Is it possible to merge two sound drivers together?

I was wondering, if it was possible to merge two sound drivers together. Didn't understand? Well, I will explain. What i basically mean is something like you're playing GEMS songs, while the sound effects sound SMPS-ish. Is this possible? Please, clear this question from my head!!!

 

I'm not 100% sure but since both drivers are Z80 i guess you can't use them parallel until you're write a custom driver that emulates / does both.


The only idea I have would be recording both versions, mix them together and save them as *.wav for using in drx'es player / driver (http://www.hacking-cult.org/?r/18/87).


Well, I'm sure the other know it better or can maybe make one =3

 

Why you would want to do this is completely beyond me. Why would you want to do this? Just use SMPS on its own and import whatever music you actually want in the game. It feels like the only reason you want the GEMS engine is for the sake of using the GEMS engine... and that's pretty fucking lame, dude.


The only way I could think of this working is if one driver ran on the 68k while the other ran on the Z80. But seriously, give me a break! I can't think of anything more wasteful and redundant.

 

Heeeey, I didn't exactly want to do this. I just wanted to know if it was possible. Didn't want to steal any of your ideas either. And GEMS was just an example, if I would do that, i would probably use Socket's driver or from other game instead.


EDIT: Missed a S on "wa(S)"

 

Maybe you could record the effects and use them as DAC samples while playing with the Socket driver...

 

Wish I could talk to people on here however I wanted. Must be nice~

 

The trick is to surround the inflammatory remarks with proof that you have the technical knowhow to warrant them.


Not that I particularly approve mind you.

 

Yes, it is possible to have two sound drivers running simultaneously, not to say it's an easy, clever or productive thing to do. Infact, most people who understand the nature of the Megadrive/Genesis will agree that it's a counterproductive practice, and not one worth attempting, a proof of concept might work for this, but that's about the only reason I can think of worth contributing for.


The question is why, but the chance of anyone having a decent answer is very slim.

 

Maybe I misunderstood the question, but "merging" two sound drivers is a different process, like trying to keep only the best of both. In Deoxyskyogre's example, it's about keeping the notation system from one and the sound synthesis system of another.


In this example, it would be the notation from GEMS and the sound synthesis of SMPS.


I know little about the sound drivers, but excepted for possible size matters, it should be possible as well.

 

With the case of GEMS and SMPS, I'm sure it's possible. The SMPS in Sonic 1 only uses the Z80 for DAC, whereas GEMS is entirely Z80 based, So, if the Z80 driver for GEMS is loaded, SMPS playback is still possible, providing that DAC is not used in any of the played tracks (Sound effects, should be fine).


With a setup like this, it *SHOULD* be possible to use GEMS for music, on the Z80, and SMPS for sound effects. However, I expect there would be issues if both sound drivers tried to access the Z80 bus at once (For the YM2612), so you may have to work out some kind of priority system, which would most likely require various edits to both SMPS and GEMS' sound playback code.

 

It is possible, though it will be pretty complicated doing so.


Maybe try to convert your GEMS songs to SMPS somehow.


Also try to change the instruments in the output to your suiting.