19-08-2024, 06:58 PM
Hi Ewan,
Love your work on the new machines and I see the graphics taking shape nicely! Can you elaborate more on the sound capabilities of these new machines. The only info I could find is that you are implementing "8 bit dual channel sound FIFOs"? What's this comparable to on older systems? As a comparison the NES games machine had 5 voice channels, the BBC Micro had 4 channels, while the C64 computer had 3 voices and could support 4 different types of waveforms (square, triangle, sawtooth and noise). Is the sound going to be inferior to those types of machines? And will the sound be directly tied to the CPU so everything stops or slows down while it's playing?
For me as a indy-retro-game developer (and who loves the older machines) the graphics and sound are the most important things. Sprites, colours, and great 8-bit music/effects really make a system and software. Hence, why the ZX Spectrum Next is doing well I guess (among other things). I grew up with the Microbee and spent many years wanting more from the sound and graphics, I'm really hoping we can push something better on the sound possibilities.
Let me know your thoughts.
Many thanks,
Retro
Love your work on the new machines and I see the graphics taking shape nicely! Can you elaborate more on the sound capabilities of these new machines. The only info I could find is that you are implementing "8 bit dual channel sound FIFOs"? What's this comparable to on older systems? As a comparison the NES games machine had 5 voice channels, the BBC Micro had 4 channels, while the C64 computer had 3 voices and could support 4 different types of waveforms (square, triangle, sawtooth and noise). Is the sound going to be inferior to those types of machines? And will the sound be directly tied to the CPU so everything stops or slows down while it's playing?
For me as a indy-retro-game developer (and who loves the older machines) the graphics and sound are the most important things. Sprites, colours, and great 8-bit music/effects really make a system and software. Hence, why the ZX Spectrum Next is doing well I guess (among other things). I grew up with the Microbee and spent many years wanting more from the sound and graphics, I'm really hoping we can push something better on the sound possibilities.
Let me know your thoughts.
Many thanks,
Retro