Noise Entertainment System: chiptune player for iOS

[q-pa]

For those of you with iDevices, I recently discovered this chiptune player on the App Store. It supports NES (NSF), SNES (SPC), Genesis (VGM), Gameboy (GBS) and zipped files of the above.

You load files on to it via the interface in iTunes. In my experiences a bad file may force the app to crash on startup, but the sound output seems accurate.

Edit: It's $2, but well worth it IMO!

[PROTO·DOME]

Ha. Awesome.

Love the spriteart.

[Nase]

For those of you with iDevices, I recently discovered this chiptune player on the App Store. It supports NES (NSF), SNES (SPC), Genesis (VGM), Gameboy (GBS) and zipped files of the above.

You load files on to it via the interface in iTunes. In my experiences a bad file may force the app to crash on startup, but the sound output seems accurate!

Cool. I don't suppose there is a feature to download files from dropbox? As of now, i have no PC to use itunes, lol.

Goddamn iOS console scheme

[entropicdecay]

I got this! Have yet to really play around with it but i'm excited. bLiNd showed it to me at MAGfest and I bought it immediately.

[jmr]

I use Modizer for the same thing. Wider variety of formats, you can load files via an FTP client AND download from several online databases.

http://yoyofr.blogspot.ca/p/modizer.html

Large compatibility (more than 400 formats) thanks to multiple playback engines : Amiga and PC modules (UADE & libmodplug), Atari ST/Amstrad CPC (ST-Sound & SC68), C64 (sidplay2/resid), Sharp X68000 (MDX/PDX), Nintendo/Sega/Nec/Sony (Game Music Emulator, sexypsf, aosdk)

Direct internet access to Modland & HVSC collections.

Built-in Web browser allowing FTP/HTTP downloads, bookmarks and support of ZIP,GZ,LZH & RAR archives.

Built-in FTP server over WIFI connection : upload your music files with a simple FTP client.

Playlists support.

Online World Charts with links for MODLAND & HVSC entries

Search function (in local files/playlists/Modland/HVSC).

Rating & play counter of files.

Multiple visualisations : patterns, 2D&3D spectrums, oscilloscopes, ...

Background playback & remote controller on iOS >=4.0.

Highly configurable behaviour.

[Level 99]

I use for the same thing. Wider variety of formats, you can load files via an FTP client AND download from several online databases.

http://yoyofr.blogspot.ca/p/modizer.html

Modizer is the single most useful app for music on the entire iOS store.

[Nase]

Modizer is the single most useful app for music on the entire iOS store.

Just got it, wow, what a wealth of formats.

I hope the dev keeps tuning it. Listening to monty on the run right now....the sid emu isn't so hot for one.

But the direct access to some databases was just what i was looking for, thanks!

Lol, Unreal ][.s3m on #1 of modizer charts. Big fucking surprise!

[Level 99]

Just got it, wow, what a wealth of formats.

I hope the dev keeps tuning it. Listening to monty on the run right now....the sid emu isn't so hot for one.

But the direct access to some databases was just what i was looking for, thanks!

Modland access was one of the big deal-makers for me, yeah. Unfortunately/Fortunately, he does tweak it as time goes by but he normally makes it more resource intensive. After the 1.1 update, my old iPhone 3g started chugging on a number of formats. What model are you using? It may be the SID player part itself or it may be that your machine can't HANDLE the awesomeness.

[Nase]

Ipad, pretty sure it's the emu.

The emulators you can get for winamp these days just sound really good. Listening to some chiptunes in modizer, i'm reminded of how chiptune emu sounded when i first became aware of it

But hey, chiptunes yay!

Plus, .mods and .its and all. So much to revisit and discover.

.nsf sounds alright as well, if a bit thin.

[Esperado]

Lol, Unreal ][.s3m on #1 of modizer charts. Big fucking surprise!

i suppose if i dont know this by now, it doesnt matter, but what exactly does this sentence mean?

[Nase]

It's just a classic tracker tune from a classic demo. I think it's the one with the "GET DAUN" sample, if that rings a bell...

[Esperado]

nope. by unreal, do you mean the fps game? i just thought it was some intense technospeak. it kindof blew me away.

[Nase]

It's a bit older than Unreal the game, which interestingly uses tracker files as well. Now that you mention it, it's entirely possible that the game's name is demoscene inspired. Like the demo, Unreal showcased graphical peak performance for its time, and was frequently used in stores as a benchmark to make people go "whoa, computers can do that?"

[OverCoat]

Unreal also featured demoscene artists, coincidentally there is a track by necros in the game, as well as basehead, khyron etc

What Nase is talking about is not the game though, but the classic PC Demo "Second Reality," by Future Crew from Assembly '93. I'll just link the video here:

In this day and age I guess it doesn't seem that impressive, but for 1993 this was legendary being rendered in real time and all that. Anyway, the song Nase is talking about is in this demo.

On topic... kinda... I'm a droid user. I use xmp for mod files, and Modo for chiptune/vg formats. Both of them have superb playback.

[Esperado]

looks like a screensaver. i bet this was mindblowing back then though. it actually blows my mind how we've gone from dos graphics to whatever the most mindblowing 3d game is today, in only 20 years. though, i guess thats kinda a long time. makes me feel a bit old, sorta. the music is good though

[Nase]

And yet we choose to go back to simpler and less than fotorealistic aesthetics all the time.

But yeah, that 2nd reality demo does look like a screensaver. I only put it on for the music.

[Esperado]

it would be a pretty epic screensaver if you could make it play the music when the screensaver goes off. i think we go back because its what we grew up on, and it just feels more classic to us. someday when we have VR helmets, kids of today will go" man, i remember the good old days of skyrim, when we didnt need vr graphics.... kids these days and their fancy helmets and their nanokrunkstep music..."

[Nase]

I share that broad relativistic view, but i think there is a little more to it than nostalgia specific to a generation.

game devs are more reflective on gaming's origins these days, and it shows in many games.

However you might think of the retro fad, i think it's all part of a valid effort to make people aware of the humble beginnings, the early gems, and how they can inspire modern design.

Skyrim is graphically interesting because its glossy fotorealism is very immersive.

A great looking old game like Another World is graphically interesting because it is plain fucking graphically interesting.

The severe limitations motivated very interesting artistic choices.

That kind of stuff will prove to be timeless imo.

[Esperado]

However you might think of the retro fad, i think it's all part of a valid effort to make people aware of the humble beginnings, the early gems, and how they can inspire modern design.

The severe limitations motivated very interesting artistic choices.

That kind of stuff will prove to be timeless imo.

i think thats why chiptune infused music is becoming more of a thing as well. inspiration from humble beginnings.

I think limitations also spark creativity more than having limitless options. you have to figure out ways to work around your limitations when you have theme, whereas youre just overwhelmed by it when there are none. not to mention, i think a current train of thought among alot of people is that there really are no limits to graphical advancements, so todays equivalent to yesterdays masterpeices, dont really impress people as much. In fact, on some level, i think people expect advancements like that in technology because of how often things get outdated these days.