vajuvaju
11-18-2014, 05:30 AM
Game music in multichannel audio!
Hey, all. I'll be posting game music that's encoded in surround sound - usually 4.0 or 5.1. The files are ripped from games in their native formats; they may be MP3 or OGG, or in lesser-known formats such as FSB, XMA etc. They are channel-mapped and exported as FLAC with Audacity.
FAQ
Why FLAC? Most music from gamerips is in lossy formats!
I use FLAC for two reasons: 1) because I want to preserve the quality of the tracks when I do channel-mapping, and 2) there are very few lossy surround formats and they can be cumbersome for most users due to their codecs (AC3, DTS, multichannel OGG). If you want to convert the FLAC's to a lossy surround codec, go for it! Just make sure that you get the channel-mapping right, because it may vary across formats.
What is channel-mapping?
Channel-mapping is the assignment of multi-channel audio streams to the correct speakers.
This is the 4.0 channel-mapping for all formats:
Channel 1: Front Left
Channel 2: Front Right
Channel 3: Rear Left
Channel 4: Rear Right
This is the 5.1 channel-mapping for WAV/FLAC:
Channel 1: Front Left
Channel 2: Front Right
Channel 3: Center
Channel 4: LFE (Subwoofer)
Channel 5: Rear Left
Channel 6: Rear Right
Other codecs, such as OGG, will probably have the order as such: 1: FL, 2: C, 3: FR, 4: RL, 5: RR, 6: LFE.
DTS is the same as OGG, except that FL is on channel 2 and Center is on channel 1.
See also: Surround sound specifications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound#Surround_sound_specifications)
Also, many of those pesky native formats may have a totally different channel order(depending on the game's audio engine or console hardware). It will work fine in the game itself, but will sound weird when ripped and played back on a media player with a video game music plugin (such as the VGMstream and Game Emu Plugin components for Foobar2000 (http://foobar2000.org)). For example, the XVAG files in the Uncharted games are completely reversed.
Can I request game X?
It depends. While surround SOUND has been around in games for a long time (dialogues and SFX are heard in a three-dimensional sound field across the speakers), surround MUSIC is actually quite rare; some games may just upmix a stereo music stream, as not all game music is mixed in surround. Fortunately, the surround music format is becoming more and more popular in games released for consoles with true surround output (such as PS3, X360 etc.). Please, request games only if you're certain the files have multichannel audio (or consist of many stereo tracks which, when put together, form a 5.1 file).
What exactly will and will not be posted in this thread?
The thread will contain the following uploads:
1) Channel-mapped Lossless Gamerips
These will be in two versions: The beta version, which will have channel-mapped lossless tracks without any tags, proper track order or filenames, and the alpha version, which will have the files properly tagged, renamed and placed in a comprehensive tracklist that will follow the structure of the game or a commercial soundtrack. I will need your help to make alpha versions, as I have not played many of the games which will be featured here!
2) Commercially released surround music
On very rare occasions, the surround version of a game soundtrack is released commercially on DVD-Audio, DVD-Video or Blu-ray (e.g. Rise of Nations, Halo Wars, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory).
3) The Vajumixes
Some games feature a dynamic soundtrack (e.g. Batman: Arkham City, Max Payne 3) which consists of multiple layers of music which will be enabled/disabled depending on the player's actions. For example, in a quiet moment, you will hear only soft strings or synths, but when the enemies show up, drums and guitars are added. I will make my own 5.1 mixes of these, and will call them the Vajumixes (my username does not mean anything, by the way).
The thread will NOT contain (for the time being; subject to change):
1) Stereo music in a gamerip
2) Downmixes of multichannel material
3) Surround audio from cutscenes, unless there is a music-only cutscene with surround sound that should be ripped; if that's the case, feel free to request it!
4) Upmixes of stereo music
Where do you get your gamerips from?
A good place to start is joshw's archive (http://hcs64.com/mboard/forum.php?showthread=26929). Another great source is @Alpha23 's Video Game Music Preservation Project (forums.ffshrine.org/f72/video-game-music-preservation-project-119745/). In some cases, I rip the music myself. :)
I have uploaded a surround sound gamerip/commercial release. Can I feature it here?
Certainly! If you haven't done so already, make a thread for it and send me the link. I will feature your thread here and give you credit. :)
Nintendo 3DS music is multichannel! Will you post any here?
Sorry, the multichannel system 3DS uses is not meant for conventional 5.1 systems, since it's a portable device we're talking about. I don't know how to map its multichannel tracks without screwing it all up!
Uploaded:
Mortal Kombat 9 (Alpha)
MadWorld (Alpha)
Beyond: Two Souls (Beta)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Beta)
Alpha Protocol Theme (Alpha)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Beta)
Heavy Rain (Beta)
Currently on cue:
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Beta)
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Beta)
Batman: Arkham City (Vajumix)
Max Payne 3 (Vajumix)
Anarchy Reigns (Vajumix)
Aliens Vs. Predator (2010 game) (Vajumix)
Stay tuned, awesome stuff is on the way!
Hey, all. I'll be posting game music that's encoded in surround sound - usually 4.0 or 5.1. The files are ripped from games in their native formats; they may be MP3 or OGG, or in lesser-known formats such as FSB, XMA etc. They are channel-mapped and exported as FLAC with Audacity.
FAQ
Why FLAC? Most music from gamerips is in lossy formats!
I use FLAC for two reasons: 1) because I want to preserve the quality of the tracks when I do channel-mapping, and 2) there are very few lossy surround formats and they can be cumbersome for most users due to their codecs (AC3, DTS, multichannel OGG). If you want to convert the FLAC's to a lossy surround codec, go for it! Just make sure that you get the channel-mapping right, because it may vary across formats.
What is channel-mapping?
Channel-mapping is the assignment of multi-channel audio streams to the correct speakers.
This is the 4.0 channel-mapping for all formats:
Channel 1: Front Left
Channel 2: Front Right
Channel 3: Rear Left
Channel 4: Rear Right
This is the 5.1 channel-mapping for WAV/FLAC:
Channel 1: Front Left
Channel 2: Front Right
Channel 3: Center
Channel 4: LFE (Subwoofer)
Channel 5: Rear Left
Channel 6: Rear Right
Other codecs, such as OGG, will probably have the order as such: 1: FL, 2: C, 3: FR, 4: RL, 5: RR, 6: LFE.
DTS is the same as OGG, except that FL is on channel 2 and Center is on channel 1.
See also: Surround sound specifications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound#Surround_sound_specifications)
Also, many of those pesky native formats may have a totally different channel order(depending on the game's audio engine or console hardware). It will work fine in the game itself, but will sound weird when ripped and played back on a media player with a video game music plugin (such as the VGMstream and Game Emu Plugin components for Foobar2000 (http://foobar2000.org)). For example, the XVAG files in the Uncharted games are completely reversed.
Can I request game X?
It depends. While surround SOUND has been around in games for a long time (dialogues and SFX are heard in a three-dimensional sound field across the speakers), surround MUSIC is actually quite rare; some games may just upmix a stereo music stream, as not all game music is mixed in surround. Fortunately, the surround music format is becoming more and more popular in games released for consoles with true surround output (such as PS3, X360 etc.). Please, request games only if you're certain the files have multichannel audio (or consist of many stereo tracks which, when put together, form a 5.1 file).
What exactly will and will not be posted in this thread?
The thread will contain the following uploads:
1) Channel-mapped Lossless Gamerips
These will be in two versions: The beta version, which will have channel-mapped lossless tracks without any tags, proper track order or filenames, and the alpha version, which will have the files properly tagged, renamed and placed in a comprehensive tracklist that will follow the structure of the game or a commercial soundtrack. I will need your help to make alpha versions, as I have not played many of the games which will be featured here!
2) Commercially released surround music
On very rare occasions, the surround version of a game soundtrack is released commercially on DVD-Audio, DVD-Video or Blu-ray (e.g. Rise of Nations, Halo Wars, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory).
3) The Vajumixes
Some games feature a dynamic soundtrack (e.g. Batman: Arkham City, Max Payne 3) which consists of multiple layers of music which will be enabled/disabled depending on the player's actions. For example, in a quiet moment, you will hear only soft strings or synths, but when the enemies show up, drums and guitars are added. I will make my own 5.1 mixes of these, and will call them the Vajumixes (my username does not mean anything, by the way).
The thread will NOT contain (for the time being; subject to change):
1) Stereo music in a gamerip
2) Downmixes of multichannel material
3) Surround audio from cutscenes, unless there is a music-only cutscene with surround sound that should be ripped; if that's the case, feel free to request it!
4) Upmixes of stereo music
Where do you get your gamerips from?
A good place to start is joshw's archive (http://hcs64.com/mboard/forum.php?showthread=26929). Another great source is @Alpha23 's Video Game Music Preservation Project (forums.ffshrine.org/f72/video-game-music-preservation-project-119745/). In some cases, I rip the music myself. :)
I have uploaded a surround sound gamerip/commercial release. Can I feature it here?
Certainly! If you haven't done so already, make a thread for it and send me the link. I will feature your thread here and give you credit. :)
Nintendo 3DS music is multichannel! Will you post any here?
Sorry, the multichannel system 3DS uses is not meant for conventional 5.1 systems, since it's a portable device we're talking about. I don't know how to map its multichannel tracks without screwing it all up!
Uploaded:
Mortal Kombat 9 (Alpha)
MadWorld (Alpha)
Beyond: Two Souls (Beta)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Beta)
Alpha Protocol Theme (Alpha)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Beta)
Heavy Rain (Beta)
Currently on cue:
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Beta)
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Beta)
Batman: Arkham City (Vajumix)
Max Payne 3 (Vajumix)
Anarchy Reigns (Vajumix)
Aliens Vs. Predator (2010 game) (Vajumix)
Stay tuned, awesome stuff is on the way!
