mode to use QOA as default instead of disabling.

QOA is lightweight, has a reasonable quality and supports almost every significant feature of AudioStreamWAV that is used on imported audio files, so I think it's a good idea to leave it enabled by default.

[clayjohn]

Do you know what features aren't supported? Are they anything that Godot users could be relying on? I'm just trying to figure out if this is technically a compatibility breaking PR.

A change in quality vs. size is fine, but if it breaks scripts, or a feature stops working, then we would need to discuss

[DeeJayLSP]

This merely changes an import option default to another value. The only situations I can see this "breaking" is if the user:

• Imports a WAV file using default parameters.

Then one of the options below:

• Uses the AudioStreamWAV:save_to_wav() function.

This returns an ERR_UNAVAILABLE because QOA streams can't be saved as WAV.

• Attempts to use AudioStreamWAV:data as regular PCM data.

For both, users would need to change the compress mode from QOA to Disabled.

AudioStreamWAVs created from code (which is how most people using the options above are likely using them) don't get affected at all because AudioStreamWAV defaults are already different than those set by ResourceImporterWAV.

[clayjohn]

Thank you for clarifying! It sounds like this PR does break compatibility. But only in one particular case that is likely rare.

[Mickeon]

Can't comment on the specific line for some reason, but I believe that we should highlight QOA compression being the default in the description. The change would make it a bit unorthodox, since the default would not be the first option out of the 3.

[DeeJayLSP]

It sounds like this PR does break compatibility. But only in one particular case that is likely rare.

I wouldn't consider this, since the exact same "breakage" can be currently achieved by changing the import params from Disabled to QOA.

Existing projects with already imported WAV files don't get affected at all.

[DeeJayLSP]

The change would make it a bit unorthodox, since the default would not be the first option out of the 3.

Not every importer has all the default options on the first.

A good example of this is fonts: all of its import options with dropdowns (Antialiasing, Hinting and Subpixel Positioning) have the second option as default.

[Calinou]

I'm neutral on whether this is a good idea. On one hand, it'll reduce exported project install sizes a bit, but it also means we opt into using lossy compression by default for audio. When importing WAV, you may have the expectation that your audio is lossless by default (unlike Ogg Vorbis and MP3).

In a sense, this would be similar to using Lossy compression for images by default. We only use lossy VRAM compression for textures detected to be used in 3D by default, not 2D images which are typically used for UI.

[DeeJayLSP]

I decided to check what other engines do with WAV files, and the most significant ones seem to use some type of compression by default (load-time Vorbis decompression in Unity's case, and the proprietary Bink Audio format in Unreal).

Before QOA was added, Godot didn't have a way to compress WAV files other than IMA-ADPCM, which greatly degrades sound quality and misses a few features (such as seeking, backward playback and resampling, all supported by QOA).

Personally, I think the usage of an optimal/compressed option like QOA should be encouraged. The option to disable compression remains there.

[clayjohn]

I just double checked and it appears that .import files save all properties which means you are right and this will just change behaviour for new files. In which case it won't break compatibility.

[akien-mga]

Can't comment on the specific line for some reason, but I believe that we should highlight QOA compression being the default in the description.

I agree with this. BTW the current description is a bit misleading, as it describes WAV as an uncompressed format but we're now compressing it by default:

WAV is an uncompressed format, which can provide higher quality compared to Ogg Vorbis and MP3. It also has the lowest CPU cost to decode. This means high numbers of WAV sounds can be played at the same time, even on low-end deviceS.

(Also note the capital "S" type at "deviceS", also worth fixing.)

[DeeJayLSP]

I agree with this. BTW the current description is a bit misleading, as it describes WAV as an uncompressed format but we're now compressing it by default:

It seems all the other audio ResourceImporters describe the format instead of the importer itself.

I added a note to that description to explain that it will be compressed on import.

[akien-mga]

IMO this is worth a try now. IIRC we discussed doing this back when reviewing #91014, and opted to make it opt-in initially for 4.3, and consider making it default later. Later can be now :) and we have the whole 4.4 cycle to find whether this causes issues for some users and reconsider if need be.

Could be good to have some metrics on how this actually affects project size and playback latency and quality on a WAV heavy project.

[DeeJayLSP]

Rebased on top of master after recent merges.

[akien-mga]

Thanks!