# Music Pack Format
NordVader Synced Music Player uses compatible music pack mods. A compatible pack is more than a random collection of Space Engineers sounds.
It must contain audio files, sound definitions, stable IDs, duration data, and library metadata.
## Required structure
Recommended structure:
«`text
MusicPack/
Audio/
Artist Name/
Album Name/
Track Name.xwm
Data/
…sound definitions and provider data…
metadata.mod
thumb.jpg
WorkshopDescription.txt
«`
Main music structure:
«`text
Audio / Artist / Album / Track.xwm
«`
Example:
«`text
Audio/
Kino/
Gruppa krovi/
Gruppa krovi.xwm
Zakroy za mnoy dver.xwm
Metallica/
Black Album/
Enter Sandman.xwm
Sad But True.xwm
«`
## Required data
A compatible pack should include:
— audio files in a supported game format, usually `.xwm`
— sound definitions for Space Engineers
— stable `SoundId` values
— Artist metadata
— Album metadata
— Title metadata
— Duration metadata
— correct file paths
— optional `WorkshopDescription.txt`
— optional `thumb.jpg`
## Metadata fields
The player expects the music library to describe tracks like this:
«`text
SoundId
Artist
Album
Title
Duration
«`
The exact implementation can be generated by SEMusicBoxMaker.
## Track names
Track titles should not contain duplicated artist names.
Correct:
«`text
Artist: Kino
Title: Gruppa krovi
«`
Wrong:
«`text
Title: Kino — Gruppa krovi
«`
The artist belongs in Artist metadata, not inside the title.
## SoundId rules
SoundId values should be stable.
Do not randomly change SoundId values after publishing a pack unless you intentionally want to break old references or regenerate the full library.
Good SoundIds are:
— deterministic
— unique inside the pack
— safe for Space Engineers definitions
— not dependent on temporary filenames
## When to refresh provider data
Refresh provider data after:
— adding tracks
— deleting tracks
— renaming tracks
— changing artists
— changing albums
— moving tracks between albums
— changing file paths
— re-sorting an existing library
In SEMusicBoxMaker, use:
«`text
Write / Refresh Track Durations + Provider
«`
## Common mistakes
### Flat music structure
Bad:
«`text
Audio/
Track1.xwm
Track2.xwm
«`
Better:
«`text
Audio/
Artist/
Album/
Track1.xwm
Track2.xwm
«`
### Missing metadata
If metadata is missing, the player may not show artists and albums correctly.
### Duplicated artist in title
Bad:
«`text
Artist — Song
«`
Better:
«`text
Song
«`
with Artist stored separately.
## Recommended tool
Use [SEMusicBoxMaker](../semusicboxmaker/) to create and maintain compatible music packs.