@@InglebardGaming you got me started with Deflemask, so I really appreciate your video series! Samples I know my way around, but I'm completely new to FM synthesis. Big thanks!
I thought that was covered when I mentioned keeping them as short as possible, but I could have been a little more explicit. Yeah, always keep them only as long as they need to be.
Have you ever wondered about trying the same trick the Roland D50 uses on the Genesis, where an instrument's attack portion is played as a sample but the decay part is modelled using synthesis? What do you think? I'm surprised you can't apply effects to samples like volume changes. I assumed it would be feasible to get either the Z80 or the 68000 to multiply the sample data on the fly as it sends it to the YM2612. I've read that it's possible to hack the SN76489 to play samples but I'm confused about what's experimental or theoretical and what would actually be practical in a game.
Really, the first suggestion wouldn't work on Genesis since you can't alter the pitch of the sample. Someone may be able to write software (I think some have) that can change the pitch of the samples, but if I remember right it used a ton of CPU time so you couldn't really use it in games. Regarding the SN76489, from my understanding and having talked to a few people that are experts, using a sample takes all four channels at once and also all the CPU time from the Z80, making it pretty impractical to use for stuff like music. From what I've heard in professional games, samples in it don't sound all that hot anyway. Really, the best thing will be when someone puts out a program that deals with XGM since it can play four samples at once. That'll do wonders for drum tracks on Genesis! Right now you can make XGM music but you have to manually edit it and it's a pain, I haven't had time to mess with it yet, I just know that people have told me they couldn't figure it out. So unfortunately, there's not really any feasible way around all the hardware sample limitations right now that I know of, anyway.
I don't really have much appreciation of what is and isn't possible on a Z80, since my first computer was an Amiga, which shares the same 68000 CPU with the Genesis but has different graphics and sound chips. Mostly all I remember from the 8 bit era was how slow it was to load games from tape round friends' houses, as if floppies wasn't already slow enough compared to those who had PCs with harddisks.
Ha, yeah, when we first got our C64 we had a tape drive for a few months before getting a floppy drive. It was unbearable, it took forever for anything to load. The very first computer we ever had as a Timex Sinclar which was the US version of the ZX-81. Then a TI99/4a, then (thankfully) C64s and 128s before moving onto Amigas in the 16-bit era.
You can just go to the file menu and then save WAV file. You can use another program like audacity to save it as an MP3 after that if you want to shrink it down.
Can you say something about potential issues that too many / large samples can cause besides large ROM size, if any? I guess ROM size only matters if targeting real cartridges.
To be fair, my expertise on this stuff is intermediate. I can't really think of any other downsides other than the rom size. I've played around with some pretty long samples and they worked OK in a rom file, but I've never tried to push it to unreasonable levels. I did one time test a full one minute drum track just for fun and that worked alright despite being hilariously large storage-wise.
I'm not sure, I rarely use the mobile the version. I would be really surprised if that feature is missing since it's pretty essential. I'd check the website and forums, you should find an answer there on whether it does and also how to do it. Or you could ask in the discord, someone on there will likely know.
@@InglebardGaming I'm wondering how you type in the sample or effects (idk which one it is) on FM6. Not sure if I missed something, but I was wondering if you could help me out here.
Any "real" sounds you play through the DAC in the 6th FM channel are samples. The video shows the steps but here' the cliff's notes version: In the 6th FM channel you have to enable samples first. This is effect 17. Set the value to 01. Then in the instruments section of deflemask, click on samples and open the instrument window (press F1). Hit the plus sign to load a sample. This will be assigned to the note 'C' there will be a plus sign under the sample you just loaded and you can load another. The next one will be assigned to the note C# and so on. As long as you have samples as the selected instrument, you'll insert samples as long as deflemask is set to record and you're in channel FM6. If you're confused, just look at some of the demo songs included with Deflemask.
@@InglebardGaming Thanks! but the problem is, is that I don't know how to type the effects into the program. Do I have to use a special key for that or is it something implemented in itself. Not trying to be annoying, this is just my first time.
Damn good 4 parts. Hope there will be a 5th one. Fun to watch and now I fell in love with Deflemask. Is there somewhere a community for Megadrive / Genesis composer?
Thanks! As it happens part 5 should be my next video and out sometime around this coming Sunday or Monday. Probably the best community for it is the Deflemask discord. You can find the info on the deflemask website. I used to hang around there a lot and people are helpful. I just don't have time anymore or I'd still be in there myself. Edit: edited for grammar only.
You have to be in "record" mode and make sure the cursor is in the correct column. I show this in the tutorials so you might want to replay the early ones to see it in action.
It depends on what the driver supports. If you're using XGM (in the SGDK for example) I think it auto-converts everything to 14khz. What I've run into with that is some samples got totally broken or played at wrong pitches in the XGM playback engine. For example it completely broke a sampled triangle in one of my SotN songs and it basically just sounded like fuzz. It was at 16khz initially.
Is this the same process that you use when converting samples for the Neo Geo and Arcade settings in Deflemask? Or is there a different process for that?
I haven't looked into the specifics of Neo Geo samples at this point, so I don't know what the specs are. It should be similar, you'll just have to see what frequencies it supports and whether or not it can handle stereo samples.
@@InglebardGaming Alrighty, sounds like some experimenting is in order. Many thanks for the reply and for doing this series! It's been helping out quite a bit.
@@mellowsuezo you may have to do some digging, but having to look up the soundchip and it's specs may tell you. Inglebards Sega sound works video helped as much as having to find everything I can find about the 2612
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Very happy to see another insightful part in the series!
NP, glad you find them helpful!
Great tutorial as always, thanks for breaking it down so thoroughly and for providing the sample links. Decent!
NP, glad you found it helpful!
Great timing! I just started creating using Deflemask thanks to you and making my own samples. Can't wait to watch tonight!
Hope you ended up liking it 😁
@@InglebardGaming you got me started with Deflemask, so I really appreciate your video series! Samples I know my way around, but I'm completely new to FM synthesis. Big thanks!
Alrighty. Next time, probably in about five or six weeks, will be the big SMS PSG episode!
Should also mention trimming those sounds down to just what is needed for memory purposes.
I thought that was covered when I mentioned keeping them as short as possible, but I could have been a little more explicit. Yeah, always keep them only as long as they need to be.
Have you ever wondered about trying the same trick the Roland D50 uses on the Genesis, where an instrument's attack portion is played as a sample but the decay part is modelled using synthesis? What do you think?
I'm surprised you can't apply effects to samples like volume changes. I assumed it would be feasible to get either the Z80 or the 68000 to multiply the sample data on the fly as it sends it to the YM2612.
I've read that it's possible to hack the SN76489 to play samples but I'm confused about what's experimental or theoretical and what would actually be practical in a game.
Really, the first suggestion wouldn't work on Genesis since you can't alter the pitch of the sample. Someone may be able to write software (I think some have) that can change the pitch of the samples, but if I remember right it used a ton of CPU time so you couldn't really use it in games.
Regarding the SN76489, from my understanding and having talked to a few people that are experts, using a sample takes all four channels at once and also all the CPU time from the Z80, making it pretty impractical to use for stuff like music. From what I've heard in professional games, samples in it don't sound all that hot anyway.
Really, the best thing will be when someone puts out a program that deals with XGM since it can play four samples at once. That'll do wonders for drum tracks on Genesis! Right now you can make XGM music but you have to manually edit it and it's a pain, I haven't had time to mess with it yet, I just know that people have told me they couldn't figure it out.
So unfortunately, there's not really any feasible way around all the hardware sample limitations right now that I know of, anyway.
I don't really have much appreciation of what is and isn't possible on a Z80, since my first computer was an Amiga, which shares the same 68000 CPU with the Genesis but has different graphics and sound chips. Mostly all I remember from the 8 bit era was how slow it was to load games from tape round friends' houses, as if floppies wasn't already slow enough compared to those who had PCs with harddisks.
Ha, yeah, when we first got our C64 we had a tape drive for a few months before getting a floppy drive. It was unbearable, it took forever for anything to load. The very first computer we ever had as a Timex Sinclar which was the US version of the ZX-81. Then a TI99/4a, then (thankfully) C64s and 128s before moving onto Amigas in the 16-bit era.
Thank you so much for this tutorial!
You're welcome, glad it helped out!
Goodday to you Inglebard, i forgot how to export a file into a wav file so i can play it back outside of deflemask and also send to others
You can just go to the file menu and then save WAV file. You can use another program like audacity to save it as an MP3 after that if you want to shrink it down.
@@InglebardGaming Aah nice, thank you for the info man! Godbless
When i do this, i cannot find it anywhere on my android phone, do you maybe know what im doing wrong?
Can you say something about potential issues that too many / large samples can cause besides large ROM size, if any? I guess ROM size only matters if targeting real cartridges.
To be fair, my expertise on this stuff is intermediate. I can't really think of any other downsides other than the rom size. I've played around with some pretty long samples and they worked OK in a rom file, but I've never tried to push it to unreasonable levels. I did one time test a full one minute drum track just for fun and that worked alright despite being hilariously large storage-wise.
Can you import samples on deflemask mobile? ( I would use my computer, but it's really slow.)
I'm not sure, I rarely use the mobile the version. I would be really surprised if that feature is missing since it's pretty essential. I'd check the website and forums, you should find an answer there on whether it does and also how to do it. Or you could ask in the discord, someone on there will likely know.
@@InglebardGaming Ok, thanks.
@@InglebardGaming I'm wondering how you type in the sample or effects (idk which one it is) on FM6. Not sure if I missed something, but I was wondering if you could help me out here.
Any "real" sounds you play through the DAC in the 6th FM channel are samples.
The video shows the steps but here' the cliff's notes version:
In the 6th FM channel you have to enable samples first. This is effect 17. Set the value to 01.
Then in the instruments section of deflemask, click on samples and open the instrument window (press F1).
Hit the plus sign to load a sample. This will be assigned to the note 'C' there will be a plus sign under the sample you just loaded and you can load another. The next one will be assigned to the note C# and so on.
As long as you have samples as the selected instrument, you'll insert samples as long as deflemask is set to record and you're in channel FM6.
If you're confused, just look at some of the demo songs included with Deflemask.
@@InglebardGaming Thanks! but the problem is, is that I don't know how to type the effects into the program. Do I have to use a special key for that or is it something implemented in itself. Not trying to be annoying, this is just my first time.
Damn good 4 parts.
Hope there will be a 5th one. Fun to watch and now I fell in love with Deflemask.
Is there somewhere a community for Megadrive / Genesis composer?
Thanks! As it happens part 5 should be my next video and out sometime around this coming Sunday or Monday.
Probably the best community for it is the Deflemask discord. You can find the info on the deflemask website. I used to hang around there a lot and people are helpful. I just don't have time anymore or I'd still be in there myself.
Edit: edited for grammar only.
can you say how to put number into the tracker because just pressing it doesnt work
You have to be in "record" mode and make sure the cursor is in the correct column. I show this in the tutorials so you might want to replay the early ones to see it in action.
Default reverb effect? I did click on genesis/megadrive didn't i?
Or is this super Nintendo.....
.....ill get my coat
Lol, the default reverb effect in Audacity 😁
Another question:I converted to 22 kHz and it works fine at the moment. Could this lead to issues down the line, in your experience? Thanks!
It depends on what the driver supports. If you're using XGM (in the SGDK for example) I think it auto-converts everything to 14khz. What I've run into with that is some samples got totally broken or played at wrong pitches in the XGM playback engine. For example it completely broke a sampled triangle in one of my SotN songs and it basically just sounded like fuzz. It was at 16khz initially.
Is this the same process that you use when converting samples for the Neo Geo and Arcade settings in Deflemask? Or is there a different process for that?
I haven't looked into the specifics of Neo Geo samples at this point, so I don't know what the specs are. It should be similar, you'll just have to see what frequencies it supports and whether or not it can handle stereo samples.
@@InglebardGaming Alrighty, sounds like some experimenting is in order. Many thanks for the reply and for doing this series! It's been helping out quite a bit.
NP, glad you've found it helpful!
@@mellowsuezo you may have to do some digging, but having to look up the soundchip and it's specs may tell you. Inglebards Sega sound works video helped as much as having to find everything I can find about the 2612
🤘🏼🤘🏼