Do you know how to convert .snd files?

[thebigdb]

Hey guys…

I have another question for ya. I’ve gotten stuck on this… & I am just throwing this out there because whenever I have had a problem with something, someone on here has been a great help. So I am hoping that someone out there could solve the riddle.

For the last couple years, I have been working on making a bunch of lightsabers. There has been a lot happening in my life the last handful of years, & starting a couple years ago… I started making lightsabers as a form of relaxation. I initially started doing it because I made 1 as a gift for 1 of my best friends nieces who just came down with leukemia, & it was just a ‘get well’ gift for her. But I continued making them because just widdiling away at things was very calming for me.

But right now 1 of the problems that I am running into is making sound fonts for a couple sabers that I want to build. I am going old school here, & want to make a few hilts from either Dark Forces 2 –Jedi Knight, or The Mysteries of the Sith. Making the hilts aren’t going to be the hard part, but the sound fonts are going to be a different story.

What I want to do is use the sound files directly out of the game. Which makes sense to me. If it’s ‘X’ person’s lightsaber… why would I use a generic sound font that isn’t for that saber… or that game?

When JK or MOTS 1st out… I was heavily involved in making new skins, levels, & all sorts of stuff. But after 15 years, the same editors that I once used won’t work right on a newer operating system just because of the fact that they are too old.

That being said… I still know where the files are located… & can rip them from the source directory. The problem that I am having is being able to convert them to a different file format that the lightsaber soundcards (I am throwing all of them in the same boat here) see & take. Both JK & MOTS had their sound files condensed in the .snd file format.

I can extract, pull out, & save the sound files that I want onto my hard drive… but I can’t switch them over to a different file format. I have several editors that sees that file extension… but it will not decompile it to a different file type.

Anybody have any experience with this?

I only ask because of the fact that I have already taken a look, & haven’t found anything online. I did find a couple JK/MOTS editing sites that are still up & running, but there isn’t discussion or any how to’s of what to do with sound file conversion. People have asked… but there are no replies on the threads. I tried solving this on my own before asking for any help here. I am just asking if there is anybody out there that has more experience with this, & could help me out.

Thanks again guys!

[Sethski]

I'm not knowledgable on this, but was looking out of curiosity and reading this - Akai MPC Forums - Converting .SND files to .WAV on a pc? : Studio Set Up & Gear - don't know if it's any help or if you've already looked it over, but seemed worth sharing as there're a few suggestions...

[JANGO FETT]

Goldwave will convert the files.

[Darth Xusia]

If I remember correctly,  snd files are just wav files.
You should just be able to open them in Goldwave and
use the "Save As..." function to  convert them to wav files.

[erv]

I can't tell for sure but I think certain games at that time were just using regular files with fake extension. I think I extracted myself some of those sound but I don't remember if I had to convert.

I would first have a look with any HEX editor such as winhex or HXD to check the header and see what format it could be. It could be raw as well.
From there, goldwave and audacity are the software to use for conversion, if conversion is required.

[thebigdb]

Hey guys…

Again… thanks for the help. See I never even heard of Goldwave… but I will check it out & see if it does the job. I am a graphics guy… so I don’t have that much sound editing experience just because that isn’t what I do. I will do some homework & see if this does the job. I will play with this over the next few days seeing if this does the trick.

If I remember correctly (I might be wrong), .snd files were nothing  more than compressed .wav files. I can’t do this in Win 7 anymore, but I remember back in the day that I could take the .gob files in JK (.goo in MOTS)… rename them as a zip… & just decompile the files as a zip. That won’t work in Win 7 anymore. But not a huge problem because programs like Dragon Unpacker sees the file extension, & rips everything for me. But I think with certain parts of the game, I just think that it was just a compression of a compression of another file. It’s just a question of having the right program to see it though.

It’s just that it is such an old file type, I just want to make sure that there would be a program that would do the job. If I am right & a .snd file is a compressed file, it’s no biggie if it’s a file format that it is uncompressed from is the wrong format that most sabers used because I can always convert those files to the right file format.

But thanks again for the help guys… & I’ll leave an update on this post when I have a chance to play with things. I don’t know if anybody else has had this problem on here, but if I asked… someone else might want to know as well.

But thanks again… & I’ll update you as what I find out!

[erv]

far cry also had that renamed zip extension. The hex editor will reveal what it is by just looking at the header. As for your issue, it's not related to win7, but to your compression software. I still use winzip and things work just like they have always worked. You can also always decide which program should open a file by right clicking on it.

[thebigdb]

Well I having problems getting the files to work. I spoke to Microsoft’s tech department to make sure that I don’t have a wrong setup /corrupt files… & they said that everything is fine on my computer. I had a problem getting the .snd files out of the main resource file… but I was able to rip them using Dragon Unpacker (kind of a neat little program), but it seems like I can’t get the files to play.

I know that .snd files are an old Mac/Apple format. Which makes sense because of the fact that I know that LucasArts were big fans of Apple, & that 1 would assume that they would Mac programs to compile & make some of this stuff.

I did some reading, & basically what a .snd file is nothing more than a compressed wav or raw file. It can be 1 of the 2 depending on whoever made the file. So the compression should be interchange.

But when I try to play the .snd file just to hear the sound file, the only thing that I get is a ‘pop’ or a ‘click’ when it plays. At 1st Goldwave & a few programs had a problems even seeing the files… but now they see them… but they won’t ‘play’ them.

Are my .snd rips corrupt, or is something else going on? When I used to make mods for this game, I didn’t play with the sound aspect of the game that much, but I didn’t have a problem playing with them. Now I am. I have a CD copy of the game (not a digital download), & the disks look exactly the same as the 1st release of the game. After the game had been out for a few years, they changed the packaging. But I believe the contents were the same. Is it a possibility that they changed some of the files with a new release? Some game developers do that… so I am wondering what the heck is going on here.

Any idea?

[erv]

use audacity to open a raw file, and or use an HEX editor to have a look to what's in the file, should give you a hint.
You can also email me one sound file if you want me to have a look

[thebigdb]

use audacity to open a raw file, and or use an HEX editor to have a look to what's in the file, should give you a hint.
You can also email me one sound file if you want me to have a look

Hey Erv…

I will be emailing you something in a second. I got a little sidetrack with family. I will send you 1 or 2 .snd files to your email in a moment. I have a feeling that the files are fine… it’s just that something isn’t setup right on my end. The same program that I used to extract them is the same program that I have used to rip some 3d objects, & was able to open something up in 1 of the few CAD programs that I have. So I have a feeling that it’s an configuration issue.

But talk to you soon,

DB

[erv]

I received your email and files. Those are text files. They contain the mapping table between the sound effect and the associated wav file to play but aren't the sound files themselves. Hex editor revealed it was ASCII. Size was a hint too.

... those aren't the files you are looking for  :-\

[thebigdb]

I received your email and files. Those are text files. They contain the mapping table between the sound effect and the associated wav file to play but aren't the sound files themselves. Hex editor revealed it was ASCII. Size was a hint too.

... those aren't the files you are looking for  :-\

Say what? :)):)):)) I will play with what I got & see what I ‘screwed’ up on. Thanks for helping me out on this.

[thebigdb]

Okay… I spent an hour looking at the contents stored on the hard drive & the game disks, & the reason why I couldn’t find anything is because of the fact that everywhere that I went to for online advice, was off. That’s why I couldn’t find some of the files that I was looking for. The wave files weren’t even in the right resource directory. That’s why I couldn’t find them!

But the 1 thing that I learned tonight was that all the saber swings that all the dualist in the game used were all the same sound fonts. Normally a Sith will have a different sounding ‘hum’ to their blade compared to a Jedi… & every lightsaber wielder in Jedi Knight used the same swings & such. So I learned that.

But I found out where the sound files are, & I can get them to play! Thanks again for the help!