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- by bobbyK at 11:26 AM EDT on June 20, 2014
- So how does one then extract samples/instruments from Chrono Cross. I can convert psf to exe using Mark's tool, it gives a small file of about 1.31mb or something and I can use another tool called ps sound extractor to get the samples, BUT, in wav form i think, I cannot save that as VB, VH, SEQ... so it's again useless... Is there any way to extract that data and I tried many tools on the original chrono cross psx discs (because I still have them :) ) and I cannot seem to extract or see anything that is real data of the game. Those guys at SquareSoft must have used some very special encryption to keep this all hidden from people... or maybe I am using the wrong tools/methods, but then how? :(
- by MarkGrass at 6:59 PM EDT on June 20, 2014
- Mouser is right - you can convert the PSF to a PSone executable file and simply rip the data from there. After all, a PSF file is nothing more than a zlib compressed PSone executable with a special header. Really, it's the only reason I included PSF->EXE functionality in this app.
Using this logic, it is technically possible to convert any set for use with my driver, even sets that predate the present "rip-kit" era.
To locate the SEQ, VH and VB data, simply look for the magic words - pQES and pBAV...
...which leads me to your current issue, Bobby. Again, Mouser is right - SquareSoft likes to use their own custom, proprietary stuff. They're one of the only companies to do so (at least, in the PSone era).
Unfortunately, the sequence format simply isn't compatible for use with anything other than the original driver. Specifically, the sequence data is in AKAO format, created by SquareSoft's in-house Sound Engineer. IIRC, the sound banks are usually in VAB format, however.
If anyone has any information on AKAO that I can use, perhaps a AKAO->MID converter, this issue will be smashed.
tl;dr
Practically any game can use my sound driver, except SquareSoft titles. :/
- by bobbyK at 8:01 PM EDT on June 20, 2014
- information here:
http://triple-tech.org/Wiki/Mseq
VGMTrans can scan psf and extract instrument/sequence and convert to dls/sf2 and midi, BUT, it doesnt sound good, something is off. It detects as Akao also. We need a way to convert that into .seq, vb and vh and remake the psf, etc.
any clue Mark? :/
- by bobbyK at 8:40 PM EDT on June 20, 2014
- There is also more information from the docs of the VGMtrans, if you dont have the files I could send them, might help with HEX codes, opcodes, etc.
- by MarkGrass at 7:24 AM EDT on June 21, 2014
- Well, this certainly won't be easy.
The first site you linked gives very limited information.
VGMtrans source code isn't much better, either, but at least it doesn't contradict itself.
I used VGMtrans to convert a few AKAO sequences to MIDI format, but the output MID files don't work with MIDI players(?). I had to load them into Guitar Pro in-order to get them to work. Also, VGMtrans doesn't seem to work with FF7 at all, either.
It will certainly take quite awhile, as I haven't an infinite amount of time to work on something like this, but it is certainly possible.
EDIT:
I noticed a bug in the last release - 'Drag-and-Drop' was disabled before compiling >_<. It has since been fixed.
Also, I added support for creating and editing PSF files via command line, which is especially useful for batch operations.
Download
EDIT:
I completely forgot to mention what's new in the driver core since v.4.2
All SPU channels (0-23) are now reserved for Sequence playback (*.SEQ, *.SEP). Before, only channels 0-15 were reserved, which caused issues with rare sequences that used any channels above that range.
Volume levels have taken a high priority at the SPU hardware level. Any given track will now sound more vibrant during playback, pretty damn close to CD quality. That said, there's no need for a player's replay gain settings, unless absolutely desired.
Further work on the reverberation engine, bringing it to final status. The average user probably won't notice this, but it's certainly there for those who will.
edited 4:55 PM EDT June 21, 2014
- by Kirishima at 8:49 AM EDT on June 22, 2014
- Alright, here's an issue from a game i'm sure absolutely nobody cares about. There's a strange issue from the Tower music from "The Crow" where when it loops, there supposed to be some noise that happens in game.
Recording from emulator: https://www.sendspace.com/file/n6aogt
Psf recording: https://www.sendspace.com/file/tvmivl
To be honest, I'm not sure if the psf one is the way the song is supposed to sound (wouldn't suprise me). I wonder what causes that sound in the real game...
- by Kirishima at 12:09 PM EDT on July 1, 2014
- Noticed a more important issue, changing volume settings doesn't work. Even when reverb, master, and sequence volume is at 0 there is sound.
edited 5:19 PM EDT July 1, 2014
- by Moose at 2:10 AM EDT on August 25, 2014
- I'm ripping Crash Bandicoot 2 PSFs and every track seems fine except for the Boulder stage themes, where the string section is crazy loud compared to the original.
PSF
How do I fix it?
- by MarkGrass at 6:11 PM EDT on August 26, 2014
- @Kirishima - Noted. It sounds like I probably forgot to disable a certain debugging feature *embarrassed*
@Moose - That's a rare case that happens with a select few titles (Mortal Kombat II being a notable example - the bass and snare drum is horrendous in a few songs). I have never been able to isolate the bug, as there's few games that bug out.
The only fix I'm aware of is loading the VAB data into a tool that will allow you to adjust the various Program/Tone volume levels. I'd suggest Sony's 'VABtool' for that.
Of course, I could always implement flags to set the VAB data's Program/misc volume settings. Unfortunately, that will bloat the PSF-o-Cycle dialog... so again, I suggest to just simply use VABtool.
EDIT: On second thought, I will probably just create my own VAB editor which will be implemented into GenPSF. That way, the user can simply load the data as normal, adjust VAB settings if desired, then save the PSF. This would prevent both the PSF-o-Cycle and GenPSF dialogs from becoming even more bloated.
edited 11:25 PM EDT August 26, 2014
- by Nisto at 8:19 PM EDT on April 2, 2015
- Does that SsPitchFromNote function mentioned earlier return the original rate of the raw sample, or the rate of the base-note of an instrument, or what does "note" imply? Because it's not like there's note data in VAB files, right? (Only instruments/patches/programs and sample data..)
If it doesn't calculate the rate of the raw sample, I wonder if there is any way to do so at all? It's been bugging me for a while not to be able to hear samples from VABs at their original true pitch. Surely there must be something that passes an original rate to VAB drivers so that base notes etc. can be properly offset relative to that.. ?! Or were they really technically limited to something absolute (22050Hz?) so composers were required to set the base note of instruments so that it matches their desired pitch at that absolute rate?
I'm wondering specifically because I have a sample (from its original source) that Akira Yamaoka used for Silent Hill 1 and the sample rate GenPSF spits out for the in-game version of the sample is slightly off. Compare:
GenPSF result
Original
I'd appreciate some input on this!
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