138 lines
6.3 KiB
Text
138 lines
6.3 KiB
Text
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/* _______ ____ __ ___ ___
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* \ _ \ \ / \ / \ \ / / ' ' '
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* | | \ \ | | || | \/ | . .
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* | | | | | | || ||\ /| |
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* | | | | | | || || \/ | | ' ' '
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* | | | | | | || || | | . .
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* | |_/ / \ \__// || | |
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* /_______/ynamic \____/niversal /__\ /____\usic /| . . ibliotheque
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* / \
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* / . \
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* modplug.txt - Our official position regarding / / \ \
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* compatibility with ModPlug | < / \_
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* Tracker. | \/ /\ /
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* \_ / > /
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* | \ / /
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* | ' /
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* \__/
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*/
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********************
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*** Introduction ***
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********************
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ModPlug Tracker is a very popular tracker for Windows. Its popularity is due
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to the intuitive interface and its many advanced features. The author has
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done a good job with this piece of software, but sadly in doing so he has
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desecrated the IT file format.
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I am not against ModPlug Tracker being used to write music modules. As
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already stated, it has some very advanced and convenient features; I use it
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myself. However, I believe its users should be aware of the entire situation
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before using it for any serious work.
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ModPlug Tracker - http://www.modplug.com/
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*************************
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*** Incompatibilities ***
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*************************
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There are a few situations in which ModPlug Tracker misinterprets the
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original module formats. I shall list the five I am most aware of, from least
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to most annoying:
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5. Create a multisample instrument, for example a piano. Play a low note.
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Then go up the scale, but in the pattern data, make sure the instrument
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column is blank; put in only the notes. Play this with ModPlug Tracker,
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and play it with Impulse Tracker. Impulse Tracker changes sample as you go
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up the scale; ModPlug Tracker does not.
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4. Arpeggio and Retrigger Note effects behave badly when combined with
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Portamento, which can appear in the volume column. While Retrigger Note
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isn't too bad, Arpeggio sounds completely wrong. Try it and see what
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happens. Then repeat the experiment in Impulse Tracker.
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3. The filter algorithm is incorrect, in more ways than one. When Jeffrey Lim
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programmed the low-pass resonant filters into Impulse Tracker, he used a
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standard filter algorithm with a slight modification to achieve greater
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resonance. ModPlug Tracker does not incorporate this modification.
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Furthermore, ModPlug Tracker uses integer arithmetic with nowhere near
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enough precision; the wave output is really poor in some cases. I don't
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doubt it damages the acoustic properties of the filters in subtle ways.
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2. When looping, ModPlug Tracker resets all variables. The original trackers
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do not do this.
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1. Worst of all, ModPlug Tracker has no regard for playback volume, and
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generally has a much lower output level than the original trackers.
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Cases 3, 2 and 1 lead people to write IT files that play badly in the
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original trackers. If some of these problems could be fixed, I'd be all for
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it - but these problems have been reported to the author and he had no
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motivation to fix them. ModPlug Tracker has been around long enough that
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fixing 3, 2 and 1 would be detrimental to too many people's music.
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******************
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*** Extensions ***
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******************
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Worse than the incompatibilities are the extensions ModPlug Tracker makes,
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mostly to the IT format. DUMB currently supports one of these extensions,
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namely stereo samples, but supporting the others is not high on my list of
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priorities.
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Other extensions ModPlug Tracker has provided mostly take the form of extra
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effects. For instance, S98 and S99 can be used to enable or disable reverb. I
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believe the latest versions of ModPlug Tracker offer alternative types of
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filter, such as high-pass and band-pass. As soon as an IT file uses any of
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these features, it will play incorrectly with Impulse Tracker.
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By far the most evil extension provided by ModPlug Tracker is the effect
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plug-ins. These enable IT files to use VST effects. I recently downloaded an
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IT file that uses some effects from a collection named "DirectX Media Audio
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Effects". When can we expect these effects to be ported to Linux?
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******************
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*** Conclusion ***
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******************
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ModPlug Tracker is trying to be two things at once. It wants to be an editor
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for the existing formats, but at the same time it wants to be proprietary,
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with all its own features and extensions. Unfortunately it is succeeding;
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there are many IT files out there that only play right in ModPlug Tracker. In
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my opinion, ModPlug Tracker should have come out with its own file format, in
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which all these extensions would have found a home.
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If you are going to use ModPlug Tracker's extensions, I recommend you
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ultimately convert your music to a streamed format such as Ogg Vorbis. (If
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you were thinking of using MP3, then don't - consider using Ogg Vorbis
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instead.) If you release IT files that use ModPlug Tracker's extensions,
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please state prominently that the files are designed to be played with
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ModPlug Tracker. Finally, don't ask me to support ModPlug Tracker's
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extensions; ModPlug Tracker's playback code is available for use in your
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games, so use that instead.
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Ogg Vorbis - http://www.vorbis.com/
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Despite all the above problems, don't forget that ModPlug Tracker does have a
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lot of very useful features for editing files. These include a function for
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removing unused patterns, samples and instruments, drag-and-drop sample and
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instrument ripping, drop-down menus for selecting the effects by name without
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having to memorise the codes or refer to help, and lots of other nice things.
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I do recommend it as an editor, provided you make sure you are aware of the
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situation and do not use ModPlug Tracker's extensions or incompatibilities
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inadvertently.
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Oh, and by the way, save your final version with Impulse Tracker. Then the
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samples will be compressed for you!
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Ben Davis
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entheh@users.sf.net
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IRC EFnet #dumb
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See readme.txt for details on using IRC.
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