Waiting - 180

Waiting

Composer David Whittaker Released 1986-??-?? Title Origin Game Location

This page is for the 180 song, for more titles see Waiting.

Waiting is a short jingle that plays in some releases when you're waiting for the computer AI opponent to shoot their three darts.

This song was not arranged for 180 (ZXS), World Darts (AMI), World Darts (DOS), World Darts (ARC), and initially C64. Instead, AMI is mute, and the others use Title. On CPC, it is the other way round.

Title

The VGMPF made "Waiting" up, not knowing an official title.

Composition

Waiting consists of the first 8 seconds of Title and a different ending on every platform.

All arrangements (except for the AST sample) were typed in the key of C, but most ended up transposed due to technical oversights or limits.

Games

180 (C64)

180 (C64)

Arranger David Whittaker Programmer David Whittaker Released 198?-??-?? Length 0:11.49 (PAL) 0:09.63 (NTSC) 0:09.44 (old NTSC) BPM 125 (PAL) 150 (NTSC) 152 (old NTSC) Format SID Loops No

Waiting only exists in two rare updates of the game, whereas in the common original from 1986, Title plays.

The three channels end with the following notes:

1. E2
2. G2
3. C3

The song was recorded:

1. in PAL. It plays in C as intended.
2. from an American compilation in VICE 3.7.1 with C64 NTSC. Since nobody adjusted the audio to NTSC, it is 19% faster and tuned at 457 Hz, making it closer to C♯.
   • On old NTSC C64s, it is instead 22% faster, arguably too similar for an extra recording.

It sounds otherwise the same on every SID chip and is track 3 in the rip.

180 (A8)

180 (A8)

Arranger Jason Brooke Programmer Jason Brooke Released 198?-??-?? Length 0:09.13 BPM 125 Format SAP Loops No

For unknown reasons, Brooke's driver is transposed one semitone down.

The four channels end with the following notes and arpeggios in square waves:

1. B3 B4
2. A♯4 C♯5 F♯5 (oversight from driver update)
3. D♯4
4. Sacrificed for pitch accuracy on channel 3

The song is rendered on Atari's POKEY chip and track 3 in the rip.

180 (CPC)

180 (CPC)

Arranger David Whittaker Programmer David Whittaker Released 1986-??-?? Length 0:11.50 BPM 125 Format AY Loops No

Waiting not only plays during the computer's turn, but also over the main menu. Title is unused.

The three channels end with the following notes and arpeggios:

1. E3
2. G3
3. C3 C4

For recording, the menu was watched in WinAPE Version 2.0 Beta 2. The song is rendered on the CPC's AY-3-8912 chip and track 3 in the rip.

180 (MSX)

180 (MSX)

Arranger Unknown Released 1987-??-?? Format KSS Loops No

Due to a porting oversight, Binary's driver was tuned at 390 Hz (or transposed down two semitones and then tuned at 438 Hz).

The three channels end with the following notes and arpeggios:

1. D4
2. A4 C5 F5 (oversight from driver update)
3. A♯3 A♯4

The song is rendered on the MSX's AY-3-8910 chip. There is no known rip so far, although the sound can be potentially logged into VGM.

World Darts (AST)

World Darts (AST)

Arranger Jason Brooke Released 1988-??-?? Length 0:05.13 BPM Fluctuating between 120 and 150 Format SNDH Loops No

Uniquely for Brooke, this arrangement is not sequenced or programmed, but one big sample. It sounds like somebody recorded somebody performing the melody of Waiting on a low-cost synthesizer with an organ preset. A few notes overlap, further implying a polyphonic synth. The ending is a fade-out.

Like every sound effect in World Darts (ARC), this sample is formatted as follows: size in bytes (itself 4 bytes), rate in hertz (2 bytes), signed 8-bit PCM at 10000 Hz. However, the driver is fixed at 9600 Hz, transposing the song 71 cents down: from F at standard 440 Hz, to E at 448 Hz. Since the driver lies tight between keyboard and graphics functions, game programmer Gareth Briggs may have written it himself.

The song was recorded during the computer's turn in Hatari v2.2.1. It is rendered on the Atari ST's YM2149F chip and track 1 in the rip.

Links

• deepsid.com/?file=/MUSICIANS/W/Whittaker_David/180.sid&subtune=3&tab=visuals&sundry=osc - Visualization of C64 arrangement.