Sound, Music & MIDI Collection 2

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Bells, Whistles, and Sound Boards TUTORIAL DOCUMENTATION v1.20 for ASM, C/C++, TP, QB, PDS, and PB PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY Copyright (c) 1993-95, Edward Schlunder All Rights Reserved This project was started on 07-14-93 and now completed on 05-25-95. (two years have been put into the making of BWSB) I. Contents ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. Introduction 1.1 Packing List 1.2 Hardware Requirements 1.3 Feature List 1.4 License Agreement/Disclaimer 1.5 Credits 2. Brief Tutorial 2.1 File Types Used 2.2 Getting Music Going 2.3 Adding Sound Effects 2.4 Things to Keep in Mind 3. Language Differences 4. Miscellaneous 4.1 Common Questions and Concerns about BWSB 4.2 Known Bugs and Limitations 4.3 Need Music? Read Here! 4.4 Technical Support/Contact Information 4.5 Distribution List 4.6 Closing Words Chapter 1. Introduction ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BWSB FACT BWSB was originally written by a guy who did not know OR much about ASM, C, or Pascal coding. It was coded LIE? using mostly QuickBASIC 7.1 (aka PDS) and some ASM. BWSB is a digital sound and music programming library for use in games, demos, intros, etc. All music and sound effects are played in the background, allowing your program to do anything it likes while the sound and music is playing. BWSB uses a seamless interface to support different sound devices through the use of runtime loadable music & sound engines (more on this coming up), so adding support for many different sound cards in your programs is no problem at all. 1.1 Packing List When you decompress BWSB to your hard drive, make sure you use PKUNZIP -D BWSBxxx [enter], which will let pkzip create directories on your hard drive. This makes the whole package a little bit less cluttered. Documentation: BWSB.DOC This tutorial document. BWSB.REV List of all the latest changes and additions BWSB-REF.DOC Function reference. It might be handy to print it. TTP.TXT Tailgunner Target Practice documentation. REGISTER.DOC Tells about what you get when you register. REGISTER.FRM Registration form to order BWSB. LICENSE.DOC License agreement for the registered version. G-> See section 1.4 for the license agreement when using the unregistered evaluation copy of BWSB. Example Programs: SETUP.EXE Program to setup some of the example programs for your sound card and configuration. [C] MMP.EXE Example module player. [QB/PDS] SND-PAD.EXE Instrument player for demonstrating the PlaySample routine. [QB/PDS] GDMPLAY.EXE Example module player. [TP] GDMSCOPE.EXE Module player that displays a digital scope in tune with the music. [TP] TTP.EXE Tailgunner Target Practice example game for BWSB [TP] PLAYC.EXE Example module player. [C/C++] CHPLAY.EXE A little more advanced module player [C/C++] TPLAY.EXE Example module player.. Really tiny. [ASM] Utilities: OL.EXE OverLoader - a program to tack files onto the end of your EXE files for demos, games, etc so that you don't have lots of external data files 2GDM.EXE Converts many different module formats to the GDM format, which is the only format BWSB G-> loads directly. See section 2.1.1. Example Music: TTP.GDM 'Tek Gets Off' - 4 channel digital music by Tek/OTM. This was originally composed in S3M format. 4MORN.GDM '4 In the Morning' - 8 channel digital music by Stalker/OTM. This was originally composed in S3M format with Scream Tracker v3.21. Include Files: BWSB.H Declarations of BWSB routines [C/C++] GDMTYPE.H GDM file structure definitions [C/C++] CHANTYPE.H Structure definitions for the GetChannelTable routine. [C/C++] BWSB.BI Declarations of BWSB routines [QB/PDS] GDMTYPE.BI GDM file structure definitions [QB/PDS/PB] CHANTYPE.BI Structure definitions for the GetChannelTable routine. [QB/PDS/PB] BWSB.PBI PowerBasic declarations for BWSB routines [PB] BWSB.INC ASM external declarations. [ASM] GDMTYPE.INC ASM structure definitions for GDM files [ASM] Libraries/Units/Objects: MSE_ASM.OBJ Large/medium memory model object file [ASM] MSE_CL.LIB Large memory model library [C/C++] MSE_CM.LIB Medium memory model library [C/C++] MSE_TP.PAS Turbo Pascal unit source code. Make [TP] sure you compile this to create the MSE_TP.TPU unit so that you can use BWSB's routines. MSE_PB.OBJ OBJ routines for PowerBasic [PB] MSE_QB.LIB Library for QuickBasic 4.5 to make EXEs [QB] MSE_QB.QLB QuickLibrary for QuickBasic 4.5 to use BWSB in the QB environment. [QB] MSE_PDS.LIB Library for PDS 7.1 to make EXEs [PDS] MSE_PDS.QLB QuickLibrary for PDS 7.1 to use BWSB in the QBX environment. [PDS] There are quite a few additional files, but they are fairly self explanatory. 1.2 Hardware Requirements BWSB requires a 386SX or better CPU. This is due to the intense popularity of 386 and 486 machines today. XTs and 286s are quickly going out of style, and programming something this complex for a 286 would make development take much longer. Naturally, a sound card is required. BWSB currently only supports the Sound Blaster family of sound cards, the Gravis Ultrasound, and the Pro AudioSpectrum or any 100% compatibles. Some of the included example programs require a VGA card for display of oscilloscopes, animations, etc. However, no part of the sound library requires any type of video card, and therefore your programs do not have to require a VGA or better. 1.3 Feature List ⌐ Seamless support for different sound devices. No code needs changing to support different sound devices, output on each device acts (almost) exactly the same as it would on another, from your application's point of view. BWSB takes care of hiding any differences from you. ⌐ Support for several sound devices. Sound devices currently supported are: Gravis Ultrasound (Stereo up to 41KHz) Sound Blaster 1.xx (Mono up to 21KHz) Sound Blaster 2.xx (Mono up to 43KHz) Sound Blaster Pro (Stereo up to 22KHz) Sound Blaster 16 (Stereo up to 45KHz) Pro AudioSpectrum (Stereo up to 45KHz) Any sound card 100% compatible with one or more of the above. More sound devices will be added later. They will work with your programs with only a simple recompilation. ⌐ BWSB is very stable! Stability with BWSB is very good because it does not use IRQ 0 and does not use other perverse optimizations that other sound systems use. High stability was one of the key items kept in mind while developing BWSB. ⌐ Conversion of many module formats to GDM. With the included utility (2GDM) you can convert your modules to GDM format, which are loaded very quickly because it is almost identical to how modules are stored in memory with BWSB. The following can be converted: MOD/NST/WOW/OCT S3M STM MTM 669 e669 ULT FAR MED (MMD0) ⌐ BWSB is compatible with the following compilers: Borland C/C++ v3.x Watcom C/C++ v10.x (using WCL, not compatible with WCL386) Turbo Pascal v6.x/7.x QuickBASIC v4.5 Microsoft Basic v7.x PowerBasic v3.x It is very possible that BWSB will work with other compilers, but the above were the actual compilers we were able to test it with. ⌐ BWSB is compatible with all programmers who have at least a vague understanding of how to program a computer. <g> ⌐ All sample data can be kept in EMS (expanded memory) if available. This frees up base memory for your program. Note: On the Gravis Ultrasound, all sample data is kept in DRAM on the card at all times. No base or EMS memory is used for sample data. ⌐ Ability to play music and sound effects together at the same time. For instance, you could have some digital music going on in your game, then have gun shots and explosion sound effects playing too, all at the same time, without stopping anything! ⌐ Support of up to 32 digital sound channels. This means that you can play up to 32 digital sounds at one time (provided that your computer is fast enough for this). ⌐ IRQ 0 Free. Everything plays in the background without reprogramming the timer chip (which is slightly incompatible with multitaskers, etc). This lets you use IRQ 0 for more important things, such as video retrace timing for fast page flipping or snowless palette switching on VGAs. ⌐ Because BWSB is IRQ 0 free, programs using these routines will still run properly under multitaskers such as Windows and DesqView, without any modifications or additional coding. Many other digital music systems cause Windows to crash because Windows does not expect programs to reprogram IRQ 0. ⌐ I've gotten reports that BWSB actually speeds up programs compiled with QuickBASIC and PDS. Don't ask me if it's a fact or not, I have no idea. I use C myself. ⌐ BWSB supports full 0 - 15 left to right panning in music and sound effect playing on all sound devices (this is fully compatible with the Gravis Ultrasound's panning capability). ⌐ All major Protracker effects are implemented. Effects left out are Set Filter On/Off and Glissando, both of which do not get used very often. In fact, we found no modules using Glissando, so this wasn't implemented. ⌐ Most major Scream Tracker 3.2x effects are implemented. This includes such effects as Retrigger+Volume Slide, Set Global Volume, and Fine Vibrato. ⌐ Many more brainless things forgotten here. 1.4 License Agreement/Disclaimer This license agreement pertains to the SHAREWARE/UNREGISTERED evaluation version of BWSB. To see your rights as a registered F-> user, consult the file LICENSE.TXT (Standard and Advanced only, does not cover Commercial Edition). Use of the unregistered shareware version of BWSB is subject to a trial period. If, after the trial period is over, you want to continue using BWSB in your programs, you must register it with the authors by paying a nominal fee (please read the F-> file REGISTER.DOC). This evaluation version may *not* be used for programs that are released to the public except for freeware programs. It is for your own evaluation, and if you wish to release a "for-profit" program created with BWSB, you *must* register first. Freeware programs created with the evaluation version of BWSB may be released to the public as long as you include a conspicuous notice detailing the use of BWSB. The included source code may be edited any way you wish, except that original copyright notices must remain in the code unaltered. You are prohibited from reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling any part of BWSB. BWSB is provided as is and the author disclaims all other warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall the author be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business data, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use this product, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states/jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages. We do not sell to people from such perverse places. You may distribute copies of this unregistered shareware version of BWSB to BBSes, FTP sites, CDs, etc provided that nothing is changed, deleted, or added in the archive. You may *not* distribute the registered versions of BWSB. 1.5 Credits Edward Schlunder - Project head. All major coding zilym@hndymn.stat.com and some of the documentation. Alex Chaflin - All Turbo Pascal support and much achalfin@uceng.uc.edu of the documentation. Zach Mortensen - Working on Watcom C/32 bit support. mortens1@nes.nersc.gov This will be added to a future version of BWSB. Ryan Petrie - Misc original coding. Wrote some of hurri the first mixer prototypes. @tydirium.yuma.arizona.edu Ariel Gross/Taylor Pakula - Composed the example music files stalker@primenet.com included here and provided us with pakula@ramp.com many more to test BWSB with. Active beta testers - Jochen Jaeger Email me if you wish to become an active beta tester. Please do not join if you have very little spare time. To all those who replied to my fidonet beta testing request, sorry, I will not be automatically adding you to this list, since BWSB is not a book any more. Email me again if you wish to join. Major thanks go out to those people who I've called upon to do beta testing here and there and to all those who have contributed ideas. Most of all, a huge thank you goes to all those who have registered and made our efforts have some sort of purpose. Many more people helped out greatly with the development of BWSB. There are so many it would be very hard to list them all here. Chapter 2. Brief Tutorial ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BWSB FACT During the development of the initial mixing OR routines, Edward managed to create a deadly bug LIE? (while trying to add a simple feature to BWSB) that locked up his machine and destroyed the directory on his hard disk where all of the ASM source code was kept. He stayed up for three straight days typing the whole source code (then 150K or so large) back in from memory. He did not repeat that bug again, mind you :-). This chapter is for those of you just starting out with BWSB or any other digital interface kit. It gives you the basic idea of how to make a simple S3M or raw sample play using BWSB. If you've already used BWSB before, or have used another similar interface kit, you can probably skip this chapter and just look at the example source code and the function reference for further information. 2.1 File Types Used Digital music is made up of two distinct parts: samples (instruments) and pattern data (music notation). Patterns tell which samples to play at what time and frequency. Samples are small digital recordings of real instruments. This system of music reproduction can be very realistic yet not require massive amounts of disk space for a full digital recording of an entire musical piece. BWSB supports several module formats through the use of the G-> 2GDM utility (see section 2.1.1). More formats may be added later, provided that they are similar enough to the internal format so that they will sound half decent. 2.1.1 2GDM Module Conversion Utility Included with BWSB is a simple utility to convert almost any module file format to GDM format (the internal format used in BWSB). In this version of BWSB, you must convert all modules you wish to use in your programs to GDMs first. 2GDM is easy to use, just use: C:\>2GDM filename [new filename] 'filename' does not need to include a file extension. 2.1.2 Runtime Loadable Music and Sound Engines (MSEs) Music and Sound Engines (MSEs) are the modules actually doing all the work in BWSB. MSEs consist of all the data, tables, and code used to mix multichannel digital sound, process music, and output sound on various sound devices. For each sound device, there is a separate MSE file. This saves memory by not loading code and tables for sound devices that aren't actually being used at runtime. In the current version of BWSB, there are six MSE files included: GUS .MSE - Gravis Ultrasound SB1X .MSE - Sound Blaster 1.xx SB2X .MSE - Sound Blaster 2.xx SBPRO .MSE - Sound Blaster Pro SB16 .MSE - Sound Blaster 16 PAS .MSE - Pro AudioSpectrum When you tell BWSB which MSE file you want to use, it loads it into memory ready to use. MSEs are always kept in base memory (except, possibly, in future 32 bit versions). Through this system, it is very easy to add support for other sound devices in the future, and it's very easy to program for devices you may not even own. 2.1.3 Libraries, QuickLibraries, and Units All LIBs, QLBs, TPUs, and OBJs are in the \LIB directory. The TPU files may need to be created first by compiling MSE_TP.PAS if the TPU version is not already there. These are the files: MSE_ASM.OBJ - Large/medium memory model library for ASM MSE_CL.LIB - Large Memory Model library for C/C++ compilers MSE_CM.LIB - Medium Memory Model library for C/C++ compilers MSE_TP.PAS - May need to compile this to get the file below: MSE_TP.TPU - Turbo Pascal 6.x/7.x Unit file. Make sure you tell the TP IDE where to find this in the options menu. MSE_PDS.LIB - PDS 7.x library for making EXEs MSE_PDS.QLB - PDS 7.x quicklibrary for loading into QBX.EXE MSE_QB.LIB - QuickBasic 4.5 library for making EXEs MSE_QB.QLB - QuickBasic 4.5 quicklibrary for loading into QB.EXE MSE_PB.OBJ - PowerBasic 3.x object file for use with $LINK To use any of the routines in the QuickBasic or QuickBasic Extended programming environment, you must load the appropriate QLB: C:\BWSB\LIB>QB /L MSE_QB [ For QuickBasic ] C:\BWSB\LIB>QBX /L MSE_PDS [ For PDS ] Please note the PDS 7.1 seems to conflict with BWSB's EMS routines in the environment. You can either disable QBX's EMS support ("/E:0") or you can disable BWSB's EMS support (see G-> section 2.2 about loading a module). If you don't do one of these two, running programs in QBX will likely crash the machine. This only applies to the environment; compiled versions of your programs in EXE form do not have this problem. If you wish to use the C/C++ libraries with the Borland C/C++ 3.1 IDE, you must first edit the file TLINK.CFG (in the \BIN directory) to include the line "-3". This allows TLINK to link 386 specific opcodes, which are used frequently throughout BWSB's routines. If you are using PB/QB/PDS/C/C++, you will probably want to edit your INCLUDE environment variable to include the \INCLUDE directory of BWSB. This directory contains several files that are used in all of the example programs included. If you don't want to modify your INCLUDE environment variable, you will have to modify the example source files so that they specify the path of the BWSB includes. 2.2 Getting Music Going The first thing to do is load and initialize your MSE. This is done in the code fragment that follows. Note, however, this assumes you're using a Sound Blaster 1.xx with the SB1X.MSE in the current directory. Basic and Pascal use all of the computer's memory, which gives our routines no room to store pattern data, sample data, etc. To get around this, you must deallocate some heap memory using the SETMEM function in Basic or the $M directive in Pascal. Note: Loading the MSE prior to calling any other routines in the BWSB library is paramount for avoiding system crashes. If *any* other routines in BWSB are called before loading a MSE, the system will likely reboot or lockup or aliens will take over your computer. - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- #include <bwsb.h> /* Declare all BWSB subs and functions */ #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <conio.h> #include <io.h> #include <fcntl.h> void main(void) { GDMHeader ModHeader; /* Module header */ int ErrorFlag; int file, MusChans, j; unsigned int OverRate; int Addr = { 0xFFFF }, /* Autodetect Base I/O address */ IRQ = { 0xFF }, /* Autodetect IRQ level */ DMA = { 0xFF }; /* Autodetect DMA channel */ ErrorFlag = LoadMSE("SB1X.MSE", /* ASCIIZ MSE file to load */ 0, /* File Offset to load from */ 45, /* Oversampling rate (sound quality) */ 4096, /* Buffer size */ &Addr, /* Base I/O (0xFFFF autodetect) */ &IRQ, /* IRQ level (0xFF autodetect) */ &DMA); /* DMA channel (0xFF autodetect) */ - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- 'Declare all the BWSB subs and functions: '$INCLUDE: 'BWSB.BI' '$INCLUDE: 'GDMTYPE.BI' DIM ModHeader AS GDMHeader 'Module Header Freemem& = FRE(-1) - 80000 'Basic Heap - EXE Memory (80000) A& = SETMEM(-Freemem&) 'This is the memory freed for 'module and MSE usage. ' File Offset ─┐ ┌─ Oversampling rate (sound quality) ' ErrorFlag = LoadMSE("SB1X.MSE", 0, 45, 4096, &HFFFF, &HFF, &HFF) ' ' MSE file name ──┘ │ ├──────┴────┘ ' Buffer size ─┘ └─ Autodetect IRQ, base I/O ' address, and DMA channel - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- {$M 16384,0,65360} { Leave some memory for the module, don't hog } { all the heap space } Program PlayGDM; Uses MSE_TP, DOS; { Include all the MSE functions and Types } Var ModHeader : GDMHeader; { Declare a module header } BaseIO : Word; IRQ : Byte; DMA : Byte; ErrorFlag : Word; Begin BaseIO := $FFFF; { Variables are used because values are returned } IRQ := $FF; { Direct values are not supported with reference } DMA := $FF; { parameters. } { File Offset ─┐ ┌─ Oversampling rate (quality) } { } ErrorFlag := LoadMSE('SB1X.MSE', 0, 45, 4096, BaseIO, IRQ, DMA); } { } { MSE file name ──┘ │ ├──────┴────┘ } { Buffer size ─┘ └─ Autodetect IRQ, DMA, } { and I/O Address. } End. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next step is to load your module. The module load routine can load your module into base memory, EMS memory, or GUS DRAM (only with the GUS MSE). It'll only load the module into EMS memory if you tell it to. However, you must first detect whether EMS services actually exist, or you'll probably end up crashing the system. Included with BWSB is an EMS detection routine (EmsExist), just for this purpose. The following code assumes you're loading the module "NRG.GDM" from the current directory. It detects EMS memory and loads it into EMS if detected. Let's get loaded, bud. - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- ErrorFlag = EmsExist && 1; /* Enable EMS if available */ file = open("TUNE.GDM", O_RDONLY | O_BINARY); /* ┌─ Calling: Load Flags (EMS enable) */ /* Load our module: Returns: Error flag (0 - no errors) */ LoadGDM(file, 0, &ErrorFlag, &ModHeader); /* */ /* File ─┘ └─ Offset into └─ Module header that you can use later */ /* Handle file to load to get information on the GDM loaded. */ /* from. */ close(file); /* Close the file handle.. */ - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- IF EmsExist THEN Flags = 1 ELSE Flags = 0 'Are there EMS services available? File = FREEFILE 'Get a free file handle number OPEN "TUNE.GDM" FOR BINARY AS File 'Open the module in binary mode ' ┌─ Calling: Load Flags (EMS enable) 'Load our module: Returns: Error flag (0 - no errors) LoadGDM File, 0, Flags, VARSEG(ModHeader), VARPTR(ModHeader) ' ' File ─┘ └─ Offset into └─ Module header that you can use later ' Handle file to load to get information on the GDM loaded. ' from. CLOSE File 'Close the file handle.. - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- Begin If EmsExist { Are there EMS services available? } Then Flags := 1 { Yes, then use it } Else Flags := 0; { No, disable EMS use } Assign(File, 'TUNE.GDM'); { Open the module file } Reset(File); { ┌─ Calling: Load Flags (EMS enable) } { Load our module: Returns: Error flag (0 - no errors) } ErrorFlag := LoadGDM(File, 0, Flags, ModHeader); { } { File handle ─┘ └─ Offset into └─ Module header that can be } { file to load used later to get info on } { from. the GDM loaded. } Close(File); { Close the file handle } End. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then you'll want to start up the music engine and enable the music. Note that GDMs do not include a byte telling how many channels are used; you must scan through the channel default panning table to count how many channels are in use. Pan position of FFh implies that the channel is not used in the module. Any other value means that the channel is used in the music file. Do you feel like you're learning how to drive a car yet, or what? :-) - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- MusChans = 0; /* Start out at zero.. */ for (j = 0; j < 32; j++) if (ModHeader.PanMap[j] != 0xFF) MusChans++; /* ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) */ /* */ OverRate = StartOutput(MusChans, 0); /* Start your (sound) engines */ /* # of Music+Sound */ /* channels ─┘ └─ Amplification level (0 - none) */ StartMusic(); /* Enable the music play flag */ /* Music should be playing now.. */ - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- MusChans = 0 'Start out at zero.. FOR J = 1 TO 32 'Scan for used music channels IF ASC(MID$(ModHeader.PanMap, J, 1)) <> &HFF THEN MusChans = MusChans + 1 END IF NEXT ' ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) ' OverRate& = StartOutput(MusChans, 0) 'Start your (sound) engines ' '# of Music+Sound channels ─┘ └─ Amplification level (0 - none) StartMusic 'Enable the music play flag 'Music should be playing now. - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- Begin MusChans := 0; { Start out with zero channels } For J := 1 to 32 do { Scan for used channels in then Pan mapping } If ModHeader.PanMap[J] <> $FF Then MusChans := MusChans + 1; { ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) } { } OverRate := StartOutput(MusChans, 0); { Start your (sound) engines } { } { # of Music+Sound channels ─┘ └─ Amplification level (0 - none)} StartMusic; { Enable the music play flag } { The music should be playing now } End; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of course, once you're tired of the music, you'll use this: - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- StopMusic(); /* Disable music processing */ StopOutput(); /* Stop all sound output */ UnloadModule(); /* Free module memory */ FreeMSE(); /* Remove MSE from memory */ } - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- StopMusic 'Disable music processing StopOutput 'Stop all sound output UnloadModule 'Free module memory FreeMSE 'Remove MSE from memory - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- Begin StopMusic; { Disable music processing } StopOutput; { Stop all sound output } UnLoadModule; { Free module memory } FreeMSE; { Remove MSE from memory } End. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 Adding Sound Effects Adding sound effects to your programs is not a hard task. You first must create a GDM with the sound effects you will be using. Say you have a sound effect named LASER.VOC. You are also using the music file RAINBOW.S3M. The first thing you would do is load up Scream Tracker 3 (or any other module editor that supports loading and saving S3Ms, or for that matter, whatever module format your music is currently in). Once your in your module editor, load RAINBOW.S3M as if you were about to edit it. Press F3 (or whatever in your module editor) to get to the sample editing screen in ST3. Then move down to an empty sample slot and load the LASER.VOC into that slot. Remember which sample number this slot is for later use.. If you forget, you can always go back with the SND-PAD.EXE program to load the GDM form of your music file and look at the sample numbers along the left hand side of the screen. Ok, now you've got a S3M (or whatever format you're using) with all the music and sound effects you want. Save this module and exit the editor. Now you've got to convert it to a GDM with the 2GDM utility (included with BWSB). Now you have RAINBOW.GDM, with both your music and sound effects stored in the file. Keep a copy of RAINBOW.S3M in case you later want to add or remove sound effects. In your program, you would set things up as normal for just G-> plain module playing (see section 2.2). The only difference is that you must allocate more sound channels when calling StartOutput. Here is an example of the modification to make: - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- /* ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) */ /* */ OverRate = StartOutput(MusChans + 4, 0); /* Start your (sound) engines */ /* */ /* # of Music channels ─┘ │ └─ Amplification level (0 - none) */ /* # of sound effect channels ─┘ */ - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- ' ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) ' OverRate& = StartOutput(MusChans + 4, 0) 'Start your (sound) engines ' ' # of Music channels ─┘ │ └─ Amplification level (0 - none) ' # of sound effect channels ─┘ - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- Begin { ┌─ Actual oversampling rate in use (Hz) } { } OverRate := StartOutput(MusChans + 4, 0); { Start your (sound) engines } { } { # of Music channels ─┘ │ └─ Amplification level (0 - none) } { # of sound effect channels ─┘ } End; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note that the total number of channels you allocate can not exceed 32. Another thing to keep in mind that the more channels you allocate, the more CPU power being used up (except on the GUS). So, try to keep the number of channels required for use down to a minimum. Once you've got everything initialized and the music is playing (note: music does not have to be enabled to play sound effects, but in most games you will be having both playing at the same time), you need to call the PlaySample routine to play some sound effects. - C/C++ -------------------------------------------------------------------- do { key = getch(); Sample = key - '0'; SndFX++; if (SndFX==5) SndFX = 1; /* ┌─ Digital sound channel to play on */ /* */ PlaySample(MusChans + SndFX, Sample, 16000, 64, 0xFF); /* */ /* Sample # to play ─┘ │ │ └─ Use default panning */ /* Play sample at 16KHz ─┘ └─ Maximum volume */ } while (key!=27); /* Exit loop if Esc pressed */ - QuickBasic/PDS ----------------------------------------------------------- DO DO Key$ = INKEY$ LOOP UNTIL LEN(Key$) 'Loop until key pressed Sample = VAL(Key$) 'Find which sample # to play SNDFX = SNDFX + 1 'Step through sound effect channels IF SNDFX = 5 THEN SNDFX = 1 ' ┌─ Digital sound channel to play on ' PlaySample MusChans + SNDFX, Sample, 16000, 64, &HFF ' ' Sample # to play ─┘ │ │ └─ Use default panning ' Play sample at 16KHz ─┘ └─ Maximum volume LOOP UNTIL Key$ = CHR$(27) 'Exit loop if Esc pressed - Turbo Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------- Uses Crt; { Required for ReadKey function } Var Key : Char; SndFX : Integer; Sample : Integer; Begin Repeat Key := ReadKey; { Read in a key } If Key <> #27 { Make sure it wasn't ESC } Then Begin Sample := Ord(Key) - Ord('0'); { Get Sample number to Play } SndFX := SndFX + 1; If SndFX >= 5 Then SndFX := 5; { ┌─ Digital sound channel to play on } { } PlaySample(MusChans + SndFX, Sample, 22000, 64, $FF); { { Sample # to play ─┘ │ │ └─ Use default panning } { Play sample at 22KHz ─┘ └─ Maximum volume } End; Until Key = #27; { User has pressed ESC so exit } End. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This short piece of code would let the user press the number keys (0-9) to play samples 0-9 in the loaded GDM file at 16KHz, while not disturbing the music that is also playing. It cycles through 4 different sound effect channels so that each sound effect will not cut off the sound effect played just before it. "huh huh huh, he said 'cut', huh huh huh" 2.4 Things to Keep in Mind ⌐ There are many more features to BWSB not documented here, this is just a little bit of help for those getting started. You can learn much more by looking at the example programs and reading about the other routines in BWSB, F-> documented in the function reference guide (BWSB-REF.DOC). You will probably want to print that file out; it does not contain high order ASCII specifically for this purpose. ⌐ You may have problems running a printer while music or sound is enabled. This happens if the sound card shares an IRQ with the LPT port (such as the dreaded IRQ 7). ⌐ Don't use any routines before loading a MSE with LoadMSE! Otherwise, watch the system reboot! ⌐ Always wipe your nose before going out public. ⌐ Do not enable music processing without first loading a music file! Or, watch the system crash! ⌐ Do not free a module from memory before disabling music processing! Or, watch the possible system crash (won't always happen, but would be very likely with time). ⌐ If you have problems working in your language environment, disable EMS use or just run your program in compiled form (EXE) each time. IDEs seems to dislike EMS routines to a degree. ⌐ FreeMSE must be called before your program exits to DOS! If it is not called, you will lock the machine at the end of your program. ⌐ BWSB does not support samples over 64K long. This is usually not a problem for music files, but for sound effects (mainly voice samples) you will need to watch your back. Use the ChannelPos function to help play large samples in smaller blocks. ⌐ SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN AND KEEP RECENT BACKUPS!! ⌐ Yes, there are an uncounted number of ways to crash the system using these routines incorrectly. Don't let that make you think that this library is buggy or hard to use!! BWSB was created with speed (highest priority) and size (second priority) in mind; putting in a bunch of safe guards in the code would only bloat the library so that your product would be considerably larger. ⌐ If you have problems with your source code (it locks up the machine all the time), just take a look at the example programs given. If that doesn't help, you can always look back in the documentation here or send us some email. Chapter 3. Language Differences ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BWSB FACT Upon announcement that the family would be taking a OR three to four week vacation to Oregon, Edward stayed LIE? up four days and three nights coding a stand alone module player (OmniPlayer) so that lots of people could test BWSB's routines on their computers while he was gone. [C/C++] All of the example C code was written using Borland C/C++ v3.1 and may need some slight modifications to compile using other C/C++ compilers. [QB/PDS] FreeMSE will automatically be called on exit in normal cases, but it doesn't hurt to call it again. That won't lock up the system. [TP/C/C++] FreeMSE does not get called automatically on exit. To get the same effect as in the QB/PDS version, put the following code immediately after loading the MSE: [TP] ExitProc := @FreeMSE; { Do an automatic FreeMSE if abort } [C/C++] atexit(FreeMSE); // Do an automatic FreeMSE if aborted Chapter 4. Miscellaneous ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BWSB FACT Edward has over 200MB of MOD, MED, 669, S3M, XM, OR and MID files on his hard drive to test BWSB with. LIE? There is no room for any games or Windows programs. 4.1 Common Questions and Concerns about BWSB Q: I'm writing a game that will have three episodes, the first being free to the public and the other two only available if the user pays me some amount. Will I need a commercial registration for the extra two episodes? A: As long as they are only getting advertisement through noncommercial channels, you do not need a commercial registration. In this scenario, you are getting advertisement for the other two episodes from the first one that it publically distributable, so no, you do not need a commercail license. Q: I represent a commercail company that creates games and other programs for the PC. We are in need of some specialized routines for an upcoming project. Would you be able to create this for us (at a fair price)? A: At the time of this writing, I do not have an open schedule for such projects (since my school schedule is extended to graduate High School early), but email me to find out the current status. Fairly soon school will let out and in about a year I will be done with High School completely. Q: Hey, sonny, do you know where my car is? A: Sure! Right where you parked it last time! Q: I'm having trouble loading GDMs larger than 450k. A: You probably haven't enabled EMS support with BWSB or you do not have EMS memory in your computer. Try loading the module using one of the example players included. If they can load it, you haven't enabled EMS support with G-> BWSB properly (see section 2.2). If one of the example players can't load the module, you probably don't have EMS services available. Try using EMM386.EXE that came with DOS to get EMS memory (refer to your DOS manual). Q: Does BWSB use it's own mixing routines on a GUS? A: No, it uses the GUS onboard mixing services that the GUS provides. This is why there are so many slight differences when using the GUS (like not using much CPU power for 32 channels, etc) Q: What is DRAM? A: For all you non-GUS users (or GUS users who've never upgraded your GUS to 1mb), the GUS uses onboard memory for all digital samples. DRAM is simply the type of memory used on a GUS. Q: I have some other libraries that I'd like to use along side BWSB. How do I get all the libraries merged into one? A: For this you should refer to your books on LIB and LINK for information on putting libraries together. It is a fairly painless process. If you'd like a more visual method of changing libraries around, get the Library Wizard program by Thomas Hanlin. It makes it as easy as a mouse click to add and remove OBJs from a library. Q: How come there is no support for XM (FastTracker ][ module) and MIDI formats? A: These two formats are quite different from the majority of digital music formats established. Supporting them will take a fair bit of reworking in BWSB, which will require some time. Currently no time schedule is available for when this will be supported. 4.2 Known Bugs and Limitations ⌐ There should be a way to load sound effects separately instead of inside of the modules. ⌐ BWSB-REF.DOC needs more 'Example:' fields filled in, and not just for C/C++. ⌐ There should be a way to load different module formats at runtime instead of using 2GDM first. ⌐ People keep pleading for XM support. In BWSB's current state, these files can't be implemented very well. These files probably won't be implemented for a while until I can rewrite the music engine. Even then, this may only be supported under Watcom C/C++ 32bit implementation (since Watcom support will require a rewrite anyway). 4.3 Need Music? Read Here! So you're writing a game and you need lots of original, creative, and earth shaking music for your first class game? If you've ever tried your hand at composing music, you know how time consuming it can be to make professional sounding music. Instead of using second quality music for your game, you can purchase music at a reasonable price from our select group of musicians who we feel will create satisfactory musical pieces for your productions. Here is a list of musicians and their email addresses for additional information on purchasing music: Stalker/OverThrowMachine - Wrote one of the example songs aka Ariel Gross included with BWSB. stalker@primenet.com Tek/OverThrowMachine - Wrote the example song used in aka Taylor Pakula Tailgunner's Target Practice. pakula@ramp.com Cerulean/Defiance max0803@imap2.asu.edu 4.4 Technical Support/Contact Information Technical support is FREE for all users of BWSB (although registered users get a heck of a lot more attention :-). BWSB-TALK Mailing List (Internet Only) Send a message to zilym@hndymn.stat.com saying "subscribe BWSB-TALK". You will then receive new announcements concerning updates and current projects going on. Edward Schlunder (Project Head) Internet: email address zilym@hndymn.stat.com Zilym in the #otm channel on IRC FidoNet: Edward Schlunder at 1:114/268 Mail: 554 N. Acacia Road Apache Junction, AZ 85219-4313 USA Alex Chalfin (Turbo Pascal Support Author) Internet: email address achalfin@uceng.uc.edu achalfin@ddt.eng.uc.edu (alternate) Phred in the #otm channel on IRC FidoNet: Alex Chalfin at 1:108/180 Mail: 6244 Beech View Circle Cincinnati, Ohio 45213 USA 4.5 Distribution List Internet FTP (also available from ftpmail servers) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── x2ftp.oulu.fi /pub/msdos/programming/mxlibs ftp.vt.edu (vtaix.cc.vt.edu) /pub/otm ftp.cdrom.com /pub/demo/code/sound or /pub/demo/incoming/code FidoNet FREQ (request BWSBxxx.ZIP, where xxx is the version number) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Chandler Programmer's Connection (mail node 3) Chandler, AZ (602)759-6290 or 1:114/268 28.8k bps Note: Latest releases always get uploaded to this BBS first thing, so this one is always a couple days ahead of the other distribution sites. Kingdom of Karmac Cincinatti, OH (513)731-4493 or 1:108/180 (use magic name BWSB) 14.4k bps Private BBSes ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Chandler Programmer's Connection (public node 1) Chandler, AZ (602)759-7789 9600 bps Note: Latest releases always get uploaded to this BBS first thing, so this one is always a couple days ahead of the other distribution sites. Obiter Dictum Cincinatti, OH (513)831-2576 14.4k bps Kingdom of Karmac Cincinatti, OH (513)731-4493 14.4k bps The Mach 5 BBS (319)355-7336 ISO BBS (65)270-8066 ThE SounD Engine Germany +49-4371-4085 Orbit Greece +30-61-222421 22:00-14:00 CET Note: If you are a sysop and wish to become a distribution site for BWSB, please leave me (Ed) some email. You will need to have access to ftp since I can not make unlimited long distance phone calls to u/l new releases to your BBS. 4.6 Closing Words April 23rd, 1995 (Edward Schlunder): Well, I'm pretty satisfied with this latest version. Looking at some of the other sound systems out there, I tend to laugh. They all have some fault or another (but I guess BWSB isn't totally perfect either). One is really fast, but really unstable. One is very slow, but is low priced. One is not stable, not fast, and has a huge price (hmm, makes you wonder where that product is going <g>). Oh, and don't forget the one that calls the original Int 8h at a slightly different speed to make all CPU usage checks declare it as the fastest in the world <laugh>. But with BWSB, I feel like I've achieved the (near) perfect mix of speed, price, and stability. If you disagree, send your comments to /dev/null and let me sit here happily listening to "Strip of the Nile" by Stalker/OTM (which is by far one of the most wonderful musical renditions I've ever had the pleasure of feeding my ears). Music is so inspiring! Don't forget to look at OTM's first group production, TEXTRO! You have to see it to believe it! Hiyas to my friends in OverThrowMachine (Tek, Stalkah, Hurri, Volt, Sup, NS, and PHRED!), my friends at school (Luis, Dan, Bob, Gina, Angie, Kris, Sabrina, Brandy, Logon, Longjohn :-), Glenn, da Mills's, Nick, Eric, Sarah, Adam, Jade, Tom, Bobby, Jeremy, etc), the pretty girls at school I don't have enough time to talk to (Christy, the other Christy <g>, Julianne, Hollie, etc), my coolio teachers (Mr Henry, Mr Berry, Mr Omstead, Mr Mills, Ms Wiseman). A big mucho thanks to Alex Chalfin for doing such a nice job on the Turbo Pascal support that I had no clue over. I understand ASM, Basic, and C, but not Pascal. Alex, you saved my day. :-) Another big thanks to Kevin Diggins for helping tremendously in getting the PowerBasic 3.x support added to BWSB. It wouldn't have been possible without him. Uhhh, thanks goes to myself for making the C/C++ support. :-) Oh, and thanks to Voltaire for helping me make it a little bit more compiler independant (PLAYC should compile under any 16bit C compiler for the PC). Also, big thanks to Jochen Jaeger for some additional tips on making BWSB make compatible with certain Microsoft compilers <g>. My next big project is making a protected mode implementation of this library. All current BWSB registered people will be able to upgrade to it just as if it were an updated version of BWSB (which is it not, it is more of a complete rewrite), so don't worry about having to pay for something twice. I will still develop BWSB, since there is a large market for real mode sound systems. Much of the new ideas put into the pmode version will be implemented in the real mode version as time goes by. Onwards..... ■ "The louder the music, the better the code"