Fragmare

I'm all for any further updates and/or improvements to the 7800 Double Dragon! It definitely could have sounded way better. I'll just leave this here for now...

Here are the zipped RMT, SAP, and XEX files, attached below. Batman_NES_Full_OST_POKEY.zip

Batman (NES) Full OST covered on Atari 8-Bit POKEY (NTSC, 4-channel, Mono). Happy Halloween! I'll tidy up the .RMT and .XEX files and upload them to this thread soon.

Here is the Youtube video, in case anybody is would rather listen that way. Gameplay video taken from the Game Gear version.

Ahh, I see. So, it's customizable by the programmer. That makes sense. VGM can be very timer-heavy, i hear.

Yea, speaking of that... what exactly is the native refresh rate of the Lynx? I highly doubt it's PAL or NTSC standard.

The next version of Furnace tracker will support the Lynx/MIKEY! Here is a tune I covered from Road Rash on the Lynx. Enjoy!

Ah, I see... I didn't know it would require a significant amount of CPU time to read that way. It just got me wondering because you said the DPC+ wavetables are stored as 8-bit, but the TIA's volume register is only 4-bit, which means the 8-bit amplitude values of the DPC+ wavetables would need to get rounded to the nearest 4-bit integer at some point anyway. It seemed like it was worth a shot for 2x the storage efficiency. Perhaps that kind of bitplane compression would still be viable for saving space in ROM, if not in RAM? I dunno, maybe... Yea, that'd be optimal for having different musics in the game that have different wavetables! You'd only load up the wavetables you need into RAM while that particular song is playing. Most chiptune tracks I've made with wavetables on the PC-Engine and N163 thus far rarely if ever use more than 16 or so unique wavetables. I'd imagine with the 2600, as long as you had your basic waveforms (various pulse widths of square, a sawtooth, sine, triangle, and maybe a slap-bass wave) you'd be all set.

128 seems like waaaaay more wavetables than you'd ever need anyway. Like, really, from a chiptuner's perspective, that's more than enough to make some really nice sounds. Hmmm... if they are stored as 8-bit, I was thinking... you could possibly save RAM, if you wanted, by packing two 4-bit wavetables into a single 8-bit wavetable space. So wavetable #1 would occupy bit 0-3, and wavetable #2 would occupy 4-7. That would result in each waveform having a size of 32x16, which is still a nice size since the TIA volume register is 4-bit in the first place.

So I see the wavetable size you are using appears to be 32x256. Is that the native wavetable size of the DPC+, then?

Made a Channel F thing... GB Tetris - Type-A Theme (Fairchild Channel F Chiptune Cover) https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/MnaR4

That's a banger, for sure

Decided to also cover Akuma's theme from SFA in Amiga MOD format (widely used for music in Jaguar games). Module file attached below. Street_Fighter_Alpha_-_Akuma_Theme02f.mod

Here's a tweaked version of the .MOD file, in case anyone is interested https://mega.nz/file/uHxQWb7a#j5L2jXpxo8hY9Ymht_ZQ2bmwoFSoBFLPRjaadGKNiMo

More shenanigans with the DPC chip

A little something I whipped up on the POKEY for a 7800 project over in that sub-forum. 4-Channel, Mono, NTSC 1987 Hudson Soft., Jun Chikuma Created with Raster Music Tracker. Recorded with Altirra. RMT and XEX attached below. Bomberman_Stage_Theme1_POKEY01b.zip

This game is terrible lol... great soundtrack, though! 4-Channel, Mono, NTSC 1992 Konami, Kenichi Matsubara, Tomoya Tomita Created with Raster Music Tracker. Recorded with Altirra. RMT and XEX attached below Contra_Force_Stage_2_01a.zip

Loosely based on BallAndPaddle's excellent cover of the same song. 4-Channel, Mono, NTSC 1992 Square Co., Ryuji Sasai Created with Raster Music Tracker. Recorded with Altirra. RMT and XEX files attached in .ZIP below Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 01b.zip

Never mind, I see RushJet1 is already doing the TIA music. I'll just stick with the POKEY Also, here's a slightly revised .RMT. Tweaked the timing a little and a few other things. Sounds a little better to my ears... Bomberman_Stage_Theme1_POKEY01b.zip

Thanks! TIA only version forthcoming.

And here is the finished Stage 1 POKEY theme RMT module file attached below... Bomberman_Stage_Theme1_POKEY01a.zip

Here's a little something i cooked up on the POKEY last night. Obviously, it's not finished yet. But you will probably get the idea... https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/427282778929889320/820357443209003098/Bomberman_Stage_Theme1_POKEY01a.wav

Interesting! This actually does help a bit! So each of the three DPC+ channels can have volume ranging from 0-5? Not just 0 *or* 5? If so, this, in and of itself, is a HUGE advantage over the regular DPC which has no volume control whatsoever. This means you can potentially create enveloped instruments that sound MUCH better than they would on regular DPC. The ability to create rudimentary wavetables is also great! Especially for Namco arcade conversions where the original arcade sound hardware was wavetable based in the first place. I did want to ask for clarification about something regarding the DPC+ frequencies, though... Most old PSG chips have their available frequencies defined by the hardware itself, using pitch dividers. Usually, these will be arranged in a sort of gradient, where the frequencies are bunched up and closer together on the lower, bassy end and spaced further apart the higher up the frequency scale you go. You then must define a note table that uses only the hardware defined frequencies available. This can sometimes lead to tuning issues, depending on the number of hardware defined frequencies that are available (such as with the TIA, or to lesser extent, the original DPC) You're saying that the DPC+ note table is user defined, and can contain up to 256 entries (128 if ARM is in use). My question is this... must these 128 or 256 user defined note table entries also adhere to some sort of master frequency table defined by the DPC+ hardware itself, like older PSG chips? Or is it one of those things where the hardware defined frequencies of the DPC+ are so ridiculously numerous that you can essentially get perfect or near perfect tuning, if you want?

Hmm, I have been meaning to cover some Bomberman music on the POKEY anyway... ?

Hey guys, I'm not a programmer, but do a lot of work with Atari chiptune & sound design, and I had a question or two about the difference in pulse frequencies between the original Activision DPC chip from Pitfall II and the newer DPC+ chip in the Harmony cartridge... I've done some tests with sound output from dpctuner.bin, and as we all know, the original DPC has 256 frequencies (really only 224, as 224-255 seem to all be exactly the same)... however, I've noticed only a select few of those frequencies are "pure". The rest seem to be interpolated, microtonal approximations of other "in-between" frequencies. Of which, about ~50 or so line up fairly well with actual note frequencies, when making a note table. My questions are... Does the DPC+ offer better tuning and more pure frequencies than the regular DPC? If so, is there a ROM file out there that showcases all the frequencies of the DPC+, like dpctuner.bin does for the normal DPC? Also, how do either of these chips handle volume when downmixing their 3 channels into a single TIA channel? Do they have their 3 channels pre-set to a volume level that will never exceed the TIA's 4-bit volume register, even when all 3 are combined? Or do they simply mix all 3 channels, and let the TIA's 4-bit volume register clip off any excess that might exceed max volume? Any insight or advice would be appreciated