Battle Warp by Westcoast Software

[rdefabri]

I attempted to convert my copy of Battle Warp to a .wav file as well as a .cas file.  I'm not certain I was successful, but I am posting both files here for someone to confirm.

 

 

battlewarp.cas

[Atarigrub]

Recording looks a bit to loud. Is there a way that you can slightly decrease the input to your recording device?

 

Also I'm hearing music mixed together with program data on the second (right-hand stereo) track. Normally any dialogue or music is on the left-hand track and program data on the right.

Are you perhaps mixing both left and right tracks together somehow?

 

I can see in the Atari Preservation archive we have another copy of this game so I believe should look similar to this:

Edited March 22, 2023 by Atarigrub

[rdefabri]

42 minutes ago, Atarigrub said:

Recording looks a bit to loud. Is there a way that you can slightly decrease the input to your recording device?

 

Also I'm hearing music mixed together with program data on the second (right-hand stereo) track. Normally any dialogue or music is on the left-hand track and program data on the right.

Are you perhaps mixing both left and right tracks together somehow?

 

I can see in the Atari Preservation archive we have another copy of this game so I believe should look similar to this:

I can definitely lower the input volume - that's something I try to monitor.  Will try again.

 

As far as second channel - there is only a single channel.  I split the tracks and delete the left hand track.  There should not be any music whatsoever, this is an OEM cassette (unless they did something there?).  I'm going direct into Audacity / laptop from tape player.

[_The Doctor__]

some cassettes had music on one track and data on another on purpose. Music to listen to while loading, you'd know when loading was done etc. sine you went to get a sandwich and tea etc.

Audio could be a part of the software like the educational tapes and language tapes.

Demos use the Audio track as well, Atari did multimedia before it was a thing.

 

[rdefabri]

9 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

some cassettes had music on one track and data on another on purpose. Music to listen to while loading, you'd know when loading was done etc. sine you went to get a sandwich and tea etc.

Audio could be a part of the software like the educational tapes and language tapes.

Demos use the Audio track as well, Atari did multimedia before it was a thing.

 

Interesting, perhaps I forgot about that!

 

I definitely only kept one track (right), but perhaps because the input volume was too high it picked up some cross talk.

[_The Doctor__]

Yup and thus a left and a right track probably on this go of it.

Edited March 22, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[www.atarimania.com]

Hang on... The original Battle Warp dumped by Kay Savetz did have loading music as well. Why is the version on the Atari Software Preservation Initiative site a .cas file then?

 

It would also be interesting to ask John Harris what that music is.

 

[rdefabri]

36 minutes ago, www.atarimania.com said:

Hang on... The original Battle Warp dumped by Kay Savetz did have loading music as well. Why is the version on the Atari Software Preservation Initiative site a .cas file then?

 

It would also be interesting to ask John Harris what that music is.

 

I don't know if you are referring to the file I posted - I did a .wav and I attempted a conversion to .cas (which I attached).  Should I follow the suggestion above to do the .wav with both tracks?

[Atarigrub]

For preservation we also keep both the left+right audio tracks as a stereo WAV. Sometimes the program data exists on both tracks, and as mentioned by @_The Doctor__ there are cassettes such as Battle Warp that include music on the left hand track, which you'd hear as the program loads, with data-only on the right track.

 

The WAV you posted had no sound on the left-hand track, but the data and music where mixed together on the right-hand track.

 

So, if your original recording has music on the left and program data on the right, then that's what we need.

Your CAS file doesn't work as the music is mixed in the same track with the program data, so cannot be read.

This is what Kay Savetz WAV looks like in Audacity:

 

@www.atarimania.com I guess the music is only an extra, so a CAS was created, maybe?

Edited March 22, 2023 by Atarigrub

[rdefabri]

30 minutes ago, Atarigrub said:

For preservation we also keep both the left+right audio tracks as a stereo WAV. Sometimes the program data exists on both tracks, and as mentioned by @_The Doctor__ there are cassettes such as Battle Warp that include music on the left hand track, which you'd hear as the program loads, with data-only on the right track.

 

The WAV you posted had no sound on the left-hand track, but the data and music where mixed together on the right-hand track.

 

So, if your original recording has music on the left and program data on the right, then that's what we need.

Your CAS file doesn't work as the music is mixed in the same track with the program data, so cannot be read.

This is what Kay Savetz WAV looks like in Audacity:

 

@www.atarimania.com I guess the music is only an extra, so a CAS was created, maybe?

Does it matter if it's a single line input?  I think that might be a problem, because that explains why the right track had music on it.

 

Remember, I deleted the left hand track, which explains why it had no sound.  My fear is that when I record it, it's recording the same thing on both tracks.

Edited March 22, 2023 by rdefabri

[Atarigrub]

Yes, that's possible you are downmixing both left+right tracks together.

What is your setup (player, cabling, Audacity settings)?

[www.atarimania.com]

1 hour ago, rdefabri said:

I don't know if you are referring to the file I posted - I did a .wav and I attempted a conversion to .cas (which I attached). Should I follow the suggestion above to do the .wav with both tracks?

 

@Atarigrub is the real specialist here, I couldn't for the life of me tell you how to do things on a technical level. Something I do know, though, is that the initial recording by Kay Savetz from several years back had music just like on your copy. What I don't understand is why that music disappeared on the tape archived by the Atari Software Preservation Initiative. Hope things are more clear now.

[rdefabri]

30 minutes ago, Atarigrub said:

Yes, that's possible you are downmixing both left+right tracks together.

What is your setup (player, cabling, Audacity settings)?

It's a basic cassette player / recorder - single line (mono) mini jack out to mini jack in on laptop.  Since it's mono, it must mix the tracks. 

 

When I record using Audacity, there are 2 tracks, but I'm guessing Audacity simply replicates it since it's mono output from the cassette player.

 

Dumb question - can I load from an external cassette player into Altirra or some emulator?

[Atarigrub]

Yes, I suspected a mono connection might be one of the reasons, and as you say is mixing then duplicating the mix to the left and right in Audacity.

The only real option here is using another cassette player, but with stereo output into your laptop. I don't think there's a way of using an Atari cassette player unfortunately.

I guess you were lucky with the Ambulance tape in that either the left-hand track from the cassette was blank or the mixing of the two data tracks didn't interfere with one another.

 

[_The Doctor__]

Ambulance working is lucky as the noise on the second track was not substantial enough to overwhelm the data. Once a decent stereo (2 track) path is obtained the items could be dumped to waves again and the original posts edited with the improved recorded waves. The archivists and preservationists can have at it from that point.

CAS files are nice in that it allows people the chance to load software that they otherwise would not get to use or see, they serve that great purpose.

Both tracks being recorded is the best as hopefully the batches of devices coming out will have the ability to emulate the full ability of both tracks just like the real McCoy. Of course people whom own working cassette/datasette players for their machines can make a tape from the stereo waves and get the full effect as usual.

[rdefabri]

I double checked the cassette player - it's a stereo output.  But I am using a single line mini jack output to single mic in on the laptop, and that almost surely means both tracks are like mono.

 

I need a mini jack to stereo output cable, and just plug the right side stereo cable to the mic in on the laptop.

[_The Doctor__]

laptop line in might already be stereo, I just checked a stack and they all were, that's not to say all are, just most that I see appear to be. Hopefully you will get the cabling sorted, it can be fiddly, but it's worth it.

[Atarigrub]

Sounds promising @rdefabri and I think @_The Doctor__ is correct that it is likely a stereo input in the laptop, so its just the cable with stereo mini jack ends you need to replace.