VCL
| Voclib | |||||
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| Developer: | Tim Sweeney | ||||
| Header: | Absent | ||||
| Content: | N/A | ||||
| Instruments: | N/A | ||||
Target Output
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| Released: | 1992-??-?? | ||||
| First Game: | Jill of the Jungle (DOS) | ||||
| Extensions |
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A VCL file stores up to 40 scrollable colored texts, 50 unsigned 8-bit PCM samples and 128 PC Speaker tunes.
The source of Kiloblaster and Xargon reveals that the full name of the format is voclib (unclear if uppercase) and was created by Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games (then Epic MegaGames), in 1991.
Contents
Players
- VCL - XMPlay
Games
| Released | Title | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| 1992-??-?? | Jill of the Jungle (DOS) | Sound Effects |
| 1992-??-?? | Jill of the Jungle: Jill Goes Underground (DOS) | Sound Effects |
| 1992-??-?? | Jill of the Jungle: Jill Saves The Prince (DOS) | Sound Effects |
| 1992-??-?? | Kiloblaster (DOS) | Sound Effects |
| 1992-??-?? | Onesimus: A Quest For Freedom (DOS) | Sound Effects |
| 1993-??-?? | Xargon (DOS) | Sound Effects |
Technical
The playback rate of each sample is specified within the file in Hertz, but is played slightly differently in all games.
The PC Speaker tunes are given in semitones and support up to 40 selectable instruments, defined in an external format. Each instrument has exactly 128 factors by which the base note frequency is sequentially multiplied up to 72.8 times a second, producing distortions, pitch bends, vibratos, and arpeggiated chords. The instrument table is identical among all games (except for one corruption).
- In Jill of the Jungle 1.0, the instrument table is embedded in the EXE file and the samples are played using DMA and thus, Sound Blaster time constants, changing 6000 Hz to 6024 Hz.
- Most other Jill episodes and versions and Kiloblaster 1.0 play them using direct mode at hard-coded 6087.7 Hz.
- The last Jill versions, Kiloblaster 2.0 and Xargon play them using DMA again, but at hard-coded 6250 Hz, and the instrument table is extracted to AUDIO.EPC, but with three instruments (one unused and two only used in Onesimus) and apparently even the PC Speaker driver (which cuts off most tunes) corrupted.
Links
- shikadi.net/moddingwiki/VCL_Format - Modding Wiki.
