V2.1	2023-10-21 - moved heavy2.ned to UNKNOWN
V2.0	2023-10-20 - added Rob Bryant, readme.txt updated
V1.0 	2023-10-19

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NED Archive for NerdTracker 2, an NES music tracker by Bananmos (Michel Iwaniec), and Retro (Niklas Svensrud)
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Music by Retro, Drew Coppess, Angelo Bellomo, Cadaver, chibi-tech, Damian Yerrick, Datschge, Gux, James Ternst, Matrixz, Memblers, Mr. DNA, Olenga, Rob Bryant, UNKNOWN ARTISTS and even more.. like known artists when I can't remember who made what, or misattributed artists when I mess up.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This compilation was assembled by Memblers.  As a long-time user of NerdTracker 2, I have kept a copy of every NT2 version and every NED file that anyone ever sent to me.  Unfortunately, I don't have email archives from the old days, so I don't always have a record of who made what.

If you are a former (current?..!) user of NT2, please dig out your NED files and send them over, or if you see any mistakes or missing info in the archive, contact Memblers at NESdev forum or at gmail.

I'm sorry for including everyone's unfinished and/or possibly embarrassing stuff.  For archival purposes, for my own included stuff, I have included everything, some files I may have worked on for as little as 10 seconds before abandoning.  If you see no music data in some particular NED file, it may be a template that contains DMC samples.


=======================
HOW TO USE THIS ARCHIVE
=======================

Open folder NT2_99_09
Run NT2.exe
Press CTRL+L to LOAD
Press the Right Shift key to PLAY and STOP

If a track is already playing when you load a new one, the new one often will begin playback at the wrong tempo.  After loading a new file, to play from the start you must either (if stopped) PLAY, or STOP and then PLAY.

Also note that some NED files might not set a tempo at the start.  In that case, you may need to quit and restart NT2 to play it at the default tempo (or add command F06 to the effect column yourself).  Otherwise, it will depend on the tempo of the previous NED you had loaded and playing.  If a track runs an F00 tempo stop command, you also need to quit and restart NT2.

If you wish to navigate the cursor between the various editors in the program, use the * key.  To enter the DMC sample table editor, press Left Shift+*.  Read NT2_99_09\NT2.ZIP\NT2.TXT for details about the editors.  CTRL+S to save, if you make something.

NerdTracker 2 is an MS-DOS program.  The music is in NT2's native NED format.  Thankfully, thefox has ported NT2 to SDL, allowing it to use Windows or OSX operating system's standard file selector interface.

If you wish to run the original version(s) of NT2, you can install and use DOSBox (not included), or you may use an IBM-PC compatible system with a Soundblaster.  The DOS versions are in ZIP files that you can PKUNZIP.  DOS4GW.EXE is required, and should be included in one of those ZIP files.  To open a NED file in the DOS versions of NT2, press CTRL+L and then type the filename.  It is not case-sensitive.  It is sensitive to users making a typo, as backspace is not accepted.  In that case you may get an "Apa!" message, and you must press CTRL+L to type it again correctly.

Earlier versions of NT2 are included.  The subdirectories contain NED files compatible only with the various NT2 versions that are in ZIP files within the same folders.

The oldest version of NT2 does not have audio emulation, or music playback.  Entering a note in the editor will play that tone on the PC speaker.  Pressing enter will create an .NES file and launch NESticle (included) to replay the music.

Another version is also included as NT2_99_09\NT2_Win32.exe.  It uses Windows fonts and will look very different depending on your system.  I can't find a reference for where I got it, but probably from Bananmos.  This predates thefox's port, and it had been useful to run on Windows XP, which had broken compatibility with DOS programs.


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HOW TO MAKE AN NSF FILE
=======================

Only some historical versions of the source code are included in this archive.  Head to the official NT2 website to download the newest replay engine source code.  Pressing the Enter key in NT2 creates 'temp.dat' and 'temp.ihd' files.  See NT2.txt for more information.
https://www.nesdev.org/nt2/
Versions of the replay22.asm file exist for a few assemblers: X816, ca65, and vasm.


===============
FURTHER READING
===============

Other documents found in this archive, a copy is included here for your convenience.

===================================================
chibi-tech's Nerdtracker II NED grab-bag collection
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Hi, chibi-tech here.

For the sake of historical purposes, here is a mostly-complete collection of my
Nerdtracker (NT2) NED music files (at least what I could find from one of my
old hard drives) -- dating from 2002 to 2008.

This includes templates and WIP files of varying levels of progress 
(considering how arduous it was to make complex songs I personally deem 
acceptable, the progress is often only 1-2 patterns, lol).

I haven't bothered checking for redundant files or whatnot; composing in a
tracker originally meant for MS-DOS without any file explorer features does
get messy, and it's up to you to rummage through my mess. :)


Although i might've made some mistakes since I only briefly checked the songs,
the NED files are separated by:

1. "dual NTSC-PAL" compliant songs -- which play reasonably fine on the
   original Nerdtracker v2.1 NT2.EXE MS-DOS program, and, as the name suggests,
   play fine on either PAL or NTSC modes (though the timing MIGHT sound
   ever-so-slightly off on NTSC mode due to the frame-skipping method used).

2. "NTSC-only" songs -- which are meant for a special kind of replay code that
   omits any NTSC-specific frame-skipping features. These songs will play ~17%
   slower than intended on the original unmodified NT2.EXE -- and are
   technically not meant for PAL playback.


There are a few sets of NED songs intended for special kinds of replay codes
that swap sequentially between multiple exported data as playback reaches
certain specified pattern number(s) specified directly in the code:

1. SYOTA1.NED -> SYOTA2.NED
2. IYOU1.NED -> IYOU2.NED - IYOU3.NED

The hacked replay codes intended for these sets of songs were done by Joe
Parsell (Memblers). I gotta thank him immensely for having patience with my
wonky feature requests over those golden years. :)


Anyway, hope you guys enjoy a little bit of chibi-tech history, and I sincerely
hope you learn something from them.


lates,
chibitech.nanjamonja.com
chibitech.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/chibitech

(c) 2002-2019 chibi-tech, all rights reserved.