From d859eb23191d7c5fa15b1591c35afba04684412c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Justin Marshall <justinmarshall20@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2026 10:07:29 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Sound system is now in another thread.

---
 neo/framework/Common.cpp |  2 --
 neo/sound/snd_system.cpp | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 35 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/neo/framework/Common.cpp b/neo/framework/Common.cpp
index 46320e79..a21f4969 100644
--- a/neo/framework/Common.cpp
+++ b/neo/framework/Common.cpp
@@ -2576,8 +2576,6 @@ void idCommonLocal::Frame(void) {
 
 		idAsyncNetwork::RunFrame();
 
-		soundSystem->AsyncUpdate(Sys_Milliseconds());
-
 		if (idAsyncNetwork::IsActive()) {
 			if (idAsyncNetwork::serverDedicated.GetInteger() != 1) {
 				session->GuiFrameEvents();
diff --git a/neo/sound/snd_system.cpp b/neo/sound/snd_system.cpp
index 6e65f324..fd1420c8 100644
--- a/neo/sound/snd_system.cpp
+++ b/neo/sound/snd_system.cpp
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ If you have questions concerning this license or the applicable additional terms
 #include "snd_local.h"
 
 #include <initguid.h> 
+#include <thread>
+#include <atomic>
+#include <chrono>
 
 #ifdef ID_DEDICATED
 idCVar idSoundSystemLocal::s_noSound( "s_noSound", "1", CVAR_SOUND | CVAR_BOOL | CVAR_ROM, "" );
@@ -100,6 +103,34 @@ DEFINE_GUID(EAXPROPERTYID_EAX40_Source,
 DEFINE_GUID(EAXPROPERTYID_EAX40_FXSlot0,
 	0xA8FA6882, 0x9FDA, 0x11D2, 0xBA, 0xA0, 0x00, 0xA0, 0xC9, 0x22, 0x31, 0x96);
 
+static std::thread g_soundAsyncThread;
+static std::atomic<bool> g_soundAsyncRunning{ false };
+
+void StartSoundAsyncThread() {
+	if (g_soundAsyncRunning.exchange(true)) {
+		return; // already running
+	}
+
+	g_soundAsyncThread = std::thread([]() {
+		while (g_soundAsyncRunning.load()) {
+			soundSystem->AsyncUpdate(Sys_Milliseconds());
+
+			// Prevent burning a full CPU core.
+			std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(1));
+		}
+		});
+}
+
+void StopSoundAsyncThread() {
+	if (!g_soundAsyncRunning.exchange(false)) {
+		return; // already stopped
+	}
+
+	if (g_soundAsyncThread.joinable()) {
+		g_soundAsyncThread.join();
+	}
+}
+
 /*
 ===============
 SoundReloadSounds_f
@@ -427,6 +458,8 @@ void idSoundSystemLocal::Init() {
 	useOpenAL = idSoundSystemLocal::s_useOpenAL.GetBool();
 	useEAXReverb = idSoundSystemLocal::s_useEAXReverb.GetBool();
 
+	StartSoundAsyncThread();
+
 	cmdSystem->AddCommand( "listSounds", ListSounds_f, CMD_FL_SOUND, "lists all sounds" );
 	cmdSystem->AddCommand( "listSoundDecoders", ListSoundDecoders_f, CMD_FL_SOUND, "list active sound decoders" );
 	cmdSystem->AddCommand( "reloadSounds", SoundReloadSounds_f, CMD_FL_SOUND|CMD_FL_CHEAT, "reloads all sounds" );
@@ -443,6 +476,8 @@ idSoundSystemLocal::Shutdown
 ===============
 */
 void idSoundSystemLocal::Shutdown() {
+	StopSoundAsyncThread();
+	
 	ShutdownHW();
 
 	// EAX or not, the list needs to be cleared