Creating .brstm files with more than 2 audio channels?

[Roobix]

I have a bit of a strange request, and hopefully this is the correct place to ask about it.

I wish to create .brstm audio files that contain more than the standard two audio channels (right and left stereo). The reason for this is that the files I'm trying to modify contain four channels (2 stereo and 2 mono), and I cannot seem to figure out how to make my own versions with any more than just the standard two. It is possible that BrawlBox can't do this at all and I'll need another program for creating multi-channel .brstm files.

If you're curious as to why I'm going to all this bother, it is for modifying files with the "STRM" prefix in Mario Kart Wii (6 tracks) where the indoor/outdoor portions of the kart track utilize different audio channels to achieve that dampened indoor cave sound. With the 2-channel files I've been creating, half the track sits in silence. This forum is where I've found everything I've learned thus far about .brstm files, so I thought I'd ask here. You'll find a similar situation in NSMBWii in levels that contain a Yoshi segment.

Any advice or hints as to how I would go about this, or if you could you direct me to where I might be able to get some help, (my google-fu has failed) that would be awesome.

 

[Yuna]

How to convert an audio track with more than two channels to a file with only two channels:
1) Download meGUI, dBpoweramp Music Converter or foobar2000.
2) Transcode the file into WAV (or a filetype of your choice, but since you're gonna then further transcode it into brstm, I suggest WAV (lossess) and not, say, mp3 (lossy))

All 3 of those clients allow you to encode/transcode/convert between audio types and "flatten" multi (2+) channel audio files into two channel audio files.

in meGUI: In the audio conversion configuration window, there's an option called "Output Channels". Click on the drop-down menu and choose "Downmix multichannel to Stereo".
in dBpoweramp: In the settings window for audio conversion, under DSP Effects / Actions, click Add. Then Add DSP Effect, then Channel Count and set it to Fixed Channel Count -> 2 'stereo' (CD).
in foobar2000: I believe the standard settings for WAV conversion downmixes multichannel files to Stereo.

 

[libertyernie]

You could check the "tools" folder in the BCSM-GUI. Those are the command-line tools to make BRSTMs. It seems complicated, though.

 

[Roobix]

This is perfect, thank you both so much. Just for clarification Yuna, I want to go from having just two channels to 4, not the other way around.

I think with your instructions though, I might be able to do it. I've heard of all of those programs (except meGUI) before. Hopefully they can also create multi-channel audio as well.

 

[Yuna]

This is perfect, thank you both so much. Just for clarification Yuna, I want to go from having just two channels to 4, not the other way around.

I think with your instructions though, I might be able to do it. I've heard of all of those programs (except meGUI) before. Hopefully they can also create multi-channel audio as well.

You said that the files you wanted to modify were multi-channel. I believe it would be easier to simply "collapse" the songs into 2-channel stereo tracks because the Wii does not output anything higher than 2.1 channels (Dolby Pro Logic II).

Which means that even if you do manage to create a brstm with more than 2 channels, it will either end up not playing on the Wii at all, sounding glitched or simply not sound any better than it would have when encoded as a 2-channel brstm anyway.

I'm not sure how BSCM-GUI encodes songs, but if it encodes them in Dolby Pro Logic II, which I assume it does, then all is fine with the world. If you didn't know, Dolby Pro Logic II is a 2.1 channel codec where the audio has only 2 channels (like Stereo) except the codec "cheats" by encoding the track to simulate a 5.1 track so that when you hook the player up to a 5.1 setup, it will sound like it's in 5.1 (this comes at a cost of what I presume is a minor loss in audio quality whilst you make up for it with the fact that a 2.1 track takes up much less space than a 5.1 track).

So, in short, it is entirely meaningless for you to try to create a 4-chanel brstm and it might actually (read: most probably) end up sounding worse than a 2-channel one. Use meGUI, dBpoweramp or foobar2000 to collapse the songs into 2-channel tracks, edit them, figure out the proper loop points, run them through BSCM-Gui and voila.

 

[Roobix]

You said that the files you wanted to modify were multi-channel. I believe it would be easier to simply "collapse" the songs into 2-channel stereo tracks because the Wii does not output anything higher than 2.1 channels (Dolby Pro Logic II).

Which means that even if you do manage to create a brstm with more than 2 channels, it will either end up not playing on the Wii at all, sounding glitched or simply not sound any better than it would have when encoded as a 2-channel brstm anyway.

I'm not sure how BSCM-GUI encodes songs, but if it encodes them in Dolby Pro Logic II, which I assume it does, then all is fine with the world. If you didn't know, Dolby Pro Logic II is a 2.1 channel codec where the audio has only 2 channels (like Stereo) except the codec "cheats" by encoding the track to simulate a 5.1 track so that when you hook the player up to a 5.1 setup, it will sound like it's in 5.1 (this comes at a cost of what I presume is a minor loss in audio quality whilst you make up for it with the fact that a 2.1 track takes up much less space than a 5.1 track).

So, in short, it is entirely meaningless for you to try to create a 4-chanel brstm and it might actually (read: most probably) end up sounding worse than a 2-channel one. Use meGUI, dBpoweramp or foobar2000 to collapse the songs into 2-channel tracks, edit them, figure out the proper loop points, run them through BSCM-Gui and voila.

I would assume the Wii doesn't need to output more than two channels at once because the game switches between channels at the appropriate part of the race track. The original .brstm files extracted from the game's data are 4-channel. That's why I'm trying to achieve that specific output. I've tried creating normal 2-channel .brstm files, and if I don't have 4 channels, then half the track will be in silence (the indoor portion). This structuring is unique to these files, all the other .brstm files have the normal 2 channels (because those courses don't have an indoor part).

 

[Segtendo]

This could probably also help with NSMB Wii (4 channels, 2 normal stereo, 2 for Yoshi).

 

[Roobix]

This could probably also help with NSMB Wii (4 channels, 2 normal stereo, 2 for Yoshi).

Yeah! Those 'Yoshi' level music files are of the exact same structure as what I'm trying to create as well.

 

[Yuna]

If it's an extracted brstm, why do you have to re-encode it at all? Just use it? Or does it not loop or something?

I can't find any info on 4 channel sound on the Wii through Google. Are you sure it's not simply a Dolby Logic Pro II encoded file that fakes 4 channels? Have you tried running it through foobar2000 using the vgmstream component to convert the file to FLAC and then run it through an audio analyzing program such as mediaInfo to check how many channels it has?

Because I don't think the Wii can actually do 4 channels and that some games just "cheat". Also, if you "flatten" the channels using the method I described, it should solve your problems with having half of the channels not being played.

 

[Roobix]

I'd like to thank everyone who tried to help me in this thread, but I've found a solution to my issue - a multi-channel creating tool has been made on another forum, called WD - Revolution for BRSTM v0.1 beta

For anyone else who finds this thread facing a similar situation, the program can be found on the RVLution forums. I won't post a link because I'm not sure about this forum's hotlinking policy.

Peace