 |
This article is about the soundtrack of Age of Empires II. For soundtracks of the other games in the series, see Soundtrack. |
Cover art for the Definitive Edition soundtrack
The music for Age of Empires II was composed under the direction of Stephen Rippy. The original soundtrack was distributed in CD format; some tracks can also be found in the game files.
The initial idea was for the Age of Empires II music to sound specific to particular cultures and time periods. However, with the game featuring a diverse array of civilizations, it didn't sound appropriate for distinctively European music to play while controlling an Asian faction, or vice versa. Ultimately, the musical elements of several cultures were blended together.[1]
Despite the historical sound, most of the music was performed electronically, in a similar method to Age of Empires and The Rise of Rome. Actual hardware was used, rather than being performed in a digital workspace, and controlled with MIDI. Many instruments came from the E-mu ESI-32 sample library, the Boss Dr. Synth DS-330 was used for string pads and bass drops, and the Alesis QS8 synthesizer was played to create bassy drones (such as the opening of Shamburger). Reverb was generated by the Lexicon PCM-91, and then the mix was processed onto DAT, and copied onto the game disc as Red Book audio.[2] The credits tracks for both Age of Empires II and The Conquerors are an exception, using live bass, drums, and guitar. The track sequence was designed around the timings of typical gameplay: slower tracks were used early on, while the player would be developing their base; faster tracks later in the playlist, when it could be expected that players would be fighting intensely.[3]
As the soundtrack had been composed into a form that could be played by MIDI, it was also possible to use this control method to play the game's music with the gamer's soundcard synthesizer. This allowed tiny file sizes, but generating a more limited, unproduced sound. This MIDI version of the soundtrack was used in the trial version of Age of Empires II, but not the full game.
The original soundtrack continued to be used for the HD Edition release, and new tracks composed by Vitalis Eirich were added for the game's expansion packs. He used a similar production style to the original music, retaining the Boss DS-330 synthesizer, but with an Ensoniq TS12 instead of the E-mu ESI-32 sampling.[4]
For the Definitive Edition release, the soundtrack was recomposed by Todd Masten with Semitone Music Group, and recorded at 20th Century Fox Scoring Stage, Los Angeles.[5] The new music took a different direction to his work on Age of Empires: Definitive Edition: rather than being performed by a full orchestra, a combination of sampled and live instruments were used. Being a recomposition, it was intended to capture the spirit of the original, rather than strictly adhering to the existing notation. In addition to covering almost the entirety of Age of Kings, The Conquerors, and Rise of the Rajas' soundtracks (the exceptions being the opening and credits themes), it overhauled the civilizations' introductory music, replacing the short jingles with one-minute tracks.[6]
The Age of Kings[]
The soundtrack can be heard on any CD player by using the game disc, and skipping the data track. The songs themselves are not separated, but are instead one long track with seamless transitions. The names and composers credited here are confirmed by the "Music From The Ages" and "More Music From The Ages" CDs (two audio CDs featuring tracks from the first two Age of Empires games and their expansions, usually only given away by Ensemble Studios as competition prizes[7]), metadata in the HD Edition release, and titles of the Definitive Edition release. The soundtrack was directed by Stephen Rippy.[8][9]
| # | Title | Composer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamburger | Stephen Rippy |
| 2 | I Will Beat on Your Behind | Stephen Rippy |
| 3 | Drizzle (Firelight Smoove Mix) | David Rippy, Stephen Rippy |
| 4 | Machina del Diablo | Stephen Rippy |
| 5 | T Station | Stephen Rippy |
| 6 | Bass Bag (Album Version) | Stephen Rippy |
| 7 | Ride, Lawrence, Ride! | Stephen Rippy |
| 8 | Smells Like Crickets, Tastes Like Chicken | Stephen Rippy |
| 9 | Operation: Monkey | Stephen Rippy |
| 10 | Tazer | Stephen Rippy |
Some pieces of the soundtrack aren't present on the Red Book CD audio, and are instead stored as MP3 files (44.1 KHz, 16 bit, 320 kbps, CBR) in the file structure, both on the game disc and the installation. They can be found in /Age of Empires II/SOUND/STREAM (or, on the disc, /GAME/ instead of /Age of Empires II/). This folder also contains the 4-7 second introductory jingles for each civilization.
| Title | Usage | Filename | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quest For Butter | main title | OPEN.MP3 | Stephen Rippy |
| Uluzah | defeat | LOST.MP3 | Stephen Rippy |
| Carne y Helado | economic victory | WON1.MP3 | Stephen Rippy |
| Rich Corinthian Leather | elimination victory | WON2.MP3 | Stephen Rippy |
| ...Where Credit Is Due | credits | CREDITS.MP3 | Stephen Rippy, Chris Rippy, Kevin McMullan, Matt Stanberry |
The trial version of Age of Empires II has a significantly different soundtrack, with some songs missing, and extra ones added. These are MIDI files, played by the local computer's soundcard, rather than the recorded performance of the main game's soundtrack. They are stored in /Age of Empires II Trial/Sound/midi.
| Title | Filename |
|---|---|
| Shamburger | music1.mid |
| Drizzle | music2.mid |
| Bust (not present in the full game) | music3.mid |
| T Station | music4.mid |
| Machina del Diablo | music5.mid |
| Neep Ninny-Bod (not present in the full game, but reprised in The Conquerors) | music6.mid |
| Gyam Shorts (not present in the full game) | music7.mid |
| Tazer | music8.mid |
| Quest for Butter | open.mid |
| Carne y Helado | won.mid |
| Uluzah | lost.mid |
The Conquerors[]
Music sheet for the Age of Empires II: The Conquerors title theme at the Age of Empires exhibit at The Strong National Museum of Play, New York
Following the trend set by Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, a new soundtrack was composed for The Conquerors, again playable from the game disc on any CD player. It mostly consists of original music, but with reprisals of the main game's win/loss themes, and a fully produced mix of Neep Ninny-Bod, which was previously only available as MIDI. Kevin McMullan, who had previously contributed to credits tracks on The Rise of Rome and Age of Empires II, joined Stephen Rippy as a main composer.
Main track names and composers are confirmed from the Music For The Ages competition prizes, the Ages Compilation CD from the Age of Empires Collector's Edition, and the filenames of the HD Edition release. These are the tracks that appear on the audio part of the game CD, in order of playback:
| # | Title | Composer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pork Parts | Stephen Rippy |
| 2 | The Monkey Book (alternate title: Pudding Pie) | Stephen Rippy/Kevin McMullan |
| 3 | Tide Me Over Warm 'em Ups | Kevin McMullan |
| 4 | Voodoodoodoo | Stephen Rippy |
| 5 | The Bovinian Derivative | Kevin McMullan |
| 6 | Case in Point: Paste | Stephen Rippy |
| 7 | Seamus & Chamois (alternate title: Mountain Lie On) | Kevin McMullan |
| 8 | Shookies in the Bank (alternate title: Subotai Defeats the Knights Templar) | Kevin McMullan |
| 9 | Basura! Basura! (alternate title: Roi-r!) | Stephen Rippy |
| 10 | Neep Ninny-Bod (Mix 2) | Stephen Rippy |
The game disc's file structure includes copies of Age of Empires II's win/loss themes, and civilization intro jingles (plus extra jingles for the new factions). Two new songs are added as MP3 files, again in /GAME/SOUND/STREAM on the disc, or /Age of Empires II/SOUND/STREAM in the installed files:
| Title | Usage | Filename | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quest For Jam | main title | XOPEN.MP3 | Stephen Rippy |
| Droppin' tha Trou (segues into ...Where Credit Is Due at 3:52.246) |
credits | XCREDITS.MP3 | Stephen Rippy, Kevin McMullan |
As with Age of Emires II, the trial version of The Conquerors' features a different OST compared to the full version.
| Title | Filename |
|---|---|
| Case in Point: Paste | music1.mid |
| Bass Bag (Single Mix) | music2.mid |
| I Will Beat on Your Behind | music3.mid |
| Operaion: Monkey | music4.mid |
| Machina del Diablo | music5.mid |
| Ride Lawrence, Ride | music6.mid |
| T Station | music7.mid |
| Neep Ninny Bod | music8.mid |
| Quest for Butter | open.mid |
| Rich Corinthian Leather | won.mid |
| Uluzah | lost.mid |
HD Edition[]
For the HD Edition, the original CD soundtrack was used, this time as MP3 files (41.1 kHz, 320 kbps, CBR) in the game's installation folders. They can be found in /Steam/steamapps/common/Age2HD/resources/_common/sound/music and ../Age2HD/resources/_common/sound/stream. The song "Pork Parts" is cut short in this version compared to the Conquerors version.
Across the HD Edition's expansions, new music was composed by Vitalis Eirich. It is stored in the same way, mostly at 192 kbps. Introductory jingles were added for each new civilization, along with these new tracks:
| Title | Usage | Filename |
|---|---|---|
 The Forgotten
|
||
| Quest for Eggs | main title | xopen_x2.mp3 |
| Fleisch und Eiscreme | economic victory | won1_x2.mp3 |
| Prächtiges slawisches Leder | elimination victory | won2_x2.mp3 |
| Hazulu | defeat | lost_x2.mp3 |
 The African Kingdoms
|
||
| Quest for Bread | main title | xopen_x3.mp3 |
 Rise of the Rajas
|
||
| Quest for Bacon | main title | xopen_x4.mp3 |
| Diamond Dragon | gameplay | xmusic21.mp3 |
| Southeast Side | gameplay | xmusic22.mp3 |
| Movement Atnadev | gameplay | xmusic23.mp3 |
All tracks are available on Vitalis Eirich's YouTube and SoundCloud pages.
Definitive Edition[]
For the Definitive Edition, the soundtrack was recreated under the direction of composer Todd Masten. It contains new versions of every gameplay and win/loss track from across Age of Empires II and all of its expansions. It also includes reworked versions of unreleased songs, such as Joey Jojo from Age of Empires II's development, and tracks which Vitalis Eirich had developed for The Last Khans. There are also several wholly original compositions. Not included in the soundtrack release are new 1-minute songs introducing each civilization.
| # | Title | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Theme | The Age of Kings opening |
| 2 | Maps of the World | |
| 3 | Ready for Battle | |
| 4 | Shamburger | The Age of Kings gameplay 1 |
| 5 | I Will Beat on Your Behind | The Age of Kings gameplay 2 |
| 6 | Drizzle | The Age of Kings gameplay 3 |
| 7 | Machina del Diablo | The Age of Kings gameplay 4 |
| 8 | T Station | The Age of Kings gameplay 5 |
| 9 | Bass Bag | The Age of Kings gameplay 6 |
| 10 | Ride Lawrence Ride! | The Age of Kings gameplay 7 |
| 11 | Smells Like Crickets, Tastes Like Chicken | The Age of Kings gameplay 8 |
| 12 | Operation Monkey | The Age of Kings gameplay 9 |
| 13 | Tazer | The Age of Kings gameplay 10 |
| 14 | Pork Parts | The Conquerors gameplay 1 |
| 15 | The Monkey Book | The Conquerors gameplay 2 |
| 16 | Rich Corinthian Leather | Age of Empires II elimination victory |
| 17 | Carne y Helado | Age of Empires II economic victory |
| 18 | Spring War | |
| 19 | Uluzah | Age of Empires II defeat |
| 20 | Hazulu | The Forgotten defeat |
| 21 | Zuluha | |
| 22 | Love and Will |
| # | Title | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tide Me Over, Warm 'em Ups | The Conquerors gameplay 3 |
| 2 | Voodoodoodoo | The Conquerors gameplay 4 |
| 3 | The Bovinian Derivative | The Conquerors gameplay 5 |
| 4 | Case in Point: Paste | The Conquerors gameplay 6 |
| 5 | Seamus and Chamois | The Conquerors gameplay 7 |
| 6 | Shookies in the Bank | The Conquerors gameplay 8 |
| 7 | Basura! Basura! | The Conquerors gameplay 9 |
| 8 | Neep Ninny Bod | The Age of Kings trial version gameplay 6 |
| 9 | Neep Ninny Bod v2 | The Conquerors gameplay 10 |
| 10 | Bust | The Age of Kings trial version gameplay 3 |
| 11 | Gyam Shorts | The Age of Kings trial version gameplay 7 |
| 12 | Joey Jojo | The Age of Kings unused track |
| 13 | Diamond Dragon | Rise of the Rajas gameplay 1 |
| 14 | Southeast Side | Rise of the Rajas gameplay 2 |
| 15 | Movement Atnadev | Rise of the Rajas gameplay 3 |
| 16 | Booty and Kings | The Last Khans |
| 17 | Bad Harvest | The Last Khans |
| 18 | Manas | The Last Khans |
| 19 | Flesh and Ice Cream | The Forgotten economic victory |
| 20 | Rich Slavic Leather | The Forgotten elimination victory |
The soundtrack was released on various services such as Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud, etc, and was officially released for purchase on Steam on 23 January 2020.
Links[]
- Official announcement of DE soundtrack (with links to other hosting sites)
- The Age of Kings and The Conquerors original soundtrack
- Definitive Edition Soundtrack on Steam
- Complete Definitive Edition soundtrack on YouTube (free to play)
- Definitive Edition Soundtrack of all civilizations theme music on YouTube (up to The Last Khans)
- Age of Empires 2 - The Forgotten - HD Edition soundtrack
- Remastered music for HD Edition
- OST - Age of Empires 2 - The African Kingdoms - HD Edition (Arr. by Vitalis Eirich)
- OST - Age of Empires 2 - Rise of the Rajas - In-Game Music
References[]
- ↑ Video Game Music Online (5/27/14): Stephen Rippy Interview: Music Through the Ages. Retrieved on 29/Sep/2023.
- ↑ Direct correspondence (9/13/23): Talk:Soundtrack (Age of Empires)#Composition sources
- ↑ StephenRippy.com (April 2000): Ages Compilation blog. Retrieved on 3/Oct/2023.
- ↑ Description in SoundCloud (12/19/16): OST - Age of Empires 2 - Rise of the Rajas - In-Game Music Retrieved 1/Oct/2023.
- ↑ Steam (1/23/20): Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Soundtrack. Retrieved 30/Sep/2023.
- ↑ AgeOfEmpires.com (9/28/20): The musical language of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition: an interview with Todd Masten. Retrieved on 29/Sep/2023.
- ↑ http://aok.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/aokcgi/display.cgi?action=st&fn=8&tn=4904&st=21&f=8,4904,1,10
- ↑ Suciu, Peter (4/30/01): Soundtracks on CD-ROM: Stirring Music That Accompanies the Interactive. Retrieved on 4/21/2007.
- ↑ Music4Games (1/2/06): Interview with Age of Empires III lead composer Stephen Rippy. Retrieved on 4/21/2007.