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Teyah

Guide: How to Change Music in GGXX Games (PS2)

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As the old thread was pruned long ago, and a few people have asked since then, I'm reposting a detailed walkthrough on how to replace the music for any game in the GGXX series on PS2.

Things you will need:

1. Ability to play modified PS2 DVD discs (eg. chip or Swap Magic discs).

2. DVD Decryptor: a program that allows you to extract your GGXX game DVD to ISO format.

3. ISO Buster: a program that allows you to extract the contents of your GGXX game ISO that you created with DVD Decryptor.

4. MFAudio: a tool for converting raw PS2 music data into WAV format.

5. An audio file editor that allows editing down to 1 Hz. I recommend something simple like Cool Edit Pro (now called Adobe Audition). Goldwave and Audacity are other popular editors.

6. Either Nero Burning ROM or cddvdgen, to put the ISO file back together. Nero is much more simple and will burn the file as well, so I recommend it over the more complicated cddvdgen method.

7. DVD burning software: to burn the finished ISO file.

8. Patience. This entire process, from choosing tracks, editing, and messing around with software, could take anywhere from 10-20 hours. Writing this guide took two hours and this is just a summary!

For quick reference, here's a list of the tracks in the order they appear, for GGXX AC+. Use this list only as reference - you will need to be far, far more precise when it comes to the actual editing side of things. (Credit to Blade for the list)

00 - Anji 2:58 (00:00.1)

01 - Assassins 3:02 (2:59.2)

02 - Axl 3:01 (6:02.4)

03 - Baiken 3:05 (9:04.5)

04 - Same Character ALPHA 3:03 (12:09.7)

05 - Character Select 1:13 (15:13.5)

06 - Chipp 3:08 (16:27.0)

07 - Continue 0:25 (19:35.8)

08 - Dizzy 3:05 (20:01.6)

09 - Faust 3:02 (23:07.2)

10 - Game Over 0:12 (26:09.4)

11 - I-no 3:07 (26:21.3)

12 - Jam 2:58 (29:29.7)

13 - Johnny 3:05 (32:29.4)

14 - Ky 2:57 (35:36.1)

15 - Final Battle 3:04 (38:34.4)

16 - May 3:05 (41:39.4)

17 - Millia 2:59 (44:45.1)

18 - Opening 1:07.076 (47:44.2)

19 - Potemkin 3:09.958 (48:52.3)

20 - Slayer 3:05.126 (52:03.5)

21 - Sol 3:00.280 (55:13.4)

22 - Sol vs. Ky ALPHA 3:03.774 (58:23.5)

23 - Testament 3:06.042 (1:01:30.8)

24 - Venom 3:013.028 (1:04:37.3)

25 - Versus 0:07.016 (1:07:38.7)

26 - Bridget 3:04.988 (1:07:46.1)

27 - Zappa 3:07.007 (1:10:51.8)

28 - Zato-1 3:00.994 (1:14:02.0)

29 - Ending 1 3:00.478 (1:17:03.8)

30 - Ending 2 3:05.088 (1:20:05.0)

31 - Ending 3 2:56.530 (1:23:11.0)

32 - Robo-Ky BETA 2:57.444 (1:26:08.5)

33 - Kliff 3:11.101 (1:29:06.9)

34 - Justice 3:13.716 (1:32:18.9)

35 - Sol vs. Ky BETA 3:20.012 (1:35:33.3)

36 - Same Character BETA 2:36.456 (1:38:55.0)

37 - Millia vs. Zato 3:29.591 (1:41:33.8)

38 - Survival Results 1:27.255 (1:45:06.0)

39 - Options 1:12.343 (1:46:35.7)

40 - Robo-Ky DAY 3:02.969 (1:47:48.3)

41 - Robo-Ky NIGHT 3:00.529 (1:50:51.3)

42 - A.B.A. 3:07.510 (1:53:52.2)

43 - Order Sol 3:15.675 (1:57:03.1)

44 - Order Sol vs. Ky 3:08.701 (2:00:21.5-2:03:30.197)

Step-by-step guide!

1. Put your GGXX game disc into your DVD drive.

2. Open up DVD Decryptor. Click the folder icon to set the path for the ISO file to be extracted to. Click the Mode toolbar, then click ISO > Read. Now click the DVD icon to start extracting.

3. Open up ISO Buster and load the image file you just created. Select all of the folders & files that appear, by holding down Ctrl + clicking each file. Then right click -> Extract Objects, and save them to a new folder which you will use for editing.

4. Open up MFAudio. Click Open, and locate the file named MUSIC.PCK that you just extracted. Make sure the input file format is set to RAW - Raw Sound Data - Uncompressed PCM, with Frequency set to 48000 Hz, Samples set to 16 bits, Channels to 2, Interleave to 200 bytes, and Offset at 0 bytes. The only item you should have to change is Interleave. Now hit Play to test your settings - if everything is set OK, you should hear Anji's theme start to play, and the audio should be crisp. If the audio sounds distorted, it means you've set the wrong Interleave/Offset, so make sure these are at 200 bytes and 0 bytes, respectively.

Now set the output file format to WAV - Microsoft RIFF - Uncompressed PCM, with Frequency 48000 Hz, Samples at 16 bits, and Channels set to 2. Now hit Save As, and choose where you would like to save the file. Call it something simple like MUSIC.WAV. Finally, hit the Process! button and it should begin to convert the file into WAV format.

5. Open up your audio editing software, and load up the WAV file you just created. Before you do anything else, hit Save As to make a copy of the WAV file. Now find this copy you just made, and write down the file size down to the exact byte (right click -> Properties). The number to take note of is the Size: and not the Size on disk:. Write down this number to the exact byte.

Once you begin editing, you need to make sure the file size remains at this exact number of bytes after each time you save the WAV file, which should be after you add each track. You will be alternating save files each time you save, so if you make a mistake, you will identify it right away and can go back to the older file and try again. If you do mess up, you can try to add/remove extra 'empty' data between tracks, if the error is small enough. You can figure out how many Hz to add/remove, by checking the filesize, as 4 bytes = 1 Hz of audio at 48000 Hz/sec.

6. Now you can begin editing. In the big WAV file you'll see a giant track that is roughly two hours long - this track contains all of the music in the game. Your task now is to copy over the old tracks with your new custom tracks, but you need to be careful to not go over the length of each track by even 1/48th of a millisecond (ie. 1 Hz, since the frequency is 48000 Hz/sec).

First, you will need to convert your custom tracks to 48000 Hz format before you go ahead and splice them in: this can easily be done by opening your MP3 files in your audio program, then starting a new file set to 48000 Hz. Simply highlight your MP3, and copy/paste it into your new file - the program should then begin converting your file to 48000 Hz.

Once it is converted, you then need to go back to your original big WAV file and highlight the track you will be replacing. You will need to highlight the entire track, and make sure it ends on a whole millisecond exactly. In Cool Edit Pro / Adobe Audition, you can do this easily by highlighting the section, then zooming in as far as possible, and hitting the Right Arrow key until the millisecond counter in the bottom right corner increments by one. Keep this section highlighted and write or note down this number, then go back to your new 48000 Hz file and do the same thing - highlight a section of the song that fits this exact number using the same method, and then hit Ctrl + X to Cut this portion out of the track. Now, delete the entire remainder of the track, then paste your track back in. If you're handy with audio editing, you can edit the song to fit the length requirement (do this before you trim it down to the exact length), otherwise you can just add a simple fade out for the last 10 seconds and leave it at that.

Once you have the track the way you want it, hit Ctrl + A to select all, then hit Ctrl + X to cut. Now switch windows to your original big MUSIC.WAV file and hit Paste. Now Save As, and replace your other MUSIC.WAV file. Check the number of bytes to make sure it is still the same number you noted down earlier. If all is OK, repeat this process with the next track, until you've replaced as many tracks as you like.

7. After hours of editing, you should finally have one big WAV file that is the same filesize as the copy you made when you started editing. If there is a slight difference, you can add in or remove empty data (between tracks) to get your filesize up/down to the required amount. Again, 4 bytes is equivalent to 1 Hz, so divide your difference in bytes by 4, then add in empty data (via copy/paste) or remove it (via delete) as needed. Once you have your file ready, open up MFAudio again. This time, you'll want to set the settings in reverse, so the the input data file is the WAV - Microsoft RIFF - Uncompressed PCM, and output data file is the RAW - Raw Sound Data - Uncompressed PCM. Make sure the output data has an Interleave of 200 bytes. Once your settings are correct, hit SAve As, then select 'All files' in the dropdown box, and name your file MUSIC.PCK. Hit Process! and wait for the conversion to finish. Once it is done, hit Open and locate the new MUSIC.PCK. Set Interleave to 200 bytes, and hit Play - if everything went okay, you should hear the first track (your replacement for Anji's theme) begin to play clearly, and you can move on to the next step.

8. Now we move on to reconstructing the ISO file. There is one issue to take care of first, however - dummy files. Locate the two files named DUMMY.000 and DUMMY.001, and delete them. In their place, create two Notepad files, and input exactly one space bar into each file. Save them as the new DUMMY.000 and DUMMY.001 files.

If you're using Nero, which I strongly recommend (as it's the only program I've personally tested and used), then go to step 9a, otherwise use step 9b for the workaround.

9a. Open up Nero, and create a new UDF/ISO DVD, which should be near the end of the list of options. Now open up ISO Buster, and load up the original ISO that you received from DVD Decryptor. Drag and drop all of the files into your Nero project in the same order as they are listed in ISO Buster (top to bottom). Nero will change the order they are displayed in, but they will burn in the order you drop them in, so make sure the order matches what ISO Buster shows you. Finally, save the image and burn it using Nero.

9b. Use cddvdgen to do essentially the same thing as above, but in a much more painstaking manner. Since I haven't tried this method myself, I'm just going to paste in a guide that was written by someone over at Afterdawn forums on this method. Unfortunately it was written in all caps. :v:

a) OPEN CDVDGEN.

b) SELECT “CREATE NEW PROJECT” AND THEN SELECT “DVD-ROM

MASTER DISC”. DRAG CDVDGEN TO THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR

SCREEN.

c) NAVIGATE TO THE FOLDER THAT YOU CREATED ON YOUR HARD

DRIVE BACK IN STEP 2 AND OPEN IT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.

d) SET THE WIDTH OF THAT WINDOW SO THAT IT IS ONLY 1 FILE WIDE. THIS WILL PLACE THE FILES INTO THE SAME ORDER AS THEY WERE ON THE GAME DISK BUT YOU SHOULD CHECK THEM FOR CORRECT ORDER JUST IN CASE.

e) CLICK ON EDIT > SELECT ALL.

f) DRAG ALL THE FILES INTO THE RIGHT SIDE OF CDVDGEN.

g) LOOK FOR A SLUS OR SLES FILE AND WRITE DOWN THE FULL NAME AND THEN CLICK ON THE “VOLUME” TAB IN CDVDGEN.

h)TYPE SLUS OR SLES (WHICHEVER YOUR FILE NAME IS) INTO THE 1ST BOX NEAR "DISC NAME"

i) TYPE ALL OF THE NUMBERS FROM YOUR FILE NAME, WITHOUT THE PERIOD, INTO THE 2ND BOX.

j) TYPE PLAYSTATION FOR THE PRODUCER NAME AND SELECT THE APPROPRIATE LICENSE AREA.

k)CLICK ON "REC...".

l)SELECT YOUR DESIRED STORAGE LOCATION AND NAME THE FILE STAR.IML

m)YOU WILL GET 2 ERRORS, JUST CLICK OK FOR BOTH.

(If you get one error message, then you have to download “WNASPI32.DLL” www.Nero.com/us/WNASPI32.DLL.html

and put it in your windows system 32 folder.

n)THE RECORDING SCREEN WILL POP UP, CLICK ON FILE > EXPORT IMAGE AND SAVE IT ON ONE OF YOUR HARD DRIVES (NOT IN A FOLDER) NAME IT STAR.LST

o) WHEN IT'S FINISHED, YOU WILL HAVE 2 FILES NAMED STAR.000 AND STAR.001

p)CLOSE CDVDGEN AND GO TO STEP 4.

4) MERGE THE .000 AND .001 FILES INTO A SINGLE ISO IMAGE.

THE EASIEST WAY TO MERGE THE FILES IS FROM A COMMAND SCREEN.

YOU WON'T HAVE TO INSTALL AN EXTRA PROGRAM THAT MAY NEED

EXTRA FILES TO WORK AND COME ON, ADMIT IT, DOS IS SO MUCH FUN!!

a)CLICK THE WINDOWS START BUTTON AND CLICK ON RUN.

b)TYPE CMD IN THE BOX AND HIT ENTER.

c)CHANGE THE DIRECTORY TO MATCH WHERE YOUR STAR.000 AND STAR.001

FILES ARE STORED.

EXAMPLE- IF THEY ARE ON THE C DRIVE, TYPE CD C:\ AND HIT ENTER.

IF THEY ARE ON ANOTHER DRIVE, TYPE THE DRIVE LETTER WITH A COLON AND HIT ENTER.

d)ONCE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DIRECTORY-

TYPE COPY/B STAR.000 + STAR.001 STAR.ISO AND THEN HIT ENTER.

e)WHEN IT'S FINISHED YOU WILL HAVE A NEW ISO IMAGE NAMED STAR.ISO THAT YOU CAN NOW BURN IN STEP 5.

5) BURN THE NEW ISO IMAGE ONTO A BLANK DVD.

And... that's it! You should now have a custom AC (or other GGXX game). One thing to note is that without the dummy files, the size of the game is a lot smaller and the data is burned closer to the inside of the DVD. Also for some reason, load times do seem to be cut down a bit, which is a nice bonus.

For some older PS2s, you might have trouble reading or loading some of the tracks, but I found this to be quite rare even on my fat PS2. If you have problems, you can try adding the dummy files back in, but this usually results in the game not loading for unknown reasons.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask here.

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Now if only there was a guide to do this on the PSP version.

Guide for Blade - How to change music on GGXX games on PSP

1. Place headphones in ear.

2. Turn on MP3 player.

You can also try this on the PS2 games but you'll have to share headphones with your opponent.

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I can't read fucking UPPERCASE. Here, I fixed it:

a) open cdvdgen.

b) select “create new project” and then select “dvd-rom master disc”. drag cdvdgen to the left side of your screen.

c) navigate to the folder that you created on your hard drive back in step 2 and open it on the right side of your screen. d) set the width of that window so that it is only 1 file wide. this will place the files into the same order as they were on the game disk but you should check them for correct order just in case.

e) click on edit > select all.

f) drag all the files into the right side of cdvdgen.

g) look for a slus or sles file and write down the full name and then click on the “volume” tab in cdvdgen.

h) type slus or sles (whichever your file name is) into the 1st box near "disc name"

i) type all of the numbers from your file name, without the period, into the 2nd box.

j) type playstation for the producer name and select the appropriate license area.

k) click on "rec...".

l) select your desired storage location and name the file star.iml

m) you will get 2 errors, just click ok for both. (if you get one error message, then you have to download “wnaspi32.dll” www.nero.com/us/wnaspi32.dll.html and put it in your windows system 32 folder.

n) the recording screen will pop up, click on file > export image and save it on one of your hard drives (not in a folder) name it star.lst

o) when it's finished, you will have 2 files named star.000 and star.001

p) close cdvdgen and go to step 4.

q) merge the .000 and .001 files into a single iso image. the easiest way to merge the files is from a command screen. you won't have to install an extra program that may need extra files to work and come on, admit it, dos is so much fun!!

r) click the windows start button and click on run.

s) type cmd in the box and hit enter.

t) change the directory to match where your star.000 and star.001 files are stored. example: if they are on the c drive, type cd c:\ and hit enter. if they are on another drive, type the drive letter with a colon and hit enter.

u) once you have the correct directory-type copy/b star.000 + star.001 star.iso and then hit enter.

v) when it's finished you will have a new iso image named star.iso that you can now burn in step 5.

w) burn the new iso image onto a blank dvd.

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I have a problem. My MUSIC.WAV (converted from MFAudio) is 1*422*757*993 bytes, so there is no way I can get the exact number. I change the song, it adds some ~3,0xx bytes, I remove some 1/48 kHz to get exact number, and I always get last bytes 994 or 990, no 993. What should I do? And do I wrong?

And one question, when I remove/add 1 khz between tracks, doesn't it ruin the timing of tracks? Can I add/remove in the end of file just to be on the safe side?

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Does this mean we can put the GGXX/ announcer into /\ Core?

Necroing for this since it would be pretty cool. Anyone give this a shot? I'd look into it, but I'd rather ask before investing too much time just in case it's already been tried.

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@PimUigi+magz: I said this a long time ago, ACData.bin is most likely the file that has the Announcer samples, if you know of any sort of binary byte interleave editor that can mess with that format (read: unzip and replace files), then it's possible, otherwise, so far, no means.

@UltimaOriginal: Getting stuff to be the exact size doesn't necessarily mean timestamp length, it could also be the kind of compression you're using for the WAVE file. Also, this isn't always a perfect process and in my case it often took me several test runs before I actually got it to work, so don't be afraid to make the ISO a couple times. Just don't burn any CDs until you know it's gonna work for sure.

@Teyah: Don't be a dick. :E I've seen ways of editing CSOs on PSPMod forums. CSOs aren't different from ISOs, they just use a different compression method. I could probably edit BlazBlue's tracklisting if I knew the compression, they did it with Dissidia already.

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I know this is an old topic, but thanks a bunch for this, Teyah. I just got done making my Custom OST Accent Core+ yesterday thanks to this guide you made. Hopefully it'll give the local scene a bit more incentive to get into Guilty Gear, and help any videos I upload of them stand out. Thanks again. :]

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Some of the tedious steps here can be done a lot more easily, and probably a bit more reliably at the same time. I can PM you the details, since I'm not quite sure on the forum policy when talking about this kind of thing.

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I am really sorry regarding this bump, but I have to say that doing the "dummy" part of the ISO does not make the game work at all; in fact, it freezes before the Sammy logo animation appears. This whole tutorial works without messing around with the dummies.

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The reason it crashes is because the game checks to see if the disc is the same size as what's listed in the game's directory files. If you're using something like Open PS2 Loader, this isn't really a problem. Otherwise, yeah if you're using a burned ISO and using a swap-disc method, yeah you need those dummy files.

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