What is "IMF"?
IMF stands for Id Software Music Format. The format was invented by Id Software in 1991 for Commander Keen 4-6 and was used in the later games Catacomb 3-D, Wolfenstein 3-D and Spear of Destiny. The same format was also used in some games by Apogee Software, starting with Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure in 1992.
IMF files contain raw data that is to be sent to an AdLib or compatible card in order to produce music. The simple nature of this format made it easy to implement and fast to execute in a game.
For further information, please refer to the IMF Format page on the ModdingWiki.
The KMF file format is a slight modification of IMF that was designed to reduce the total file size of the song without increasing the size of the playback code by several orders of magnitude. KMF files are usually about 30% smaller than regular IMF files.
Important Note: All tools listed on this page are command-line tools. They will not do anything if you just double-click on the executable. Please read the readme.txt file that comes with each program.
IMF Player for DOS
© 2013-2020 K1n9_Duk3
Description:
It is what the name implies: an IMF player for DOS.
You can change the playback rate while the song is playing (in case you forgot to pass the correct rate to the program at startup) and you can also toggle looping on/off.
The player will also analyze the IMF commands and display which channels are currently playing notes and which channels are disabled.
As of version 1.3, the tool can also play back KMF files.
This is a DOS program. Source code is included.
Downloads:
| Version | Size | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Version 1.3 | 41 KB | 2020-05-10 |
| Version 1.1 | 40 KB | 2016-03-06 |
| Version 1.0 | 41 KB | 2013-02-14 |
Gerstrong's IMF Player (for Windows)
Original code by Gerstrong, modified by K1n9_Duk3
Description:
It is what the name implies: an IMF player for Windows (and other platforms).
This program comes with a built-in OPL emulator, based on DOSBox code. The program uses SDL to actually play the sounds. The executable included in the download is a Win32 executable, but you should be able to recompile the code and run it on other operating systems as well.
As of version 2.3, the program can play IMF files as well as KMF files.
This is a Windows program (win32). Source code is included.
Downloads:
| Version | Size | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Version 2.3 | 237 KB | 2020-05-10 |
MIDI to IMF Converter
© 2013-2021 K1n9_Duk3
Description:
This tool allows you to convert music from MIDI format into IMF format. It tries to keep the size of the resulting IMF file as small as possible, although the result may vary depending on the complexity of the MIDI file you are trying to convert.
As of version 1.2, the tool can also create KMF files.
This is a Windows program (Win32).
Downloads:
| Version | Size | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Version 1.3 | 63 KB | 2021-03-01 |
| Version 1.2 | 63 KB | 2020-05-10 |
| Version 1.1 | 62 KB | 2020-04-30 |
| Version 1.0 | 59 KB | 2013-02-14 |
IMF to WAV Converter
© 2013-2020 K1n9_Duk3
Description:
This tool allows you to convert music from IMF format into WAV format. The resulting WAV files should be a lot easier to convert into other formats like MP3, OGG or FLAC, but that's beyond the scope of this little program. This tool can also be used by other applications that need to play IMF music but cannot use built-in OPL emulation.
You also have the option to export the output of each AdLib channel as an individual WAV file. Maybe you can create remixes of the original songs more easily with the channels separated like this.
As of version 1.2, the tool can also convert KMF files into WAV files.
This is a Windows program (Win32). Source code is included.
Downloads:
| Version | Size | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Version 1.2 | 40 KB | 2020-05-10 |
| Version 1.1 | 40 KB | 2014-10-30 |
| Version 1.0 | 39 KB | 2013-02-14 |
Note: These might require the MS Visual C++ 2008 Runtime Environment in order to work properly.
IMF Crusher
© 2013-2021 K1n9_Duk3
Description:
This tool allows you to perform some optimizations on existing IMF files to reduce the file size. It does the same optimizations that the MIDI to IMF converter performs to make the file smaller. You can also change the song's playback rate, convert the song from plain IMF into AudioT chunks and back, and truncate the song.
As of version 1.4, the tool can also convert back and forth between IMF and KMF.
This is a Windows program (Win32). Source code is included.
Downloads:
| Version | Size | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Version 1.5 | 59 KB | 2021-03-01 |
| Version 1.4 | 59 KB | 2020-05-10 |
| Version 1.3 | 57 KB | 2017-10-02 |
| Version 1.2 | 57 KB | 2016-03-06 |
| Version 1.1 | 56 KB | 2013-04-17 |
| Version 1.0 | 53 KB | 2013-03-14 |