Soundstrad v2.0: Digitized Sound Tool for the Amstrad CPC

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Soundstrad v2.0 is a major update to the utility for creating digitized sound files for the Amstrad CPC. This version introduces improved sample compression and a new memory management system, making it easier than ever to add high-quality PCM audio to your CPC programs and games.

What's New in Soundstrad v2.0?

Twice the Sample Length

Soundstrad now stores two 4-bit audio samples in a single byte. The samples are decompressed in real time during playback, effectively doubling the maximum sound duration that can be loaded into memory without increasing RAM usage.

Two Sample Storage Modes

Soundstrad v2.0 introduces two storage modes to suit different applications:

• Mode 1 allows multiple long digitized sound samples to be stored on a disk image. Each sample can be up to 104,854 bytes, but only one sample is loaded into memory at a time. This mode is ideal for long speech clips, music, or narration and is compatible with the workflow used in previous versions.
• Mode 2 is new in Soundstrad v2.0. It allows multiple sound effects to be loaded into memory simultaneously, provided their combined size does not exceed 104,854 bytes. Since all samples remain resident in memory, they can be replayed instantly without any disk loading delay. This makes Mode 2 particularly well suited for Amstrad CPC game development, where sound effects such as explosions, jumps, or weapon sounds must be triggered at any moment.

You can either:

• Download the source here: Soundstrad.cpp
  
  • To compile the file with Linux (I love Linux), simply type: g++ -o Soundstrad Soundstrad.cpp
  • To compile the file with Windows (I hate Windows), you can install a free compiler (such as DevC++).
• If you are a Windows user (why?) and don't want to compile it (why???), you can download the executable for Windows here: Soundstrad.exe
  However some anti-virus software might wrongly claim that it is a virus (I hate Windows).

In all cases, run the program in command line. The program has been successfully tested with Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Example

You may want to download this example of a DSK file that was created with Soundstrad v2.0 and and which contains 9 high-quality sound effects.

Watch the tutorial below:

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