delicieuxz: Blizzard don't need to allow the DOS version of Warcraft II to be uploaded to GoG. They simply need to allow GoG to replace the cut-down Battle.net soundtrack files with the full-length soundtrack files. I don't have the GoG Bnet version because I already have the full-content version and still have my original War 2 boxes and CDs, but I expect the sound files are loose and that it's an easy swap job and that all they need is the OK from Blizzard to fix the GoG and Bnet version.
jakeximus: If you had checked an earlier thread about this topic, you would've found the work has actually already been done to restore the original redbook audio to battle.net edition on this thread:
https://www.gog.com/forum/warcraft_ii_battlenet_edition/original_redbook_audio_restored_junk_removed Last time I checked, August 2019, the date of that thread, is not earlier than March 2019, the date this thread was made. So, this thread is actually the earlier one, by about 5 months.
Thanks for pointing out the thread, though. It's cool that somebody has created a mod to fix the missing music issue in the GoG release of Warcraft II, but it should be fixed in the actual release.
Personally, I'll wait for the GoG release to be fixed before buying it. I already have Warcraft II on my PC with the full and higher-quality music and everything else in it. If I buy it from GoG, which I want to do, it will be to have the full quality package added to my collection and ready to play whenever it's installed. If I have to mod it after installing it anyway, then there's no advantage over my copy of Warcraft II which is ever simpler to use because the work is already done on it and I have it archived so it's just extract and play.
As soon as GoG fix their release of the game, I'll happily buy it.
QWEEDDYZ: delicieuxz
nothing to fixed. .cda on DataCD is not a actual lossless anyway.
I didn't say anything about lossless. The Battle.net version of Warcraft II is missing a significant amount of the original game's music because it was cut-out of the B.net re-release in order to fit the base game plus the expansion onto a single CD (Blizzard was too cheap to ship the re-release on 2 CDs).
With the GoG release, despite there being no CD storage-size limitation, the audio tracks included are the B.net versions which are edited to remove a lot of the music. The edits made to the B.net release's music are also done poorly and clearly not by somebody with audio editing familiarity because the cuts are not made at the zero crossing of the audio transients, resulting in audible pops and clicks in places.
So, there is something to be fixed.
Also, regarding the difference in quality between 22khz and 44khz, there is definitely an audible difference in quality between those. If the B.net version uses 22khz compared to the original using 44khz, then that's another thing about its music and sound effects that needs fixing.
So, there are two things to be fixed about the GoG Warcraft II release's music. The sound effects should be looked at as well to see if they suffer from the same degradation of quality. And also the CGI movies and the audiotracks for them - since somebody else claimed they were also of inferior quality in the B.net re-release of Warcraft II. It seems that Blizzard made a lot of shoddy cuts to the quality of the game in order to save the cost of a 2nd CD in the B.net re-release. This just goes to show that the B.net edition, while being the first version many or maybe even most people played, is an inferior product and a poor choice to use as the basis for a remaster.