A signature element of many classic home computer games from the '80s is the use of MIDI music, and dwhinham's mt32-pi was intended as a tribute to that iconic sound.
Billed as a "baremetal MIDI synthesizer for the Raspberry Pi 3", mt32-pi was intended to serve as a "dedicated emulation of the famous multi-timbre sound module used by countless classic MS-DOS, PC-98 and Sharp X68000 games," and was shaping up to be a pretty promising project. It could even be combined with a MiSTer FPGA for truly authentic sound.
We use the term "was" because its developer has now said it is "unlikely" that any further releases will take place due to a "sustained campaign of abuse" directed towards him.
Dwhinham has released the following statement:
It's unlikely that there will be any further releases of mt32-pi.
I have endured a sustained campaign of abuse from members of the VOGONS forum, been labelled a "clout-chaser", had threats sent to my personal email address, code been used in other projects without proper accreditation, my 3D print designs stolen and sold by faceless eBay/Etsy sellers, personal attacks made towards me when people don't get their feature request... the list goes on and on.
There is only so much I can take.
My mental health has been in decline as a direct result of this behavior; the joy of working on this project has pretty much gone. There is nothing to be gained from putting time and hard work into it any more. There is no gratitude, no encouragement - just entitled behavior and grift.
To those who supported this project in the past, especially whilst I was a struggling student who needed all the uplift I could get, thank you sincerely.
Members of the retro community have reacted with disappointment to the news: