KF2 Audio Stuttering Fix: MaxChannels and CommonAudioPoolSize

If Killing Floor 2 sound stutters or skips, two audio values in the engine config are the usual fix. This short guide explains where they live and what they do. For other config tweaks see KF2 tickrate guide.

Steps

1. Open the folder Documents\My Games\KillingFloor2\KFGame\Config.
2. Open KFEngine.ini in Notepad and use Ctrl+F to find [XAudio2.XAudio2Device].
3. Change the values as follows:

MaxChannels=32
CommonAudioPoolSize=0

(Set them to the numbers you choose; 32 and 0 are the defaults the author lists as the starting point.)

4. Save the file and start the game.

What the values do

• MaxChannels tells the game how many audio channels it can use to play sounds. 32 works on most sound cards, even poor ones, but some can do more. The author's Sound Blaster Z supports up to 128 channels; 96 worked perfectly and 120 caused odd static. More channels make the sound richer because more sounds can play at once without cutting each other off, which may fix skipping. Typical values are 16, 32, 48, 64 or 96. Going below the default of 32 is only recommended if nothing else helps.
• CommonAudioPoolSize is, as far as the author knows, an audio buffer that keeps sounds pre-buffered in memory for instant playback. The default is 0. Raising it to 32, 64, 128, 256 or even more should help a bit; the author runs 256 without problems. This may fix audio stuttering.

If it helps (or not), tell the community in the guide comments, since results depend on your hardware.