Crimson Twilight Recordings

I've spent some time recording the C64 music 'suite' that I wrote for an in-production and upcoming C64 CRPG called "Crimson Twilight", to be released by Arkanix Labs.

The music was written in and exported from GoatTracker v2.71 in .sid format, transferred to, played on and recorded using a real C64c with 8580 SID connected to a Dolby amp (with NR) in 'music' mode then input into a PC using gold leads.  The audio was captured using Audacity, with some noise reduction applied, the sound 'amplified' slightly due to lowish recording level and fade out added.

These recordings are the 8580 SID versions.  Versions for the 6581 iterations of the SID chip have also been written and will be recorded shortly.

The music track titles describe what the track will be used for in the game. All the tracks fade in the recordings fade after one play-through, but in the actual game they will loop continuously.

The music playlist should appear below, but if not can be accessed on SoundCloud here.

3D Galax Recording

A couple of days ago, C64CD released 'F15 D'Gamma Clone', an intro that featured a SID tune by me.  Information about the intro can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID has been recorded using an 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

The tune was started towards the end of 2018 after news of the death of Ben Daglish and was originally intended to be part of a tribute to him, but was unfortunately not completed. It has been finished recently for the above mentioned intro and is respectfully dedicated to his memory and legacy.

I've uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the tune's below. If the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

F15 D'Gamma Clone

T.M.R has been really busy with quite a few entries for the 'Intro Creation Compo 2019'!  His latest is called 'F15 D'Gamma Clone' and has been released using his C64CD label.  For this entry, I provided the SID music.

If you stalk follow T.M.R around the interwebs, you may have seen something similar to this before.  This intro is a 'conversion' of a crack intro that T.M.R coded for the Apple II, here.

On the C64CD site, T.M.R writes...

"The code and graphics are based on what was created for that original, Apple-flavoured release but with some reworking for the extra resolution of the C64 and converted to characters at the same time. The music was originally composed by Ben Daglish for the Amiga and Atari ST game 3D Galax, with the slick C64 conversion being used here being handled by aNdy.

The extra colour data and soundtrack for this C64 version mean that, if it were handled in the same way as the Apple II code did things, the final intro would have exceeded the competition’s 16K memory limit, but it’s worth noting dear reader that both machines are running at around the same speed so the C64 could have handled a more direct port."

As T.M.R mentions, the Goattracker written SID is a cover of 3D Galax by Ben Daglish, more specifically, the Amiga version of the tune.  I originally starting covering this tune towards the end of 2018, not long after the death of Ben and intended to use it in a dedication release, but unfortunately I just didn't have the time to complete it.

You can download the full intro from CSDb here.

You can also download it from this blog, which also includes the music as a stand-alone SID file, as well as in it's original Goattracker SNG file.  Click here.

You can read more about the intro on T.M.R's blogs here and here.

Alternatively, you can watch the intro in the YouTube video below!  If it doesn't appear, click here...

Chiller 2 Demo Xmas 2019

I've been working on a game for the last few months and have produced a demo level for the Freeze64 fanzine.  The demo was emailed to Freeze64 subscribers on Christmas Eve, so I guess it's fine to post this here now, doubly so since it has appeared in 'cracked' form on CSDb!

The game is called 'Chiller 2' and is an unofficial sequel to the Mastertronic original by David and Richard Darling.

The demo was produced especially for Freeze64 for Christmas, thus it features some vaguely Xmas music and snow and holly on the title and game screens.  So as to not give too much of the game away, the demo features only the ghost enemy following simple horizontal paths and various other features of the full game disabled!

To find out more about this game-in-progress and more of it's features, you can visit my Chiller 2 development blog here...

In the meantime, if you would like to play the demo, you can download it here...

If you want to play a 'cracked' version by TRIAD, with some built-in cheats, you can grab that from CSDb here...

Arkrismas 2019

Happy Christmas!

I've spent the last three days coding, pixelling and composing a little C64 Christmas demo that was today released by Arkanix Labs.  It's cunningly called 'Arkrismas 2019'.

It's quite simple in nature with the main screen display being a PETSCII (albeit with a modified charset for the lettering).  However, there are some 'twinkles' with two chars being modified on the fly and snow sprites floating down the screen into the bottom border.

Pressing 'f' on the keyboard will switch screens to a 'roaring' fireplace, achieved simply be modifying the colour RAM.  I cannot tell a lie: the fireplace screen is Arkanix Labs having a direct dig at Stirring Dragon Games who have released their own Christmas demo with fireplace for the princely sum of $24.99!  The Arkanix Labs demo/fireplace is free!  We don't charge no $$$$$$$$!  ;)

This simple Christmas demo can be downloaded from CSDb here.  You can also download it from this blog here, complete with all the data files and ACME source code!

If you fancy warming yourself using a PETSCII fire, Moloch has created an animated gif of the roaring fire!  See below and click to enlarge!

ICC Anon

The 'Intro Creation Competition' over at CSDb is now in full swing and hot on the heels of my last entry, 'Funky Stars', comes another 16k entry from me that I've rather unimaginatively titled 'ICC Anon' which is designed with old 'Compunet' demos in mind.

This intro is thus called because of the simple PETSCII rendition of the 'Guy Fawkes' mask as used by the 'hactivist' group Anonymous.  The PETSCII was pixelled about 6 months ago when testing my screen editor 'ChillED' and ended up being repurposed for this intro.

The music is called 'tiny BONER' because it is a reworked and slightly remixed excerpt of a larger mod called 'Boner' composed by  Marx Marvelous/TPPI.  This SID is 'rare' in that is was composed with a 6581 in mind, rather than my usual 8580 choice, but should sound fine on either chip.

This intro includes my first use of sprites in the top/bottom borders and while there is absolutely nothing amazing going on code wise, it was an interesting exercise in finding out about the limitations of border use.

If you would like to see the intro in action on an emulator or real hardware, it can be downloaded from CSDb here or direct from this blog here.  The download also contains the ACME source code and all work files, including the SID tune in it's Goattracker .sng format.

T.M.R has also written short pieces on his own blog here and on the main C64CD blog here, as well as recording a video of the intro in action.  The video should appear below, but if not can be found on YouTube here.

Eagles Dare

Cosine has released "Eagles Dare" which features a new SID tune by me!  T.M.R coded this intro as an entry for the 'Intro Creation Competition' over at CSDb.

According to T.M.R on the Cosine website:

"The eagle picture was found on the internet in 2018 when the idea of creating a cover of the Eagle Soft intro was first being considered, but the final modifications to add a floppy disk were added when some already existing scrolling message code was merged into the project... the scrolling message uses Extended Background Colour Mode which is usually limited to the first 64 characters of a font, but in this particular case the text writer can select any character from the 512 available in the C64's character ROM."

T.M.R also has a personal blog entry sharing further thoughts about the intro.  Read that here.

The title of the music is 'Smaciwch fy Ffolennau' which I'll leave you to go and Google translate from Welsh into your chosen language... :D

And now the downloads:  grab the intro from CSDb here or from the Cosine website here.  If you fancy grabbing the intro as well as the music in SID format, along with the original Goattracker music work file for you to poke and prod, download from this blog here.

T.M.R has recorded a video of the intro in action.  It should appear below, but if not can be viewed on YouTube here.

Funky Stars

There is an event on CSDb that has become almost annual now called the 'Intro Creation Competition'.  In this compo, entries must be created that could be an intro to something (such as a game crack) and must conform to a certain set of rules which I won't explain here, but if you're interested can be read here.

This competition is one of T.M.R's favourites and, since I've taken to coding on the C64 this past year, he suggested I take part.  I agreed but, not wanting to blacken the Cosine or Arkanix Labs names (C64 groups I'm a member of) in case I came last, I requested that it be released using T.M.R's other 'label', Commodore Crap Debunk (C64CD);  as a result, T.M.R has now made me a C64CD member!

Thus, after a few weeks of coding, pixelling and composing (yes, I did the lot!), C64CD has today released 'Funky Stars'.

This intro is so called because the music within it is a SID cover of an Impulse Tracker tune called 'Funky Stars' (but also know as 'Hybrid Song') by Quazar of Sanxion.

This little project has been quite interesting in the fact that one of the compo rules says that the intro must be 16K or under in the same block of memory.  This is not something I'm used to, so was an interesting challenge, particularly since my Goattracker SID ended up being over 3.5K in size.  Whoops!  To squeeze everything in to the same block, I ended up doing little tricks such as assembling the screen data straight to $0400, amongst other things.  Thanks to T.M.R for his guidance on this!

There was also some new learning here for me.  I've always been fascinated by the use of 'raster bars' on the C64 and although I knew it was something to do with writing colours values to each scanline, I've never previously attempted it until now!

Anyway, enough of the waffle!  If you would like to see the intro in action on an emulator or real hardware, it can be downloaded from CSDb here or direct from this blog here.  The download also contains the ACME source code and all work files, including the SID tune in it's Goattracker .sng format.

T.M.R has also written short pieces on his own blog here and on the main C64CD blog here, as well as recording a video of the intro in action.  The video should appear below, but if not can be found on YouTube here.

Gamerz Xtreme Theme Recording

A few days ago, Cosine released 'Gamerz Xtreme Intro 2', a C64 intro featuring music by me.  Information about the intro can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID music from the intro has been recorded using a 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

I've uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account.  Listen to the music below; if the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Super Galax-I-Birds Recording

A few days ago, C64CD released 'Super Galax-I-Birds', a new C64 gallery blaster featuring code, graphics and music by yours truly!  Information about the game can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID music from the game has been recorded using a 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

I've uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account which includes the title track, a 'get ready' style hit, the in-game tune and another short 'game over' style blast.  Listen to the music below; if the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Stardust Music Recording

Yesterday, Arkanix Labs released 'Stardust Music', my new C64 8580 SID music collection.  Information about the collection can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID's have been recorded using a 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

I've just uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the tune's below. If the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Stardust Music

Arkanix Labs has released my small collection of C64 8580 SID tunes called 'Stardust Music' which are covers of music from the Amiga game 'Stardust'.  The original Amiga tunes were written by Risto Vuori.  The SID's have been released within a little music selector featuring a C64 version of the Stardust logo, that I pixelled years ago, and a new charset font in the scroller.

The C64 code to display this was originally provided by T.M.R and was used for some earlier, simple releases.  On this occasion however, I've actually pulled my finger out, learned some 6502 assembler and added code to detect machine type the music is running on (PAL/NTSC/Drean), key detection to be able to select the tunes and sprite display to show various pieces of information.

The machine detection alters the display and the music played, since PAL and NTSC machines run at slightly different speeds.  It was a nice coding challenge.

Special thanks must go to T.M.R and Moloch for their ongoing 6502 coding mentoring, help and support!

The music collection can be downloaded from CSDb here or direct from this blog here.  Both downloads offer a .d64 disk image for C64, both PAL and NTSC SID 8580 files and the music in it's original SNG Goattracker format.  The download from this blog also contains the graphic files in their original formats.

EDIT: Rudi has added an entry for Stardust Music on Pouët here...

EDIT 2:  It seems someone has taken the time to make a video of this little music selector and put it up on YouTube.  The video should appear below but if not, it's on the page here...

Sgrechian Recording

Yesterday, Cosine released 'Level One', an entry into the 'Crack Intro Creation Competition 2018' on CSDb.  The intro features a new C64 8580 SID tune called 'Y Sgrechian o Jarre' which I wrote a couple of years ago.  Information about the  C64 intro and compo can be found here...

I wrote the music for the intro using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID has been recorded using a 8580 SID C64c run through my Dolby amp.

I've just uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the SID tune below. If the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Level One

Cosine has released 'Level One' today featuring a small SID that I wrote a couple of years ago.  'Level One' is an entry into the CSDb 'Intro Creation Competition 2018' organised by Didi.

From the Cosine website:

"T.M.R's final entry into the 2018 Intro Creation Competition is Level One, a game-flavoured release with full screen scrolling and twenty six characters of text in the two black bands above and below it. The graphics in the centre of the screen were drawn to use Extended Background Colour Mode which reduces the font to 64 characters but gives four possible background colours for each character; this means there's five colours in play but the code doesn't have to scroll the colour RAM."

"Despite being the last ICC 2018 entry produced by T.M.R this was actually the first one started a few days after the competition was announced. The intro was built around prototype versions of the border area code."

As with the music for 'Oldest Style', the music was originally written for the CSDb 'Crack Intro Music Competition 2017', but ended up not being used because it was too long and didn't work well on a 6581 SID; it was written with 8580 in mind.  It has been finished and used here instead

The name of the music is 'Y Sgrechian o Jarre', which is Welsh for 'The Scream of Jarre'.  Named because of the BBC style radiophonic type 'scream' at the start and as I was writing it, some sounds/patterns in it reminded me of Jarre's 'Calypso 1' from 'Waiting for Cousteau'.

The intro can be downloaded from the Cosine website here or it's compo entry page on CSDb here...

You can also download the intro direct from this blog, with the .zip file including not only the demo on a .d64 image, but the music as a .sid file to run through SIDPlay or similar and the music in .sng format which can be loaded into Goattracker, the utility in which it was composed.  Just click here...

T.M.R has also recorded a video of the intro in action and uploaded it to YouTube.  The player should appear below, but if not watch it here...

Paranoimia March Recording

Yesterday, Arkanix Labs released 'Paranoimia March', a new C64 8580 SID.  Information about the SID can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID has been recorded using a 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

I've uploaded the recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the SID tune below. If the player does not appear below, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Paranoimia March

Arkanix Labs has released my new C64 8580 SID tune called 'Paranoimia March', which is cover of the classic music from the Paranoimia Amiga cracktros.

The SID has been released in a nice little 'wrapper' consisting of a 3 colour bitmap logo (drawn a few years ago, see information here) and new charset font based on the text from Star Trek:TNG, rendered in UltrafontPC.

As with the 'Loopit-C64-Ever' release a couple of days ago, the C64 code to display this was provided by T.M.R and has been used with his permission here for this release.  I did make some minor modifications to the code including fixes for screen flickers when running under NTSC (thanks to Moloch for testing), but not really enough to warrant me crediting myself with coding!

The SID can be downloaded from CSDb here or direct from this blog here.  Both downloads offer the C64 PRG executable version (PAL and NTSC flavours), a SID file and the music in it's original SNG Goattracker format.

Loopit-C64-Ever Recording

Yesterday, Arkanix Labs released 'Loopit-C64-Ever', my new C64 8580 SID.  Information about the SID can be found here...

I wrote the music using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID has been recorded using a 8580 SID equipped C64c, run through my Dolby amp.

I've just uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the SID tune below. If the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...

Loopit-C64-Ever

Arkanix Labs has released my new C64 8580 SID tune called 'Loopit-C64-Ever' which is cover of an Amiga mod called 'loopit4ever' by the brilliant composer/artist 'Zabutom'.

The SID has been released in a nice little 'wrapper' consisting of a 3 colour bitmap logo (drawn a few years ago, see information here) and new charset font based on the Mega Drive game 'Streets of Rage II', rendered in UltrafontPC.

The C64 code to display this was provided by T.M.R.  The code was originally provided by T.M.R for me to begin learning 6502 assembler (which I'm making progress on) but has been used with permission here for this release.  I did make some minor modifications to the code including fixes for screen flickers when running under NTSC (thanks to Moloch for testing), but not really enough to warrant me crediting myself with coding!

The original Amiga mod was released at Compusphere 2018 and can be downloaded from the scene.org website here...

As for my SID version, it can be downloaded from CSDb here or direct from this blog here.  Both downloads offer the C64 PRG executable version (PAL and NTSC flavours), a SID file and the music in it's original SNG Goattracker format.

Crack or Die! Recording

Back at the beginning of 2015, Arkanix Labs released a music collection called 'Sid Doing Paula', that contained my covers of some of my favourite Amiga modules written in Goattracker

Part of that collection was a SID called 'Crack or Die' by Jugi/Complex.  I've recorded the tune from my 8580 SID equipped C64c connected to my Dolby amp and uploaded it to my SoundCloud account.

If the player doesn't appear below, hear the music on my SoundCloud page here...

Bas Braster Recording

Yesterday, Cosine released 'Oldest Style', an entry into the 'Crack Intro Creation Competition 2018' on CSDb.  The intro features a new C64 8580 SID tune called 'Bas Braster' written by yours truly.  Information about the intro and compo can be found here...

I wrote the music for the intro using a PC based tool called Goattracker.  The SID has been recorded using a 8580 SID C64c run through my Dolby amp.

I've just uploaded a recording to my SoundCloud account; listen to the SID tune below. If the player does not appear, hear it on it's SoundCloud page here...