Huzak - Yet another music driver

[elmer]

As I've said earlier, I've been converting my old music/effects driver over to the PC Engine.

Here's a PCE ROM with the first (reasonable) test result ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hu4vcerct79m1v7/huzak-navyseals-test1.pce?dl=0

The test song is from the Gameboy, so it's only 3-channel + drums ... and I didn't want to try to convert the old drum data over, so I just dropped the drum track and then doubled and detuned the other tracks to make everything else a bit more interesting.

The composition is limited by the square-wave channels and envelopes on the GB, but I'm pretty happy with the results as a 1st-test for the driver before enhancing it and getting into converting a tune that's specifically-designed for the PCE.

Programming-wise ... the driver is smaller than 2KB, and currently takes approx 5% CPU-time, and that's when changing the waveforms of all 6 channels in the same frame.

BTW ... I know that some folks don't appreciate quite so much arpeggio ... but tough, I love this track, and thought that Matty Cannon did a great job on the game music! 

[Bonknuts]

Haha cool! Sometimes I hate the arpeggios.. sometimes I love the arpeggios. Sounds pretty decent here (in other words, it doesn't sound like Impossamole!). Love the name

[Michirin9801]

It's good to be able to listen to some custom-made music on the PC engine on an emulator for once... Pretty good! Not a big fan of arpeggios though, but these are not bad really... Keep it up! ^^

[SmokeMonster]

I just listened to it and it sounds great. Well done Elmer.

[Arkhan]

Hurray for new driver.

Gross for omfgwhyaretheresomanyarps.

Don't take this the wrong way, lol, it's just, the absence of that stuff is one of the reasons I love the PC Engine so much.

I don't have to hear arpaprarparpaprapraprpararparpaprapraprparparparaprparparpaprparpprparpaprp constantly.

I'd like to hear this song done in a more PCE style setup instead of the SID esque warbleystuff.

That stuff was originally put in due to the absence of enough channels to make chords.   We don't have to worry about that anymore.   

arps are always hit or miss.   There's not a middle ground.   Follin did OK with them usually.  Some other dudes needed to hit the nope button and just do some other effect instead, lol.

They're definitely a European thing.  You never hear them in Japanese game soundtracks really.   I can't recall any.

It's good to be able to listen to some custom-made music on the PC engine on an emulator for once... Pretty good! Not a big fan of arpeggios though, but these are not bad really... Keep it up! ^^

You can do that with Insanity and Atlantean, and the demo stuff in Squirrel.   



Maybe I should release an Atlantean Sound Test ROM....

hmm.

[Michirin9801]

It's good to be able to listen to some custom-made music on the PC engine on an emulator for once... Pretty good! Not a big fan of arpeggios though, but these are not bad really... Keep it up! ^^

You can do that with Insanity and Atlantean, and the demo stuff in Squirrel.   



Maybe I should release an Atlantean Sound Test ROM....

hmm.

Do you sell Atlantean as just a ROM or is it physical only?
Because you know, parallax scrolling on the PC engine (or any system with just one BG layer) makes me orgasm, and that game has a lot of it, but sadly I don't have a real PCE to play it on due to my general lack of disposable income...

[Arkhan]

It's good to be able to listen to some custom-made music on the PC engine on an emulator for once... Pretty good! Not a big fan of arpeggios though, but these are not bad really... Keep it up! ^^

You can do that with Insanity and Atlantean, and the demo stuff in Squirrel.   



Maybe I should release an Atlantean Sound Test ROM....

hmm.

Do you sell Atlantean as just a ROM or is it physical only?
Because you know, parallax scrolling on the PC engine (or any system with just one BG layer) makes me orgasm, and that game has a lot of it, but sadly I don't have a real PCE to play it on due to my general lack of disposable income...

I sell the ROM for 10$ and if you ever go to buy a real copy, I just subtract 10$ from that.   

There's also Santatlantean, which is free, and completely retarded.

http://www.aetherbyte.com/

and Reflectron!

[elmer]

Love the name

"husic" was already taken, and as the old saying goes ... "if it's not music, it's musak!". 

Haha cool! Sometimes I hate the arpeggios.. sometimes I love the arpeggios. Sounds pretty decent here (in other words, it doesn't sound like Impossamole!).

It's good to be able to listen to some custom-made music on the PC engine on an emulator for once... Pretty good! Not a big fan of arpeggios though, but these are not bad really... Keep it up! ^^

I just listened to it and it sounds great. Well done Elmer.

Thanks, guys. Remember ... it's not my music data, I'm just the code-monkey that wrote the driver.

It's the musician that makes these things sound good ... and I have no idea at all, how-on-earth they do it! 

Gross for omfgwhyaretheresomanyarps.

Don't take this the wrong way, lol, it's just, the absence of that stuff is one of the reasons I love the PC Engine so much.

I don't have to hear arpaprarparpaprapraprpararparpaprapraprparparparaprparparpaprparpprparpaprp constantly.

Well, some of us are ancient enough to have grown up listening to things like this ...

 

... and to remember both decimalization, and Britain entering the "Common Market" (way before the EU).

Oh ... and prog-rock and all of those other things that influenced the generation of English computer-game musicians that you have fond memories for.

And, "yes" ... it's rather out-of-place here on the PCE.

But darn, I still love that track! 

Again, it's just a proof-of-concept that the driver is basically working, and that song is my favorite among the ones that I have the source-data for.

Michirin9801's "Misty Blue" cover is the one that I really want to get working in order to read from deflemask files, and to add whatever enhancements are practically-needed to the driver.

Don't worry ... I suspect that nobody will ever use the arp-table capability again! 

I'd like to hear this song done in a more PCE style setup instead of the SID esque warbleystuff.

Me, too.

I'm not a musician, and I know that I've messed-up the sound balance with my crappy gameboy-emulation volume envelopes, and lack of decent waveforms, and terrible doubling-of-the-channels, etc.

It could be done so much better if someone wanted to.

I just suspect that nobody would be interested-enough to try. 

[Arkhan]

I hope nobody really uses those kinds of arps, because to me they insult real arpeggiator usage (Baba O'Reilly)

or from more modern times, Hungry like the Wolf.     There, it's not to simulate chords in the presence of 3 channels.   It's there to be like "goddamn that's cool and fits the damn song".   

We sit and make fun of them in MSX land...and then people turn around and overuse them there too, lol.

It plays into the MSX vs. C64 warfare.  It's comical.   I've cracked up while driving, because shipping containers here are from some company called ARP.   

It's rare to find a track that uses them well, honestly.

This is one of the only ones I can think of that does something good with them.  They used them as upstroke sounding chords, and then a reasonably not-over-powering background noise.

Last Ninja did OK too.

I made a song that used them once just to see about them on PCE.

https://youtu.be/-0bfhixkIvg?t=91

It's in this goofy PSA I made like 5 years ago to show that you don't need CDs anymore.  lol.

I still find bits of that CD on the floor in the corner or something from time to time.

[Michirin9801]

Michirin9801's "Misty Blue" cover is the one that I really want to get working in order to read from deflemask files, and to add whatever enhancements are practically-needed to the driver.

Oh gosh, hearing that one in a proper rom would make me so happy!
(even happier if you can emulate this look)
http://orig01.deviantart.net/788d/f/2016/361/a/7/n_88_basic_by_michirin9801-dat4sjs.png

Some people love the chunky pixels and drab palette of the C64, what I love is the tall pixels and vibrant (if few) colours of the NEC PCs, and while the resolution might be a little off, I think you can do it with the 512 pixel mode on the PCE... Not saying you have to do it, but... Just a little suggestion ;3
You did an Amstrad CPC prompt for the Game Boy song after all...

I'd like to hear this song done in a more PCE style setup instead of the SID esque warbleystuff.

Me, too.

I'm not a musician, and I know that I've messed-up the sound balance with my crappy gameboy-emulation volume envelopes, and lack of decent waveforms, and terrible doubling-of-the-channels, etc.

It could be done so much better if someone wanted to.

I just suspect that nobody would be interested-enough to try. 

Well, I could TRY to do it, but I can't guarantee I'll actually finish it >w>
But hey, there's no harm in trying right?

It's rare to find a track that uses them well, honestly.

This is one of the only ones I can think of that does something good with them.  They used them as upstroke sounding chords, and then a reasonably not-over-powering background noise.

Last Ninja did OK too.

Bomberman '93!

What's good about this song is that it uses arps sparingly, and in this case I think that they actually enhance the song and I couldn't possibly imagine it with proper chords when these arps are that good!
But yeah, it really is rare to find good arps...

[Arkhan]

Thank you for also stating that the C64 palette is drab.

It's hideous.   It rarely looks OK.   I can't comprehend people that try to honestly defend it as being beautiful.

Which arps do you mean in that BM93 song?  The "wurbleWarb!" noise between the verse/chorus?   Or do you mean the webrwerbwebrwerbwerbwerb noise that's going on in the verse?

Those arps are good either way because they aren't overpowering.

I go more for the MSX and it's overall lack of arps.

Microcabin did something majestic with FM + PSG that nobody has ever duplicated, and probably never will.

[Michirin9801]

Thank you for also stating that the C64 palette is drab.

It's hideous.   It rarely looks OK.   I can't comprehend people that try to honestly defend it as being beautiful.

I tried making some pixel art with the C64 palette to go with my first C64 cover, but I gave up because I just couldn't get it to look any good... Now don't get me wrong, some people can do beautiful works with the C64 palette, but I'm not one of them, I like vibrant and vivid colours!

Which arps do you mean in that BM93 song?  The "wurbleWarb!" noise between the verse/chorus?   Or do you mean the webrwerbwebrwerbwerbwerb noise that's going on in the verse?

Those arps are good either way because they aren't overpowering.

I mean both! They're both good and not overused!
The "webrwebrwebrwebr" noise that goes in the verse is just quiet enough that you have to be paying attention to even notice it, and the "wurbleWarb" just has a perfect wavetable to go with it so it sounds amazing~

I go more for the MSX and it's overall lack of arps.

Microcabin did something majestic with FM + PSG that nobody has ever duplicated, and probably never will.

Having an FM chip to go with it already goes a long way, the C64 is stuck with the SID, and as good as the SID can sound, 3 channels only is just WAY too limiting...
But if I'm not mistaken the MSX FM expansion chip is 2OP isn't it? Personally I feel 2OP FM is a little weak... It's good, and when used right it can sound amazing, but when it comes to FM I go for PC-88/98 and X68000 all the way...

^and here's why (or at least a couple of the possibly thousands of examples)

Heck, using PMD and making PC-98 music is probably my biggest incentive to dabble into MML, even bigger than PC engine itself! (It also helps that HVR exports instruments to the PMD format)
All that said though, I still think the PCE sounds better than all of that >w>
(And that the Super Nintendo sounds better than real life xD)

[Arkhan]

Its opl2, but paired with the psg, sounds great.  You can also add konami scc in and have an overload of sound.

Its great.

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk

[touko]

Cool a new driver  .
Excellent job,and how about the music size ??

[ccovell]

A cool sound driver!  The Navy Seals soundtrack is also really good; the Amiga title screen song being one of the best.

They're definitely a European thing.  You never hear them in Japanese game soundtracks really.   I can't recall any.

Magical Chase rather famously and gloriously has arpeggios in a few tracks.  Listen and enjoy!