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Library of the Ancients => Final Fantasy IV Research & Development => Topic started by: chillyfeez on January 16, 2013, 11:48:42 PM
Title: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 16, 2013, 11:48:42 PM
Hey y'all
I've spent the better part of the last month researching and experimenting with FFIV music hacking. I don't know absolutely everything, but I certainly know enough. I'm attaching a copy of the complete guide, but I'll paste the list of in-sequence commands below for easy access. The song sequences begin at 3790E (ROM with header), and each song has an eighteen byte header preceding the command sequence.
Every command is listed below, in order, from 00 to FF. Commands have no parameters unless otherwise indicated.
Some commands have parameters, but no discernable effect (as far as I can tell). If a command is not listed (such as E3), then it has no effect and no parameters.
In general, tracks also start off with their own header, which indicates information such as the relative volume of the track, which instrument to use, how much reverb, etc. These track headers are commands that the game treats no differently than notes and rests, and therefore the commands typically located in the track's header can also be placed within the track to change effects mid-track. SPC data is read quickly enough that the game will execute in-track commands without the music stopping or slowing down, so have fun!
TABLE OF NOTES, RESTS AND TIES
Commands 00 through D1 each represent a note, a rest, or an extension of a previous note or rest (a tie). When deciding to use a tie, bear in mind that game music does not need to fit into a specific time signature, so whereas a piece of sheet music may tie an eighth note at the end of one measure to an eighth note at the beginning of the next measure, you can save one byte of space by simply using a quarter note. This is also the practical application of the 3/4, 3/8 and 3/16 notes (which do not exist in standard music notation). Other odd-fraction note durations (1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/24, 1/48) can be used when you want to play triplets. It takes a bit of mathematical thinking. Three triplet quarter notes have the same duration as two regular quarter notes (or one half note), so in order to play three triplet quarter notes, play three 1/6 notes. (1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 = 3/6, or 1/2)
Note LengthC C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B REST TIE ------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- --- 1/100 0F 1E 2D 3C 4B 5A 69 78 87 96 A5 B4 C3 3/401 10 1F 2E 3D 4C 5B 6A 79 88 97 A6 B5 C4 1/202 11 20 2F 3E 4D 5C 6B 7A 89 98 A7 B6 C5 3/803 12 21 30 3F 4E 5D 6C 7B 8A 99 A8 B7 C6 1/304 13 22 31 40 4F 5E 6D 7C 8B 9A A9 B8 C7 1/405 14 23 32 41 50 5F 6E 7D 8C 9B AA B9 C8 3/1606 15 24 33 42 51 60 6F 7E 8D 9C AB BA C9 1/607 16 25 34 43 52 61 70 7F 8E 9D AC BB CA 1/808 17 26 35 44 53 62 71 80 8F 9E AD BC CB 1/1209 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 9F AE BD CC 1/160A 19 28 37 46 55 64 73 82 91 A0 AF BE CD 1/240B 1A 29 38 47 56 65 74 83 92 A1 B0 BF CE 1/320C 1B 2A 39 48 57 66 75 84 93 A2 B1 C0 CF 1/480D 1C 2B 3A 49 58 67 76 85 94 A3 B2 C1 D0 1/640E 1D 2C 3B 4A 59 68 77 86 95 A4 B3 C2 D1
THE REST OF THE COMMANDS
D2: (+ 3 parameters, XX YY ZZ) Fade in tempo, where XX YY is the rate of fade, and ZZ is the tempo. Higher ZZ = quicker tempo. XX YY are in reverse byte order, and higher value = slower fade. You will rarely if ever need to set YY higher than 00.
D3: (+ 3 parameters) No discernable effect.
D4: (+ 1 parameter) Sets the "multiple voice" effect of a track, for lack of a better term. The higher the value, the more it will seem like each note is being played on several keys (or instruments) simultaneously. The effect is most significant with the organ, creating a difference between what sounds like an electric organ (think "Come On, Baby Light My Fire" by The Doors), and a pipe organ (think church).
D5: (+ 2 parameters, XX YY) Reverb. The first parameter sets the reverb level (higher value = more echo). The second parameter seems to set the reverb of the reverb. Be careful with this. Set a high YY in combination with a high XX, and a single note will quickly turn into that sound the alien makes when the scientists try to dissect it in Independence Day.
D6: (+ 3 parameters) A very funky reverb effect. Not very useful for composing music per se, but maybe useful for implementing sound effects within music. The three parameters seem to work independently of one another (they are three separate parameters, and not one or two multiple byte parameters). The higher their value, the funkier the effect, but there seems to be a ceiling. I know, for example, that "35" has an effect, but "AA" does not. "D6 0F 0F 0F" Has a fun, but again not really useful, effect. More experimentation is needed here, but I don't really have the motivation to do so.
D7: (+ 3 parameters) No discernable effect.
D8: (+ 3 parameters) No discernable effect.
D9: (+ 3 parameters) No discernable effect.
DA: (+ 1 parameter) Set octave. 00 is the lowest. I don't know how high it can go, but can't imagine you'd need to go higher than 07 or 08.
DB: (+ 1 parameter) Set instrument, where "40" is the first instrument assigned to the song (in the index at 2420F), "41" is the second, and so on. Some weird stuff happens if you set an unassigned instrument. One higher in value than the last instrument seems to be a quieter version of that instrument, two higher even quieter than before, and so on in that fashion until you cannot hear the music at all. Several values lower than 40 (I couldn't bear to experiment with exactly how many) will result in something that sounds like a buzzsaw playing the notes you've written. Very grating and not recommended.
DC, DD: (+ 1 parameter each) I can't figure out what these do. According to jce3000gt, they are "set transpose" and "increment transpose," respectively. In this particular instance I don't know what that means, and in my experimentation, changing the value of these parameters has no effect.
DE: (+1 parameter) Set track volume. Near as I can tell, this is a RELATIVE volume value. If there is only one track in the song, changing this value has no effect.
DF: (+ 1 parameter) No discernable effect.
E0/F0: Loop Start/End. E0 is inserted before the section to loop, with one parameter indicating the number of times to loop. F0 is inserted at the end of the section to loop (no parameter). Interesting note - without an "E0" at the beginning, F0 will simply play a sustained C (or, lowest note on the scale).
E1: Next octave up. All subsequent notes will be played in the octave above those preceding this command.
E2: Next octave down. All subsequent notes will be played in the octave below those preceding this command.
EB: Negates reverb setting for all subsequent notes.
EC: Makes all subsequent notes sound like static instead of notes.
F0: (SEE E0)
F1: Stops the music.
F2: (+ 3 parameters, XX YY ZZ) Volume. Only ZZ seems to have any effect, and it looks like XX YY is always 00 00 in the game's original programming.
F3: (+3 parameters, XX YY ZZ) I don't know what this does. It must have some effect, because in the original programming, every song has an F3 command in the beginning. Seems XX and YY have no effect, because they're always 00 00. ZZ ranges from about 50 to C0, and is most commonly in the 80s.
F4: (+ 2 parameters) This is the "go to" command. Placing this command at the end of every track is how the game loops music indefinitely. Remember, as before, to start counting with 00 20 (reverse byte order), and to count from the song's byte #02, not byte #00.
F5: (+ 3 parameters) No discernable effect.
F6 and above: Stops the music. btw - credit where credit is due: this work was started by jce3000gt and the rest of the contributors on this thread: http://slickproductions.org/forum/index.php?topic=163.0
Hope this info helps some of you do some fun stuff!
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Grimoire LD on January 17, 2013, 11:44:02 AM
Very impressive! Glad to see you're still around Chillyfeez, music was unfortunately never my forte, but I'm sure others will be able to use these notes to great effect!
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: JCE3000GT on January 17, 2013, 01:37:47 PM
Love it! Great work. Glad I was able to help. :)
Now if I could get someone to compose a song or two from another game for my latest FFIV hack I'd be happy.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 17, 2013, 03:59:03 PM
Very impressive! Glad to see you're still around Chillyfeez
I never REALLY left. In the real world, my job is retail management, so I don't get a lot of free time in Nov/Dec. I'm still working slowly but surely on my big project. Learning about the game's SPC engine was part of it.
Now if I could get someone to compose a song or two from another game for my latest FFIV hack I'd be happy.
Do you mean existing game songs? If I could find the midis, I'd do it for you. It would be good practice.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: JCE3000GT on January 17, 2013, 06:49:13 PM
Actually I have a couple of MIDIs and possibly existing game SPCs I'd like to have someone compose. I am swamped with doing the graphics, AI, maps, and etc. :(
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 17, 2013, 10:02:38 PM
Well, if you wanna send me one to work on, I just turned on "allow users to email me." I won't make any promises about how quickly I'll get it done, but I won't leave you hanging.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: JCE3000GT on January 18, 2013, 03:24:51 PM
Well, if you wanna send me one to work on, I just turned on "allow users to email me." I won't make any promises about how quickly I'll get it done, but I won't leave you hanging.
Cool, no worries. Have a while before I'm done with it. I will get back to you this weekend hopefully. Thx for the help. :)
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: TheNattak on January 29, 2013, 11:10:31 PM
"D4: (+ 1 parameter) Sets the "multiple voice" effect of a track, for lack of a better term. The higher the value, the more it will seem like each note is being played on several keys (or instruments) simultaneously. The effect is most significant with the organ, creating a difference between what sounds like an electric organ (think "Come On, Baby Light My Fire" by The Doors), and a pipe organ (think church)."
Hm, this must be the same as the F4 XX command in FFVI...? I've always wondered what it does exactly. I'm not entirely sure I grasp you definition of it though, are you saying it allows a track to play over other channels and/or instruments?
All I know is that most songs that include it seem to have it in just one track usually, and when I use it in my custom songs it seems to make the song as a whole quieter usually, especially if I use it more than once, which leads me to think I'm using it incorrectly. I've been throwing it around on things like string sections, and as you mentioned here, organs - basically instruments that have drawn-out lengths.
Might you happen to know anything further about this command, like when and how it should be used for the best effect/result? And when to not bother using it at all. Also, does channel pan have any influence over it?
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 30, 2013, 12:05:30 AM
It's pretty difficult to describe with words... I suggest trying a single track with a few whole notes and a high D4, then change the D4 to 00. You will definitely notice a difference, especially with instruments that have a sustainable voice.
As far as I can tell, it only affects the timbre/quality of the instrument, and not how the track cooperates with others - but to be honest, I'm not sure I even tested it with multiple tracks. If you find that it has other effects than what I found, I'll update the guide. I've already found a few minor changes I need to make since I posted it.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on August 19, 2015, 04:17:26 PM
I don't mean to necropost (though I figure this would be better than starting a new thread), but would anyone happen to still have Chillyfeez's Complete Music Hacking Guide.txt? It was lost during the forum's downtime, and I'd like to take a gander a it.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on August 19, 2015, 07:27:10 PM
This person does!
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on August 20, 2015, 12:59:39 PM
Awesome! Thanks, Chillyfeez!
So far I've read up to instruments portion of the guide, and am currently playing around testing the instruments out using the title screen music. Very entertaining stuff. I think I might do this with a number of songs I intend to keep that are starting to get on my nerves. and try my hand at creating some new stuff using one of the number of tracks I'm either not using or don't care about (and so far I've got good few in that catagory, including the Black Chocobo Music).
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on August 20, 2015, 01:10:40 PM
Cool. Writing new music into the game is extraordinarily tedious work, but it's pretty rewarding when you get one done.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on August 20, 2015, 05:34:56 PM
Yeah, it sounds like it would be by what I'm reading. I'm going to take your advice and make a simple melody to start out with, and see how it goes from there.
Until then, I'll be instrument swapping the vanilla tracks. Changing "Dwarf Castle"'s trumpet to bowed strings makes it sound like it would right in with Chrono Trigger. Ilove it,
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 23, 2016, 01:03:38 PM
Pinkpuff wrote me recently to inquire about looping "Ending 3" (the end credit sequence music). I started waxing philosophical about exactly how to go about doing it in my reply, but thenI got to thinking: I just composed an entire original piece for my own hack, so my skills on this one are already sharpened - a couple hours' work for me vs however long it might take someone else to get the hang of the extremely un-intuitive SPC system... So I just went ahead and did it. This patch will make the Ending 3 music loop back to just after the intro instead of playing the coda and ending. It doesn't use any free space, so it should patch cleanly into any ROM. Unheadered. 1.0 or 1.1 will work. :)
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Grimoire LD on January 23, 2016, 05:38:36 PM
Oh wonderful! This was always one off thing about Unprecedented Crisis and sort of took away from the desired effect. Great work getting that to work right Chillyfeez!
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Pinkpuff on January 24, 2016, 07:12:23 AM
It works perfectly. Thank you so much Chillyfeez!! <3
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on January 24, 2016, 07:51:41 PM
Ironically enough I use Ending 3 as the song used during the Mysidian Raid in the intro (and anywhere you'd normally hear any form of the Red Wings theme in Vanilla FF4 as I don't plan on using them) in FU Remix. I've tried multiple times on my own to try looping that track just to end up with a garbled mess that I couldn't even begin to describe as sound, let alone music lol. Thank you so much for posting this up, and thank you Pinkpuff for requesting it!
IT FINALLY LOOPS!!!!!!!!! :happy:
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on January 26, 2016, 03:36:40 PM
Tested out the Looping Ending 3 patch, and noticed something while aimlessly listening to that awesome track for awhile:
After about three full loops (probably 3-5+ minutes listening to it at least) I notice a "wahhhhhhhhh" effect from a Strings 1 sounding instrument begins playing until a different song is played. This noise continues if the music is faded out during an event (but will stop if sound effects are played: The sound effects from the "Airships Bombing Damcyan" visual, for example, cancels out this odd side effect).
Note that it doesn't really hurt anything. It doesn't cause the "Oregon Trail just raped my sound effects" problem I get when playing "Ending 1" then entering a battle lol.
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: chillyfeez on January 26, 2016, 04:21:55 PM
It might be an emulator issue. When I was working on the Highwind Pass theme, I ran into a bit of weirdness related to some idiosynchrocies of the music engine, but I also discovered that the manifestation of the weirdness was different depending on which emulator I used. For my part, I find that SNES9X tends to fair pretty terribly with my computer's sound system. I get sustained notes from songs during otherwise silent moments regularly...
Title: Re: Hacking the Music
Post by: Bahamut ZERO on January 27, 2016, 02:01:12 PM
That seems to be the case, as the other 2 SNES emulators on my computer have no problem with it. Sorry if I worried you at all with my earlier post. :isuck: