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A real quick question this time.

Is there any library or sound driver available for use in an assembly-based project to run FM sound? I am familiar with the PSGlib available in the development page but that's for the regular sound. If I had VGM files for an FM version, is it possible to use them similar to how PSGlib works, or am I stuck coding FM sound manually?

There’s no FM equivalent for that yet. I have started work on something but it’s far from ready for use at the moment.

There is a library for the Moonblaster tracker format but that requires you to compose inside an MSX emulator.

Maxim wrote

There’s no FM equivalent for that yet. I have started work on something but it’s far from ready for use at the moment.

There is a library for the Moonblaster tracker format but that requires you to compose inside an MSX emulator.

Ok, thank you! I look forward to seeing the FM equivalent!

Using Moonblaster to create FM music for the SMS is really not nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds. The tracker has many peculiarities, but it’s fairly powerful once you get used to it.

The whole "composing inside an emulator" thing sounds terrible, but you can run MB in Emulicious, which lets you mount folders outside of the emulator as disks within, so you won’t have any hassle when it comes to extracting your music files. Using Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as easy as using a tracker native to your OS, except that the tracker itself is old and clunky. It’s well-documented, though.

You can use the Moonblaster lib pretty much exactly like PSGlib. It even supports FM sound effects, which you can simply convert from your PSG ones with the little converter provided.

The main hassle with supporting FM sound is to make it work on all possible system configurations, so you need to detect what the user has and then make your game pick the appropriate player routines. I can help you with that, if you need more information. Here’s what I recommend:

Unmodded western SMS, Mark III: PSG music / PSG sfx
Mark III + FM unit: FM music / FM sfx
Modded western SMS, japanese SMS: FM music / PSG sfx

If you want to have a look, the lib is here.

Kagesan wrote

Using Moonblaster to create FM music for the SMS is really not nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds. The tracker has many peculiarities, but it’s fairly powerful once you get used to it.

The whole "composing inside an emulator" thing sounds terrible, but you can run MB in Emulicious, which lets you mount folders outside of the emulator as disks within, so you won’t have any hassle when it comes to extracting your music files. Using Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as easy as using a tracker native to your OS, except that the tracker itself is old and clunky. It’s well-documented, though.

You can use the Moonblaster lib pretty much exactly like PSGlib. It even supports FM sound effects, which you can simply convert from your PSG ones with the little converter provided.

The main hassle with supporting FM sound is to make it work on all possible system configurations, so you need to detect what the user has and then make your game pick the appropriate player routines. I can help you with that, if you need more information. Here’s what I recommend:

Unmodded western SMS, Mark III: PSG music / PSG sfx
Mark III + FM unit: FM music / FM sfx
Modded western SMS, japanese SMS: FM music / PSG sfx

If you want to have a look, the lib is here.

Thank you very much for this! I will absolutely look into this more when I'm ready to start putting in the music.

Author	Message
CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	FM Sound for assembly projects? Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 9:03 pm
CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	A real quick question this time. Is there any library or sound driver available for use in an assembly-based project to run FM sound? I am familiar with the PSGlib available in the development page but that's for the regular sound. If I had VGM files for an FM version, is it possible to use them similar to how PSGlib works, or am I stuck coding FM sound manually?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 9:12 pm
	There’s no FM equivalent for that yet. I have started work on something but it’s far from ready for use at the moment. There is a library for the Moonblaster tracker format but that requires you to compose inside an MSX emulator.

CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 9:15 pm
CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	Maxim wrote There’s no FM equivalent for that yet. I have started work on something but it’s far from ready for use at the moment. There is a library for the Moonblaster tracker format but that requires you to compose inside an MSX emulator. Ok, thank you! I look forward to seeing the FM equivalent!

Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 878	Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2023 5:25 am
Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 878	Using Moonblaster to create FM music for the SMS is really not nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds. The tracker has many peculiarities, but it’s fairly powerful once you get used to it. The whole "composing inside an emulator" thing sounds terrible, but you can run MB in Emulicious, which lets you mount folders outside of the emulator as disks within, so you won’t have any hassle when it comes to extracting your music files. Using Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as easy as using a tracker native to your OS, except that the tracker itself is old and clunky. It’s well-documented, though. You can use the Moonblaster lib pretty much exactly like PSGlib. It even supports FM sound effects, which you can simply convert from your PSG ones with the little converter provided. The main hassle with supporting FM sound is to make it work on all possible system configurations, so you need to detect what the user has and then make your game pick the appropriate player routines. I can help you with that, if you need more information. Here’s what I recommend: Unmodded western SMS, Mark III: PSG music / PSG sfx Mark III + FM unit: FM music / FM sfx Modded western SMS, japanese SMS: FM music / PSG sfx If you want to have a look, the lib is here.

CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 9:48 pm
CerezaSaturn64 Joined: 25 Feb 2023 Posts: 99	Kagesan wrote Using Moonblaster to create FM music for the SMS is really not nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds. The tracker has many peculiarities, but it’s fairly powerful once you get used to it. The whole "composing inside an emulator" thing sounds terrible, but you can run MB in Emulicious, which lets you mount folders outside of the emulator as disks within, so you won’t have any hassle when it comes to extracting your music files. Using Moonblaster in Emulicious is literally as easy as using a tracker native to your OS, except that the tracker itself is old and clunky. It’s well-documented, though. You can use the Moonblaster lib pretty much exactly like PSGlib. It even supports FM sound effects, which you can simply convert from your PSG ones with the little converter provided. The main hassle with supporting FM sound is to make it work on all possible system configurations, so you need to detect what the user has and then make your game pick the appropriate player routines. I can help you with that, if you need more information. Here’s what I recommend: Unmodded western SMS, Mark III: PSG music / PSG sfx Mark III + FM unit: FM music / FM sfx Modded western SMS, japanese SMS: FM music / PSG sfx If you want to have a look, the lib is here. Thank you very much for this! I will absolutely look into this more when I'm ready to start putting in the music.

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