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Golden Axe Port - Dev log

Neo-Alec said:
I'm impressed you went to so much trouble. I would have assumed you just used NGFX SoundBuilder. If you ever got someone willing to put in the effort of arranging the soundtrack for Neo Geo in Deflemask I'd be over the moon.
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I'd do it myself in Deflemask or Furnace but while they are great trackers, they really don't focus on support for real hardware playback. Furnace does a fairly good job on the MegaDrive but the size of the data is pretty big and it gets streamed in from the 68k, something you can't do on the Neo Geo.
 
Neo-Alec said:
I'm impressed you went to so much trouble. I would have assumed you just used NGFX SoundBuilder. If you ever got someone willing to put in the effort of arranging the soundtrack for Neo Geo in Deflemask I'd be over the moon.
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One idea would be to hack the audio driver in Mame to rip the audio into a VGM file, then convert that into a tracker file.

Or use existing rips: https://vgmrips.net/packs/pack/golden-axe-sega-system-16b
Then use https://github.com/nukeykt/Nuked-OPM to convert instruments into samples
 
h0ffman said:
The problem still remains though. There is no native way to play it back on a neo geo.
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Yes, you will need to convert instruments into samples. The complexity of that depends on how the original player is written, many "old" systems just use midi-style on/off commands. If they mess with a note while it is playing, or do complex arpeggio like it was usual on system like C64 or Amiga it'll be more complicated to find the note start and end. During a quick listen to the soundtrack I didn't notice anything complex.
Then you write it out as a tracker file referencing those samples, using something like https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/neogeos-mod-sound-converter.24963/ for playback.
So in the best case you get note on/off information you can use to convert notes in samples, otherwise you could split the music into separate channels or even stems to make better use of memory.
 
I'm old, and if i remember correctly, back in the dos/95/98 days Thierry Lescot or, @ShinobiZ had a sort of mapping into the YMxxxx FM chips on (certain?) soundblasters with first versions of the "s16emu" that he coded, and allowed us to play emulated Shinobi with sound for the first time that way. The source for s16emu is still on system16.com, maybe usefull. I'm no sound expert and maybe the Neo's 4FM/3PSG doesn't even match up with System16 hardware.

PCM sound/loops is the quickest and easiest way still, and gets ports shipped :)
Investing in FM remaps and stuff will take time.
 
I heard you say you can't fit the detail of the CD version on the MVS, but what about a NGCD conversion like Razool did for NeoSD Pro. It can play NGCD games, although I think some do have graphical glitches.
 
and yes, I'm aware everuy
XtraSmiley said:
I heard you say you can't fit the detail of the CD version on the MVS, but what about a NGCD conversion like Razool did for NeoSD Pro. It can play NGCD games, although I think some do have graphical glitches.
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It was a squeeze fitting the arcade soundtrack on mvs as it is, this is far too detailed for that. Also we really do have to dig the cd users, like me, something a little extra right?
 
h0ffman said:
and yes, I'm aware everuy

It was a squeeze fitting the arcade soundtrack on mvs as it is, this is far too detailed for that. Also we really do have to dig the cd users, like me, something a little extra right?
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Look, if all it takes is for you to make more goodies is to get you a NeoSD Pro, I can start the fund raiser RIGHT NOW!

But I hear what you are saying. I'm not trying to give you more work. Besides, we need you rested for that Fantasy Zone 2 port you're doing next!
 
h0ffman said:
The problem still remains though. There is no native way to play it back on a neo geo.
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There is, but the issue is someone would need to write a custom z80 audio driver to play it back..

I can imagine someone writing open source code that makes it more friendly to build the M1 rom like NGFX SoundBuilder does.
 
What exactly is making this possible, aside from a highly skilled person? Is it because both systems are running a 68000?
Another question I have is, how many ports of games are currently available? I've seen Shinobi and Golden Axe - am I missing out on any others? Lol

Edit: I just realized someone asked this exact same question earlier.. RIP :(
 
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Ir0n said:
What exactly is making this possible, aside from a highly skilled person? Is it because both systems are running a 68000?
Another question I have is, how many ports of games are currently available? I've seen Shinobi and Golden Axe - am I missing out on any others? Lol
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I believe it is talent, skill and dedication.

And the 68000 commonality makes the game play code exactly the same as the original.

There's a good port of cabal by @iq_132.

He's done a few other games as well.

There's a thread that contains info around here somewhere.
 
Been a bit quiet of late. Went to a demoparty last weekend then got sick. Started feeling a little better today so finally tackled the spaghetti code that is this bloody thing!

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Additionally I've managed to add proper MultiSlot support so ( at least in mame ) it plays well with other carts.

Game is essentially finished, just need to smooth out a few of the rough edges with the testers.
 
h0ffman said:
Additionally I've managed to add proper MultiSlot support so ( at least in mame ) it plays well with other carts.
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Out of interest, what was needed? Quite a few homebrew efforts (even commercial ones) don't support multislot cycling.
 
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