08146: contra and clones: Sound and music is slightly too slow

ID	Category [?]	Severity [?]	Reproducibility	Date Submitted	Last Update
08146	Sound	Minor	Always	Dec 10, 2021, 22:45	Jan 7, 2022, 00:41

Tester	ayjanu	View Status	Public	Platform	MAME (Self-compiled)
Assigned To	aaron	Resolution	Fixed	OS	Linux (64-bit)
Status [?]	Resolved			Driver	konami/contra.cpp
Version	0.238	Fixed in Version	0.239	Build	64-bit
		Fixed in Git Commit	d187a28	Github Pull Request #

Summary	08146: contra and clones: Sound and music is slightly too slow
Description	As I originally thought this was a timing issue with the end credits, my bug report initially reflected that. However, now it's clear to me that it's an issue with the sound timing being a little too slow (thanks to MetalGod for bringing this to my attention). I'll leave this video up, because it's still relevant. EDIT: I have attached a zip file of savestates, demonstrating the slower speed of the credits music (where I first noticed what I thought was a timing bug) across all 10 sets currently emulated by MAME. A variable number of continues were used (from 0 to 2), although this has no bearing upon the bug. DIP switch settings were kept at their default values.
Steps To Reproduce
Additional Information	On a side note, I also tested both gryzor clones, and not only is the music too slow in those clones as well, but the "The End" screen also seems to end prematurely in both variants, a couple of seconds before the game over music finishes playing. Might be worth looking into that as well.
Github Commit

Flags	Verified with Original
Regression Version
Affected Sets / Systems	contra and clones

Attached Files	mame_0238_contra_end_credits_savestates.zip (60,058 bytes) Dec 12, 2021, 23:25 Uploaded by ayjanu

related to	07078	Resolved	aaron	tmnt, tmntua, tmntj: Sound or gameplay is slow if comparing with arcade
related to	03737	Resolved	aaron	salamand, lifefrce: Music speed is slow.
related to	00413	Resolved	aaron	crimfght: The speed of the music is playing ever so slightly too slowly.
parent of	01232	Resolved	aaron	aliens: Comparing to the pcb, the music in mame is slower.
parent of	04825	Resolved	aaron	vendetta: In MAME the music tempo is slower than real PCB
parent of	03754	Resolved	aaron	scontra, scontraj: Flaws in sound emulation

No.19541 MetalGod Senior Tester Dec 13, 2021, 00:36	Probably related with 07078... among many other bug reports about slow music timing in konami games.
No.19542 ayjanu Tester Dec 13, 2021, 02:11 edited on: Dec 13, 2021, 02:17	You know what? I think you're probably right about that; now that I listen really closely, the music does sound slightly faster in that video. Thanks for clearing that up; I'll update the description and such.
No.19543 Fujix Administrator Dec 13, 2021, 06:23	Can be related with 03737.
No.19544 ayjanu Tester Dec 13, 2021, 06:35 edited on: Dec 13, 2021, 06:37	Yes, I would agree with that too. This all definitely seems indicative of a larger problem somewhere. Thank you Fujix (and MetalGod too).
No.19545 kmg Senior Tester Dec 13, 2021, 08:32	There's also The Simpsons that was mentioned on MAMEWorld just the other day. In the opening montage the slightly slower music in MAME makes Lisa's saxophone playing come in around a second after the animation of her playing.
No.19546 ayjanu Tester Dec 13, 2021, 13:08 edited on: Dec 13, 2021, 20:30	...Wow. That just blew my mind. I remember seeing that in MAME, and finding it kinda weird. Now that we're having this discussion, it all makes perfect sense. Thanks. Do all of these early games share anything in common that can be adjusted in the code (such as a similar CPU family, or some code between them that makes the sound slow like this), or will they all have to be corrected individually? EDIT: I see that Contra uses the YM2151 for its sound processing, and I've also taken the time to read up on some of these other bug reports from the past. Is it simply how the YM2151 is implemented across each of the games, that's the problem? It would seem to me that, if overclocking the chip leads to breakage in other games, then something might be different regarding how the chip is used, across each of the games, or perhaps different "groups" of the games. I'm not certain; just hypothesizing here.
No.19549 Ace Tester Dec 15, 2021, 05:54 edited on: Dec 15, 2021, 05:56	I encountered this slow music bug on a number of Konami games even when attempting to get both Iron Horse (which uses the YM2203 rather than the YM2151) and Jackal working on an FPGA. It seems the origin of this issue is an error in the timer behavior of both OPM and OPN family FM chips. With the YM2151, it's specifically timer B which appears to have an issue as the lower 4 bits are supposed to be free-running. If these bits aren't free-running in MAME, it's likely the root cause of slow music in a number of Konami games with the YM2151. For reference, Jose Tejada's JT51 is what I used for Jackal and this is how the timers are modeled after being fixed to correct the slow music problem: https://github.com/jotego/jt51/blob/master/hdl/jt51_timers.v He also has his own FPGA clone of Contra which has the correct music speed after this fix. Hope this helps.
No.19550 aaron Developer Dec 15, 2021, 23:52	Please test with this PR: https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/8988 and let me know how things line up/compare.
No.19551 ayjanu Tester Dec 16, 2021, 03:01	Okay, aaron - I'll compile a fresh build with your commit and report back. Will edit my post once I've had a chance to test it. Thanks to Ace as well. Hopefully our combined efforts will have paid off.
No.19552 Steve Coomber Tester Dec 16, 2021, 11:56	Seems to have fixed everything that I have tried. The Simpsons intro music is timed perfectly now. Great job!
No.19553 MetalGod Senior Tester Dec 16, 2021, 16:03	Thanks to Jotego for fixing this in the Mr. FPGA and to Aaron for integrating it into MAME. This closes a lot of bug reports.
No.19554 ayjanu Tester Dec 16, 2021, 16:12	Yes - I can confirm that the timing is fixed now, with Contra as well! Steve Coomber is also correct about The Simpsons intro, and I even had time to test out 03754, and can confirm that the timing is correct there, too. Yes - thank you, everyone!
No.19555 StHiryu Tester Dec 16, 2021, 16:38 edited on: Dec 16, 2021, 16:38	Someone can check this 06764? Since the game uses YM2151 too.
No.19556 ayjanu Tester Dec 16, 2021, 18:55 edited on: Dec 16, 2021, 19:34	StHiryu: Yes, I'd be happy to test it, and report back. EDIT: Yes, bug 06764 has also been fixed.
No.19558 MetalGod Senior Tester Dec 16, 2021, 20:50	Bugs 00413, 01232, 04825, 03754 should be checked as well.
No.19559 ayjanu Tester Dec 16, 2021, 21:08 edited on: Dec 16, 2021, 21:37	I can confirm that bug 03754 is definitely resolved, as is bug 00413. I will test the other ones as well, or others can. EDIT: Bug 01232 is also fixed now, as well as bug 04825. So all of those bugs have been resolved. Are there any others that anyone would like me to test?
No.19561 StHiryu Tester Dec 17, 2021, 01:06 edited on: Dec 17, 2021, 01:08	Please try the 08116 if you can. Really not related but maybe fixed with Aaron's commit.
No.19562 ayjanu Tester Dec 17, 2021, 01:18 edited on: Dec 17, 2021, 04:13	Okay - I just took a look at it. I'll try it. Not sure if it's changed, but it's worth a try. EDIT: Alright, I just got done testing Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja, for the bug you asked about, StHiryu. You are correct; bug 08116 is not related to this bug. I tested the ending music, and it still sounds a bit overdriven to me, so that hasn't been fixed with Aaron's patch. If there's any other bugs that you or others want me to test, however, please let me know. I'd be willing to test as many as you all want.
No.19565 MetalGod Senior Tester Dec 17, 2021, 12:21 edited on: Dec 17, 2021, 12:22	Despite being solved, I'm leaving this bug report opened for now, just for debate and communication with testers and devs. I'll close it later. It seems all related bug reports have already being tested anyway.
No.19566 MetalGod Senior Tester Dec 17, 2021, 12:27	There are 2 more bug reports that are related with voice samples. I don't know if these are related. Bugs are 03919 and 03738
No.19567 ayjanu Tester Dec 17, 2021, 13:41 edited on: Dec 17, 2021, 14:21	Thank you for leaving it open for now, MetalGod. Go ahead and close it when you see fit. As for the other bugs, I'll test them very soon, and report back what I find. EDIT: Neither bug 03919, nor 03738, appear to be fixed with Aaron's patch, so they are not related. If there's any more you'd like me to test though, I'd be glad to.
No.19588 Ace Tester Dec 23, 2021, 16:42	Bugs 03738 and 03919 deal with emulation issues pertaining to the VLM5030 and are completely unrelated to the Yamaha FM timers. 03919, in particular, is due to emulation inaccuracies with the VLM5030 in general, which I would suggest to rebuild based on this gate-level VHDL model made by Arnim Laeuger of FPGAArcade: https://github.com/FPGAArcade/replay_common/tree/master/lib/sound/vlm5030 I couldn't actually test Aaron's commit for the YM2151's timers because for some reason, whenever I try to compile MAME under Linux, the compiles crash my PC, then keep failing. I will have to suggest one thing pertaining to bug 07927 as it's also related to the timer inaccuracies: https://mametesters.org/view.php?id=7927 Provided Jackal runs at the correct speed, the timer fix should prevent the music from stopping without needing to overclock the secondary CPU, which in itself mangles the notes. In short, the CPU overclock should be removed.
No.19617 MetalGod Senior Tester Jan 3, 2022, 14:51	Adding Ace's last comment to bugs 3738 and 3919. Closing this one.