Hellpath (Chiptune Original, 6-N163)

SoundCloud link with free HQ download: / hellpath
My entry to the first Dn-Famitracker demo compo. It got second place, thereby being added to the program's list of demo songs. This upload has some minor changes from the contest version.
Uses 2A03 (the NES soundchip) and 6 channels of the N163 expansion chip, as you can probably see in the video. Multiplexing (i.e. the thing that makes the N163 destroy your ears) is NOT disabled, but I used Famitracker's treble filtering to reduce the multiplexer hiss, achieving a similar effect.
Module: drive.google.c...
Audio download: drive.google.c...

[@azaz6872]

Can I ask something

[@Firespike33]

Yes

[@coheberhz239]

to this day we still dont know what he will ask

[@Spax_]

@@coheberhz239 true, we are still waiting

[@NANFR-thatdude]

Man it's been 10 quamorbium years and there's still no question

[@srb2er]

he asked if he can ask something.
that's a question. =)

[@spidericktehdarkandstuff7417]

Me chillin in my yt feed when the sickest chiptune song just randomly appeared

[@puppykitty6100]

Same. The algos worked for once.

[@5kioon]

Frr

[@heydon9601]

That has to be the best sounding N-163 guitar I’ve ever heard. This entry was truly outstanding

[@Firespike33]

Thanks. While I made some arpeggio and volume envelopes to make it sound more realistic, the guitar waveform itself is something I stole from a ballandpaddle cover. They "drew it by hand" apparently, which makes it so much funnier how good it sounds, specially since it's just 2 waves with a size of 32.

[@ballandpaddle]

@@Firespike33 ballandpaddle here, that does sound like one of my "guitar" patches, though you used it many times better than I ever did. Absolutely solid work here.

[@Dimlight74]

This is honestly one of the best N163 songs I've heard.

[@soapsatellite]

Those instruments and the whole composition sound like something an actual metal band would've made. Nothing I've heard in Famitracker goes as hard as this.

[@asinineSkeptic]

Thank you for this delicious meal. That break about halfway in really butters my crust man

[@gizmo9133]

That intro is absolutely incredible, legit this is one of the best chiptune songs ive ever heard

[@cheezocheddarman7163]

I've listened to this track before and liked it, but hearing it again and really taking in the absolute unit of a sound wall it generates makes me appreciate it more.

[@mrshlmusic]

This goes so hard, i love this :O

[@kociatk0]

that pulse solo absolutely smited me, wow

[@SpectBluewolf3621Lol]

I can listen to this all day

[@cringecande_9352]

This song goes TOO HARD

[@Zylenxx]

Reminds me of Eschatos - Extermination. Well done!

[@Firespike33]

Thanks. I love that OST

[@antisocialvigilante7697]

I find it funny how the DPCM just pops right before the video ends

[@_wanderluss_1944]

I have no clue where this came from or why it showed up in my feed but you earned a sub from me man this is an absolute banger

[@waynetastic1746]

Getting serious Doom vibes from this song, nice! 🔥🎸🔥

[@ScooterMcAwesomeness]

Keep going back in time... this is Nintendo 8-bit level tuneage.

[@Deatg-ek8rf]

He have meant Doom Metal as in the musical genre, not the game, the riff at 1:50 is pure Doom!

[@realSkarm]

Really good! It sounds amazing!

[@keebs5780]

sick as hell

[@DrMackFoxx]

This was fantastic! I'm going to have to dig through more of your uploads.

[@zaxolotl]

YOOO This is crazy I love this

[@OficialDreamsInteractiveMedia]

This is really cool! Keep it up!

[@RioXTorres]

This goes insane holy moly

[@therealshinchanisonvacation]

Hello,good video my friend

[@enoodle]

thank u for getting me to find battle of the bits, v cool

[@TheCookiePup]

Magnificent recommendation from the algorithm :O

[@8squared007]

liked, subscribed, notifications turned on AND saved to playlist
this song is too good for heaven

[@Plide]

Reminds me of the Mega Man Zero games on the Game Boy Advance! Very good song!

[@teafollet5361]

Ok that absolutely rocks

[@force64music]

It sounds cool!

[@5kioon]

This is a banger

[@groovingood]

Indeed

[@NathanMartin-js6bt]

Now we need this but not chiptune! I think it would sound awesome with normal instruments

[@Firespike33]

If someone made an actual power metal cover of this, even a bad one, it would make my day lol

[@phoenixarian8513]

This sounds great. Great for a gunfight type of game like contra.

[@Tacoradical]

This is it chief. W fucking composition, holy balls.

[@nic0vide0]

Yo can I use the guitar riff at 0:16 for one of my songs plz?

[@Firespike33]

Sure

[@penjamin1479]

This track is so impressive.

[@groovingood]

This rocks🤘

[@defenestrated23]

Absolutely sick, insta-subbed

[@quadpad_music]

This outright sounds like FM at times. Holy shit.

[@RED40HOURS]

There's demo songs for Dn-FamiTracker??? What!!

[@breadmastersquest8833]

this metal is heavier than my mother

[@aidanknox2430]

well done

[@chadoftoons]

Nice

[@NintendoT-q7b]

Can you make an exact version of this song? But in a commodore 64 sound chip form?

[@XYZB0RG]

pretty damn sick. 11 channels though?

[@Firespike33]

Yep, could have even been 13 if I had used the maximum number of N163 channels.

[@erickmarin6147]

You need more views king

[@c4nvm]

how the hell do you use 6 n163 channels without aliasing problems

[@Firespike33]

IDK, I find the aliasing isn't that bad until you go above 6. Ironically, disabling the multiplexing/hiss also makes the sound quality noticeably worse, at least in FT, so I left it on.

[@c4nvm]

@@Firespike33 ah, furnace starts getting bad at 5, i should try ft

[@Firespike33]

@@c4nvm Interesting. I wonder what this song would sound like in Furnace then lol

[@c4nvm]

@@Firespike33 oh, not good almost certainly

[@waffleratta2861]

shit slaps harder than my dad

[@ScooterMcAwesomeness]

And your mom

[@TheWraithSummoner]

How the hell would one compose this?

[@soapsatellite]

Witchcraft and miracles

[@thacuber2a03]

hey nice :)

[@taurus4life162]

1:51 ..and my head is shaking right now

[@melonpie105]

the wavetables look like cityscapes

[@Firespike33]

True, I noticed that too

[@PurpleOFC2009]

Burning levels be like:

[@groovingood]

Hell yeah

[@InnovateSphereStudios]

Permission Request: Could I use this song for a game that I'm making?

[@Firespike33]

Sure, just give credit.

[@InnovateSphereStudios]

@@Firespike33 thanks

[@leafypotatostyle]

What the hell did you feed to that NES 💀

[@groovingood]

Metal

[@scoperman6445]

yo i dont know how to download something from soundcloud, can you send me a link or post it on newgrounds

[@Firespike33]

If you're signed in, it should be under the "More..." drop-down menu. But if you don't wanna make an account for an admittedly crappy website like SoundCloud I get it. Is flac okay?

[@scoperman6445]

@@Firespike33 i am signed in but i dont see it

[@Firespike33]

@@scoperman6445 Well here's a Google Drive link (download button in upper right): drive.google.com/file/d/1I3g7lp5e9DKYl7cJJIT8i-oRZtcEAbxq/view?usp=sharing

[@scoperman6445]

ok thanks

[@kittykaidoodles796]

THIS SHIT RULES

[@groovingood]

Yeah

[@ConnorR.mp3]

the beginning reminds me of hit the lights by metallica

[@Firespike33]

It was actually directly inspired by that, so I'm glad someone noticed

[@scarm_rune]

evil boss fight with gimmick

[@ZEDXHUNTER24]

Megaman vs Zero.

[@Firespike33]

I can hear that

[@SuperLeozao120Hz]

How are songs made using these wavetable channels?

[@Firespike33]

What do you mean exactly?

[@SuperLeozao120Hz]

@@Firespike33 Like, how do you do these types of waves using the N163, is there an specific way?

[@Firespike33]

@@SuperLeozao120Hz The waveforms are fundamentally just strings of numbers, of varying length. The ones that change over time, like the PWM lead or the synth pad in this song, are created by constantly cycling through slightly different waveforms, usually at the engine speed (60hz in this case). This is what lets the N163 be used similarly to a sample-based soundchip like the one in the SNES, though lower quality obviously.
As for how the individual N163 instruments are made, it varies. The rhythm guitar in this was made by ballandpaddle drawing it by hand, which is pretty hardcore and not how I would usually do it. Though I did make the PWM and sawtooth instruments here by hand, because they're extremely simple. The synth pad instrument was ripped from a sample pack by Dippy.
Ripping samples as N163 instruments is tricky because you have to accommodate the engine speed (usually 60hz), which reduces the quality. You also have to choose the wave size based on how many other N163 instruments you will use at the same time, since wave RAM is limited. This reduces the quality further. Wave RAM being a thing basically means you can choose between having a bunch of low-quality waves at once, or a couple high-quality ones. Having an echo channel for an instrument usually uses up more wave RAM as well.
I'm not sure how well that answers your question. I could go more into detail but this comment is getting huge.

[@SuperLeozao120Hz]

@@Firespike33 thank you man, I really wanted to know because I wanted to do a school project on this, I find this chiptune subject very interesting

[@gleya4987]

fuck that goes hard

[@daisyreeabalde7888]

OOO ooo Pop Us(Midi)-me

[@_smb4568_]

Does it work on real hardware?

[@Firespike33]

It should, although I don't have a NES or Famicom so I can't personally test it.

[@Deatg-ek8rf]

Can I ask something else?

[@Firespike33]

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ScooterMcAwesomeness]

I feel like... this would have been the music, if they had made a good Contra game for the 16-bit consoles.

[@traumatizedgeworth]

1. contra 3 was good, 2. this is for the NES that's 8 bit

[@ScooterMcAwesomeness]

@@traumatizedgeworth never played contra 3... didn't know any existed for 16bit
I'm well aware that NES is 8bit

[@traumatizedgeworth]

@Scooter McAwesomeness contra 3: the alien wars is a great snes contra game, you should try it if you're a fan of contra. another good 16 bit contra game is contra: hard corps for the genesis

[@theinvisibleskulk4563]

This sounds like a Megami Tensei battle theme.

[@olifloof]

the

[@Firespike33]

the

[@olifloof]

@@Firespike33 the

[@groovingood]

The

[@quentc]

Hellway to H E C K

[@gameborge]

some Music

[@groovingood]

Some muziky

[@soccer89fromjurgeons2]

Me vs air:

[@NikoAnimation]

if you ever feel useless, remember that there is a dislike button on this video

[@groovingood]

RUclips killed the dislike