MSU-1 Higan on Linux?

Hello!

Sorry in advance if this has been answered, but I have literally been Googling, StackOverflowing, and Githubbing for answers and have not found anything.

I am trying to do MSU-1 music for Zelda LttP Randomizer and I cannot get it to work in Higan.

Mercurial Magic seems to be Windows only and the github link is now dead.

I can get Higan to play the roms, but not with the MSU-1 .pcm tracks. I was once able to get SNES9x to work, but it would never recognize my USB controller, so I couldn't actually play the game.

Any Linux users feel like helping a total noob?

Thanks in advance

Which version (number) of higan are you using? Have you installed it from a repository or are you able to compile the program by yourself?

In any case, you're recommended to use the latest version downloaded from the git, which requires compiling higan from source:
https://higan.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install/linux/

For playing MSU-1 games, read carefully the instructions:
https://higan.readthedocs.io/en/latest/guides/import/#msu1-games

the github link is now dead.

https://github.com/qwertymodo/Mercurial-Magic

Code:

https://mega.nz/#!1kolhTSS!T4b1VM37p2Opk1MSb4Vz7DkV9hZOW_T-LM_qakMXkZI

Okay, so I was running 094 that I got straight from Synaptic. But from your response I decided to try and build on my own (something I've not done before).

Following the directions on compiling I am coming up with this error:

Code:

╭─jasperlovesabraham at LinuxMint in /home/jasperlovesabraham/Desktop/higan-src             
╰─λ make -C higan target=higan
make: Entering directory '/home/jasperlovesabraham/Desktop/higan-src/higan'
GNUmakefile:61: target-higan/GNUmakefile: No such file or directory
make: *** No rule to make target 'target-higan/GNUmakefile'.  Stop.
make: Leaving directory '/home/jasperlovesabraham/Desktop/higan-src/higan'

So now I am stuck there. Installing all the dependencies worked as intended, so I am not sure what is next. But I will keep looking and trying.

You don't need Mercurial Magic.  In fact, for LttP Randomizer you really *shouldn't* use it, because it will try to apply a patch that is incompatible with the Randomizer. LttPR does not need any patch at all, it already includes the MSU-1 support.  Just be sure to NOT select "No BGM" on the Randomizer website when you generate your game seed, then download one of the music packs from the list here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XRkR4Xy6S24UzYkYBAOv-VYWPKZIoUKgX04RbjF128Q/edit

and follow the directions for higan found here:

https://www.zeldix.net/t1607-msu-1-getting-started-guide

If you build the latest version yourself, I think byuu may have changed up the game folder structure again, so I'd just stick with the latest synaptic version for now.

qwertymodo wrote:If you build the latest version yourself, I think byuu may have changed up the game folder structure again, so I'd just stick with the latest synaptic version for now.

Sadly, the synaptic version is based on a five years old release, whose one haven't catched various new improvements implemented since then. Including a more sophisticated code to the SPC+MSU1 audio mixing levels, as you might remember:
https://helmet.kafuka.org/byuubackup2/viewtopic.php@f=8&t=148.html

The latest "stable" release still carries the previous MSU1 file arrangement, though.
https://byuu.org/emulation/higan/
https://higan.readthedocs.io/en/stable/guides/import/#msu1-games

Nonetheless, those changes only require tiny adjustments to file names, not a deal-breaker unless you intend to use it as your primary emulator for the already released MSU1 hacks. But then, there is Mercurial Magic.

Have the tool added support for the newest higan format, btw?

Ah, yeah... forgot about the mixing change in v100. For what it's worth, the older version still balances the MSU-1 and SPC properly, it just cuts the master volume by half. I only recently got my hands on the latest version of the MM source code, and I haven't done anything with it other than mirroring it multiple times so it doesn't get lost again.

Okay, so I have it all according to the steps, but there is still no MSU-1 music.

I do get the sound effects normal, and I have disabled BGM per the instructions here and on the LttPR site.

I have the game folder that Higan created after import (ends in .sfc per the guide)
I have a "manifest.bml", "program.rom", and "save.ram" files that Higan created after import.
I have the "msu1.rom" file that I created (just an empty file)
I then have all the .pcm tracks in the same folder as all the other files named track-1.pcm through track-34.pcm.
I don't know what I am missing at this point.

Can you post your manifest file? Preferably in a code tag to maintain the formatting.

qwertymodo wrote:Can you post your manifest file?  Preferably in a code tag to maintain the formatting.

Code:

unverified

cartridge region=NTSC
  rom name=program.rom size=0x200000
  ram name=save.ram size=0x8000
  map id=rom address=00-7f,80-ff:8000-ffff mask=0x8000
  map id=ram address=70-7f,f0-ff:0000-ffff

information
  title: new game_


It's called "new game_" as I was playing with a fully randomized rom from the lttpr site. I've had the same results with games called "ALttP - VT_no-glitches-30_normal-inverted_randomized-dungeons_7mykQrz8MQ.sfc"

Try this (untested on my end, but I think it looks right...):

Code:

cartridge region=NTSC
  rom name=program.rom size=0x200000
  ram name=save.ram size=0x8000
  map id=rom address=00-7d,80-ff:8000-ffff mask=0x8000
  map id=rom address=40-6f,c0-ef:0000-7fff mask=0x8000
  map id=ram address=70-7d,f0-ff:0000-ffff

  msu1
    rom name=msu1.rom size=0x0000
    map id=io address=00-3f,80-bf:2000-2007

information
  title: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Randomizer


The information node doesn't matter, so don't worry too much about what you call it.

Well...yer a wizard qwertymodo.

It worked!

Was that info anywhere in the guide that I just totally overlooked?

Regardless, you are damn awesome

I think higan should work without any manifest at all, but it's been awhile since I tried.  By creating a manifest without the msu1 node, you overrode the automatic heuristics and told higan not to enable it. You didn't miss anything in the guide, I never got around to writing that part.

Well higan wrote the manifest when I imported the game. I was going off the part in the guide saying that I could do it without the manifest.

You are freaking awesome. I appreciate the help

jasperlovesabraham wrote:Well higan wrote the manifest when I imported the game.

There is a toggle in the advanced settings tab which disables higan from reading manifests, relying instead on the automated heuristics.

You have to check the box if you want higan to automatically set up things for you. (However, the import function only works with MSU1 hacks if the mod's contents are in the predictable scheme that higan expects)

You might want to take a look at the bsnes subset core being developed, it retains all accuracy improvements from higan while at the same time mantaining good performance on modest hardware, aside from being compatible with all MSU1 file arrangements and working very similar to SNES9x or any old bsnes iterations:
https://byuu.org/emulation/bsnes/

(for building from source, you gotta edit the Make file to target bsnes only, as "make -C higan target=bsnes")

Also, there is bsnes mcfly:
http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17377&sid=fc5a2df88c1ec8eb403454aca80d7597

Idk if this is still relevant but here goes.
Higan 1.06 is my SNES emu of choice, that being on Windows or Linux, standalone or libretro so naturally manifests is a must for me.

Depending on your file names you'll have to edit rom and track names, that's easily done in e.g Notepad++ with replace text option.
I always rename the PCMs for a cleaner look so you'll probably have to do it to match your files.
Anyway, so far I made 153 bml files, all tested working 100%.
https://tinyurl.com/y3uw236p

That's very useful, much thanks! I added your bml files to this thread as well:
https://www.zeldix.net/t1789-create-a-bml-file-for-higan#28449

Hey man! I'm using retroarch with snes9x core and it works flawless on ubuntu, while higan is a little slow.