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Chipmusic • Demoscene • NES • software

PornoTracker for (2a03/NES-Famicom) appeared

thefox of aspekt demo fame, according to his words, has “finally gotten around to releasing PornoTracker;” as it was used in the creation of the High Hopes demo.  Is this a BitTorrent server for adult media?  Some of us may wish it to be so.  In fact, PornoTracker is a chip music tracker for the 2a03/NES-Famicom designed with the purpose to function as a standard tracker with upgrading its sampling capabilities from standard 1-bit DPCM to a single channel of 7-bit PCM.  In laymans terms, samples sound prettier at the cost of CPU cycles.  Currently PornoTracker outputs to NES format; which can be played on an emulator or RetroUSB PowerPak.  I’ve been told as well that as soon as thefox finds out how to allow PCM support for the standard NSF format, that NSF export will be supported as well.  (#mod_shrine’s  mukunda and tumult have already demonstrated this is possible with SuperNSF except that in this case it’s a utility that converts IT to NSF with 4 additional PCM channels and VRC6 support as well.  See madbrain’s entry “Heim This!” in FamiCompo mini vol. 7.)  I guess we’ll just have to wait for thefox to “get’r done.”  ;)

Mad props to thefox, aspekt, #nesdev, and #mod_shrine for keeping shit alive and not only pushing audio value envelopes, but the envelope of hardware limits.

atari 2600 • Chipmusic

“In Game Sound Engine” for Atari 2600

Richi_S has created a basic sound engine for the Atari 2600; posted at AtariAge forums.  Comparing IGSE to Paul Slocum’s Music Kit 2, they are pretty far and in between one another.

IGSE features volume or pitch enveloped “Special Instruments.”  Music Kit 2 does not support full control of volume; but you can control slight increments of the instrument’s attenuation.  INGE is based on manipulating the frequency and volume of a single instrument on both channels.  Whereas Music Kit 2 is based on modulating all of the available instruments in sequence, and the frequencies of those instruments while only slightly shifting the attenuation of the instrument up or down for emphasis.

INGE as its acronym clearly states, is best used for an in game sound engine due to its limitation of not being able to switch up instruments “easily” and quickly; such as supported by Music Kit 2.

Hopefully more features and capabilities will be added to INGE; since Richi_S appears to be a motivated, positive and focused anachroprogrammer. :)

Chipmusic • Retro Gods

Duty Cycle Generator – Single Channel Echo

Neil Baldwin over at Duty Cycle Generator has added the ability in his sound engine “Nijuu” to add an “echo effect” to a single square wave channel.

Echo Demo

How it works is to have a circular buffer (one each for voices Square 1, Square 2 & Noise) that the echo writes to by figuring out what is going to get written to the PAPU (Pseudo Audio Processing Unit) registers each frame. It then captures the register settings and continues to do so until the buffer is filled, then starts again at the beginning. When you enable echo, Nijuu retrieves the values from the buffer and writes them to the PAPU registers in the “gaps” in between notes when it decides that there’s no activity on the voice (I do this by detecting if the ADSR envelope on the voice has reached the release phase or if there is no note playing). The echo feedback continues to loop around, attenuating the captured amplitude until it reaches zero. All the while, any new notes are captured to the echo buffer in the same way and it continues to capture/attenuate/feedback notes forever until you turn it off.

(The above quote was taken from Neil’s article and slightly modified for accuracy.)

Chipmusic • Compos

Battle of the Bits – Detroit V Compo!

Battle of the Bits

OK, n00bs.  Gather ’round as Uncle B00daW tells you about Battle of the Bits’s newest competition:  Detroit V!

Submit your samples NOW and use whichever sample tracker you want to use! Per usual, extreme manipulation is endeared. <3

puke7/b-knox (BotB daddy) does his thing by setting up these eccentric mix compos for all of us to learn and enjoy.  Fun, hilarity, and brain growth are expected from all of you; (or Uncle B00daW will murder you with a death stare…)

Have fun!

Chipmusic

Nijuu Demo – Colonel Abram’s “Trapped”

Colonel Abrams Trapped covered by Neil Baldwin

Colonel Abram's "Trapped" covered by Neil Baldwin

Neil Baldwin’s still at it with his Nintendo 2a0x sound engine Nijuu.  He’s produced for us a tech demo cover:  “Trapped” by Colonel Abrams, straight out of the 80’s.  You can check out his comments over at Duty Cycle Generator.

Trapped (cover) by Neil Baldwin