SkySongBuilder Tutorial
**This guide is for Windows use. There may be some issues if you are using macOS or Linux.
REQUIRED PROGRAMS AND FILES:
SkySongBuilder: https://github.com/adakite1/skysongbuilder/releases
Armips: https://github.com/Kingcom/armips/releases
Fifohooks: https://github.com/adakite1/Asm-patches
DSLazy: https://www.romhacking.net/utilities/793/
SND Stream: https://discord.com/channels/710190644152369162/799584781225820210/1172750070710534244 (SkyTemple Discord Server)
soundtrack.yml: https://github.com/adakite1/skysongbuilder/blob/master/soundtrack.yml
IF ANY OF THESE ARE ZIPPED, THEY MUST BE UNZIPPED BEFORE USE.
OPTIONAL:
PlayMoreBGM: https://github.com/Adex-8x/jam-patches/blob/master/strung-up-by-sketches/PlayMoreBgm.skypatch
IF ANY OF THESE ARE ZIPPED, THEY MUST BE UNZIPPED BEFORE USE.
Make a copy of your .nds before continuing.
PREPWORK
1: Apply the "ExtraSpace" ASM patch in SkyTemple.
2: Download "Fifohooks." It comes in the form of the .skypatch.
-To apply, open your .nds in SkyTemple. Go to "ASM" -> "Others" -> "Open Patch Directory..."
-Drag the Fifohooks patch into the folder that opens, then close it.
-Refresh the "Others" page, and the FifoHooks patch should be there. Apply it. The ROM should save and reload.
3: Downlad "armips" and "SND Stream." This needs to be applied manually with "DSLazy" or a different DS packing program.
-MAKE A COPY OF YOUR .NDS JUST IN CASE
-Unpack your .nds with DSLazy. Click the three dots on the top left, select your .nds, and click "nds unpack."
-Unpacking may take a minute.
-A folder should open containing files such as arm7.bin, arm9.bin, banner.bin, etc.
-Open the folder named "Overlay". Find "overlay_0036.bin." and drag it into the folder with arm7.bin and such.
-Drag SND Stream into that folder as well. If done correctly, your new folder should contain the following...
-data (folder)
-overlay (folder)
-arm7.bin
-arm9.bin
-banner.bin
-header.bin
-y7.bin
-y9.bin
-overlay_0036.bin
-SND_Stream
-armips
-Now we need the programs to work their magic. On windows, hold shift and right-click anywhere in the folder
containing these files. Then click "Open Powershell Window here"
-Type "./armips.exe snd_stream.asm" WITHOUT QUOTES. If it looks like nothing happened and you got no error messages,
then it worked!
-Lastly, go back into the folder and move "overlay_0036.bin" back into the overlay folder.
-Close, then go back to DSLazy and hit "nds packer." It will ask where you want to save the new .nds file it will make.
If you already started a ROM hack, it would be best to save directly over the .nds you are working on.
-Again, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COPY OF THIS .NDS JUST IN CASE.
-Once DSLazy overwrites your .nds, the prep work is done! You are now ready to use SkySongBuilder!
TRANSLATING MUSIC
1: Download "SkySongBuilder" and "soundtrack.yml". Create a brand new folder with only those two things, and any songs you want to put into
your game. (I keep mine on my desktop) This guide is only for .wav's or .mp3's.
2: Now we need to edit "soundtrack.yml." I use notepad which all windows computers should have. Open notepad. Click "open" on the top left.
-You should now be looking for a file to open with notepad. On the bottom right, make sure you tell your computer that you are not
picky. You want to search for ALL files. Not just .txt files like notepad is bias towards. Otherwise, you may never find the
"soundtrack.yml" file we want to open.
3: This is where we will actually be adding music for SkySong to translate into a format SkyTemple and your game can read.
-"soundtrack.yml" has many different features. If you only want to play a song, you can ignore 99% of everything.
-Scroll down until you find the section labeled "songs:" under the "Add songs here langauge.
-For simpliciy sake, delete everything under, but not including, "songs:"
-Then you may add this template block.
Buried_Oasis:
i: 194
raw: Buried_Oasis.wav
loop_point: 846720
formats: [Wav4BitAdpcmNDSPlanarStereoLooped]
dsp:
adpcm_block_size: 16377
adpcm_encoder_lookahead: 4
flags: SND_STREAM
-There are only a few things you need to change.
1: "i:" is the slot of the song. The game has several unused slots already we can use to add new music. These
are slots 194-201 for a total of 7 additional songs. If you want more songs without removing existing songs
you must apply Adex's PlayMoreBGM .skypatch which can be found above. The installation process is the same
for the fifohooks installation. Each song you add needs it's own slot, starting at 194, just as mine does.
2: The name of the song above "i:"
3: "raw:" should contain the exact name of your .wav or .mp3 file that is also in the folder with "SkySongBuilder"
and "soundtrack.yml"
4: "Loop Point" should also be changed if you want your song to loop. If you do not want it to loop, delete the line.
-Loops are measured by the sample rate. The sample rate will be determined by the song you used, but it is
very likely to be 44,100hz. This is the amount of time per second. You must make your loop with this
in mind.
-Just about every song in Explorers of Sky has a short intro, then loops at a later point in the song. The
intro does not loop. To account for this, you must use some sort of music creation program to view when the
exact loop point would be in your chosen song, ideally to the milisecond. Once you do that, you can easily
do the math to determine where your loop point would be.
Loop Point Examples:
*2 Seconds = loop_point: 88200
*3 Seconds, 520 miliseconds = loop_point: 155232
*7 Seconds, 240 miliseconds = loop_point: 319284
-Once you have that done, save the file. You can also add multiple songs in the same way and import them all at once! Just make
sure that they each have a different "i:" value, starting from 194. You can put each song "block" below the previous.
4: Last step to translate! Inside the folder you made, you should have "SkySongBuilder", "soundtrack.yml", and the songs you want to
include in your game.
-Hold shift and right-click anywhere in the file. Open up powershell again.
-Type "./skysongbuilder.exe" WITHOUT QUOTES
-If everything works, you should see powershell freak out and do a bunch of stuff. Wait until it's done. It could take a minute,
especially if you are doing multiple songs at once. After it stops, go check your folder again.
-You should now have a folder named "out" in there with "SkySongBuilder", "soundtrack.yml", and your songs. Open it and take a
look. It should have "bgm.swd" and then a bunch of files with 194, 195, or whatever value you used for "id" in the name. If you
do, then you are good to go!
IMPORTING MUSIC (FINALLY)
1: Go back to DSLazy and crack open your .nds again. You could have condensed some steps and only unpacked once, but I am going step by
step to be as simple as possible.
2: Open Data -> Sound -> BGM. This folder contains all the music in the game. Copy all the files in the "out" folder and paste them into
"BGM"
3: Repack your .nds as before.
4: There is no 4. You're done!
PLAYING MUSIC
1: Use code bgm_Play(194); to play your song! Just change the number to whatever value you used for each song. You are now streaming music!
BUT WAIT, I CAN'T SELECT THIS MUSIC IN A DUNGEON?!
1: You didn't ask about dungeon music... But fineeee... Playing it as a proper dungeon song requires one more additional process.
2: Open where your SkyTemple program is located in your files. Open the following file...
-Skytemple-files -> resources -> ppmdu-config -> pmd2scriptdata.xml
3: Search for "HeavyWind6". This is the final song in the BGM section of the file. All we need to do is add a few lines.
-In between HeavyWind6's line and "BackgroundMusicIDs", add this line. Multiple lines if you are adding multiple songs.
"<Bgm loops="true">YourSongHere</Bgm>" WITHOUT QUOTES! And obviously change the title of the song to yours.
-Each song needs it's own line. Once you are done, save. You are almost done!
ADDING THE SONG AS A DUGNEON SONG
1: Open your .nds in skytemple. Go to Lists -> Dungeon Music
2: We need to replace a song. Luckily, there are tons of repeated songs. Scroll to the bottom and you can find a ton of "BossBattle" slots.
3: Click one, then click the dropdown arrow. Scroll to the bottom and your song should be there! Select it, save, and you are done!
Congratulations! You are now ready to play music in your hack! Keep in mind that streaming music does sometimes freak out on emulators,
especially older versions of desmume. Make sure your emulators are up to date!
Special Thanks to Deeshura, Adex, Sunkern, and Smingle for assisting me in understanding this program.
Also, thank you to Adekite for making this awesome program!