Converting WEMs from Creative Assembly titles (Wwise) ??? by tesalion at 9:24 AM EDT on July 3, 2017
Hi there, I'm kind of a noob at the subject but I was wondering whether it's possible to get it done? I tried ww2ogg and Foobar with vgmstream component but with no success (trying to convert with ww2ogg gives me "Parse error: missing RIFF")
I'm far from truly comphrehending how all this stuff works but when it comes to general overview here is what I know:
- Starting with Rome 2 Total War, Creative Assembly switched to WEM format and they're using Wwise software for their newer titles.
- After a lot of noise, CA acknowledged their players' needs and reached some sort of agreement with Audiokinetic. They released a free version of software for TW modders (they can use it to turn Wav into proper WEMs which they can later apply in their mods but - unfortunately - no way to playback/convert original WEMs).
- Based on this, the files and the way they're coded or else... change periodically, with some new releases of Audiokinetic software?
- Hence, as far as I know, it's possible to mod music in Rome 2 but next titles (Attila Total War & Warhammer Total War) weren't given the same treatment yet (and the older Rome 2 version won't work for them).
In that case, is it even possible to crack all these WEM files of Rome 2, Attila and Warhammer? And convert them into a different format? Because right now this soundtrack looks a bit like Fort Nox, at least to me.
Also, here is a sample of unpacked WEM files I was using: https://mega.nz/#!FNgxVI4Y!Gh3_52P6g-xq8aDme9eJMCVfxK7itsii1V9CgvqZdEo
Anyone willing to look into it and take up a challenge?
In the very least, it's fair to say that it would be a relieve to know where we're standing here (since the web seems to be silent on the matter, last time I checked). Some Total War music is amazing but CA doesn't even intent to make official releases anymore which sucks a lot.
These files are encrypted (as in, first they are converted from .WAV to .WEM, then they are encrypted).
The files seem to share the same key and algorithm, but needs to be figured out.
I don't think Wwise does encryption so maybe CA added it on top. Do generated/modded .WEM play in vgmstream, as opposed to CA's music? (if that's the case, then the encryption is CA's). Can you post some? Maybe that's the case and CA patched Rome 2 with the ability to play non-encrypted (modded) WEM.
I was able to obtain a .pack file just now (some random music mod) but I don't have the game installed at the moment (I need the game it seems since Pack File Manager won't open R2 .pack wihout the rest of data). In that case, I guess I will install it tomorrow and get the mod's WEMs. Unless there is someone with the game installed who wants to give it a try? (just do let me know so I can upload a .pack file for you)
Okay, nevermind. It seems the .pack file I picked yesterday was outdated or something and that’s why I had an error in the manager. I tried something else today and yes, vgmstream plays extracted player-generated WEMs just fine (so no encryption for mods). Here is a small sample of them. Must be CA’s encryption then, as you said.
But now that I have the game installed anyway (the highest version possible, with all DLCs), I extracted all the original music .pack files, including .bnk files inside. Here is the complete package, with two music mods attached for comparison: MEGA
Now I don’t have Attila installed but if that makes sense, I can get it and post its music files as well. If that would be of any help, maybe you can see if (and how) the encryption differs there?
On a further inspection, all files use the same algorithm (even the .bnk) and all should be playable once it's figured out.
It looks like some simple XOR, possibly a 0x0180 key, as it repeats after that (or simple rotation). Input data doesn't affect the algo.
Can you post the .exe? It may have the plain key. At worse I think it's possible to find it by cross-referencing files, as helpfully many are full of 0s, but it would be time consuming.
Do they have any other files like .xml that may be encrypted?
After some more checks it seems the algorithm is a bit more complex than I hoped. I couldn't find any hints in those extra files, unfortunately.
Since I don't know much about decrypting I'm afraid I can't do much else, but I think it shouldn't be too hard for somebody with more experience, since the algo/key is always the same and there are lots of 0s in the files.
Thank you, bnnm. At least now I realize it's a bit harder but not impossible. I am myself in the dark here because I have no knowledge of decrypting. But I won't be deleting attached files, just in case.
Anyone else willing to help out? Please tune in whenever you feel like it. Decrypting these would be amazing.