Author Topic: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?  (Read 2662 times)

4th Triforce piece

  • Guest
Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« on: April 24, 2008, 01:27:02 am »
I am not demanding anything or asking anyone to do anything so don't yell at me.

My computer has a soundfont loader since I have a Creative sound Card and while I was searching the net for sf2s I found some done at Zophar where someone tried to make a FF6 sound font but not complete as well as a few other incomplete ones.  I later noticed that they all seemed to stop at the early 2000s.  What happened?   
One would think by now there would be samples taken from games by companies like RareWare while thereafter  they would put all the samples in a GM bank and call it the Rare Ware sound font to make you midis sound like it's done by them including drums.
 

Any rhyme or reason no one has done anything and is there anything I can do to make some soundfonts?

Ramsus

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2008, 05:46:43 am »
I don't know what to say dude. Memory and processing power are so cheap now, I think it's easier now just to make a final recorded version, compress it, and toss it around than it is to try tracking samples or MIDI instruments. Plus, you know what the end result sounds like, no matter what.

Maybe that has something to do with it.

4th Triforce piece

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2008, 02:29:38 pm »
What do you mean. I just know the basics of soundfonts.  Having a chorno Trigger soundfont would be pretty cool since it would make all your midis sound like from the game meaning when people make remixes it will sound like it's from a part of the game.   Especally if they did a Zelda OOT soudnfont with Link's Ocarina.  Midi allows more freedom plus the file size is way smaller then a mp3.   

I don't understand why you hate midi at leasat that is what it sounds like to me.    I think midi is neat. not perfect but cool all the same.

Ramsus

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2008, 04:36:14 pm »
It has nothing to do with whether or not you hate or like midi. Instead, more computers these days have cheap integrated sound chipsets with poor midi support (certainly no soundfont support) and cheap but fast processors (often multi-core) with lots of memory and disk space plus broadband Internet connections, which is why you see a lot less focus on MIDI audio. Simply compressing recorded audio is easier and provides a much more predictable result.

In other words, the times have changed, and MIDI is pretty pointless as a means if distributing audio. The only reason to still have good soundfonts is so that you can do your own MIDI synthesis and recording, then take the final recorded audio and distribute it in MP3 format.

But then again, I don't know much about this area, so take what I've said with a grain of salt.

Radical_Dreamer

  • Entity
  • Zurvan Surfer (+2500)
  • *
  • Posts: 2778
    • View Profile
    • The Chrono Compendium
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2008, 12:20:46 am »
I actually like midi (and playing with soundfonts) as I used to compose as a hobby. The other advantage is that if I want to learn a song, I can download a midi and open it up as sheet music. That's a very handy resource to have.

4th Triforce piece

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #5 on: April 26, 2008, 06:26:38 pm »
I've downloaded note worthy composer before. Do you mean like that?  Though I don't see how it teaches you the song as I don't understand music very well.   

While MP3 is more used I still think midi is cool the only reason they suck is if your sound card sucks and the composer doesn't put a lot of heart to it.    You can have the best and lates equipment but it will only sound the way you want it to sound.

A lot of the soundfonts suck because of too high or low pitches of instruments and sometimes certian instrumetns sound a like.   A chrono Trigger soundfont will have the samples of Chorno Trigger and then I bet people will be doing all sorts of remixes maybe even for fan games too.   Midis take wayyyyy less space then MP3s.   I would love to hear a soundfont taken from Rareware games. :)

Vehek

  • Errare Explorer (+1500)
  • *
  • Posts: 1756
    • View Profile
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2008, 06:36:33 pm »
I've never had a computer that had soundfont support built in. I think most people are stuck with the crappy Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth.

Radical_Dreamer

  • Entity
  • Zurvan Surfer (+2500)
  • *
  • Posts: 2778
    • View Profile
    • The Chrono Compendium
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2008, 07:07:21 pm »
I'm not familiar with that piece of software, but if it displays the midi information in the form of sheet music you're set. Assuming, of course, that you know how to read music. If you don't, it's not hard, and you can find guides online.

Anacalius

  • Alternate Primary Member
  • Enlightened One (+200)
  • *
  • Posts: 286
  • Boredom is not a burden that anyone should bear.
    • View Profile
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2008, 01:54:40 am »
I don't understand what is being said here...

Are you guys saying MIDI is not made anymore?
If not, what is a "soundfont"?

A MIDI for CT exists, if that's what you guys are talking about...

Ramsus

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2008, 05:29:54 am »
All I'm saying is that MIDIs aren't as commonly used as they used to be, because hardware changes have made it easier, simpler, and cheaper to distribute music as MP3s or other compressed recorded audio instead. Hardware manufacturers themselves follow this trend by cutting back on quality MIDI support and focusing on providing cheap, integrated audio components that are made up for by faster CPUs and more memory. This is also why new soundfonts haven't really been appearing, as fewer and fewer people have the hardware to take advantage of them.

How the hell that does that get turned into "I hate MIDIs" or "MIDIs don't exist"? I honestly have no clue.

4th Triforce piece

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2008, 03:50:05 am »
Sorry now I understand but I think there are lots of possiblites that midis can crank out.  For example if they made that CT soundfont them people who have a passionate intrest will start creating in-game midis and remixes because it will sound authentic and probebly want to make a midi soundtrack. 

Midis still take up less space then a MP3 and you can convert them especally if you have the Creative Media source player into MP3 anyways.  From what I have read I thought that MP3S would be harder because you have to make it from scratch while MIDIS you have a soundbank already for you but you have to tweak and tune it.  There is software out there like Vienna Studio that lets you make and edit soundfonts. 

Ever heard of cough VGMusic.com? cough.  They have 10,000 midis or more on their site and always growing in their new files which they sweep like every month.    Goes to show it's not completely dead.      

I still think it's rude though that the Author's haven't decided to take the time to type and be curtious to say that they are finished when something isn't complete.  If I felt I couldn't complete a project I would say so unless I unexpectedly had no access to the internet due to a disaster.  I would rather have no fans then ones with false hope.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2008, 03:54:32 am by 4th Triforce piece »

Ramsus

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2008, 04:26:16 am »
Of course MIDIs have more creative possibilities, but most people are simply listeners, and the only way to allow them to hear what you intended when they have completely different hardware and software is to provide your music in a format that sounds the same everywhere, and that's what MP3s and other recorded formats provide.

Making MP3s isn't difficult either. Just take the final MIDI and record it with all of your best soundfonts into a raw wav audio file (redirecting audio input/output via software isn't difficult, so you can get a very pure sound), then compress it. Now you can share the same exact sound with all of your fans on the Internet who don't have the ability to use MIDI soundfonts.

See the idea now? MP3 and what not are simply better for distributing your music to listeners so they can listen to it as authentically as possible, because most people aren't even savvy enough to install a soundfont, even if they have the hardware. And since most people don't have that hardware these days, it makes MIDI even worse for distribution/publishing.

If you're really into music synthesis though, you should also look into the tracker scene. Instead of using soundfonts, trackers let you craft music from any sound sample (you can use pretty much any sound as the basis for creating an "instrument") and doesn't require any hardware support from the soundcard (although most tracker programs let you plug in MIDI keyboards as input devices). The software then stores your tracks and the sound samples into a "module" file, which is like a compromise between a MIDI and a recorded audio file.

Like MIDIs, module files are relatively small and don't contain redundant information, and you can edit other people's music, but like MP3s and recorded audio, they'll sound pretty much the same no matter where you play them. However, they require people to install special players (or at least, something like WinAMP), and most people would rather just download a larger audio file these days and not mess with any programs or anything, so it's kind of like the soundfont problem.

Another way to look at module files is that they're more similar to the way music was used in older console games, back when they had tiny cartridge formats and had to save space. In those days, music was often built in the SPU from audio samples stored in the game's memory using SPU assembly code. That way, music in different games weren't limited by the console and could have any sound they wanted. Likewise, module files build music from audio samples stored in the file using the patterns constructed with the tracker software and can achieve all sorts of sounds.

I guess, the easy way to think of a module file is like a MIDI with the soundfont built in.

You can read more about trackers here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracker

But yeah, there's a lot of interesting stuff out there if you want to be creative. It'll always be there too, so don't worry about soundfonts and MIDIs disappearing, because they won't. Just don't expect non-creative people to be using those things, or for them to be as commonplace as they used to be, because they're becoming more and more just tools for creative people to use.

And yes, I used to listen to MIDIs back in the day when dial-up was the norm and a 133Mhz Pentium was considered a pretty decent machine (I even had a MIDI keyboard), but nowadays I'd rather listen to an MP3 or a module file and know that what I hear is pretty close to what the artist intended (albeit, limited by my laptop speakers and integrated sound chip).
« Last Edit: April 29, 2008, 04:35:47 am by Ramsus »

Ramsus

  • Guest

4th Triforce piece

  • Guest
Re: Game soundfonts not being made anymore?
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2008, 04:57:13 am »
Is there any way to extract sounds from CT to make my own CT soundfont and do I need lots of music knowledge?   I never have taken music class because I get claustrophobic when I do things in front of crowds so I am curious of where to start in a English way instead of computer tech way. 

I still think it would be innoventive if someone did a project for example: a CT or PSX 'soundfont' and uses the PSX samples to make your PC sound like a PSX music terms and try to make it GM capatable.  All your CC midis will sound like it's from Chrono Chross including remixes making it feel Chornoish.

I also read an article where SONY said that MIDI is going to be the wave of the future for game audio because it allows more intractability for games and it makes the games of less loading time besides midi in games sound just like orchestra.  http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/08/midi-is-the-future-of-game-audio/

I listened to TP music at least halfway through the game and I can't tell that it's midi since it sounds so good.   Half the tracks are in orchestra while others are in midi.  Also PM2 the thousand year door uses midi too but it's really well done. :)


I think it would be so cool if someone did a CT or PSX 'soundfont' and uses the PSX to make your PC a PSX music terms and try to make it General Midi capatable.    This way all your midis will sound like it's from a PSX game or your CC midis will sound cool allowing to hear your remixes as though it's from a portion of the game.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2008, 05:11:42 am by 4th Triforce piece »