Best original music replacement mod?

[Skaffi]

Hey all!

I've found three working music mods on the workshop:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=834748921
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=443379645
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=541774536

I was wondering if any of you had any experience with one or more of them, and what you think of them. If you've used one, how did you feel it captured the spirit of the original? If you've tried more than one, how do you feel they compare against one another?

Thanks!

[RageMaker]

Mine uses purely HL1 soundtrack, but since BM uses different sound cues, I try to adapt the ones to fit the situation.

[Skaffi]

Hey, thanks for replying!

I understand the issue that creates.
One of the other soundtrack mod authors listed the tracks they use at which chapters. Would it be possible for you to do the same, so I can compare?

Also, are the tracks you use completely unedited?

[RageMaker]

I might do so when I do another play through, but I've been planning on doing an entirely different soundtrack mod that would require editing the sound cues. However, I have been waiting for the game to exit Early Access before I start since the maps are bound to change.

As for your second question, that depends on your definition of edit. For instance, the track that plays when gordon wakes up in UC has been looped to be like it is in HL, where the track itself is discrete. There are a couple of additional tracks that I put in place to replace their BMS equivalents that don't exist in the original half life, such as the battle in QE (replaced with another HL track). Hope that answers your question.

[Skaffi]

All right, I'd appreciate that. If you could reply to this thread when or if you make that list, I'd be a happy camper. :)

I very much understand. Since sound cues are tied to maps, it'd be a pain in the ass to maintain, while they're still updating those maps.
Regarding that - have you tried contacting the Crowbar Collective, asking if they could put in "empty" sound cues, so to speak? Cues placed where music would normally play in HL1, so that it'd be easy for modders such as yourself to make an accurate HL1 sountrack mod. I imagine it's a simple matter to place the sound cues in a map, whereas it'd be a tedious task for a modder to do every single time an update is released.

Ah yes, I see. But no tracks that have been shortened or remixed, then?

"There are a couple of additional tracks that I put in place to replace their BMS equivalents that don't exist in the original half life, such as the battle in QE (replaced with another HL track). Hope that answers your question."

By additional tracks, you just mean tracks that'd normally play elsewhere in HL1, which you've also set to play at those new locations where BM adds music of its own, correct?

EDIT: Lastly, can your mod be used even if installed partway through a playthrough? And, is there a way to permanently make it work, without having to type in snd_restart into console every time I launch the game? I've tried adding snd_restart both to my autoexec.cfg and as a launch parameter, to no avail.

[RageMaker]

Originally posted by Skaffè Latte:

I very much understand. Since sound cues are tied to maps, it'd be a pain in the ass to maintain, while they're still updating those maps.
Regarding that - have you tried contacting the Crowbar Collective, asking if they could put in "empty" sound cues, so to speak? Cues placed where music would normally play in HL1, so that it'd be easy for modders such as yourself to make an accurate HL1 sountrack mod. I imagine it's a simple matter to place the sound cues in a map, whereas it'd be a tedious task for a modder to do every single time an update is released.

Doubt they'd do such a thing, it's not on their agenda and frankly I wouldn't blame them. Yeah it's a pain for modders to take care of, but then again that's the pain we all go through

Originally posted by Skaffè Latte:

Ah yes, I see. But no tracks that have been shortened or remixed, then?

"There are a couple of additional tracks that I put in place to replace their BMS equivalents that don't exist in the original half life, such as the battle in QE (replaced with another HL track). Hope that answers your question."

By additional tracks, you just mean tracks that'd normally play elsewhere in HL1, which you've also set to play at those new locations where BM adds music of its own, correct?

Nope, I didn't remix any or shorten any as far as I remember. It's been a year since i've played all the way through, though, but I think the ones that were where they were in HL1 are as they should be.

Yes, for instance I duplicated the track from the WGH battle to play in the QE battle, abliet a shorter version to fit the timeframe it generally takes to do that battle.

[Skaffi]

Well, might as well ask them, right? They'd be going above and beyond, but, to be honest, it'd be a really simple task, I imagine. And once the cues are added, they should stay if they update maps further, barring if they scrap a map complete and recreate it from scratch.

That's great to hear!
I think I might switch. I went with the Nostalgia one, which is a similar mod, since it had the highest ratings and the most downloads. I noticed that they put a HL2 track in there too (Nova Prospekt), and even though it's only a single track, it does demonstrate some unfaithfulness to the source material. On top of that, I checked out some of their other audio replacement mods, and they seems to be prone to remixing or remastering the audio. I'm not sure if they did that for their music mod as well, but again, I wouldn't rule it out.

Yeah, that makes sense. Without the proper sound cues, a modder will have to use some creativity, eh. Which battle is WHG?

So, can I change to your mod midway through a playthrough without issue? If not, then I'll wait with getting your mod till my next playthrough.
Also, do you know if there's a way to permanently make a music mod like yours work, without having to type "snd_restart" into console every single time? Like I said, adding it to my autoexec.cfg or as a command line parameter didn't work.

[RageMaker]

Oh it should work just fine with a regular playthrough, but yeah snd_restart is the word of the day, dunno what else but that for now.

[Skaffi]

Right, thanks! :)
And it'd work even if I switch to your mod, even halfway through a playthrough? It won't bork up the music?

[RageMaker]

Originally posted by Skaffè Latte:

Right, thanks! :)
And it'd work even if I switch to your mod, even halfway through a playthrough? It won't bork up the music?

That's what I said

[Skaffi]

Sorry, I wasn't quite sure if that's what you meant. Thanks. :)