vgmrips

With VGM v1.70 I added some additional (and optional) header fields that allow you to adjust the volume of each chip separately. (The OPN's FM/PCM and SSG parts are handled separately.)
So far only Neko Project 21 writes these fields. In all other cases you'd need to hex-edit them in.
(Using the Neko Project VGM mod would be the recommended solution anyway, because S98 logging is a lot less accurate. 1000 Hz vs. 44100 Hz)

Thanks, that's good to know.

Ironically, I had started recording the game via Neko before switching to Hoot (probably out of laziness). So I went back to Neko and I'm almost done with the re-recording, but I wonder: how do I change the volume levels? I candidly tried to change Neko's mixer to extreme high/low values, but the output in the VGM file is always the same. The SSG sounds almost as loud as in Hoot. I suppose Neko records some default volume values without taking the mixer into account.

Is there a command line tool to access the chip volume header? I had a look at vgm_ptch, many chip clock options can be changed but I didn't see anything related to chip volumes. And I'm told that VGMTool v3 is still stuck in the pipe dream...

I also stumbled upon what looks like a mystery. Tracks 02 ("Gloomy") and 03 ("Misplaced Madness") are apparently missing some Rhythm instruments (bass, tom, cymbal) when played normally in any PC-98 emulator or player, but amazingly the hidden parts are properly recorded in Hoot/S98 and Neko/VGM. Which means I had never heard those percussions in 15 years, prior to ripping them in S98/VGM. The notes are there in the files, but it's as if their volume is somehow either corrupted or had been willingly muted. I can't be certain whether it's a real bug or a design decision from the composer, but I think it sounds better with than without. Considering that Ryu Takami also composed Grounseed OPNA, which is a PCM festival, I find it strange that he would have decided to mute a couple of harmless percussions in Yuugiri.

Give a listen to the isolated drums to spot the difference:

Gloomy "normal version" (bugged?)
Gloomy with hidden BD+TOM+TOP

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VGM packs by Kaminari

Sorry, but the only way to edit (or even view) the chip volume headers is to use hex editing.
The last time I worked a lot on vgm_ptch was before VGM 1.70 existed. I worked a bit on it recently to improve its stripping ability, but that's all.
And I don't really have an idea how I could integrate those extra headers.

Right now I'm thinking of making a separate tool that handles them.


Neko Project always writes default values to the VGM. (It's the 2-byte Little Endian value at 0xCF/0xD0, btw.) In order to not break when changing the DoubleSSGVol option in VGMPlay, the volume value is "relative" (indicated adding 0x8000 to the value). The volume value is linear, 0x100 equals 100%.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I fired up my hex editor and experimented with offset 0xCF. By changing the default CD value to 9D, I could lower the SSG to satisfying levels (by 25% I estimate, comparable to the outputs of FMPMD2000, T98-Next and the latest version of Neko based on fmgen.dll). Hopefully I didn't break the Internet.

I updated my pack to v2.00.

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VGM packs by Kaminari

I've never played this game or heard of it, but it kicks butt! Love it! Thanks for ripping