Ladies and Gentlemen!
NitroTracker v0.4 is finally here!
The main new features are:
Minor improvements:
Read the full story here!
For easier integration with NitroTracker, libntxm now includes editing functionality under the hood. There aren’t any changes for the end-user, except for maybe one or two new supported effects, so if you use libntxm 0.1 there is little reason to upgrade, but:
libntxm is now used as part of NitroTracker instead of being just a stripped down version of the NitroTracker arm7 code. Also, libntxm is now hosted on Google Code and has an SVN repository there. So, you can now easily add new features to libntxm, and I can integrate them into NitroTracker just via a simple “svn up”.
libntxm project page on Google Code
Currently, I’m searching for someone who wants to implement support for loading / saving new file formats like .it, .s3m, etc. Also, .wav saving and .xi loading / saving would be useful. If you want to help out, please contact me!
Edit:
OK OK, I’m convinced :) PSG support will come! (sooner or later)
The PSG (programmable sound generator) is the thing that produces the Game Boy’s typical sound, which is still present in the DS (or so it seems). I have promised to include support for it in NitroTracker several times now. But after having seen the Game Boy Sound Comparison, I suspect it might be emulated in software. If that is the case, there wouldn’t be a point in going through the pain of implementing PSG support, but it would be much easier to generate the sounds in software.
Long story short: I’m looking for people with good ears who think they can tell real PSG sound from a cheap emulation :-) I wrote a test program that generates the same tone sequence two times: One time using the PSG and the other time using software. I’m not telling you the order though :-) If you have a DS, please download it here and tell me in the comments whether or not you hear a difference, and if you do, which one you think is produced by the PSG.
If you don’t own a DS, you can listen to the samples below instead. I intentionally didn’t label the sets as PSG or software, so you have to find out for yourself. Please post your guess in the comments, and whether or not you could hear a difference.
To preserve the sound, I didn’t compress the samples, so they are rather big (1.4MB each).
Set A
Pulse 1
Pulse 2
Pulse 3
Pulse 4
Noise
Set B
Pulse 1
Pulse 2
Pulse 3
Pulse 4
Noise
Here are some closeups of the puse waves:
A
B
Thanks!
Tob
Several people have been asking for it, so I decided to publically release my XM library before it’s completion.
libntxm is for you if you want to play back XM music in a homebrew game or app and still want to have the full CPU power for your stuff. Except for loading XMs, libntxm runs completely on the ARM7, and because it uses the DS sound hardware directly, even the ARM7 is rather bored while playing an XM.
The big drawback for now is the lack of most XM effects and some instrument properties. Nevertheless, many XMs already play fine with it. If you make music with NitroTracker, you’re definitely on the safe side :-) There’s a list of supported/unsupported features in the readme file.
libntxm is open source. I decided to go with the LGPL license, so you’re not forced to release your source code if you want to use it.
I’d be very happy if someone could help me with the development of effects in order to speed up the development of NitroTracker and libntxm. If you want to help out, contact me (for example via comments or the libntxm forum post)!
Happy coding!
Sure wireless MIDI is awesome, but it still requires a PC if you want to connect your DS to your MIDI keytar, MIDI modded NES or whatever weird MIDI gear you might have. So far, the solution to this dilemma has been TheRain’s DSMIDI. But unfortunately it requires some skill to build and only supports MIDI output.
Now, with natrium42’s, DSerial it’s possible to connect MIDI devices to the DS easily (instructions here). This method supports both MIDI in- and output.
So, DSMIDIWiFi has now become DSMI (DS Music Interface) and supports both MIDI over WiFi and DSerial - whichever of the two is available. You can even use both connections at the same time, for example to use the DS as a wireless MIDI bridge.
The example apps are DSerial-ready now as well. The current version is a pre-release that doesn’t yet support MIDI input via DSerial, which I will implement once I have the hardware :-)
NitroTracker will soon get support for MIDI Keyboards and other controllers connected via DSerial as well. Given sufficient demand, natrium42 can probably be persuaded to mass-produce the MIDI-cables for DSerial :-)
Cheers!
Tob
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