Music from the MPQs
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 29th 2009 at 8:00PM
Want to listen to the music of World of Warcraft without actually playing the game? It's possible -- anyee has posted a quick how-to over on the WoW Livejournal. The music is sitting on your computer in MPQ files, which are a proprietary Blizzard archiving format for their games. But there are a number of MPQ extractors and editors out there (the two recommended are MPQ Extractor for the Mac and MPQ Editor for Windows), so download one of those, use it to break open the MPQ you're looking for, and then find the music you want in that folder. Extract it out, and voila, you've got Warcraft music to listen to whenever you want.I know what you're saying -- this might be against the Terms of Service. But actually, it's not -- the ToS only mentions "modifying" game files, and since you're simply extracting them from their archives, you're not actually modifying them. Plus, Blizzard actually authorizes the extraction of this music for use in noncommercial machinima, so as long as you use this music and any other assets for personal, noncommercial use, Blizzard has no problem with it. Of course, you'll be stuck listening to the music in bits and pieces designed for looping rather than a snazzy CD set. But if all you want to do is taking a listen to some of the tunes out of game, there you go.
Filed under: Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Rylka Aug 29th 2009 8:06PM
Interesting. I've purchased the collectors' editions and music CDs, but it would be interesting to see what else is available.
talkaboom Aug 30th 2009 9:00AM
I have been extracting music files for ages from the mpq files purely for personal listening pleasure and the occasional ring tone( my current Voicemail tone is the "whistle" that u hear in Sholazar Basin).
The CDs have slightly modified versions of the various themes. For instance the theme "Silvermoon City" has a few birds and cascading water playing at the beginning and the end, the extracted file is without these additions ofc.
Also, as far as quality goes, CDs will provide you with exceptional audio quality which the 128-bit mp3 files will not have. But I find it good enough for my IPod or the car stereo.
Charlie Aug 29th 2009 8:10PM
Ahh MPQ Extracting. I remember back in the day when i used to do SC Campaign mods. You could extract the files, edit them, then put em back in the MPQ.
Best one i ever played? Team Fortress TC (Total Convert). Really fun. There were also some Campaigns with some crazy units (Try replacing the terran battle ship with a supership that had cloak, could cloak units like the arbiter, and had 3 nukes. Lol.)
Oooh, or the Star Trek TC. Yeah, running around blowing things up with 20 USS Enterprises was fun.
Ahh the good old days. Lol.
neminem Aug 30th 2009 12:14AM
:D
Glad I'm not the only one. I definitely have fond memories of fiddling around with [Stardat|Broodat].mpq. And Stardraft! And how they said they were never going to make a tool for editing the executable, and then they made one (Stargraft)! Those were the times. I never actually did much useful with them, but they were still awesome to know about.
And yes, I also ripped the Starcraft soundtrack. Never bothered with the WoW soundtrack, though I've always known it to be possible - it just isn't the same level of awesomeness. I did, however, make a truly inspired (I think) Worms soundscheme out of the Terran sound clips. :D
Luisette Aug 29th 2009 8:19PM
Oh, I listen to extracted music all the time; doesn't matter if it's not looped. I have iPod playlists for Kara, Sunwell, and Ahn'Qiraj. :)
Mynarc Aug 29th 2009 8:28PM
Yea i've done this for a ring tone of my phone.
Its XT's yell if you don't break his heart : I'M READY TO PLAY in his voice
Darxide Aug 30th 2009 10:48AM
I have the headless horseman's laugh as my ring tone. It gives a few odd glances my way but I've also had complete strangers asking for it.
ukandrion Aug 29th 2009 8:47PM
okay, now im FREAKED.
i downloaded the extractor, and ran the .exe. it said it was not a valid Win32 application, which makes me think it is a virus/Keylogger, with the latter being the most frightening for me.
Jumbo Aug 29th 2009 9:20PM
"But there are a number of MPQ extractors and editors out there (the two recommended are MPQ Extractor for the Mac and MPQ Editor for Windows), "
Win32 isn't mac ;)
ukandrion Aug 29th 2009 9:45PM
i do not use mac. i use windows XP. sorry for the confusion; i downloaded the editor (which is still an extractor.)
Arashikou Aug 30th 2009 1:27AM
Although I suppose there's nothing stopping a program from faking the "Not a valid Win32 application" message, that message generally does not mean you got a virus. It means the program can't even be run, which includes being unable to install anything malicious on your system. Not ALL error messages mean you've been duped. (Assuming, as I said, that the error is genuine and not a fake trying to throw you off the trail.)
But to further assuage your fears, I've downloaded the files myself and run a couple different scanners on them on different systems, and none of them turn up anything untoward. So you can put your keylogger concerns to rest.
My first thought: The program comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit varieties. I know you can get the "invalid application" error if you get a 64-bit exe on a 32-bit OS. Are you sure you have the right bitness of executable? Kaylin's message below (which I think was intended as a reply here) is also valid: Try re-downloading the file to see if you just got a corrupt file.
Arashikou Aug 30th 2009 1:29AM
That's strange... my comment just now showed up? I got a message saying someone replied, and it turned out to be me.
Oh well - glad you solved your problem! :)
Keyra Aug 30th 2009 3:41AM
I use Ladik's MPQ editor and have had no problems.
http://www.zezula.net/download/mpqediten32.zip (32-bit)
http://www.zezula.net/download/mpqediten64.zip (64-bit)
Both are English versions for Windows.
The 32-bit will run on Win95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP/Vista.
The 64-bit on WinXP/Vista.
They're both about 172 Kb in size, so it's a quick DL.
Hope this helps!
Malfural Aug 29th 2009 8:48PM
I've been using http://www.wowwiki.com/PlaySoundFile_macros in-game recently, but this sounds much more convenient
Omega2 Aug 29th 2009 9:40PM
Sidenote: those programs are also useful when you want to extract specific sounds, like Yogg-Saron's maniac laugh (always gets me ready for the day, nothing like having an Old God roaring at you early in the morning to get you going), or C'thun's ghastly taunts (coolest raid boss eveeeer...) or maybe even Whitemane's "Arise, my champion" (what? She DOES sound hot!).
So, if you have a particular boss, mob or skill that makes a sound you'd like to use outside the game, give those a try. =)
Levinoss Aug 29th 2009 10:01PM
LOL
Go under Sound->Creature-> Jaina Proudmore the sounds in there will crack you up being looped. Make sure you have the sound turned up so everyone can hear.
Agony Aug 30th 2009 1:55AM
Oh.
My.
God.
LMAO!!! I nearly spit beer on my monitor!
Levinoss Aug 30th 2009 12:35PM
I bet thrall wished he could make her make those kinda sounds!
Graham Aug 29th 2009 10:04PM
I'm glad there's an article about this. I figured out how to do this many months ago, and because of MPQ extractors, my "WoW Favorites" playlist on iTunes is over 3 hours long. (Only beaten by my Battlestar favorites playlist, which is almost 5 hours long :D )
One track that everyone should check out is one called "Four Sigils" from Ulduar. I'm not sure if it is on the new Mosaic soundtrack or not, but it should be. It's a beautiful piece.
Kaylin Aug 29th 2009 10:22PM
Download the file again, you'll get this message if you don't download a complete file or of the file is corrupt.