Binary Star, a musicdisk for the PCE with SCC (MSX) tunes!

[ccovell]

Hi, folks.  This is more-or-less in time for the PCE's 30th birthday, but Konami's SCC add-on for the MSX turns 30 as well.  Since this summer I've been working on making a sort of SCC emulator/player for some of Konami's fab MSX tunes, and so why not release it today?

https://www.chrismcovell.com/data/BinaryStar.zip



It plays .VGM tunes which I compressed down to a nybble stream by bit-encoding only the SCC and AY PSG writes.  The AY PSG is mappable to any of the PCE's channels, but I have one of them (for noise hits) usually mapped to the PCE's last channel.  I even have AY envelope emulation in there, although the AY chip creates voltage spikes through the envelope that just aren't feasible to emulate on the PCE.

Anyway, that's the tech specs.  Enjoy and leave a comment!

Post a thumb on Pouet.net (demoscene site): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=72039

Youtube video capture (from emulator):

Technical document now added: https://www.chrismcovell.com/texts/binarystar-tech.html

[Michirin9801]

This is great! It's always nice to have more music to listen to on the PCE ;3
Thanks for this ccovell ^^
Also, nice visual effects!

[Arkhan Asylum]

sweet.

It's be cool if we could fiddledick with the panning and mix the tunes more than they ever dreamed they could back then.

[Dicer]

sweet.

It's be cool if we could fiddledick with the panning and mix the tunes more than they ever dreamed they could back then.

Fiddledick is a term I'm gonna shoehorn into as much conversation as I can...

[ccovell]

It's be cool if we could fiddledick with the panning and mix the tunes more than they ever dreamed they could back then.

That level of control was a possible option, but for each song or group of songs, is just for obsessives.  Purists might want MONO; the stereo arrangement was how I thought it would fill the L+R spaces & frequencies.

You can also press Select (hidden feature) to hear each channel soloed.  Or, Y'know, mix them in proper high-fidelity using the KSS plugins for WinAmp & Audacity.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Fiddledick is a term I'm gonna shoehorn into as much conversation as I can...

Good.  Everyone should.

Or, Y'know, mix them in proper high-fidelity using the KSS plugins for WinAmp & Audacity.

But then it's not on the PCE, and where's the fun in that?

[touko]

Even with a "simple" music player chris push some impressive/cool effects . 

[NecroPhile]

Thanks, Mr. Covell!

So many goodies to download and try lately.  It's an embarrassment of riches! 

[Arkhan Asylum]

Thanks, Mr. Covell!

So many goodies to download and try lately.  It's an embarrassment of riches! 

bwwahahahaha and now you are partaking in MSX soundsssssssssssss

the darkside will soon consume youuuuuuuuuu



and we can share cake.

[SmokeMonster]

Thanks, Chris. This is quite brilliant

[Vimtoman]

Looks great too. Thanks

[ccovell]

Thanks, everyone.

I've added an entry on Pouet and a video on Youtube:

https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=72039

[NecroPhile]

Thanks for the video.  I've still not gotten around to checking it out for myself, so this is a good substitute.

Sweet tunes and I love the graphical flair, especially the birthday cake. 

[spenoza]

So, do you need to make custom sound files for this, then?

[pixeljunkie]

awesome - downloading this tonight! thanks!

[shubibiman]

Pretty cool stuff indeed. Thanks

[ccovell]

Hi, folks.  I've written up an overly-detailed tech document about Binary Star:  https://www.chrismcovell.com/texts/binarystar-tech.html

It was mostly asked for by scene people who didn't really know much about the PC-Engine, technically.  So it may cover some familiar territory.

Enjoy...? 

[touko]

Wahou, very complete and instructive, thanks a lot . 

[Arkhan Asylum]

I loled at your "fuckin figure it out" thing for the MSX subslot part of the chart.

Someone else had said / wrote something similar a few years back.   He wrote something trying to explain it.

[spenoza]

Some of the instruments in Gradius 2 actually sound rather Soldier-series-esque. Interesting. Are you planning on packing up any other neat music collections using this fine player you've created?

[Arkhan Asylum]

Some of the instruments in Gradius 2 actually sound rather Soldier-series-esque. Interesting. Are you planning on packing up any other neat music collections using this fine player you've created?

too bad the Goonies homebrew doesn't have VGMs AFAIK.  That would be cool to hear on PCE.

Hell, a fucking Goonies game on PCE would be cool in general.     That's probably the best homebrew game I've ever seen anywhere, ever:

Totally biased because Goonies, but it's also a really well done game, and plays like how Goonies 2 on NES probably SHOULD have been, lol.

Snatcher/SD Snatcher might be cool too, but would require some player-diddling.   Snatcher/SDSnatcher used SCC+, and that opens up the waveform capabilities slightly in that each channel can have a unique waveform as opposed to the 4 possible with regular SCC. 

It's only one extra, but it's still one

[Gredler]

Go home MSX homebrew port of goonies, you sound drunk

[Arkhan Asylum]

Go home MSX port of goonies, you sound drunk

It's not a port.   It's a completely brand-new homebrew game made by a few people.  (Who ultimately stopped doing MSX stuff because this other idiot cracked / redistributed the game, and did some other spiteful/moronic crap)

The OG Konami Goonies game was funny, but only used PSG tunes because it came out before SCC was released.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

sweet.

It's be cool if we could fiddledick with the panning and mix the tunes more than they ever dreamed they could back then.

Fiddledick is a term I'm gonna shoehorn into as much conversation as I can...

Shoehorn is a term I'm gonna acclimate into as much chunter as I can...

[Arkhan Asylum]

sweet.

It's be cool if we could fiddledick with the panning and mix the tunes more than they ever dreamed they could back then.

Fiddledick is a term I'm gonna shoehorn into as much conversation as I can...

Shoehorn is a term I'm gonna acclimate into as much chunter as I can...

Shoehorn your fiddledick into my chunt.

[esteban]

Hi, folks.  I've written up an overly-detailed tech document about Binary Star:  https://www.chrismcovell.com/texts/binarystar-tech.html

It was mostly asked for by scene people who didn't really know much about the PC-Engine, technically.  So it may cover some familiar territory.

Enjoy...? 

I didn't even know what "SCC" referred to when I clicked on this thread.



It was quite enjoyable to read the "tech page" you created...it allows me to have a far greater appreciation of what BINARY STAR actually does.

Now...how can I get the XZR (MSX) soundtrack pumping out of the heart of my PCE?

Thank you.

[ccovell]

... burn a CDR of Exile with custom redbook tracks?   

[SuperPlay]

Great music demo Chris :-) Looking forward to having a look at the writeup

[esteban]

... burn a CDR of Exile with custom redbook tracks?   

You are a cruel, cruel compatriot.

[Arkhan Asylum]

It was quite enjoyable to read the "tech page" you created...it allows me to have a far greater appreciation of what BINARY STAR actually does.

Now...how can I get the XZR (MSX) soundtrack pumping out of the heart of my PCE?

Thank you.

XZR 1 and 2 on MSX don't use the SCC, lol. 

They just use regular PSG tunes.  only Konami and a few homebrew games use the SCC.

XZR II came with a music CD on MSX though.  You could swap those tracks in!

[esteban]

It was quite enjoyable to read the "tech page" you created...it allows me to have a far greater appreciation of what BINARY STAR actually does.

Now...how can I get the XZR (MSX) soundtrack pumping out of the heart of my PCE?

Thank you.

XZR 1 and 2 on MSX don't use the SCC, lol. 

They just use regular PSG tunes.  only Konami and a few homebrew games use the SCC.

XZR II came with a music CD on MSX though.  You could swap those tracks in!

It was a "Christmas Wish"...

...in the same spirit of asking folks to create a SCD sequel to Blodia—I don't think it will ever happen for PCE.



BUT! I didn't know about XZRII actually including a CD (I didn't know that sort of thing even happened; keep in mind that I am pretty ignorant of nearly the entire MSX realm.)

[Arkhan Asylum]

Some other MSX games came with cassette tapes.

Ultima III and Hydlide III both did, and had cool rock redoodles of the music.

This one's the best.

[esteban]

Some other MSX games came with cassette tapes.

Ultima III and Hydlide III both did, and had cool rock redoodles of the music.

This one's the best.

This is intriguing... I had no idea.

*goes to finish listening to the rest of the song*

UPDATE: ok, so I expected most tracks on the cassette to be instrumentals, but this vocal track surprised me.

[Arkhan Asylum]

She sings the other songs too. It's pretty nice really.

Especially since the MSX/NES version of Ultima III is the best version of the game.