[TUTORIAL] How to Add Custom Music to Boss Fight

[alexei]

Setting Up Resource

1. Open Asset Manager.
2. Set to menu mod> select>ModdingTutorial.
3. Now first, let’s add new custom boss music source. Go to source tab.
4. Create a new folder under ModdingTutorial/Source, right click > Create Directory…. Name the folder. Up to you ie CustomBossMusic.
5. Click on the CustomBossMusic folder. At the right panel, right click, import… Select a music file and click ok. Asset Manager does not accept mp3 so you have to use either wav or ogg. I prefer ogg. Just convert it using any online tools.
   
   
   
   
6. Now we have the music in source panel. Let’s convert it to asset so that asset manager can use it. Right click on the music file in source panel. Select ‘Auto Create Asset’ > Ok.
7. Now click at asset panel and you see the CustomBossMusic and our new asset. Right click on it and select build.
8. We need to build our mod now so that the new asset can be recognize and used by database record (DBR). Click menu Build>Build or simply press F7 key.

Adding New Boss Music DBR

1. Before the creature can be assigned with music, the DBR for music need to be created first. To do this, the ModdingTutorial does not come with boss music ambient DBR. The easy way to do this is by importing GD music ambient DBR and modify the DBR from there.
2. Go to folder where you extract GD original resource and database.
3. Look for this folder. “database\records\sounds\soundpak_musicambient”
4. You will find many DBR for different boss fight particularly warden, cronley, karroz, loggy and bourbon clone. Copy any of the boss pack ie bosspak_act2_dariuscronley
5. Now go back to your asset manager database panel>records. Create a folder name “sounds”. I prefer to have other name but the editor somehow only picked sounds dbr from sounds folder so.
6. Go back to windows folder and you will see the new folder created in database/records folder. Ps: you can do this all in windows explorer but sometimes asset manager do not refresh itself and you may not able to see changes ie new folder create.
7. Paste the cronley DBR there in the sounds folder. Go to asset manager and click on sounds folder to see the cronley DBR there. If no, you might need to close asset manager and open the mod back.
8. Rename the cronley dbr name so that it doesn’t overwrite original cronley fight music. I name it coolbossmusic.dbr. Open the DBR
9. You can see that there is 4 entry related to music which is Intro, Loop, BossDeath, PlayerDeath. Intro is played once you encountered the boss, loop is played after intro done playing and looped infinitely, bossdeath play after boss is dead, playerdeath is player upon player died. In the cronley case, the intro is blanked because the first time we meet cronley, we need to talk with him first and there is no music played. It’s start with loopmusic for him.
   
   
   
   
10. Now change all to our new asset. double click on each entry name, click on the … button and find our music in custombossmusic folder and click set. Apply and ok. Do the same to all other entry. Easy way to do this is by copying the first entry value by double clicking on the value in the entry list.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Now our music dbr is ready to insert into boss dbr.

Editing Boss DBR

1. Search for boss monster DBR that we want to give the theme music background. For this case, is the Record>Creatures>Enemies>Boss&Quest. Double click on the Boss01.dbr.
   
   
2. Under monster parameter > music, you can see 2 entry. First is the DBR music you need to set. Other one is radius it’s played from boss centre. Assign the dbr music to the first entry the same way in you did above.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. For the radius, in this example, setting it to 20.0 is sufficient. Cronley and warden both get 30.0, considering their room size. Save and close the dbr. Right click on boss01.dbr and select build.
4. Rebuild our mod by pressing F7. Close asset manager.

[alexei]

Assign Boss Music Layer

1. Now this is where the easiest part yet tricky cause intuitively we don’t know we need to assign this. The way GD play boss music is by assigning boss music layer into level design. Meaning even if you assign the music to boss dbr and to play by radius etc etc, it won’t start playing unless the boss is put inside an area with music layer painted on it. Enough with talk and lets start.
2. Open world editor. Go to editor mod and center in where our boss is. Ignore other stuff in the screenshot since I add some flavor to the level to experiment a bit.
3. Click on the sector paint button (the pink green red blue path hatch icon). On the right panel, it show sector paint options.
   
   
4. At layer drop down menu, select boss layer. Click new.
5. Paint the area new to the boss with this brush. If you make mistake, erase the area by holding shift and left click. Now save your level and close editor.
   
   
   
   
6. Open back asset manager and build your mod.
7. Open GD and set custom game mod. Try the boss fight with new background music! Good luck!

Check out the boss fight music!
https://youtu.be/LFicl-jxbPU

Bottomline:
Why I do this tutorial? Because now I know there is no way I can add music to all quest boss encounter without editing the original level! So unless someone make awesome mod that involve editing the original 600mb level, i don’t think it’s worthwhile to do 600mb music mod.
Until then!

[rorschachrev]

Can we edit the music by just replacing some music files with the same name and path?

[alexei]

Can we edit the music by just replacing some music files with the same name and path?

Not sure if i understand correctly but are you asking if the current music in GD can be swapped with something else just by adding new music file with same name and path and build it without changing/rebuild any DBR?

[DeMasked]

Can we edit the music by just replacing some music files with the same name and path?

I’ve easily managed to add some other ambient music (not specific boss fight music) by initially following this post.

So first follow that post to set up a new folder, add your music, auto create new assets, and then using “Build”.

Then clicking Database --> Import Record you go to records/sounds/soundpak_ambient and choose one of the pre-existing DBR files.

Edit the dbr file that should now be located in your “mod name”/database/records/sounds/soundpak_ambient and go to Sound Properties and replace “ambientLoop” and “nightAmbientLoop” with the location of your own music choice (should be in the new folders “sounds_new” at the bottom of the list. Then save as a new dbr named after your new music (should be something like “ambpak_NEWNAME.dbr”.

In the map editor you then should be able to find your new music dbr file in the GD ones and be able to paint an area with that new sound. It should be rather obvious as you’ll start to hear the new sound in the actual editor / in game when you’re testing the mod.

It doesn’t take long to figure it out though I stumbled through it so some of my steps might be unnecessary (but it worked so whatever).

[rorschachrev]

Not sure if i understand correctly but are you asking if the current music in GD can be swapped with something else just by adding new music file with same name and path and build it without changing/rebuild any DBR?

That’s what I’m asking. The assets would need to be in the build folders though.

[alexei]

That’s what I’m asking. The assets would need to be in the build folders though.

Actually, to achieve what u are asking is theoretical doable. I imagine all u need is to update ambient pack dbr. Im gonna try it later if i have the timee3dit: yep, its doable. i have tried changing cave music or warden encounter music with something else. however, i dont know which dbr is for playing devil crossing music. have to try more. however, full music mod is possible. just that adding music to bosses fight not possible without doing editing in map/level.

[adoomgod]

Bump for prosperity:

So if a boss doesn’t currently have music and I want to give it music, I have to edit the map?

That suuuucks.