Hello everyone,

HVSC Update #33 is now available for you to download, after a
small delay to ensure that everything possible to accomodate
real C64 versions was done.

After this update, the collection should contain 19,203 SID files.

This update features (all approximates):
     504 new SIDs
      49 fixed/better rips
      90 fixes of PlaySID/Sidplay1 specific SIDs (ie: RSID files)
       7 repeats/bad rips eliminated
     317 SID credit fixes


Main Artists Featured In This Update (new additions only):

Paul Bellamy                  Howlin' Mad
Agemixer                      Blues Muz' (Kjell Nordbø)
Brite-Lite                    Coolrock
Djinn                         Donovan
Fanta                         Goto80
Iron Cat                      Jeff
Konrád Kiss                   Longhair
Mitch & Dane                  Puterman
Rodney                        Signor
Smalltown Boy                 SounDemoN
Stryyker                      TDS
Wizard

and many more...

----------------------------
What else is in this update?
----------------------------

* Lots of real C64/Sidplay2 fixes and bugfixes
* C64-specific sample rips in RSID format (see below)
* Long-lost tunes from David Whittaker and Fred Gray
* Competition entries from Assembly 2002
* All of the "Sit In My Underwear, Drinking Pepsi" tunes
  that appeared in Vision 2002.
* Many credit fixes with new names being found
* Some classic old game tunes like Drol, Eureka!, Jeopardy
* and much more...

---------------------------
What's to come next update?
---------------------------

* Many more music compeitition entries (and we mean many)
* More real C64 specific sample rips
* More classic game tunes thrown into the bargain
* And will we reach the 20,000 mark?  Wait and see...

----------------
RSID format SIDs
----------------

Those of you who read the recent HVSC Update Announcements
from the list will know about this anyway, but just to 
re-iterate this as we feel it is important:

Concern was expressed at the fact that the crashes with older
SID emulators would not be appreciated by the users, despite
the fact that in most cases there'd be a PSID equivalent rip.

After some discussion, it has been decided that the best way
to include real C64 sample rips (or any other rip that requires
such things as real-time non-interrupt based playback) is to
make a slight change and introduce a modified PSIDv2NG file
format for these - which will be known as RSID.

RSID is bascially the same specification as PSIDv2NG except
for the following:

* - The header will say RSID instead of PSID.  This will be
    enough for older SID emulators (for example, anything
    based on Sidplay1-type emulation) to safely reject these
    SID files without crashing them.
* - Certain fields, namely load, play, speed, and the 
    PSID-specific flag, will be reserved and set to 0.

What this will mean also is that anything using Sidplay2-based
emulation will also operate a strict C64 environment for
these files.  Please note that RSID should only be used
_if_ the SID file will crash older SID emulators.

---------------------------
RSID support in SID players
---------------------------

Currently, RSID is supported in the newest version of Sidplay2/
Windows, which you can snag here:

http://www.student.nada.kth.se/~d93-alo/c64/spw/

The MacOS version of Sidplay with the necessary support is in its
final beta-testing.  We suggest that you consult the following
page:

http://www.sidmusic.org/sidplay/mac/

It should be released pretty soon.

Until your SID emulator supports RSID, you can of course still
play the existing _PSID versions in HVSC where appropriate.
Hopefully support for other OSes will follow soon.

-------------------------
RSID support in SID tools
-------------------------

The newest version of SidBace supports RSID.  Those of you wishing
to use its excellent offline searching facilities should look at:

http://gnetools.sourceforge.net/sidbace/

PSIDEdit will be renamed SIDEdit and is due to be released _very_
soon.  Please consult LaLa's web page for further information:

http://lala.c64.org/

-----------------
HVSC Website Move
-----------------

We're still at the usual address of http://www.hvsc.c64.org/ but
please note that if you bookmarked the URL it used to re-direct
to (ie: http://home.freeuk.net/wazzaw/HVSC/, it won't work
anymore.  This is because the pages are now stored on c64.org's
server.

Please ensure that your bookmarks and website links only point
to http://www.hvsc.c64.org/

I'd like to thank Slaygon/Censor for arranging for us some
permanent webspace on the c64.org server, it's greatly
appreciated by the whole HVSC Team.

As you'll also see, we did a re-vamp and update of the site in
order for you, the users, to locate the things you want in less
time.  We hope you like it.

-------------------
Portable SID Player
-------------------

Who needs an iPod (as nice as those are) when you can have
a portable SID Player instead?  Well, you actually have two
options.

Kevin Horton has designed the "SIDman" and you can find the
details here:

http://tripoint.org/kevtris/Projects/sid/sidman.html

And if that wasn't enough, there's also SplamSID, which is
a SID emulator for the Gameboy Advance as well. It's an
early version, but if you have a GBA, give it a go:

http://splam.emuhq.com

------------
SID Compo II
------------
The C64 musicians amongst us should note the presence of a
current online competition held by the nice folks at
http://www.c64.sk/ - the SID Compo II.

This follows on from last year's GoatTracker competition,
but this time you can use any SID emulator you like, such
as DMC, JCH Editor, John Player, GoatTracker etc.

There's still time to get an entry in for the competition
and to have your work heard and voted on my many SID fans,
so why not take a look and see what you can do?

http://www.c64.sk/ - you'll find it as the featured item.

-------------------
Back in Time Live 4
-------------------

Back in Time Live 4 will happen, hopefully.  However after the
intense heat (and concert) held at Gossips, a larger venue is
needed for the event, and currently it's looking like the
whole shebang will be held in Brighton, England, in September
2003.  It's a tentative date, but hopefully this will end up
being the biggest and the best yet!

http://www.backintimelive.com/

----------------

Enjoy the new update, and please feel free to send some
feedback - we appreciate all responses.

Kind regards
The HVSC Team
