Sorry to repeat myself, but the method provided here to mod taunts doesn’t work reliably.
I’ve placed .wem files (PCM) created from .wav files that have been converted from .mp3s from HD in:
\mods\local\Classic German Taunts\resources\de\sound\taunt
Hi, i made the Aussie Banter Taunts mod’s and me and IrLOLrofl are IRL friends. I have had virtually no issue after we worked out PCM was the required format for the wems. I’m assuming that its got something to do with the language, if your seeing /321 id say it hasnt loaded correctly. We determined that PCM was the required format as placing them in that directory was still issuing the taunt in the lobby but not actually playing any sound (completely silent), after adding different settings we worked out that it was possible. I think there might be an issue where the modding paths aren’t using the selected/preferred language to override the taunts, Maybe the taunts currently only work in /en/ path? I wonder if you add it to the /en/ path instead of /de/ would it correctly load and issue the taunt or at the very least show 321 instead of /321? If so that would infact be a bug with mod loader.
I also started working on a tool to convert Mp3’s and Wav’s on the fly instead of having to install and use wwise and export them using a convoluted method, i’ve had some success converting some .wems but it needs to be smarter and interpret bit rates and how to write wem’s because they sound a bit deepfried at the moment. Ill work on it later today but not sure about when it will be ready.
Hey @Someonepicoon, @IrLOLrofl question for you both, what about updating a mod. I have some files in my Ultimate taunt pack that really need to be louder, I want to go back in and up their volume and re-upload. Assuming that I’d need to make a minor file name change so that the game files recognise it’s a new file? What about adding new taunts in and general rearrangement, do users get automatic updates?
I just tested this and I got mods to play from the /de/ folder. I also got that exclamation mark in the mods folder and my custom taunts wouldn’t play. I believe it appears when you put another languages taunts into your mods folder, as I had to delete all my /en/ taunts to get taunts to play from the /de/ folder after I changed my games language to German.
If you could, please delete all /en/ taunts from your mods folder, and only place taunts in the /de/ folder and it should work.
Also make sure the mods are going in
C:\Users\USERACC\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\YOURPROFILE\mods\local\MODNAME\resources\de\sound\taunt
And not your games install directory. Just double checking, sorry if you already have the right directory.
folder language = launch language = option language : costum taunts would play
folder = launch != option : option language taunts
folder = option != launch : option language taunts and you would see mod with " ! " in mod manager
folder != option != launch : option language taunts and mod with " ! "
I’v managed to update the sounds in the mod easily, for some reason its harder to update the accompanying information - such as description, picture and change log. I kept getting errors, tried multiple picture formats etc. the change log ended up updating about 10 times, but withuot updating the picture
Hi, unfortunately the 3 released hot-fixes did not include the fix to Vorbis or to the localized taunts issue (that is why we did not specify when it would be).
The next update, however, should include this as well as considerably improving the audio modding system in general. Thank you for your patience.
For anyone who has the problem that the taunts don’t work, here is a solution i figured out.
Note: This works only for taunts that doesn’t replace the main taunts.
1.Find a taunt pack that already works (i dont know how to do this if you got no working pack).
2.Open both the directory of the working one and the one that doesn’t. (go to directory over the ingame mod menu or manual listed in “user/yourname/Games/Age of Empires 2 DE/number(mine is 76561197998360739)/mods/subscribed/yourtauntpack”.
3. Now you want to copy the one who’s not working to your desktop, in my case from the Gordon ramsay taunt pack the file “500 embarassing_mess.mp3_D435D2E4.wem” and rename it to the working one, that’s in my case from the Aussie Banter taunts the file “106 Yes, of course.wem” or every other one in this pack because all of them worked. Now drag the renamed gordon ramsey taunt in the aussie taunt pack and override it.
4. If you start AoeDE now the game should reset the taunts and the taunt pack that wasn’t working before should now function properly.
Note that i set my game to english and most taunt packs only use the “en” files of the game.
I don’t understand why you don’t just put no encrypted .mp3 as the original game to make the game more moddeable, why choosing the difficulty way? We just want ALL the same mod way to AoE HD, is not that difficult but you did it in the harder way… is incredible.
While it would indeed be nice to have, this is not possible with the audio system that is now in use in AOE 2 DE (WWise does not accept anything other than its own container) and there would need to be a special compatibility framework to convert source files into WEM in runtime (likely with lots of overhead).
While I understand your frustration, there are reasons why WWise was chosen and the legacy sound system replaced, and breaking mods was not an intended outcome. On the contrary, effort was made to pair WWise’s features with the accessibility of audio modding to explicitly allow sound overrides, which I do not think any other WWise-powered game has done (I’d like to see examples, though). The only real drawbacks are the WEM format and the fact that modded sounds do not use the same locations as non-modded ones, so you have to refer to documentation, like the spreadsheet I made.
I’ve been working on a standalone PCM/OPUS WEM converter tool as a side-project, so that you would be able to prepare your files in a single click without having WWise installed, but currently can’t say when that will be released.
Might it be possible someday for AoE devs to simply:
Bring back the old audio taunts for at least 1 thru 42-ish and make it an option we can toggle on in Options?
Completely remove the doorbell sound that occurs when a message is sent and replace it with the classic AoE2 messaging sound, and make it an option we can toggle on in Options?
Reduce the lag that occurs between entering a taunt and hearing that taunt’s audio play? Age II: HD was markedly and noticeably faster in this respect. So, to hear the multi-millisecond lag with each and every taunt and message in Age II: DE is a bit jarring. If the additional lag is caused by language filter-related (even though I’m not signed into XBox Live), then could devs at least just whitelist taunts so they don’t need to run through filtration at all? (I don’t like the lag for any Age II:DE messages, to be honest; as with technological advances, it’s reasonable to think lag would be less in 2020 compared to 2013 and 1999; not increased.)
The lag + doorbellsound + less-than-stellar new taunt voicework really makes me not want to hear any taunts or use them in DE. It was so fun to use them in HD; now it’s nearing nails-on-a-chalkboard status for me with DE.
All of that on top of the fact that a friend and I enjoyed having about 200-300 additional custom audio taunts .MP3s of our choosing in Age II:HD that would probably take an audio engineering degree to bring into DE, and it makes chatting in DE even more boring and annoying, sorry to say.
A big contributing factor of the fun I had when playing with friends (the audio and messaging changes) is essentially being negated. It really is driving down my desire to play Age II:DE.
Are you able to explain why DE is so steadfast against having options to enable old voice taunts and old music soundtrack audio in DE?
TOOL SUGGESTION:
For adding custom/customizing taunts, Microsoft/devs could create a program/tool we could download that is simple to use. It would be a dialogue box that has a left and right panel. On the left, you point to your .MP3s that you want converted to a DE-friendly format. Press a button and it converts them to a DE-friendly audio format which then appear in the right panel to show successful conversion. In the end, you keep your list of .MP3s, but DE-friendly versions are created that you can drag-and drop into your Age II:DE audio folder(s). Problem solved for people who just want simplistic was to add their old custom taunts and new ones over time.
Question.
I have noticed that custom taunts have stopped working/playing. I took a quick look through the game settings and the “Disable Taunts” option was not enabled. I tried with another custom taunts mod as well, but nothing played again.
Is this a bug?
Did the directory change?
Do I have a broken setting somewhere?
Or is this related to the XBOX filtering/censoring tool that now encompasses taunts too?
If you’re playing multiplayer and this is happening, I recommend making sure ‘they’ don’t have the “/taunts” option disabled under the Games tab of Options menu, or the “Disable Taunts” option enabled on the Audio tab of Options menu. For whatever reason, the game mutes your ability to hear their taunts if they have “/taunts” disabled on their game. In your case, maybe it’s also affecting yours that you do, too? Either way, it’s worth double-checking both these settings on your machine and theirs…
Also having issues with editing the mod page and weirdness in the mod manager.