UO Second Age

Hi all!

Has anyone successfully managed to replace the default .mp3 music files with the old .mid music?

How about if I were to install my old copy of UO (still have the CD). Would that still work on this shard?

I haven't tested this, but my guess is that newer versions of UO default to using MP3s. It's worth a shot to delete those and replace them with midis with the correct names, but I have no idea if that will work.

That said, I'm pretty sure the MP3s provided with the UO Second Age-specific client are pretty much the midi files recorded as they were, and then turned into MP3s. Whatever your sound card outputs for midi may sound different, too. One thing I like about the MP3s is they are pretty much how I remember the game sounding on my Sound Blaster 16, AWE 32, and Live cards.

I have my original UO:T2A cd from back in 1998.

Unfortunately the UOSA package doesn't include the original music.

This is the original Stones midi music as an example ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mDcGDx4QyA&t=2s

Ah yeah, I remember that now. Even that version of the music instantly takes me back.

I went ahead and tested this out since I also have my UO: The Second Age CD handy.

Sadly, after trying a few things, I couldn't get midis to play in-game. I suspect whatever age this client is (5.0.8.3), the hooks to play midis has been removed somewhere along the way.

For posterity, the method I tried was removing the MP3s entirely and adding in the midi files, verifying that all the names were the same. The result in-game was simply no music at all.

I also ran the MP3s through a "midi to MP3" program which worked swiftly, BUT the resulting MP3s do not sound 100% like the midis. My assumption is these programs have their own built in soundfonts that it's using to determine each instrument, and the results are a little off from the original midi instruments as played in Windows, which has its own soundfonts to determine each instrument.

I think in order to get the exact thing you're looking for, it'll require one of a few things:

• Find existing mp3s that you know sound like the original midis (like that YouTube video you linked) and use those
• Record the midis yourself and convert to mp3. This one isn't tough, but it would take time, since you'd have to let the song fully play out and just record it on your computer as it goes.

I'm tempted to do a test on that latter option but it'll probably have to wait for another day. It sure is refreshing to hear the midi music, though.

Great piece of research there FakeEcaj, really appreciate the effort. I'm going to rip the music from youtube and see if it works.

It only bloody well worked! Converted the youtube to a .mp3 using one of those converter sites and replaced the existing .mp3 and it worked! Hurrah!

I've uploaded the old converted .mid music to the following location;
https://ufile.io/kjm3y

Simply extract all .mp3 files to your Ultima Online\Music folder once you've renamed the .mp3's these will be replacing.

Enjoy!

Right on! This is great, thanks for sharing these.

I might go a couple steps further -- the current version of the UO client plays music back to back to back, and my memory (which could be wrong) is that there would be pauses between music. If my memory is right about that, I'm going to assume it's because the midis had to rely on trigger points in the world in order to know what to play, and if you never walked over those trigger points, the music wouldn't play.

I definitely preferred the UO music when it wasn't playing nonstop like it does now. I might take these MP3s and, to sorta emulate how it was, add 30-60 seconds of dead air at the end of each MP3. Will post if I get around to actually doing it.

Yep, you're right. Adding that delay would put the icing on the top. Good call mate!