Extracting and converting Audio files (2024 Edition)

A guide on how to extract audio files and convert them basically to .wav format.

For a long time I couldn't find a way to convert .stream files to wav format as some of those files are actually wwise vorbis and the old tool couldn't convert them, so you'd have to export them via Ravioli Extractor. I wasn't satisfied about that method and discovered vgmstream add on for foobar200 which made things really easy. With the help of that now we can convert stuff with no issues whatsoever.

Also works on Payday: The Heist

Extracting the files

We'll need DieselBundle viewer to well view and export the files so get it here - DieselBundleViewer [modworkshop.net]

Extract and run it. Once in the tool either Click on File > Open or Ctrl + O to find your PD2 bundle file.


By default the file path should be like this C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\PAYDAY 2\assets\bundle_db.blb


After opening bundle_db, head into the soundbanks folder. There should be a folder named streamed, right click and use Save As to choose an output folder.


Once the exporting process is done you may close the DieselBundle viewer and we can move onto the next step.

Renaming .stream to .wem using Command Prompt

Head over to your Output folder and open streamed. Choose one of the subfolders you wish to convert them to wav. You will need to do this for every single folder unfortunately. Separating all .streams file into one single folder and using his method should work but honestly moving almost 79k files can be a little nightmare and messy.

Once inside of the folder you chose, simply go to the address bar, right click and copy the path.

UPDATE
Instead of using Windows run or searching for cmd in the search bar. Just type cmd where you copied the file path and it will launch Command Prompt there. You have to repeat the process for other folders though. As I don't know if you can mass edit them.

Either use Windows key + R, type in cmd or simple search cmd on Windows search to launch the Command Prompt.



Command Prompt now should appear on your screen. For my case I use a different drive to store my games & Extract the audio files which means I need to change my drive. So I simply type my drive name which is E (might be different if you have multiple drives) So I went ahead and typed in E: and hit enter.
Then enter the following command cd and paste your .stream file path you had copied a while ago.

Again, if you're on the same drive this shouldn't be an issue for you. Ignore the drive changing part and go along with cd [paste file path] step.

It should look like this

For the different drive


Upon entering the last command, now you should see the .stream file's path on the Command Prompt. Now it's time to convert our files to .wem which can be done with a single command line execution. The command for that simply is ren *.stream *.wem
This should now start converting your files to .wem though it might take a while depending on how many files there are in the folder.

Assuming everything went well now go back to your folder and check your .wem files. By default you cannot open these on Windows. Which leads us to our next step foobar200 and vgmstream plugin.

Short clips of the process for better demonstration

For a different drive:

Default:

foobar2000 & vgmstream plugin

Download foobar here [www.foobar2000.org]
and the vgmstream [www.foobar2000.org] add on we need

Download foobar2000 and install it. After installation is done, launch the program.
To install the add on, Hover over File and select Preferences tab.


Now a window called Components should pop up on your screen. Simply click Install option on the bottom right of the window.

This will trigger another pop up screen asking for you to select a foobar component file. Find and select the add on you downloaded.


Selecting the add on file should redirect you back to Components, this time you should see the add on ready to be installed. Click apply and confirm when it asks for a restart. After restarting it the add on should be ready to be used. Now we can get to the juicy part. Converting our .wem files

Converting to .wav

Go back to your Windows folder where the .wems are located. Select all of the files by simply hitting CTRL + A and then drag the files onto foobar. After you see the files on the foobar. Use CTRL + A again to select all files that are on foobar and hit right click > Convert > ... (three dots)


Converter Setup should now appear. There are some things we'll need to change first of all, select Output Format and scroll down until you see WAV. Click on it once to select it. You may change Output bith depth to 24 or 32bit. I personally choose auto. But if you want to get better file quality the option is there. Leave Dither as it is (never)


Going back to Converter Setup, Select Destination. Output Path I keep it as source folder but if you'd like to you can use Specify folder option to set a different export folder.


As for name format I type this in %title% so it wouldn't add any unnecessary things to the file name. If you're happy with the results, we can go back to Converter Setup for our final touches.


Leave Processing and Other tabs untouched.
Now you can save this preset by clicking the Save option for future uses. Assuming you will want to convert all of the .streams files.

Make sure you selected the right preset and hit Convert to start the process. If done correctly, the previously .wem files should appear as .wav now.

Short video guide

The Results

And that's it. You can use any supported media player to listen to the audio files now. I do hope this guide helps people who have no idea where to start to & prevent them from getting lost in the countless forum posts about how to convert the files. Have a good one as I leave you with the preview of the converted .wavs.

[Captain Hydrodus]

Could someone provide a similar guide for PD3? this is quite handy info

[Alex]

Well then how does the game know then?

[anal amy]

Unfortunately no. Unless you get the Wwise project file from the devs, it's currently impossible to get file IDs. Which is painful.

[Alex]

Is there any way to reverse the names of the .wem files? AT ALL? GTFO is the only game with Wwise that I've extracted, that has some kind of reference list (.xml and/or .txt) that explains the name of each sound with its associated ID. So you look at, say, "2866840356.wem" and when you look at "2866840356" in the .xml file you'll see the name of the sound it'll be.

EVERY other game I've tried with Wwise doesn't have anything like this. So my question is, where does the game get the sound names from, if there's no reference list? Is there no other way whatsoever to reverse the IDs?

[Smokey Man]

Extremely useful guide, and it worked like a charm