Doom pre-MUS original source MIDI files

[hfc2x]

10 hours ago, Individualised said:

Some things that weren't mentioned in OP:
-Intermission from DOOM's metadata: Metallica -- Ride The Lightening -- "Fight Fire With Fire"

 

6 hours ago, ⇛Marnetmar⇛ said:

Damn, if it weren't for the percussion being so different Fight Fire With Fire for intermission would be super obvious. I'm surprised nobody caught it after 30 years.

 

Wtf.. if it wasn't because of this, I'd never have heard it either. It's weird that just changing the drums made the song pretty unrecognizable for decades.

 

Anyways, have a musical shitpost lol.

Fight Fire With Shotgun.zip

[No-Man Baugh]

34 minutes ago, hfc2x said:

 

Fight Fire With Shotgun.zip

Looks like that's getting renamed to D_e2m3 and going into my Doom.wad autoload folder

[Dreemurr Deceevurr]

Just found out about this, amazing find!

[Darkcrafter07]

This must be a good find indeed, because in order to correct tempo on some of the orignal Doom songs I had to purchase a 15$ program called "MidiTransofrm". I even had to measure the real tempo in a DAW on the rendered version and then divide them to obtain the coefficient and use MidiTransform to get it right. Then it was time for hand by hand note quantizing. A hellish work just to get a fancy sounding transcribed version of Doom E1M6 from 3DO.

E1M6_3DO.zip

[sonicclang]

The biggest news for me about this is the fact that midi files exist that have the beats per minute information intact! I spent so much time when I was remaking these songs (on any song I wanted to use the original midi) aligning the notes to my project. I literally gave up and turned off snapping in Cakewalk and just used the midi as my metronome. Had I known these files were out there back in 2005, it would have made my job a heck of a lot easier :) but I just figured the songs weren't going to give up their fruit that easily. I had to work for it.

 

As far as the metadata showing what songs inspired the music for the game, I'm kind of over debating that topic. Every musician borrows ideas from the musicians they love. And if you're given a brief to make music sound like a list of artists, you're doing the exact same thing all the artists out there have been doing for generations.

[Litude]

I finally decided to check which exact versions of the Doom I music lumps these MIDIs correspond to. There are 3 "revisions" of the MUS lumps, the first ones are used in versions 1.0-1.25, the second revisions in 1.4-1.6 and the final revisions in 1.666-1.9. For Doom II the story is much simpler as there is only a single version of the MUS lumps used in all versions (1.666-1.9). I am not sure what, if any, audible differences there are between these versions. In each of these revisions, most of the MUS lumps were changed/updated.

Converting the Doom I MIDI files through the official MIDI2MUS yielded a byte-for-byte match for the lumps used in versions 1.4-1.6 so these are not apparently the very final MIDI files. This is interesting also because the music lumps for the registered episode music of this specific revision were not previously available since those releases were shareware only. The reason why it matches this revision is perhaps because there is also an earlier OS/2 build out there that matches Doom version 1.6 and the Doom I MIDI files were never updated.

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, all the Doom II MIDI files yielded byte-for-byte identical matches to the MUS lumps.

 

As a curious side note, the single Doom I MIDI file included in Doom95 matches the 1.666-1.9 MUS lump when converted with MIDI2MUS, thus it seems to be a later final revision of the MIDI. The MIDI files that used to be available at bpmusic.com did not match any lumps.

[hfc2x]

On 5/30/2023 at 11:07 AM, sonicclang said:

Had I known these files were out there back in 2005, it would have made my job a heck of a lot easier :) but I just figured the songs weren't going to give up their fruit that easily. I had to work for it. 

Man, your rendition of the soundtrack is still my favorite. Still use it as my default in GZDoom all these years later lol.

[ni1chigo2115]

I'm listening to this sound source with a custom timidity, but I feel a slight difference. This is interesting.

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

It's interesting that for most of the final revisions of the MIDIs (based on how the instrument tracks in the DOOM95 and OS/2 DOOM II MIDIs are laid out), Bobby Prince for some reason split all of the percussion instruments into separate tracks:

 

Spoiler

M_E2M6 track titles:

1. Vamp
2. Punch Bass
3. Strings
4. Timpani
5. Tremolo Strings
6. Kick/Snare
7. HiHat
8. Rides
9. Strings 3
10. Crashes

DOOM95 (from The Ultimate DOOM) track titles:

1. Vamp
2. Punch Bass
3. Strings
4. Timpani
5. Tremolo Strings
6. Strings 3
7. Kick Drum 2 B2 35
8. Kick Drum 1 C3 36
9. Snare Drum 2 E3 40
10. Closed Hihat F#3 42
11. Open Hihat A#3 46
12. Crash Cymbal 1 C#4 49
13. Ride Cymbal 1 D#4 51
14. Ride Bell F4 53
15. Crash Cymbal 2 A4 57
16. Ride Cymbal 2 B4 59
17. E2M6
18. Copyright 1993, Robert C. Prince, III

 

Additionally, the copyright information was moved from the MIDI's text metadata field into the track title and marker fields.

 

On 5/31/2023 at 1:20 AM, Litude said:

As a curious side note, the single Doom I MIDI file included in Doom95 matches the 1.666-1.9 MUS lump when converted with MIDI2MUS, thus it seems to be a later final revision of the MIDI.

I've analyzed the MIDIs with my sequencer. With the exception of the metadata and track layout differences, the OS/2 and DOOM95 versions of the E2M6 MIDI are 100% identical. All MIDI events are exactly the same right down to the tick. So how is it possible that the MIDIs are producing different MUS files? Well, I'm guessing the differences in the internal track numbering are the cause.

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by TheUltimateDoomer666

[Herr Dethnout]

Just now, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

It's interesting that for most of the final revisions of the MIDIs (based on how the instrument tracks in the DOOM95 and OS/2 DOOM II MIDIs are laid out), Bobby Prince for some reason split all of the percussion instruments into separate tracks:

I think the reason was that the program he used for the ost was limited, although it doens't have much sense looking at e1m8. Other reason probably was to make easier to edit the drums.

Anyways, @leejacksonaudio do this too in some song like Shadow Warrior's Everybody Off!, maybe he can give us a answer for this.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Herr Dethnout

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:19 AM, Doomkid said:

I don't want to go too far afield here, but I wonder why about 90% of MIDI sequencing software chooses to put title (03) where almost anyone would expect the info for instrument (04) to be? It's true in Sekaiju, GuitarPro, TuxGuitar, the old-ass sequencer I used back in 2005 called JazzWare, and apparently in what Bobby used as well, Cakewalk iirc. Well anyway I guess this isn't the thread to ruminate on this, but I've always found it kinda odd.

I think most sequencer developers just have a poor understanding of the MIDI format specifications.

 

On 4/18/2023 at 3:05 AM, Doomkid said:

Slade shows instrument track titles as “Title” for some reason.

As Gez said, Slade is showing the correct information. For example, here's how a MIDI looks when saved with a proper editor:

 

 

But as you said, most sequencers save what you would expect to be the instrument names as song titles instead, and don't actually bother to provide a separate field for entering or displaying instrument information.

 

 

1 hour ago, Herr Dethnout said:

I think the reason was that the program he used for the ost was limited, although it doens't have much sense looking at e1m8. Other reason probably was to make easier to edit the drums.

Anyways, @leejacksonaudio do this too in some song like Shadow Warrior's Everybody Off!, maybe he can give us a answer for this.

This is slightly different from how Bobby did it for the final revisions though. Notice how in the OS/2 E2M6 MIDI and the Shadow Warrior MIDI you mentioned, certain percussion instruments are still grouped together, such as the cymbals. For the revised DOOM MIDIs, Bobby made it so that every unique percussion instrument has its own track (e.g., there is a separate track for every individual type of cymbal). E1M8 still has some grouped instruments (e.g., the closed and open hi-hats share a track). If Bobby ever made an updated E1M8 MIDI, then he would have put the closed and open hi-hats on their own tracks.

Edited August 4, 2023 by TheUltimateDoomer666

[Herr Dethnout]

Just now, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

This is slightly different from how Bobby did it for the final revisions though. Notice how in the OS/2 E2M6 MIDI and the Shadow Warrior MIDI you mentioned, certain percussion instruments are still grouped together, such as the cymbals. For the revised DOOM MIDIs, Bobby made it so that every unique percussion instrument has its own track (e.g., there is a separate track for every individual type of cymbal).

Is not that different, the Bobby also grouped the Kick, Snare, and Floor Tom on the same channel as you can see in the instrument list of the E1M1 midi file. My theory is that the midi program he used for making the midis (Sequencer Plus Gold) only let's a maximum of 3 notes played at the same time for each track.

Something curious about the songs is that the events like Pitch Bend or Volume are on different tracks too, probably the program or the way how he handle the midis. idk, Lee can give us a better sight of how they handle midis in the 90's :P

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

2 hours ago, Herr Dethnout said:

Is not that different, the Bobby also grouped the Kick, Snare, and Floor Tom on the same channel as you can see in the instrument list of the E1M1 midi file. My theory is that the midi program he used for making the midis (Sequencer Plus Gold) only let's a maximum of 3 notes played at the same time for each track.

There does not appear to be a note limit per track in SPG. I guess separating some of the percussion can allow for easier editing. For example, I initially compose MIDIs with all the percussion instruments on one track, but then I separate them into groups later so that I can solo/mute certain percussion sounds.

 

It's interesting how not all of the apparently finalized DOOM II MIDIs have individual percussion instrument tracks (and drum key labels). For example, M_ADRIAN has the usual grouping where some percussion sounds share tracks, but in other files like M_DEAD, every percussion sound has a dedicated track with a name specifying the MIDI note name and number. I wonder if a different sequencer was used for some of the editing.

[Herr Dethnout]

51 minutes ago, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

There does not appear to be a note limit per track in SPG. I guess separating some of the percussion can allow for easier editing. For example, I initially compose MIDIs with all the percussion instruments on one track, but then I separate them into groups later so that I can solo/mute certain percussion sounds.

 

It's interesting how not all of the apparently finalized DOOM II MIDIs have individual percussion instrument tracks (and drum key labels). For example, M_ADRIAN has the usual grouping where some percussion sounds share tracks, but in other files like M_DEAD, every percussion sound has a dedicated track with a name specifying the MIDI note name and number. I wonder if a different sequencer was used for some of the editing.

I believe in that too, because is easy to edit overriding notes (ex they hats and kick/drum can be harder to edit his velocity if both are in the same track).

 

I think he only used SPG along with a EPS keyboard when composing Doom (and also his famous SC-55MkII obviously :P).

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

3 hours ago, Herr Dethnout said:

I believe in that too, because is easy to edit overriding notes (ex they hats and kick/drum can be harder to edit his velocity if both are in the same track).

This makes sense in more "modern" sequencers such as Cakewalk which have a velocity view (which can also display other values) at the bottom of the piano roll view. It is indeed much easier to edit and view the velocities of notes with the same start times if the notes are on different tracks. However, it looks like SPG doesn't have a velocity view at all. I haven't used the sequencer a lot, but it appears you can simply edit velocities by highlighting desired notes, so there is no need to separate different percussion sounds onto different tracks (except for solo/muting purposes).

 

Bobby Prince's MIDIs from other games such as DemonStar are similarly inconsistent. Some of the MIDIs have different percussion sounds on different tracks which are all clearly labeled, while others have combined percussion tracks, and the MIDIs lack track labels entirely.

 

Anyway, it's likely that all these differences are just a result of the MIDIs' internal layouts being arranged in whatever way Bobby decided was the best for each file.

 

On 4/18/2023 at 4:28 AM, Individualised said:

The original timing is also preserved in the note data itself, so it will look normal in a MIDI editor and will play normally on things that expect standard timing (the .MUS versions were all at like tempo 125 and fit the notes in how they could. They used the MUS files for the SNES version, and its sound driver doesn't like the strange timing so a lot of songs in that port sound slightly out of beat.)

According to the Wiki, DOOM's MUS files have a 140 Hz tick rate. I don't think the MUS format has any kind of internal "BPM" information, as different MUS to MIDI converters will output MIDIs with different internal tempos. For example, MIDIs created by MUS2MIDI v1.0 have an internal BPM of 87.50.

[leejacksonaudio]

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I have absolutely zero knowledge of how MIDI2MUS or the MUS file format work. I only claim knowledge of the MIDI file format and how Cakewalk deals with it.

 

When I wrote MIDI files, I did not fully coordinate my efforts with Bobby Prince. We talked, and we looked at each other's work, but we then went off and did our own things. It is possible that he may have picked up some of my idiosyncrasies in making his own MIDI files, but I do not know. I picked up much of my basic skills from studying Bobby's files, along with the habit of keeping things orderly as much as possible. As for the percussion parts, I think I initially started off writing everything on one line, then switched to spreading them across to multiple lines when editing parts got to be too much of a hassle (or when I saw someone else do it, one or the other - my influences and my writing were very fluid back then).

 

I don't recall putting pitch bend or volume on tracks other than the ones that they would directly affect. I do recall using MIDI "tricks" when necessary, but good lord, it's been 30 years - you'd have to prompt my memory for me to remember exactly what I did, aside from the whole EMIDI suite of stuff that's documented elsewhere. Please, ask me some specific questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.

[ludicrous_peridot]

A small side step perhaps, but as we are talking about the toolchains, etc, any ideas why un45.mid would have 16 tracks marked RESET (which also seem to do the reset, as there's a hiccup at the start you dont't hear if you remove them). Was this a "boilerplate" MIDI thing used as a basis for actual tracks, or just a red herring?

[Doom64hunter]

Bumping this thread with the midis that were found together with the Doom Mac Source Code:

 

MacSource_Midis.zip

 

Unlike the OS/2 midis, the ones found in this package actually predate the release of Doom 2, with timestamps ranging from August 18th to August 29th 1994.

 

Other interesting points to note about these files:

• These midis are an exact match for the ones included with Doom95 (E2M6.MID and DEAD.MID respectively)
• All Doom 1 midis differ from the OS/2 ones, at least in terms of metadata.
• Most of the Doom 2 midis match the ones found in the OS/2 package in terms of content and metadata.
• ULTIMA.MID and M_READ.MID, which were missing from the OS/2 package, are included here, and retain their original metadata.
• There are 4 additional midi files named BETWE2.MID, COUNTDN.MID, DDTBLUES.MID and DOOM3.MID, which are not present in the final release of Doom 2.
• DDTBLUES.MID in particular differs from DDTBLU.MID and DDTBL2.MID, and contains the both the Kalimba and the Splash Cymbal that are exclusive to the other two files respectively.
• 4 files which are present in Doom 2 are missing: COUNT2.MID, MESSG2.MID, ROMER2.MID, THEDA3.MID

Given that we know now that 4 midis found in Doom 2 are missing from the folder, 4 midis found in the folder are not found in Doom 2, and the timestamps indicate that these were created before Doom 2 was released, this gives strong reason to believe that there was a last minute music change before the game was released.

 

In particular, it appears that MAP24 (THEDA3.MID), MAP26 (MESSG2.MID) and MAP27 (ROMER2.MID) had a different song assigned to them in August (or a short time before). This may also have been the case for MAP21 (COUNT2.MID), but what's more likely there is that COUNTDN.MID was simply renamed to COUNT2.MID.

 

(Also, while these 4 extra midis could be found in the released Mac port (converted to Quicktime format), it also contained all other Doom 2 midis as well, including the ones missing from this folder. So prior to the release of this CD, it wasn't possible to determine that this was indeed a music change, and moreover, which maps had their music replaced.)

Edited September 20, 2023 by Doom64hunter

[Individualised]

14 minutes ago, Doom64hunter said:

In particular, it appears that MAP24 (THEDA3.MID), MAP26 (MESSG2.MID) and MAP27 (ROMER2.MID) had a different song assigned to them in August. This may also have been the case for MAP21 (COUNT2.MID), but what's more likely there is that COUNTDN.MID was simply renamed to COUNT2.MID.

This must have only been for a very short time because the game was finished on the 30th, was already using the final music order on the 25th and the prototype before that one was still using Doom 1's music.

[Doom64hunter]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:37 AM, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

E1M8 still has some grouped instruments (e.g., the closed and open hi-hats share a track). If Bobby ever made an updated E1M8 MIDI, then he would have put the closed and open hi-hats on their own tracks. 

00 Meta 6: <Copyright, 1993, Robert C. Prince, III>
00 Meta 6: <All Rights Reserved>
01 Meta 3: <Synth Drum Low      >
02 Meta 3: <Ahs                 >
03 Meta 3: <Ah Volume           >
04 Meta 3: <Ahs                 >
05 Meta 3: <Ah Volume           >
06 Meta 3: <Ahs                 >
07 Meta 3: <Ah Volume           >
08 Meta 3: <Synth Drum High     >
09 Meta 3: <Lead Guitar         >
10 Meta 3: <Lead Guitar PB      >
11 Meta 3: <Lead Guitar Mod.    >
12 Meta 3: <Tremolo Strings     >
13 Meta 3: <Trem Strings Volume >
14 Meta 3: <Kick Drum 1 C3 36>
15 Meta 3: <Snare Drum 2 E3 40>
16 Meta 3: <Closed Hihat F#3 42>
17 Meta 3: <Open Hihat A#3 46>
18 Meta 3: <Chinese Cymbal E4 52>
19 Meta 3: <Mute Triangle G#6 80>
20 Meta 3: <Open Triangle A6 81>
21 Meta 3: <E1M8>
22 Meta 3: <Copyright 1993, Robert C. Prince, III>

And indeed he did.

[Donowa]

i know this is an old thread, but do the midis from the os/2 port have roland gs extensions (i.e. reverb and chorus)

[datajake]

I would like to share a ZIP file that I created which essentially contains the original MIDIs for the full Doom and Doom2 OST. The OS/2 port has all of the Doom1 tracks, while the Mac source has all of the Doom2 tracks. Specifically, the OS/2 port has INTROA, while the Mac source has READ_M and ULTIMA.

Doom Original MIDIs.zip