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Pong with segments


karri

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My opinion is that the most interesting tool for sound effects is the SFX part in Handy Music. A few examples from my recent game On Duty. This file is the source file for all the sound effects in the game.

 

To use the effects you write this in your C-file:

#define PickSFX 0
#define PlingSFX 1
#define BombSFX 2
#define MachinegunSFX 3
#define ChopperSFX 4
#define ChopperSFXpriority 236
#define AlertSFX 5
#define ExplosionSFX 6
#define StepSFX 7
#define LocknloadSFX 8


    if (isbullet(getmytileplain())) {
        ammo += 1;
        HandyMusic_PlaySFX(PickSFX);
        setmytile(bullet_bg(getmytileplain()));
    }

 

sfxeffects.txt

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HandyMusic use a programming language called SASS.

 

Here is an instrument from the On Duty Funk intro:

 

SnareShort
        waveform $7B
        volume 90 -8
        frequency 100
        {
                rest 8
                noteoff
                end
        }


Here is the entire drum track. This style is called Funk:

MusicDrums 100
{ 
        pan $ff
        loop -1
                call DrumsA             ; 256
        endloop
        end
}

DrumsA
{
        loop 2
                loop 3
                        using Kick
                        sfx 16
                        sfx 16

                        using Cymbal
                        sfx 24
                        using Tish
                        sfx 4
                        sfx 4

                        rest 8
                        using Kick
                        sfx 8
                        using SnareShort
                        sfx 16

                        using Cymbal
                        sfx 8
                        using Kick
                        sfx 24
                endloop
                using Kick
                sfx 16
                sfx 16
                using Cymbal
                sfx 24
                using Tish
                sfx 4
                sfx 4
                rest 8
                using Kick
                sfx 8
                using SnareShort
                sfx 16
                using Cymbal
                sfx 8
                using Kick
                sfx 8
                using SnareShort
                sfx 8
                rest 8
        endloop
        return
}

For tonal instruments the track is a bit different:

 

BassA
{
        loop 2
                using Gargletar
                c.2 8
                rest 8
                c.2 8
                rest 56
                a.2 8
                rest 16
                as2 8
                rest 16
        endloop
        return
}

 

To get a big picture here is the melody that best describes the structure of the tune.

MusicMelody 100
{ 
        pan $ff
        rest 256                        ; 256
        call SlowMorse                  ; 256
        rest 512
        loop -1
                loop 2
                        rest 256                        ; A-part 1024
                        call SlowMorse                  ; 512
                endloop

                rest 512
                call LeadLow_MiddlePart         ; 512
        endloop
        end
}

If you play On Duty then this is what you hear on the intro screen.

In episode 2 (evacuation) you can hear the chopper once you have rescued the target and guided him to the H-pad at the top right of the map.

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There's this tool Midi to SASS (MID2SASS) too, but I haven't tried it out that or HandyMusic myself yet, so I don't know how well it works. It can be found on TailChaos home page:
http://www.tailchao.com/Audio/index.php

 

Here's an older thread about HandyMusic too:

 

In my opinion chipper has been nice so far too, after you've learnt to use the tracker it's pretty quick to make music with it. Apparently HandyMusic consumes less space though. In my opinion both would rely on having a bunch of good preset instruments/sounds unless you're a fan of tweaking and creating those yourself. ?

Edited by Turbo Laser Lynx
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34 minutes ago, Turbo Laser Lynx said:

There's this tool Midi to SASS (MID2SASS) too, but I haven't tried it out that or HandyMusic myself yet, so I don't know how well it works.

MID2SASS works. It will split the tune to several files. One file per instrument. Obviously it also attempts to mark multiple notes on the same stem with duration 0. So if you hit the chord C you end up with

 

c.2 0

e.2 0

g.2 20

 

Only the highest sound seem to be audible.

 

After trying to use MID2SASS a few times I took a different route:

- record what you play on rosegarden
- export the tune to a midi file
- import the midi file to MuseScore

- quantify and simplify the pattern in MuseScore to what you want to play.

- print out sheet music

- code it by hand to SASS by using a spreadsheet to keep track of ticks per bar.

 

PS. this is a slow process. I still have my coffee shop bossa nova that I intend to use on the "hidden" storyline in On Duty. My guess is that it will take one full evening to finalize this tune in SASS. Fortunately there is still a few evenings before PRGE.

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16 minutes ago, 8bit-Dude said:

So if I understood correctly, there is no dedicated tracker for HandyMusic ATM, which means that tracks cannot be previewed unless actually played in an emulator. Is that correct?

 

And regarding MID2SASS, does it try to convert instruments as well as tracks?

 

What's wrong with Chipper? AFAIK it contains a tracker.

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I've been summoned by the board's new tagging feature.

 

HandyMusic's demo program includes a download over comlynx feature. My workflow was usually to compile a track, download over comlynx, then listen on the hardware - no emulator involved.

 

Regarding MID2SASS, the "multiple notes on the same stem marked with zero" occurs if more than one note on / off is performed in the same MIDI channel. This program was written with the intention of your game's composer writing music with the Lynx hardware limitations in mind - not converting whatever MIDIs you may find online. There's no instrument converter, you have to create your patches by hand.

 

When RushJet1 was doing Rikki & Vikki's music he created a Famitracker -> SASS converter. This was using BupBoop (which is newer and more complex), but something similar is feasible for HandyMusic.

 

Of course, I have not worked on HandyMusic in at least five years and have not done any work with the Lynx in three - the driver is very old and could be significantly improved.

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9 hours ago, TailChao said:

HandyMusic's demo program includes a download over comlynx feature. My workflow was usually to compile a track, download over comlynx, then listen on the hardware - no emulator involved.

 

Regarding MID2SASS, the "multiple notes on the same stem marked with zero" occurs if more than one note on / off is performed in the same MIDI channel. This program was written with the intention of your game's composer writing music with the Lynx hardware limitations in mind - not converting whatever MIDIs you may find online. There's no instrument converter, you have to create your patches by hand.

 

When RushJet1 was doing Rikki & Vikki's music he created a Famitracker -> SASS converter. This was using BupBoop (which is newer and more complex), but something similar is feasible for HandyMusic.

Thanks for this complete description TailChao. It confirms my initial understanding that producing tracks for HandyMusic is quite a bit more involved than using Chipper (which can render the track within the editor). In an ideal world, someone will someday be interested in producing a tracker for HandyMusic .

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14 hours ago, 8bit-Dude said:

Thanks for this complete description TailChao. It confirms my initial understanding that producing tracks for HandyMusic is quite a bit more involved than using Chipper (which can render the track within the editor). In an ideal world, someone will someday be interested in producing a tracker for HandyMusic .

chipper writes outr HandyMusic tracks, too ... but the instruments are not 100% compaible and must be modofied by hand.

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On 10/1/2019 at 4:07 PM, 42bs said:

Yepp, it is not the question of the tool. It is the question of talent. If someone can make great music using an SID tracker, there is always a way to get this converted.

Well, SID is maybe too special, but a YM-tracker ...

You can also split it up into composing a track and creating the sounds. I'd say they play pretty much an equally important role (depending a bit on your taste). Composing a song is one thing, but tweaking the sounds is the worst if you're not into it! :_( :grin: It sounds to me that the chip music in assembloids and enthusis xmas demo pretty much have the most refined soundscape / "creation and usage of sounds" in any Lynx music so far, on par with SID and POKEY music, the only difference being the 'inherent' sound of the chips. Big applause to Kamil 'jammer' Wolnikowski! :thumbsup::music: It's very apparent he knows what he's doing.

 

I like chipper because it's pretty fast setting up music and there's a bunch nice of preset sounds available (in the download and in the slide creator). Again @miker showed us recently with his chipper tunes, that the best results are achieved when you're good at tweaking your own sounds too, not saying that composing isn't equally important.

Edited by Turbo Laser Lynx
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