Difference between revisions of "Ocean Loaders (C64)"

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{{Infobox Game
 
{{Infobox Game
| Title           = Ocean Loaders
+
| Title     = Ocean Loaders
| BoxArt         = NoBox.png
+
| BoxArt   = NoBox.png
| PlatformName    = Commodore 64
+
| Platform  = [[Commodore 64]]
| PlatformPage    = Commodore 64
+
| Year     = 1985
| Year           = 1985
+
| Developer = {{Developer|Ocean Software|Ocean Software Ltd.}}
| DeveloperName  = Ocean Software Ltd.
 
| DeveloperPage  = Ocean Software
 
| Amazon          =
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
Any fan of the Commodore 64 has probably heard a couple, if not all, of the '''''Ocean Loaders'''''. Back in the 1980s it took several minutes to load a Commodore 64 cassette tape. That's a long wait to sit around and do nothing for a kid hopped up on sugar. [[Ocean Software]] wisely made use of this downtime by adding a full screen loading graphic to look at and some catchy loading music to listen to. Back in 1985, [[Martin Galway]] (the primary composer of Ocean at the time) had intended to write unique loading music for every game released. He and [[David Dunn]] wrote a loader for [[Daley Thompson's Decathlon (C64)]] and Galway wrote another for Hyper Sports. However, Ocean was able to put out games at a faster rate, and frivolous additions like loading music weren't important enough to delay release dates. Because of this, many games use the same loading music.
+
Any fan of the Commodore 64 has probably heard a couple, if not all, of the '''''Ocean Loaders'''''. Back in the 1980s it took several minutes to load a Commodore 64 cassette tape. That's a long wait to sit around and do nothing for a kid hopped up on sugar. [[Ocean Software]] wisely made use of this downtime by adding a full screen loading graphic to look at and some catchy loading music to listen to. Back in 1985, [[Martin Galway]] (the primary composer of Ocean at the time) had intended to write unique loading music for every game released. He wrote a loader tune for [[Daley Thompson's Decathlon (C64)]] and another for Hyper Sports. However, Ocean was able to put out games at a faster rate, and frivolous additions like loading music weren't important enough to delay release dates. Because of this, many games use the same loading music.
  
 
==Screenshots==
 
==Screenshots==
 +
{| align="center" |
 +
|
 +
{{Screenshot
 +
| Image      = Wizball - C64 - 1.png
 +
| Description = [[Wizball (C64)]] was among the games utilizing [[Ocean Loader 1]].}}
 +
{{Screenshot
 +
| Image      = Highlander-C64-Title.png
 +
| Description = [[Highlander (C64)]] serves here as an example of [[Ocean Loader 2]] placement.}}
 +
{{Screenshot
 +
| Image      = Double Take - C64 - Loader.png
 +
| Description = [[Double Take (C64)]] is yet another game that uses Ocean Loader 2.}}
 +
{{Screenshot
 +
| Image      = RoboCop - C64 - Title.png
 +
| Description = [[RoboCop (C64)]] using [[Ocean Loader 4]].}}
 +
|}
 +
 
{{Issue Screenshots}}
 
{{Issue Screenshots}}
 +
 +
 +
==Loader==
 +
 +
''Ocean Loader 1'' can be found on:
 +
 +
    The Addams Family
 +
    Adidas Soccer
 +
    Cool World
 +
    Hook
 +
    Hudson Hawk
 +
    Midnight Resistance
 +
    SlySpy
 +
    WWF Wrestlemania
 +
 +
 +
 +
''Ocean Loader 2'' can be found on:
 +
    Klax
 +
    Shadow Warriors
 +
 +
 +
''Ocean Loader 3'' can be found on:
 +
 +
    Green Beret
 +
    Miami Vice
 +
    Mikie
 +
    Parallax
 +
    Ping-Pong
 +
    Rambo
 +
    Arkanoid,
 +
    The Great Escape
 +
    Head Over Heels
 +
    Hypersports
 +
    Mutants
 +
    Short Circuit
 +
    Top Gun
 +
    etc..
 +
 +
  
 
==Music==
 
==Music==
Although there are as many as 11 loader tunes created for Ocean games, only five of the are widely accepted as true loader music. These five were used on several games, where the others were only used once or twice.
+
Although there are as many as 11 loader tunes created for Ocean games, only five of them are widely accepted as true loader music. These five were used on several games, where the others were only used once or twice.
  
''Ocean Loader 1'' was composed by [[Martin Galway]] and was first used on [[Hyper Sports (C64)]] in 1985. It was not the first Ocean game to feature loading music, but this was the first loader song to become popular. At about 2:03 there is a strange 4 beat gap in one track of the music. Although Galway intended the gap to be there, many listeners of the day assumed that there was a bug in the music, which is probably what led Galway to remix the tune.
+
''Ocean Loader 1'' was composed by [[Martin Galway]] and was first used on [[Hyper Sports (C64)]] in 1985. It was not the first Ocean game to feature loading music, but this was the first loader song to become popular. At about 2:03 there is a strange 4 beat gap in one track of the music. Although Galway intended the gap to be there, many listeners of the day assumed that there was a bug in the music, which may be what led Galway to remix the tune.
  
''Ocean Loader 2'' is Galway's remix of his Ocean Loader 1 and was first used in the game [[Comic Bakery (C64)]] in 1985. It's sounds similar to Loader 1, but there are several changes. Most notably is that it's slower and the 4 beat gap has been removed. This loader is the most used of all five loaders being in almost every game that Ocean released from late-1985 to mid-1987.
+
''Ocean Loader 2'' is Galway's remix of his Ocean Loader 1 and was first used in the game [[Comic Bakery (C64)]] in 1985. It sounds similar to Loader 1, but there are several changes. Most notably is that it's slower and the 4 beat gap has been removed. This loader is the most used of all five loaders being in almost every game that Ocean released from late 1985 to mid-1987.
  
''Ocean Loader 3'' was composed by [[Peter Clarke]]. It was first used on [[Slap Fight (C64)]] in 1987. It cleverly begins the same as the first two loaders and then quickly changes into a completely different sound. Those who were familiar with Galway's loaders were no doubt excited to be tricked by the new one. This music was used for about a year from mid-1987 to spring of 1988.
+
''Ocean Loader 3'' was composed by [[Peter Clarke]]. It was first used on [[Slap Fight (C64)]] in 1987. It cleverly begins the same as the first two loaders and then quickly changes into a completely different sound. Those who were familiar with Galway's loaders were no doubt excited to be tricked by the new one. This music was used for about a year from summer 1987 to spring of 1988.
  
 
''Ocean Loader 4'' was composed by [[Jonathan Dunn]] and first used in [[Target Renegade (C64)]] in April of 1988. The music style is a quite a bit different from the first loaders and a welcome change.
 
''Ocean Loader 4'' was composed by [[Jonathan Dunn]] and first used in [[Target Renegade (C64)]] in April of 1988. The music style is a quite a bit different from the first loaders and a welcome change.
  
''Ocean Loader 5'' is Dunn's remix of Loader 4. It was first used at the end of 1988 in the game [[Operation Wolf (C64)]] and the last loader track to be used by several games.
+
''Ocean Loader 5'' is Dunn's remix of Loader 4. It was first used at the end of 1988 in the game [[Operation Wolf (C64)]] and is the last loader track to be used by several games.
  
 
===Recording===
 
===Recording===
{{TrackListBegin}}
+
{{TrackListBegin
 +
| Arranger = Y
 +
}}
 
{{TrackListEntry
 
{{TrackListEntry
 
  | Track      = 1
 
  | Track      = 1
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 1
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 1
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Martin Galway}}
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Martin Galway}}
 +
| Arranger    = {{TrackListArranger|Martin Galway}}
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationSec = 31
 
  | DurationSec = 31
Line 44: Line 100:
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 2
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 2
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Martin Galway}}
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Martin Galway}}
 +
| Arranger    = {{TrackListArranger|Martin Galway}}
 
  | DurationMin = 4
 
  | DurationMin = 4
 
  | DurationSec = 23
 
  | DurationSec = 23
Line 53: Line 110:
 
  | Track      = 3
 
  | Track      = 3
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 3
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 3
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Peter Clarke}}
+
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Martin Galway}}, {{TrackListComposer|Peter Clarke}}
 +
| Arranger    = {{TrackListArranger|Peter Clarke}}
 
  | DurationMin = 2
 
  | DurationMin = 2
 
  | DurationSec = 47
 
  | DurationSec = 47
Line 64: Line 122:
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 4
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 4
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Jonathan Dunn}}
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Jonathan Dunn}}
 +
| Arranger    = {{TrackListArranger|Jonathan Dunn}}
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationSec = 10
 
  | DurationSec = 10
Line 74: Line 133:
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 5
 
  | Title      = Ocean Loader 5
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Jonathan Dunn}}
 
  | Composer    = {{TrackListComposer|Jonathan Dunn}}
 +
| Arranger    = {{TrackListArranger|Jonathan Dunn}}
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationMin = 3
 
  | DurationSec = 10
 
  | DurationSec = 10
Line 81: Line 141:
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{TrackListEnd}}
 
{{TrackListEnd}}
 +
 +
[[Category: Needed Song Descriptions]]
  
 
===Credits===
 
===Credits===
Line 86: Line 148:
 
* '''Recorder:''' [[User:TheAlmightyGuru|TheAlmightyGuru]]
 
* '''Recorder:''' [[User:TheAlmightyGuru|TheAlmightyGuru]]
 
* '''Game Credits:'''
 
* '''Game Credits:'''
** '''Not Credited Composer''' {{Credits|Martin Galway|Martin Galway}}
+
** '''Loader4 the Remix! By:''' {{Credits|Jonathan Dunn}}
** '''Not Credited Composer:''' {{Credits|Peter Clarke|Peter Clarke}}
+
** '''Driver By:''' {{Credits|Paul Hughes}}
** '''Not Credited Composer:''' {{Credits|Jonathan Dunn|Jonathan Dunn}}
+
** '''Not Credited Composer:''' {{Credits|Martin Galway}}
 +
** '''Not Credited Composer:''' {{Credits|Peter Clarke}}
 +
** '''Not Credited Composer:''' {{Credits|Jonathan Dunn}}
 +
** '''Not Credited Programmer (tracks 1–3):''' {{Credits|Martin Galway}}
 +
** '''Not Credited Programmer (track 4):''' {{Credits|Paul Hughes}}
  
{{Issue Source}}
+
(First known source for musicians 1 and 2: himself to HVSC in late 2001. Source for musician 3: Galway to HVSC in autumn 1997. First known source for musician 4: HVSC. Source for track 5: [[:File:Ocean Loaders - C64 - Driver 5.png|binary]]. Source for programmers: code recognition.)
  
 
===Albums===
 
===Albums===
Line 104: Line 170:
 
===Game Rip===
 
===Game Rip===
 
{{Rips
 
{{Rips
| Formats = {{Format|SID}}
+
| Formats = {{Format|SID}}
| File    = Ocean Loaders (C64).zip
+
| File    = Ocean Loaders (C64).zip
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
Ripping Commodore music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.
 
Ripping Commodore music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.
 +
 +
===Audio Devices===
 +
Every loader uses the computer's built-in [[6581|SID chip]]. Galway's sound the same on every one of them. Clarke's sounds different on every single 6581 chip because it uses SID's inconsistent [[low-pass filter]]. Dunn's sound rather unnoticeably different between the 6581 and 8580 model because they use combined waves.
 +
 +
An official [[NTSC]] release is unlikely, as disk drives were more affordable in that region.
 +
 +
==Releases==
 +
{| align="center" |
 +
|
 +
{{Publication
 +
| Title      = Operation Wolf
 +
| BoxArt      =
 +
| Platform    = {{Platform|Commodore 64}}
 +
| Publisher  = {{Publisher|Ocean Software}}
 +
| Released    = 1988-1?-??
 +
| Country    = EU
 +
}}
 +
|}
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Loader#Ocean_Loader en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Loader#Ocean_Loader] - Wikipedia.
+
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Loader en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Loader] - Wikipedia.
 +
* [https://www.neperos.com/journal/C64_tape_formats https://www.neperos.com/journal/C64_tape_formats] - Neperos.
  
 
[[Category: Needed Song Descriptions]]
 
[[Category: Missing Source]]
 
 
[[Category: Non-Game Soundtracks]]
 
[[Category: Non-Game Soundtracks]]

Latest revision as of 14:17, 17 March 2024

Ocean Loaders
NoBox.png
Platform: Commodore 64
Year: 1985
Developer: Ocean Software Ltd.

Any fan of the Commodore 64 has probably heard a couple, if not all, of the Ocean Loaders. Back in the 1980s it took several minutes to load a Commodore 64 cassette tape. That's a long wait to sit around and do nothing for a kid hopped up on sugar. Ocean Software wisely made use of this downtime by adding a full screen loading graphic to look at and some catchy loading music to listen to. Back in 1985, Martin Galway (the primary composer of Ocean at the time) had intended to write unique loading music for every game released. He wrote a loader tune for Daley Thompson's Decathlon (C64) and another for Hyper Sports. However, Ocean was able to put out games at a faster rate, and frivolous additions like loading music weren't important enough to delay release dates. Because of this, many games use the same loading music.

Screenshots

Wizball - C64 - 1.png

Wizball (C64) was among the games utilizing Ocean Loader 1.

Highlander-C64-Title.png

Highlander (C64) serves here as an example of Ocean Loader 2 placement.

Double Take - C64 - Loader.png

Double Take (C64) is yet another game that uses Ocean Loader 2.


Issue - Screenshots.svg

This page needs more screenshots.

Icon-Help.png


Loader

Ocean Loader 1 can be found on:

   The Addams Family
   Adidas Soccer
   Cool World
   Hook
   Hudson Hawk
   Midnight Resistance
   SlySpy
   WWF Wrestlemania


Ocean Loader 2 can be found on:

   Klax
   Shadow Warriors


Ocean Loader 3 can be found on:

   Green Beret
   Miami Vice
   Mikie
   Parallax
   Ping-Pong
   Rambo
   Arkanoid,
   The Great Escape
   Head Over Heels
   Hypersports
   Mutants
   Short Circuit
   Top Gun
   etc..


Music

Although there are as many as 11 loader tunes created for Ocean games, only five of them are widely accepted as true loader music. These five were used on several games, where the others were only used once or twice.

Ocean Loader 1 was composed by Martin Galway and was first used on Hyper Sports (C64) in 1985. It was not the first Ocean game to feature loading music, but this was the first loader song to become popular. At about 2:03 there is a strange 4 beat gap in one track of the music. Although Galway intended the gap to be there, many listeners of the day assumed that there was a bug in the music, which may be what led Galway to remix the tune.

Ocean Loader 2 is Galway's remix of his Ocean Loader 1 and was first used in the game Comic Bakery (C64) in 1985. It sounds similar to Loader 1, but there are several changes. Most notably is that it's slower and the 4 beat gap has been removed. This loader is the most used of all five loaders being in almost every game that Ocean released from late 1985 to mid-1987.

Ocean Loader 3 was composed by Peter Clarke. It was first used on Slap Fight (C64) in 1987. It cleverly begins the same as the first two loaders and then quickly changes into a completely different sound. Those who were familiar with Galway's loaders were no doubt excited to be tricked by the new one. This music was used for about a year from summer 1987 to spring of 1988.

Ocean Loader 4 was composed by Jonathan Dunn and first used in Target Renegade (C64) in April of 1988. The music style is a quite a bit different from the first loaders and a welcome change.

Ocean Loader 5 is Dunn's remix of Loader 4. It was first used at the end of 1988 in the game Operation Wolf (C64) and is the last loader track to be used by several games.

Recording

# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
01 Ocean Loader 1 Martin GalwayMartin Galway 3:31
Download
02 Ocean Loader 2 Martin GalwayMartin Galway 4:23
Download
03 Ocean Loader 3 Martin Galway, Peter ClarkePeter Clarke 2:47
Download
04 Ocean Loader 4 Jonathan DunnJonathan Dunn 3:10
Download
05 Ocean Loader 5 Jonathan DunnJonathan Dunn 3:10
Download

Credits

(First known source for musicians 1 and 2: himself to HVSC in late 2001. Source for musician 3: Galway to HVSC in autumn 1997. First known source for musician 4: HVSC. Source for track 5: binary. Source for programmers: code recognition.)

Albums

Project: Galway

Project - Galway.jpg

2003-??-??

Game Rip

Format

Download

SID.png

Download

(Info)


Ripping Commodore music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.

Audio Devices

Every loader uses the computer's built-in SID chip. Galway's sound the same on every one of them. Clarke's sounds different on every single 6581 chip because it uses SID's inconsistent low-pass filter. Dunn's sound rather unnoticeably different between the 6581 and 8580 model because they use combined waves.

An official NTSC release is unlikely, as disk drives were more affordable in that region.

Releases

  EU.svg   EU
BoxMissing.png
Title: Operation Wolf
Platform: Commodore 64
Released: 1988-1?-??
Publisher: Ocean Software

Links