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Koko Ricky

Music problem: Any solutions?

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I have four maps in the works right now, all of which are around 99% complete. The main thing that has prevented me from releasing them is that I want to add my own music. But of the two composition programs I use, only one is capable of exporting to MIDI and it's quite poor at doing so, resulting in numerous problems that I have been unable to fix even after a Google search. Should I:

A) Construct an MP3 instead? The maps are all in DoomBuilder 2's Doom 2 format, so I don't know whether or not an MP3 can be implemented.

B) Download an additional program that is geared toward MIDI export? If anyone favors this solution, I would appreciate it if you could recommend a specific program.

C) Try something else?

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It is my understanding that MP3s do NOT work in vanilla format.

It seems strange to me that you are using programs that don't have accurate MIDI transfer, but if that is the case, I would recommend getting a better MIDI software program, though I can't really recommend one. I use an old version of Cakewalk from 2000 that you can't get anymore in conjunction with a modern Sonar Cakewalk program that was very expensive and very cumbersome.

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MP3s do not work in doom2.exe but they do work in most source ports so there shouldn't be any problems with them unless you want your map to be vanilla compatible. (and judging by the screenshots you've posted in Doom General this isn't the case)

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For the midis I've written for Back to Saturn X, I compose using Reason (my usual music software of choice), using a Roland SoundCanvas midi soundfont. Once the song is completed, I export to midi from there, and use a freeware program called Sekaiju to set up the instruments and mixing in the resultant basic midi that came out of Reason. Considering the clunkiness of every midi editor I've tried, this is the most comfortable solution I've found; it's not completely ideal, but it works quite well.

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Memfis said:

MP3s do not work in doom2.exe but they do work in most source ports so there shouldn't be any problems with them unless you want your map to be vanilla compatible. (and judging by the screenshots you've posted in Doom General this isn't the case)


Not sure what you mean. What suggests that they won't be vanilla compatible?

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MP3s aren't standard for Doom, and will only work in source ports that are capable of playing them. If you want your wad to run in vanilla or if you're aiming for compatibility with a wide range of source ports, you'll need to use MIDI or MUS format.

If you're not concerned with vanilla compatibility and want to use a non-midi format for your music, I would recommend OGG. It has somewhat higher cross-port compatibility than MP3, I believe, due to SDL's MP3 support being rather cruddy and unreliable.

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GoatLord said:

What suggests that they won't be vanilla compatible?

The maps on your screenshots were quite detailed IIRC so they probably exceed the static limits.

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My goal is to find a general consensus among the community if possible. These maps have a lot of love behind them and I want to present the most pleasant playing experience I can mange. I feel kinda weird about releasing something intended to run on say, zdoom or gzdoom, but with almost purely vanilla mapping techniques.

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It would be helpful if you told us what programs you use and what other formats you can export to.

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The easiest solution, for me, would be if anyone has experience with FL Studio and could offer help, but that's asking something a bit specific, so it may not work.

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I recommend export to OGG - usually it yields a smaller file size than MP3, and sounds just as good. As someone else mentioned, there's high compatibility with most source ports as well.

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GoatLord said:

The easiest solution, for me, would be if anyone has experience with FL Studio and could offer help, but that's asking something a bit specific, so it may not work.

You do know that you can save in .MID and .OGG format with FL studio? I'd recommend .OGG as Chu rightly said most source ports support this music format.

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Yeah, it does weird stuff when you export to .MID. In one instance, I wrote a straightforward gothic/metal composition that sounded exactly as it did in the program, except that the pitch bends--used only for the lead guitar solo--ended up affecting ALL simultaneously played instruments, and only sometimes. I decided, instead, to try to compose something more ambient, and that fared even worse: The exported midi would either fail to play the correct samples, or would play a different sample, or not at all, and completely failed to respond to changes in volume. I even went on an FL Studio specific forum and no one was able to offer any helpful advice. Can someone offer a bit more information about .OGG, or should I just Wiki it?

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Try downloading the trial version of Ableton Live 8, it has a export to MIDI option, it may be a huge download, but at least you will be able to export it to MIDI.

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GoatLord said:

The easiest solution, for me, would be if anyone has experience with FL Studio and could offer help, but that's asking something a bit specific, so it may not work.


I have some experience with FL Studio. Maybe I can help. Can you send your fl studio file?

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