so I was thinking about custom soundtracks in games and how they can be used to modify a game in interesting or unique ways.
For instance custom soundtracks are often used as a means of fan restoration. If you were to pick up the version of Crazy Taxi on Steam you'd find it was missing those Offspring songs due to licensing issues. But that can be taken care of pretty easily if you have the mp3's. Likewise, many folks who play the PC version of Final Fantasy VII prefer the CD quality soundtrack of the PS1 release rather than the MIDI that was part of the PC game. Again, there's a fix for that.
Personally, I've done a few custom soundtracks for Madden 08. If you don't know, that was the last one released on PC. (Jerks). But there is a fan community who continues to mod it each year with roster updates and all. So I've often played the updated version while adding in many of the tracks that were included in the official soundtracks for that year's edition. I also played through vanilla 08 using a custom soundtrack of my own picks of songs from 2008.
So I'm interested in hearing other examples of this kind of thing - be it restoring or remastering a soundtrack or just aiming for something unique.
Fun with custom soundtracks
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noiseredux
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Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
I thought Fallout 3's music was garbage so I modified it to have all the music from 1-2 and it instantly made the experience a lot better and more fun.
(New Vegas itself recycled a lot of the classic music so that was cool).
Otherwise I generally don't like playing my own music over games, unless it's Doom, or I'm replaying a Souls game on NG+ or something (since they don't have BGM).
(New Vegas itself recycled a lot of the classic music so that was cool).
Otherwise I generally don't like playing my own music over games, unless it's Doom, or I'm replaying a Souls game on NG+ or something (since they don't have BGM).
Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
The original X-Box included custom soundtracks as a feature games could utilize. I want to say you had to rip the CD to the system though? Not sure. I do recall adding Sir Mix a Lot to the DoAX soundtrack though. 
I think the 360 just has the ability to play music in lieu of the soundtrack, which is probably nice for certain games. I know that, even if the original music in an MMO is really, really good...eventually I'm gonna mute it and play other stuff. Most others though, I don't mess with it.
I think the 360 just has the ability to play music in lieu of the soundtrack, which is probably nice for certain games. I know that, even if the original music in an MMO is really, really good...eventually I'm gonna mute it and play other stuff. Most others though, I don't mess with it.
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noiseredux
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Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
yeah I don't generally like the idea of substituting music... though there are examples where I think of them as mods. Like, perhaps having the option to use an arranged or orchestrated soundtrack or something? Or I don't know... using a movie soundtrack for a licensed game, or something?
Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
Yes the music CDs are ripped to the Xbox hard drive. Some Xbox games supported the custom sound track feature. I have all the Inferno (older PC space shooter) tracks ripped to my Xbox for a different mood.isiolia wrote:The original X-Box included custom soundtracks as a feature games could utilize. I want to say you had to rip the CD to the system though? Not sure. I do recall adding Sir Mix a Lot to the DoAX soundtrack though.
Some PC Game discs have regular audio CD tracks, perfect for the older console rip feature.
Custom Sound Track Xbox Game List
Last edited by CRTGAMER on Tue May 24, 2016 10:57 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
I'm looking into getting a cheapy audio mixer just so I can play my own music while I grind in Elder Scrolls Online on the PS4. Would also save me from having to swap my headphone connection between the TV and PC.isiolia wrote:I know that, even if the original music in an MMO is really, really good...eventually I'm gonna mute it and play other stuff. Most others though, I don't mess with it.
Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
So I haven't played with it yet, but the MSU-1 expansion lets you play streamed audio on SNES. There are numerous hacks out there that replace the original songs with orchestral or remixed versions of the soundtracks. At some point, I need to check 'em out.
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nullPointer
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Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
In my play through of Grand Theft Auto III on PC, one of the aspects I really enjoyed was the ability to import your own custom tracks into the game (I think all the PC versions of the GTAIII trilogy allow you to do this(?), but vanilla III is the only one I've played on PC thus far). I think the Xbox version of the game also allowed you to do this? When you get your custom tracks set up a new "radio station" titled MP3 Player shows up when you're in vehicles, and randomly plays the tracks from your custom MP3 directory.
I had a lot of fun trying to keep the tracks "period accurate", or in this case tried to ensure that all the tracks were from the late 90's - early 00's. I had a lot of favorites, but there was one moment of the game in which the custom music meshing with the gameplay was practically transformative. The scene was set as I crept up to the Drive-By Rampage icon in my jet black Patriot. The opening trills of Funeralopolis were just tinkling through the speakers. I hopped out of the car, grabbed the icon, and just as I jumped back into the car that heavy AF doomy RIFF kicked in. While the violence in GTA games is generally so overemphasized that it becomes a parody of itself (by design), the combination of that song with the drive-by rampage turned the whole affair into something super dark. And thus I became death incarnate in my glorious and terrible chariot of doom. I was totally eating it up. This was the serial killer simulator that sends Jack Thompson into euphoric self righteous fits of passion. It was totally bad ass. It's funny how such a relatively insignificant moment stands out as such a vivid gaming memory to me, simply due to the choice of music.
Funeralopolis: (Infinite bonus points awarded for Valhalla Rising footage. Mads Mikkelsen FTMFW.)
I had a lot of fun trying to keep the tracks "period accurate", or in this case tried to ensure that all the tracks were from the late 90's - early 00's. I had a lot of favorites, but there was one moment of the game in which the custom music meshing with the gameplay was practically transformative. The scene was set as I crept up to the Drive-By Rampage icon in my jet black Patriot. The opening trills of Funeralopolis were just tinkling through the speakers. I hopped out of the car, grabbed the icon, and just as I jumped back into the car that heavy AF doomy RIFF kicked in. While the violence in GTA games is generally so overemphasized that it becomes a parody of itself (by design), the combination of that song with the drive-by rampage turned the whole affair into something super dark. And thus I became death incarnate in my glorious and terrible chariot of doom. I was totally eating it up. This was the serial killer simulator that sends Jack Thompson into euphoric self righteous fits of passion. It was totally bad ass. It's funny how such a relatively insignificant moment stands out as such a vivid gaming memory to me, simply due to the choice of music.
Funeralopolis: (Infinite bonus points awarded for Valhalla Rising footage. Mads Mikkelsen FTMFW.)
Last edited by nullPointer on Tue May 24, 2016 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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noiseredux
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Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
^yeah actually when I played GTA V last year on PC, I was forever trying to get this one custom radio station just perfect. It was all new West Coast hip hop - Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, YG, etc. Not that that game *needed* any more stations, haha. And actually the Welcome To Los Santos mix that was exclusive to the PC release (done by Alchemist & Oh No) was actually ridiculously good.
Re: Fun with custom soundtracks
Oh, right, I forgot, waaaay back when I bought NBA 2K5, the game had the feature to use a custom soundtrack. Well, rap isn't my thing, so I went in and used the Black Mages album instead. 