+=============================================================================+
+                                                                             +
+ I have music/sounds in my map but it takes forever for people to download.  +
+ What do I do?                                                               +
+                                                                             +
+=============================================================================+


  The reason for this is that the .wav files you are using are large. i.e. -
more than 1 meg.

  If you don't want to wait 5+ minutes everytime someone downloads your map,
you need to get the size of your sounds below 500 kb.

(anything around 1 meg will take at least 5 minutes to dl. 500 kb and under is
a good size for faster downloads)


Q:  So how do I make sounds smaller?
  
A:  Use any sound editor program to compress the .wav. In this case,
    I use Cool Edit 95.
        
    Download it at http://www.angelfarto.com/files/COOL95.ZIP
    Unzip it to where you want it to be, and load up Cool95.exe.
    The first time you run it you can register it with:

      name:TeLLeRBoP
      code:RFFAJUGG


    
+=============================================================================+
+  Ok so what is this 'compress' terminology you speak of?                    +
+=============================================================================+


  Before I confuse you with sample rates, sample types and resolution, let's
just use an example.

  I assume you have a .wav file you want to make smaller. Good. Now open up
Cool95.exe, (if it's not already open) and open your wav file (or just drag the
file into Cool Edit's black window) You'll now see a green blob in the middle
(that's your sound).

  Click on Edit->Adjust Sample Rate. There's 3 important pieces of info here.
So pay attention. 

Don't edit any of these values just yet, just hear me out -

+===============================================================================+
+ 1) Sample Rate - 48k-6k   - the lower the number, the smaller the file size   +
+                            (and the crapier it sounds)                        +
+                            11025/8000 is usually good for Starcraft music.    +
+                                                                               +
+ 2) Channels - Mono/Stereo - Mono will cut the filesize in half. If you want   +
+                            better quality sound and don't think ppl will      +
+                            just set your music switch to off, do stereo.      +
+                                                                               +
+ 3) Resolution - 8/16 bit  - 16 bit. Always. SF Xtra & SCM Draft 2 (and maybe  +
+                            Starforge) will compress any 16 bit .wav you throw +
+                            at it. 8 bit sounds will NOT compress.             +
+===============================================================================+                           

  The values in that window tell you exactly what your .wav file quality is.
Let's just say as an example your wav file is: 11025/ 16bit/ stereo.

  Hit Cancel on the window and goto Edit->Convert Sample Type.
  
  Now we will actually edit these values and attempt to make our sound smaller.
  
  - Click on 8000, (High quality)
  
  - Click on Mono (leave it at 50/50%)
  
  - Click on 16 bit and check Dither
  
  Hit OK. It'll do some funny conversion stuff. Let it.
  
  When it's done, save your sound. (I'd recommend you "Save As" a different name
in case you mess up)

  Voila. You have just compressed your first .wav file. So now you can import
that one into your map and it should be a lot smaller size than it used to be.

                                      . . . 

  In this example, we compressed a 11025/ 16bit/ stereo, to a 8000/ 16bit/ mono
file. If the original filesize was 1000 kb, the compression would bring it down
to around 250 kb. Why? Look:

1000/2 = 500 because of stereo->mono
500/? = ~275 because 8000 is less than 11025
(And when you actually import it into your map, it will be even smaller!)

Amazing.


  Note: If you had changed 16bit to 8bit, it would have halved the filesize of
your sound. However~ When you go to import it into your map, the size will remain
the same and your map will be huge. And BattleNet players will QQ all over themselves.


+=============================================================================+
+ So should I always use those values? 8000/16bit/Mono ?                      +
+=============================================================================+

  Well, most of the time, yes.  But sometimes you want your sounds or music to
sound unlike crap, so experiment with values to get a nice Quality/Filesize ratio.
I usually use 22050, 11025 or 8000 and 16bit + mono. Stereo music in Starcraft
doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference. imho.

  SF Xtra & SCM Draft 2 actually compress wavs when you import them. So if you
import a 11025/16bit/mono they will compress the size down but the sound quality
will still be there.







  Oh yea, one more thing before I go. If you convert a high quality sound, like:
44000/16bit/stereo down to a 8000/16bit/mono, don't try to convert it back up to
a 22050 or stereo. It won't work.

  Always convert DOWN, not up. So make back ups of your sounds!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
		+==================================================+
		+     Sound Compression Tutorial for Starcraft     +
		+                                                  +
		+                  by Angelfarto                   +
		+              Original July.06.2005               +
		+              Updated   Feb.02.2010               +
		+                                                  +
		+            http://www.angelfarto.com/            +
		+                                                  +
		+              Angelfarto@gmail.com                +
		+==================================================+