Converting audio Into UMX format

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Dr.Flay
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Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Dr.Flay »

OK, I promised it, and finally got round to it.

Here is an updated tutorial, using current software.
I have reduced the amount of messing about, and I hope made it very easy to follow.

http://yourunreal.wordpress.com/2013/02 ... mx-format/

I have aired my views on this subject before, and I wish people would just find an appropriate tracker-mod.
But if you insist on doing it, then at least you should know what and why you are doing each step.

Once I've got some feed-back, I would like to get some translations done.
I will ask for German, French, Spanish and Russian contributions.

Right, so there should be no excuse for broken music in the final Xmas map-pack :wink:
UMX-Tutorial.7z
Fixed UMX Tutorial
(226 KiB) Downloaded 378 times
UMX-Tutorial.pdf
Fixed UMX Tutorial
(149.39 KiB) Downloaded 525 times

*EDIT*

Or just take the easier option and update to the new audio renderers from OldUnreal http://www.ut99.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4569 so you can simply import OGG files instead.
[youtube]uQ4F-1DSJxI[/youtube]

For further info on what a UMX and a "tracker" file is, read this page http://zynthetic.ambientcollapse.com/in ... rtmusicue1
Last edited by Dr.Flay on Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by papercoffee »

very well written... :gj:
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Creavion »

And for all these people who dont want to install Audacity just for this single first step can also do it like here:
Step1ModPlugPlayer.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/step1modplugplayer4auth.jpg
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by papercoffee »

Creavion wrote:And for all these people who dont want to install Audacity just for this single first step can also do it like here:
Step1ModPlugPlayer.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/step1modplugplayer4auth.jpg
Uhm... where do you convert a Mp3 into a wav ??
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Creavion »

Winamp!
winampConvert.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/winampconvertmluux.jpg

Sry for all Non-Germans, but I think they should be able to understand it.
Ausgabe = Output
I think nearly everybody has winamp installed on his system. The WAV-converting plugin is installed by default AFAIK. As long winamp can play the desired music format, you can convert it as well. Means this way you can convert mp3s to wav, oggs to wav, lols to wav, omfg to wav, lmao to wav. As long winamp can play it!
Nullsoft DirectSound is the normal output plugin used to play the track. By selecting File Writer you convert it instead (then make sure to deactivate the reply function, otherwise winamp wont stop with the converting progress).
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by UT99.org »

medor wrote:ave you try MPTracker ?
MPTracker =>Wave to MP3 to UMX http://unrealtournament.99.free.fr/utfi ... racker.zip
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Creavion »

The modplug tracker is already part of his tutorial and required to edit the music file.
Your included tutorial basically recommends winamp for converting as well and actually just looks like a very longer version of Flays tutorial. Looks a little bit sophisticated.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by JackGriffin »

There ought to be a "How do I do this" section of the forum where these good tutorials are grouped without a discussion. Something like an online reference section. We badly need someone to host the Uncodex source code stuff too if someone has a couple MB of extra room on their site. I have it packaged and ready, you just have to upload it. As far as I know no one aside from UT-Files now hosts an online version that is public, and Skillz site is almost useless because of the massive top frame occluding so much of the reference pages.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by papercoffee »

JackGriffin wrote:There ought to be a "How do I do this" section of the forum where these good tutorials are grouped without a discussion. Something like an online reference section. We badly need someone to host the Uncodex source code stuff too if someone has a couple MB of extra room on their site. I have it packaged and ready, you just have to upload it. As far as I know no one aside from UT-Files now hosts an online version that is public, and Skillz site is almost useless because of the massive top frame occluding so much of the reference pages.
Hm... good idea.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by JackGriffin »

Paper, this may be something I attempt to tackle myself. There badly needs to be a place where all these tutorials and manuals and all this stuff is mirrored and easy to navigate.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Dr.Flay »

JackGriffin wrote:There ought to be a "How do I do this" section of the forum where these good tutorials are grouped without a discussion. Something like an online reference section.
Guess why I started "Your Unreal" :wink:
Any chat is confined to the comments boxes, or a separate thread (such as here).
JackGriffin wrote:We badly need someone to host the Uncodex source code stuff too if someone has a couple MB of extra room on their site. I have it packaged and ready, you just have to upload it. As far as I know no one aside from UT-Files now hosts an online version that is public, and Skillz site is almost useless because of the massive top frame occluding so much of the reference pages.
I did try and drag the Uncodex through the Web Archive, but it involved opening (or requesting) every page manually.
http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http:/ ... ncodex-ut/
(Any site with an "Alexa" account is automatically archived)

My.Opera let you embed html into the space allotted (with a few restrictions).
Or it can just be referenced as a link to the index, so a whole new page is open.
I can try it from my account, or you can grab an account and use your own free 2 GB. Then as a member of the group I can make you an admin, so you can "tweak" as necessary.

Remember people, that the "My Opera" community site is one of the least blocked by paranoid countries, so that's why I give it a big :thuup:

Back to topic.
I use Winamp for day-to-day use and normal conversion of files I know are good quality (but usually for the LAME profiles).
Audacity is used as the example because of several reasons.
1. It is completely free.
2. It is Multi-OS.
3. Most importantly you can Normalize/fix the audio before export.
4. It will do the whole convert and export to 22k 8bit mono, in a few simple steps. (Winamp cannot convert the whole process down to 8-bit mono, with the same quality control Audacity (or similar program) can give you.

I used to use ModPlug Player for converting to 8bit, but you still need to import into the full MPT afterwards. (this seemed stupid, so I investigated).
The full "Open MPT" can do everything you need with the WAV file, if you already have it as an 8bit 22k mono file (However you get it to that quality first is up to you).
The only reason to use the old ModPlug Player, is if you want to use the WAV compression.
I would only advise this, if the audio is very clean and clear. It has already suffered being reduced to 8bit 22k.

My aim here is to encourage higher quality audio files that do not distort.
Simple atmospheric music will suffer less than your favourite bangin' dance-floor filler. Messy/noisy metal tracks also suffer badly, so are best avoided.
The whole process is needless if people have a good tracker-mod collection.

I may put the track I made online with the original so people can hear the quality difference, in a streaming player or something.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Creavion »

Very sure, the music tracks can stay in 16 bit. Sound effects - yes, these have to be in 8 bit, otherwise UT and/or the Ed might crash.
You remember about "Mekalopolis"? Your CONVERTED remix was ... awful, much worse from its quality than "my" original version I used.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Dr.Flay »

Ah yes indeed, I was not happy with the quality of that converted file. It was a "re-master" not a "re-mix"
My re-mastered copy had extra processing to try and match the "outside" sound, so it would seem like the music was actually playing from somewhere in the map.
I used ModPlug player to create the file, as per the old methods, and it mangled it :(

That is why I decided to look at this conversion process again, and do all the quality changing bits in Audacity.
I'll see if I still have the remaster, and make a new file to compare. It will probably be larger though.
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Feralidragon »

papercoffee wrote:
JackGriffin wrote:There ought to be a "How do I do this" section of the forum where these good tutorials are grouped without a discussion. Something like an online reference section. We badly need someone to host the Uncodex source code stuff too if someone has a couple MB of extra room on their site. I have it packaged and ready, you just have to upload it. As far as I know no one aside from UT-Files now hosts an online version that is public, and Skillz site is almost useless because of the massive top frame occluding so much of the reference pages.
Hm... good idea.
So a section where only tutorials are grouped? Hmm, I don't disagree with it, but what about the fate of "Tips, Tricks & Tutorials" section? Creating a 2nd section called "Tutorials" or something would be a bit redundant...
Well, if you guys convince me with a good name for the section that doesn't make this one redundant, I may create said section.

I intend to do some tutorials myself this month or in the next covering things like replication, weapon making and about UT as a whole (language, tips, etc) things that do not seem to have any reasonable tutorials anywhere, so that section could be a good place to post them up.

As for the UnCodex, I also have one (it's what I use for the everyday uscripting), the thing is what's preventing any of us from uploading is that my admin power is limited to the ACP, so only Shade can do that, perhaps you can drop him a PM asking to upload it?
I could do much more than that if I had any access lol... but it's probably better to keep things this way
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Re: Converting audio Into UMX format

Post by Feralidragon »

As for the new tutorials section, I created one: http://www.ut99.org/viewforum.php?f=57
Feel free to post your own tutorials there, or request to move existing ones as well.

As for UnCodex, I created one: http://uncodex-ut.host56.com
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