Metal Gear Solid 3 Audio Format (Yes, Audio Format, not DAT)

[OrangeC]

Great work hcs!!

Hopeful for mgs4 now.

[hcs]

Bit of a fix: http://hcs64.com/files/demux_dat_02.zip

New demuxer that cleans up files properly. This requires the new version of vgmstream (r946) which doesn't try to do blocking itself. Much cleaner now code-wise, the files are only slightly smaller and there is no impact on the audio.

Also now supports the VAG1 from VOX.DAT, just for kicks.

and r947 supports VAG2, apparently there is music in VOX.DAT...

[hcs]

Alright, final nail in the coffin. A helpful fellow shared his reversed decoder with me, and so I was able to locate the original decode table in the exe. I've modified vgmstream to use this in r948, should be completely accurate now (and the errors across frames are all 0).

[pietastesgood]

Wow, great work, hcs!

I'll have to admit, however, I've been out of the ripping scene for about two years now and I'm afraid I can't completely figure out how to get the files extracted from the DAT to play in vgmstream (I'm using the sample that I posted on the first post as I don't have BGM.DAT anymore). If I'm reading correctly, the old DAT extractor didn't completely extract the music files, leaving off vital information, and that's why the files won't play in r948?

As for MGS4, IIRC the audio format was identical to MGS3, but I haven't verified this. This thread offers a sample file (DBM files from Metal Gear Online that have embedded MTAF's): viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5996

If you pursue MGS4, good luck!

Edit: Scratch my statement that the formats are the same - I've been informed that MGS4 uses MTA2, not MTAF. Would you happen to know if the audio structures are similar? Hopefully, it won't be much work to add support for the MTA2's.

[hcs]

The big issue with the extractors I tried to use was that they left in big padding chunks. demux_dat removes those.
demux_dat_be can be used on MGS4 .dat files, and the .dbm files have the same layout but it doesn't start until 0x800 bytes in.
The MTA2 codec seems to be quite different from MTAF, research is ongoing.

[pietastesgood]

Cool, thanks for the info!

Good luck on the MTA2 codec, and your work is really appreciated! I've been dying for a complete rip of MGS4 for ages...

[pietastesgood]

Hey hcs, if you don't mind me asking, how is the progress on the MGS4 codec? No rush, in any case.

[pietastesgood]

Hey hcs, just letting you know I'm still interested in any progress if you have any time.

[OrangeC]

Same.

[hcs]

No news, haven't looked at it for some time.

[pietastesgood]

No worries, but if you have any time/desire to look into it further, I'd be very grateful.

If I may ask, what do you know so far about the MGS4 codec?

[MoriyaMug]

This is incredible news. I recently downloaded OrangeC's rip of MGS3, and it's a delight to have the entire thing. I'm attempting to replicate the process for the "Existence" disc (with the movie version of the game). The video is straight M4V format, which I can get with no trouble. The audio isn't working so well, though. I can get the .mtaf files extracted, but vgmstream won't play them in Winamp, and the text.exe reports, "failed opening demo_3.dat_00001_0011.mtaf". It's not a syntax error, that I can determine... it happens with each file, no matter what I do. vgmstream has the external DLLs needed, so that's not the issue. Any other ideas what might be going on or what steps I might have missed?

Also, is there any way of extracting the subtitles to something along the lines of a .srt subtitle file?

If I can get this working, I really want to get cracking on Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. Thanks in advance for any help.

[OrangeC]

Did you update to the latest vgmstream.

[Griffo]

Sorry to bump this old topic. But I'm having trouble using the demux_dat.exe file to extract data from the DAT files. I've used the Konami dat utility before. Could you guys explain exactly how the file is meant to be used? Does it have to be in the same directory as the dat files, does it only open certain dat files etc?

I've tried dragging the demux_dat.exe file into the command window and entering the text you wrote. Also, when I open it, a command window opens and closes very quickly. I'm not able to do anything with it. Am I making some stupid mistake? Would really appreciate your help with this.

Thanks