- Joined
- Nov 11, 2019
- Location
- Beja, Portugal
This is simple. If you, like me, didn't like the way the tracks of the "Definitive Soundtrack" were organized, here's a solution.
In my opinion, the official tracklisting is a complete mess, with a completely random order, and with titles that have nothing to do with the use of the song in the game.
To rectify these issues, I created a new tracklisting with the songs ordered chronologically, or at least in a more logical way.
In addition, I added a "description" to the official titles, more suited to the use of the song in the game, to make it easier to recognize each song when listening. Credits to @Peter for many of those descriptions.
You can find a PDF file attached with both tracklistings side by side.
And what do you do with that?
You can use a "tag editor" to easily change the track numbers and, if you want, also change the titles.
The one I use is a freeware called Mp3tag (works with Mp3 and FLAC).
With a few clicks it is possible to reorder and rename everything.
If someone asks, I can make a short tutorial explaining how to do it.
And that's it.
I hope someone finds use in this.
No spoilers here, is just to keep the post short.
In my opinion, the official tracklisting is a complete mess, with a completely random order, and with titles that have nothing to do with the use of the song in the game.
To rectify these issues, I created a new tracklisting with the songs ordered chronologically, or at least in a more logical way.
In addition, I added a "description" to the official titles, more suited to the use of the song in the game, to make it easier to recognize each song when listening. Credits to @Peter for many of those descriptions.
You can find a PDF file attached with both tracklistings side by side.
And what do you do with that?
You can use a "tag editor" to easily change the track numbers and, if you want, also change the titles.
The one I use is a freeware called Mp3tag (works with Mp3 and FLAC).
With a few clicks it is possible to reorder and rename everything.
If someone asks, I can make a short tutorial explaining how to do it.
And that's it.
I hope someone finds use in this.
This post is going to be a long one, so I apologize right now.
Some time ago, when there was still no official soundtrack available, nor hope for one, I decided to create one myself (as I did for the previous games).
As a starting point I used the amazing compilations that @Peter put together and shared in the Dojo's Media page (and YouTube), namely "The Music of Bailu Village" and "The Music of Niaowu". I will be forever grateful for that incredible job, because I would never be able to identify most of the songs without help.
That being said, after listening to those compilations, I knew I could improve them and create a "Complete Soundtrack", without duplicate songs, with better sound quality (because there were better rips out there) and including all the DLC songs.
It took many hours to compare and identify all the songs, but in the end I was very satisfied with the result. I even created a cover art for it.
I thought about sharing that soundtrack here at the Dojo, but it would have some implications, and as I didn't want to be appropriating @Peter 's work, I ended up keeping it to myself.
Some time passed and the official soundtrack was announced and released. Like any fan, I couldn't be happier. Finally we have all the songs with official titles and the best quality possible!
I could finally retire my custom soundtrack!
Or not...
The excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I was finally able to listen to the album. Although the quality is fantastic and the best that those songs have ever sounded... the tracklisting is a complete mess!!!
What do I mean by that? The order of the tracks does not make any sense, it is completely random. And most titles do not make any sense either, considering their use in the game. Not even the separation between both discs make sense, because there are songs from "Niaowu" in the "Bailu" disc, and vice versa.
I listen to lots of game and movie soundtracks, and usually the songs are sorted chronologically, more or less. Listening to the album from beginning to end reminds us of the complete journey. But not with this one, unfortunately.
But it is nothing that cannot be resolved! At least in the digital version.
I picked up my custom soundtrack again, which is already organized chronologically and with all the songs named according to their use in the game, and compared each of the tracks with those of the official soundtrack.
The idea here is to use the official songs from the Definitive Soundtrack (that we bought) and change all the track numbers so that they are ordered in the same way they appear in the game (approximately, at least).
I also intend to add the "use of the song in the game" to the "comments" tag of the music files, or even in the title itself, as it becomes much easier to recognize the songs.
I don't want to discard the official titles all together, just add additional information to the tracks.
But the project is not yet complete and I need your help.
There are several songs that I could not identify. I need to know where they are used, or whether they have been used at all (I have my doubts). After that, we can see where they fit and update de tracklisting accordingly.
I also have several songs that are missing from the Definitive Soundtrack (not so "definitive" after all... ) and can be "added back", but that's another story.
My goal is to publish here the official tracklisting next to the "custom tracklisting", so that anyone interested in ordering the soundtrack chronologically can do so easily.
If there is interest, I can also share those "missing tracks" and suggest where to place them.
What do you guys think of this?
Am I insane and this is just my OCD taking over me, or am I not the only one who thought something was wrong with this soundtrack?
Some time ago, when there was still no official soundtrack available, nor hope for one, I decided to create one myself (as I did for the previous games).
As a starting point I used the amazing compilations that @Peter put together and shared in the Dojo's Media page (and YouTube), namely "The Music of Bailu Village" and "The Music of Niaowu". I will be forever grateful for that incredible job, because I would never be able to identify most of the songs without help.
That being said, after listening to those compilations, I knew I could improve them and create a "Complete Soundtrack", without duplicate songs, with better sound quality (because there were better rips out there) and including all the DLC songs.
It took many hours to compare and identify all the songs, but in the end I was very satisfied with the result. I even created a cover art for it.
I thought about sharing that soundtrack here at the Dojo, but it would have some implications, and as I didn't want to be appropriating @Peter 's work, I ended up keeping it to myself.
Some time passed and the official soundtrack was announced and released. Like any fan, I couldn't be happier. Finally we have all the songs with official titles and the best quality possible!
I could finally retire my custom soundtrack!
Or not...
The excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I was finally able to listen to the album. Although the quality is fantastic and the best that those songs have ever sounded... the tracklisting is a complete mess!!!
What do I mean by that? The order of the tracks does not make any sense, it is completely random. And most titles do not make any sense either, considering their use in the game. Not even the separation between both discs make sense, because there are songs from "Niaowu" in the "Bailu" disc, and vice versa.
I listen to lots of game and movie soundtracks, and usually the songs are sorted chronologically, more or less. Listening to the album from beginning to end reminds us of the complete journey. But not with this one, unfortunately.
But it is nothing that cannot be resolved! At least in the digital version.
I picked up my custom soundtrack again, which is already organized chronologically and with all the songs named according to their use in the game, and compared each of the tracks with those of the official soundtrack.
The idea here is to use the official songs from the Definitive Soundtrack (that we bought) and change all the track numbers so that they are ordered in the same way they appear in the game (approximately, at least).
I also intend to add the "use of the song in the game" to the "comments" tag of the music files, or even in the title itself, as it becomes much easier to recognize the songs.
I don't want to discard the official titles all together, just add additional information to the tracks.
But the project is not yet complete and I need your help.
There are several songs that I could not identify. I need to know where they are used, or whether they have been used at all (I have my doubts). After that, we can see where they fit and update de tracklisting accordingly.
I also have several songs that are missing from the Definitive Soundtrack (not so "definitive" after all... ) and can be "added back", but that's another story.
My goal is to publish here the official tracklisting next to the "custom tracklisting", so that anyone interested in ordering the soundtrack chronologically can do so easily.
If there is interest, I can also share those "missing tracks" and suggest where to place them.
What do you guys think of this?
Am I insane and this is just my OCD taking over me, or am I not the only one who thought something was wrong with this soundtrack?
No spoilers here, is just to keep the post short.
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