fix(memory): Fix memory leak for audio events when pausing the game

[Caball009]

• Related PR fix(memory): Fix various memory leaks (2) #2710

Pausing the game leaks audio events that were in the audio request container at the time. This PR fixes that.

This code is called to get rid of some of the audio requests when pausing the game:

GeneralsGameCode/Core/GameEngineDevice/Source/MilesAudioDevice/MilesAudioManager.cpp

Lines 587 to 601 in 2219f63

	//Get rid of PLAY audio requests when pausing audio.
	std::list<AudioRequest*>::iterator ait;
	for (ait = m_audioRequests.begin(); ait != m_audioRequests.end(); /* empty */)
	{
	AudioRequest *req = (*ait);
	if( req && req->m_request == AR_Play )
	{
	deleteInstance(req);
	ait = m_audioRequests.erase(ait);
	}
	else
	{
	ait++;
	}
	}

AudioRequest::m_pendingEvent can be an owning raw pointer, though, which the destructor of AudioRequest should delete when needed. It currently doesn't, which is why the leak happens.

GeneralsGameCode/Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/AudioRequest.h

Line 51 in 2219f63

AudioEventRTS *m_pendingEvent;

There's one exception where the ownership of the audio event is taken away from the audio request:

GeneralsGameCode/Core/GameEngineDevice/Source/MilesAudioDevice/MilesAudioManager.cpp

Line 2238 in 2219f63

processRequest(req);

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR fixes a memory leak in the audio system that occurred when the game was paused while audio events were queued in the audio request container. The AudioRequest destructor previously did not free the owning m_pendingEvent pointer, so requests purged during pause were leaked.

• Destructor fix: ~AudioRequest() now deletes m_pendingEvent when m_usePendingEvent is true, covering the pause-time purge path and any other early-exit path.
• Ownership transfer: releasePendingEvent() atomically clears m_usePendingEvent and nulls the pointer before returning it, ensuring the destructor won't double-free once ownership moves to PlayingAudio::m_audioEventRTS.
• Refactored playAudioEvent: Now receives the full AudioRequest* instead of a raw AudioEventRTS*, allowing the three assignment sites (Streaming, 3D sample, 2D sample) to call releasePendingEvent() at exactly the point of ownership transfer.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — the fix is narrowly scoped, ownership transfer is atomic and guarded against double-free, and all three play paths correctly call releasePendingEvent() exactly once.

The destructor addition and releasePendingEvent() implementation are straightforward and correct. The refactored playAudioEvent uses the local event alias only before ownership transfer and switches to audio->m_audioEventRTS exclusively afterward. Early-return paths (e.g., !info) are now also covered because the destructor handles cleanup when releasePendingEvent() was never called.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/AudioRequest.h	Adds releasePendingEvent() declaration; existing struct layout unchanged. Clean change.
Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/Audio/AudioRequest.cpp	Implements the destructor fix and releasePendingEvent(). Destructor guards with m_usePendingEvent before deleting, and releasePendingEvent() clears the flag and pointer atomically before returning to prevent double-free.
Core/GameEngineDevice/Include/MilesAudioDevice/MilesAudioManager.h	Updates playAudioEvent signature from AudioEventRTS* to AudioRequest* to enable ownership tracking within the function.
Core/GameEngineDevice/Source/MilesAudioDevice/MilesAudioManager.cpp	Refactors playAudioEvent to accept AudioRequest*. Transfers ownership via releasePendingEvent() exactly once in each code path (Streaming, 3D sample, 2D sample). Uses audio->m_audioEventRTS exclusively for all post-release accesses; the local event alias is only read before transfer.

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant ARC as AudioRequestContainer
    participant PAE as processRequest
    participant PAF as playAudioEvent
    participant AR as AudioRequest
    participant PA as PlayingAudio

    ARC->>PAE: iterate queued requests on pause
    PAE->>PAF: playAudioEvent(req) [AR_Play]
    PAF->>AR: "read req->m_pendingEvent (local alias)"
    PAF->>AR: getAudioEventInfo() — early return?
    alt "info == nullptr"
        PAF-->>PAE: return (req destructor frees event)
        PAE->>AR: ~AudioRequest() — delete m_pendingEvent
    else valid info
        PAF->>AR: releasePendingEvent()
        AR-->>PAF: "returns AudioEventRTS* (clears m_usePendingEvent)"
        PAF->>PA: "audio->m_audioEventRTS = released event"
        PA-->>PAF: owns event henceforth
    end

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_{Reviews (5): Last reviewed commit: "Implemented 'releasePendingEvent' member..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[xezon]

Looking good.

[Caball009]

Rebased to include the fix for the CI Replay checker.

[xezon]

You could also write audio->m_audioEventRTS = event = req->releasePendingEvent(); and just keep using event everywhere.

[Caball009]

What's the point of the assignment to event?

[xezon]

It's optional, but just a tiny bit more robust if releasePendingEvent was changed and would suddenly introduce a new pointer.