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DS development > Nintendo music/sound engine?

#65633 - Tryle - Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:54 pm

Hello,

I make music tracks with different sound tools (pc).
But now I?m interested in making game music like chris huelsbeck
(www.huelsbeck.com). He use Cubase VST (sequencer) for gamecube songs and convert them into their fileformat with their Musyx tool.

I found some websites where I read something about
Nintendo DS music/sound engines for game developer.

For example:

Shinen
[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]

and:

Factor 5 Musyx

Impulse Tracker Clone for PC VST:

reVisit

They don?t need any knowledge about sourcecodes/c++ or something else. They can make a music file for example in 5 minutes for a small music dance track.
I will do it too because I don?t want to program any source. I will make music only.

Do you program each note in DevKit or do you use a sequencer too?
Is it possible to convert a wav/mp3 or other music formats into Nintendo DS format?
Which formats can I use? Which formats can I find on NDS games like all from nintendo or squaresoft?
Does NDS have a generalmidi standart or an own synthesizer? Or should I use own samples?

I need an editor environment for the complete sound data of a game.[/url]

#65667 - tepples - Wed Jan 04, 2006 10:20 pm

For sequenced music, most homebrew developers use some sort of .s3m or .xm player. It's also possible to convert .wav into a tightly compressed format that the Nintendo DS or even the GBA can play in real time (see GSM Player for GBA).

Are you working on an original game or a ROM hack?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

#65676 - Tryle - Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:09 pm

ok and which format should I use when I send audiofiles for nintendo DS to licenced nintendo developer?
I?m trying to get a job by developer companies and they should test the musicfile directly in a game.

#65680 - tepples - Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:32 pm

Homebrew music players (.s3m, .xm, .gsm) are likely to run on the ARM7 CPU. Licensed music players, on the other hand, run on the ARM9 CPU and communicate with the ARM7 CPU through FIFOs and shared memory. (Nintendo develops all official ARM7 binaries because of the regulatory implications of allowing any old developer to reprogram the wireless chip to exceed the power limits of unlicensed spectrum.)

If you want to get hired as a musician, then ask whether you should send .ogg, .mp3, .wma, or just a Red Book CD along with your resume.

If you want to get hired as a programmer, then make a PC game based on AllegroGL or SDL+OpenGL using the same music file. I've read on the public area of warioworld.com that Nintendo officially recommends that people looking for DS work should first learn to program on the PC using OpenGL.

Bottom line: Ask.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

#65704 - Tryle - Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:52 am

thx for your answers :)

I?ll send a lot of musicfiles (fantasy genre for roleplaying games) to different developer.
Maybe I can give the homebrewers here songs for free, too.


I think here are some programmer who can help me. I?ll send a song and you can convert it into different formats (.it .gsm .xm .mod .ogg .gba or ADPCM format). So I can see the advantage and disadvantage of each format.

Which format do you need from me to convert it? Or do you need all instruments as single files (samples)?

I can upload it and post a link here.

Do you use Skale Tracker ?
I don?t know if it works for nintendo music too =/

Additional information:
- WAV file render per instrument, synth, effect and subgroup
- ASIO multioutput support
- 16 stereo independent outputs
- SkalePlayer SDK C++ library
- Backward Skin compatibility
- MouseWheel support to scroll
- Load sample points on WAV files
- AKP (Akai S5000/S6000) Instruments supported
- SF2 (SoundFont 2.0) Instruments supported
- Time advance mode on envelopes
- Samples per instrument note&velocity increased from 1 to 4
- Samples per note selected by velocity
- Samples per instrument increased from 16 to 256
- SkaleVSTi


and un4seen ?
Is a xm player and you can convert Midi to xm etc.
But I think it?s for PC games only (the player...but xm files works with krawall??)
I read that you can find the official nintendo ds development kit by emule =/ Is it true? And is there the official sound engine too?

#65723 - tepples - Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:49 am

If you can make .xm or .s3m, then we can do stuff with it. Usually, you'd only need a streamed format (.gsm or Nintendo DS ADPCM) if there are things that you want to do that .xm or .s3m can't do well, such as live performances.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.