[openal] AL_SOFT_source_spatialize proposal

[Chris Robinson]

On 05/06/2017 03:20 PM, Lubomir I. Ivanov wrote:
> automatic 1/channels attenuation when downmixing to mono is very
> common on IRL consoles and DAWs.
> it's user friendly and IMHO prevents a complication over giving more
> manual control.

Right. Though I've also seen plenty of recommendations to use 
sqrt(1/channels) attenuation too, which better preserves the apparent 
loudness. What's the benefit of using 1/channels instead of 
sqrt(1/channels), aside from clipping prevention?

>> "Spatialization features include positional panning, distance attenuation, cone-related
>>    attenuation, and doppler effects"
>
> does that mean that if play a stereo buffer with
> AL_SOURCE_SPATIALIZE_SOFT set to AL_FALSE the left and right channel
> correlation will not be touched?

It means the channel panning will be unaffected by the source and 
listener positions (the standard behavior of non-mono buffers has always 
been to play without spatialization features). The individual channels 
may still go through internal panning processing to accommodate other 
required behavior (remixing for missing or mis-aligned speakers, or 
angle changes through the AL_EXT_STEREO_ANGLES extension, for example).