jespol

Yes... but with one major problem: TMS7000 CPU uses SRAM and not DRAM, and SRAM was very expensive... so the computer was built with only 2ko of SRAM and 32 or 64ko of DRAM for Video purpose. And the communication with the DRAM is via the TMS3556 video controller... and it is slow, very slow ! Hopefully some SRAM extensions exist (16ko cartridge and 32ko embedded in the floppy device). The other main problem is elsewhere. At the same time appears a brand new computer: Amstrad CPC with its known great success in european countries... and in 1986 (when exeltel appears), the 16/32 Atari computers push the 8bit platform out.

And we used a modified coefficient and chirp tables with QBOX, not the original one ! Last revision of 5220 is embedded in all exelvision computer (Exl100 and Exeltel): Exeltel allows to change the frequency (male/female voice) and adds a 6100 ROM chip (with many french words and some sounds).

You're right... some samples are not present in the game because the real sound is worse, but the emulation sound was good !!! In fact emulation of the 5220 is not totally reliable or it does not emulate some bugs of the TMS52200 (I vote for the second solution). But all the samples in the game sound well (or not too bad). You have the complete collection of samples we have generated from Qbox, but only some of them have been retained (cause of bad sound, french voice, or simply unused). I dont't think that other elements could interrest you because the video processor TMS3556 is unknown in your country (and in the rest of the world), and the TMS7000 serie CPU has never been used in a TI computer... but it is a very interesting microcontroler (not fast but easy to code and it integrates all we need in a single chip). I heard sounds you obtain with a Ti99. It is clear that the revision of the TMS5220 chip is different or the coefficient table in ROM is different. The result on an Exelvision machine is far better than the emulator, sounds are clear (with some exception) with good bass (Exelvision has added some kind of filters).

Ok. I have attached a new file with the ASM code which I used to test all the LPC samples. sfx_asm.zip

If the Ti99 contains a TMS5220, it sould work... the coeffecient in TMS5220 could be slightly different but the sound sould be similar. The lpc in my archive are the exact binary data that you have to send to TMS5220. But perhaps the routine that manages the communication between CPU and 5220 in the Ti99 needs a specific format ?

I made an archive with all LPC samples generated during developement...some of them have disapeared from the final realease (generally because bad sound on real computer). Format of files is only binary data which can be sent directly to TMS5220.sfx.zip

I don't know this program (a vocal synthetizer on Ti99 using TMS5220 LPC phonems ?)... the result is a classical robotic sound ! Voices and sounds from Transylvania game use a very different approach: all LPC sounds come from WAV files which we have processed with Qbox. So we can obtain different (and more natural) voices (king, hero, princess with very different tones) and many samples (owl, wolf, frog, cat, different laughs, heart beat, door, footstep, scifi sound, etc.). We will on work on a modern tool to convert WAV files... but the project is starting.

We have prepared an easier method to test the game (and the LPC sound): a windows application which encapsulates the game in an emulator in a total transparent way. So you could hear the different sounds from the game, but samples from a real computer sounds really better.

I am sorry but all the souds from the game are synthetized from WAV files with original sounds and not human simulating sounds... the game proove that TMS5220 can reproduce realistic sound and not only human voice. I will give you a link to a windows executable version of the game (in fact dcexel emulator customized for this game) and you'll can ear many realistic sounds. No, TMS5220 can play other sound than human voice... and the limitation we have encoutered came from Qbox which is dedicated to human voice: algotithm used is too specific, but by modifying some parameters this tool can generate good LPC string for non human sound. But algorithm inside Qbox cannot manage melodic sound and some sounds (with many bass). Some other games and programs for Exelvision computer proove that TMS5220 can reproduce many type of sounds... perhaps this chip has never been really used with Ti99 computers ? We have found sources of a modern encoder for LPC string, and we will try to adapt the output (and the algorithm) for TMS5220... I hope this new converter will enhance human and non human samples. I feel it's amazing to hear realistic sample sounds in 1985/86 computers... these kind of sound appear only after 1990 for many other computers (I mean games with many sample sounds). And a complex sound cost nothing: some hundred of bytes... 1-2kB max.

Yes and No. Qbox can convert some sound, and the result is sometime good, sometime awful. We succed in generating many good samples other than human voice. But one thing is sure: all kind of musical sound is absolutely impossible to synthesize. And the best solution to ensure a good result: use your voice to simulate sound (dog, cat, chicken)

Exeltel is an evolution of Exl100 and has a classic keyboard (infrared is unusable in practice). Links for At&T natural voice speaking here. It is not the best way to generate good sample for TMS5220 (Natural voice produces WAV file, WAV file is transforms by Qbox to produce LPC compatible data), but it is very convenient (no voice to record). The Transylvania is made in Basic (exelbasic+) with many routines in assembler to manage media data (graphic, sound and music)... I don't know Ti-99... but I suppose it is possible to obtain the same result.

TMS7040 is from the TMS7000 series... the most popular exelvision machine was Exl100 with TMS7020. This is a classical architecture from Ti: CPU uses SRAM (2ko by default in exelvision computer) and 32 or 64ko of DRAM for Video purpose... this VRAM is used as RAM with slow communication between CPU/Video Processor... in the same way as for some Ti Computer with basic. We use a configuration with SRAM extension (16ko SRAM) and floppy device extension (adding 32ko of SRAM). The speech was synthesized on QBOX... and before this, for voices only, we used an on-line speech synthetizer from AT&T to produce very good WAV samples from text (it was better for english accent). The architecture which drives the TMS5220 is complex but easy to program: the main CPU (7040) communicates with a second CPU (7042) in charge of IO with other components. The 7042 communicates directly with the TMS5220... so the main CPU only sends some commands to the 7042 and sends flow of data when the 7042 requires data (buffer underflow between 7042 and 7020). The video processor is a TMS3556 from Ti France: - 320x250 with 8 fixed colors in graphic mode - 40x25 lines in text mode (with 4 generators which can be redefined) - a mixe mode which combine graphic and text (used in Transylvania) - 640x250 in B&W graphic mode

I am very proud to present to you an adaptation of a very famous classic game Transylvania, on a completely unknown French computer. I can see some perplexity in your eyes. The target computer is an Exelvision machine, named Exeltel… a French computer using many Ti components and defined by engineers from Ti. I know that's not very enough exciting for many people. But this game uses intensively the famous vocal synthesizer TMS5220 from Ti with original samples. The intro of the game is made with original voice samples and the game itself contains many sound and voice samples. I am sure this point can interest Ti fans. you can see a Video of the introduction, and here the web site of authors.An emulator for Exelvision computer exists here, we can give the procedure if interested (cause of French language in the emulator). This is the best adaptation of Transylvania from Antonio Antiochia: high resolution graphic using the 16/32 bits version (ST/Amiga), sound samples, music, very fast move in the world (fast IO access, caching method, fast command line). The game contains many surprises for people who known the game: some different riddles and different original ends. Exetel configuration is 48ko RAM, 64ko VRAM,720ko floppy drive, 320x250 with 8 fixed colors for video If you think that this game adaptation could interest other people (Apple fans, Transylvania fans, retrogaming fans), I let you post some information about the game. I don't know relevant US or UK sites and forums which could be interested in this news. Thanks a lot. If interested, there are discussions about this game and more generally about technical challenges on old computers in a French forum here. We can understand and write English ( as French people can write and speak English !!!). I will be happy to discuss with here or elsewhere you about this game. I don't want you become fans of exelvision, but I hope that you could be interested in some technical parts (related to Ti components).

I am very proud to present to you an adaptation of a very famous classic game Transylvania, on a completely unknown French computer. I can see some perplexity in your eyes. The target computer is an Exelvision machine, named Exeltel… a French computer using many Ti components and defined by engineers from Ti. I know that's not very enough exciting for many people. But this game uses intensively the famous vocal synthesizer TMS5220 from Ti with original samples. The intro of the game is made with original voice samples and the game itself contains many sound and voice samples. I am sure this point can interest Ti fans. you can see a Video of the introduction, and here the web site of authors.An emulator for Exelvision computer exists here, we can give the procedure if interested (cause of French language in the emulator). This is the best adaptation of Transylvania from Antonio Antiochia: high resolution graphic using the 16/32 bits version (ST/Amiga), sound samples, music, very fast move in the world (fast IO access, caching method, fast command line). The game contains many surprises for people who known the game: some different riddles and different original ends. Exetel configuration is 48ko RAM, 64ko VRAM,720ko floppy drive, 320x250 with 8 fixed colors for video If you think that this game adaptation could interest other people (Apple fans, Transylvania fans, retrogaming fans), I let you post some information about the game. I don't know relevant US or UK sites and forums which could be interested in this news. Thanks a lot. If interested, there are discussions about this game and more generally about technical challenges on old computers in a French forum here. We can understand and write English ( as French people can write and speak English !!!). I will be happy to discuss with here or elsewhere you about this game. I don't want you become fans of exelvision, but I hope that you could be interested in some technical parts (related to Ti components). I posted in this section because it is a general topic about homebrew, but the main discussion si certainly in the Ti99 programing section.