The Classical Music Mod for N:TW v0.7 (11/09/11) *New Baroque Line-Up & Eastern Overhaul*

[Scotland]

The Classical Music Modification
Version 0.7 for Napoleon: Total War



Hello all, and welcome to The Classical Music Mod for Napoleon: Total War.

So, basically the aim here was to largely replace the vanilla soundtrack with some appropriate classical music, not necessarily contemporary, but tasteful enough to improve the atmosphere.

What began as a project to satisfy my own tastes I have decided to share with the community for others to enjoy. When looking at the other music mods on offer, although some great and very enjoyable works produced by some very avid contributors, I felt either they did not give me the right 'feel' when playing or some of the music was not to my liking. Entirely subjective, I know, as many of you are bound to dislike my choices too, but hopefully some will like and, more to my intention, enjoy what I've put together. Also I want to exhibit classical music that has not found its way into the realm of cliché and overuse. Although, in this pack you will find some old favourites, you are also sure to encounter some pieces that are less familiar.

I'd be most open to any feed back that any of you may have, be it sound criticism or suggestions or anything else.

So, in brief this pack changes the music for:

-Frontend Menu (Plus that of the Peninsular Campaign)
-The Credits
-Loading Screens
-Pre-Battle and Battle Results
-Battles (Land and Naval, Deployment and Engagement)
-The Campaign Map (Plus custom music for Peninsular and Egyptian Campaigns)
-Miscellaneous (Button pressing noises and a couple of campaign voices, albeit in good humour!)

A breif sample of included composers and works:

-Anton Bruckner (Symhony No. 8 'Apocalyptic')
-Ralph Vaughan Williams (Symphony No. 1 'A Sea Symphony')
-Leoš Janáček (Idyll for Strings)
-Bohuslav Martinu (Violin Conceto No.1)
-Dmitri Shostakovich (Symhpny No. 7 'Leningrad')
-Gustav Mahler (Rückert-Lieder)
-Franz Schubert (String Quartet No. 10)
-Jean Sibelius (Finlandia)
-Frédéric Chopin (Cello Sonata in G)
-Michael Tippett (A Child of Our Time)
-Claude Debussy (String Quartet in G)
-Johannes Brahms (String Sextet No. 1)
-Antonín Dvořák (Symphony No. 9)
-Gustav Holst (The Planets: Mars)
-Michael Nyman (The Piano Concerto)
-Erik Satie (Three Gymnopédies)
-Ludwig van Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor')
-Johann Sebastian Bach (Suite for Cello No.1)
-Johann Nepomuk Hummel (Octet-Partita in E)
-Sergei Rachmaninoff (Vespers op.37)
-Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Scheherazade)
-Edward Elgar (Variations on An Original Theme)
-Manuel de Falla (El Amor Brujo)
-Gioachino Rossini (William Tell Overture)
-And more...


Current Progress


Update
How things have changed in a short space of time. The tool 'Symphony' by crux3D has now been released for N:TW and the mod is now coming together as I could only have envisioned in my wildest dreams! Totally new music has been added instead of just replacing existing file names, new entries can be added easily to the .csv file which can then be converted and read by the game.

My attention now goes to improving the battle marches. As you will notice, I have removed them from the new release as I felt they were not appropriate as they are not faction specific. If I can find out how, they will be back in, but for now it's back to vanilla.

(From 01/09/11)
I encountered a rather unsettling problem while making this mod, and that was the battle music looping. After some research, I found the only way to remedy this was through hex editing the so called 'sound_events' file. Now as I'm new to this modding lark I went through quite a cuffufle figuring out what to do but I persevered and removed the loops and managed to get my own custom music in the Peninsular campaign in .mp3 format as opposed to uncompressed .wav, saving on the old download size, eh!

The problem is the file format of 'sound_events' is unknown, and although there are several technical gurus hard at work trying to remedy this, the important parameters that I required to alter show up as gobbeldy-gook on any hex editing software. However I converted the decimal numeric values of the loop time to hex on a base converter and located them and set them to zero using Hex Workshop. Hurray, problem solved!

However there are other things I'd like to change and hunting them down in this fashion is not really viable, but developments, namely here could allow the 'sound_events' file to be exploited to the full by any Tom, Dick or Harry and revolutionize sound-modding for ever! (Maybe a tad dramatic but you get the point.)

Furthermore, in this post I would like to supply you with my modified 'sounds_events' file to turn off the battle music loops as I'd hate any poor sod who wants to make a music mod be disheartened by such a bind. It merely removes the vanilla battle music loop settings so you can enjoy your own music to the full. Just extract and add the directory to your mod using PFM.


Changelog


v0.7
-A new baroque line-up added for Europe in addition to what is already there.
-Eastern music now replaced and overhauled to the same degree as the rest.
-A multitude of tracks tidied up and fixed.
-Battle Marches removed until they can be included properly.
-Added some surprise campaign map voices!

v0.6
-The looping of the battle music has been fixed.
-Replaced a vanilla land battle deployment track that slipped through the net.
-Custom music for the Peninsular campaign map should now play, although seldom.

v0.5
-Initial Release.


Download

v0.7 (with fix from 13/09/2011) - Dropbox: (440MB)

v0.7 (with fix from 13/09/2011) - Game Front: (440MB)

v0.7 - Megaupload: (427MB)

v0.6 - Megaupload: (283MB)

v0.5 - Megaupload: (280MB)


Installation


Extract the .RAR archive using WinRAR or another suitable program.

Place the 'classicalmusicmod.pack' in the NTW data directory, usually loacted at the following address:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\napoleon total war\data

Place the 'user.script' file in your NTW user data script directory, usually (with hidden files set to visible):

C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Napoleon\scripts

If you are using other mods at the same time just add the line

mod "classicalmusicmod.pack";

to your existing 'user.script' file. You know the drill by now, surely!


Acknowledgements

I really can't show enough thanks to crux3D for his wonderful tool, 'Symphony' that's not only made this process so much easier, but made the previously impossible, possible.

I would also like to thank LtChambers for his 'Pack File Manager' that made it possible for me to create this mod.


Finally, my thanks for reading and enjoy!

[Scotland]

Thanks very much indeed. I must say I have been a fan of your music mods since back in the day of Empire, and they are of great quality indeed, so to receive such support is most reassuring. My thanks again.

[Vivat Imperator]

I made my own music modification earlier this year, but I didn't go to the extents you have. You have excelled music modification making, good Sir! I am downloading the file right now as it seems unfair to have little recognition for your obvious hard work. I am a fan of western art music and have been meaning to update my current one to be more fitting to that genre, however, it seems that you have beaten me to it.

I'll see how it is and throw in my opinions, but for the time being, thank you and have a mug of reputation.

[Vivat Imperator]

It's amazing. I love the choice of music. I would suggest more music from the late Baroque and early Classical periods to back up the great choice of Romanticist music. I would also like to point out that some of my men start playing the bagpipes as marching tunes. I love the bagpipes, but something about Frenchmen playing it seems... odd. Thank you though, great music.

[Scotland]

Thank you very much for your positive comments, and more importantly, your suggestions.

I am still getting to grips with a lot of things here and the battle marches is definitely something that needs some more work. If I can get it faction specific, it would be great, however in the end I may have to compromise and use generic marches instead.

I am glad you enjoyed the current music, and I am rather encouraged by your feedback as I have a considerable selection of Baroque and earlier classical music in my collection. Hopefully, if the sound_events editing goes to pan I can incorporate a lot of this in the next release instead of replacing existing music.

But, my thanks again for trying it out.

[Vivat Imperator]

I have also downloaded the sound_events, and it works fine. Yes, I would love some generic crisply founding drum and fife tunes to accompany my marching regiments! Nice to hear you have plans for progression.

[Vivat Imperator]

Thank you for the update, I shall be waiting eagerly until I can boot it up.

[Scotland]

No bother at all. The new Baroque pieces will play in all the campaigns set in Europe, but they appear to play most frequently in the Italian campaign.

Don't ask why.

[Vivat Imperator]

I've heard no Baroque hitherto, but I expect it'll come later. I recommend you listening through a piece that has a quick little piano solo during the campaign and then cuts out. Most peculiar.

[Scotland]

Many thanks for trying the latest release. I can assure you, the Baroque music is there and will play, I may increase the probability though. However that piano solo, I've tracked down as the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.28 which will be fixed ASAP.

[Scotland]

Hotfix ready.

-Replaced cut-off track.
-Increased Baroque track probability.
-Removed some vanilla tracks from Egyptian theatre.

EDIT: You may have to extract this and add it to 0.7 using PFM.

[Vivat Imperator]

Appreciated. + Rep.

Edit: When I can... it won't let me right now.

[Vivat Imperator]

I have some suggestions. My favourite piece:



The beginning is great, as well as: 2:43, 6:39.

Then, also Marin Marais:



Good for some sea-crashing, eh?

[Scotland]

Good choices. The Smetana is not a problem, I have two recordings (Rafael Kubelik: Boston Symphony Orchestra and Roger Norrington: Youth Orchestra of Great Britain). I have not listened to Marais before, but by the sounds of it, it definitely seems worth looking in to. Thanks.

EDIT: By the way, are you hearing any of the new tracks yet?

[Vivat Imperator]

I have heard some of the new tracks, yes. However, the piano is still cutting out, unfortunately.

[Vivat Imperator]

This MOD is a MUST HAVE!

[BazzBrother]

rep+

[Yaropolk]

Good work

[LARNY]

Hey,
please rename the Czech composers.
Leoš Janácek = Leoš Janáček
Antonín Dvorák = Antonín Dvořák

[Scotland]

This MOD is a MUST HAVE!

rep+

Thank you both for your support.

Hey,
please rename the Czech composers.
Leoš Janácek = Leoš Janáček
Antonín Dvorák = Antonín Dvořák

Done. My apologies, I don't know where those carons disappeared to, probably in a copy and paste, but weren't recognised.

Concerning the mod in general, I have had no time to work on it at all due to uni work and other commitments. There may be another update around Christmas time and the holidays where I can fix any issues (updating spellings in readme as well), add new music and maybe the battle marches, etc.