Hey this is really cool. I plan to do this hopefully later this year depending on finances (will be getting a VB instead of a Switch). I have some questions that will probably lead into more questions. Mind if I run them by you? For starters, how have your results been? Thanks!
From what I remember about the patent and trademark process, it takes quite a while to get the patent or trademark to be certified. This is based on testing the idea against public domain. It doesn’t surprise me about the time frame though. Nintendo would also have needed proof of the purpose of the product, which could’ve been a package from the market. I forgot the time period length, but my experience from filing for a trademark a few years ago tells me that it makes complete, legitimate sense.
I downloaded what looks like MidiGui in my taskbar. I’m sorry- it looks like a lot of cool stuff but I have no idea how to use it, or even if my computer can run it. Could you or someone that’s used these programs before help guide me through getting something going? I’m not a major computer person to know how to get things like this up and running, but this is intriguing nonetheless. I mean, I know to click on a .exe file, which is something, right?
A while back I had this weird dream. In it I was walking around- no big deal, right? Then I came upon a vertical pool surface, kinda like the paintings in Mario 64. The substance in the “pool” was super thick and clear and didn’t hinder any breathing. The only setback was that if you entered the pool you would be suspended in super slow animation. When I woke up, I correlated the experience of being in that pool to learning code. Outside of it everything’s cool; you move about freely and easily. Enter the pool of code and wham, you’re floating around in some weird time-consuming goop where even the most basic skill takes forever to do, like scratch your neck. Is this what coding is like? I have no idea.
Checked out the sound generator which was neat but too simple obviously. Also checked out the DOS file and had no idea what to do. The rest of the links Thunderstruck rounded up I haven’t gotten to yet.
Okay cool, thanks for rounding up those links, Thunderstruck. My tools are a Macbook Pro, early 2011 model and a Dell Dimension 8200 running Windows XP. The Dell runs Famitracker perfectly.
Before I get a chance to sit behind my workstation within the next few days, would you (or anyone else) know which program works best on what system?
I’d like to fully utilize my Dell with XP for this if possible for two reasons: to remain in the spirit of obsolete hardware that’s still potentially relevant, and to keep my MacBook as the source for a more advanced DAW.
Also, it’s likely I’ll have a few questions regarding MIDI file transfers. I’ve done them before with .mid files and they translated into something totally wonky.
Thanks for replying. Based on what you wrote, my purist nature calls for me to explore the tedious route to compose for the VB. Not ruling out what’s available, it would be neat to see how things measure up to fully employing the VSU.
Having said that, my experience with NES and GameBoy composition tools (Famitracker and LSDJ) is severely limited, but my basic understanding of their limitations causes me to ask questions about how to go about working the Virtual Boy. In Famitracker you have a handful of chip options to choose from that cater to different periods of the NES life cycle; 2A03, VRC6 and 7, and more. I just wonder which one of these options would best represent the VB, and if there’s a way to implement stereo sound. I’m not completely sure but I think I hear some totally sweet stereo panning on the VB, which both the NES and GB can’t do. GB I believe is stereo but only hard left, hard right, and mono.
Yes, hopefully we can get a good dialogue going. If I am ever to swim in the viscious brine of code, I would prefer it to be in a weird red and black color for the sake of great music and cool games.
Okaayyy. So I took a look at the available software on PVB to download for composing and to say the least, I am absolutely confused. lol While searching for answers, I had the good opportunity to chat with a nice person by the name of DaVince who had all sorts of good recommendations and advice as far as the limitations regarding composing for the system and the available software to do so. The answers were um, how do I say- bleak. It doesn’t come as too much of a surprise considering the nature of the VB, so now I am wondering if there’s anything I can do to help with this situation. I have zero experience coding, but I’m intrigued to help try and build a proper audio engine (is that the right terminology?) for this interesting and obscure system. I mean, if there’s one already out there I don’t want to go about trying to reinvent the wheel, you know?
Hey thanks so much. I thought this website was going to be an empty wasteland, but you have proved otherwise.
Just curious, are there ever Virtual Boy game jams? Also, I’m about to hook my PC from 2002 back up to see if the VB chiptune program will work on it. Famitracker’s on there but this is more intriguing. Would you have any experience with that software or know whether or not it will run on Windows XP? I mean, if it’s Virtual Boy, my old computer should be able to handle it, right? Tomorrow I will find out, hopefully.
Thanks for the reply. I think your response is fair. After posting, I looked around the site and found a lot of information I asked for here. Being new, enthusiastic and curious has its disadvantages by making posts so eagerly I guess.
Thank you for posting. Do you happen to know what the sound chip is on the VB? I caught your paragraph on the sound channels and am curious about composing for new VB homebrews. Are people doing this? Please let me know; I am curious about this machine and its capabilities. Thank you!
