Hey there, today I wanted to show you how to mod the audio for ES2 using the program Wwise, as well as sharing a ES1 OST mod I already made that is ready to be installed.

So first things first, how to mod the audio : 

Here are the steps you’ll need to make in order to mod the sound files, I’ll detail them later :

-Identify the files you need to replace, lucky you, I already did this part for you for all the ambient tracks in the game (except the battle and election songs).

-Get some of your own files that you wish to add to the game.

-Convert your files to the .wav format, easiest way is to use Audacity, it’s free, lightweight and opensource, and it’s really easy to use.

-The complicated part : install Wwise and convert your files from .wav to .wem or .bnk depending on what you want to modify.

-Once converted, simply rename them to the names of the files you wish to replace, overwrite the vanilla files and, voila, you’re all done. Note: It’s not possible to add tracks for now, you can only replace them.

Some of you may already know how to do some of these steps, but I’ll detail them all anyway:

-Identifying the files you need to replace : pretty simple, really, because I already did that part for you. If you want to replace other sounds (like ship or weapon sounds), you’ll need to convert the .bnk files to a format you can easily read, like .ogg, using the program ww2ogg (shell program for Windows). You can find the audio files from the game in your ES2 install directory in \Public\Audio.

-Getting your tracks ready : this step is pretty straight forward, you’ll need your own tracks. I recommend starting from a lossless format (such as .flac or .alac) before transcoding using a lossy format is always not ideal.

-Converting your files to .wav : Pretty easy step but pretty tedious.

First, download Audacity and install it. Launch Audacity, go to Files->Open then navigate to your files and select them.

 Then, go to Files->Export->Export as .wav. Be sure to check that your export settings are the same as in the picture, you want WAV (Microsoft) signed 16 bit PCM, input whatever name you want and save the file somewhere easy to navigate to, we’ll need them again in a minute.

Do this for every file you want to convert.

-Going from .wav to .wem : For this step, you’ll need to install Wwise (https://www.audiokinetic.com/downloads/?id=2014.1.4_5248), be sure to hit “offline setup for Windows, download their offline launcher then run it to install Wwise.

Once installed, launch Wwise (mine was in C:\Program Files (x86)\Audiokinetic\Wwise 2017.2.2.6553\Authoring\x64\Release\bin), you should get a window asking you about projects. Make a new project, name it however you want, hit the select none option to remove all the junk we won’t need then hit OK.

Once here, you’ll need to go to Project->Project Settings (or hit Shift+K), once there go in source settings, make sure “Vorbis Hiqh Quality” is checked, double click on it, then close the project settings by clicking OK.

Alright, almost done, now go to Project->Import Audio files, and select add files, select the .wav files you converted earlier, make sure the settings match the ones in the picture for Import Mode and Import As, finally click on Import.

From here, go to Project -> Convert all Audio Files, make sure Windows is the only one selected, then click ok.

We’re now done with Wwise, your converted files will be in

 My Documents\WwiseProjects\[your project name here]\.cache\Windows\SFX

-Final step : swapping the files. You now have to manually replace all files by changing their names to the ones from step 1, note that most tracks have 4 files each, 2 for different mixes times 2 for rear and front mixes for surround setups. Of course, since you didn’t bother remixing the tracks and your files are probably in Stereo, you’ll only have 1, so you need to copy it 4 times and rename each of the 4 copies to one of the files for that track. Once this is over, you need to replace the vanilla files in 

“Steam\steamapps\common\Endless Space 2\Public\Audio\Soundbanks”

And you’re done.

Addendum : If you wish to modify the more dynamic sound files, like the battle songs for instance, you'll need to extract the .bnk file and repack them, look for a tutorial online for Wwise, this guide is only for replacing the sounds called with simple events, such as the faction themes or the ambient track.

And now, because I got the green light to share it : here's a pack with all the ES1 tracks already converted and named accordingly (except the battle theme), for an easy install.

Mega.nz link (instructions on how to install inside the .zip)

Here's the tracklist changes: 

Dyson spher > Beneath the strings 

Across the Drift (Riftborn Theme) > Xotic Particles

Cygnus > Io Bells

Together to the Stars (United Empire Theme) > Gravity Well

The We (Horatio Theme) > Reach the Amoeba

Memories of the Lost (Main Title) > The Endless

Singularity > Falling Night Stars

Horizon du Ciel > Transx

From the Heart (Unfallen Theme) > Stellar Pioneer

Flawless Theory (Endless Space 2 Version) > Flawless Theory (ES1 Version) 

Driven by DNA (Cravers Theme) > Astral Compass

 Three Quarks in a Row > Terraforming 

Calabi-Yau Spaces > Deafen

Dawn Axial Tilt Zero > Negentropy

Time of Change (Vaulters Theme) > Bleu Argon

Quantum Dub (Sophons Theme) > Slice and Collide

To Rise, Virtual (Vodyani Theme) > The Academy 

The Families (Lumeris Theme) > the Dust 

Geodesic > Magenta Clouds

Worship the Endless > The families, Endless Day Concert Version

The Lost Frontier > B.Matter

DLC tracks and unnamed ambient tracks were unchanged.

As an ES1 veteran, the thing that made me fall in love with the game was definitely its OST, and I wish to share this today, both with other veterans who want a change from ES2's OST and with newcomers who didn't get the chance to experience what is, imho, the best OST from FlybyNo.

All tracks are from the ES1 OST, available here in a pay what you want model (even 0€), except one track, "The families, Endless Day Concert Version", which is from FlybyNo's concert for 2018's Endless Day, the recordings can be found freely on the Amplitude Discord, should you wish to download them too.

Kuma, signing off.

Hey, seems like I missed your reply, here are the file names you wanted :

167508647.wem, 252037761.wem, 307662785.wem, 1033157763.wem (They're all for magenta cloud ES2 version).

Best,
Kuma,