RockBiink 2.0 (Beta 1) – A tool to help make multitrack Bink files
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September 7, 2020 at 5:36 am #398133
RockBiink 2.0 Beta 1 is out now.
Rebuilt from the ground up, RockBiink 2.0 is currently a work in progress, but better than ever. RockBiink 2.0 is a tool to help you make Rock Band compatible multitrack Bink files. Only the Wii versions are known to use the Bink (.bik) file format for multitrack audio, possibly because it allows for smaller data rates and file sizes, which the Wii needs. Bink files typically target a file size under 40 MB and a total of 9 tracks or less. Sample rates don’t have to be 44100 Hz either.
The goal of RockBiink is to help authors and players alike create Wii-compatible files easily and quickly, while also allowing for finer control in the manual Bink creation process.
So what does RockBiink 2.0 do? Here’s a list of features:
- Convert source audio files to Bink easily!
For authors, you can easily drag and drop stereo or mono audio files into their respective text box for that part. Each part can also have its volume and panning set. No need to split audio files to mono tracks. RockBiink handles that automatically! - Import values from DTA
You can also import track info from a DTA. Just drag and drop into the form and the tracks that were configured in the DTA appear in the program, such as which parts are enabled, if they are mono or stereo, and what their panning and volume values are. Once the Bink is built, the DTA is also updated automatically. - Full drums & mono drums support
RockBiink now supports full drum mixes! You can enable audio for all 3 parts, or just one stereo drums track if you prefer. On the opposite end, in the extreme case where the Bink file cannot meet the file size requirement, mono drums are supported. This is a special case where drums are mono on the right track and with silent audio on the left track, but the right is panned center to make it “mono”. - Downmix drums to stereo
By popular demand, you can now downmix multipart drum mixes into one stereo drums audio file. Just right-click on the track’s text box or go to Edit. The DTA will also be updated to reflect this change. - Downmix to mono
As is necessary in Wii conversions, you may have to collapse a part to mono (then pan to fill in the sound in the mix). You can easily downmix to mono in RockBiink. Just right-click on the track’s text box and a mono mix will be made and set in the program. The DTA will be updated with any changes to make as well. - Crowd audio support!
Also by popular support, you can now add crowd audio. Though no Wii DLC ever officially used this, it should be possible with this. - Faster build scripts
Improved from before, now when building a Bink file, the build script executes faster and more seamlessly. Just choose where to save the Bink file and the RAD Tools do the rest. - Streamlined quality option
Audio quality is now easier to control. Choose from 4 presets that control output Bink quality. The default option is a bit better than before, too. The options set the audio bit quality and quality value at once. - Get Bink info easily
You can now get basic info about a Bink file through the menu option. This can be useful to verify the output file and to track any potential issues.
How does RockBiink work? RockBiink needs the RAD Video Tools to build Bink files. Download them here. However, I don’t know what’s going on with the current version because it’s missing a lot of files and doesn’t really work. I recommend getting an old version from the archive to get one that still includes all the necessary files (2019, maybe). Once installed, RockBiink will be able to help build Bink files.
Here’s a quick rundown on how to use this.
Making a Bink file from project source:
To do this, you’ll first need to convert an Xbox custom to Wii using C3 CON Tools. But you can also extract the songs.dta file from a CON file as well.
- Import the DTA. Drag and drop the DTA file from the Wii conversion.
- Import the audio. In your project’s audio folder, drag and drop the audio files onto the tracks. These should be the ones you used in Magma. If your audio files are named the following, they automatically get assigned to their respective track just by dropping it anywhere on the form: drums.wav, kick.wav, snare.wav, kit.wav, bass.wav, guitar.wav, vocals.wav, keys.wav, backing.wav, crowd.wav.
- Fine tuning. Adjust your audio’s volume and panning values. If you’re collapsing a part to mono, make sure to pan it slightly to the direction it previously leaned to. This will help give the final mix a fuller sound. Typical parts that are collapsed to mono, in priority order, are: bass, vocals, backing, keys.
- Set output options. You get a couple of options you can set before saving the Bink file. You can set the Sample Rate, or type in another value if you don’t want to pick from the defaults. 38000 Hz and 32000 Hz are typical options seen in some DLC. The Audio Quality dropdown lets you pick from a few quality options that can be set in Bink. Good and Fair are recommended. Finally, Bink version should be set automatically for you. Some versions of RAD Video Tools do not come with “binkc”, but if you have a version that only supports the other version, you can choose to build with it.
- Build! Just click the Create Bink File button and RockBiink will ask you what your Bink file should be called (by default, whatever is in the DTA) and then it will save a RAD Batch List file. If you have the RAD Video Tools installed, binkconv will be executed and the build will start. Otherwise, you’ll have to run the script file yourself using the RAD Tools. At the end of the process, you’ll see a Bink file (.bik) in the folder you chose. A backup DTA should also have been created.
With the output Bink and DTA files created, these can replace the ones in the Wii converted folder you started with. This process can still be automated more and will be in a future update.
Features still in development:
- Extract Bink
For unecnrypted Bink files, this feature will allow you to extract all the tracks from a Bink file using the binkconv executable available in the RAD Video Tools. Unfortunately, a strange bug I started encountering with binkconv makes testing this feature infeasible. - Extract MOGG
Another essential feature, the extract MOGG option will allow the user to take an unencrypted MOGG file and split it into several tracks. Can optionally use a MOGG to assign stereo and mono parts to the tracks. - Import the Wii conversion folder
To automate the steps above, it will be possible to drag and drop the Wii converted folders into the program and have all the necessary files loaded for you. If a MOGG file is present, it should split it up for you and mark the appropriate parts as mono or stereo according to the DTA. - Downmix all tracks to stereo (Coming Soon)
You’ll be able to downmix an entire multitrack song loaded in RockBiink down to one stereo track. Really useful if you are simply unable to create a Wii-compatible multitrack file or don’t want multitracks (but why would you want that?)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Bink files work on Xbox 360 or PS3?
As far as I know, no.
Can you encrypt or decrypt Bink files with this?
No.
Why can’t I can’t run the script file RockBiink makes?
You need to have the RAD Video Tools installed. Download it from their website. Or get an old version that works.
The Bink file freezes the game. Help!
Please let me know because that probably means I made a mistake somewhere.
Download
So what’s the holdup now? I need help figuring out how to split a MOGG file automatically. I don’t know how to do this. But please test the current features now and let me know if those are working as intended. This should hopefully already be much easier to use than the previous RockBiink.
September 8, 2020 at 2:35 pm #514013Cool stuff man. Glad to see more development on this.
September 10, 2020 at 6:20 pm #514055Great stuff. Will try that out, specially the dta part.
It’s really annoying that many moggs from those gh conversions are bigger then 40mb and we can’t use them on wii with sd card.
Sadly your tool can’t support encrypted moggs.
That’s why i wrote my own quick and dirty script to batch convert Phase shift gh songs from that other forum to bink.
- Convert source audio files to Bink easily!
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