EDIT: I thought miniusf was a sequenced format. In other words, isn't all N64 music sequenced? If that's the case, isn't the question that is being asked as redundant (if that's the correct word) as asking "Is [insert particular Wii game] on a disc (or a cartridge)?" -- in the sense that you're asking if they're sequenced, and I thought there weren't any that aren't sequenced <_<.
F-Zero X is widely considered to be streamed. Conker's Bad Fur Day is known to have streamed music in it (the credits. I think they're MP3, but I can't remember). I think there's a few others, but I can't remember them all. Megaman 64 has voice samples (some of which have music playing in the background), so those are likely streamed as well.
So, no, not all N64 games are sequenced. The vast majority are (since sequences take up a lot less space, and there wasn't much space to work with on the N64 cartridges), but sometimes the developers used streamed music. In the case of F-Zero X, the audio processing and CPU are shared (if I recall correctly), so in an effort to increase the FPS the game would run at, they used streamed music (since streaming music takes less CPU). That's an example of when they might use streames, over sequences. But in general, it's usually safe to assume a N64 game is sequenced. One thing to look at is the size of the USF set (and sometimes the game). If it's noticeably larger than other USF sets, then there's a reasonable chance it's streamed (obviously, this is guessing at this point, but at least it's a start, when trying to identify which games might used streamed music).
I guess you learned something new then, huh? :) Mouser X over and out.
But both the Pokemon Stadium rips that fb linked only contain miniusfs (or did I not look properly?)
by Yoshinkeru at 12:41 AM EDT on September 19, 2011
I initially thought so too, but bear in mind, the "instruments" are actually samples, so, as in the (slightly disappointing*) case of F-Zero X, the entire "instrument" is actually the entire music playing; no sequences, just a looped sample.
*Disappointing to me, since I really wanted guitar samples to rip from that game...
All USFs, streamed or not, are ripped as USF/miniUSF. The method used to rip the music is essentially the same for all games, and thus, regardless of being streamed or not, they use the USF format. That said, those games which are streamed could, theoretically, be re-ripped as a completely streamed rip, and not rely on the 64th Note plugin. So, the extension has nothing to do with whether it's streamed or not. The method used to rip the game is what determines the extension (in this case). There are a number of PS2 games that are streamed, and yet have a PSF2 extension (due to the method used to rip them). Many (if not all) of those games have been re-ripped as streamed games, and thus can be played in VGMstream, instead of through Highly Experimental. Katamari Damaci (please excuse the spelling) is a good example, but Final Fantasy 4 is also a fair example (it was re-released as a PSX game, but was ripped as a PSF2 set, due to the usage of streams for that game). Though, I don't know if FF4 has been re-ripped in a streaming format or not.
As I said, looking at the file size of the *.usflib is a plausible (though not entirely reliable) method to determine if a game is streamed or not. So, looking at the file size of the Pokemon sets, I'd be terribly surprised if they're streamed. Looking at Ridge Racer 64, I'd be terribly surprised if it's not streamed.
So, theoretically some of the USF rips could be re-ripped as streamed sets. But, looking at the USF sets, I doubt there's many to go through. Perhaps it wouldn't be too hard? It's certainly not something I'm capable of doing. Mouser X over and out.
Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku's title music is streamed, with the rest of the soundtrack being sequenced. in fact, more amusing is that the title song is multitracked... the sax solo/singing/etc. can be separated out~
but yeah basically to sum up what's been said, USF isn't specifically sequenced or streamed.
Because the method to rip streamed music has absolutely no relation, whatsoever, to the method used to rip xSF rips. Here's an example:
On your hard drive, you have all sorts of different files. You can see them quite clearly. They have file names, directory structures, etc. This is usually what you see when you rip streamed music. Occasionally you have a "Virtual File System" (VFS), in which case you look at the VFS in a hex editor, and you can often (not always) see header data, which is used to identify file types. Sometimes the VFS even contains file names, file extensions, directory structures, etc. Again, this is what ripping streamed music is like.
On the other hand, you have xSF rips. Instead of a nice, tidy, file structure (or even a VFS), you have machine code. There are no recognizable headers. There are no file names. There are no file extensions. All you have is lots of hexadecimal characters. You have to decompile the code, which results in assembly code (which is dependent on the processor that the code was compiled for). So instead of looking for a nice header, you have to read through this assembly code manually (in most cases), and figure out what bits and pieces do. As you read through the code, you can start to recognize bits and pieces. "This section here has to do with controller input." "This section here deals with graphics." "Ah HA!! This deals with audio.... Hmmm. So, if I remove the jump (from the "Main" code) to the controller, and the graphics sections, then I should only be left with the audio section."
So, xSF rips are significantly more difficult than streamed rips. It's, generally speaking, why you see so many streamed rips so frequently, and so few xSF rips anymore. There's also the fact that streams are becoming more common (but the NGC used sequenced music a lot, and still deserves a xSF format for itself, I think).
Another way to look at it is this:
Let's say you download some files. You have no idea what they are (they have no extension, and their file name is a mix of letters and numbers, if you're lucky), but they came with a program capable of playing them (and no other formats). Or, perhaps it's just one really big *.EXE file (it likely contains the music within this EXE somewhere, but how is the data separated? Is it even separated at all?). This, essentially, is an xSF rip. Theoretically, you could look at those various files in a HEX editor, and possibly figure out what format they are. But why would you, when you already have the means to play them? And, what if the format is something brand spanking new, never before seen, or even resembles anything ever seen before? You'd have a hard time figuring out what to do with it. Again, essentially, this is what xSF rips are generally like.
Streamed formats, on the other hand, have a lot of similarity between them. Sure, there's OGG, MP3, ADX, etc., but because they're all essentially PCM (in all sorts of different forms), they do follow a pattern. A well trained person can recognize this pattern, and often figure out what the format is, sometimes even if the header is missing/wrong/corrupt/altered.
So, the reason you see so many different extensions among streamed formats (and essentially only 1 extensions in xSF rips) is because the streams need a way to identify themselves to VGMstream. Sometimes the header is incomplete (thus the GENH format). Sometimes the header is identical to a different format (and thus you can't tell if it's "Format A" or "Format B" based on header alone), but the extension is different. All these different extensions, is so that VGMstream can identify the different data types, to play them back correctly.
Whereas, in xSF rips, all that identifying data (headers, extensions, etc.) is stored within the xSF data, along side the program to play it. The program that plays the music is contained within the xSF data already. In other words, when you listen to xSFs, you're not playing music at all. You're running an emulator. The emulator then runs the program (contained within the xSF data), and that program plays the music. For example, instead of running a native x86 program, you're emulating a Macintosh (the older CPUs, which couldn't didn't have the necessary x86 architecture) program. For that to work, you have to emulate a Macintosh. This emulated Mac then runs the program, which then plays the music.
Theoretically you could do that with VGMstream (contain the player (VGMstream) alongside the audio data to be played), maintaining only one extension, but that's a lot of redundancy. Why do it that way, when it's much more efficient to keep the player and the audio data separate? The other method, which has been talked about on IRC, is to create a new extension (miniGENH, I think), which contains all of the identifying marks necessary, to tell VGMstream what format it is. While that's possible, all of the identifying data (file extension, header type, etc.) must still be present, within that new format (aka, within the miniGENH header). It's significantly easier to let the files identify themselves, than it is to create a new format, that uses a single extension, that must still contain all of the data the file needs (and often already has in it) to be played. If the original file already contains all that data, why repeat yourself with a new format that does all that stuff, on top of the file itself? It's redundant, and unnecessary.
[EDIT] Perhaps an equally good question would be, "Why does OGG, MP3, WAV, FLAC, APE, and CDA have a different extension?" The question you're asking is essentially the same as that. Emulated audio/xSF are very very different from a streamed format. Essentially, they're a container format, similar to how AVI, MKV, OGM, and other video formats contain different kinds of formats within themselves.
Hopefully I explained the differences between xSF rips, and why it makes sense that xSF rips can (and sometimes do) contain streams, while maintaining a single file extension. And why it doesn't really make sense to contain all the streams under one extension. Hopefully I didn't just confuse the issue.... If I did, hopefully someone else can fill in whatever I messed up. Mouser X over and out.
Ideally you would be able to rip these files from the disc yourself and play them directly in vgmstream without renaming. The distribution network of rips is not fundamental.