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Watch Dogs — SPK Sound Pack Structure & Switch Events

Community reverse-engineered sound modding knowledge (Discord: Vector4782 [Villain Arc] 1/9/18, みる97 3/22/23). SPKs are the audio pack containers that the binary soundidlinelinks.slid links to via its LinkID column (see SLID Format). Here's what is inside an SPK.

SPK file IDs​

SPKs are referenced by their hex hash as the filename (<hash>.spk), matching the SLID LinkID (Col B) range and the <Elem>/<Id>/<eventRef> values in their XML internals. e.g. 0001803e.spk, 00018029.spk, 0010d5ae.spk, 000170a4.spk.

Two XML container types​

1. Parent / child track — <m_events> (multi-resource track)​

A parent SPK references child SPKs as <Elem> elements under <m_events>. Example: the player gunshot SPK (0001803e is the parent — holds playback properties / loop behavior):

<m_events>
 <Elem>00018029</Elem> <!-- the shot itself (a 4-layer multilayer track) -->
 <Elem>0010d5ae</Elem> <!-- echo / reverb / location-based reflection — keep as-is -->
 <Elem>000170a4</Elem> <!-- casing sounds — MUST add this Elem to hear shell casings -->
</m_events>
  • Top = the shot, split into 4 layers (multilayer file).
  • Middle = location-based reflection/echo (0010d5ae — contains many sounds).
  • Last = casing (000170a4).
  • To replace a gunshot: create a single-layer SPK swapping just the player shot sound, then add casing + echo/reverb as <Elem> children in the parent SPK.

Adding a new layer: add it as an <Elem> in the parent SPK (e.g. <Elem>B5A2EE00F</Elem> for B5A2E00F.spk), then register it in depload (search the parent SPK and its path). New SPKs may need depload too.

2. Switch event — <type>SwitchEventDescriptor</type> / <m_elements>​

Separates player vs AI sound per SPK via a switch event. The weapon archetype declares the switch values:

sndswvlAISoundSwitchValue="#434D" <!-- 17229 = AI sound spk id -->
sndswvlPlayerSoundSwitchValue="#434C" <!-- 17228 = player sound spk id -->

The switch-event SPK maps each switch value to a sound event:

<type>SwitchEventDescriptor</type>
<Id>0004eacc</Id> <!-- this SPK's id → change to your new spk id -->
<m_elements>
 <Elem><eventRef>0004eac2</eventRef><switchValueId>17228</switchValueId></Elem> <!-- player -->
 <Elem><eventRef>0004eb0e</eventRef><switchValueId>17229</switchValueId></Elem> <!-- ai -->
 <Elem><eventRef>0004eb0e</eventRef><switchValueId>1147235</switchValueId></Elem>
 <Elem><eventRef>0004eb0e</eventRef><switchValueId>1211638</switchValueId></Elem>
</m_elements>

Rules from the community:

  • 17228 = player sound spk id, 17229 = ai sound spk id. Change these in your copy of the switch-event SPK.
  • This keeps player audio from spilling into NPC/AI sounds — set a switchevent inside the SPK for that separation.
  • For AI-only, use eventRef = ffffffff.
  • To drive a moving-part/trigger sound with the switch: point the trigger sound SPK at your new switch-event SPK (new SPK may need depload).

Tools​

  • SPK tool (community, current) — the recommended SPK editor (supersedes the Mirus 010 script for most cases).
  • Mirus 010 script — still useful for multilayer in-game tracks (e.g. replacing the "Dot Connexion" music track with 2 layers).

Relation to SLID​

soundidlinelinks.slid (binary) maps SoundID → LinkID (.spk hash). This doc covers what those .spk files contain. snd.txt / Eng_snd_Fileslist_Loc.csv resolve SoundID → dialogue text. See SLID Format.

See also​