The GYM replacement project.

[Grass-eatin'me]

Don't blame Adaman. I should've made a thread like this a long time ago.

You should all of you know about the format called GYM, short for Genesis YM. GYMs are logs of the Mega Drive's YM2612 and PSG's sound pre-output. So, they are logs of the soundata sent from the CPU's to it's soundchips, and it's logged before the output.

Anyway. If you don't know about .gym, go here. to see what it is.

It's often put into the equal bunch of formats as more popular (and better) formats, like SPC (SNES' SPC700 ram output) PSF (rips), NSF (rips) and such.

But there's one HUGE difference; the GYM format plain sucks. There are several reasons for this:

1.) Bah.
2.) The name of the format sucks. It makes me thinking of... Yeah, you know.
3.) There are no good players. The WinAmp plugin (YMAmp) sucks so hard, it crashes all the freaking time.
4.) The files are rather huge.
5.) It cannot log the 8-bit PCM data from the YM2612 correctly. That is why you rather play the game than playing the GYMs. As the mechanism used for this process is dull, and doesn't fit into the format itself. (strangely, the author of the GYM didn't include support for PCM, apparently because he knew that the files would become huge.)
6. You're not able to edit GYMs in any way after they are made. You have to log them ultra-precisley.
7. There're no fades, no loop points, no custom timers, the tagging format sucks.
8. There're a lot of files circulating, mainly here. And all of them are of BAD quality, if of any quality at all.
9. The only site hosting a good archive of these files isn't a quality-focused one. Just look at Zophar's SPC archive. Almost all of the have not tags and timers.

So, of course. The GYM format should go away! We all want that.

So then, why don't we just sit at our sofa, waiting for the evil to go away (like I'm sure some GFFers would, or anyone else for that sake, man. I've seen posts like "I want something better than GYM!!" thousands of times.)?

There's currently one format which rival gym. And that is:

!VGM!

VGM's basicly works the same way as GYM. It logs the sound data. VGMs are mainly used for Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, and soon, Mega Drive. But there's support for lot'sa obscure systems.

Tragically enough though. VGMs aren't perfectly fitted... Yet. That is because you cannot edit them (6. 7.) And because the files still re too large, because of the PCM data (no logs've been released to show this yet though, as all three soundtrakcs released doesn't contain PCM at all), make them smaller, that is posibly by putting referance strings into the VGM format, refering to once-stored 8-bit PCM samples, that way, the once very-mid like format would change more into a tracker type.

Someone needs to make an app capable of doing that. That person could be whomever, who wants, and is able to program (in any language) and willing to learn the YM2612, and a dozen of other soundchips.

Well, I don't really expect anyone of you to do that, so I'll just let that float here.

Anyway...... I want(ed) someone to make that app. So, I've released some Mega Drive VGMs at Zophar. It took quite a while to time these files, as I needed to do it by a Hex Editor. Well, everything to put away the GYM format.

Please check out my new (megadrive) VGMs: CLICK ON LINK; AND DL VGMS!

ZAN: Yaksa Enbukyoku by Motoi Sakuraba,(possibly?) Masaaki Uno
FINAL ZONE by Motoi Sakuraba, Masaaki Uno, Yasunori Shiono
CASTLEVANIA Bloodlines by Kukeiha Club (duh!)

Now! I want to hear, from a neutral point of view. What do you think about these VGMs vs. the GYMs at the GYM archive? What do you think about the quality of them? What's your impression? Should more be made? Do you think they could have any impact on the GM Format world? Do people notice the *bRoMp!!* at the start of the track? Do you think "WoW! These loop-points suxxorz!"? Or don't you care, because of the suckiness of the GYM format?

Well, I hope you understand something of this awfully long post.... :\

Please give me some feedback.

EDIT: Please reply! Please reply! hheY!