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Finally devkitSMS supports FM audio! :)

The great work of Kagesan (and some wrapping I did recently) means it's finally possible now to replay MoonBlaster FM modules from your devkitSMS games/programs.

Here you can see all the functions.

(support for FM sound effects isn't yet included, I will add it later)

A simple example source is attached.

I hope you'll enjoy!

MBMlib_test.zip (530 B)

MBMlib simple test

wow!! that's really great!! :-D I cannot wait to try it!

Btw, you just included a main.c as an example, but did you have a module available just to hear the fm? :-D

you can use the module provided by Kagesan here

great! thank you very much!

I've tested with that module, and it works flawlessly !!

Now I've to convince musicians to use moonblaster :-D

And you can run MoonBlaster on Emulicious, you know?

Thank you very much Kagesan and sverx ! :-}

edit: {-: and Calindro !-)

Very nice to see this lib!!!

Thanks to Sverx, Kagesan, Calindro and Zipper for porting it first to the SMS!

Hi.

I've been talking with Kusfo about this. Having to use a tracker in the MSX is not very nice, so I was thinking about the possibility of using a Megadrive oriented FM tracker (with the fixed set of instruments and restrictions) such as Shiru's, then writing a simple converter to process the export and generate the binaries this player expects.

I could do this but I find the available documentation a bit lacking ( https://www.msx.org/wiki/Moonblaster_file_format - I don't understand what's spected in most of the fields ).

Any pointers to more detailed documentation? Programming notes? tips? I'm fairly busy but I'm good at converters and may give this a try.

Another topic we discussed is the possibility of writing a player which can use the Megadrive hardware when the game is played via the power base converter, as I'm pretty sure that there's far more people who play SMS games in Megadrive than people who own a proper FM chip for the SMS. Maybe I'm talking nonsense as my knowledge is almost non existent, but as far as I know MD's OPL chip is much superior thant the SMS's, so it could be configured/preloaded to play the same stuff.

EDIT: Maybe I talked too much and too soon, as I can't really find docs on Shiru's output formats either XD

Running Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as simple and convenient as running a dedicated tracker for the format natively on a Win/Mac/Linux platform. Using another tracker and converter sounds a lot more complicated, actually.

Additionally, Moonblaster has a couple of idiosyncrasies that don't match well with the standards one is used to from other trackers, such as fixed pattern sizes, a fixed maximum of patterns, etc. Creating a converter would most certainly not be a straightforward task.

Regarding the file format, I suspect the document you linked to is all we have, but I found that it had all the information I needed when I was porting that replayer. Basically, you'll have to ignore anything labeled "MSX-Audio", as that's data the SMS can't process. ("MSX-Music" is the equivalent to FM sound on the SMS.)

One of the things that I found particularly interesting on the discussion we had with na_th_an is this chance of using Megadrive FM when playing the game in the Megadrive (trying to emulate the Master System FM).

I suppose the Yamaha is accessible in SMS mode?

kusfo wrote

I suppose the Yamaha is accessible in SMS mode?

That's the real question, but probably it's a question we better ask to a MegaDrive focused community.

@na_th_an: I suspect what you suggest isn't impossible, but would come with a great list of obstacles. The two big ones in that list are of course that the FM hardware is different and that the MoonBlaster tracker has lots of peculiarities. Honestly, I think that the easiest approach is still to use the MoonBlaster tracker directly, on Emulicious on your PC.

Also I confirm there's no other documentation about the MBM format.

Asking on Plutiedev's Discord, Sik has pointed out that the PBC would force the Mega Drive into SMS mode, even if you tried to run a CD homebrew.

Then I actually reread kusfo's post and realized he actually meant emulating the YM2413 on the YM2612, and accessing the YM2612 in SMS mode.
In which case, unfortunately, I can confirm that the YM2612 is completely inaccessible when the SMS mode is engaged on the Mega Drive - you do get access to Mode 5 on the VDP, but that's about it in terms of enhancements.

Also the YM2612 would probably do a rubbish job at emulating the YM2413 - the rectified sine option that exists on the YM2413 is absent on the YM2612. This appears to be an OPL vs. OPN thing.

na_th_an wrote

I could do this but I find the available documentation a bit lacking ( https://www.msx.org/wiki/Moonblaster_file_format - I don't understand what's spected in most of the fields ).

Any pointers to more detailed documentation? Programming notes? tips? I'm fairly busy but I'm good at converters and may give this a try.

I reverse engineered the file format and started that Wiki entry. So I could give some more info if you have questions.

The fact that Moonblaster is designed to use 2 sound chips (OPLL and MusicModule) at the same time makes it probably harder to understand.

Author	Message
sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3823 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	MBMlib for devkitSMS Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:15 pm
	Finally devkitSMS supports FM audio! :) The great work of Kagesan (and some wrapping I did recently) means it's finally possible now to replay MoonBlaster FM modules from your devkitSMS games/programs. Here you can see all the functions. (support for FM sound effects isn't yet included, I will add it later) A simple example source is attached. I hope you'll enjoy! MBMlib_test.zip (530 B) MBMlib simple test

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:16 am
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	wow!! that's really great!! :-D I cannot wait to try it!

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:06 pm
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Btw, you just included a main.c as an example, but did you have a module available just to hear the fm? :-D

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3823 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:34 pm
	you can use the module provided by Kagesan here

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:51 pm
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	great! thank you very much!

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:50 am
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	I've tested with that module, and it works flawlessly !! Now I've to convince musicians to use moonblaster :-D

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3823 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:41 am
	And you can run MoonBlaster on Emulicious, you know?

vingazole Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 118 Location: Saintes, France	Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:01 am
	Thank you very much Kagesan and sverx ! :-} edit: {-: and Calindro !-)

Zipper Joined: 06 Apr 2011 Posts: 250 Location: Netherlands	Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 10:57 am
	Very nice to see this lib!!!

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:38 pm
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Thanks to Sverx, Kagesan, Calindro and Zipper for porting it first to the SMS!

na_th_an Joined: 07 Oct 2015 Posts: 114	Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:29 am
na_th_an Joined: 07 Oct 2015 Posts: 114	Hi. I've been talking with Kusfo about this. Having to use a tracker in the MSX is not very nice, so I was thinking about the possibility of using a Megadrive oriented FM tracker (with the fixed set of instruments and restrictions) such as Shiru's, then writing a simple converter to process the export and generate the binaries this player expects. I could do this but I find the available documentation a bit lacking ( https://www.msx.org/wiki/Moonblaster_file_format - I don't understand what's spected in most of the fields ). Any pointers to more detailed documentation? Programming notes? tips? I'm fairly busy but I'm good at converters and may give this a try. Another topic we discussed is the possibility of writing a player which can use the Megadrive hardware when the game is played via the power base converter, as I'm pretty sure that there's far more people who play SMS games in Megadrive than people who own a proper FM chip for the SMS. Maybe I'm talking nonsense as my knowledge is almost non existent, but as far as I know MD's OPL chip is much superior thant the SMS's, so it could be configured/preloaded to play the same stuff. EDIT: Maybe I talked too much and too soon, as I can't really find docs on Shiru's output formats either XD

Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 877	Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:57 am
Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 877	Running Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as simple and convenient as running a dedicated tracker for the format natively on a Win/Mac/Linux platform. Using another tracker and converter sounds a lot more complicated, actually. Additionally, Moonblaster has a couple of idiosyncrasies that don't match well with the standards one is used to from other trackers, such as fixed pattern sizes, a fixed maximum of patterns, etc. Creating a converter would most certainly not be a straightforward task. Regarding the file format, I suspect the document you linked to is all we have, but I found that it had all the information I needed when I was porting that replayer. Basically, you'll have to ignore anything labeled "MSX-Audio", as that's data the SMS can't process. ("MSX-Music" is the equivalent to FM sound on the SMS.)

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:22 am
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 886 Location: Spain	One of the things that I found particularly interesting on the discussion we had with na_th_an is this chance of using Megadrive FM when playing the game in the Megadrive (trying to emulate the Master System FM). I suppose the Yamaha is accessible in SMS mode?

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3823 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 10:18 am
	kusfo wrote I suppose the Yamaha is accessible in SMS mode? That's the real question, but probably it's a question we better ask to a MegaDrive focused community. @na_th_an: I suspect what you suggest isn't impossible, but would come with a great list of obstacles. The two big ones in that list are of course that the FM hardware is different and that the MoonBlaster tracker has lots of peculiarities. Honestly, I think that the easiest approach is still to use the MoonBlaster tracker directly, on Emulicious on your PC. Also I confirm there's no other documentation about the MBM format.

Flygon Joined: 30 Jun 2016 Posts: 196 Location: Melbourne, Australia	Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 3:57 pm
	Asking on Plutiedev's Discord, Sik has pointed out that the PBC would force the Mega Drive into SMS mode, even if you tried to run a CD homebrew. Then I actually reread kusfo's post and realized he actually meant emulating the YM2413 on the YM2612, and accessing the YM2612 in SMS mode. In which case, unfortunately, I can confirm that the YM2612 is completely inaccessible when the SMS mode is engaged on the Mega Drive - you do get access to Mode 5 on the VDP, but that's about it in terms of enhancements. Also the YM2612 would probably do a rubbish job at emulating the YM2413 - the rectified sine option that exists on the YM2413 is absent on the YM2612. This appears to be an OPL vs. OPN thing.

Zipper Joined: 06 Apr 2011 Posts: 250 Location: Netherlands	Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 1:28 pm
	na_th_an wrote I could do this but I find the available documentation a bit lacking ( https://www.msx.org/wiki/Moonblaster_file_format - I don't understand what's spected in most of the fields ). Any pointers to more detailed documentation? Programming notes? tips? I'm fairly busy but I'm good at converters and may give this a try. I reverse engineered the file format and started that Wiki entry. So I could give some more info if you have questions. The fact that Moonblaster is designed to use 2 sound chips (OPLL and MusicModule) at the same time makes it probably harder to understand.

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