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Chris
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Famicom
Post Posted: Tue Jul 13, 1999 6:03 am
Wait! Before you start throwing tomatoes and beer bottles I understand that this is a SEGA
message board but these questions are for good cause.

I downloaded Famtasia and a couple Famicom Disk System games like the Legend of Zelda and
Super Mario Bros. 2 and played it. Bottom line, the system is great. It's so much better and
different from the common NES. The coolest thing I did is when I sat there and I watched the
real-time quarreling between Mario and Luigi and the FDS BIOS screen. I like it so much, I
almost want to learn how to read Japanese and break my neck writing a Famicom emulator!

But anyway, does the Famicom use the same sound hardware as the NES? I noticed that the
games played unfamiliar synthesized sounds like church bells, organs, harpsichords, etc.
You can here the sound difference in the Legend of Zelda's title screen music. Instead of
hearing:

"Duuuummm. Dum dum deee dum do dummm" <-- Square Wave

On Famicom it will sound more like a flute and you will hear church bell sounds and a harp.
Are there extra sound channels or something?

Also, is the sound hardware for the NES programmable like the YM2612? Like does the
game write to the sound hardware and give it a pattern in binary that will make it play
a certain sound? Or does the NES have a table of pre-defined patches similar to our
MIDI hardware of today?

So what if I like the NES and Famicom systems. It's not that I don't love the SMS any
less, I just grew up with NES because the SMS stopped making games over here in
the US.

Chris :o)
 
Limbs a Flyin'
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 13, 1999 1:48 pm


Quote
> But anyway, does the Famicom use the same sound hardware as the NES? I noticed that the
> games played unfamiliar synthesized sounds like church bells, organs, harpsichords, etc.

intresting.. perhaps in Japan there was a console war based on sound hardware! ;)

Quote
> You can here the sound difference in the Legend of Zelda's title screen music. Instead of
> hearing:

> "Duuuummm. Dum dum deee dum do dummm" <-- Square Wave

we know what you mean ;)




Quote
> Also, is the sound hardware for the NES programmable like the YM2612? Like does the
> game write to the sound hardware and give it a pattern in binary that will make it play
> a certain sound? Or does the NES have a table of pre-defined patches similar to our
> MIDI hardware of today?

i think its just generic generators;
2x sqaure wave, 1x triangle wave (generaly give the thing some bass, as its sqaure waves are very 'plinky' (?) ) a noice channel and some odd-ball pcm channel (i think the nes sound hardware is very analogue based)
 
Chris
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(Sound Response)
Post Posted: Tue Jul 13, 1999 5:15 pm
Quote
> i think its just generic generators;
> 2x sqaure wave, 1x triangle wave (generaly give the thing some bass, as its sqaure waves are very 'plinky' (?) ) a noice channel and some odd-ball pcm channel (i think the nes sound hardware is very analogue based)

I already knew all that. The Triangle wave is well...Triangle. Only it's frequency can be programmed.
The PCM is analog, just like our .WAV files of today. If you listen to Nesticle's crap DPCM (I call it the
ADC player) all of the sounds are dry and loud. But if you listen to LoopyNes it's PCM emulation
sounds exactly like the NES. LoopyNes is the best NES emulator out right now and people are
still using Nesticle and having high hopes for Fwnes. Those smucks.

Anyway, I have a feeling the two supposed "Square Wave" channels have programmable patches
or some kind of table of defined patches because one minute you will be hearing a true square wave
sound, then you will hear a...Lemme see...A

"Dernt"

type sound. I can't describe it on text but if you play a game like Metroid or Kid Icarus you will
hear what I'm talking about.
 
Nyef
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Re: (Sound Response)
Post Posted: Tue Jul 13, 1999 8:54 pm
Quote
> Anyway, I have a feeling the two supposed "Square Wave" channels have programmable patches
> or some kind of table of defined patches because one minute you will be hearing a true square wave
> sound, then you will hear a...Lemme see...A

> "Dernt"

> type sound. I can't describe it on text but if you play a game like Metroid or Kid Icarus you will
> hear what I'm talking about.

That's probably the duty cycle control.

And the better sound on the FDS games is probably because the FDS has some extra sound hardware (an FM system, if memory serves).

--Nyef
 
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