Hi all, me again. I looked for an old tutorial on how to make a custom BMU file work for a module. I can’t find it. I have the file converted to BMU in the NWN music file but what’s the next step? Thanks in advance!
Grab this. It contains the ancient Bioware tutorials including add custom music.
TR
Hi TR, Thanks for reaching out with this link. It was helpful as I was able to edit my ambientmusic2da. However, I’m not very computer saavy when it comes to creating files so I’m confused on steps 4 thru 6 as I’m not sure how to create a Module hakpak file or am I not understanding the terminology correctly?. Embarrasses me to admit this as its probably something simple to other builders. And I have no idea where to find the Bioware HakPak Editor window given in the example.
The answer to this depends which version of NwN you are using. If you are using 1.69 you will find NwHak in your NeverwinterNights\NWN\utils folder. If you are on 1.74 (aka EE) you probably won’t have it because BeamDog haven’t as yet made one available. In that case you can download it from on here on this project page. The next question will be if you need to download it where should you put it? I would put it with the rest of your user files in a new folder that you create in your Users\Your_Name\Documents\Neverwinter Nights folder (replace Your_Name with your windows user name). I would call this new folder “utils” to match the old Bioware location name.
To actually use NwHak, just double click on it. To add stuff to the hak file just open the resource menu. There is an item in there for adding resources. Once you have added all you want for now don’t forget to save it.
To get to the module properties you need to go through edit menu in the toolset. It is near the bottom of that menu.
TR
Thank you again for your help. I’m getting closer to understanding how to do this, I created a hak file and put it in the custom content of my module, but the custom track didnt appear on the audio Music Day MusicNight; just the standard game tracks were there. Did I miss a step? and yep my version is 1.69. Also is the new custom Ambient music hak file supposed to be able to be opened?
Did you add a customised ambientmusic.2da to your hak? If so, did you enter a description of the custom track in the DisplayName field, bounded by double quotes?
Without that, the track will not appear in the toolset (it’s not set for the Bioware tracks because their names are given as string refs in the Description field, which should be **** for custom tracks unless you have a custom .tlk).
You did remember to put your BMU file into your NeverwinterNights\NWN\music folder, didn’t you?
TR
Thanks Proleric & Tarot_Redhand. Sorry so late with a response; hectic work day.
Anyway, Yes there is the BMU mus_ajourney in the music file. I copied my ambientmusic 2da file and added my track:**** mus_ajourney **** **** **** “ajourney”, titled it custom_music 2da and then created a hak file in the util folder.I titled the hak file botumusic and slotted it in the custom content in my module properties. I also encountered access violation errors after this hak file was added a second time. So maybe I messed up something on creating a hak file for the music track.
This is helpful to me as well. Related question: I noticed that the CMP and some similar resources have music tracks that are ripped from older games. How do you know when it’s appropriate to use another game’s music? I would compose it myself but, you know, no orchestra or talent. 
That looks like the problem. You are supposed to edit the ambientmusic.2da file and then resave it with the original filename (e.g. ambientmusic.2da). Then add your ambientmusic.2da to the hak file.
I assume that is a typo and you meant music folder/directory.
If you still have trouble with this post here again.
TR
Okay making more progress. The track was in the area music day/night however it wouldn’t play. The game tracks would play fine but not my custom track. Any ideas?
The first thing is to make sure that there isn’t a problem with your bmu file. For this you’re going to want two tools. The first is notepad++ and the second is the vlc media player. I’m assuming that you are on windows as there currently isn’t a toolset for either linux or mac.
The first test uses notepad++. Right click your bmu file and in the menu that comes up select edit with notepad++. This will load the file into notepad++. Most of the file will appear to be gibberish but the very first 8 characters should be readable and say “BMU V1.0” If not then there was a problem with using mp3toBMU and you’ll need to try again.
The second test uses the vlc media player with your speakers turned on. Open vlc and then drag and drop your BMU file into vlc. If it does not play, that file will need redoing. The reason that it should play is that a BMU file is essentially an mp3 music file with an extra 8 bytes (the “BMU V1.0” i mentioned earlier) added.
Let me know how those tests went.
TR
Hey thank you again for your help. I have a dumb question; could it be because these mp3 files were converted from YouTube as opposed to a downloaded cd. I tried it again with a different track and it showed up in the toolset but no sound. I’ll test it it with notepad. added: BMU V1.0 shows after opening the custom track but nothing else displayed no (code gibberish) like the game tracks.
Haha! Tarot_Redhand thanks so much! I got it! It was the setting on my mp3-BMU converter. But I would 've never checked it without your Notepad suggestion to check the BMU file. Can’t thank you enough for taking the time to help a computer dummy like myself. Many Many thanks! (Proleric too!)
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If you’re using the music privately, i.e. not distributing the module, then don’t worry about it.
If you going to post the module, then you need to be very careful about posting music for which you have no rights. For example, the BBC and Paramount Pictures are very aggressive when it comes to the DR Who and Star Trek properties respectively. Conversely, CD Projekt Red has given the NWN community permission to re-use assets from The Witcher 1 within our NWN modules provided that said projects are open to the rest of the NWN community. I would also steer clear of World of Warcraft and other popular games that have valuable intellectual property.
To be on the safe side, my advice to not post any musical recordings on the Internet in any format. If you choose to venture forth into murky waters, then keep a low profile (obscure, out-of-print-works, coded names like track1, track2, etc.). The last thing this site needs is some litigious corporation like BBC, Paramount, Activision, Electronic Arts, Disney, Sony, etc. to poke its nose.
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@Kalindor @Grymlorde for what it’s worth, the CMP documentation says just enough to persuade me that it’s probably OK to use it in published modules. I might be wrong.
However, in general, it’s unsafe to use music without permission, and an even bigger fool’s game to seek consent. I once spent many hours getting permission to use just one medieval track in “Crown of Creation”, and fruitless days chasing the copyright owners of modern tracks along the daisy chain of selling on.
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Wow! i completely forgot about publishing and copyright infringement. So custom music not a good idea? Like Kalindor, I don’t have the musicians or talent to record my own.
The other thing to remember is that copyright law is a complete nightmare. Not only does it vary from country to country but also some countries have treaties with other countries about implementing it. For example it is the 50th anniversary of the release Stanley Kubrick’s classic “2001: A Space Odessy”. Now under EU law that might make it fair game if it wasn’t for the treaty with the USA which (if I’ve understood it right) means that there is at least another 25 years to go before you can legitimately use the recorded music from it.
TR
Have other modders used music without permission in the past? I’m looking at orchestrational type soundtrack music(obscure) but I do realize I’d be using it without permission. I wouldn’t want to get this site in any legal trouble.
Quoting from the custom content guide V3 -
If you don’t want to actually create your own sounds and want to just mix in music to create
something new then look for sound loops (sonicfoundry.com). You may find a lot of the unsigned
artists onwww.mp3.comreceptive to the idea of their music being used in a video game (don’t
use their work without permission). Onmp3.comthere are a series of genres
(http://genres.mp3.com/music/genres.html)that you may want to look at (try medieval or Celtic
themes for example).
BTW don’t bother with the links in that quote instead have a look here. There are links on there to 10 different places to get legally free music and in some cases sfx. Remember to always read the terms and conditions though, so you don’t come a cropper.
TR
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