OPNA for MSX - Anyone working on one to market & interest?

Champion (396)

11-03-2018, 10:59

Hi all,

I have been enjoying vgmplay for a while now and I love it. One of the sound chips being supported by Grauw is the OPNA for which a lot of nice music is available. Leonard Oliviera has a youtube video available playing a Firehawk song on the OPNA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAeq_DVdS_I

In the vgmplay thread the OPNA and vgmplay is discussed:

https://www.msx.org/forum/msx-talk/software/vgmplay-msx?page=23

So there are a few homebrew OPNA cartridges for MSX available but no one produces and sells them as far as I know. I for one would really like to have such a cartridge so I was wondering the following:

1. Who else would buy such a OPNA cartridge if someone would sell it? Chances someone would offer them would probably increase if there's enough demand.

2. Is there anyone willing to build an OPNA cartridge for me and/or a batch of them if there is demand?

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By meits

Scribe (6544)

11-03-2018, 11:48

1. If the cartridge could emulate MSX-Music, I guess I'd like one. Having a music card only for VGMPLAY would be a bit over the top.

By msd

Paragon (1515)

11-03-2018, 11:58

Can’t the opl3/opl4 be used to pkay this? Or is opn more advanced?

By raymond

Hero (643)

11-03-2018, 12:08

Why do we need another sound cartridge, we already have so many (PSG,SCC(+),FM-PAC,MSX-Audio,OPL4,etc.). I think we should further improve the current OPL4 sound cartridge so that more users can use it more easely like support for Basic commands, support in TP, C, etc.

By -Neo-

Champion (396)

11-03-2018, 12:11

@Ramond: That I explained: Being able to play OPNA tunes on MSX through vgmplay

By syn

Prophet (2123)

11-03-2018, 12:16

msd wrote:

Can’t the opl3/opl4 be used to pkay this? Or is opn more advanced?

Afaik the N series uses different (more advanced) FM algorithms than the L series. Im not too familiar with sound design on OPLL/OPL4 or FM synthesis in general though.

Meits wrote:

1. If the cartridge could emulate MSX-Music, I guess I'd like one. Having a music card only for VGMPLAY would be a bit over the top.

I guess you could redirect opll data to it but I doubt it would sound close to a real opll, so imo it would just be as useful as a midipac: Nice to have different sounds, sometimes better sometimes worse, but not great if you wanna make music for OPLL.

I could be mistaken though

Also why do you want more msx music emulation? we already have originals, replicas from various hardware builders, FPGA in carnivore2/gr8net/Ese3, and you can use the MSX audio bios to emulate opll on dalsori 2 afaik.

By syn

Prophet (2123)

11-03-2018, 12:26

-Neo- wrote:

1. Who else would buy such a OPNA cartridge if someone would sell it? Chances someone would offer them would probably increase if there's enough demand.

For now I would say I am mildy interested. I like the OPNA music so depending on the price I would like one to play some VGM occasionally.

However, I would be very interested if someone would build an advanced/modern tracker for MSX that supports this.

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5672)

11-03-2018, 15:31

syn wrote:

Im not too familiar with sound design on OPLL/OPL4 or FM synthesis in general though.

Based on your TTFM work, I would not have guessed that.

By meits

Scribe (6544)

11-03-2018, 15:38

syn wrote:

If it sounds the same, there's no win. If it sounds richer and keeps the same characteristics (especially volume wise) there's a win. You could use the trackers you're used to to make new music. If there's hardly any software supporting it (only VGMPLAY for now?) it wouldn't add anything (for me)...

By syn

Prophet (2123)

11-03-2018, 16:43

(sorry for editing my post so much, I realized i went a bit offtopic)

I understand what you mean and I can understand why some ppl want something that can improve opll/msx music. But I am not really interested in something like that

JohnHassink wrote:

syn wrote:

Im not too familiar with sound design on OPLL/OPL4 or FM synthesis in general though.

Based on your TTFM work, I would not have guessed that.

Well thanks I guess But I meant actually creating custom FM instruments, which is not supported in TTFM (afaik). I have messed around with that in MusicA and Moonblaster 1.4 a handful of times and I know how FM synthesis works in theory, but I just have not much experience with it.

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5672)

11-03-2018, 18:52

syn wrote:

Well thanks I guess But I meant actually creating custom FM instruments, which is not supported in TTFM (afaik).

Not yet.

syn wrote:

I have messed around with that in MusicA and Moonblaster 1.4 a handful of times and I know how FM synthesis works in theory, but I just have not much experience with it.

Not yet.