Classic BG1 spell sounds

[Moonboy187]

Hi,

Does Near Infinity contain the original spellcasting chants from classic BG1? Searching through 28k.WAV files might take a bit of time. I am using EET, SCS amongst other mods, although none of them touch (as far as I am aware) soundsets. 

Thank you

[pete_smith1229]

Here's a direct link to the original BG1 dataset in .WAV format:

https://forums.beamdog.com/uploads/FileUpload/5c/d0f368a9e6de39c1ffcdd3e13c1bb7.zip

Courtesy of Akuro:

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/8060/mod-original-casting-sounds

[skellytz]

Please follow the updates on Infinity Sounds v2

We've spent dozens of hours restoring not only the BG1 spell casting voices/chants, but also all other spell sound effects. This wasn't as easy as simply replacing the audio files; all the individual spell files had to be compared and patched accordingly. Additionally, the affected audio files have been manually processed to remove the clipping and clicking noises that had been caused by lossy compression methods (Interplay ACM).

Examples:

Original (compression artifacts, heavy clipping) 

Remastered (clean, no clipping)

I've recently returned to this project and the new release is coming soon.

[pete_smith1229]

1 hour ago, skellytz said:

Please follow the updates on Infinity Sounds v2

We've spent dozens of hours restoring not only the BG1 spell casting voices/chants, but also all other spell sound effects. This wasn't as easy as simply replacing the audio files; all the individual spell files had to be compared and patched accordingly. Additionally, the affected audio files have been manually processed to remove the clipping and clicking noises that had been caused by lossy compression methods (Interplay ACM).

Examples:

Original (compression artifacts, heavy clipping) 

Remastered (clean, no clipping)

I've recently returned to this project and the new release is coming soon.

Amazing! The original BG1 soundsets and music always sounded more authentic and "real" for a fantasy world. Thanks for the mod, really looking forward to it!

[Moonboy187]

Thank you both for the links.

On 4/17/2023 at 9:44 PM, skellytz said:

Please follow the updates on Infinity Sounds v2

We've spent dozens of hours restoring not only the BG1 spell casting voices/chants, but also all other spell sound effects. This wasn't as easy as simply replacing the audio files; all the individual spell files had to be compared and patched accordingly. Additionally, the affected audio files have been manually processed to remove the clipping and clicking noises that had been caused by lossy compression methods (Interplay ACM).

Examples:

Original (compression artifacts, heavy clipping) 

Remastered (clean, no clipping)

I've recently returned to this project and the new release is coming soon.

In regards to the sounds themselves, is it possible to only have certain spells use BG1 sounds, while the vanilla BG2 retains the original BG2 sounds? For example, as I am creating new spells and I want the spellcasting sound to be like BG1, would it be possible to do that?

[skellytz]

On 4/23/2023 at 6:06 AM, Moonboy187 said:

In regards to the sounds themselves, is it possible to only have certain spells use BG1 sounds, while the vanilla BG2 retains the original BG2 sounds?

The spell casting voices (or chants) can't be set for individual spells without game engine hacks. Check out BG2 Improved GUI (for the classic BG2). There is a component which restores BG1 casting voices and a few sound effects only for level 1-5 spells. On the other hand, it lacks the research, consistent spell patches and remastered audio files that we've used in Infinity Sounds to thoroughly restore BG1 sounds.

The spell sound effects (ie spell sounds other than voices/chants) can be customized for each spell with the exception of several hardcoded ones. It isn't easy, though. Changing the spell sound effects requires good understanding of the SPL,  VVC, and PRO file formats; how spell effects work; the differences between on-casting, post-casting, expiration, and projectile sounds; which existing audio files are reserved for which spells; etc. This is very time-consuming and one of the reasons why Infinity Sounds v2 has taken so much time to work on.