ProTracker 2.3F

[LTAC]

Thanks 8bitbubsy

[zerohour1974]

When trying to load MOD files ... It keeps reporting can't open file in the status so none of the samples load.

The song loads but no samples so playback is just a blank tune with no samples...

Any suggestions?

[Amiga1992]

You have to click LOAD MODULE not LOAD SONG. Otherwise you might be having some sort of issue,not necessarily related to this program.

[zerohour1974]

yep that was it ... thanks

[daxb]

I forgot to mention the "Load Module" behaviour I noticed that may happen also on 2.3D version. While path selection and during this click on "Load Module" can add a string to path string. What results in a "can`t load module" error because the path is wrong. Maybe because of a design fault. Alas the handling is intricately/unusual/stupid as you know.

[Toni Galvez]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

I've made a new ProTracker version (v2.3E), based on a disassembly and re-source of PT2.3D. I've basically fixed a million PT2.3D bugs. I've also removed the DMAWait concept (busy loop), which has been replaced with a scanline wait. This means that PT2.3E won't have that strange audio bug on fast Amigas. No need to tweak that silly DMAWait value. Besides, it was maxed out at 9999 which was not enough for 68060 @ 50MHz or higher.

The replayer has not been tampered with, to maintain accuracy between versions (except that I fixed a potentional E8x crash and fixed a 128kB sample loop playback problem).
Also thanks to hoffman for some of the 128kB sample support code!

I need some beta testers until I tend to release it + source code. Please mention any bugs in here. Remember that this really is a beta version, so don't spread it all around and mention that I "released" a new version, because it's not final yet!
Here's the beta archive (it will be updated every now and then): http://www.16-bits.org/PT23E.LHA

== Changelist: ==
- "DMAWait" removed, using 7 scanline waits instead (Thanks PhotonSCX!)
- Channel muting now works like it should (instant, and restores volume on unmute)
- The VU-Meters are now bug free at high tempos (BPM)
- Added a "real" VU-meter mode (toggle it in Setup Screen #2. Setting is saved/loaded from config)
- All sample edit routines are now 128kB compatible (replayer, resampler, echo, cut, copy etc etc)
- Support loading 128kB samples
- You can now toggle channels by right clicking on the quadrascope channels
- Marking sample data now flickers *WAY* less
- The scopes now properly show: arpeggio (0xy), vibrato (4xy), tremolo (7xy) and sample offset (9xx)
- The scopes would display garbage on the right side when showing *small* looping samples
- The scope delta calculation is now more accurate on higher notes
- The Quadrascope and Spectrum Analyzer were never triggered if EDx (Note Delay) was used
- The VU-Meters and Quadrascope now retrigger on E9x (Note Retrig)
- Small code optimizations (SUBQ/ADDQ/MOVEQ, PC relative addressing, LEA instead of ADD.L #n,An etc)
- On .MOD load: Clear first two bytes of non-looping samples (prevent stuck beep syndrome)
- On .MOD load: Sample loop lengths of 0 or 1 are set to 2 (prevents PT freeze when loading malicious .MODs)
- When exiting "about screen", scope/analyzer mode is remembered
- Throw error when trying to zoom in on an empty sample
- The repeat delay for UP/DOWN on some gadgets was way too short on fast CPUs (also Disk Op./Pos Ed. scrolling was too fast)
- Hide loop pins and sampler play-pos-line if "volume tool box" is open
- You can now hide the "volume tool box" by pressing the VOLUME button
- The very top line of the VU-Meters graphics were never shown
- Added ALT+P (toggle Pos Ed. Screen)
- CTRL+O (Contract Track) didn't work at all. Now works beautifully.
- Don't display red mouse twice when canceling some ask dialogs
- Draw dotted center line in sample data in sampler screen
- CTRL+X/C/V and DEL/Delete now acts as sample data edit keys in sampler screen
- The "show 6 digit numbers" routine messed up the value on >65535 values
- All sample repeat lengths weren't initialized to 2 in "100 patterns" mode
- Show red cursor when trying to filter/boost an empty sample
- When trying to paste data to an empty sample, don't ask for mark position first
- The '.'/':' char in the sample chord editor would overwrite bitplane data
- Don't exit sampler volbox if editing a vol% gadget (volume toolbox) and pressing right mouse button
- Limit speed setting in setup screen to $1F (31)
- When editing a number in the GUI, the text cursor was one pixel off, vertically
- E8x (Karplus-Strong replayer effect) could read/write to a NULL pointer and crash PT
- EFx (Invert Loop replayer effect) could read/write to an uninitialized pointer
- Mask sample finetune to $0F in several places
- Limit sample volume to $40 in several places
- The major7 chord in the sample chord editor was wrong (changed 4th note)
- Pos-Ed was not updated when editing 'song length' number
- Pos-Ed could mess up the screen bitplane data when ran on a fresh start
- Pos-Ed would mess up the Yes/No dialog data if shown while Pos-Ed is open
- Pos-Ed could even lead to a system crash!
- Pos-Ed could overflow if scrolling down while holding right mouse button
- When number editing 'song length', clamp to 127 instead of 128
- Quite a few of the pixels in the graphical datas were wrong
+ more that I forgot to list here.

FAQ:
- Why not make a new 3.x version?
* Because 3.x never appealed to me, it always felt incomplete and messy.

Hi 8bitbubsy, in Coppersky we are looking for a Protracker and replayer that suports more than 31 samples, 64 samples should be good. We want to use short samples, but load a lot, to make instrument variations and multiple chords.
Is is possible? how hard is it?

[8bitbubsy]

daxb:
I have no idea what you mean, and I can't reproduce it (if I think I got you correctly).

Toni Galvez:
First off, please don't quote such a big post...
Anyways, it should be possible to pack a sixth sample number bit into the period (note) unit in the pattern data, meaning that sample numbers can be 01..3F (63 samples). Though this would require changing a whole lot of hardcoded "31 samples" code, and it would naturally cause problems normal MODs. I don't think I'm going to do that any time soon, I'm focusing on a compatible ProTracker for now.

[Amiga1992]

Please don't break compatibility, no.
Of course there could be a lot of things added to Protracker (support for instruments using the same sample for example, like in FastTracker), but that should only come later in its own version, if ever.

[4mat_]

As long as you don't want loops you can stick multiple samples in one slot anyway, with a bit of fx magic. Oldskool skillz.

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by Akira

Please don't break compatibility, no.

I already did, sadly.. Original PT can't properly do sample loop points that are beyond 65534 if it's triggered from the replayer. I fixed that because the whole program is 128kB sample bug fixed anyways. I made a warning in readme.txt saying that you need a modified replayer (or the PT2.3E replayer which I will bundle at some point) to support loop points above 64K.

[4mat_]

Sorry but that sounds like a bad idea, the PT .MOD format has been around for over 20 years and is a standard. Yes I agree it's broken, but it's been broken for 20 years. Isn't there a way you can keep the old mod format for saving unless the user deliberately uses these features?

[8bitbubsy]

It's just *one* replayer bug fix to make the 128kB sample support complete. All other 128kB sample bugs were fixed in the PT code (non-replayer bugs), so why not fix the replayer bug so that you can actually use loop points above 64kB on big samples? It's about time to get it fixed. It seems pointless to have 128kB sample support when you can't use loop points >64kB.

The PT format might have been around for over 20 years and is a "standard", but in fact it isn't. PT3.x changed the replayer behavior on more than three things (9xx, sample swap, 128kB support fix), so it's already a nonsense format that depends on what tracker you use.

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

I already did, sadly.. Original PT can't properly do sample loop points that are beyond 65534 if it's triggered from the replayer. I fixed that because the whole program is 128kB sample bug fixed anyways. I made a warning in readme.txt saying that you need a modified replayer (or the PT2.3E replayer which I will bundle at some point) to support loop points above 64K.

Well I guess we'll have to add support for your new module format in PT-1210. We might be shooting you some questions in the future!

You are right about the 3.x for of PT making non standard modules, and we had to fix support for those in PT-1210 too, so yeah, this shouldn't be too hard to implement.

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by Akira

Well I guess we'll have to add support for your new module format in PT-1210.

Just change ASL.W #1,D3 with ASL.L #1,D3 (or ADD.L D3,D3 which I think is faster?) in the "PlayVoice" routine in the replayer/PT code. That's it. Nothing more to it. The PT2.3E MOD format is still identical to the other ones.

[Amiga1992]

We'll try and see if it doesn't break anything else :P we spent about half of our dev time making the program compatible with whatever we threw at it! So many versions of Protracker, so many bugs.

[8bitbubsy]

How on earth did you manage to find out what versions the MODs were made with and stuff? Some very heavy heuristic checks that can only somewhat work in some cases? :-D

[Toni Galvez]

I was asking for a custom format 8bitbubsy, we want something better for our developments, we do not want to interfere wit Protracker, but a custom tracker, based on Protracker, but with 64 samples and some more stuff.

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

How on earth did you manage to find out what versions the MODs were made with and stuff? Some very heavy heuristic checks that can only somewhat work in some cases? :-D

That wasn't my task, you can ask h0ffman about it, but it's probably more bruteforce than that :P I haven't read that part of the code and honestly I wouldn't be able to figure it out either haha. There was a bunch of guessing involved too. For example, PC-made .MOD files have their common issues too (like stuff made with FastTracker).

There might not be as many differences as one thinks, but what is sure is that now pretty much any .MOD file we throw at it works. Of course we still find problems every now and then.

Originally Posted by Toni Galvez

I was asking for a custom format 8bitbubsy, we want something better for our developments, we do not want to interfere wit Protracker, but a custom tracker, based on Protracker, but with 64 samples and some more stuff.

Sure bro, pay 8bitbubsy a wage and he can definitely make your dreams come true.

[daxb]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

daxb:
I have no idea what you mean, and I can't reproduce it (if I think I got you correctly).

Sorry, was just a bad out of memory description. I tested (once) again and with version 2.3D it is the same. Unfortunanately, it seems to be a strange random behaviour because after writing down the step-by-step sequence I tested again (2.3E) to verify but now it works at least the next 4-5 times. Here the way to reproduce or not:

1. Click on DISK.OP
2. Select a drive path. In my case it is "Work:".
3. Click LOAD MODULE to list content of "Work:".
4. Select "PT2.3E" directory
5. Click LOAD MODULE to list content of "Work:PT2.3E".

Seems here lacks a refresh dir list or whatever when the problem occurs.

6. Select "PT2.3E" directory

Path string shows "Work:PT2.3E/PT2.3E" what is wrong.

7. Select "MODULES" directory

"Can`t find dir" error message appears because the path is wrong: "Work:PT2.3E/PT2.3E/MODULES". The same happened without using LOAD MODULE button instead click direct on the dirs.


The 128kB sample bufix is really nice. That was never fixed in 3.x versions. Loading/saving, recording, editing, ... 128kB samples I realy missed in the past.

[8bitbubsy]

Ah I see the problem. I think it's because of the dot (".") in the directory. I'll try to look into it. Weird stuff...

128kB sample support was fixed in PT3.62. I don't know if it could properly load 128kB samples, but it could at least load MODs with 128kB samples and you could see all of it and set loop points and stuff. The replayer could also play loop points above the 64k barrier. PT3.15 and older versions had severe problems with 128kB samples.