PD Collection CD 1/PD Collection CD 1.iso/sound/amtrack/!AMFTrack/!Help

Text File | 1992-02-21 | 18KB | 366 lines

AMFTracker  1.10 (18-Feb-92)
============================
Tracker Editor
==============
AMFTracker is a music editor that allows the creation of Tracker files.These
are commonly to be found in Public Domain Libraries,and provide the music
for most demos and some games.Tracker files have a filetype of CB6 and are
not to be confused with the older format,SoundTracker files,which AMFTracker
cannot edit,but can be converted using M.Farrows !GetSTMod.There are many
Public Domain players that have been written to play SoundTracker/Tracker
files,of these,the AMFsoft !STracker is recommended as it allows the saving
of Tracker samples.

Once AMFTracker has been loaded,either drag an existing Tracker file onto
the AMFTracker icon,or use the Create option for the main icon bar menu.
AMFTracker can create files with either Four or Eight channels,and this
decision should be made carefully,for once made,it cannot be easily altered.
It is true that whilst eight channel Trackers can sound far better,four
channel Trackers are far faster,and much can be done with only four channels.
Choose wisely.

Once a file has been created,you can start editing.The first thing that is
required is to load some samples.From the main icon bar menu (press menu on
the AMFTracker icon) select Edit.Instruments.A window will appear,showing
the instruments present in the current Tracker.These instruments are saved
with the Tracker.Use ⇦ and ⇨ to change the instrument shown,as up to 35
instruments can be loaded at once.Loading is achieved by dragging a Tracker
sample onto the Instrument window.These files (file type CB5) can be created
using the AMFsoft version of STracker,or coverted from other samples using
M.Farrows !SampConv.Equally,you could decide to use one of the samples
included with AMFTracker,in the Samples directory (how logical!).A sample
has five significant variables.The name is irrelevant,but helps to identify
the sample.The length is,quite logically,the length of the sample,the volume
is not important (as it doesn't affect anything).The repeat offset is the
point at which the sample will repeat, and should be set to 0 for no repeat,
1 for a total repeat,or the position from which you want the sample to
repeat.Finally,the repeat length should be set to 2,otherwise nothing
happens when you attempt to play that instrument.

Once you have loaded your desired samples (although samples can be loaded at
any time during editing),you need to edit the pattterns.Click with select on
the AMFTracker icon,or select Edit.Patterns from the menu.A singletasking
window will appear,to facilitate pattern editing.You can change the current
octave,pattern and instrument using the icons provided.Use select on these
icons for a slow change,menu,or adjust for a fast alteration.Use the keys
that are shown on the piano keyboard to play the appropriate notes.SHIFT may
be used to cut short a note,as can the Stop icon.

To edit the current pattern,click on Edit Pattern.The selected pattern will
appear in the editing box,and a green cursor will show the current position.
Use ⇧ and ⇩ to move between events (there are 64 events in each pattern,
numbered 0-63 and shown to the left of the editing window),and ⇦ and ⇨ to
move between voices.Use SHIFT with ⇦ and ⇨ to move between individual
sections,otherwise whole channels are moved across.

Each event is displayed as follows:

C#1 4 1C06
| | | |
| | | Action to be carried out (1C,set speed) and variable (06)
| | |
| | Instrument to be played
| |
| Octave of note
|
Note (C sharp)

You can set the note by pressing an appropriate key when on the note,this
will set both the note,the octave of the note,and the instrument.It will
also automatically move the cursor down an event.The other attributes may be
altered by moving onto them using SHIFT and ⇦/⇨,and typing an appropriate
value.The actions that can be carried out and the corresponding variable are
in coded in hexadecimal (0123456789ABCDEF) and are as follows:

00 : Do nothing!
01 : Add var to pitch for this note only
02 : Subtract var from pitch for this note only
0B : Goto end of this pattern
10 : Add var to volume for this note only
11 : Subtract var from volume for this note only
13 : Goto start of pattern var
15 : Goto event var (remember,var must be in hexadecimal,so 16=10,63=3F)
1C : Set speed to var (speed of 6 is default,1 is fast,F is slow,very!)
1F : Set volume of this channel to var (FF is maximum 00 is minimum)

I am unsure as to the other action codes,if you find anything out that is
not listed above,write and inform me.

While editing,SPACE will clear the current item selected,and SHIFT will stop
the current note playing.If the Debug option is selected,once you move over
a note,it will be played,although the appropriate actions will not be
correctly implemented.A new pattern will be added every time you go past the
end of the 63rd event of the last pattern.On any other pattern,going past
the 63rd leads on to the 1st of the next one,and vice versa.

Whilst in the Editing window,you can click on Play Pattern to play the
current pattern,or click on Play Tune to play all of the current tune.Whilst
playing,you can use ⇧ and ⇩ to move through the tune at four times the
normal speed and ⇦ and ⇨ to move between patterns.Click on Stop to stop the
current action,be it Edit Pattern,Play Pattern or Play Tune.To close the
Editing window,click on Desktop,which will return you to the desktop.

However,if you have defined many patterns,you will have noticed that when
Play Tune is selected,only the first is played.This is because the patterns
have to be strung together into a sequence.Press menu on the AMFTracker icon
and select Edit.Sequences.This will open a new window,allowing the order of
the patterns to be edited.Pattern 0 is the first pattern,1 is the second,2
is the third,etc.In total,a sequence of upto 128 patterns may be defined,and
each pattern may be used more than once,once,or not at all.The maximum
pattern defined is the number of the last pattern,and the maximum sequence
is the total length of the sequence.Click on a box,enter a new value,and
press RETURN.The caret will move on,and if this is the maximum sequence,its
value will be incremented.Simple!

Finally,select Edit.Information.This allows you to set the title and the
author of your masterpiece,as well as its date of creation,which is
initially unset.If you wish to alter the stereo separation of your tune,
select Edit.Stereo,and alter the icons accordingly.

Duplication
===========
The menu options Alter.Duplicate.Pattern and Alter.Duplicate.Track allow
various parts of the tune to be copied.Duplicate Pattern will allow an
entire pattern to be copied over another one.Enter the appropriate values
in the boxes,and click on OK.Duplicate Track will allow one channel to be
copied out of one pattern.Again,enter the appropriate values,noting that the
smaller writable box is for the channel/track number (1-4 for 4 channels,1-8
for 8 channels).Click on OK,as before.

Internal Speaker
================
The Internal Speaker can be flipped on/off by selecting Alter.Speaker.If you
have some form of external amplification linked to your headphones socket,
then this can improve the sound quality of the Tracker by a fair amount.I
have a lead connected from my headphones socket on the back of my Archimedes
into the Audio In socket on the back of my monitor,and it sounds far better.

Saving
======
The Save menu allows several aspects of the tune to be saved.Firstly,the
entire tune can be saved,as a Tracker file.This can be played back using
STracker,another player or reloaded into AMFTracker at a later date.But you
can also save the currently selected sample as a sample file (type CB5),the
current pattern as a RawData file (type FF1),a group of patterns as a
RawData file,or the sequence table as a RawData file.When saving a group of
patterns,be sure to enter the start and end pattern into the two smaller
boxes provided.

Loading
=======
A Tracker tune can be reloaded simply by dragging it onto the AMFTracker
icon.A sample file can be loaded by dragging it onto the Instruments window.
It should be noted that this version of AMFTracker can load both headered
and unheadered files,although all sample files saved by AMFTracker and
STracker are unheadered for convenience (as they load far faster into
AMFTracker).!SampConv can be used to remove/add a header to Tracker sample
files.Pattern files can be loaded over the current pattern by dragging them
onto the AMFTracker icon,and groups of patterns load in the same way,
although they overwrite the current pattern,and a number of patterns
following it.The same method of loading is to be used for Sequence table
files.

Samples
=======
Several sample files are included in the Samples directory,also on this
disc,including a blank sample file called ZeroLength which is useful for
overwriting samples that aren't needed.M.Farrows !GetSTMod and !SampConv
are included in the Extras directory,to facilitate easy conversion.

Errors
======
The following error messages may be generated by AMFTracker:

----Couldn't continue : Out of memory
AMFTracker was unable to gain any more memory.Remove some unwanted
applications,and retry.

----Couldn't duplicate : Invalid source pattern number
The source pattern for a duplication is greater than the number of patterns.

----Couldn't duplicate : Invalid destination pattern number
The destination pattern for a duplication is greater than the number of
patterns.

----Couldn't duplicate : Invalid source track number
The source track must be between 1 and 4 for a four channel Tracker or
between 1 and 8 for an eight channel Tracker.

----Couldn't duplicate : Invalid destination track number
The destination track must be between 1 and 4 for a four channel Tracker or
between 1 and 8 for an eight channel Tracker.

----Couldn't edit : Insufficient screen memory
AMFTracker couldn't enter MODE 123,used for editing patterns.Close down some
unwanted applications,and try again.

----Couldn't execute : Sequence maximum must be less than 128
You've tried to define more 128 entries in the sequence table,but this
version of AMFTracker can only cope with 128.Try not to be so ambitious!

----Couldn't load : Unrecognised RawData file
The RawData file you have attempted to load is not recognised as either a
pattern,group pattern or sequence table file.

----Couldn't load : Sample file is not a multiple of four bytes in length.
    Add # bytes and try again.
AMFTracker can't as yet cope with sample files that have a length that is
not divisible by four.Load !Edit,and add the required number of characters
to the sample,then save the sample,and try again.

----Couldn't load : Sample file is not a multiple of four bytes in length.
    Remove header, then add # bytes and try again.
AMFTracker can't as yet cope with sample files that have a length that is
not divisible by four.Remove the header from the sample (using !SampConv),
then load !Edit.Add the required number of characters to the sample,then
save the sample,and try again.

----Couldn't load : Define # blank patterns first
You have attempted to load a group pattern file when there are not enough
patterns to load on top of.Create # blank patterns by going to the end of
the last pattern and moving forwards,then try again.

----Couldn't load : Invalid number of channels (#)
AMFTracker can only edit Tracker files with 4 or 8 channels,and the file
you've given it hasn't got 4 or 8 channels

----Couldn't load : Sequence length must equal 136 bytes
The sequence table file is not of the right length.Use !Edit and ensure that
it is,by adding or removing bytes respectively.

----Couldn't load : AMFTracker has been corrupted
Somehow,the main AMFTracker code has been affected by something unpleasant.
Best advice is to get another copy of AMFTracker,and to be more careful!

----Couldn't load : TrackerModule is out of date (version 4.00+ required)
Somehow,the version of the TrackerModule included within AMFTracker has been
replaced with a version that is too old.Best advice is to get another copy
of AMFTracker.

----Couldn't load : Template 'Name' not found
Somehow,the Templates file has been altered.Best advice is to get another
copy of AMFTracker.

----Couldn't load : Length must be a multiple of &404
The pattern or group pattern file is not of the right length for a four
channel Tracker.(Note however that loading an eight channel pattern file
will be treated as two patterns in length)

----Couldn't load : Length must be a multiple of &804
The pattern or group pattern file is not of the right length for a eight
channel Tracker.

----Couldn't save : Invalid start pattern number
The start pattern number for a group pattern save (Save.Patterns) is larger
than the total number of patterns! Reduce the number.

----Couldn't save : Invalid end pattern number
The end pattern number for a group pattern save (Save.Patterns) is larger
than the total number of patterns! Reduce the number.

----Internal error : Couldn't find ####
AMFTracker has found an unpleasant error in your Tracker file.If you've
created it using AMFTracker,this error shouldn't occur.But if you've been
messing around with it,well...

These are the more common (?) error messages.Deep in the depths of
AMFTracker,far more hideous errors lie,but I doubt any of these will happen.

Acknowledgements
================
Thanks are due to the following:

H Fiennes,M Farrow and F Mercier,for use of the TrackerModule (version 4.04
is used in this version of AMFTracker).AMFTracker can't work without their
module,so they deserve an acknowledgement.

Armaxess,for the idea of a Tracker editor,which I took from Coconizer,which
isn't Tracker compatible,so I had to write my own.

The author of the MODE creator,which I borrowed to create MODE 123 which is
used in the pattern editing section.Coconizer also uses MODE 123,so I
thought that I would use that number also,as it is foolish to demand another
MODE number for the same purpose (the same is true for filetypes,but I won't
comment on these now!)

TrackerModule Instructions
==========================
For full details of the TrackerModule used in AMFTracker,read the text file
in !STracker.STracker,an archived file that can be read using ArcFS,Spark
or SparkPlug.

Known Limitations
=================
AMFTracker can only create four or eight channel files,and no others,
although I cannot see the need to be able to create any others.You can't as
yet delete patterns,although again,this is not of much use,as by deleting a
pattern,you mess up the sequence table.All the patterns are 64 events long,
and no deviation is allowed for,although you can use a "B" command to force
to the end of the pattern.Sample files with any of the words "SDAT","PATT",
"MUSX",etc contained within them,unless they are contained within the header
are likely to cause AMFTracker to crash.Finally,the MODE 123 module clashes
with that in Coconizer,but you are unlikely to want to use both.

Public Domain
=============
AMFTracker is Public Domain,which means that it may be distributed so long
as no profit is made.I,AMF the Doomwatcher,author of AMFTracker retain
copyright,©,over all that is my work,but not on TrackerModule,GetSTMod or
SampConv,on which the appropriate authors copyright lies.In no way do I
claim that I am the author of TrackerModule.I am not.I am however,the author
of AMFTracker,and thus hold copyright over it.

However,due to the multiplicities of public domain libraries,many of whom
are lacking in all scruples,and devoid of any morals,destined to enter the
abyss with all their fellowkind,AMFTracker may only be distributed by those
who have shown themselves over time to be pure and blessed.Thus this version
of AMFTracker may only be distributed by:

Archimedes Public Domain Library (APDL),
96 Lanehouse Road,
Thornaby,
Cleveland,
TS17 8EA.

Those wishing to distribute it should write to me,with a donation,sae and
several good reasons as to their purity and righteousness.If you renounce
evil,pass my tests and show your morals,then maybe,just maybe will
distribution occur.

Versions
========
1.00 Original version.

1.10 Host of bugs removed and new features added.Duplicate pattern now has
     two writeable icons to allow easier duplication,and is fully documented.
     Stereo separation editor added.Saving of samples,patterns and sequences
     added.Version 4.04 of TrackerModule used.Sample files that are not a
     multiple of four long have a more informative error message.Windows are
     closed after a Create,instead of leaving deleted data.Tune name updated
     when saved.Giving a volume greater than 255 no longer crashes
     AMFTracker.Internal speaker control added.Documentation improved.
     Timeout added to Editing screen (leave it for a few minutes to find
     out).Fast forwarding/backwarding added to play tune.Headered samples
     can now be loaded,although more slowly than unheadered ones.Duplication
     of tracks added.More informative error messages added.Version of module
     shown in Info window.Small filetype icons added.Check for out of date
     versions of TrackerModule made during load up.Close icon removed from
     main editing window.

Bibliography
============
AMFonTime II and AMFonTime II Supplemental are two documents that are very
worth reading.

Addresses
=========
Comments,suggestions,bug reports (I hope not) and any donations you wish to
make (cheques payable to A.M.Flintham) to:

AMF the Doomwatcher
  The Monastery of Doomwatcher Monks
    50 Burlington Way
      Mickleover
        Derby
          DE3 5BD