Golden Axe II

Hi,

This is the first version of my Golden Axe II MSU-MD patch (hopefully the last version). It can be downloaded here:

https://mega.nz/file/mGhmSCTC#lpybHC3E6B3NtNlCZedaES6Cm7Hvphw1uHYIMwJNYDE

Was a bit more work than I expected. Got a weird bug where the sample playback stopped working after pause and resume ingame that took quite some time (just made a workaround in the end).

Did not test the loop for track 1 and 15 properly yet since I dont have a good soundpack. They can be adjusted to match an eventual soundpack later ofc.

Tracks are mapped as follows:

1. Title Theme (loop back to 00:27)
   
2. Ravaged Village
   
3. Game Over (no loop)
   
4. Boss Theme 1
   
5. Bonus Stage
   
6. Intermission
   
7. Ruins
   
8. Tower
   
9. Dragon's Throat Cave
   
10. Boss Theme 2
    
11. Castle Gates
    
12. Castle
    
13. Dark Guld's Chamber
    
14. Ending (no loop)
    
15. Credits (loop back to 00:09)
    
16. Final Score (no loop)
    

following: https://project2612.org/details.php?id=162

Made source public: https://github.com/jvisser/msu-md-ga2

void wrote:Hi,

This is the first version of my Golden Axe II MSU-MD patch (hopefully the last version). It can be downloaded here:

https://mega.nz/file/mGhmSCTC#lpybHC3E6B3NtNlCZedaES6Cm7Hvphw1uHYIMwJNYDE

Tracks are mapped as follows:
[list=1]
[*]Title Theme (loop back to 00:27)
[*]Ravaged Village
[*]Game Over (no loop)
[*]Boss Theme 1
[*]Bonus Stage
[*]Intermission
[*]Ruins
[*]Tower
[*]Dragon's Throat Cave
[*]Boss Theme 2
[*]Castle Gates
[*]Castle
[*]Dark Guld's Chamber
[*]Ending (no loop)
[*]Credits (loop back to 00:09)
[*]Final Score (no loop)

[*]

Hello.

Thanks for  making an MSU-MD patch for this game, i made a music pack for it  some months ago, so , if you like it, we can use it

it needs volume normalization so the tracks sounds with the same volume level.



EDIT: i cant apply the bps patch to any version of the rom, it says that the patch is not for the rom im trying to patch.

-pepodmc wrote:
Hello.

Thanks for  making an MSU-MD patch for this game, i made a music pack for it  some months ago, so , if you like it, we can use it

it needs volume normalization so the tracks sounds with the same volume level.



EDIT: i cant apply the bps patch to any version of the rom, it says that the patch is not for the rom im trying to patch.

Hi,

Sorry, I made a mistake with the .bps file. An updated version can be downloaded here: https://github.com/jvisser/msu-md-ga2/releases/download/1.0.0/msu-md-ga2.bps

Soundpack looks good to me but it's missing some tracks though atm. I tried to make a wav/cue with some duplicate tracks but they never seem to work well in the emulator when I make them.

void wrote:

-pepodmc wrote:
Hello.

Thanks for  making an MSU-MD patch for this game, i made a music pack for it  some months ago, so , if you like it, we can use it

it needs volume normalization so the tracks sounds with the same volume level.



EDIT: i cant apply the bps patch to any version of the rom, it says that the patch is not for the rom im trying to patch.

Hi,

Sorry, I made a mistake with the .bps file. An updated version can be downloaded here: https://github.com/jvisser/msu-md-ga2/releases/download/1.0.0/msu-md-ga2.bps

Soundpack looks good to me but it's missing some tracks though atm. I tried to make a wav/cue with some duplicate tracks but they never seem to work well in the emulator when I make them.

The thing is that the tracks missing are minor tracks (game over-ending-credits-final score) and i dont know qhen someone will make covers for them.

I found covers for intermission and the bonus stages, so only those 4 tracks are missing)

i will make the bin cue

EDIT: When you said that its not working well in the emulator, you are talking about the tracks loops? In the MSU-MD, you can only make full track loops, you cant do loops from a custom part of the track

-pepodmc wrote:

The thing is that the tracks missing are minor tracks (game over-ending-credits-final score) and i dont know qhen someone will make covers for them.

I found covers for intermission and the bonus stages, so only those 4 tracks are missing)

i will make the bin cue

EDIT: When you said that its not working well in the emulator, you are talking about the tracks loops? In the MSU-MD, you can only make full track loops, you cant do loops from a custom part of the track

Nice! Is it possible to add VGM conversions to the soundpack for the 3 missing tracks? Then we can have the patch map all the tracks allowing for potential alternative soundpacks in the future without having to update the patch code.

I use the PLAYOF command as documented here for a custom loopback point to loosely match the original track loopback point. But maybe I should just remove it for now and loop back to the beginning always.

My problem with .wav/cue file is that it always seems to choose the wrong tracks in the emulator. Maybe I have configured the cue file wrong somehow dunno.

...

void wrote:

-pepodmc wrote:

The thing is that the tracks missing are minor tracks (game over-ending-credits-final score) and i dont know qhen someone will make covers for them.

I found covers for intermission and the bonus stages, so only those 4 tracks are missing)

i will make the bin cue

EDIT: When you said that its not working well in the emulator, you are talking about the tracks loops? In the MSU-MD, you can only make full track loops, you cant do loops from a custom part of the track

Nice! Is it possible to add VGM conversions to the soundpack for the 3 missing tracks? Then we can have the patch map all the tracks allowing for potential alternative soundpacks in the future without having to update the patch code.

I use the PLAYOF command as documented here for a custom loopback point to loosely match the original track loopback point. But maybe I should just remove it for now and loop back to the beginning always.

My problem with .wav/cue file is that it always seems to choose the wrong tracks in the emulator. Maybe I have configured the cue file wrong somehow dunno.

The command is there but it doesnt work as it should. ArcadeTV (the guy who made the majority of MSU-MD patches) had that problem too with Loops


Your patch works perfect

Here is the bin cue so you can check. I need to nomalize the tracks and fix some things (make loops longer) but this is for testing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wi9CPk51pKL0-lUClK3aHGTIZXyGf9u3/view?usp=sharing

I checked your soundpack and looping indeed doesn't seem to work correctly. Strange when looking at the msu-md driver source it just adds an extra offset to the base offset (= track offset as specified in the TOC) that is used for normal loop play.

I'll remove the partial looping code completely then. Just in case it does get fixed in a later version of the msu-md driver.

void wrote:I checked your soundpack and looping indeed doesn't seem to work correctly. Strange when looking at the msu-md driver source it just adds an extra offset to the base offset (= track offset as specified in the TOC) that is used for normal loop play.

I'll remove the partial looping code completely then. Just in case it does get fixed in a later version of the msu-md driver.

At least for MSU-MD packs, the only way is making longer tracks so the player finish the stage before the track ends, that is how i made for the TMMT hiperstone Heist MSU-MD music pack posted here in Zeldix.

The good thing is that it works for real harware too, because you are playing with the rules of the Sega CD (700mb disc size, 70 minutes of music)

The sega CD only has full track loop, so its nice to have extended tracks for real hardware users.

-pepodmc wrote:
At least for MSU-MD packs, the only way is making longer tracks so the player finish the stage before the track ends, that is how i made for the TMMT hiperstone Heist MSU-MD music pack posted here in Zeldix.

The good thing is that it works for real harware too, because you are playing with the rules of the Sega CD (700mb disc size, 70 minutes of music)

The sega CD only has full track loop, so its nice to have extended tracks for real hardware users.

Still don't fully understand why looping wont work (except for gaps due to seek time on real hardware). But that is a nice/creative workaround indeed.

I replaced the playof commands with play_loop. New patch can be downloaded here: https://mega.nz/file/SLollC4B#emVJ_Qhe_O_VURI1ucGUqRWNMe9fd-8MxFGKeg_u4rw

Functionally should be excactly the same. But always best to test with the latest version I guess

void wrote:

-pepodmc wrote:
At least for MSU-MD packs, the only way is making longer tracks so the player finish the stage before the track ends, that is how i made for the TMMT hiperstone Heist MSU-MD music pack posted here in Zeldix.

The good thing is that it works for real harware too, because you are playing with the rules of the Sega CD (700mb disc size, 70 minutes of music)

The sega CD only has full track loop, so its nice to have extended tracks for real hardware users.

Still don't fully understand why looping wont work (except for gaps due to seek time on real hardware). But that is a nice/creative workaround indeed.

I replaced the playof commands with play_loop. New patch can be downloaded here: https://mega.nz/file/SLollC4B#emVJ_Qhe_O_VURI1ucGUqRWNMe9fd-8MxFGKeg_u4rw

Functionally should be excactly the same. But always best to test with the latest version I guess

Here is the finished music pack:


Check it. Is the volume of the tracks fine for you?

If you are using retroarch, you can download cheats to enable a stage select option, inf magic, lives etc.  will be faster to test.

Tomorrow, i will upload a full playthrough for the thread.

I did a quick check. Will do a full playthrough this evening on real hardware.

Levels are good now for what I tested. With the original test pack they were a bit too loud IMO. One thing I noticed is that for the intro track there is some kind of blip around the 6s mark. Maybe it's only in the emulator. As said I will check on real hardware later.

void wrote:I did a quick check. Will do a full playthrough this evening on real hardware.

Levels are good now for what I tested. With the original test pack they were a bit too loud IMO. One thing I noticed is that for the intro track there is some kind of blip around the 6s mark. Maybe it's only in the emulator. As said I will check on real hardware later.

Yeah i noticed it now.

Consecuence of not habing headphones.

Check now if its fixed:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YuwcEq3HfK1zHhB8A7DL_qXDbhvLCnM3/view?usp=sharing

All seems to be working correctly. I think the patch+soundpack are finished then! Congratulations!

Made a new release on github with the patch file from yesterday.

void wrote:All seems to be working correctly. I think the patch+soundpack are finished then! Congratulations!

Made a new release on github with the patch file from yesterday.

People making patches are the ones to congratulate XD, thanks for the patch

I guess that's a matter of perspective .
Thanks!

void wrote:I guess that's a matter of perspective .
Thanks!

Later i will post it in the hacks databases, in the beat em ups section.

Ok cool