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Development overview

Saturn's sound system is a multiphonic sound source with a maximum of 32 polyphonic sounds produced by the target board itself so that it can be easily developed without the knowledge of programs such as assemblers. It is built as
If tone bank data is created with a dedicated tone editor that is similar to a commercially available synthesizer tone editor, sound development can be performed using a normal MIDI sequencer to compose DTM (desktop music). Furthermore, effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, etc. like a commercially available digital multi-effector can be linked freely (within the memory) by the DSP linker. With the mixer function of the Tone Editor, you can set the amount and type of DSP effects as well as the level and localization for each tone in the tone bank data. Audio sampling can also be performed directly from the target board's digital input on the Macintosh for waveform editing, enabling efficient development.

■ General procedure for sound development

1.Starting the tool

First, start the sound simulator. If necessary, it is convenient to start the tone editor, waveform editor, DSP linker, and sequencer at the same time.

2.Sound memory mapping

When developing sound, first start the sound simulator, set the sound memory mapping, and transfer the 68000 sound driver program to the target board. It is convenient to create a sound area map in advance, but you can add or change it as needed.

3. Production of tone bank data
Tone bank data is created with a tone editor. A sound library will be supplied from Sega.
Tone bank data is a collection of four types of data: mixer, voice, layer, and waveform, and constitutes an independent tone (see “Tone Bank Data Structure” on page 7). Since the voice corresponds to the program change in MIDI, you can have up to 128 voices in one bank. Therefore, up to 128 instruments can be leveled with a single tone bank data.
Transfer the tone bank data to the sound simulator target board. At this stage, it will function as a multi-tone generator that can be sounded by MIDI input. The key pronunciation method is DVA (prior arrival). You can edit timbres, timbre levels, panning, etc., and save multiple timbre bank data.

4. Waveform editing

When you want to edit the waveform itself that will be the basis for editing the sound, start the waveform editor and sample and edit the waveform.

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