Hello everyone, HVSC Update #40 is now available for you to download at www.hvsc.c64.org After this update, the collection should contain 27,653 SID files! This update features (all approximates): 563 new SIDs 724 fixed/better rips 2 fixes of PlaySID/Sidplay1 specific SIDs 10 repeats/bad rips eliminated 323 SID credit fixes 152 SID model/clock infos 27 tunes moved out of /DEMOS to their composers' directories 15 tunes from /DEMOS/UNKNOWN identified :-) (and two go back due to bad credits) 12 tunes moved out of /GAMES to their composers' directories (and one goes back due to bad credits) Main Composers featured in this update: (Artists marked with NEW! are either completely new to the HVSC or they get their own directory in this update) Deek James Hilthy (NEW!) Kathy and Kidd Clark (NEW!) Henning Rokling John Vanderaart Agemixer Alien Richard Bayliss Glenn Rune Gallefoss Ciaran CMP (NEW!) ELA G-Fellow Harmony Productions Hein Holt John Keding Sascha Zeidler (Linus) (NEW!) Lordnikon Maktone Murdock Nadira Ne7 (NEW!) Richard Nygaard (NEW!) Puterman Reed (NEW!) Scortia Tango Jeremy Thorne (NEW!) Asterion Zeus So what is new about this update? o We've got the music compo entries from the following parties in this pack: LCP 04, North Party 9, Assembly 04, Primary Star 04 and Solskogen 04 o The mega hyped Turrican 3 soundtrack is of course also in this update, check out /VARIOUS/S-Z/Sonic/Turrican_3.sid And head over to www.smash-designs.de and drop a mail to AEG and express your interest in Katakis 2, which, if all goes well, will be coproduced by ye ole master Manfred Trenz again! o This update contains about 500 multi speed fixes. Due to an incorrect assumption regarding the number of cycles per frame (the C64 has $4CC7 and not $4CF9 cycles per frame, due to running at 50.125Hz instead of 50Hz) most of the multi speed tunes that you will find in HVSC were played a little slower than intended after converting them to play via the CIA timer. Also we removed some completely unnecessary cycle eating $DC0E writes, which caused a larger slowdown than the mere $22 cycles difference mentioned above. Although a 0.2% speed difference may not sound much in audible terms, some tunes do require very precise timing to get the instruments to sound correct, and so we felt it would be best to fix them all in one big effort in this update. Do note that we haven't fixed all the old game tunes yet, as some native CIA timed tunes were indeed made to be played at exactly 50 Hz instead of 50.125 Hz and those will be fixed as necessary. o We divided the update in a /fix and /new section. This makes it easier for us to keep track of the update during its creation and it's at the same time more convenient for you to listen through the update pack, so you can avoid the fixes and concentrate on the new tunes only (we assume that's your prime reason you update your collection regularly, to get new SIDs to listen to). :-) Of course, listening to the /fix section might be interesting to some of you as well, as it almost exclusively contains multispeed tunes! :-) o A brand new version of the best-looking SIDplayer out there has been released lately, SIDPLAY/MAC v3.3! Andreas added some cool new features such as Hardsid support, improved GUI, better filter control, mixer and composers photo display via the composers.c64.org website. Of course the core engine has been upgraded to the latest reSID and libsidplay2 components and a lot of bugs have been fixed. Upgrade now! http://www.sidmusic.org/sidplay/mac/ o C64Audio.com has launched a C64 poly ringtones site: currently in preview mode (with previews recorded directly from my Motorola V525), it will eventually feature hundreds of SID ringtones in most formats. There's even a free test ringtone (Wizball Game Over Guitar Solo) to test your phone out! http://www.c64ringtones.com Keep an eye on the site for when the ringtones finally go on sale, and if you like what you hear, support C64Audio.com through the tough times following the fairly large loss of money on the last two Back in Time Lives... o New versions of Vice 1.15 and a new CCS64 3.0 beta 1.4 have been released. Always worth upgrading to the latest state-of-the-art emulators, if you ask me: www.viceteam.org www.ccs64.com o A both astounding an unusual tool for the PC was released lately, a SID replayer aimed at the unmodified Atari XL/XE platform: The SID tunes are converted to the Atari format on the PC, then they can be played back on any stock Atari XL/XE! Considered the low processing power and the rather weak music capabilities of the Atari compared to the SID chip, this is an outstanding achievement. Laust Brock-Nannestadt has made a recording from his Atari with an earlier version of this tool, check it out and get stunned: http://gallium.prg.dtu.dk/~lbn/Cadaver_-_Illumination_-_Atari_XL_(sidemu).ogg Version 0.97 of this fabulous tool can be found here: http://www.atari.sk/download/sidplayer097.zip Seeya all next update, folks! Steppe (on behalf of the whole HVSC crew) PS: Where have these interesting BEST OF UPDATE XX lists gone? Head over to hvsc@yahoogroups.com and pick up this old habit of telling us your favourite SIDs from this update! :-)