Is there a way to record the sound of 86PCM?

denjhang · Post by **denjhang** » 2021-04-05, 3:06:28

PPZ8 exists in the PMD driver, and it seems that the current software cannot record it. My idea is to record PPZ8 to other alternative chips, such as RF5C164 or other multi-channel PCM chips.

Post by **ValleyBell** » 2021-04-05, 11:03:21

Short answer: Currently there is no way to record 86PCM. I didn't have time to implement 86PCM logging into the NP21 VGM mod yet.

Also, it is impossible to log PPZ8 to multi-channel chips by capturing 86PCM. PPZ8 itself does all the mixing in software and 86PCM just gets the final mixed wave stream.
In order to log PPZ8 to multi-channel chips, you'd need to modify the PPZ8 driver itself to use those chips instead of mixing all by itself.

skye000 · Post by **skye000** » 2023-03-11, 16:05:21

Are you planning on adding support for VGM logging the PPZ8 channels soon? Also, would it be possible to make it so that the FM3Ex channels are logged to separate channels instead of being relegated to the third FM channel?

Post by **ValleyBell** » 2023-03-12, 21:27:56

skye000 wrote:Are you planning on adding support for VGM logging the PPZ8 channels soon?

No. PPZ8 is performs software mixing and thus I can not just "install a hook" into an emulator to capture them.
Emulator-side hooks only work at points where hardware components communicate with each other.
86PCM only gets the final mixed output and not the 8 "original" channels, so it is impossible to record those separately.

skye000 wrote:Also, would it be possible to make it so that the FM3Ex channels are logged to separate channels instead of being relegated to the third FM channel?

No, that is not possible either. In general, every FM channel on OPN/OPM chips has 4 operators that can be combined in various ways to generate sound. "FM3Ex" modes in sound drivers just allow the user to separately set instruments for just 1 or 2 of those 4 operators of the 3rd FM channel.
On the hardware side, it is still only one channel.

When you see "FM3 Ex" channels e.g. in Hoot, they just artificially split that one channel's 4 operators into 4 visualized "channels".

Soundshock · Post by **Soundshock** » 2023-03-13, 1:05:47

skye000 wrote:Also, would it be possible to make it so that the FM3Ex channels are logged to separate channels instead of being relegated to the third FM channel?

Why do you want to do this?