sound_modding_guide

Sound Modding Guide

Overview

PKCore intercepts CriWare's ACB/AWB file loading at runtime and redirects it to your override files before the game ever reads from StreamingAssets. This means you can replace any BGM track, sound effect, or ambient loop without modifying any original game file.

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Sound File Location (Original Game)

<Game Root>\Suikoden I and II HD Remaster_Data\StreamingAssets\Sound\

CriWare uses two paired files for every audio asset:

Extension	Role
.acb	Cue sheet — contains metadata, cue names, and (for small sounds) embedded audio
.awb	Wave bank — contains the raw audio data for larger/streamed sounds

Both files share the same base name and must always be replaced together. Replacing only one will cause the game to crash or play silence.

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Override Folder Structure

PKCore resolves sound overrides in priority order:

Priority	Location	Typical use
1 (Lowest)	StreamingAssets/Sound/	Original game files (fallback)
2	PKCore/Sound/	Low-priority base overrides
3 (Highest)	PKCore/00-Mods/<ModName>/Sound/	Packaged mod overrides

Your override folder must mirror the original Sound/ folder structure exactly, including any subfolders such as BGM2/ or SEHD1/.

PKCore/
├── Sound/                         ← Base overrides (low priority)
│   ├── BGM2/
│   │   └── BATTLE1.acb / .awb
│   └── SEHD1/
│       └── SE1.acb
└── 00-Mods/                       ← Packaged mods (highest priority)
    └── My-Sound-Mod/
        └── Sound/
            └── BGM2/
                └── BATTLE1.acb / .awb

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How to Find the Right File Names

Browse the original game Sound/ folder to find the track you want to replace:

StreamingAssets\Sound\
├── BGM1\        ← Suikoden 1 BGM tracks
├── BGM2\        ← Suikoden 2 BGM tracks
├── SEHD1\       ← Suikoden 1 sound effects
├── SEHD2\       ← Suikoden 2 sound effects
├── GAME_START_ENV.acb
├── GAME_START_ENV.awb
└── ...

Use a tool like Foobar2000 + VGMStream or CriAtomCraft to preview ACB/AWB files before committing to a swap.

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Step-by-Step: Replacing a Sound

1. Identify source and target

Decide which file you want to use as audio (source) and which in-game file you want to replace (target).

Example — replacing the Launcher ambient music with Suikoden 2's Adventure Start BGM:

Role	Path	Description
Source audio	Sound\BGM2\XA_00.acb / .awb	Suikoden 2 — Adventure Start / Character Naming BGM
Target (to replace)	Sound\GAME_START_ENV.acb / .awb	Launcher ambient music

2. Copy and rename the source files

Copy XA_00.acb and XA_00.awb from the BGM2 folder, then rename both copies to match the target name:

XA_00.acb  →  GAME_START_ENV.acb
XA_00.awb  →  GAME_START_ENV.awb

The base name must match exactly (case-insensitive). The .acb and .awb must always be renamed together.

3. Place the renamed files in the override folder

For a base override (no mod packaging):

PKCore\Sound\GAME_START_ENV.acb
PKCore\Sound\GAME_START_ENV.awb

For a packaged mod (recommended — see next section):

PKCore\00-Mods\Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod\Sound\GAME_START_ENV.acb
PKCore\00-Mods\Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod\Sound\GAME_START_ENV.awb

4. Launch the game

PKCore will log a confirmation at startup:

[SoundRedirect] Mod 'Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod': 1 .acb file(s).

And when the track is loaded at runtime:

[SoundRedirect] → 'GAME_START_ENV.acb' overridden

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Packaging as a Mod

Packaging sound replacements inside 00-Mods/ has several advantages:

• Keeps your changes isolated from the base PKCore/Sound/ folder
• Multiple mods can coexist without conflict
• Mods can be toggled on/off just by renaming or removing the subfolder
• Some mod folders (like Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod) have a dedicated PKCore config toggle

Example: Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod

This sample mod ships the Suikoden 2 opening BGM as a replacement for the Launcher's ambient music.

Folder layout:

PKCore\
└── 00-Mods\
    └── Better-Launcher-BGM-Mod\
        └── Sound\
            ├── GAME_START_ENV.acb
            └── GAME_START_ENV.awb

PKCore config toggle (BepInEx/config/faospark.pkcore.cfg):

[03 General]
## Replace the Launcher ambient music with the Suikoden 2 Adventure Start BGM.
# Setting type: Boolean
# Default value: true
BetterLauncherBGM = true

Setting BetterLauncherBGM = false makes PKCore skip this mod folder entirely, falling back to the original Launcher music — no file deletion required.

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Tips and Caveats

• ACB + AWB must always be replaced as a pair. Mismatched or missing pairs will cause silent playback or a crash.
• File names are case-insensitive on Windows, but use the exact original casing to stay cross-platform safe.
• Subfolder structure matters. A file at Sound\BATTLE1.acb is different from Sound\BGM2\BATTLE1.acb.
• Alphabetically last mod wins when two mods override the same file. Prefix your personal folder with zz_ to guarantee it takes priority over everything else.
• Only .acb/.awb files are redirected by this system. Loose .wav/.ogg files are not supported.
• Source audio format must be compatible with CriWare. Re-encoding to HCA or ADX inside a properly structured ACB/AWB is required if you are authoring from scratch. Swapping same-format files (as in the example above) always works.