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Author Topic: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…  (Read 4188 times)

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JBDash99

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Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« on: February 09, 2024, 01:49:38 »

Hello! I’ve been on the hunt for a few modules from this old GBA homebrew game from 2005 called “GEMini”, it’s a really fun match-3 game like Bejeweled, but what really makes it stand out is it’s soundtrack, which I believe is full of old modules that the dev got from here…I got into contact with the dev about a half a decade ago about this topic, but it ultimately ended up going nowhere, so I’m hoping someone here can point me in the right direction here.

Here’s a list of the songs in question, recorded from the game via an emulator:

Track 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LlU54fiImlpspWVbety4ZBcVQZ2XQpHb/view?usp=drivesdk

Track 2
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jBkCLWtU--16QWNOEgB3hEQVrX3jmcPQ/view?usp=drivesdk

Track 3
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kH-4Z_8arRNWRaNHtDLsFkXYI7o9NUbw/view?usp=drivesdk

Track 4 (Ignore the “Level Up” voice at the beginning, that’s just part of the game)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d9H7_do5mwztBt0zj_RgDQWycTFdEmOT/view?usp=drivesdk
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Nikku4211

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2024, 02:53:13 »

Have you tried ripping them directly from the ROM itself?
If they're compressed, another thing to try is to check if they're in RAM.
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JBDash99

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2024, 02:59:48 »

Have you tried ripping them directly from the ROM itself?
If they're compressed, another thing to try is to check if they're in RAM.

I haven’t, I really don’t have the tools or knowledge for ripping stuff, nor do I really know how to check RAM for an audio file unfortunately.  :-\
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Nikku4211

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2024, 03:52:37 »

You can use a hex editor like HxD to check the ROM for any magic numbers like 'CHN' or 'M.K.', and emulators like mGBA come with memory editors that can dump RAM at a given moment.
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JBDash99

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2024, 22:53:57 »

You can use a hex editor like HxD to check the ROM for any magic numbers like 'CHN' or 'M.K.', and emulators like mGBA come with memory editors that can dump RAM at a given moment.

Unfortunately, I’m not getting any results searching for CHN or M.K. when I open the game in HxD. I’ve also searched for “.mod” and “.xm” and found nothing…so I’m not sure what to do…this hex stuff is a foreign language to me I’m afraid  ???
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looper231

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2024, 23:13:39 »

I've been meaning to ask this.

by saying "believe it's full of modules the dev got from here", are you 100% sure the tunes were genuine trackers?
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JBDash99

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2024, 23:28:48 »

I've been meaning to ask this.

by saying "believe it's full of modules the dev got from here", are you 100% sure the tunes were genuine trackers?

I believe so, when I was last in contact with the dev, they did indeed say they used mods for the music, One of the songs the game uses, (not one I have listed above) is called “RISE - Combustion 4”, which is keygen music, and can be found on YouTube here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sUSRzW6dy_A

..though I can’t seem to find that song when searching for it on the archive, so that’s kinda confusing me.
« Last Edit: February 09, 2024, 23:34:13 by JBDash99 »
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m0d

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2024, 00:41:28 »

I just want to chip in and mention that the dev is probably covering his ass here by not being 100% openly clear with you- because this use of modules without actual permission from the creators (which seems likely the case) can and will likely leave him open to potential legal issues in the future, this may have been a commercially released "homebrew" game.

 So he will be a) obfuscating information, b) not telling quite exact truth in emails to you and c) avoiding further contact with you and others seeking the originals.

« Last Edit: February 10, 2024, 00:43:11 by m0d »
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Axxy

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2024, 11:39:11 »

I checked out the file with various ripping software but it found nothing, but looking through the file you can see what looks somewhat like sample data, so maybe compressed or encrypted. IS there a Dosbox type util/emul for GBA stuff on PC?

I read in one of the readme' that the music was from MA (modules) and included the message he tried to contact all original authors but not all, and if anyone recognised their tunes to drop a line and he would remove/replace it if they didn't want their music used.

He also mentioned that the full credits (including the music) would be added to a full or final release, so no idea if that happened...
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JBDash99

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Re: Trying to find modules used in an old GBA homebrew game…
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2024, 19:14:50 »

I checked out the file with various ripping software but it found nothing, but looking through the file you can see what looks somewhat like sample data, so maybe compressed or encrypted. IS there a Dosbox type util/emul for GBA stuff on PC?

I read in one of the readme' that the music was from MA (modules) and included the message he tried to contact all original authors but not all, and if anyone recognised their tunes to drop a line and he would remove/replace it if they didn't want their music used.

He also mentioned that the full credits (including the music) would be added to a full or final release, so no idea if that happened...

Yeah, I read the readme too, as far as I know, 1.0 is the only release of the game, I don’t think a full version ever happened…and if it did then there’s no information about it online.

I know the game uses something called the MASO sound system, which from what I can gather, is a MOD player for the GBA, so that along with what he says in the readme, tells me that they were definitely legitimate modules…I’m just wondering now if said mods have been archived here or not…does anyone here recognize any of the tracks?
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