{"id":131,"date":"2002-06-08T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2002-06-07T22:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matosimi.websupport.sk\/atari\/?p=131"},"modified":"2026-05-15T18:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:06:46","slug":"cmc-msx-extractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/matosimi.websupport.sk\/atari\/2002\/06\/cmc-msx-extractor\/","title":{"rendered":"CMC MSX Extractor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve put together a little utility to make extracting CMC (Chaos Music Composer)<\/strong> music from Atari executables a lot easier. It basically piggybacks off emulator save states to find the data you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to use it:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Run the game\/program<\/strong> in your emulator until the music is playing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Save the state<\/strong> (usually Alt+Z<\/code> in most emulators).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Extract the state file:<\/strong> Open the resulting .A8S<\/code> file with a tool like WinRAR and extract the contents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Run CMC MSX Extractor:<\/strong> Fire up my software, click LOAD<\/strong>, and select that extracted file.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    (Full disclosure: It takes a few seconds to process the file\u2014sorry about the wait! I’m working on the speed.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    The file content will appear in the text window once loaded. A standard CMC file typically starts with the string _cmc_data_file_<\/code>. If you select CMC 2.0<\/strong> and hit Search<\/strong>, the program will list the starting addresses for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes, programmers get clever and overwrite that header with spaces or custom text. In those cases, you’ll need to use the Other<\/strong> option, which makes finding the start of the track a bit more of a manual hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finding the End of the Track<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    You’ll also need to identify where the song ends. If you\u2019ve spent enough time looking at these files, the structure becomes pretty obvious (you\u2019ll see repeating character sequences). A CMC song always ends with the hex value FF<\/strong>, which my tool represents with the “^”<\/strong> character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Final Steps:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Set the length<\/strong> once you’ve found the start and end points.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Save<\/strong> the file with a .CMC<\/code> extension.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Convert to SAP:<\/strong> Use the utilities found in the “PC Software” (or ASMA) section of this site to turn it into a playable SAP file.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Just a heads-up: the program is in a very “raw” state because I didn’t originally plan on sharing it. If the interface isn’t polished enough for you… well, feel free to code your own! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tDownload “CmcMsxEx”\tCmcMsxEx.rar\t\t– Downloaded 512 times\t\t– <\/small>\n<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I\u2019ve put together a little utility to make extracting CMC (Chaos Music Composer) music from Atari executables a lot easier. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27],"tags":[100,20,29],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atari","category-utilities","tag-atari","tag-cmc","tag-pc"],"yoast_head":"\nCMC MSX Extractor - MatoSimi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/matosimi.websupport.sk\/atari\/2002\/06\/cmc-msx-extractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CMC MSX Extractor - MatoSimi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve put together a little utility to make extracting CMC (Chaos Music Composer) music from Atari executables a lot easier. 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