Greetings, Fellows!
I think we all agree that the music of the Eschalon Book(s) is very important for the atmospheric influence of the game. As discussed in an other thread, Book I and II differ concerning the way the music is stored on the harddisk, which leads to the fact that you cannot (or at least I cannot) listen to the various music themes of Book II without visiting the corresponding places.
What I would like to ask is, even though I know that there are more urging things to take care of from the developer´s side, if it would be possible to let the player gain access to the themes, like it has been in Eschalon: Book I ? In other words: would it be possible to extract the music from the Book II files into a readable format like .mp3, .wav, .ogg or the like?
Don´t get me wrong, I am not asking for a "crack" program or something like that, I just would like to know if there is a legal way to listen to the music of Book II outside the game, in accordance with the developer(s).
Thanks and cheers, Calathon
Eschalon: Book II music themes
Eschalon: Book II music themes
"It is early morning, quiet and peaceful."
- SpottedShroom
- Captain Magnate
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- Joined: June 4th, 2010, 6:18 pm
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
The files are part of the datapak file, which is regular encrypted .zip file. You should be able to list the contents, even without using a password.
Using encryption like this isn't very secure, though - the game itself has to know the password to get into the files, and it's not much challenge for a technical user to extract it. xolotl did that for his editor so that it would be able to display the same graphics that appear in the game, although he got explicit permission from BW ahead of time.
The Book II EULA prohibits reverse engineering, so BW probably doesn't want people extracting the files. The DMCA's allowance for reverse engineering for the purposes of compatibility (e.g. listening to music in a different program) does mean that it's probably legal, though.
Code: Select all
23316556 2010-03-02 11:44 music/battle_loop.wav
1141125 2009-09-18 17:55 music/begin_game_animation.ogg
266442 2007-09-26 07:46 music/death.ogg
3087172 2010-03-10 23:11 music/eb2_aftermath.ogg
3150281 2009-08-28 08:53 music/eb2_a_foreign_city.ogg
12923180 2010-03-14 11:19 music/eb2_chared.wav
1856214 2007-04-11 09:29 music/eb2_dank_underworld.ogg
2899205 2007-07-16 10:58 music/eb2_desert.ogg
2947622 2010-01-08 07:46 music/eb2_durnore.ogg
3309584 2010-01-08 07:56 music/eb2_end_of_the_era.ogg
563852 2010-01-08 07:55 music/eb2_epic_unease (short).ogg
3047784 2010-01-07 20:57 music/eb2_expeditionary.ogg
5545947 2008-10-30 10:14 music/eb2_forgotten_depths.ogg
7394051 2010-03-10 23:10 music/eb2_long_note_two.ogg
3437134 2008-10-30 11:10 music/eb2_main_theme.ogg
1189651 2009-11-05 14:44 music/eb2_odyssey.ogg
3526772 2008-07-12 16:18 music/eb2_overland1.ogg
2362640 2007-04-11 14:29 music/eb2_overland2.ogg
4460815 2009-08-28 08:47 music/eb2_overland3.ogg
1702921 2010-01-03 02:54 music/eb2_serpentine_trek.ogg
1777910 2010-01-07 21:00 music/eb2_the_chamber.ogg
3836343 2010-01-08 07:51 music/eb2_the_world_of_eschalon.ogg
2508090 2010-01-08 07:53 music/eb2_unnatural_situation.ogg
3078249 2009-07-25 14:14 music/eb2_willow_and_the_light.ogg
1214291 2010-04-19 09:38 music/end_music.ogg
1215981 2010-04-19 17:26 music/end_music_2.ogg
The Book II EULA prohibits reverse engineering, so BW probably doesn't want people extracting the files. The DMCA's allowance for reverse engineering for the purposes of compatibility (e.g. listening to music in a different program) does mean that it's probably legal, though.
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
Ah, thanks for the hint, I never would have tried to extract the "datapak" file with WinRAR or something like that. So if one has the password you could listen to the music, that is nice to know.
"It is early morning, quiet and peaceful."
- BasiliskWrangler
- Site Admin
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Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
The datapak is encrypted to prevent general distribution of the music files, of which we have varying degrees of rights to. If you hack the file, then that activity is on you- I've done my part to protect it.
When Book 3 is finished, we've been talking about releasing an "Eschalon Soundtrack" collection featuring all the music we own or have full rights to, from all three games. This album would be in mp3 format and as high of quality as we can produce from the originals, and we'd probably charge a very small fee for the collection to help with bandwidth and as a contribution towards our next game.
When Book 3 is finished, we've been talking about releasing an "Eschalon Soundtrack" collection featuring all the music we own or have full rights to, from all three games. This album would be in mp3 format and as high of quality as we can produce from the originals, and we'd probably charge a very small fee for the collection to help with bandwidth and as a contribution towards our next game.
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- Steward
- Posts: 65
- Joined: August 12th, 2012, 6:13 am
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
Well, for what its worth, it seems only the book 2 intro theme is available on the internet. The rest hasn't been cracked. I'll certainly be buying the soundtrack once it comes out. Shame not everything's on there though.
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
An "Eschalon Soundtrack" definitely is something I really would like to have. And I am very excited about the music in Book III.
"It is early morning, quiet and peaceful."
- MyGameCompany
- Officer [Platinum Rank]
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- Location: Michigan
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
I would most definitely buy this! I love the music. I've got Book 1's music on my iPod, and listen to it all the time. I would love to add all the rest of the music I can from the other games.BasiliskWrangler wrote:When Book 3 is finished, we've been talking about releasing an "Eschalon Soundtrack" collection featuring all the music we own or have full rights to, from all three games. This album would be in mp3 format and as high of quality as we can produce from the originals, and we'd probably charge a very small fee for the collection to help with bandwidth and as a contribution towards our next game.
Troy
Former indie game developer
Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
Former indie game developer
Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
Re: Eschalon: Book II music themes
You are absolutely right, a complete soundtrack of all three parts of the Eschalon Books would be great!
I am nearly done with my "play all Eschalon Books as a mage for once" challenge (not a real challenge, though ) and the music played at Grimmhold made me think again of this topic.
So maybe a poll could be launched to determine how many people are interested in buying a soundtrack in order to minimize the risk of producing/compiling it in vain? I personally would never think that a soundtrack could be a waste of time, but I understand that one has to take a economic point of view as well, so maybe a poll could help in finding out if a soundtrack compilation would pay off
I am nearly done with my "play all Eschalon Books as a mage for once" challenge (not a real challenge, though ) and the music played at Grimmhold made me think again of this topic.
So maybe a poll could be launched to determine how many people are interested in buying a soundtrack in order to minimize the risk of producing/compiling it in vain? I personally would never think that a soundtrack could be a waste of time, but I understand that one has to take a economic point of view as well, so maybe a poll could help in finding out if a soundtrack compilation would pay off
"It is early morning, quiet and peaceful."