Rate the M2TW Music

[frogbeastegg]

Could someone give a frog an idiot level guide to using Audacity? I am able to get the big music file playing, and to highlight the section I want and copy it. It won't let me paste it anywhere, in a new window or otherwise. Nor will it let me advance through the hours long track at anything except standard playing speed. Audacity's help file is useless.

[Shahed]

Could someone give a frog an idiot level guide to using Audacity? I am able to get the big music file playing, and to highlight the section I want and copy it. It won't let me paste it anywhere, in a new window or otherwise. Nor will it let me advance through the hours long track at anything except standard playing speed. Audacity's help file is useless.

Greetings Froggy

There are a few ways of doing this. I'll post what I think is the simplest:

Extracting Audio to WAV
1. Open Audacity.
2. File -> Open /M2:TW/data/sounds/music.dat
3. Select any part of the file.
4. File -> Export Selection as WAV
5. Name the file -> save

Now you can play this in any standard media player.

Zoom In
You can zoom in using the zoom in button on the top toolbar towards the right. Mouse over and it says "zoom in", little magnifying glass with a plus sign. It's just below the microphone level bar. You can now advance the track easier as you can zoom to any time level you like. When zoomed in you can easily see the start and end of any song.

Playback Speed
To make it advance faster, I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that one, yet. When I do I'll post it for you, or if anyone knows, post up please. There is a way I know but this is not what you meant, or are looking for.

1. Highlight Selection
2. Effect -> Change Speed

Converting directly to MP3
Another option is to download and install the LAME dll, then you can export to .mp3 (File -> export selection as MP3) directly from Audacity.

Does that help ?
If you have any further questions -> weapons free. I'll try to help.

Salute !

PEOPLE !!! I need the lyrics for the track at 1:15 to 2:25. Can someone pleae tell me where I can find them ? It is the "Euro defeat" song, with the incredible symphonic. Alternatively if someone knows the lyrics could you type them out please ? The ideal is, of course, a link to the lyrics for the whole album.

Many thanks in advance.

[Bongaroo]

Good music but just like any video game it gets played out and tired. i run winamp with my music and mute the game music usually.

[Furious Mental]

The music in Total War games has always been excellent. Probably the only aspect of the game which no one complains about. But my favourite track is and always will be one of the marching tracks from Shogun.

YooooOOOOoooooooooo
YoooooOOOooooooOOOOOO
Yo ho ho yo ho
Yo ho ho yo ho

And so on. I always wondered what the hell that guy was doing anyway.

[Garnier]

I dont like M2 music. Its not dramatic, its boring.. Doesnt feel very medieval to me either.

I listen to MTW1 music all the time while playing M2.

[Shahed]

I really enjoy listening to the soundtrack from Curse of the Golden Flower (requires Quicktime) as well.
It's a great movie and the soundtrack is brilliant, very dramatic, heroic, potent. It is subtle though and not all tracks are combat tracks.

[frogbeastegg]

Extracting Audio to WAV
1. Open Audacity.
2. File -> Open /M2:TW/data/sounds/music.dat
3. Select any part of the file.
4. File -> Export Selection as WAV
5. Name the file -> save

It won't let me export the selection; the option is greyed out for every format.

[Shahed]

It won't let me export the selection; the option is greyed out for every format.

I'm not sure what the reason for this is.

I've tried with my program and attempted to reproduce a scenario in which I will not be given the option to export, but it's not happening. I can export at any time. I would like to elaborate on step 3. You hold left click down and mouse over a portion of the file.

I've uploaded a screenshot.
Can you please have a look and see if you spot any differences from your screen (note the grey selection on the music track):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

By the way are my spolier tags working ?

[Shahed]

I think I've got it Froggy.

Your export option is greyed out because the file is in play or pause mode. It has to be in stop mode in order to export. Hit your stop button (yellow square), then try export as wav.

Hope that helps.

[edyzmedieval]

The Collectors Edition has the soundtrack CD inside.

I find the M2TW music repetitive. It's fairly good, but still MTW and STW music was by FAR the best music.

[Marius Dynamite]

By M2TW music do you mean the music when on campaign map, battle map, menu screen or just every piece of music?

Personally I don't like them and find them repetitive. I prefer turning the sound down and playing some other songs on media player in the background. I never knew so many people loved them though, so I'll listen again.

[Gorm]

And those tracks aren't even named. They're just "track 1", track 2" etc.

I love the music in M2TW just as I did MTW and Rome.

I used iTunes to import the music files from the bonus CD and it named each track based on the online CD database.

[Betito]

My rating's something like this

1. MTW1
2. MTW2
3. RTW

I can't give an opinion for STW as i never played it.. i guess it was on par with MTW1, but i don't know for sure


For me, nothing beats VI and Arab Battle music from MTW1 (Hell, i even have arab battle 3 as ringtone)

[Shahed]

Yeah I loved that too. I've still got them.

[Malcolm Big Head]

So hard not to vote GAH.
I like it. Best so far.

[il-principe]

Compared to RTW or especially RTW: BI the music is abysmal. Definitely the greatest of MTW2

[frogbeastegg]

I think I've got it Froggy.

Your export option is greyed out because the file is in play or pause mode. It has to be in stop mode in order to export. Hit your stop button (yellow square), then try export as wav.

Hope that helps.

Ah ha! Spot on. Quite counter-intuitive, that. Thanks.

[Martok]

I would have to rate the game soundtracks as follows:

1.) Shogun
2.) Rome
3.) MTW
4.) Medieval 2

For me, Shogun's music simply can't be beat. It's the most evocative and adds an tremendous amount of atmosphere and immersiveness, regardless of whether you're talking about the battle music or the campaign music.

I find Rome's soundtrack to be uniformly excellent all around. In fact, it's the only TW title for which I really wish I had the soundtrack on CD. (I know CA used to have Rome's soundtrack available for purchase at one point. I wonder if it still does?) It just really captures that "epic" feel.

The music in MTW is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I either really like it or really *don't* like it, depending on which track you're talking about. The Muslim and Viking music rocks hardcore, but I only really enjoy about 50% of the European music. The rest of it is okay, but nothing special; the Europeans' campaign music in particular I find to be rather mediocre. Still, MTW's music is overall very solid, especially in terms of adding atmosphere & immersion.

The music in Medieval 2 is good -- not great, but good. To echo what a couple others here have said, the sountrack feels a little....overdone. I agree with Sir Robin's view that the music in MTW being "edgier", whereas M2TW's soundtrack almost feels too "smooth" in a way. It still *sounds* medieval-ish, but it doesn't quite grip me the way the music in the first three titles do.


Of course to be fair, my saying that the music in M2 is the "worst" out of the series would somewhat akin to claiming that a Ford Mustang was worse than a Viper, Corvette, & Porsche. Jeff Van Dyke is still clearly very good at what he does, and I hope he continues to do the music for the TW series for many years to come.

[Shahed]

Martok I like the STW music also. May need to dig up the CD and try to install it. Actually I like all the TW music, RTW as well.

Froggy, happy to be of assistance.

[Fußball]

I very much enjoy the M2TW music. I occasionally listen to the soundtrack I have from time to time to get more into the feel of the game. I also enjoy the STW soundtrack a lot. The intense drumbeat song mixed with the vocals when your troops began marching is very inspiring.

Tschüß!
Erich

[Tamur]

For me, Shogun's music simply can't be beat. It's the most evocative and adds an tremendous amount of atmosphere and immersiveness, regardless of whether you're talking about the battle music or the campaign music.

Very well said, I'll just say, "Entirely agreed."

And reading this made me realise, even if the game doesn't run anymore I can still get the STW music off the disks (without an extractor even). Huzzah!

[Czar Alexsandr]

I'm not certain if Russia has it's own unique music. (and no just Russia really but eastren europe and the Danes.) Have unique music. I think they do but I can't be certain.

Anyways I love the music, France, England, Germany, the Mediteranian nations, Islamic factions, and Eastren europe factions have excellent music!

I like it it adds depth. I love the losing music to.. lol. Russia hears it alot for me against thosse dreadfull Mongols. It makes thosse last stands more memorable to. I can still remember everything about when Mikhail died defending Iasi.. or Issac in my Byzantines campaign that died traveling with the cavalry that never met up with the main army. I almost always have a Islamic faction campaign going to cause I find the music strangely relaxing. Every faction has music that just fits them. France seems more french with it. Makes me go and fight for French glory. lol. I just like it. Excellent soundtrack, like you'd expect from a TW game.

[pike master]

only music i ve heard so far didnt sound to good to me.

[Grande Orso]

The background music in the campaign map is good, but I wish there would be more variety during battles.

[LordKhaine]

Seems that much like the gameplay itself.. people still can't make up their mind which has the best music!

But anyway.. I've really liked all the music in the games. I thought MTW had great music generally, though it was really the Islamic and Viking Invasion music that stood out. RTW was good too, though perhaps a bit more hit and miss than MTW. Some tracks on it were very bleh, but I others (such as the eastern track mentioned above) were very beautiful and moving. And in general the RTW atmospheric tracks were perfect. MTW was a very smooth soundtrack, with a few stand out tracks as well. All good stuff!

But when all is said and done, I'd have to go with Shogun for best music. Perhaps it's because the themes of Rome and Medieval Europe are fairly familiar to me, while Japan was something of a mystery. And the music set the scene of that mystery so well.

[Tora]

But my favourite track is and always will be one of the marching tracks from Shogun.

YooooOOOOoooooooooo
YoooooOOOooooooOOOOOO
Yo ho ho yo ho
Yo ho ho yo ho

And so on. I always wondered what the hell that guy was doing anyway.

Is that the same track as

Chop pop pop chop pop
Chop pop pop chop pop?

Shogun has the most atmospheric battle music as well as one of the best campaign tracks, Summer (barking dog, heron(?) calling, flute etc).

MTW: Arab campaign music(female vocals)

VI: Vikings marching music.

I particularly dislike the music in the latter stages of a MTW2 battle - cheesy, reedy organ and droning male choir etc - which, combined with the commentator's irrelevant histrionics is a good enough reason to have no sound at all.

[Fußball]

Agreed wholeheartedly, Shogun's musical score is very immersive. The end theme credits track ( which is also one of the the battle march tracks ) is my most favorite. And then the more electronic traditional mix during the end of the campaign victory movie...breathtaking. I am starting to miss STW again, it is unfortunate I am not able to play it.

Tschüß!
Erich