Age of Empires 2 HD (2013 - Steam) audio skipping / stuttering

[dpedu]

Description

Game audio is skipping / stuttering.

It sounds like the audio is being broken up with a few moments of silence being inserted every few moments.

Other than sound, the game runs smoothly. At least, in the beginning when few units are present on the map. I have not played further. I have not observed any other issues besides missing fonts on the initial splash screen, which does not affect play. In-game fonts are fine.

Steps to reproduce

• Install steam in a windows 10 bottle - all settings default
• Install AoE2 HD (2013) - https://store.steampowered.com/app/221380/
• Launch the game and hear the main menu music skipping / stuttering. The same issue is present for all sounds, including in game

Expected behaviour

Audio is played correctly, without skipping / stuttering.

Logs

Whisky Version: 2.3.4
Date: 2024-12-22T20:52:42Z
macOS Version: 14.4.1

Bottle Name: Steam
Bottle URL: /Users/dave/Library/Containers/com.isaacmarovitz.Whisky/Bottles/47BA8DEB-153E-42F1-9581-E5C69CEC3AEA

WhiskyWine Version: 2.4.5
Windows Version: win10
Enhanced Sync: msync

Metal HUD: false
Metal Trace: false

Arguments: start /unix /Users/dave/Library/Containers/com.isaacmarovitz.Whisky/Bottles/47BA8DEB-153E-42F1-9581-E5C69CEC3AEA/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steam.exe

Environment:
{
    "DXVK_ASYNC" = 1;
    "GST_DEBUG" = 1;
    WINEDEBUG = "fixme-all";
    WINEESYNC = 1;
    WINEMSYNC = 1;
    WINEPREFIX = "/Users/dave/Library/Containers/com.isaacmarovitz.Whisky/Bottles/47BA8DEB-153E-42F1-9581-E5C69CEC3AEA";
}

msync: bootstrapped mach port on wine-8a68556-msync.
msync: up and running.
0280:err:ntlm:ntlm_LsaApInitializePackage no NTLM support, expect problems
0160:err:wininet:HTTP_ParseRfc1123Date unexpected time zone L"UTC"
0160:err:wininet:HTTP_ParseRfc1123Date unexpected time zone L"UTC"
0160:err:wininet:HTTP_ParseRfc850Date unexpected month format L" Dec 2024 07:01:00 UTC"
0160:err:wininet:HTTP_ParseDate unexpected date format L"Sat, 21 Dec 2024 07:01:00 UTC"

What version of Whisky are you using?

2.3.4

What version of macOS are you using?

Sonoma (macOS 14)

Issue Language

• Yes my issue is written in English

[dpedu]

I came across this solution moments after opening this issue: #445 (comment)

Changing my audio output from 48khz to 44.1khz improves the audio stuttering / skipping issue for me, but it is somewhat still present. I think the remaining stuttering is due to CPU starvation. I'm on a macbook air m1. It now seems to coincide with interacting with, for example, main menu items.

Furthermore, after making this change, the game itself seems to stutter. For example, when starting a game and moving a unit, the unit will move in a stuttering motion - smoothly for a few steps, then pausing for a moment. However, audio does not skip during the pauses. Turning the game speed to the fastest setting makes this less noticeable.