FF11 ASCII art would suck, so I drew Rydia instead. CCCCCCC(CD CC(CCCCCC--CD CO(CCCCCD|**|(D C(CCCCD''|**|CD (CCCCD''''--DDD CCCD__''''''D''B (CD'l \'''''D"'B (CCD'l ''''''D'BB C CDD''' '''''DBB CDBD''''''''B-- D DD '''''---'' D B-----'VV''' ''''VVv----V ''VVV'''VVV|''VVAV ''VVVVVVAAA|''VVAV VAVV VVVAVV VVAV VAV VV'''' VVAV VVV V''' VAV VV 'LLL VVV VV LLLL VV V LLl VV LL l V -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=FF11 Music Hacking Guide=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- v1.6 by LockeZ (ff3lockez@yahoo.com) So, you don't particularly like the music in Final Fantasy 11? You'd rather have Uematsu, or perhaps the Beatles? Maybe you'd like to add music to the areas that have none? Until now you've just had to mute the game and play other music externally. But the problem with that strategy is that when you get in a battle, your CD doesn't change to battle music. In FF11, though, you can easily change what music the game actually uses. No hacking programs needed. All you need is some wav format songs. That's wav, not mp3. Mp3 files will not work. If you want to use mp3s, you have to convert them to wavs first using some program or another. A program at www.mp3fe.com/download/mp32wav.zip has been recommended to me. Following this guide involves changing the extensions of wav files to .bgw. Please note that in order to change the extensions of files, you must have your Windows Folder Options set to show extensions for known file types. If done correctly, changing the extension should give you a warning that the file may not work. You can change the songs in both the PlayOnline viewer and in FF11 itself. You can almost certainly change the Tetra Master songs using the same method as the FF11 songs, but I don't play Tetra Master, so I can't try it out. If you figure out a song list (or a partial one) for Tetra Master, email me and I will add it to this guide. Note that this is perfectly harmless to do. It doesn't conflict with Square's rules, and any version updates will still work fine. If POL tries to update your files when you sign on, you did it wrong. This guide is obviously for the PC version of FF11. I haven't tried any of this on the PS2 version. I don't know of any way to directly access files on the PS2 hard drive, though, so I doubt it would work. If you can get it to work, email me at the address above. IN PLAYONLINE VIEWER -------------------- The files that the viewer uses are listed in the subfolder SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer\viewer\data\system\bgm and are in .bgw format. If you change a .wav file's extension to .101.bgw, PlayOnline will be able to use it. Just change your favorite .wav format songs' extensions to .101.bgw and put them in the folder. See 2nd paragraph of the guide for detailed instructions on how to change file types. Actually, 101 is an arbitrary number; any three-digit number will work. After you put your new files in right folder, Open PlayOnline. Click on Navigator, then Options, then Viewer, then BGM. All the songs that PlayOnline comes with will still be listed if you didn't delete them, and all your new songs will be listed as well. Whatever songs you want it to play, select and choose OK. Whatever songs you don't want it to play, select and choose Clear. It now plays your songs instead of the normal ones! The file Dolphin_(by_Noriko_Matsueda).113.bgw is used while you are connecting to your PlayOnline account. If you want to change what music is played during that part, you will need to overwrite that file with a new one. Songs simply changed by altering their file extension will not repeat in PlayOnline. If you plan to have the program on for hours at a time and want the song to repeat, read the section below. IN FINAL FANTASY XI ------------------- The process for changing existing songs in FF11 itself is very similar. The files that the game uses are in the subfolders SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound\win\music\data and SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound2\win\music\data and are in .bgw format. If you change a .wav file's extension to .bgw, FF11 will be able to use it. See 2nd paragraph of the guide for detailed instructions. You can't just name the songs whatever you want, though. The filenames have to be exactly the same as the files already in the folder. The new song will replace the old one and be used in whatever scenes the original would have been used in. For example, if you had a .wav song you wanted to use, you could rename it music108.bgw and put it in the folder, replacing the file with that name that's already in the folder. Since music108.bgw is used for the title screen, your song will now be used for the title screen. A problem is that songs you've changed don't repeat in the game. This can be bypassed by using a program downloadable at http://www.lowfyr.com/downloads/ffxi/Ximc004.zip which properly converts songs between .wav and .bgm. Use this program to change the songs from wav to bgw instead of just changing the extension, and they should repeat normally. Most of the program is in japanese, but the "WAV -> BGW" and "BGW -> WAV" buttons are clearly labelled. Uncheck the box in the program if you don't want it to rename each file. Sometimes, wav files will not convert correctly. This seems to have to do with the .wav file's quality. If your sound effect fails to convert, try changing the quality. A wav file with a quality of 48 kHz, 16 bit, stereo (187 kbps) seems to convert fine. File quality can be changed by opening the file in Windows Sound Recorder and choosing to "Save As." With a lot of help, I've located every music track in the game up through the Rise of Zilart expansion. They are listed below. However, I don't have the Chains of Promathea expansion because I no longer play the game, so songs from it are not listed. If anyone could please send me information for them, I'd appreciate it. Details on how to listen to the existing files are at the end of the guide. FF11 SONG LIST -------------- music101.bgw: Battle: In overworld, solo music102.bgw: Battle: In dungeon, in party music103.bgw: Battle: In overworld, in party music104.bgw: Ghelsba music105.bgw: Mhaura music106.bgw: Ship music107.bgw: San D'Oria music108.bgw: Title Screen music109.bgw: Ronfaure music110.bgw: Jeuno music111.bgw: Game Over music112.bgw: Selbina music113.bgw: Sarutabaruta music114.bgw: Batallia Downs music115.bgw: Battle: In dungeon, solo music116.bgw: Gustaberg music117.bgw: Ru'Lude Gardens music118.bgw: Rolanberry Fields music119.bgw: Battle: Final Boss music120.bgw: Nation Selection Screen music121.bgw: Approching Final Boss music122.bgw: Delkfutt's (Used in cut scenes) music123.bgw: Hopelessness (Used in cut scenes) music124.bgw: Recollection (Used in cut scenes) music125.bgw: Battle: Boss music126.bgw: Mog House music127.bgw: Anxiety (Used in cut scenes) music128.bgw: Airship music130.bgw: Tarutaru Female Creation music131.bgw: Elvaan Female Creation music132.bgw: Elvaan Male Creation music133.bgw: Hume Male Creation music134.bgw: Yuhtunga Jungle music135.bgw: Kazham music151.bgw: Windurst music152.bgw: Bastok music153.bgw: Crystal Prelude music154.bgw: Metalworks music155.bgw: Castle Zvahl music156.bgw: Chateau d'Oraguille music157.bgw: Fury (Used in cut scenes) music158.bgw: Sauromugue Champaign music159.bgw: Sorrow (Used in cut scenes) music160.bgw: Repression (Used in cut scenes) music161.bgw: Despair (Used in cut scenes) music162.bgw: Heavens Tower music163.bgw: Sometime Somewhere (Used in cut scenes) music164.bgw: Xarcabard music165.bgw: Galka Creation music166.bgw: Mithra Creation music167.bgw: Tarutaru Male Creation music168.bgw: Hume Female Creation music169.bgw: Regeneracy (Used in cut scenes) music170.bgw: Buccaneers (Used in cut scenes) music171.bgw: Altepa Desert music181.bgw: Chocobo (Short version) music190.bgw: The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah music191.bgw: Battle: Rise of Zilart, In overworld music192.bgw: Battle: Rise of Zilart, In dungeon music193.bgw: Battle: Rise of Zilart, Boss music194.bgw: Raogrimm's Theme (Used in cut scenes) music195.bgw: Belief (Used in cut scenes) music196.bgw: Fighters of the Crystal (Used in cut scenes) music197.bgw: Tu'Lia Restoration (Used in cut scenes) music198.bgw: Eald'narche (Final Dungeon) music199.bgw: Grav'iton music200.bgw: Kam'lanaut's Theme (Used in cut scenes) music201.bgw: Ending music202.bgw: Quest 1 (Used in cut scenes) music203.bgw: Quest 2 (Used in cut scenes) music204.bgw: Quest 3 (Used in cut scenes) music205.bgw: Quest Completion (Used in cut scenes) music206.bgw: Yve'noile's Theme (Used in cut scenes) music207.bgw: Ve'Lugannon Palace music208.bgw: Rabao music209.bgw: Norg music210.bgw: Tu'Lia music211.bgw: Ro'Maeve music212.bgw: Chocobo music213.bgw: Hall of the Gods music214.bgw: Wedding music227.bgw: Summerfest Please send me info for the Chains of Promathea expansion. It's not hard to do. ADDING MUSIC TO DUNGEONS ------------------------ You can also add music to areas that have none. How, you ask? All the areas without music have a wind sound effect in the background. All you have to do is change the wind to a song. You can't modify sound effects just by changing the extension in this case; you have to use the program. It's the same program linked to above: http://www.lowfyr.com/downloads/ffxi/Ximc004.zip . Here's how it works. Open the program. Maximize it. Once it's maximized you'll be able to see another option at the bottom. Change it from BGM to SE. The buttons will now convert to and from .spw files instead of .bgw files. Click on the WAV -> SPW button and change a file to .spw. Go into the folder where the song is and rename it to the appropriate filename for whichever wind file you're going to replace (se001001.spw or whatever). Move your new spw file to SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound\win\se\se001 and replace the default file. You now have music in that area. Sometimes, wav files will not convert correctly. This seems to have to do with the .wav file's quality. If your sound effect fails to convert, try changing the quality. A wav file with a quality of 48 kHz, 16 bit, stereo (187 kbps) seems to convert fine. File quality can be changed by opening the file in Windows Sound Recorder and choosing to "Save As." There are also a couple more wind files in SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound2\win\se\se001. I'm fairly sure they're for the Rise of Zilart areas. Here are all the known issues with this method. 1) The background music you add won't cut out when the battle music starts. You can remedy this by either: a) Using silent .wav files for the in-dungeon battle songs. b) Using short "battle begin" type sounds for the in-dungeon battle music and making them not repeat by manually changing the filename from .wav to .bmg instead of using the conversion program. c) Setting the sound effects to half volume so you can hardly hear the background music over the battle music but can hear it fine otherwise. Do this anyway cause some areas that don't have music are considered "overworld" areas. 2) Sometimes with longer songs you'll get the song playing twice at once, it'll be at two different parts of the song. It's only midly annoying since it usually cuts out after a minute or so and most songs are repetitive anyway. 3) Some areas use the same wind as each-other. Some areas use more than one wind file depending on the time or weather. In these cases, it is highly recommended you use the same song for all of the different instances. Here is the list of areas that I know which wind sound effect is for. Please help me by changing other wind files in the wind folder and email me if you find what files are used where in-game. I'm low level and can't explore many places, so I need help completing the list. FF11 BACKGROUND SOUND EFFECT LIST --------------------------------- Many of the areas that actually have real background music also have wind in the background. You probably don't want two songs playing at once in these areas, so I've marked them with a tag to let you know not to change them. Sound effect 001003 is used in a bunch of places that don't have music, but also in Windurst. Use your own judgement. I leave it as normal wind, but you might want to change it to music and then nullify Windurst's real music file. Number 001065 has a similar issue, but as the caves in Valkurm are few and far between, I just let the songs overlap. se001001.spw: Windurst se001002.spw: La Theine Plateau se001003.spw: Windurst La Theine Plateau Pashhow Marshlands Konschtat Highlands se001004.spw: Konschtat Highlands La Theine Plateau se001005.spw: Ronfaure se001007.spw: Ronfaure se001013.spw: Valkurm Dunes se001014.spw: Valkurm Dunes se001015.spw: Valkurm Dunes se001016.spw: Valkurm Dunes se001025.spw: Dangruf Wadi se001033.spw: Ship se001042.spw: La Theine Plateau se001053.spw: Gustaberg se001054.spw: Buburimbu Peninsula Tahrongi Canyon se001062.spw: Ronfaure se001062.spw: Ship se001064.spw: Sarutabaruta Cave se001065.spw: Palborough Mines Outer Horotuto Ruins Giddeus Caves Ghelsba Outpost Caves Valkurm Dunes Caves (played overlapping Valkurm Dunes wind) Probably almost any other caves in existance se001066.spw: Zeruhn Mines se001067.spw: Bastok se001069.spw: Mog House se001070.spw: Gustaberg se001072.spw: San D'Oria se001073.spw: Bastok se001074.spw: Bastok se001075.spw: Gustaberg se001077.spw: Bastok se001078.spw: Buburimbu Peninsula Tahrongi Canyon se001079.spw: San D'Oria se001080.spw: San D'Oria se001081.spw: San D'Oria se001082.spw: San D'Oria se001089.spw: Heaven's Tower se001092.spw: Selbina se001093.spw: Selbina se001094.spw: Mhaura se001095.spw: Mhaura se001104.spw: Windurst Want to help expand this list? The best thing you can do is change undocumented wind files to songs you'll recognize if you hear, and see what songs play as the wind when you go to areas. Email me your results if you find anything I don't have listed. For a while, people were also willing to send me gil to help me get to harder areas so I could test the files. But I've stopped playing. I've logged on once since July 2004. So unless other people find more wind files, this list probably won't be updated any time soon. CHANGING BARD SONGS AND OTHER SOUNDS ------------------------------------ You can change bard songs too. Change them the same way you would change the wind sounds. Open the program, maximize it, change to Sound Effect mode, change a .wav file to .spw, and replace the bard song file. The bard songs are in the folder SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound\win\se\se021. Here's the list of what each one is: se021001.spw: Wind Instrument se021002.spw: String Instrument se021003.spw: Tarutaru Female Singing se021004.spw: Tarutaru Male Singing se021005.spw: Elvaan/Hume Male Singing se021006.spw: Mithra Singing se021007.spw: Galka Singing se021008.spw: Elvaan/Hume Female Singing You can theoretically change any sound effect in the game. But there's 6243 of them, so I'm not going to go through and figure them all out for you. The level up tune is SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\sound\win\se\se000\SE000007.wav if you want to change that one; put a one second delay at the beginning so it'll line up right. Many short sound files that can be downloaded from the internet will not convert correctly. This seems to have to do with the .wav file's quality. If your sound effect fails to convert, try changing the quality. A wav file with a quality of 48 kHz, 16 bit, stereo (187 kbps) seems to convert fine. File quality can be changed by opening the file in Windows Sound Recorder and choosing to "Save As." CONVERTING THE ORIGINAL FILES TO A PLAYABLE FORMAT -------------------------------------------------- This is actually pretty easy. You just download the program at http://www.lowfyr.com/downloads/ffxi/Ximc004.zip and run it. Right below the WAV -> BGW button is a BGW -> WAV button. Click it and find the file you want to convert. The .wav file will appear in the folder that the original .bgw file is in. You can't convert directly to .mp3. I don't even know why you'd want to. You can make a .wav file have the same sound quality and file size as a .mp3 file by loading it in Windows Sound Recorder, which comes with Windows, and saving it as a lower quality. If you really need .mp3 for some reason, you're on your own. This probably infringes the copyright and makes Square mad because they sell fewer soundtracks, so do it at your own risk. I can't be held responsible for you stealing the music. Personally, I went to all the trouble of figuring all this stuff out because I DON'T like the music, but so many people email me about this that I thought I'd add it to the guide. If you can't use that program for some reason or you can't get it to work, there's another way to listen to the songs. Move them into the folder used for PlayOnline music, SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer\viewer\data\system\bgm and rename them from music227.bgw or whatever to music227.101.bgw or whatever. Use whatever file name you want as long as it ends in .101.bgw. Now you can play the song in PlayOnline, or even set it as a random background music for the PlayOnline viewer. Open PlayOnline, and click on Navigator, then Options, then Viewer, then BGM, and all the songs will be listed. Choose the one you want to play, or click OK to set it to play randomly in POL. There's also a plugin for Winamp called in_ffxi.dll that will allow Winamp to play .bgw files directly. Search for it on a file-sharing program like Kazaa or something; I don't have a direct link for you. Copyright 2004 Ben McAlpin. Reproduce freely.