MSX-Audio BIOS v1.3
|
This is an enhancement over the MSX-Audio BIOS, with a lot new features and fixes, listed below:
ChangeLog:
v1.3:
- Lots of bugfixes
- Lots of optimizations
- Enhanced Instrument set, from MSX-Music BIOS
- Support for OPL3 soundchips (and OPL4fm, of course).
- The new WaveSelect parameter of OPL2/3/4 soundchips
(register E0h) is now supported on instruments, on its parameter +21
(1st operator) and +29 (2nd operator), allowing enhanced custom
instruments
- Brand new SoundChipFish extension. This is a soundchip
translation library that supports on-the-fly translation of commands
between the following soundchips:
- OPLL->OPLn (IOTW, YM2413 to YM3527/Y8950/YM3812/YMF262/YMF278)
- AY-3-8910 to OPL3 (OPL4fm included, of course)
- Software compatibility with the MSX-Music BIOS. Yes, you
read it right: all games/tools that use the MSX-Music BIOS
INIOPL/WRTOPL functions will work on this BIOS, as the BIOS will use
the built-in SoundChipFish library to translate OPLL commands to OPLx
commands on-the-fly!
- This means the following MSX-Music games will work just
fine on any device containing the MSX-Audio BIOS v1.3, and will even be
played in stereo on OPL3/4 cartridges:
- Penguin Kun Wars 2
- Dante2
- Lubeck
- Sea Sardine
- Fleet Commander 2 (requires the patch to fix a race-condition that the game had on its initialization routines)
- Gladius
- The recently released FireHawk-HDD.
- This new version is bigger now requires a 64KB ROM. The
Philips Music-Module upgrade board already supports this. It's just a
matter of installing a 27C512 EPROM and jumping the board accordingly.
For the Toshiba Music-Module, a small mod of the upgrade will be
required.
- Because of the bigger ROM requirement, the Panasonic FS-CA1
isn't supported anymore. If anyone ever releases a guide on how to
upgrade this cartridge to support this version of the BIOS, then it may
be supported again on future versions (only if openMSX emulate the
upgraded FS-CA1).
- The dual-OPL support was removed, because it was slow,
buggy and didn't add new FM channels to be used. But many of the
routines were fixed, allowing real dual-OPL 18 channel support on
future.
- OPL2 (YM3812) is now supported as well. But no binary was
released because there's no real cartridge or emulation that contains
this soundchip currently (and for home-built cartridges it's much
better to use an OPL3 anyway).
- New soundchip detection routines that follows strictly the Yamaha's recommended algorithm.
- It now properly detects and supports any of the OPL soundchips, on the following I/O ports configurations:
- I/O ports C0h-C1h or C2h-C3h for OPL1/OPL2 soundchips
- I/O ports C0h-C3h or C4h-C7h for OPL3/OPL4 soundchips
- MSX-Music style transpose/temper tables are now supported.
When a CALL MUSIC is issued, the MSX-Audio will now lower the RAM top
to allocate RAM for the necessary structures to mimic the MSX-Music
in-RAM structures, giving greater compatibility to the BASIC FM musics
that make use of POKEs.
- Other MSX-Music extensions connected to the same machine
will be disabled once this BIOS receives a CALL AUDIO or a CALL MUSIC
command, providing a way to solve the conflict on machines with an
internal MSX-Music on a lower slot (like Panasonic MSX2+/TR and CIEL
Expert-Turbo)
- Fixed a bug that reported an the rhythm channel incorrectly as an ADPCM channel
- Moved many initialization routines to the frame-2, to free space for the new routines on frame-1.
- 0066h will now call HNMI, to allow real-hardware debugging using the NMI.
- Turbo Z80 machines without a system-timer are now fully supported, up to 7MHz.
v1.2:
- Many optimizations/bugfixes
- Support for the E6h system-timer (aka Turbo-R timer). Now
you'll be able to use the MSX-Audio in R800 mode, just like the
MSX-Music
- Support for the NMS-1205 and FS-CA1 proprietary mute-switches, and for the standard SP-OFF mute-switch used on the HX-MU900.
- A more elegant work-around than Panasonic did to "fix" their mistake on the MusicKeyboard-port pinout of the FS-CA1
- NMS-1160 Music Keyboard support
- Music Keyboard auto-detection between the HX-MU901 (49
keys) and NMS-1160 (61 keys). The auto-detection routine will discover
the MusicKeyboard type and change the keymap on-the-fly accordingly. To
use it:
- On a 49 keys keyboard: just press the last key.
- On a 61 keys keyboard: just slide your finger on at least 5 consecutive white keys in any direction.
- Preliminary OPL3 support. All MusicKeyboard and ADPCM related commands were block, just like the MSX-Music.
- It now supports the CALL MUSIC command, so it isn't necessary to replace CALL MUSIC by CALL AUDIO on BASIC musics anymore.
|