Sega of Japan Sound Documents and SMPS Source Code

Nice, it's only taken over 30 years!! My props to those involved in obtaining these~

Also, the English translation of the manual was intentionally missing this:



"This is a test register. Not used in user applications."

Hehehe, they knew it was there but was told not to use it~ d;

I say as a potential project, someone should go through and translate all of these pages 1:1 to English, because clearly there's information that's been mistranslated or outright not included in the English versions of the documents.

 

This was like finding the "Ark of Covenant" with the "Tablets of the Law" inside... Amazing! ...

 

So who's going to be the first person to rig these up so we can hear these samples?

 

This has been bothering me for a while... 'Sound-Sorce' is SMPS's name now? Grep-ing the source code, the only mention of that name I can find is in some copy-pasted text at the start of a few files. I can't find anything that specifically says that 'Sound-Sorce' is the name of the entire SMPS project. Remember how Chaotix's driver was nicknamed 'Casablanca' by its maintainer, Milpo? That didn't mean SMPS itself was called Casablanca.

Not only that, but there's no mention of this name in the other SMPS source code release we have - the one for the Sega Pico port. That one kept the code in a file called "EASYSND.ZIP", and of course, people immediately leapt on the "this must have been SMPS's real name this whole time" train back then too.

[Update: the above paragraph isn't entirely correct: 'Sound-Source' is mentioned in the Pico port: it has the same copypasted text as the other versions. Still, this name is mentioned nowhere in the documentation, and instead the driver is only plainly referred to as 'the PICO sound driver'.]

I can't help but feel people are jumping to conclusions here. Heck, not conclusion*s*, just one conclusion. What about the other possibilities? For example, hasn't anyone else questioned that weird typo - why 'sorce', when it's clearly meant to be 'source'? Heck, even the 68k port corrected that typo - it's just the Z80 version that has it.

Well... what if 'sorce' isn't meant to be 'source'? The 68k port was created by a completely different guy, after all - maybe he didn't understand what the original dev meant. SMPS Z80 was made by Jimita - that guy who was in Sonic 1's credits. [Update: This is wrong and I'm dumb - Jimita made SMPS 68k, not Z80.]

Now, what else was he credited for? Any games that happened to use SMPS Z80, and came out around the time the source code is dated (1989.12.10)?

How about a game called 'Sorcerian'? It uses SMPS Z80, and came out in early 1990, meaning it would have very likely been in development at the time the Z80 source code is dated.

So, here's my theory: 'Sound-Sorce' literally just means 'sound driver for Sorcerian'. Considering that SMPS predates Sorcerian (Mega Drive games from 1988 use it, and I've heard that SMPS can even be found in arcade games that predate the Mega Drive entirely), SMPS can't have specifically been made for it, meaning that the name 'Sound-Sorce' only refers to the version used by Sorcerian, rather than the driver in general.

SMPS itself was undergoing some major changes in 1989, going from the first major Mega Drive version (commonly known as 'pre-SMPS Z80') to the more well-known second version ('SMPS Z80'). 'Sound-Sorce' could perhaps refer to this massive update. Regardless, that doesn't make it SMPS's name - just a very loose nickname for the update it received in 1989.

 

That is some stellar work, and seems pretty likely. It was also an interesting read.

 

...Dammit, quick correction; Jimita made SMPS 68k, not SMPS Z80. That would explain why he's credited in Sonic 1, which uses the 68k version.

 

I don't know if this is considered double-posting, but I think this warrants its own bump:

The Z80 source code contains a folder called 'fmk'. In it, you can find various batch files and sed scripts. Notably, there's this sed script:

fsub.sed

Code (Text):

1.  
2. s/\$\$\$/@1/g
3. s/1989.12.10/@2/g
4. s/SOUND-SORCE/@3/g
5. s/m5/@1/g
6. s/eq13/eq/g
7. s/mcr13/mcr/g
8. s/tb13/tb/g
9. s/T.Uwabo/@4/g
10.  

As you can see, it replaces various strings:

• It replaces '$$$' with whatever @1 is
• It replaces '1989.12.10' with @2
• It replaces 'SOUND-SORCE' with @3
• It replaces 'T.Uwabo' with @4

Obviously, this script is meant to be applied to files with the copypasted header:

Code (Text):

1.  
2. ;********************************************************
3. ;*       $$$SNG81.S   ( SOUND DATA FILE )   *
4. ;*              ORG. M5SNG1.31.S                   *
5. ;*       'SOUND-SORCE'                           *
6. ;*        for Mega Drive (Z80)           *
7. ;*           VER  1.31/1989.12.10       *
8. ;*               BY        T.Uwabo       *
9. ;********************************************************
10.  

Now, this alone isn't too helpful, buuuuuut... there are batch files that use this sed script: fsub.bat and fsub1.bat:

fsub.bat

Code (Text):

1.  
2. echo off
3. sed -e s/@1/%1/g -e s/@2/%2/g -e s/@3/%3/g -e s/@4/%4/g \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB.SED > subtmp.tm1
4. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1INT.SRC
5. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1CNT.SRC
6. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1CMD.SRC
7. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1FMDR.SRC
8. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1PSG.SRC
9. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1PCM.SRC
10. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1TB.SRC
11. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SETB.SRC
12. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1EQ.LIB
13. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1TB.LIB
14. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1MCR.LIB
15. if "%5"=="src" goto skip
16. if "%5"=="SRC" goto skip
17. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SE.S
18. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG81.S
19. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG82.S
20. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG83.S
21. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG84.S
22. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG85.S
23. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG86.S
24. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG87.S
25. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG88.S
26. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG89.S
27. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8A.S
28. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8B.S
29. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8C.S
30. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8D.S
31. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8E.S
32. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1SNG8F.S
33. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1.BAT
34. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1Z.BAT
35. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1Z.MAC
36. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1.DOC
37. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1.MKF
38. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,%1.LNK
39. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,ALL.LNK
40. COMMAND/C \M5\Z80\FMK\FSUB1 %1,%2,%3,%4,ERX68K.MAC
41. :skip
42.  

What this does is, it converts '@1' and the like in fsub.sed to '%1', and saves it to a temp file called 'subtmp.tm1'. This temp file is then called by fsub1.bat...

fsub1.bat

Code (Text):

1.  
2. echo off
3. echo/
4. echo ---- now writing these datas to file : %5  ---------
5. echo **/ proj. name:%1  / date:%2 / game name:%3 / parson:%4 /**
6. if "%1"=="" goto usage
7. sed -f subtmp.tm1 %5 > subtmp.tm2
8. copy subtmp.tm2 %5 > nul
9. goto end
10. :usage
11.    echo  / proj. name:%1  / date:%2 / game name:%3 / parson:%4 /FILE:%5 **
12.    echo  WHEN SET THESE DATAS , WRITE THESE DATAS THE FILE %7
13. :end
14. /FILE:%5 **
15.    echo  WHEN SET THESE DATAS , WRITE THESE DATAS THE FILE %7
16. :end
17. g subtmp.tm1>%5
18. goto end
19. :usage
20.    echo  / proj. name:%1  / date:%2 / game name:%3 / parson:%4 /FILE:%5 **
21.    echo  WHEN SET THESE DATAS , WRITE THESE DATAS THE FILE %7
22. :end
23.  

Notice how %1 through %4 are labelled here?

Code (Text):

1. echo **/ proj. name:%1  / date:%2 / game name:%3 / parson:%4 /**

Let's map this back to that list from earlier:

• '$$$' is replaced with %1 ("proj. name")
  
• '1989.12.10' is replaced with %2 ("date")
  
• 'SOUND-SORCE' is replaced with %3 ("game name")
  
• 'T.Uwabo' is replaced with %4 ("parson")

But that's not all: the 68k source code has similar files too, including the same parameter labelling:

fsub.bat

Code (Text):

1.  
2. echo               Project Name : %1
3. echo                       Date : %2
4. echo                  Game Name : %3
5. echo                     Person : %4
6.  

Notably, it also includes this line in fmk.bat:

Code (Text):

1.  
2.     command /c ..\fmk\fsub %1 1991.1.16 Sound-Sample H.Kubota %2
3.  

Note that the date is significantly later than the one in the copypasted text it replaces:

Code (Text):

1.  
2. ;=======================================================;
3. ;       $$$SNG85.S  (Song Data)           ;
4. ;              ORG. MDSNG115.S           ;
5. ;       'Sound-Source'               ;
6. ;        for Mega Drive (68K)           ;
7. ;           Ver  1.1 / 1990.9.1       ;
8. ;                     By  H.Kubota   ;
9. ;=======================================================;
10.  

So let's reiterate: 'SOUND-SORCE' is the "game name", and while the 68k port did "correct" it to 'Sound-Source', its dev would later change his mind, and just use 'Sound-Sample' instead (notably, the same name written on the floppy disks).

I think it's safe to say that 'SOUND-SORCE' is not the driver's name.