Posted August 21, 2019
high rated
Hello everyone, I thought I'd share something to the community that I created. I submitted this to GOG, but they were unable to use it, probably due to legal reasons.
A few years ago, I heard someone complain on a forum that Warcraft II: Battle Net Edition (BNE) was a disappointment to them because the music found on the original Warcraft II CD's redbook audio was a higher quality. So I cracked open the Warcraft II BNE files and sure enough, he was right, the music on BNE was 22Khz while the orignal redbook audio was 44khz.
So I ripped a lossless copy of the original Warcraft II redbook audio and replaced the BNE music with it. While in the file, I removed some unnecessary installer files (we don't need them since the game is already unpacked by GOG.com) and some video trailers for Warcraft III and Diablo II that was only view-able from autorun on the CD version.
So, thanks to this modification, we have the original redbook audio CD quality and it's set to not use a lossy compression within the MPQ file, either!
Here is a link to the mod: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AoBfLI-_usk2Ul9cDRQDE_MlDk4tcFTT/view?usp=sharing
Make a backup copy of your Install.MPQ file located in the root of your Warcraft 2 BNE directory, which is located here by default: here: C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Warcraft II BNE. Now copy my new Install.mpq file in to that location.
This modification also works with War2 Combat or if you had cracked your original copy of Warcraft II BNE. Just rename my file to Install.exe and move to your War 2 BNE directory.
I Hope others find this useful! I've seen others in the forums request the old DOS music, so I'm going to try and get a copy of the old music and put that into this Install.mpq file for others to enjoy.
1/19/2020 update:
After learning from ilwar2 that audio files in the MPQ get stored in a lossy format, I have updated my MPQ to no longer store the music in a lossy compression format, so the music is now truly restored in its 44khz, lossless, uncut glory! I have updated my download link to this new MPQ.
8/4/2021 update:
As requested, I have made the changes for the German version. Its MPQ can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YK8JaX7ZoyJFFCx9PaYlL-raj-DqU9OP/view?usp=sharing
A few years ago, I heard someone complain on a forum that Warcraft II: Battle Net Edition (BNE) was a disappointment to them because the music found on the original Warcraft II CD's redbook audio was a higher quality. So I cracked open the Warcraft II BNE files and sure enough, he was right, the music on BNE was 22Khz while the orignal redbook audio was 44khz.
So I ripped a lossless copy of the original Warcraft II redbook audio and replaced the BNE music with it. While in the file, I removed some unnecessary installer files (we don't need them since the game is already unpacked by GOG.com) and some video trailers for Warcraft III and Diablo II that was only view-able from autorun on the CD version.
So, thanks to this modification, we have the original redbook audio CD quality and it's set to not use a lossy compression within the MPQ file, either!
Here is a link to the mod: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AoBfLI-_usk2Ul9cDRQDE_MlDk4tcFTT/view?usp=sharing
This modification also works with War2 Combat or if you had cracked your original copy of Warcraft II BNE. Just rename my file to Install.exe and move to your War 2 BNE directory.
I Hope others find this useful! I've seen others in the forums request the old DOS music, so I'm going to try and get a copy of the old music and put that into this Install.mpq file for others to enjoy.
1/19/2020 update:
After learning from ilwar2 that audio files in the MPQ get stored in a lossy format, I have updated my MPQ to no longer store the music in a lossy compression format, so the music is now truly restored in its 44khz, lossless, uncut glory! I have updated my download link to this new MPQ.
8/4/2021 update:
As requested, I have made the changes for the German version. Its MPQ can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YK8JaX7ZoyJFFCx9PaYlL-raj-DqU9OP/view?usp=sharing
Post edited August 05, 2021 by jakeximus