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VGZ File Silent?

Technical discussion about the VGM format, and all the software you need to handle VGM files.

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VGZ File Silent?

Post by MusicFox »

Hello.
I converted a .DRO file from DOSBox to a VGM file. When I trim the file and try to play it back in Winamp, it's completely silent. The clock ticks but there's no sound whatsoever. I even tried it without trimming the file and there's still dead silence. I also played the original VGM file right after that and it plays, just not the VGZ file. I think I may be doing something wrong here but I'm not sure since I'm a beginner. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your time.
Last edited by MusicFox on 2013-10-24, 20:26:02, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ValleyBell »

I'd like to see the DRO, please. Maybe the DRO is set to OPL3 (YMF262), but uses it in a OPL2 way.

Also, I moved this topic. "Problems and Suggestions" is for forum/site stuff only.
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Post by MusicFox »

Okay, here is a Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7ht092q0bkaz ... me_000.dro

Also, my bad. I think it's my first forum topic here. :P
Last edited by MusicFox on 2013-10-24, 21:39:12, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ValleyBell »

Sorry for the late reply.
If you trim the VGM, you need to make sure your "Start Sample" is 0. (at least for DROv1 -> VGM)

Which trimming points did you use? (start, loop, end)
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Post by MusicFox »

No worries. :)

I first tried 62 and 2561790 but later replaced 62 with 0. It still didn't play for me. I'm not sure which version of DRO2VGM I have but I think I got it from smspower from your post with all of the VGM tools.
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Post by ValleyBell »

I don't know how trimming with start sample 0 could break anything, but maybe it works, if you use the tools I [pack] posted here instead.

I'd like to see the trimmed VGM now.
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Post by MusicFox »

I used the tools you provided in that thread but I still have the same problem. I also tried renaming it to .VGM but it still doesn't play.

Here is the trimmed VGZ:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4i6ixpvihiqef ... med%29.vgz
Last edited by MusicFox on 2013-10-25, 23:20:09, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ValleyBell »

oooh .. now I see. The VGM is completely empty.

You didn't happen to use VGMTool 2 r5 for trimming? Because it looks like you did and VGMTool is way too old for pretty much everything that isn't Sega Master System/Game Gear or MegaDrive.

If you want to trim VGMs, use vgm_trim. Despite being a console program, it works with drag and drop. (Hint for looping: loop sample 0 is "no loop", loop sample -1 is "loop from start sample")
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Post by MusicFox »

Hmm interesting. VGM Tool works fine with Genesis VGM files. I checked and yes I have version 2 R5. I'll try vgm_trim and edit this post about how it worked for me. Thanks!

EDIT: That did the trick, although I can't get the song to loop properly. It loops fine when I make it not loop and just loop it through Winamp, but when I try to do it in vgm_trim it sounds weird when it loops: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fgzfkcgky8jcm ... rimmed.vgm
Last edited by MusicFox on 2013-10-26, 10:30:04, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ValleyBell »

Actually, VGMTool works horrible with MegaDrive/Genesis VGM files. It leaves everything in the file and just moves it to the first tick.

Anyway, you probably need to move the loop point a bit. Record a bit more of the song and loop from time ~1.53 s on.
From what I've seen, this game looks like it might work with vgmlpfnd, btw.
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Post by MusicFox »

I tried vgmlpfnd though I'm not sure what it means by Step Size. It also says, "Minimum Number of matching Commands (default: 1024):" Is this how many notes are the same in the loop?
Last edited by MusicFox on 2013-10-26, 14:57:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ValleyBell »

Since searching loops means that it scans the whole file many times, you can speed the process up by increasing the Step Size. I usually set to 1 though.

"Maximum Number of Commands" does indeed more or less mean the number of notes in the loop. But that number also includes lots of other things (like volume and instrument changes).

When it runs, it may show a few lines with lots of numbers. I usually pick a line that's marked with "!" or "f" and that shows a matching "Copy Information: Time".
"Source: Start" would then be the loop sample, "Copy: Start" the end sample. (If that doesn't work, try adding 1 to both sample values. In that case the "loop" started mid-tick.)
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Post by MusicFox »

Thanks! I'll give it a try and let you know.

Also, is there a way to increase the volume of the VGM file? It's pretty quiet. I tried vgm_vol but I have no idea how to use it.
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Post by ValleyBell »

Sorry for being so late. I had some trouble during the past week.

Also sorry for the lack of readme for vgm_vol. I'll try to fix when I update the VGM tools readme.
Meanwhile you can read this post, where I summarized the process of using vgm_vol.
Small note: vgm_ptch also accepts values with decimal point, e.g.: -SetVolMod:2.0 (twice as loud). Just in case you want to round the amont of gain.
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Post by MusicFox »

No problem, I understand you're busy.
Thanks a lot for your help, I'll give that a try.
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