Re: Phasor/mockingboard emulator for GS Ensoniq!

[spector@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article tolsen@netcom.com (Terry R. Olsen) writes...
>
>Mitchell Spector (spector@vax2.concordia.ca) wrote:
>: 	As the title implies, yes, I have here a Phasor music/sound card
>: software emulator for the Apple IIgs! At this moment it can directly play
>: song files that were accompanied with Applied Engineering's Phasor card. 
> 
>Are you speaking about the ALF Music Player?  It has a black screen with 
>horizontal lines and lo-res dots as the music is playing???  I have this 
>thing and it's not a Dr. Tom hacked up one either.

	No, this player (written under AppleSoft) displays a static
Super-Hi-Res screen image. It came from MDIdeas as some sort of demo
to show off the SuperSonic stereo card, then Dr.Tom somehow got hold 
of it and passed it off as his own work. What few people knew (if any)
is it is a Phasor song player that requires no extra hardware -- emulates
an Applied Engineering Phasor card using the GS's Ensoniq 5503 chip.

	The ALF music player you described sounds identical to the music
player shipped with the AE Phasor card. ALF files can be converted and
played back through the Phasor music player, which in turn will let you
play them on a IIgs with the MDIdeas emulator. I don't think this was
ever offically finished or released, anyone who bought a MDIdeas' 
SuperSonic stereo card will recall it came shipped with the "Music
Construction Set: Dealer Demo" disk -- not a XMAS song jubebox.

	Here's an idea though: Why not patch the low-res AE Phasor player
to work with the IIGS MDIdeas one? (watch the animated low-res display rather
than a static screen). Both are written under AppleSoft BASIC and shouldn't
be too difficult to patch. What I really want to see is this MDIdeas program
expanded into a full-blown Phasor emulator for all those old DOS 3.3 games.
You'd have to add support hooks for _each_ program out there, but it could
still be done. I'd like to see "Ultima V" done first! :)

Mitchell Spector
sb_spec@pavo.concordia.ca / spector@vax2.concordia.ca