don't click here

What the fuck are xm files?

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Glisp, Jun 24, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Jun 24, 2009 #1
    Glisp

    Glisp

    That one weird guy that does stuff. Member
    1,278
    1
    16
    Bloomington, IN
    None at the moment I'm afraid.
    Okay, I have a quick question. what are xm files? Do they have anything to do with MIDI files per chance. the reason why I'm asking is because none of the articles on the wiki explain it. They don't even offer any links to them either. I swear, you guys just enjoy setting people up for failure don't you? (I'm joking about that last sentence of course. Do you think I'm honestly that stupid to blame you for my own Naivety?)

    Sort of off topic:
    I've been afraid to ask for rom hacking help because I end up getting the "DO IT YOURSELF!" treatment or I just don't understand what people are trying to say to me. ASM with me is difficult because memorizing the code is difficult because of my short attention span. I want to hack but my ADHD is preventing me from doing so.
    Can someone please help me find a method of memorizing code that actually works?
     
  2. Jun 24, 2009 #2
    Scarred Sun

    Scarred Sun

    Be who you needed when you were younger Administrator
    7,745
    127
    101
    Tower 8 ️
    Welp, this.
    In before half the board jumps on you.

    I'm gonna be honest, man—look it up on Wikipedia next time: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM_(file_format)" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM_(file_format)</a> Basically, XM files are kind of like MIDIs, but they're used with trackers and can handle samples and the like.
     
  3. Jun 24, 2009 #3
    NoNameAtAll

    NoNameAtAll

    MY HAT'S ON FIRE. HALP! Moderator
    556
    3
    18
    This would work as well, in case one doesn't like Wikipedia.
     
  4. Jun 24, 2009 #4
    Glisp

    Glisp

    That one weird guy that does stuff. Member
    1,278
    1
    16
    Bloomington, IN
    None at the moment I'm afraid.
    Oh shit! *Slaps forhead* I completely forgot about that. Uh...oops... but anyways is there an easy way to convert Midis to XM or do I not need to?
     
  5. Jun 24, 2009 #5
    nineko

    nineko

    I am the Holy Cat Tech Member
    6,308
    486
    63
    italy
    You can convert MIDI files to XM files with Mod Plug Tracker. Though the process isn't painless because XM files are superior and you'll have to fix many things (mainly timing) by hand.
     
  6. Jun 24, 2009 #6
    Glisp

    Glisp

    That one weird guy that does stuff. Member
    1,278
    1
    16
    Bloomington, IN
    None at the moment I'm afraid.
    Where can I get one of these "Mod Plug Trackers"? I'd google it but I'm not sure how consistant the results are or even what I'm looking for exactly.
     
  7. Jun 24, 2009 #7
    nineko

    nineko

    I am the Holy Cat Tech Member
    6,308
    486
    63
    italy
    <a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Mod+Plug+Tracker" target="_blank">http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Mod+Plug+Tracker</a>
     
  8. Jun 24, 2009 #8
    Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    3,361
    179
    43
    United Kingdom
    You could also use mid2xm, though you would have to get things such as instruments yourself. It does a good job converting but it does make the end results an octave up.
     
  9. Jun 24, 2009 #9
    Shibunoa

    Shibunoa

    Banned
    329
    0
    0
    Italy
    Or you use a program called gmid2mod to convert MIDIs to XM. More than 10 years old, but does a pretty good job.
    It's command line only though.
     
  10. Jun 24, 2009 #10
    Glisp

    Glisp

    That one weird guy that does stuff. Member
    1,278
    1
    16
    Bloomington, IN
    None at the moment I'm afraid.

    I downloaded it. Now what? Do you have any tips to get me started?
     
  11. Jun 24, 2009 #11
    dust hill resident

    dust hill resident

    Oldbie
    819
    6
    18
    London
    Grab some .xm songs and load them into modplug tracker, then watch them play back. Then experiment around, and you'll get the hang of things.
     
  12. Jun 24, 2009 #12
    Glisp

    Glisp

    That one weird guy that does stuff. Member
    1,278
    1
    16
    Bloomington, IN
    None at the moment I'm afraid.
    Yes but what do I need to do to get them to play all the notes in 6 channels? Or is that not needed? Nineko mentioned something about altering them so that they would work. Could someone elaborate if Nineko isn't around, please?
     
  13. Jun 24, 2009 #13
    nineko

    nineko

    I am the Holy Cat Tech Member
    6,308
    486
    63
    italy
    I am around, but you should know by now that I'm not too helpful when it comes to things you can try and learn easily by yourself. I'm sorry. Dust Hill Resident got it right, load some XM files and see what they do, I had nobody to teach me how to do that when I wrote xm2smps.
     
  14. Jun 24, 2009 #14
    Yuzu

    Yuzu

    Member
    2,548
    51
    28
    Nineko's right, just mess around with Mod Plug Tracker's GUI and you'll figure out how to get it working, didn't take me long but I haven't touched Mod Plug Tracker or XM3SMPS for a long time.
     
  15. Jun 24, 2009 #15
    Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
    6,718
    1
    0
    being an asshole =P
    Fast Tracker 2 at least came with the list of effects in the help (albeit it wasn't very descriptive, but enough to start dealing with them).

    Though yeah... I gotta dig up that old module tutorial I made some time ago for Chris Senn, explaining how modules work isn't exactly easy to explain (despite the concept is simple) =/ That the GUIs look bloated doesn't help either (don't get me wrong, everything in them is very useful, but to a newbie the GUI of a tracker will look like madness).

    If you know how does SMPS work though, well, things are easier. SMPS is a module-like format, albeit very adapted to the Mega Drive hardware (e.g. modules normally use samples, not FM or PSG instruments).
     
  16. Jun 24, 2009 #16
    nineko

    nineko

    I am the Holy Cat Tech Member
    6,308
    486
    63
    italy
    Mod Plug Tracker, too, has a list of effects in the help (at least the version I have). Not that it matters much, though, as almost none of them are supported by the xm to smps series.
     
  17. Jun 25, 2009 #17
    Wetflame

    Wetflame

    :D Banned
    1,718
    0
    0
    Couldn't you have just looked it up :|

    Thanks for making a tracker feel obsolete...
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.