Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Extract Audio & Video

Note: All tools used are linked at the bottom of the post.

In this guide I will cover:

• How to extract content from the game and locate audio and video files
• How to convert the audio and video into viewable formats

Tutorial Index:

1. Extracting the files from the game using DXMD Extract
2. Browsing the contents of the extracted files using DEMDDatabase
3. Convert unsorted audio files with HxD
4. Extract specific audio (i.e. conversational dialogue) with DEMD Database
5. Fix corrupted .ogg audio files with QuickBMS
6. Convert unsorted video files (cinematics, loading screens) with HxD
7. Extract and split audio tracks from .bk2 files with VGMToolbox
8. Convert the audio streams using RAD Video Tools
9. Convert the audio streams using VLC Media Player
10. Convert the video stream using RAD Video Tools
11. Combine the video stream and the audio streams using FFmpeg
12. Final results

Extracting the files from the game using DXMD Extract

1. Unpack the DXMDExtract archive and move DXMDExtract.exe to the installation location for the game, for example, for the Steam version:
   
   Main game: Steam\steamapps\common\Deus Ex Mankind Divided\runtime
   DLC: Steam\steamapps\common\Deus Ex Mankind Divided\DLC\runtime
   
   
   
2. In that same folder, create a new text file. Open it in a text editor, and enter the following line:
   
   DXMDExtract . .\extracted
   
   Example:
   
3. Save and exit, and then rename the file to unpack.bat
   
4. Double-click on it, and then the Command Prompt will appear and begin to unpack the game
   
5. Once complete, the unpacked files should be in a subfolder within the runtime folder named extracted

   

   

Browsing the contents of the extracted files using DEMDDatabase

1. Unpack the DEMDDatabase archive and run DEMD Database.exe
2. File > Open > Open unpacked DB
   
3. Navigate to the NameMap.txt file from the extracted folder created previously when unpacking with DXMDExtract
   
4. After loading, the file trees are now displayed graphically and can be browsed, for example if you’re searching for conversational dialogue, you can expand the file list until you find what you need
   

Convert unsorted audio files with HxD

1. Navigate to the runtime folder for either the main installation of Mankind Divided or the DLC runtime folder. Here the audio and video files appear to be unsorted and scattered. Audio files have the extension .pc_fsbm
   
2. Open the file you want to convert with HxD and remove the first 24 bytes of information (the header), until it starts with FSB

   

   
3. Save the file with HxD editor, this will automatically create a backup of the original .pc_fsbm file in the same folder
4. Rename the file and change the file extension to .fsb

   

   
5. As a .fsb file, it can now be converted to.wav using vgmstream or FSB Extractor - this is covered in detail in my other guide on extracting audio and video from Deus Ex: Human Revolution - the process is identical.

Extract specific audio (i.e. conversational dialogue) with DEMD Database

1. For a more targeted approach, the NameMap.txt file that is generated from the DXMD Extraction comes in useful as it lists every file and where they can be found within the file tree
   
2. Opening it with a text editor and using the find function can help narrow down the search, in this instance I was searching for a specific conversation, and in the .txt file it is called dlc_1_441_con. I was able to find this easily in the file tree
   

   
3. It is possible to export the entire conversation in one go, but in order to do that the fast export savepath needs to be set first. To do this, go to File > Settings
4. In the Settings window, you can set the Fast export savepath under the Fast export tab. Save to commit the changes

   
5. Select the parent node for the conversation you want to export > File > Mass fast export

   

   
6. A dialogue box will appear when the process is complete

   
7. The audio files from the conversation have now been exported as .ogg can be found in the folder you added to the Fast export savepath

   

Fix corrupted .ogg audio files with QuickBMS

Some audio, upon extraction and conversion becomes corrupted, and sounds garbled and distorted when it is played. This appears to be some kind of problem with DEMD Database failing to properly convert the .bin files found within the .pc_headerlib files--which is where most the game audio is stored.

Why this happens is unclear, but it might have something to do with when the source file has multiple audio layers and the conversion process is unable to produce a file that contains this layer information, or is unable to produce a stereo mixdown of those layers (more on that at the end of this section).

To bypass this issue, we have to extract the audio a different way by using a QuickBMS script:

1. Assuming you've already extracted the game files using the above instructions, and you have DEMD Database set up to explore the extracted content, you need to find the problematic audio files again in the file tree. You should have the names of the corrupted audio already from the failed conversion, so just search for the name.
   
   
2. After you find it, check the right panel for more information. The first line should display a long string of numbers and letters, a forward slash and then another string of text followed by a .bin extension. The second line displays the name of the file. We need the first line, as these strings are actually pointing to a path to where the audio is actually located. The first section is the name of the .pc_headerlib file the audio was contained within, and the second section the name of the .bin file that contained the actual audio.
   
3. In your game directory, go to the /extracted folder made earlier when extracting the game where the NameMap.txt is located (either the default runtime or DLC runtime, in this case I've extracted from the DLC). In this folder, you should be able to find a subfolder with a name that matches the first section of the path displayed in the panel. Within that folder, should be the .bin file with the audio. You can also use the search function and type the .bin names in manually to find the files.
   
   
   
4. Depending on how many corrupted files you may need to repeat this process again, for me I had multiple corrupted audio within the same dialogue "conversation", so all the .bin files I needed were located within just one folder. I copied these .bin files to my Desktop so I could continue working outside of the game installation files.
   
5. Next you need to create a script file for converting the .bin files into .fsb audio files. You can do this by opening up Notepad or any text editor of your choice, pasting this code in, and then saving it as a .bms file.
   
6. Download and extract QuickBMS. In the QuickBMS folder, place the bin2fsb script and also make a subfolder called extraction.
   
7. Run QuickBMS.exe - when prompted, select the script you created, the input files (.bin files), and the output destination (extraction subfolder) and continue. The progress will display for every file selected as well as any errors.
   
8. Once done, various .fsb audio files should have been extracted in the output folder set.
   
9. To convert the .fsb files to .wav you need to use vgmstream. Download and extract vgmstream on your computer, and either drag each of the .fsb files one-by-one onto vgmstream-cli.exe or create a batch script, making sure to set the path to match where vgmstream-cli.exe is located on your drive, like so:
   
   FOR /R %%a IN (*.fsb) DO "...\vgmstream-cli.exe" -l 2 -f 10 -o "%%a.wav" "%%a"
   
   
   
10. To run the batch convert, first place all the .fsb files into the vgmstream folder, and then double-click the .bat file.
    
    
11. The audio should now all be converted to playable .wav files in the same folder.
    
12. This step is optional, but I found that it helped with organising, I renamed each of the .wav file to match the corresponding name in DEMD Database.
    
    
13. I opened one of the .wav files in Audacity to compare it to the corrupted ones. The properly converted .wav files appear to have multiple layers of audio, the first two being the stereo channel for the voice, the second two appearing empty, and the third two with environmental effects such as reverb and echo. The corrupted ones are just one channel with various peaking blips and noise. Here are screenshots of the difference:
    
    

Convert unsorted video files (cinematics, loading screens) with HxD

1. Before starting, you need RAD Video Tools (Bink Video Player) to play the videos after converting them. Download and install it, as you'll need it for the next section of this guide to convert the audio streams from the video.
2. Navigate to the runtime folder for either the main installation of Mankind Divided or the DLC runtime folder. Here the audio and video files appear to be unsorted and scattered. Video files have the extension .pc_binkvid
   
3. Open the file you want to convert with HxD and remove the first 24 bytes of information (the header), until it starts with KB2

   

   
4. Save the file with HxD editor, this will automatically create a backup of the original .pc_binkvid file in the same folder
5. Rename the file and change the file extension to .bk2 (the icon should change)

   

   
6. The .bk2 files should now be able to play with RAD Video Tools (Bink Video Player)

   
   

   Note: Due to localisation, audio streams, usually the voices, will not play and need to be extracted and split if you want to access them, as covered in the next section.

Extract and split audio tracks from .bk2 files with VGMToolbox

1. Open VGMToolbox > Misc. Tools > Stream Tools > Video Demultiplexer > Options > set the Format to BIK (Bink Video Container)  > check Split Audio Tracks > check Extract Audio and Video
   
2. Drag and drop the .bk2 file you want to extract into the grey area and it will automatically run with the options set
   
3. Multiple files will then be extracted into the same folder the .bk2 file was in. The extracted files will have the file extension video.split.bik or audio.split.bik

   

Note: In the EU version of the game, layer 00000004 contains the English voices, and layers 00000005, 00000006, 00000007, 00000008, 00000009, 0000000C, and 0000000D all have other European localisations such as Spanish, German, Russian, etc. Layer 00000000 seems to have the main background music and effects, 00000001, 00000002, and 00000003 have additional effects such as footsteps, etc.

Convert the audio streams using RAD Video Tools

1. Open RAD Video Tools > navigate to and select every .audio.split.bik file you want to convert > Convert a File > Yes to Batch Process dialogue box if you are converting multiple files
   

   
2. Within the Bink Converter window > change the Output Type to .wav > leave the other settings as default > click the Batch button on the right

   
3. The RAD Batch Editor window will then appear > click Close (might have to click this several times until all the files appear in the Batched commands list) > Start

   
4. The audio.split.bik files should now be converted to .wav files

   

Note: Some audio streams will not appear in the Batch command list file, and RAD will ignore them and fail to convert. They can be converted in an alternative way, covered in the next section.

Convert the audio streams using VLC Media Player

1. Open VLC Media Player > Media > Convert/Save
   
2. The Open Media window will open. Click the Add... button > select the .bik file you want > drop-down arrow to the right of Convert/Save > Convert

   
3. The Convert window will open. Under Settings > Profile drop-down > Audio - FLAC > profile edition (wrench icon)

   
4. The Profile edition window will open. Encapsulation tab > check WAV > Video codec tab > keep it unchecked (there is no video) > Audio codec tab > check > Codec - WAV, Bitrate - 320kb/s, Channels - 2, Sample Rate - 44100 or 48000 Hz > Save

   

   
5. Back in the Convert window set the destination path by clicking Browse > select folder you want to save the converted file (make sure to change the file extension to .wav in the save dialog) > Start

   
6. The .bik file should now be converted into a .wav file and can be found in your set destination folder

Convert the video stream using RAD Video Tools

1. Open RAD Video Tools > navigate to and select the original .BK2 file you want to convert > Convert a File
   
2. Within the Bink Converter window > change the Output Type to .MP4 > leave the other settings as default > make sure Audio is NOT selected > click the Convert button on the right
   
3. A window will appear showing the progress of the conversion
   
4. The .BK2 file should now be converted to an .MP4 file without audio
   

Combine the video stream and the audio streams using FFmpeg

Note: You can use FFmpeg (a command line interface program, instructions to install on Windows are here) to add map each audio stream as separate channels, but the problem with this is that a video player can only play one channel at a time. If all channels are to play, an amix filter would need to be applied that will combine all the channels into one track, for example:

ffmpeg -i INPUT1 -i INPUT2 -i INPUT3 -filter_complex amix=inputs=3:duration=first:dropout_transition=3 OUTPUT

But for the sake of simplicity, another way to do this without having to write up a complex command and enter all the file names is to import all of the audio streams (i.e. all the SFX ones and ONE voice one depending on the localisation you want) into Audacity, and then export all of them into one .wav file:

Then, with one video file and one audio file, you simply need to combine the two into one file using the following command:

ffmpeg -i 2B4301F00CBF6612436EB95C599AAFC3.mp4 -i 2B4301F00CBF6612436EB95C599AAFC3_00000000.audio.merge.wav -c:v copy -shortest output.mp4

To understand the command, the video and audio are set as inputs (filename will be different depending on which files you are doing this with), it will copy the same codec settings to avoid quality loss, it will cut to the shortest stream length to avoid overrunning if the lengths differ, and the output name will simply be output.mp4:

When played, the video remains with a very high quality and all the audio channels are audible in one audio track:

Results

Tools

• DXMDExtract:
  https://sktest.aruarose.com/DXMDExtract_v002.7z
• DEMDDatabase:
  https://disk.yandex.com/d/qUxdTmJa3MxHEs
  
• QuickBMS:
  https://aluigi.altervista.org/papers/quickbms.zip
• QuickBMS bin2fsb script:
  https://gist.github.com/criminalelements/bbeea8faa8980eb652fe3a1e9b82e209#file-bin2fsb-bms
• vgmstream (make sure the version you use is bundled with foobar2000):
  https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/releases/download/r1951/vgmstream-win64.zip
• HxD:
  https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd
• RAD Video Tools:
  http://www.radgametools.com/bnkdown.htm
• VLC Media Player:
  https://www.videolan.org
• FFmpeg:
  https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ffmpeg-git-full.7z