Adding/Specifying Custom Music for Civ3

I've been playing around with the Music.txt file recently and made a few interesting discoveries:

#1, I think I've finally nailed down what is causing the crash with certain MP3 files: It seems to be related to the ID3 tag.... MP3 files created by using Windows Media Player or iTunes would ALWAYS crash the game, but when I used a certain Freeware program called SUPER to convert those files to WAV, then used an old-ass program called Audio Catalyst (it was made for windows 95/98 :lol: ) to convert those files back to MP3 format, but with blank ID3 tags, they worked perfectly with no problems whatsoever.

Furthermore, for those who don't have Audio Catalyst, you can just use SUPER to convert the WAV files back to MP3 format, and they will work as well. (I had a few files I converted from other formats using SUPER to MP3 and they all worked).... The only problem is that SUPER will add the original extention to the converted files, so by the time you get done converting the files, your file will be "Songname.mp3.wav.mp3" which will require you to manually edit every single filename.

Another program that works is VLC media player, but it can only convert one file at a time.... I haven't tried Audacity or any of the other free music editing programs yet, but I'm planning on getting Audacity tonight and will post any updates when I get done giving it a thorough shakedown.

#2: Having taken care of the issues in #1, I'd like to re-emphasize the 44.1 KHZ sampling rate: Even though odd-ball sampling rate songs played after I sent them through my conversion carousel to delete the incompatible ID3 tags (or whatever it was that was causing the crash), if the sampling rate was not exactly 44.1 kHz, the song would either sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks or like a tape recorder with almost-dead batteries... I.e. the songs would be noticeably too slow or too fast.

#3: Finally, the Music.txt file can also handle WAV files, so you can avoid most of the problems by just using WAV format, however that will hog up your HD space.

Here's the free programs that I used that are known good for converting sound formats:

SUPER... Also good for converting lots of images or rendering a video into a series of images and vice-versa.

VLC Media Player Free & Open Source software... I personally haven't used Windows Media Player ever since discovering this program (it can play and/or convert REALLY obscure/obsolete media formats, such as Amiga MOD files!)

Hoped this helped somewhat.
 
All my MP3s have IDTags. So that they`re causing trouble is not possible. More possible is that some of the several subversions of the IDTags could. (There is a major difference between v2 and v3)

VLC can convert AMIGA MOD ? Really ? I still have tons of AMIGA software which I run with the best AMIGA emulator "WinUAE". I have many thousends MOD files. :D

Audacity: I run it for years now. The convert feature is quite poor. But TOP editing tool. Don`t forget to grab the plug-ins/Nyquists.

Other Audio software I`m using :
CDEx ;rip CDs and convert all music files for which you can find a Input or Output plugIn
Audiograbber ;Line-In recording and converting Music files also
 
Yup! VLC can play/convert AMIGA MOD files... As a matter of fact, two of the custom songs I've added to my Civ III playlist are Shadowrun by Purple Motion and some song called "Wing Attack" which was included with the "Barneystein 3d" Wolf 3D mod.... Both those songs started life as MOD files. ;)

Also what I meant was that the ID3 version was probably what was casing the issue, hence why a 10+ year old program would create MP3 files with an ID3 format that would not cause problems.
 
I used Audacity to edit all the music files for CAMELOT! but found it didn't always export properly, leading to CTD. Eventually, at Plotinus reccommendation, I burned all the tracks to a CD, then ripped them back off in one big chunk with RealPlayer. That got them to work. This is also the method Plotinus used for Rood & Dragon. It's a little cumbersome, but RealPlayer has many compression & bit rate options.
 
Hikaro's way definitely works, the sounds will not crash the game if done the way posted in post #21.

Furthermore, to clarify from one of the posts in the beginning of the thread.
Techno MixFull.mp3: First song played for EVERYONE when reaching the modern era, song is also played at the end, when the game is finally won or lost.
Click to expand...

This is not the case with Conquests (was with vanilla or PTW); Conquests (for the end song you hear after game is over, you can check this song by retiring your game), uses AFAIK either:
Civilization III/PTW/Sound/Credit Music mix.mp3
OR
Civilization III/PTW/Sound/Gold Menu Music.mp3

Both of these songs are the same as the end song played (you can tell just by listening to them), but I have modified these songs, and they do not change when a game ends. Not sure what the deal is with this. I've gone through every other sound file in all vanilla/PTW/Conquest directories, and there is nothing else the end song could be.

Has anyone gotten the end music successfully changed? If so, what did you do?
 
Hello, as a musician to me is very important the music in the game. So I took nice music and put it in my favorites CIV 3 MODS. I saw also this with the crashes and what I did to fix it was:
1. Sound editing software(GoldWave in my case).
2. I opened there original mp3 music from CIV 3.
3. With cut/paste option I put inside in the original file another music that I like.
4. Then you click just SAVE and you have new working mp3 file for your CIV III.

But how you see this is so slowly and to do this operation for 20 songs is damned bad. Is anyone know any better way to make one normal mp3 file to working civ 3 mp3 file?
 
I can't remember if this question of mine was ever answered, so I'm resurrecting this thread for a short time to see if anyone knows the answer.
Has anyone been able to change the Menu.mp3 and gotten it to play? This is similar to Tom's question about the Credit music mp3, which, btw, I have never been able to change either.
400th post! Yay
 
Logitech that is the easiest. I think you know already where you can find this mp3 file, so you go there and change it with your. Best chance to working is if you get it from Civilization game, but you can even do it with your own file. They say it is something of bit rates , but I think there is more. So because I don't know what, I do that procedure: get in to some sound edit program, put there CIV III mp3 file and then put my own file. With copy/paste I move all the sound information from my file to civ iii mp3 file. Then I just select SAVE option for civ III mp3 and the program save it in original version (= .
 
Hello all,

I have been trying for years now (wow, funny how time flies!) to get the mode Rise and Rule to play the in-game soundtrack. Having reviewed this topic, I have created in the RAR folder, a folder titled Music/Build/ that contains the four eras and the era-appropriate tracks.

No matter my efforts, the game always plays indGRfull, every era all era. It's mindnumbingly annoying and I'm desperate to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Certainly I could turn the music off, but... I like the music. So, if someone could please point out what it is that I'm missing, I would be very grateful. Things I've tried-

Placing it in the folder /Sounds/Build instead. Renaming RAR to Rise and Rule. I have not tried using music.txt as that is non-era specific. Again, thanks.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, Wolfshade! Unfortunately, I have already done just that, as my previous post noted. To clarify:

My first attempt was RAR/Music/Build, with the four folders and accompanying files.
Then I tried it in RAR/Sounds/Build, with the four folders and accompanying files.

It seems like the .biq doesn't check or extend into the Build folder, regardless of where it is placed.
 
Hi MG, not sure it will help you, but have you checked the mp3 or wav "quality" ? I mean bit rate and such. You have to use the proper file format, which isn't the same in every folder as you may have noticed, and have the Music.txt file point to them. If you don't use the right file format, the files won't be read, or may sometimes crash the game. If it plays only one file, indGRfull for example, then there is probably something wrong with your folder or the txt file.
Contact me by PM if you need more help. I can even convert the files for you, it's easy. Maybe take a screenshot of your folder and send it to me with your txt file so I can point what's wrong.
 
Hello there, themanuneed! Unfortunately, it seems I might not have the mettle to slug it out, but tanks for the help! More seriously, as I am using all the default CivIII + PTW + Conquests music and nothing more, all the bitrate seems to be the same: 128kbps. I don't have a music.txt file because that method seems to be non-era specific and I know other mods have preserved the default era-appropriate music? I thought perhaps a copy of indGRfull that is at a different (lower?) samplerate might have been included in RAR somewhere but apparently not.

I would truly appreciate more help, and although I didn't originally forsee the need to convert the game's default music, I'll gladly do that if it will help things. Just to clarify once again.

Conquests > Scenarios > ModTitle (RAR) > Music > Build > Ancient | IndModern | Middle Ages | Misc.
 
Ok, I'm not sure I had clearly understood what you meant. I don't have the "mettle" to read the full thread again but if you need something I can help with, then just ask.
 
My apologies for making things more cumbersome. I just liked your Metal Slug avatar, that was all. :)

To clarify - I want simply to have the default game music playing in the mod Rise and Rule.
 
Hmm... delete the music folder in Rise and Rule ? If this folder isn't there, the game will go straight to the default folder... voila! :D

No apologies needed for the "Mettle Slug" joke, it was perfect :)
 
Made my new audio-files - 128kbps - 44KHz. The game is not going. What else?


as the files are further processed?
 
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