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This thread is a place to post technical info/hacks related to selecting any arbitrary in-game music. Those hacks are helpful to rip a soundtrack, and also allows to sometimes find unused music tracks.

Please complete with new or old hacks.
Be sure to read Maxim's excellent Music engine hacking guide.

The idea is that people who are confortable with hacking can post their hacks. Someone who knows the game better but cannot hack can sometimes identify the tracks and/or make a VGM package out of them.

Some of the hack below are rough with only an address. It's up to someone to link values to music and name them. Maybe you can find new, unused tracks there!

How to apply hacks (wrote by Maxim)
1. Load the game.
2. Open the Memory Editor.
3. Click on the RAM button.
4. Set Meka to 1/1 frameskip (F2, F3, F4) (may not be needed, on certain configuration it is difficult to type if frameskip is not 1/1)
5. Type the given address (eg. DE04) into the "Goto" box and press Enter.
6. It'll highlight a byte in the top half of the display. Type values in there (eg. 81).
7. Use the left arrow key to move the cursor back there to type in another number.

"Write trigger" means that the game will automatically stop the music, and start the new track, whenever a number is written there. This is the simplest type to hack because you don't need to patch it. Other games will require more hacking.

It is also possible to convert some hacks to Pro Action Replay codes, if you are curious about switching music on a real Master System.

Memory location C100 in RAM is the music trigger.
Edit this location (using MEKA memory editor, I don't think this game is emulated elsewhere) to trigger music.

Default value is 80 (doesn't start music)

81 : Default in-game music
82 : Invincibility music
83 : Death
84 : Water music
85 : sfx ?
86 : sfx ?
87 : sfx ?
88 : sfx jump
89 : Title screen, variation/bug ?
8A : Title screen music
8B : Fairy music
8C : Game Over music
8D : End music

Writing out of bound values stop the music. Haven't tested the full range up to FF.
Note how the game can run in 2 speeds, and some music are affected by that (mainly the default in-game music).

I hacked this one in less than 1 minute!!!
It turns out that Maxim's new Music engine hacking document is right about 8x values being commonly used as trigger.
Just scroll down in memory editor, find quickly changing values, find 80, write to it, tada. Of course it won't work on all games.

C280 in RAM contains music/sound trigger:
Values from 81 to 95 seems possible. I haven't identified the tracks yet.
FF stops sound (maybe other values also.

RAM[C000] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

Same technique as Pitfall II. Hacked in a minute.

RAM[C110] is a write trigger
$81-$b0
Music, then SFX, then Game Over/Ending musc at the end (no unknown music)
00 and FF stop music
Some values trigger each other, eg. SFX -> music

It seems Meka's memory editor only writes whole bytes; EmuKon seems to write nibbles as you type them, which makes "live" editing like this almost impossible. Thank you Kittie :D

$DE04 in RAM
80+ values

RAM[DE00] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[D100] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[C1C4] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

1) how do I use this Ghouls'n Ghosts hack? =P

2) can I do requests? =P

RAM[DE05] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[DE00] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[DE84] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[DE03] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

81 : Smooth Criminal
82 : Beat It
83 : Another Part of Me
84 : Billie Jean
85 : Bad
86 :
87 :
88 : Unused Music 1
89 : Unused Music 2
8A : Unused Music 3
8B : Unused Music 4
8C : Unused Music 5
8D : Taunt from Mr. Big

Currently working on this pack.

Johnnyz wrote

1) how do I use this Ghouls'n Ghosts hack? =P

It's explained at the top of the topic. Use a memory editor (eg in MEKA) to write different value at given address.

Johnnyz wrote

2) can I do requests? =P

You can also try to do it yourself :)

Quote

It's explained at the top of the topic. Use a memory editor (eg in MEKA) to write different value at given address.

It's hard to follow and needs to be rewritten in a way that even your grandmother with no tec knowledge could understand :)

OK, you asked for it. Well, your grandmother might not understand it but it's easier than applying meka.pat hacks...

1. Load the game.
2. Open the Memory Editor.
3. Click on the RAM button.
4. Set Meka to 1/1 frameskip (F2, F3, F4).
5. Type the given address (eg. DE04) into the "Goto" box and press Enter.
6. It'll highlight a byte in the top half of the display. Type values in there (eg. 81).
7. Use the left arrow key to move the cursor back there to type in another number.

"Write trigger" means that the game will automatically stop the music, and start the new track, whenever a number is written there. This is the simplest type to hack because you don't need to patch it. Other games will require more hacking.

I intend to simplify my guide some time soon - I wrote it not realising just how much I could do with Meka's memory editor :)

Some extra hints:

1. Use the Pause hack. You should be able to start new tracks even after the game is hung.
2. Try $80, $00 or $ff for stopping the music (so you get a silent start).

Ghouls'n Ghosts should be easy to find information for. Well, here you go: composer is Tamayo Kawamoto, Japanese: 河本圭代. She is not a man! The game title in Japanese is 大魔界村 (although it wasn't released there on SMS). There don't seem to be any track titles available, though, so you might want to get someone to look in the manual for level names.

Edit: Level titles from the Mega Drive version:

1.1 The Execution Place
1.2 The Floating Island on the Lake
2.1 The Village of Decay
2.2 Town of Fire
3.1 Baron Rankle's Tower
3.2 Horrible Faced Mountain
4. The Crystal Forest
5. Castle of Evil Demons

Bosses:
1. Statue of Terror
2. Infernomo
3. Mistral Winds

CRV wrote

RAM[FE84] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[FE02] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

Why are these $Fxxx values? The RAM only goes from $c000 to $dfff, $e000 to $ffff is a mirror and doesn't even show in Meka's Memory Editor in RAM mode, which might confuse people. Maybe you had it set to Z80 mode.

The correct addresses (not tested) are DE84 and DE02.

Maxim wrote

Why are these $Fxxx values? The RAM only goes from $c000 to $dfff, $e000 to $ffff is a mirror and doesn't even show in Meka's Memory Editor in RAM mode, which might confuse people. Maybe you had it set to Z80 mode.

The correct addresses (not tested) are DE84 and DE02.

Sorry. I was using Emukon (perhaps there should be a "wait until music starts" feature in Meka) and you CAN scroll down to that point.

CRV wrote

Sorry. I was using Emukon and you CAN scroll down to that point.

EmuKon display values read from Z80 memory space. When you click on RAM it is a bookmark to $C000 in Z80 memory space. So essentially you should see the same values in range $C000-DFFF and $E000-FFFF, just that the former is the official address to access RAM to. This is what you see in MEKA if you click the Z80 tab.

CRV wrote

(perhaps there should be a "wait until music starts" feature in Meka)

I don't understand this. May you elaborate?
(you can e-mail me or change topic if you feel it goes out of this one)

Does anyone know the music engine hacks for the following games?

Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)
Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift 2
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)

Thank you very much.

Classic Game Guy wrote

Does anyone know the music engine hacks for the following games?

Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)
Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift 2
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)

Please... you've been asking all variation around this question a dozen times already.

To let you know, this is not a forum about Megadrive so although some enthusiast may have MP3 on his hard drive, it's not the best place to find a hacker.

I'll see if I can do hacks for Sonic Drift 1/2. No promise I'll succeed, but if I do, please try to refrain from posting ten times to request a VGM pack after that :)

Bock, I am not trying to completely cover this forum in requests for music hacks or VGZ packs. The reason I posted here is that I figured that I should keep music hacks on the topic that is designated for them. But I thought of this after I had already posted them on my request topic. I am sorry if my multiple post does not comply with proper message board courtesy.

Furthermore, the reason I asked for Megadrive hacks was because I am wanting to rip VGZs of the games' music. I know that this site is devoted to SMS/GG, but this is the one and only VGZ site on the Internet. Since VGZ format supports Megadrive music I thought that help would be available for Megadrive ripping. Again, I am sorry if I bothered you; I tend to be overzealous at times.

Thank you for offering to look for Sonic Drift 1 & 2 hacks. I will watch for them and try not to fill up your web space with requests.

Thank you very much.

RAM[DE03] is a write trigger.
$80+ values for music/sfx

Those are incredibly easy to find. Thanks Maxim who started me on this :)

Imagine that in 2001 it took me like 3 hours to hack Wonder Boy III (first time I did something like this) for similar purpose. Now it's taking like 30 seconds to have a same result.

Thanks Bock. Now all I have to do is find someone to rip them. Thank you very much.

Houdy Everyone,

I have made a list of the SMS games that I have on my computer, some of them are allready featured here but many of them aren't the list is in HTML format but I have provided you with a link below.

http://smidiforum.tripod.com/sms/musichack.html

Please note that to make the codes have effect you will need to follow Maxim's very well written instructions

Thanks

Jacko

Wow, we're getting loads of hacks here, but not many VGMs. (Maybe people are afraid to send them to me.)

Anyway, one thing I'd suggest: pick a game that already has a VGM pack, and check if it has any new music tracks. Then tell us. Too many of these are just hacks with no more information. Run Meka windowed alongside Winamp, go through the values and see if any make music that isn't in the existing pack.

Has anyone found any that aren't $80-based? Or any that aren't "write triggers"? I'd expect (from my experience) that there would be more of those with third-party games...

Maxim wrote

Has anyone found any that aren't $80-based? Or any that aren't "write triggers"? I'd expect (from my experience) that there would be more of those with third-party games...

I gave a quick look to Rastan and Wonder Boy in Monster Land today.
I couldn't locate any obvious $80+ write trigger. Various values seems to control part of the music, but it is either not just a write trigger either not with those values.

The next version of MEKA may add new features that will help with those games.
As Maxim mentionned, now we need more VGM ripper/packager =)

I hacked WBML ages ago; I remember that the music values are stored in a table - somewhere in the ROM there is a section with 81 81 82 83 84 type data. Ah yeas, here it is. So it does not need to be re-hacked to check for new music.

Hello,

Hey Maxim, I have managed to hack Bock's Birthday 2003 do you want a VGM pack for this game?

Some games that I have had trouble hacking are:

Mickey Mouse (castle and land of illusion)

with the above game I seem to have found variables that effect the tempo of the music and also effect the tuning.

Sonic 1

I have found the music engine but cant seem to hack it but it's strange I have successfully hacked the other sonics?

One more suggestion has anyone ever thought about relating certain factors such as game size to music engine location or if their is a series of gmes e.g. Sonic that the music trigger address is the same, look at my list and you will see that nearly all of the Sonics have the same trigger address.

Anyway can someone please tell me what VGM packs you would like done because I can't think of any.

a little O.T. but Bock did you get my Castle VGM Pack? (I used your hack to get the music).

Thanks Jacko

jacko87 wrote

Hey Maxim, I have managed to hack Bock's Birthday 2003 do you want a VGM pack for this game?

I can almost hear Maxim crying over that one. :-)
Maxim *wrote* Bock's Birthday 2003, so he certainly has the source code for it. Moreover, the music used in this demo are based themselve on a hack as he extracted the music engine from Ys.

jacko87 wrote

Some games that I have had trouble hacking are:

Mickey Mouse (castle and land of illusion)
with the above game I seem to have found variables that effect the tempo of the music and also effect the tuning.

Sonic 1
I have found the music engine but cant seem to hack it but it's strange I have successfully hacked the other sonics?

I think the idea is that beside the very easy $80+ trigger thing, some games are definitively more difficult to hack. What we need are better tools + individually better knowledge and experience, to solve those on a case by case basis.

Quote

One more suggestion has anyone ever thought about relating certain factors such as game size to music engine location or if their is a series of gmes e.g. Sonic that the music trigger address is the same, look at my list and you will see that nearly all of the Sonics have the same trigger address.

Game size has nothing to do with music location. It's true that certain game use same engine and location (see my Sonic Drift 1 & 2 post). It's on a case by case basis.

Quote

Anyway can someone please tell me what VGM packs you would like done because I can't think of any.
a little O.T. but Bock did you get my Castle VGM Pack? (I used your hack to get the music).

I got your package and I just forwarded it to Maxim.
I'd say, wait a bit to have this first The Castle package checked out/fixed/posted. Usually, the first few packages will be the most troublesome for both you and us so let's do them one by one. Because if it turns out that there's a problem with The Castle and you did 10 other in the meantime with the same error, that would not be a good use for your time.

As for choosing VGM packs, I'd say, make a priority of game you actually want to do, either because you like the music, either because you know the game. It helps when it come to figuring what music is what, naming them, etc., actually knowing or enjoying the game helps.

RAM[C003] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

81 : Foul
82 : Unused Music 1
83 : Unused Music 2
84 : Unused Music 3
85 : Title Screen
86 : Unused Music 4
87 : Game Over
88 : Unused Music 5
89 : Unused Music 6
8A : Unused Music 7
8B : In Game Music

I'm not 100% positive that all of that music was unused, but it seems that way, probably because the game wasn't finished. Most of this music was used (albeit with better sound quality) in the Genesis/Mega Drive version.

CRV wrote

Most of this music was used (albeit with better sound quality) in the Genesis/Mega Drive version.

If you're familiar with it, can you add corresponding titles from where the music is used in the Mega Drive version?

Maxim wrote

If you're familiar with it, can you add corresponding titles from where the music is used in the Mega Drive version?

The problem is that half the music that IS used in the SMS version is not used for the same purpose as the G/MD version (for example, the "Foul" music in the SMS version is used for the intro in the G/MD version).

RAM[D003] is a write trigger.
$81 : Background music

This is just a confirmation that there's nothing else.

CRV wrote

The problem is that half the music that IS used in the SMS version is not used for the same purpose as the G/MD version (for example, the "Foul" music in the SMS version is used for the intro in the G/MD version).

Ah. Well, can you list them anyway? I think it's worth commenting on it in the notes field in each file.

Maxim wrote

Ah. Well, can you list them anyway? I think it's worth commenting on it in the notes field in each file.

Unless someone wants to help me trim this package (I've had problems), then I probably won't even bother with it.

RAM[C240] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[DE85] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

81 : Title Screen
82 : Game Over
83 : Death
84 : Stage Start
85 : Won Bonus Stage
86 : Lost Bonus Stage
87 : Ending
88 : The Final Conflict
89 : Bonus Stage 1
8A : Along the Railroad
8B : In the Sewers
8C : Boss
8D : The Airport Concourse
8E : Shuttle Base
8F : Bonus Stage 2

Finished and uploaded. Some track names taken from Johnnyz's MIDIs, if he doesn't mind.

RAM[CC00] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

81 : Mission Start
82 : Driving
83 : Title Screen
85 :
86 :
87 :
88 :
89 :

RAM[D002] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

RAM[D803] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

81 : Title Screen
82 : Opening
83-85: Stage Music
86 :
87 :
88 : Game Over
89 : Unused
9_ : Death

RAM[DE03] is a write trigger.
$80+ values.

(Found by furanku)

RAM[de03] is a write trigger.
81 Snow Fields and Under Sea
82 Boss
83 Begoni the Dragon Village
84 Hidden Track (WB3 The Last Dungeon remix) <------------ :D
85 Inside Pyramid Stage
86 Alsedo the Fairy Village
87 Beach
88 Passageway in Tree
89 Desert
8A Jungle
8B Title Screen
8C Desert after Egypt
8D Castle in Cave
8E Aztec Village
8F Ending
90 Home
91 Game Over
92+ SFX

VGMs already submitted by furanku.

RAM[DE00] is a write trigger.
Use PAUSE hack to freeze game (write FB 18 FE at ROM address 0066)

81: Title screen
82 : Level start
83 : Level complete
84 : Death
85 : Level 1, 2, 6, 7
86 : Level 3, 5
87 : Level 4
88 : Ending (I like it!)
89-9B : SFX

Hello Eveyone

Bock, just to let you know I have already found the music trigger of Kung-Fu Kid before you. I have a list on my website at

http://smidiforum.tripod.com/sms/musichack.html

Anyway the new variable that I have found is to change the tempo of the music (tempo is a muso term which means the speed of the music). It is and easy hack to do and involves pretty much the same procedure. I have written some "rough" instructions on how to do it at the above URL, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find it.

Maxim, if you like you can copy my info word for word and you can put it up on SMS Power if you like I don't care.

Thanks again folks

Jacko

Tempo is not such a technical term :P the whole world uses Italian musical notation.

Anyway, messing with stuff like that is beyond the normal scope of a VGM pack (for this site). If the game doesn't play it that way, you shouldn't log it that way.

Also, "removing the melody section" is easily done with the VGM plugin in Winamp. Press Alt+3 and click on "Configure plugin" and uncheck boxes on the PSG tab.

I think I was told once that there was no hidden tracks in sms WB3 but I can't seem to find the trigger for both the gg & sms versions. Has anybody else located it?

Maxim wrote

(Found by furanku)
[code]RAM[de03] is a write trigger.
8F Ending
VGMs already submitted by furanku.

oops!!! Sorry
I've noticed somthing as explained in a privare message to you.

furanku wrote

I think I was told once that there was no hidden tracks in sms WB3 but I can't seem to find the trigger for both the gg & sms versions. Has anybody else located it?

This game is well documented as the original music hack, here. The address is cff9, the values start at 01, but it is not a write trigger, it also requires a function call in the code to start a new track, which requires a lot more hacking.

Author	Message
Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Hacks to find music Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:03 am Last edited by Bock on Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:13 am; edited 6 times in total
	This thread is a place to post technical info/hacks related to selecting any arbitrary in-game music. Those hacks are helpful to rip a soundtrack, and also allows to sometimes find unused music tracks. Please complete with new or old hacks. Be sure to read Maxim's excellent Music engine hacking guide. The idea is that people who are confortable with hacking can post their hacks. Someone who knows the game better but cannot hack can sometimes identify the tracks and/or make a VGM package out of them. Some of the hack below are rough with only an address. It's up to someone to link values to music and name them. Maybe you can find new, unused tracks there! How to apply hacks (wrote by Maxim) 1. Load the game. 2. Open the Memory Editor. 3. Click on the RAM button. 4. Set Meka to 1/1 frameskip (F2, F3, F4) (may not be needed, on certain configuration it is difficult to type if frameskip is not 1/1) 5. Type the given address (eg. DE04) into the "Goto" box and press Enter. 6. It'll highlight a byte in the top half of the display. Type values in there (eg. 81). 7. Use the left arrow key to move the cursor back there to type in another number. "Write trigger" means that the game will automatically stop the music, and start the new track, whenever a number is written there. This is the simplest type to hack because you don't need to patch it. Other games will require more hacking. It is also possible to convert some hacks to Pro Action Replay codes, if you are curious about switching music on a real Master System.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	The Castle (SG-1000) Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:06 am Last edited by Bock on Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:09 am; edited 1 time in total
	Memory location C100 in RAM is the music trigger. Edit this location (using MEKA memory editor, I don't think this game is emulated elsewhere) to trigger music. Default value is 80 (doesn't start music) 81 : Default in-game music 82 : Invincibility music 83 : Death 84 : Water music 85 : sfx ? 86 : sfx ? 87 : sfx ? 88 : sfx jump 89 : Title screen, variation/bug ? 8A : Title screen music 8B : Fairy music 8C : Game Over music 8D : End music Writing out of bound values stop the music. Haven't tested the full range up to FF. Note how the game can run in 2 speeds, and some music are affected by that (mainly the default in-game music).

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Pitfall II (SG-1000) Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:11 am Last edited by Bock on Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:09 am; edited 1 time in total
	I hacked this one in less than 1 minute!!! It turns out that Maxim's new Music engine hacking document is right about 8x values being commonly used as trigger. Just scroll down in memory editor, find quickly changing values, find 80, write to it, tada. Of course it won't work on all games. C280 in RAM contains music/sound trigger: Values from 81 to 95 seems possible. I haven't identified the tracks yet. FF stops sound (maybe other values also.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Wonder Boy (SG-1000) Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:24 am Last edited by Bock on Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:08 am; edited 2 times in total
	RAM[C000] is a write trigger. $80+ values. Same technique as Pitfall II. Hacked in a minute.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS) Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:44 am
	RAM[C110] is a write trigger $81-$b0 Music, then SFX, then Game Over/Ending musc at the end (no unknown music) 00 and FF stop music Some values trigger each other, eg. SFX -> music It seems Meka's memory editor only writes whole bytes; EmuKon seems to write nibbles as you type them, which makes "live" editing like this almost impossible. Thank you Kittie :D

Nick Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 27 Location: Wellington, New Zealand	Ghouls'n Ghosts (SMS) Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:52 am
	$DE04 in RAM 80+ values

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	American Pro Football, Putt & Putter (SMS) Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:58 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE00] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Great Basketball (SMS) Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:59 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[D100] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Basketball Nightmare (SMS) Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:58 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[C1C4] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

Johnnyz Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 213 Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil	Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:45 am
	1) how do I use this Ghouls'n Ghosts hack? =P 2) can I do requests? =P

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing (SMS) Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:39 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE05] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Rocky Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:41 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE00] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Golden Axe (SMS) Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:43 am Last edited by CRV on Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:05 am; edited 1 time in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE84] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (SMS) Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:44 am Last edited by CRV on Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:03 am; edited 4 times in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE03] is a write trigger. $80+ values. 81 : Smooth Criminal 82 : Beat It 83 : Another Part of Me 84 : Billie Jean 85 : Bad 86 : 87 : 88 : Unused Music 1 89 : Unused Music 2 8A : Unused Music 3 8B : Unused Music 4 8C : Unused Music 5 8D : Taunt from Mr. Big Currently working on this pack.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:36 am Last edited by Bock on Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:11 am; edited 1 time in total
	Johnnyz wrote 1) how do I use this Ghouls'n Ghosts hack? =P It's explained at the top of the topic. Use a memory editor (eg in MEKA) to write different value at given address. Johnnyz wrote 2) can I do requests? =P You can also try to do it yourself :)

furanku Joined: 10 Dec 2000 Posts: 592 Location: Australia and Japan	Poor guy Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:08 am
	Quote It's explained at the top of the topic. Use a memory editor (eg in MEKA) to write different value at given address. It's hard to follow and needs to be rewritten in a way that even your grandmother with no tec knowledge could understand :)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	How to apply hacks / Ghouls'n Ghosts information Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:06 am Last edited by Maxim on Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:35 pm; edited 2 times in total
	OK, you asked for it. Well, your grandmother might not understand it but it's easier than applying meka.pat hacks... 1. Load the game. 2. Open the Memory Editor. 3. Click on the RAM button. 4. Set Meka to 1/1 frameskip (F2, F3, F4). 5. Type the given address (eg. DE04) into the "Goto" box and press Enter. 6. It'll highlight a byte in the top half of the display. Type values in there (eg. 81). 7. Use the left arrow key to move the cursor back there to type in another number. "Write trigger" means that the game will automatically stop the music, and start the new track, whenever a number is written there. This is the simplest type to hack because you don't need to patch it. Other games will require more hacking. I intend to simplify my guide some time soon - I wrote it not realising just how much I could do with Meka's memory editor :) Some extra hints: 1. Use the Pause hack. You should be able to start new tracks even after the game is hung. 2. Try $80, $00 or $ff for stopping the music (so you get a silent start). Ghouls'n Ghosts should be easy to find information for. Well, here you go: composer is Tamayo Kawamoto, Japanese: 河本圭代. She is not a man! The game title in Japanese is 大魔界村 (although it wasn't released there on SMS). There don't seem to be any track titles available, though, so you might want to get someone to look in the manual for level names. Edit: Level titles from the Mega Drive version: 1.1 The Execution Place 1.2 The Floating Island on the Lake 2.1 The Village of Decay 2.2 Town of Fire 3.1 Baron Rankle's Tower 3.2 Horrible Faced Mountain 4. The Crystal Forest 5. Castle of Evil Demons Bosses: 1. Statue of Terror 2. Infernomo 3. Mistral Winds

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	$Fxxx? Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:54 am
	CRV wrote RAM[FE84] is a write trigger. $80+ values. RAM[FE02] is a write trigger. $80+ values. Why are these $Fxxx values? The RAM only goes from $c000 to $dfff, $e000 to $ffff is a mirror and doesn't even show in Meka's Memory Editor in RAM mode, which might confuse people. Maybe you had it set to Z80 mode. The correct addresses (not tested) are DE84 and DE02.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Re: $Fxxx? Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:18 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Maxim wrote Why are these $Fxxx values? The RAM only goes from $c000 to $dfff, $e000 to $ffff is a mirror and doesn't even show in Meka's Memory Editor in RAM mode, which might confuse people. Maybe you had it set to Z80 mode. The correct addresses (not tested) are DE84 and DE02. Sorry. I was using Emukon (perhaps there should be a "wait until music starts" feature in Meka) and you CAN scroll down to that point.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Re: $Fxxx? Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:57 pm
	CRV wrote Sorry. I was using Emukon and you CAN scroll down to that point. EmuKon display values read from Z80 memory space. When you click on RAM it is a bookmark to $C000 in Z80 memory space. So essentially you should see the same values in range $C000-DFFF and $E000-FFFF, just that the former is the official address to access RAM to. This is what you see in MEKA if you click the Z80 tab. CRV wrote (perhaps there should be a "wait until music starts" feature in Meka) I don't understand this. May you elaborate? (you can e-mail me or change topic if you feel it goes out of this one)

Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:01 pm
Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Does anyone know the music engine hacks for the following games? Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis/Megadrive) Sonic Drift Sonic Drift 2 Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis/Megadrive) Thank you very much.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 6:24 pm
	Classic Game Guy wrote Does anyone know the music engine hacks for the following games? Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis/Megadrive) Sonic Drift Sonic Drift 2 Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis/Megadrive) Please... you've been asking all variation around this question a dozen times already. To let you know, this is not a forum about Megadrive so although some enthusiast may have MP3 on his hard drive, it's not the best place to find a hacker. I'll see if I can do hacks for Sonic Drift 1/2. No promise I'll succeed, but if I do, please try to refrain from posting ten times to request a VGM pack after that :)

Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:22 pm
Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Bock, I am not trying to completely cover this forum in requests for music hacks or VGZ packs. The reason I posted here is that I figured that I should keep music hacks on the topic that is designated for them. But I thought of this after I had already posted them on my request topic. I am sorry if my multiple post does not comply with proper message board courtesy. Furthermore, the reason I asked for Megadrive hacks was because I am wanting to rip VGZs of the games' music. I know that this site is devoted to SMS/GG, but this is the one and only VGZ site on the Internet. Since VGZ format supports Megadrive music I thought that help would be available for Megadrive ripping. Again, I am sorry if I bothered you; I tend to be overzealous at times. Thank you for offering to look for Sonic Drift 1 & 2 hacks. I will watch for them and try not to fill up your web space with requests. Thank you very much.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Sonic Drift (GG) and Sonic Drift 2 (GG) Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:01 am
	RAM[DE03] is a write trigger. $80+ values for music/sfx Those are incredibly easy to find. Thanks Maxim who started me on this :) Imagine that in 2001 it took me like 3 hours to hack Wonder Boy III (first time I did something like this) for similar purpose. Now it's taking like 30 seconds to have a same result.

Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Sonic Drift Hacks Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:35 am
Classic Game Guy Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 115	Thanks Bock. Now all I have to do is find someone to rip them. Thank you very much.

Jacko Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 1464 Location: Sunny ol Tamworth, New England NSW AU	I Have Made A Whole List Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:33 am
	Houdy Everyone, I have made a list of the SMS games that I have on my computer, some of them are allready featured here but many of them aren't the list is in HTML format but I have provided you with a link below. http://smidiforum.tripod.com/sms/musichack.html Please note that to make the codes have effect you will need to follow Maxim's very well written instructions Thanks Jacko

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:40 am
	Wow, we're getting loads of hacks here, but not many VGMs. (Maybe people are afraid to send them to me.) Anyway, one thing I'd suggest: pick a game that already has a VGM pack, and check if it has any new music tracks. Then tell us. Too many of these are just hacks with no more information. Run Meka windowed alongside Winamp, go through the values and see if any make music that isn't in the existing pack. Has anyone found any that aren't $80-based? Or any that aren't "write triggers"? I'd expect (from my experience) that there would be more of those with third-party games...

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:43 pm
	Maxim wrote Has anyone found any that aren't $80-based? Or any that aren't "write triggers"? I'd expect (from my experience) that there would be more of those with third-party games... I gave a quick look to Rastan and Wonder Boy in Monster Land today. I couldn't locate any obvious $80+ write trigger. Various values seems to control part of the music, but it is either not just a write trigger either not with those values. The next version of MEKA may add new features that will help with those games. As Maxim mentionned, now we need more VGM ripper/packager =)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:13 pm
	I hacked WBML ages ago; I remember that the music values are stored in a table - somewhere in the ROM there is a section with 81 81 82 83 84 type data. Ah yeas, here it is. So it does not need to be re-hacked to check for new music.

Jacko Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 1464 Location: Sunny ol Tamworth, New England NSW AU	I hacked Some More Now Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:05 am
	Hello, Hey Maxim, I have managed to hack Bock's Birthday 2003 do you want a VGM pack for this game? Some games that I have had trouble hacking are: Mickey Mouse (castle and land of illusion) with the above game I seem to have found variables that effect the tempo of the music and also effect the tuning. Sonic 1 I have found the music engine but cant seem to hack it but it's strange I have successfully hacked the other sonics? One more suggestion has anyone ever thought about relating certain factors such as game size to music engine location or if their is a series of gmes e.g. Sonic that the music trigger address is the same, look at my list and you will see that nearly all of the Sonics have the same trigger address. Anyway can someone please tell me what VGM packs you would like done because I can't think of any. a little O.T. but Bock did you get my Castle VGM Pack? (I used your hack to get the music). Thanks Jacko

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Re: I hacked Some More Now Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:32 am
	jacko87 wrote Hey Maxim, I have managed to hack Bock's Birthday 2003 do you want a VGM pack for this game? I can almost hear Maxim crying over that one. :-) Maxim wrote Bock's Birthday 2003, so he certainly has the source code for it. Moreover, the music used in this demo are based themselve on a hack as he extracted the music engine from Ys. jacko87 wrote Some games that I have had trouble hacking are: Mickey Mouse (castle and land of illusion) with the above game I seem to have found variables that effect the tempo of the music and also effect the tuning. Sonic 1 I have found the music engine but cant seem to hack it but it's strange I have successfully hacked the other sonics? I think the idea is that beside the very easy $80+ trigger thing, some games are definitively more difficult to hack. What we need are better tools + individually better knowledge and experience, to solve those on a case by case basis. Quote One more suggestion has anyone ever thought about relating certain factors such as game size to music engine location or if their is a series of gmes e.g. Sonic that the music trigger address is the same, look at my list and you will see that nearly all of the Sonics have the same trigger address. Game size has nothing to do with music location. It's true that certain game use same engine and location (see my Sonic Drift 1 & 2 post). It's on a case by case basis. Quote Anyway can someone please tell me what VGM packs you would like done because I can't think of any. a little O.T. but Bock did you get my Castle VGM Pack? (I used your hack to get the music). I got your package and I just forwarded it to Maxim. I'd say, wait a bit to have this first The Castle package checked out/fixed/posted. Usually, the first few packages will be the most troublesome for both you and us so let's do them one by one. Because if it turns out that there's a problem with The Castle and you did 10 other in the meantime with the same error, that would not be a good use for your time. As for choosing VGM packs, I'd say, make a priority of game you actually want to do, either because you like the music, either because you know the game. It helps when it come to figuring what music is what, naming them, etc., actually knowing or enjoying the game helps.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Pat Riley Basketball [Proto] (SMS) Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:55 am Last edited by CRV on Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:55 am; edited 1 time in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[C003] is a write trigger. $80+ values. 81 : Foul 82 : Unused Music 1 83 : Unused Music 2 84 : Unused Music 3 85 : Title Screen 86 : Unused Music 4 87 : Game Over 88 : Unused Music 5 89 : Unused Music 6 8A : Unused Music 7 8B : In Game Music I'm not 100% positive that all of that music was unused, but it seems that way, probably because the game wasn't finished. Most of this music was used (albeit with better sound quality) in the Genesis/Mega Drive version.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:40 am
	CRV wrote Most of this music was used (albeit with better sound quality) in the Genesis/Mega Drive version. If you're familiar with it, can you add corresponding titles from where the music is used in the Mega Drive version?

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:52 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Maxim wrote If you're familiar with it, can you add corresponding titles from where the music is used in the Mega Drive version? The problem is that half the music that IS used in the SMS version is not used for the same purpose as the G/MD version (for example, the "Foul" music in the SMS version is used for the intro in the G/MD version).

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Super Basketball [Demo] Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:59 am
	RAM[D003] is a write trigger. $81 : Background music This is just a confirmation that there's nothing else.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:08 am
	CRV wrote The problem is that half the music that IS used in the SMS version is not used for the same purpose as the G/MD version (for example, the "Foul" music in the SMS version is used for the intro in the G/MD version). Ah. Well, can you list them anyway? I think it's worth commenting on it in the notes field in each file.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:05 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Maxim wrote Ah. Well, can you list them anyway? I think it's worth commenting on it in the notes field in each file. Unless someone wants to help me trim this package (I've had problems), then I probably won't even bother with it.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Super Tank (SG-1000) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:42 am Last edited by CRV on Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:46 am; edited 1 time in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[C240] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Shadow Dancer (SMS) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:45 am Last edited by CRV on Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:59 am; edited 1 time in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE85] is a write trigger. $80+ values. 81 : Title Screen 82 : Game Over 83 : Death 84 : Stage Start 85 : Won Bonus Stage 86 : Lost Bonus Stage 87 : Ending 88 : The Final Conflict 89 : Bonus Stage 1 8A : Along the Railroad 8B : In the Sewers 8C : Boss 8D : The Airport Concourse 8E : Shuttle Base 8F : Bonus Stage 2 Finished and uploaded. Some track names taken from Johnnyz's MIDIs, if he doesn't mind.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Action Fighter (SMS) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:49 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[CC00] is a write trigger. $80+ values. 81 : Mission Start 82 : Driving 83 : Title Screen 85 : 86 : 87 : 88 : 89 :

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Alien Syndrome (SMS) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:51 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[D002] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Rescue Mission (SMS) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:55 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[D803] is a write trigger. $80+ values. 81 : Title Screen 82 : Opening 83-85: Stage Music 86 : 87 : 88 : Game Over 89 : Unused 9_ : Death

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	Asterix & the Secret Mission (SMS) Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:57 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 668	RAM[DE03] is a write trigger. $80+ values.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Wonder Boy in Monster World Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 9:51 pm
	(Found by furanku) RAM[de03] is a write trigger. 81 Snow Fields and Under Sea 82 Boss 83 Begoni the Dragon Village 84 Hidden Track (WB3 The Last Dungeon remix) <------------ :D 85 Inside Pyramid Stage 86 Alsedo the Fairy Village 87 Beach 88 Passageway in Tree 89 Desert 8A Jungle 8B Title Screen 8C Desert after Egypt 8D Castle in Cave 8E Aztec Village 8F Ending 90 Home 91 Game Over 92+ SFX VGMs already submitted by furanku.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8693 Location: Paris, France	Kung Fu Kid (SMS) / 魔界列伝 Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:43 pm
	RAM[DE00] is a write trigger. Use PAUSE hack to freeze game (write FB 18 FE at ROM address 0066) 81: Title screen 82 : Level start 83 : Level complete 84 : Death 85 : Level 1, 2, 6, 7 86 : Level 3, 5 87 : Level 4 88 : Ending (I like it!) 89-9B : SFX

Jacko Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 1464 Location: Sunny ol Tamworth, New England NSW AU	I've found a more interesting varible Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:04 pm
	Hello Eveyone Bock, just to let you know I have already found the music trigger of Kung-Fu Kid before you. I have a list on my website at http://smidiforum.tripod.com/sms/musichack.html Anyway the new variable that I have found is to change the tempo of the music (tempo is a muso term which means the speed of the music). It is and easy hack to do and involves pretty much the same procedure. I have written some "rough" instructions on how to do it at the above URL, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find it. Maxim, if you like you can copy my info word for word and you can put it up on SMS Power if you like I don't care. Thanks again folks Jacko

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Playing with other variables Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:27 pm
	Tempo is not such a technical term :P the whole world uses Italian musical notation. Anyway, messing with stuff like that is beyond the normal scope of a VGM pack (for this site). If the game doesn't play it that way, you shouldn't log it that way. Also, "removing the melody section" is easily done with the VGM plugin in Winamp. Press Alt+3 and click on "Configure plugin" and uncheck boxes on the PSG tab.

furanku Joined: 10 Dec 2000 Posts: 592 Location: Australia and Japan	well hidden trigger Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 1:19 am
	I think I was told once that there was no hidden tracks in sms WB3 but I can't seem to find the trigger for both the gg & sms versions. Has anybody else located it?

furanku Joined: 10 Dec 2000 Posts: 592 Location: Australia and Japan	Re: Wonder Boy in Monster World Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:13 am
	Maxim wrote (Found by furanku) [code]RAM[de03] is a write trigger. 8F Ending VGMs already submitted by furanku. oops!!! Sorry I've noticed somthing as explained in a privare message to you.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14838 Location: London	Re: well hidden trigger Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:32 pm
	furanku wrote I think I was told once that there was no hidden tracks in sms WB3 but I can't seem to find the trigger for both the gg & sms versions. Has anybody else located it? This game is well documented as the original music hack, here. The address is cff9, the values start at 01, but it is not a write trigger, it also requires a function call in the code to start a new track, which requires a lot more hacking.

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