HPAVC/HPAVC CD-ROM.iso/IT214.ZIP/UPDATE.TXT

Text File | 1997-08-10 | 25KB | 533 lines

IT214 - Version jump to make sure samples don't get screwed up by the
        prerelease loader. This is the FINAL public release. Apart from
        bugfixes/new soundcard drivers, don't expect to see anything.

  - Samples are now compressed on the fly when saved and loaded from disk.
    Note that this is NOT the same as using MMCMP.

  - Several unimportant (debug) procedures removed to make slightly more
    memory available.

  - Driver news: Diskwriter interpolation changed from quadratic spline
                 to cubic spline. (Requires a FPU)

  - Also, from August 6, my EMail server has been down. As a result, please
    send EMail to this address: [e-mail]. I'm sorry if I haven't
    replied to your EMail - I probably haven't received it.

    Pirating software is ok? Well, perhaps you think so, but from the authors
    point of view, it's hard to justify spending the time and effort that is
    required when so many people disregard your effort. The EMails I get
    are sometimes extremely disheartening. There are a number of people on
    IRC asking around for the stereo disk writer, the newsgroup postings
    asking for itwav.drv (do a usenet search... last idiot to post for it was
    [e-mail]) and on top of this, I get accused by some no
    brainer in TraxWeekly on some "Conspiracy Theory" (not to mention his
    several smug EMails)... well, in short - if you can't give a shit about
    me, I'm not going to give a shit about you. Simple.

    If you pirate a large software company's product, then you're cutting
    their profits, you're preventing them from employing more people, you're
    making it harder for them to produce something better. If you pirate a
    product of a single author, especially when you get the rest of the whole
    damn program for FREE - well, then that product stops.

    So, as stated in the heading, this is the final public release. To those
    of you who are thinking about it, don't even bother about asking for the
    source code. You're not going to get it.

    Adios. Enjoy this final release.

IT213 Update
  - Modification: Sample panning reset to override instrument panning due to
                  demand.

  - Update: .IFF loader updated. Should deal with almost any .IFF file now.

  - Update: EMS Stability improved

  - Update: Several miscellaneous changes

  - Update: If old effects is *ON*, then a looped volume envelope will NOT
            include the last node (for XM compat)

  - Update: More memory available (Help text was manually compressed)

  - Row hilight information is now stored within the .IT module..

  - Automatic MIDI Pitch wheel handling. Vibrato, pitch slides, portamentos
    all handled.
    <Note: REQUIRES a FPU.. the program will hang if you enable this on
           Shift-F1 and you don't have a FPU (486DX+ chips have FPUs)>

  - MIDI Configuration can be embedded into .IT files.
    (Option is on Shift-F1)

  - Driver news: Terratec EWS64 XL Codec software mixing driver
                 Terratec Maestro 32/96 Codec software mixing driver
                 Terratec Maestro 16/96 Codec software mixing driver
                 Ensoniq SoundscapeVIVO Codec software mixing driver
                 Sound Track PCI Codec software mixing driver
                 ES1688 Audiodrive Codec software mixing driver (for ViperMAX)
                 MPU401 generic driver.
                 Direct to Disk writer now uses logarithmic volume ramping
                   and quadratic spline interpolation
                 Read DRIVERS.TXT for information on all of these.

  Disabled stuff..

  - Pressing Alt-S on the Sample Library or the Instrument library will sort
    the files once all the files in the directory have been examined.. If a
    directory is loaded and the cursor is NOT moved by the time all the files
    have been examined, then sorting automatically occurs.
    *** IT 2.13 PRERELEASE USERS MAY HAVE TO DELETE THEIR OLD CACHE.ITS AND
        CACHE.ITI FILES FOR SORTING TO WORK WITH THE CORRECT PRIORITIES! ***


IT212 Update - Special thanks go out to all those that did stability testing
               of the beta versions of IT212.

  - Bug fix: "Available Samples" in the instrument loading screen will be
             correct if you're loading an instrument from within a module.

  - Bug fix: Sample files will store default pan values.

  - Bug fix: Trying to show pattern data past the end of a pattern will
             not crash IT anymore. This could have occurred before if the
             number of rows in a pattern were reduced during playback, then
             switching to the info page.

  - Bug fix: Deleting samples/instruments "within" a module has been disabled
             (as it should be), so that the module itself cannot be deleted.

  - Bug fix: Default sample pan will override instrument pan whether "Old
             Effects" is on or off.

  - .669 Loader, since Snowman is collecting 'em :)
    This loader hasn't been extensively tested, maily because Composd.Exe
    will not run on my machine (64MB is "Not enough extended memory" ?!?! ).
    Most songs should play though.. Please don't bug me to update the loader
    any further - you won't get a reply.

  - *Much* better memory handling for patterns. EMM386 parameter H=255
    should not be required in MOST cases now (you will only need it if
    you use a large number of samples (ie. > 50) ). You should also have
    more FreeMem to work with. Beta testers have noted that QEMM shows even
    more stability problems in this version than previous versions - please
    avoid QEMM as it DOES cause crashing for as yet unknown reasons. The old
    memory allocation routines can still be found if you have EMS problems by
    using /P2 on the command line.

  - Keyboard handling on instrument lists has been improved to handle
    multiple keypresses/releases. (but not on sample list due to usability)

  - Default volume display in *NORMAL* (5 channel) pattern editor if you press
    Ctrl-V. If you use a custom font, you will need to upgrade your font set
    with FONTUPGR to see this properly.
    Example:
     C-4 01 .. ... <-- what volume is this??

    Press Ctrl-V:
     C-4 01 [32] ... <-- it'll show that the default volume of
                         sample/instrument 1 is 32.

    Alt-K has been upgraded to 'pick up' these default values. (So that you
    can also slide from volume 0 to the sample's default without having to
    explicitly key in the value).

  - Automatic filename extension replacement on Ctrl-S, so that if you press
    Ctrl-S after loading a .MOD, .669, .MTM or .XM, the filename will be
    automatically modified to have a .IT extension.

  - CDRom check for CACHE.IT? files. If you burn a CDRom of samples or
    instruments, include the CACHE.ITI and CACHE.ITS files from IT211+ and
    they should accelerate loading of sample and instrument names on all
    future versions of IT.
    < Not tested, since I can't :( >

  - 64 channel miniview on the info page. (note: doesn't show all fields)
  - Note dots added on the info page.
    (You may have to update your info page settings by re-saving all prefs)

  - Changed the old Alt-C on the instrument list to Alt-W (wipe data)
    New Alt-C removes the instrument name and filename, but does NOT
    remove the instrument parameters (like the Alt-C on the sample list)

  - MIDI OUTPUT!
    Fully configurable output
    16 parameterised macros
    128 constant macros
    Check MIDI.TXT for details. (Big thanks to Ozone for writing this)

  - Soundcard Driver news
    ■ Inserted a new algorithm into the direct-to-disk writer to remove
      clicks at the end of samples in cases of Note Cut commands, Note Cut NNA
      and instantaneous sample changes in sample mode. For those who have
      sent me money and would like to receive the upgrade, EMail me.
    ■ ESS ES1868 AudioDrive driver. This will NOT support any other ESS
      chipsets than the ES1868. Do not write to me asking for support for
      other ESS chips unless you are willing to buy me a card (or send me
      the money to do so). This driver supports mixing rates up to 56.8kHz
      (16 bit, stereo) and it also supports MIDI In.
    ■ AWE32 driver update: More accurate tempo control and less clicks under
                           Win95
    ■ TB Tropez users: I received an EMail telling me that the GUSMAX drivers
                       were working fully with the TB Tropez cards! See how
                       it works...
    ■ Sound drivers for the ST97 and EWS64 coming... as soon as I get them
      working....

    Other news: It seems that some people really don't care how much work
                I've put into IT - Warez versions of the full ITWAV.DRV
                are being sought after. Let me make this clear: Distribution
                of the full version of ITWAV.DRV is NOT appreciated and if I
                ever find the full version anywhere, IT will no longer be
                publically released.


IT211 Update - Not so much this time, as I have been working full time, so
               since IT has been sitting on my HDD without changes for a
               couple of weeks, I decided to release the update anyway.

  - Saving a song with Ctrl-S or from the menu will not prompt about
    'overwriting' the file.

  - Compatibility Gxx volume fadeout fixed.

  - Matrox autodetection fixed to set mouse cursor properly also.

  - You can press 'L' or 'R' on the "load stereo sample" prompt to select
    left or right channels.

  - Increased file-header 'load-buffer' so that more Sound Forge .WAV files
    should be recognised.

  - Bug fix to: swap samples/instruments, insert/remove sample/instrument
                and update instrument *could* have caused the current
                editing pattern to skip being modified.

  - Bug fix: Pressing delete on a non-note column in template mode should
             work as expected.

  - Note: If you delete your old IT.CFG files and run IT afresh, you'll
          get an extra 'line' on the infopage to work with.

  - .KRZ sample-library loader. Note that this does NOT support multiple
    .KR* files (ie. .KR1, .KR2, .KR3). To use these files, you will have
    to run MERGEKRZ.EXE (supplied) to create a single .KRZ file.
      (BIG thanks to Markus Jonnson for the info!)

  - .PAT sample-library loader.

  - Creating a 'host instrument' after loading a sample will first attempt
    to use an instrument of the same number as the sample before finding
    the first empty instrument.

  - Holding down Caps Lock in the pattern editor will allow you to play
    notes without entering them into the patterns.

  Driver modifications
  - Bug fix for SB16 drivers which caused patterns not to 'play'. For those
    that still have troubles with the SB16 driver, read DRIVERS.TXT
  - For those of you who couldn't get the GUSMAX driver working, check out
     DRIVERS.TXT also :)
  - The ITWAV.DRV file now writes proper .WAV files instead of .RAW
  - ITAWE32.DRV uses floating point calculations to reduce memory usage.
    ITAWE32B.DRV (the old driver) still exists for people who don't have
                 math coprocessors


IT210 Update - some MAJOR fixes here.

  - Approximate song length on Ctrl-P. Note that *some* soundcards will
  require reinitialisation after this (almost all won't). The time given
  is the 'ideal' time for the playback of the song and should correspond
  *exactly* to GUS/AWE non-IRQ playback times.

  - A few more player bug fixes for XM compatibility

  - IT won't crash if you try to load instruments from an 'empty' drive
    (eg. disk not inserted or no files present)

  - In the pattern editor, Insert/Delete, Note Cut/Note Off/Note Delete
    are all 'template aware' - they will span more than 1 channel if
    you are editing in template mode and the template has height 1.
    Also, 'picking up' data with Enter will turn off Template mode's except
    for "Template-Notes Only"

  - Volume column effects Ex/Fx/Gx in combination with effect Jxx should
    operate as expected now.

  - Deleting a file on the instrument list will update the instrument cache
    file appropriately.

  - Sample/Instrument cache file time check fixed.

  - Slight modification to the handling of SBx commands to prevent
    infinite loops.

  - Simple crash recovery mechanism should you ever encounter a problem.
    (You shouldn't need it!) This is on Ctrl-Alt-Del in DOS or
    Ctrl-Alt-Ins in Windows. It is not guaranteed to work, but if it works
    once, then I guess that the amount of time I spent on it was worth it
    (~10 minutes).

    For the technically minded lot, what it does is it tries to 'kick start'
    the tracker again directly from the keyboard interrupt handler.

  - Loading a stereo WAV file will cause a pop-up menu to appear to select
    loading the left or right channels.

  - GUSMAX users interested in using software mixing, check out DRIVERS.TXT

  - Memory corruption error found and fixed which produced 3-sets of invalid
    values in the order list/instruments (main reason for this release!)

IT209 Update

  ************************* FONT FILES REQUIRE UPDATING *********************
   If you have your own custom font file, you will need to change character
   number 184 to 190. If you have used one of the 'standard' font sets, you
   will need to run ITF and grab an updated file. Failure to do so will just
   make the sample page look stuffed - You have been warned :)
  ***************************************************************************

  Many Many MANY miscellaneous fixes to the XM loader and playback routines
  -> XM support should be *MUCH* better now.
  Volume effects have been debugged... hopefully :)

  Some major errors fixed around (ie. dumping to DOS from the Instrument
  screen, Pattern's not updating in memory correctly (which went wrong in
  IT208) )

  Added default sample pan to the sample list (default instrument pan WILL
  override this if present). Note that using default pan is the equivalent
  of using a 'set pan' effect on that row - the channel will be set to the
  default sample pan.

  You can change whether the info page displays sample names or instrument
  names by pressing 'i'

IT208 Update

  So much so quickly? Well, I had exams. And when I have exams, I code, 'cos
  it's better than having to study :)

  ************************* FONT FILES REQUIRE UPDATING *********************
   If you have your own custom font file, you will need to change character
   number 184 to. If you have used one of the 'standard' font sets, you will
   need to run ITF and grab an updated file. Failure to do so will just make
   the info page and 10-channel editor look stuffed - You have been warned :)
  ***************************************************************************

 - Bug fix: Keyboard configuration files could have cause MAJOR problems...
            fixed!

 - Bug fix: Some files with the .MOD ID "CH" which actually were NOT MODs
            were being identified as "Fast Tracker 2" modules.
            (You may have to delete your CACHE.ITS files to force IT to
             refresh it's data)

 - Bug fixes: MIDI input won't corrupt input on the order list
              MIDI input won't interfere with button presses
              MIDI input won't insert effect SDF into patterns when recording
                               where inappropriate.

 - Old Left Ctrl+Shift-1 'removed', Left-Ctrl+Shift 1->4 still work - and
   have been updated.

   PROPER 10-channel editing mode available (complete with half sized cursors!)
   as well as some minor logic improvements. (Try Left-Ctrl+Shift 2)

 - ";" and "'" made to change the samples/instrument in the pattern editor
   as '<' and '>' do - just much easier to do so on American keyboards.

 - Dragging mouse nodes past boundaries is more accurate.

 - "Channel details" display (on the infopage) *can* show the 64th channel
   (oops in IT207)

 - Matrox bug autodetection (Many thanks to Csaba Pankaczy for working with
   me on this!)

 - Message system hooked to a timer (ie. all those messages that appear
   towards the top of the screen).. so that they will last a consistent
   amount of time (independent of machine).

 - Player Improvement: NNA mechanism will eliminate channels on two extra
                       conditions now (no difference to playback, but should
                       maximise channel usage)

 - Improvement: Persistence of cache files through different sessions of IT
                - ie. once the sample/instrument cache files are created, they
                  are NOT recreated unless necessary.

 - Root "\" directory has replaced "." directory on all loading screens.

 - Several Template input related functions improved. Also, Block-Cut in
   template mode won't overwrite your clipboard if you're working with
   templates.

 - Template: "Notes only" added. This is different from the other templates
   in that it will NOT copy the template's instruments, volumes or effects.
   Instead, it will change it's instrument/volume/effect according to the
   last used instrument/volume/effect, and will insert whatever is speicfied
   by the edit mask.

 - Addition: Volume Column effects, Ax, Bx, Cx, Dx, Ex, Fx, Gx and Hx!!!!

        Ax = Fine volume slide up by x
        Bx = Fine volume slide down by x
        Cx = Volume slide up by x
        Dx = Volume slide down by x
        Ex = Pitch slide down by x
        Fx = Pitch slide up by x
        Gx = Portamento to note with speed x
        Hx = Vibrato with depth x

   Note that the pitch/portamento scale here is DIFFERENT from the standard
   effect slideup/down

*  Note that if you use these in your songs, IT < 2.08 will NOT play them
*  correctly... (in fact, it'll probably play it extremely painfully)

 - Alt Up/Down/Ins/Del added to the note translation table.

 - Minor modifications around the tracker

 - Windows Sound System Driver! (Operates at mixing rates up to 64kHz!)
   Impulse Tracker has the greatest soundcard support of any tracker by far!

 - Old Effects will 'unlink' the memory of Gxx from Exx/Fxx

 - XM LOADING!!!!!!!!!!

   Don't write to me complaining about incompatibilities - I am aware of
   lots of them and you probably won't get a reply. :) *MOST* songs should
   have a near perfect conversion tho...

 - Big safety feature!! Playback dying because of overload? Bad NNA selection?
   F8 *should* stop playback immediately now! (in DOS).

   In Windows '95, there may be a noticeable stall before playback stops
   (ie. several seconds), or it may not function at all...

IT207 update

  - Some bug fixes to MIDI input.
  - Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn on the sample list will redraw the waveforms
  - Jxx memory should work fine (The memory didn't operate if the channel
      wasn't active before)
  - Template limits should be correctly applied. (ie. clipped within
      C-0 and B-9)
  - Going to a pattern from the Info Page ('G') will also go to the
      current order playing.
  - MIDI input can be enabled/disabled in the pattern editor with
      Alt-Scroll Lock
  - MOD in-module sample library loop points fixed.
  - Envelope drawing algorithm slightly more tolerant of corrupt information
  - Mouse envelope routines slightly improved for more accurate handling of
      nodes.
  - Added Message editor to main menu.
  - Added 10 channel view to the info page (you may need to reset your info-
      page settings and "save your preferences")
  - Squished up the info page view to get a couple of extra lines! :)
  - Ctrl-F7 on the order list will set the next pattern to play (at request
      of ChuckB) - for DJ use
  - Due to Win95's unstable disk-EMS routines, if you load a MMTSRed sample,
      instrument or module (sample library), playback *will* stop to prevent
      corruption of samples currently in memory.
  - Notes in templates of height 1 will be played back in the pattern editor
      (very useful for "multi sample" note entry)
  - Added effects T0x and T1x for Tempo slide down and tempo slide up.
  - Added .IT and .XM *INSTRUMENT* library support. Note that .ITs that
      aren't in instrument mode or have no instruments will NOT be shown on
      the instrument loader list.
  - Added Alt-Ins and Alt-Del on the sample and instrument lists to add
    in samples/instruments

  **** NOTE: /Sx command line parameters have been changed around just for
      neatness. CHECK SUMMARY.TXT FOR NEW /Sx VALUES OR RUN "IT /?" ***

IT 2.06

  - Update: Yet another update to the EMS routines.. for those of you who
            couldn't be bothered to read the FAQ.

            Also new command line switch:
             /Px - Set pattern memory allocation strategy.
            Check SUMMARY.TXT for info on this.

  - Minor update: The 10-stage undo buffer will now use EMS memory under most
                  circumstances.

  - Minor update: S3M and IT loader routines slightly modified for more
                  efficient memory usage.

  - Minor update: "Song modified" flag logic slightly modified.

  - Minor update: .WAV loader slightly improved. (should read any 8 or 16-bit
                  format.)

  - Minor Addition: IT will now release time slices to multitasking OS/s
                    if you specify /T2 on the command line.
                    If you are using the MIDI input capabilities of IT, you
                    SHOULD NOT enable this (timing gets effected badly)

  - Minor Addition: Set pattern length command on Ctrl-F2 (can set multiple
                    patterns)

  - Minor Addition: Command line switch /T1 to disable "usage time" indication

  - Addition: TX Wave loader for .W?? samples (eg. from Kosmic's sample dirs)
              Note: These are actually 12-bit samples, which are converted to
                    16-bit at load time.

  - Addition: .MOD sample library loader.

              This "only" recognises the following MOD Identifications -
              "M.K.", "M!K!", "FLT4", "FLT8", "4CHN", "6CHN", "8CHN"
              And FT2's extended MOD identification, "xxCH"

              If you have an "Old Amiga-MOD format" MOD (which doesn't have an
              ID), then you'll have to save it as another format if you want
              to rip directly from it.

              So sample library support in total:
               .MOD, .669, .FAR, .MTM, .S3M, .PTM, .XM, .IT

  - Addition: Intelligent MIDI Input for SB16 and Interwave cards!
              MIDI options screen is on Shift-F1 (those of you who have IT.CFG
              from older versions of IT *WILL* need to visit this screen at
              least once if you want to use MIDI - "Save All Preferences" will
              save these settings)

              In the pattern editor, Ctrl-Z is "Change MIDI playback trigger."
              Normally, it is quite difficult to start at a row/pattern with
              MIDI - this options allow you to control whether a pattern or
              song should START playing when you play the first note.

              (IT will play either from the start of the current pattern or
               the song starting from the current row depending on your choice)
              Once this is done, the trigger is immediately unset, so you will
              have to setup this trigger again if you want to use it.

              Note that this *will* turn on pattern tracing. To disable it,
              use Scroll-Lock.

              ****** NOTE ******

              SB16's MIDI input is somewhat 'iffy'. If you stop receiving
              MIDI input, you need to reinit the soundcard (Ctrl-I) (possibly
              several times). I don't know why it does this. Dont' write
              to me about it, 'cos I have spent MANY MANY hours on this little
              problem and I don't want to know about it. Also, in Win95, I
              found it necessary to change my SB16's configuration to EXCLUDE
              the MIDI port (and I used a Microsoft MPU401 driver instead),
              otherwise MIDI input was ignored.

              Sorry, no GUS MIDI at the moment, as I couldn't get it working.
              Please do NOT write to me about this, you will not get a reply.
              An updated GUS driver will be released if/when I get it working.