Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news From: James Russell Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.programming.sound Subject: Re: MOD player Date: Thu, 04 Sep 1997 14:36:20 +1200 Organization: Peace Computers NZ Ltd Lines: 113 Message-ID: <340E1EA4.7A5F@peace.co.nz> References: <3408ECA2.D5D11A95@ibm.net> <340D31C1.6FA4@interactive.sony.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 202.37.70.35 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (X11; I; IRIX 6.2 IP22) Developer Support wrote: > > James Russell wrote: > > > > 1) I'm totally confused by the VAB format. From what the manual tells > > me, a VAB contains the sound samples and up to 128 programs, each with > > up to 16 sound tone lists. > > So - What the heck is a program? > > And after someone comes up with the answer to that: > > What the heck is a tone? > > What's with these sound tone lists? > > How can we edit what programs/lists go into a VAB? > > > > 2) I may be going down the same dead end as a couple of other people > > here - converting a MOD into a MIDI file format, then playing that. > > Although I don't know much about MIDI, I was under the assumption that > > it would be possible to map a track (from 0-15) to a sample. This was > > you'd have 16 MIDI tracks (1 for each sample in a 16 sample MOD) and all > > would be Kool & The Gang. But I can't find any documentation on how to > > do this. Also, how does MIDI integrate with the 24 voices on the SPU? > > > > Example: > > A PROG is, say, a piano. You could use 4 samples, one for each octave, to create > a piano playing over 4 octaves. Each of these samples would be a seperate TONE > in the PROG. Each TONE can be set to respond to certain key ranges over > the keyboard (c1-b1, c2-b2, c3-b3, c4-b4....or what ever). TONES can > also have different ADSR settings. So you could point each tone at the > same sample, but have different release rates for each one. Basically, > TONES are used for MIDI music where multi sampling is necessary (or a > drum layout - each key being a different drum) Thanks! I wish this stuff was in the manuals... Oh wait - I just downloaded the versions on the web - They contain heaps more info that the ones I have at home don't have. That's what I need to know in order to play a sample as used in XM/MOD. Maybe some of the commands in the MOD file could use multiple Tones to get better effects. > When you set a program number in MIDI, it uses the PROG number to play > that sound. So to clarify: If I have a MIDI file in SMF-1 format, with 2 tracks (each track is one instrument) I would have TWO Programs: Program 0 would map to the Midi Track 0 (Instrument 0), Program 1 would map to the Midi Track 1 (Instrument 0). When I play the SEQ file (made from the SMF-1 file) on my PSX, and the SMF file sez "Play Note C, octave 4 on Instrument 1", what's happening in the PSX is: o The note "C-4" is converted to a Note number (60 ?) o The PSX looks up Program 1 (which holds Instrument 1) which holds a number of tones. o Each Tone in Program 1 which has a range that contains the "C-4" note (i.e. range_min <= 60 <= range_max) should be played. o For each such tone, look up the VAG associated with it, and play that VAG with the settings described in that Tone and Program 1. Now this sounds right (although I'm not sure) but my biggest problem with it is that it requires the use of a waveform (the VAG, or sound sample), and I was under the impression that MIDI didn't HAVE to have sound samples. So: 1) How are the VAG numbers in the tone used? 2) When the PSX emits sound, are there ** 2 ** possible sources, the CD player and the sound samples in the SPU memory, OR are there ** 3 ** possible sources, the CD player, the sound samples in SPU memory and real-time generated MIDI instruments? I ask this because at the end of the manual it sez: "Sampled waveform data can be used in the same way as MIDI waveform data. For more information, see the Yaroze web site." What exactly is this supposed to mean? MIDI can use sampled sounds? Or by 'waveform' do they mean ADSR and so on? I know this doesn't really relate to the XM player so much, but I'd sure like to know. And please, if you understand what the manual means when it sez: "The following items are included from 'control change': data entry (6) panpot (10) . . nprn(98,99) " What are these things? MIDI events? What are the numbers then? Event numbers? > Tracker to MIDI have problems with pitchbend though, so I would do it > under Vsync if I were you. Sounds like the plan. Ta J -- ==PEACE COMPUTERS ==James.Russell@peace.co.nz - 64(9)3730400 -Fax 64(9)3730401 Why do they put expiration dates on sour cream?