Music mods

A music mod replaces one of the original’s songs with an audio file. Everywhere the game plays that song follows: battle themes, stage music, story scenes, the title and the Sound Test. You can also choose which song a pilot or unit fights to.

For installing and managing packages, see Mod packages: installing and making them.

Making one with the web tool

The BGM MOD maker does everything in your browser; no audio is uploaded anywhere:

1. Fill in the package details: ID, version, name, authors and license.
2. In the list of 49 songs, drop an audio file on the row you want to replace. mp3, wav, flac, m4a and ogg all work; the tool converts them to the game’s format, and a file that is already Ogg Vorbis is used as it is.
3. Click the row to set the song up (its ▶ plays it right away):
   • Loop: loop the whole song, loop a section of it, or play it once. Drag the blue (start) and gold (end) lines on the waveform to set the section; they snap to the nearest zero crossing when you let go. “Hear the seam” plays the moment the loop wraps around.
   • Volume (dB): the average level of this song and of the other replaced songs is shown beside it, so you can match them.
   • Title: the name shown in the Sound Test, in each language if you like.
4. If you want, choose under “Battle songs” which song a pilot or unit fights to.
5. Click “Export .srw64mod” and drag the file into the game window to install it.

To change a package later, load it back with “Open an existing .srw64mod”.

In the game

• In the Sound Test, a replaced song is marked “MOD”, with the package’s title if it gives one.
• The General page of the settings has “MOD music” on or off and its volume (25–100%); changes apply from the next song that starts.
• Karaoke Mode keeps the original songs, since the lyrics follow their timing.

How the original picks songs

• Battle themes: whenever a player unit takes part, the fight plays the player unit’s main pilot’s theme, whoever attacks; when no player unit takes part, it plays the attacking unit’s theme.
• The original always plays a fixed song in these cases, and a mod’s battle song does not change them: Burning Gundam H (its Meikyo Shisui form), the Shuffle Alliance’s Super Mode forms, V-MAX, and any fight with Val-A, Avie-Lu or J-Ren in it. Those fixed songs can still be replaced themselves.
• After a battle the stage music does not come back: the battle theme plays on until the next phase starts. Keep that in mind when you set a loop.
• Stage music starts again at the beginning of every phase.
• The short tune for enemy reinforcements (song 38) plays once by default, and then the game goes back to the stage music by itself.

Making one by hand

These are the files the web tool writes.

yourname.bgm/
  mod.json
  audio/
    music/<song>.ogg
    music.json        optional

• Each file is named by its song number (decimal, no leading zeros): 7.ogg replaces song 7, “メインテーマ”. The song table lists all 49 songs with their numbers, titles and where they play.

• The format must be Ogg Vorbis, at any sample rate, mono or stereo. Vorbis alone keeps loop points exact to the sample: an MP3 gains padding at its start and end, which leaves a gap where it loops. Convert other formats first, for example:

  ffmpeg -i in.wav -c:a libvorbis -q:a 6 out.ogg

music.json is optional. With only the .ogg files, each song loops whole at its own volume under its original title. To fine-tune, write:

{
  "schema": "srw64.music.v1",
  "tracks": {
    "7":  { "loop": [441000, 5292000], "gain": -2.0,
            "title": { "zh-Hans": "…", "en": "…", "ja": "…" } },
    "38": { "loop": false }
  },
  "battle": {
    "pilot": { "36": 7 },
    "unit":  { "97": 12 }
  }
}

Pilot and unit numbers are in the pilot table and the unit table, which also list each one’s original battle theme. When several packages set the same song or the same pilot, the package higher in the list wins.

Letting an AI do it

The repository’s docs/guide/audio-mods/ folder holds the full format description and every table (its description is in Chinese). Hand the whole folder to an AI assistant and it can rename and convert your files and write mod.json and music.json for you.

Battle voices

From 0.5.2 a package can also voice the battle lines: as a line’s box opens in a battle, its voice plays.

The easiest way is the Battle voice mod maker, which also works entirely in your browser:

1. Fill in the package details.
2. Pick a character to list all their battle lines, each with when it shows and its original text. Drop a recording on its line, or press “Choose file”. Recordings are converted to Ogg Vorbis; ▶ plays one.
3. With many recordings, name the files starting with the record number (such as 7018.wav or 7018_attack.wav) and drop them all on “Add many at once”.
4. Click “Export .srw64mod”. Load it back later with “Open an existing .srw64mod” to add more.

By hand, the files go like this:

yourname.voices/
  mod.json
  audio/
    voice/battle/<record>.ogg
    voice.json        optional

• The file is named by the line’s record number (5799-17346); the battle line table lists all 11,548 with their speaker, when they appear and the text in three languages. Ogg Vorbis only, as for music.
• A line of several pages plays on its first. The voice playing stops when the next line starts, when the battle ends or when it is cut short.
• The boxes keep the original’s pace and do not wait for a voice; keep each line to two or three seconds.
• With battle animations off there are no lines and so no voices. Voices are the same whatever the reading language.
• Random lines need all of them voiced to always have sound: “Attack (general, 3/14)” is one of 14 picked at random.
• voice.json is optional: {"schema": "srw64.voice.v1", "gain": -3.0, "delay": 150}; gain adjusts the volume (dB, -30 to 12) and delay waits that many milliseconds after the box opens (0 to 2000).
• The settings’ General page has a MOD battle voices switch and volume.

Copyright

Use only music you have the right to use and to pass on. A package made from the original anime songs is for your own use and cannot be submitted to the official mod list.