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Impact Soundworks | Super Audio Cart 2 Development Progress

Kent

Kent

sleepy member
I'm sure by now you've seen the wizardry that @Sarah Mancuso is doing for the upcoming Tokyo Scoring Strings 2.0. This community's reactions have been very gratifying and affirming, and I'd like to thank you all for them :emoji_blush:

That's not the only '2.0' fun we've got planned for 2024, though!

Super Audio Cart 2​

If you've been paying attention to our Discord, we've been simultaneously working on Super Audio Cart 2, an update-sequel which truly takes our original Super Audio Cart to the next generation: a completely new engine, a completely new UI, and the addition of a number of new consoles—especially from the 5th generation of video game consoles, such as the Nintendo 64 and the Sony PlayStation.

The core of SAC2 is the IFL (the 'Impact Factory Library'). This is basically a full General MIDI soundset (with alternates) that doesn't sound like any particular game but sounds like it could have been from any given game from that era. You can think of the IFL as a standard SDK soundset for a given console, with production exactly matching the vibe and tech specs of what you'd find on the original hardware.

In producing these sounds, I've found that the best way to test out whether they're working as I expect them to is to throw them into an existing MIDI sequence of a contemporaneous soundtrack, so even if the envelopes, modulations, and reverbs aren't hardware-accurate yet (though they will be soon...more on that later!), I can still get a sense for whether the sounds 'work'.

Here are some of those quick and dirty 'pre-pre-Alphas' for Super Audio Cart 2:

N64

GoldenEye 007 - Watch Menu
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_GoldenEye_007_-_Watch_Menu_231112.mp3

Mario Kart 64 - Koopa Troopa Beach
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Mario_Kart_64_-_Koopa_Troopa_Beach_231120.mp3

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - House
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Ocarina_of_Time_-_House_231112.mp3

Super Smash Bros. - Sector Z
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Smash_Bros_-_Sector_Z_231112.mp3

Super Mario 64 - Snow Mountain
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Super_Mario_64_-_Snow_Mountain_231114.mp3

continued...
Click to read more...
 
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and now for perhaps my current favorite set of these...

What if Kingdom Hearts had been released in the late 90s on the original PlayStation? Now we know:


Kingdom Hearts '97

kh97.jpg ​
(If anyone knows the credit for this image, please let me know! It's awesome.)

Title Screen (Dearly Beloved)
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Kingdom_Hearts_-_Title_Screen_Dearly_Beloved_231116.mp3

This Is Halloween
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Kingdom_Hearts_-_This_Is_Halloween_231116.mp3

Hollow Bastion
View attachment IFL_DEMO_-_Kingdom_Hearts_-_Hollow_Bastion_231116.mp3
 
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I have had the current version in my cart and changed my mind at the last minute more times than I can count (or explain). This will doubtlessly put me over my past indecision.
 
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I have no knowledge of these games and no nostalgia for any video game music from the last millennium. And yet, I really admire the simple beauty of these sounds. Great work!
 
I'm the opposite, haha- knowledge, nostalgia and a long history with many of these....but I have absolutely no proper use for these sounds and it bugs me to hell and back!

That being said though, I have SAC1 and will absolutely update to 2, but if there was any justice in the world, I'd get a project on my desk where these sounds could be utilized!!!!111
 
Keep in mind this is just the authentic side of the library on display :) The original Super Audio Cart had many hundreds of "Modern" presets which used the synth engine to create totally new sounds: textures, arps, poly synths, leads, basses, etc.

SAC2 will take that to a whole new level. The sound design possibilities that our designers have to work with will be nothing short of epic, particularly with the new arpeggiator, mod matrix (which legitimately rivals synths like Omnisphere in how powerful it is) and modular FX rack.

There will be over 1500 sound sources total, with 4 layers, each of which has totally independent envelopes, filters, arp/gate/rhythmic sequencers, and sound control, so it's going to be something special.
 
Andrew Aversa said:
Keep in mind this is just the authentic side of the library on display :) The original Super Audio Cart had many hundreds of "Modern" presets which used the synth engine to create totally new sounds: textures, arps, poly synths, leads, basses, etc.

SAC2 will take that to a whole new level. The sound design possibilities that our designers have to work with will be nothing short of epic, particularly with the new arpeggiator, mod matrix (which legitimately rivals synths like Omnisphere in how powerful it is) and modular FX rack.

There will be over 1500 sound sources total, with 4 layers, each of which has totally independent envelopes, filters, arp/gate/rhythmic sequencers, and sound control, so it's going to be something special.
Click to expand...
@Andrew Aversa any indication for a release date? Very interested in upgrading v1.
 
Unsurprisingly, Hollow Bastion still sounds absolutely incredible when done in the PSX style. Maybe even better than the original version 😍

I just know that the second I sit down with this and start playing Melodies of Life or The Place I'll Return to Someday from FFIX I'll immediately start crying AND I CAN'T WAIT
 
Sophus said:
Are there some drum and bass or jungle examples, styles which were omnipresent during that time in video game soundtracks?
Click to expand...
The melodic elements will be available. The percussion is a different story. I'm very fond of this style and thinking about the best way to offer it - it may be a "Special Reserves" library offering for example, DNB breaks and such, that is bundled with SAC2.
 
I can't wait for this and have been waiting since the day it was announced! Not only this makes me nostalgic as I grew up with a Playstation being my first console, but I also have a project right around the corner (I've in fact started sketching things for it since yesterday already) for which SAC2 would be absolutely ideal... What a coincidence that Impact Soundworks decided to work on this, of all things.

I've read that they will be an offer for those who already have SAC1 (which is super generous!) but even without this, it would have been a day-1 purchase as the product would pretty much pay for itself.
Very lovely 'pre-pre-Alphas' demos btw, can't wait to hear more and for it to be released. :)
 
Kent said:
The core of SAC2 is the IFL (the 'Impact Factory Library'). This is basically a full General MIDI soundset (with alternates) that doesn't sound like any particular game but sounds like it could have been from any given game from that era. You can think of the IFL as a standard SDK soundset for a given console, with production exactly matching the vibe and tech specs of what you'd find on the original hardware.

In producing these sounds, I've found that the best way to test out whether they're working as I expect them to is to throw them into an existing MIDI sequence of a contemporaneous soundtrack, so even if the envelopes, modulations, and reverbs aren't hardware-accurate yet (though they will be soon...more on that later!), I can still get a sense for whether the sounds 'work'.
Click to expand...
Returning to N64land, here are a few more of these quick and dirty demos for y'all, sequenced by @Jared Le Doux !

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Clock Town
View attachment IFL DEMO - Majoras Mask - Clock Town 231212.mp3

Super Mario 64 - Slider
View attachment IFL DEMO - Mario 64 - Slider 231206.mp3

F-Zero X - Mute City
View attachment IFL DEMO - F-Zero X - Mute City 231207.mp3
* in the interest of clarity, I should note that since we don't currently have mods or fx implemented, but that phasey sound is so key to this particular track, Jared used PhaseMistress to achieve the effect.
 
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Kent said:
Returning to N64land, here are a few more of these quick and dirty demos for y'all, sequenced by @Jared Le Doux !

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Clock Town
View attachment IFL DEMO - Majoras Mask - Clock Town 231212.mp3

Super Mario 64 - Slider
View attachment IFL DEMO - Mario 64 - Slider 231206.mp3

F-Zero X - Mute City
View attachment IFL DEMO - F-Zero X - Mute City 231207.mp3
* in the interest of clarity, I should note that since we don't currently have mods or fx implemented, but that phasey sound is so key to this particular track, Jared used PhaseMistress to achieve the effect.
Click to expand...
Sorry if I sound a bit like a fanboy, but I think the best usage of the N64 CPU for making music (it had no dedicated sound chip) came from Castlevania 64 and its "Director's Cut" Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.

Prologue. The reverb in that timpani wasn't baked in the sample, but simulated in real time in the console.
View attachment 004 Prologue.mp3

Dungeon - Castle Center. Just love the way it uses both loops (shaker, sleight bells, tabla, udu) with multisampled (by the time) instruments.
View attachment 045 Castle Center.mp3

Annex - Silent Madness. Good usage of their pseudo-midi protocol to implement modulation, just changing the volume of the sample and, in the case of the low strings starting at 0:17, applying a low pass filter that slowly opens.
View attachment 019 Annex - Silent Madness.mp3
 
I have a particular big project that literally needs to sound like a 5th generation console falling in to my lap in the next couple months... Any idea on the release window? I would love to make this the work horse of the soundtrack.
 
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