Category: Platforms

  • Beepola hits v.1.01

    A new version of Beepoa, v1.01, is now available for download from:
    http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/beepola/Bee … .01.00.zip

    New things include:-

    * Added a new tone generation engine, based on The Music Studio, by MS-CID. This is a two-channel, sawtooth-wave engine with 12 in-built percussion sounds. Beepola’s implementation is pattern based and, like my modified Music Box player routine, produces substantially smaller code than the original Spectrum utility.

    * Added the ability to output assembler listings in addition to TAP files and BINary data files.

    * Notes and percussion effects now sound, using the currently selected beeper engine, as they’re entered.

    * Added a bunch of keyboard shortcuts (F4 – Play Pattern, F5 – Play Song, F8 -Stop, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, etc. etc).

    * Added Edit->Undo, Edit->Copy and Edit->Paste.

    * Added Transpose Song… option to Tools menu

    * Added Song Information… option to Tools menu
    * Added online help to the Help menu, which includes documentation for the *.bbsong file format amongst other things.

    I’ve also attempted to fix all the reported bugs (and a few unreported ones) including the delay switching between patterns on some PCs, and the crackling/stuttering playback issues that a couple of people experienced. Please let me know if there are any issues remaining.

    Thanks to everyone who made suggestions and bug reports for the v1.00 release.

    Check out this demo from Shiru:

    Via 8bc.org

  • Atari 2600 Hardware News U Can Use

    Theta Frost posted:

    Well this surprised me!  The Longhorn Engineer has plans to sell PCB’s and kits I believe of a new 2600 motherboard!  We still get the original TIA and its lovely sounds, with built in video mods (S-Video), controls and a nice screen.  This will also alleviate the problems with faulty capacitors and such that have driven me crazy!  My only worry is the quality of it’s audio amp…  I’m certainly excited to use this with music though!  (it probably won’t be compatible with Synthcart however because of it’s limited controls)

    http://www.longhornengineer.com/Projects/Unity

    Also the freaking Harmony Cart is out!!!  This one totally surprised me!  Basically it’s a nice 2600 flash cartridge with a built in SD card slot that supports SD and SDHC and USB built in.  It support just about all of the 2600 library.  I’m fairly certain it covers ALL titles regardless of their specific cartridge designs and such.  The real kicker, it’s only a whopping $60!  Awesome!

    http://harmony.atariage.com/order.html

    So these are two great developments for Atari 2600 music!  big_smile

    via New 2600 PCB and Harmony Cart! Page 1 – Atari – ChipMusic.org.

  • Steel Raining – Amstrad CPC comic!

    Steel Raining is a web comic created by Alberto Silva from Spain. His description of it goes something like this: “In the world’s biggest metropolis, a silent buzz vibrates. A buzz that makes men in suits howl. There’s a symbol drawn with chalk on the floor, a girl trapped in an IC and a neon guitar.”

    And why are we covering this here? Alberto, to promote the second season of his web comic, created a teaser edition that runs exclusively in Amstrad CPC machines. We minced a few words with him about what drove him, a non-retro, non 8-bit, non-coder person to do this.

    You can read the interview and get the original Amstrad CPC executable right after the jump:

    (more…)

  • NTRQ Carts Available

    Mute City wrote:

    I have very proud to but making cartridges of the world’s first native NES music tracker!
    I can’t wait to see what new flavor this will bring chiptune!

    It was made by Neil Baldwin and he has been just giveing a way the ROM, check out the NTRQ blog.

    Is neil getting any of the profits from these carts? Well yes and no, I asked him did he want a share but he would like it to go to charity. So for ever cartridge I sell 5 dollars will go to Cancer Research.

    via MuteCity DMGs.

  • Beepola v1.00.00 Appeared

    “Beepola is a new multi-channel, multi-engined, tracker-style Beeper music editor for Windows (although it should also run perfectly well on Linux or MacOS with a reasonably recent install of WINE).”

    From the Post:

    By “multi-engined” I mean that, once you’ve got a tune entered (or partially entered) you can listen to it (or compile it) using one of two “Tone Generators” – currently either a modified version of the Special FX 2ch+percussion engine, or a heavily modified pattern-based version of the beeper routine from “The Music Box”.

    Here are some sample tunes I’ve created with it (all are *.tap files ready for loading into your favourite emulator):-
    Chuck Rock – Core Design One of my all-time favourite game tunes (I had this game for the Sega Game Gear, although I think it was also available for the Amiga).
    Cars – Gary Numan Some obligatory 1980’s goodness.
    Root Beer Rag – Billy Joel Just because I like the tune
    The Great Escape Theme Based on the full orchestral arrangement from the film, possibly a little too ambitious for a beeper tune. Not convinced it really works too well.

    via Beepola v1.00.00 – World of Spectrum Forums.