How do you put your own music into the game?
Gamblor:
Is there a way to have the Sims play your music when they play the instruments in the game?
Khan of Wyrms:
Quote from: gamblor on 2007 June 05, 08:14:47
Is there a way to have the Sims play your music when they play the instruments in the game?
An interesting question...although I suspect it would involve some form of core-file hack, since the package files for that music are located in the main game directory, not 'My Documents'. I have always wondered how the game handled the different tracks and the syncing of them for different instruments. I wonder if they use a proprietary scheme or a common one, like midi. Since I don't use SimPE I am not likely to find out. I wonder if someone here is intrepid enough to crack one of those package files open and find out just what is in there.
Hegelian:
Quote from: Khan of Wyrms on 2007 June 05, 08:44:19
I have always wondered how the game handled the different tracks and the syncing of them for different instruments. I wonder if they use a proprietary scheme or a common one, like midi.
I don't have an actual answer, but I can tell you this (using the Uni objects.package as the example since this is when instruments were introduced):
In the core game files—
The audio for the stereo etc. are stored as "mp3 or xa Sound File (MP3)" (according to SimPE); these are in the Sounds folder in separate packages for the different audio sources you see in the in-game audio controls (jazz.package; neighborhood.package). They extract as MP3s and can be played like any other MP3, but the non-music files will not play, generating a "the extension does not match the file format" error. Since SimPE has a Replace feature, it is possible (at least in theory) to replace the Maxis music with your own, right in the objects.package. The one I'm looking at has the name of the song and the band at the end of the hex data, so I suppose you could edit the replacement file once you've inserted it into objects.package (unless the game reads the file's mp3 tag, making this unnecessary) so the correct name of the song appears in the game's audio controls . . . but if you try this and break your game, don't blame me. ::)
The non-music files are stored in a catch-all misc.package, a couple sfx packages, and six voice packages. Extracted voice files will not play.
The music for the playable instruments is stored in the misc.package, and these will play if you happen to stumble across one (they are not named by association in SimPE)—I happened to extract one of the drum tracks. These sound like actual recordings, not MIDI samples. The sound from the instruments is controlled by a band controller object in the objects.package file; presumably this is what Atavera cloned and modified for his playable-custom-instrument hack.
There are 4534 Audio Reference files, in an FWAV format. These extract as .simpe files—they appear be "instruction" or properties files, in hexadecimal with a text descriptor (i.e., flamingo_shrug_vox; di_nate_lightning4).
This is a guess, but I suspect the Audio Reference files act as the link between objects and their associated sounds. For example, when a sim plays an instrument, the soundtrack is different when she has no creativity points compared to when she has a lot of creativity. Something in the programming must tell the band controller which instrument track to play depending on the sim's skill level. This could be something buried in the BHAV files, but I'm guessing the Audio Reference files have something to do with it.
Quote from: witch on 2007 June 05, 06:03:37
If you want to have one folder with all your music files, here's how to do it.
You need a programme named Junction Link Magic
[snip]
I don't doubt that this works, but it does seem unnecessarily complicated when you can just drop those mp3 files in the appropriate folders in My Documents. I would add though, that I once played through the audio files in one of my Sims "channels" with Media Player, and it somehow broke them for the game. I had to delete the copies in the My Documents game folder and move in new copies. ???
Emma:
First of all it wouldn't work and I realised that the file formats were wrong. Stupid Vista doesn't let you change file formats at all, so I had to re-upload all my CDs as MP3s. Works a charm though Heg. Ta very much ;D
witch:
Quote from: Hegelian on 2007 June 05, 15:50:12
I don't doubt that this works, but it does seem unnecessarily complicated when you can just drop those mp3 files in the appropriate folders in My Documents.
I wasn't concerned with finding appropriate music for the sims channels, I wanted to just listen to whatever were my favourites at the time. This left me with one folder I could move music in and out off as the mood suited, that is the advantage of having it all in one place.
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