In a previous post I mentioned my original 65kb mods would be too big to load into memory and this is still very much the case - I have budgeted about 12kb maximum for music.

So this had led me to explore different options - first using very low memory chip instrumentation - which as previously stated would give it a different feel - but would also require a major rewrite to adapt the tracks to those sounds.

So instead I tried working with the current instruments to see if I could reduce their size without losing the feel. This is what I came up with:

I worked out I can do all the original instruments for about 7kb (down from 53kb) by using a combination of upsampling and loops combined with tracker hex fades. Each protracker pattern takes up about 1kb so I have also reduced these to 5kb (down from 12kb).

I have also explored a no percussion version which works just as well in game and saves another 4-5kb, so I could end up doing it this way.

How I load / unload tracks will also need looking at but it’s encouraging to know we can achieve very close to the original sound for much less memory!