The vt_sound project provides a C API for Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128/+2/+3/Next for using the Vortex Tracker II (VT) player. The API is a thin C wrapper on top of the VT player PT3PROM.asm. The VT player supports playing of Pro Tracker 3.x (PT3) modules on the AY-3-8912 sound chip.
The file PT3PROM.asm has been adapted to the z80asm assembler in z88dk and is based on the file PT3Play/ROM/PT3PROM.asm in http://bulba.untergrund.net/PTxTools.7z, which uses the SjASM assembler syntax. The code section can be executed from RAM or ROM, contains no self-modifying code, and can be assembled at any address. The data section contains the variables and self-modifying code and can be located at any address in RAM.
The demo folder contains a simple example program demonstrating how to use this API.
The latest version of this API can be downloaded here. This download contains the following header files and libraries:
- vt_sound/include/vt_sound.h
- vt_sound/lib/sccz80/vt_sound.lib
- vt_sound/lib/sdcc_ix/vt_sound.lib
- vt_sound/lib/sdcc_iy/vt_sound.lib
If you want to build the vt_sound libraries yourself, see the "How to Build" section below.
The vt_sound API is documented in the following header file:
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Download vt_sound.zip and unpack it in a suitable place. It contains the files listed in the "Download" section above.
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Install the latest version of z88dk and a Sinclair ZX Spectrum emulator with AY-3-8912 sound chip support, e.g. ZEsarUX. If you want to compose PT3 modules or convert other module formats to PT3, install the Vortex Tracker II music editor.
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If the module to be played is a PT3 module, it can be played directly by the VT player. If the module is not a PT3 module but a module in another format supported by Vortex Tracker II, open the module in Vortex Tracker II and save it as a PT3 module.
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Create an assembler source file for loading the PT3 module(s). Define a read-only data section and load the PT3 module(s) using the BINARY directive. Associate each PT3 module with a public label starting with an underscore, e.g. _music_module.
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Make the PT3 module(s) available to your C program by declaring external references to their public labels (but without the leading underscore) as created in step 4 above, e.g. "extern uint8_t music_module[];".
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Include vt_sound.h and call vt_init(<module_address>) to initialize the VT player with the specified module.
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Call vt_play() each 1/50 second or install the vt_play_isr() function as an IM2 interrupt service routine. The module will now start playing in the background.
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Compile your program with z88dk and link it with the appropriate version of vt_sound.lib.
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Run your program in a Sinclair ZX Spectrum emulator with AY-3-8912 sound chip support.
Tip: See the demo folder for a simple example of how to use vt_sound.h and link with vt_sound.lib.
Tip: If you copy the vt_sound header files and libraries into the following directories in z88dk, the z88dk compiler will automatically find them without the need for setting up any include and library paths:
- z88dk/include/_DEVELOPMENT/sccz80/
- z88dk/include/_DEVELOPMENT/sdcc/
- z88dk/libsrc/_DEVELOPMENT/lib/sccz80/
- z88dk/libsrc/_DEVELOPMENT/lib/sdcc_ix/
- z88dk/libsrc/_DEVELOPMENT/lib/sdcc_iy/
If you want to build the vt_sound libraries yourself, follow the steps below:
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On Windows, you need MinGW, UnxUtils or Cygwin for the basic Unix commands. Add the chosen set of Unix commands to your path.
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Install the latest version of z88dk and add it to your path.
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Download the vt_sound repository either as a ZIP archive using the "Clone or download" button at the top of this page or with Git using the following command:
git clone https://github.com/stefanbylund/vt_sound.git
- Go to the vt_sound repository and enter the following command:
make all
This software is licensed under the terms of the MIT license.
The Vortex Tracker II player in the file PT3PROM.asm is copyright (C) 2004-2007 by Sergey Bulba (http://bulba.untergrund.net/).