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abraXXious

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About abraXXious

  • Birthday 03/24/1976

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Australia
  • Interests
    Retro consoles & computers. Collecting rifles, handguns and crossbows. Hunting. Cinema (especially the older classics of sci-fi). Music (60s, 70s and 80s. Sid etc).
  • Currently Playing
    Bioshock Infinite and Dishonored.

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  1. Again, not bad.... but certainly not on the same level as the SID examples I posted - they sound very samey and shallow, no distinct instruments. In fairness, Nemesis The Warlock was never one of Hubbards greats. Didn't the Atari 8 bits get a conversion of Warhawk? It had a good Hubbard soundtrack, it would be interesting to compare the Pokey and SID on the same tune (if Hubbard did the Atari version.... if an Atari version exists).
  2. Well that's great that the GTIA can produce an extra two sound channels - with that in mind it should be easy to direct me to a few Pokey tunes that sound as good as the SID ones I posted. I wait with bated breath.
  3. We are getting warmer! That's not bad.... but still not great. Can you suggest any others that sound a little less "bloopy"? Did Time Follin ever do any Pokey music? He was usually able to get some good instrument sounds out of the hardware he was using.
  4. Thank you! Checking them out now. Will post back shortly.
  5. Starts slow, but after 1:55 and especially 3:20 shows the gap between SID and any other sound chip of its era. If you listen, more and more voices are added as the piece progresses (using the volume bug). Short piece that shows the SIDs waveform abilities to add variable reverb and decay to give a very full oriental sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3H7TGofJQ Good version of the Turrican III music - C64 got an unofficial port of the Megadrive/Amiga game a few years back. Some good filter effects (love the "ethereal" sounds at 1:16 onwards) Not a great tune (the C64 got two conversions of Afterburner and I prefer the music from the UK version), however this shows the forth sample voice of the SID. The SID had 4 usable voices, not 3. The 4th was for samples.
  6. SID does sort of have 4 voices as the volume registers are used to play sampled sounds in addition to the 3 voices using the bug in the SID - usually used for the percussion. Im sorry, but as a user of both systems the Pokey, as capable as it may have been for its time, cannot compare to the SID at all. The SID, using its extensive envelope, delay etc and different filters and available waveforms, can produce complex and rich sounds such as pipe organs, banjos, harmonicas etc. Pokey can produce beeps and bloops - great for Pacman and Space Invader conversions, not so great for music. Having a soft spot for the 8 bit Atari's (big Jay Miner fan) I would LOVE to hear some amazing Pokey tunes that hold up to the SID - please direct me to ONE. Lets use just the two games I linked to. If you can point me to a single Pokey tune that sounds as good as these then I will happily concede the pokey is the SIDs equal.
  7. That really does sounds like an early SID tune. I could imagine it running in the background of some early 80s Monty Mole type platformer.
  8. Well this sounds much better, however there still seems to be a large gap between the capabilities of the SID and Pokey. I think the Pokey is more in its element, so to speak, playing simpler electronic sounds, like early arcade machines (which makes sense). I would like to hear things like the Lemmings soundtrack from it as I believe it could do these sort of simplistic, upbeat tunes well.
  9. ?! That sounds terrible! Scratchy, indistinct "instruments", just..... a mess. Surely this is not considered the best Pokey can do? Compare this to just the Ghouls and Ghosts soundtrack on the SID - HUUUUUUUUUGE difference, and thats just a typical SID tune - no extra CPU processing etc requires, it simply runs in the background of the game. There were two main revision of the SID, which are pretty much the same chip except for the later being designed to run on 9 volts instead of 12 and fixing a "bug" in the volume cut out of the SID.... which had the side effect of dramatically reducing the volume for sampled effects as this bug was used to oscillate the volume registers and play samples.
  10. Hmmmm, I thought the XL range was released in 82. In any event, makes no difference as the sound hardware (and the majority of the rest) was identical. I shall edit my previous statement on your correction - in 1982 the C64s competition from Atari was the original Atari 800 and Atari 400 - both of which still used the Pokey chip.
  11. Oh, and the amazing Ghouls and Ghosts sound track only requires ONE SID chip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEjKPvk4rnw Title music is atmospheric with some nice metal hammer sounds, but I have always had a soft spot for the Level 1,3 and 4 themes. Level 1 - 3:58 Level 2 - 6:50 Level 3 - 9:20 Level 4 - 11:40 Level 5 - 13:35 After listening to that can you say the Pokey has "clearer" sound with a straight face?
  12. What are you talking about? My statement that the SID was more capable than other sound chips of the time, including the Pokey is 100% correct. When the C64 was released in late 81 (but pretty much 82 worldwide) the available CURRENT system from Atari was the XL range - which used the Pokey. The fact that they had developed and first used the chip years earlier is immaterial - in 1982 it was the competition to the C64. Of course, it would be EXPECTED that hardware three years newer SHOULD be more powerful. If you were to say that the Pokey was a bigger accomplishment than the SID due to being released years earlier, then you might have a point, but this still does not negate the fact that the SID is more powerful, again, as you would expect due to the later date of development. If I were to (correctly) state that the Amiga had a better sound chip that most PCs at the time of it's release, would that be incorrect on the basis that the SID was 4 years old at that time? No, of course not. The C64 was STILL an available, produced and supported platform at the time of the Amiga's introduction (and many years after). Do Atari loverboys often twist the facts to fashion excuses for the shortcomings of their preferred platform?
  13. My Flash cart arrived today and I just had to post a thank you to Saint for developing such a wonderful product. Works impeccably with all ROMs I have thrown at it and the quality and workmanship of the cart itself is second to none - very professional. Even the menu system is a simple elegant solution down to the preview screenshots of all ROMs - very nice touch. Thanks again Saint, was well worth the wait and I look forward to your upcoming Neo Geo Pocket and Atari Jaguar products. Cheers buddy.
  14. Hey, just read your 'reception' over at the Neo Geo forums - and I can truly say a single sentence describes it perfectly - what a pack of arseholes. That place has one of the worst reputations as a forum, but I never expected anything as blunt, harsh and ridiculous as I saw there. I urge everyone to check out that thread for a real eye opener....
  15. You know, if for some reason the ole' CC goes on strike.... I would be happy to help you out by picking up your position in the queue.
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