Issues Fixing Charts

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  • #390761

    So I’ve been working on fixing several charts for really old customs, and I’ve stumbled across a problem I cannot figure out.

    Firstly, it is important to mention that I am running Rock Band 3 on Wii, where all the folders are separated to be used (as opposed to using a single CON file), making the MIDI file easily accessible .

     

    My procedure includes opening reaper, loading the C3 template that I edited a bit to be specifically for chart fixes, dragging the MIDI into Reaper, and converting the drum chart to pro drums along with making a fair amount of actual chart edits (moving gems around and such). When I’m done, I simply export the MIDI, replace the old MIDI with the new one, and load the custom onto the Wii.

    Now, this process worked for one song already that I tested in game. It is a song that I had already loaded into my game in the past, and simply replacing the MIDI file allowed me to have pro drums charting for it without having to go through Magma. However, I went back into my game a few minutes ago to test a couple of new charts that I fixed up, and I came across two problems.

     

    1: The song length shows up as 0:00. The game loads and everything, but once it enters the gameplay screen, it immediately goes to the scoring screen without even showing a tempo map or playing the song. This problem occurred with two different songs tonight, and I am pretty sure that I have played these songs in the past before I replaced the MIDI file. I took one of these two songs to Magma, and the very bottom of the screen also said “Song Length: 0:00”, which led to me not being able to build the file because “Preview needed to be at least 30 seconds before the end of the song.” Any idea on what the problem could possibly be here? Something through Reaper, I imagine? I have every track muted except drums, bass, guitar, countin, and song audio. Those three instruments show up in Reaper as having a chart, even though guitar and bass both show up in game as being a difficulty of no dots. I wonder if the problem could also be because I made several chart edits, whereas the song that worked for me only had Pro Drums edits.

    2: A third song that I was trying to test tonight would not even load. The game froze on the loading screen when trying to load the song and the system had to be manually shut off in order to reset. I had this problem with another one of my chart fixes in the recent past, and I immediately was able to go into Reaper and fix it. The only problem is that I cannot remember how I did it (and the one that I fixed also had several chart fixes, not just pro drum markers). No idea how to approach this problem, to be honest.

     

    I apologize for all of the explicit and dragged out details. I figured it would just be best to have as much information presented as possible in order to reach a valid solution.

     

     

    tl;dr? The main two questions/issues are bolded.

     

     

    Side question: What does the “backing track” section in Magma refer to? Is that the song that actually plays in game? That is, we need to manually load the song into Magma as opposed to it reading the song from the MIDI file?

    #424969
    Farottone
    Keymaster

      Side question: What does the “backing track” section in Magma refer to? Is that the song that actually plays in game? That is, we need to manually load the song into Magma as opposed to it reading the song from the MIDI file?

       

      The MIDI file is a data file, not an audio file. In Magna, all instruments need a mute track and your song’s audio needs to go to the backing track, unless you have multitracks, in which case all instruments go their respective spot and anything remaining goes to backing.

      #424970

       

      The MIDI file is a data file, not an audio file. In Magna, all instruments need a mute track and your song’s audio needs to go to the backing track, unless you have multitracks, in which case all instruments go their respective spot and anything remaining goes to backing.

       

      So you render your Reaper project twice; once as MIDI and once as .wav? Are there standards for HQ wav export settings?

      #424971
      Farottone
      Keymaster

        So you render your Reaper project twice; once as MIDI and once as .wav? Are there standards for HQ wav export settings?

         

        You don’t render a MIDI, you export it. Also:

         

        http://pksage.com/rbndocs/index.php?title=Main_Page

         

        You need to start from there. If you don’t know the basics (export a MIDI, render your audio, etc.) this isn’t about fixing charts, it’s about not knowing how to operate, and that leads to countless issues. Give the docs a good read, proceeed with your project then come back with the issues you’re encountering.

        #424989

        For Magma, you need the .midi file which was exported, a .wav with your master audio (assuming you are using a .mp3 or something and not STEMs), and access to the Magma provide blank files.

         

        Once you are ready, you need to perform this all in REAPER:

         

        1) .wav file

        The wav file needed for Magma is very specific, and needs to include the “empty” audio before your music started. Assuming you followed the rules, your music should be starting at least 3 measures in; thus, you have blank space at the beginning. What you want to do is click ‘solo’ on the SONG AUDIO. This will make only the music output. From here, hit ctrl+alt+r on your keyboard. This will bring up the render options.

         

        Make sure that Sample Rate = 44100, and that the WAV Bit Depth is either 16 or 24 Bit PCM. Hit render, and you’ll get a .wav file for your music. This is the file you are using in Magma for the Background Track. You can also replace your other music file with this is REAPER to be less confusing.

         

        2) Create the .midi

        Using the track names on the left side, select all of the tracks you wish to export. You NEED to beat, events, and venue tracks, and then any instruments you have finished (leave unfinished or non-altered ones out). After selecting them, go to File -> Export Project MIDI…

         

        Select “Entire Project” and “Selected Tracks Only” (if you have EVERYTHING finished, just use “All Tracks”). Make sure to select “Multitrack MIDI File” and “Embedded Tempo Map”.

         

        After that finishes, locate the .wav and .midi you created as those are needed for Magma.

         

         

        Open up MagmaC3. The first thing you are going to wan to do is check your .midi. Go to GAME DATA, and then drag your .midi onto the MIDI line and then hit TEST. Assuming you pass, you’ll have a new .mid file that you’ll be using for the final part.

         

        The next big thing to remember is in the AUDIO section of Magma. The first thing to do is make sure BACKING is activated, and then locate your .wav file for that. Once targeted correctly, you should now see the Track Length showing up.

         

        Next, you are going to want to use the checkboxes, and only check off the instruments THAT YOU HAVE FINISHED IN THE MIDI EXPORT. This is where it can get tricky. I’m also assuming you are not using STEMs. You need to put blank files here pretty much, but they have to be correct.

         

        Click browse for each instrument, and then navigate to here:

         

        Magma audio

         

        Here you will see a BUNCH of audio files. Use the one that corresponds with your Rendered file.

         

        – Mono or Stereo (Most likely Stereo)

        – 44xxx or 48xxx bitrate (I told you to use 44100 so the 44)

        – nothing or _24 (nothing refers to 16 bit PCM, and _24 for 24 bit PCM

         

        Put on of those audio files for each selected instrument.

         

         

        From here, it’s just a mater of filling out the correct information, and giving difficulty ratings. Once finished, use the BUILD at the bottom to export to the rb3_con file that you need. However, you stated that you are playing on the Wii, and I only know the process for 360.

        #424991
        StackOverflow0x
        Participant

          I didn’t know you were doing this now.

          Are you making new customs, or just adding reductions? If you’re taking the customs of others, it might be best to just make it a new project. Simply drag and drop the midi into Reaper. It will open it just fine. Then make whatever changes and export that.

           

          But yes, learn the procedure a bit more to become more familiar. It sounds similar to when I convert and upload the GHtoRB3 songs. It’s just manual processing and it helps you understand the Magma portion.

          #425060

           

           

          I am pretty sure that you just made my life a million times easier whenever I give Magma another shot. Thank you

          #425061

          Along with reduction errors (easy, medium, and hard all have the same exact chart because the person who made it before me must have just copied and pasted the expert chart into all difficulties, and the CAT Drums Reduction does not seem to do anything when I try to use it), I get the following error:

           

          “Cannot find file: C:Program Files (x86)Customs Creators CollectiveMagma C3 Roks Editiontesttest.rbproj

          MagmaCompiler reported some errors. Please see the log for details on what must be fixed”

           

          And if anybody could give me a heads up on how to get the auto drums reductions and animations working, that would be splendid too (I read the CAT user manual and nothing specific enough was mentioned).

          #425067

          If anybody is interested, I manage to solve both of the problems from the original post. Thanks to DoNotPassGo’s instructions, I realized that what was messing the game up was that I was exporting MIDIs without including the Beats, Venue, and Events track. By going back and adding in these tracks, I was able to get the songs functioning properly (without having to go through Magma, too).

           

          I still would like to know why CAT reductions won’t work for me and how to resolve the Magma file error, however. But I suppose it is not necessarily urgent.

          #425072
          Farottone
          Keymaster

            I still would like to know why CAT reductions won’t work for me and how to resolve the Magma file error, however. But I suppose it is not necessarily urgent.

             

            Did you check all items in the “Before posting or reporting a bug, check the following common issues” section?

            viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1923

            #425143

             

            Did you check all items in the “Before posting or reporting a bug, check the following common issues” section?

            viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1923

            Maybe..

            Well I got CAT working. My issue stands with Magma. I just now finished my first custom, but it can’t even pass the test in Magma because the program cannot locate test.rbproj

             

            Assuming there is no other solution, can somebody please upload that file from the Magma directory?

             

            EDIT: I just checked the install directory, and I do not even have a “test” folder. Am I missing something, or…..?

            #425147
            Farottone
            Keymaster

              Well I got CAT working. My issue stands with Magma. I just now finished my first custom, but it can’t even pass the test in Magma because the program cannot locate test.rbproj

               

              Assuming there is no other solution, can somebody please upload that file from the Magma directory?

               

              EDIT: I just checked the install directory, and I do not even have a “test” folder. Am I missing something, or…..?

               

              You need to create a project. Magma is not a tester, it’s the program you used to create your song’s project to compile…

              #425148

               

              You need to create a project. Magma is not a tester, it’s the program you used to create your song’s project to compile…

               

              Excuse my ignorance, but I only understand maybe half of that.

              I am merely attempting to follow the above-most instructions in this thread to figure out how to use Magma. I was told that I needed to run the test and pass the test. I ran the test, and got an error after carefully following all instructions. Hence, my initial confusion. There are not many (if any) other guides out there on how to actually use Magma, so bear with me.

              So is there an extra step I am supposed to take before running the test that verifies my MIDI file and “gives me a new MIDI”? Again, I am basically walking in the dark with this program.

              #425149

              Alright, if you follow my steps exactly, you may run into an issue like I did early on. I also feel I left something out.

               

              In the GAME DATA section of Magma, the three main options are Export, Test, and Clean.

               

              After you test and make sure your midi runs up to compile standards, it’s best to export it. When Magma is running the midi test, it will make some changes to the midi. It auto generates missing venue options, missing animations, and other things. This is also where the game will take care of x1 and x2 Bass pedals if you use the documentation to allow that to happen. You are going to want to export the midi, so you have a copy of the new, updated, and more polished/finished midi. When you go to export:

               

              1) If this is a new Magma project, you’ll be asked to save the .rbproj file. This is so you can open up Magma again with the information saved. This is a Magma type file.

               

              2) It will ask you where to save the new midi. You CANNOT save it as the same name over the old midi. Magma throws an error, which can be annoying. Personally, I save the initial REAPER midi to my desktop, run the test first in Magma to make sure my charts are working, and then save the final midi(s) in my project folder.

               

               

              According to what you are saying, it’s likely that Magma is defaulting to an older test file that you created to try out Magma, which it can no longer find. If you have a new midi/chart/song to try out…. I would open up a Magma, and then select File > New to make sure you have a new one. Throw the midi in the tester, and once it finishes and passes, hit export and save the new .rbproj and .mid under final names where you want them. That should fix that.

              #425151
              Farottone
              Keymaster
                Alright, if you follow my steps exactly, you may run into an issue like I did early on. I also feel I left something out.

                 

                Which is why I advised he read the docs. <img decoding=” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_wink.gif”> He’s at a level where he has no idea of how any part of the project works, including the simple creation of a song file in Magma. He needs to read the docs, any way around that will just lead to more issues. Of course it’s your time so you can spend it as you wish guiding him along the way, but if he doesn’t read the docs at all and doesn’t follow procedures, how good will that do? There’s always something you’re bound to leave out, because docs are extensive and with very few unimportant parts. <img decoding=” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_wink.gif”>

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