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·P·L·A·Y·E·R·
v 1.4
"simply the best!"
Table of contents
==================
1......................................Introduction
2......................................Using Cubic Player
2.1..................................General Keys
2.2..................................Modes and Related Keys
2.3..................................File Selector
2.4..................................Command Line Options
3......................................Special Features
3.1..................................Surrround Sound
3.2..................................Midi Usage
3.3..................................Cubic Player and WIN'95 / OS/2
3.4..................................Intelligent Memory Multiplying (IMM)
3.5..................................Coprocessor
3.6..................................Double GUS Feature
4......................................Notes, Bugs etc.
5......................................Information on Cubic Player
6......................................Greets, Credits
6.1..................................Adresses
=============================================================================
Attention ! Read the following BEFORE using Cubic Player.
=============================================================================
This material is not freeware. You are allowed to
copy it without restrictions for non-commercial use.
No payment of any kind may be charged for this product
or any combination of products or services including
this product without our authorization and official
written license. Commercial use, especially the
industrial manufacturing on any data storage media and
their distribution without the expressed permission
of the producer, is strictly prohibited. This program
or the data files contained therein may not be altered
or modified without the permission of the author.
You take full responsibility for the operation of this
software and any consequences thereof. We the creators
cannot accept liability for damages or failures arising
from the use of this software.
=============================================================================
1: Introduction
================
Cubic Player (CP) is a music player which plays a variety of
sound formats on several sound cards.
The player supports the following sound cards:
-Gravis UltraSound
-SoundBlaster 1.x / 2.x / Pro / 16 & compatibles
-WSS compatible cards / UltraSound MAX / UltraSound DaughterBoard
-Pro Audio Spectrum series
-Quiet Player =)
and the following music formats:
MOD/NST/WOW, XM, S3M, DMF, MTM, ULT, 669, OKT, PTM and MIDI.
If you encounter any problems with this product NOT mentioned
in the text, feel free to contact us. (adresses listed below).
And in case you wanted to run the player under Microsoft Windows 3.x
we'll tell you RIGHT HERE that this is NOT possible!
It seems to work ok with WINDOWS '95. (not tested by us)
This player does support OS/2 v3. See section 3.3 on this.
2: Using Cubic Player
======================
Take your time to read this chapter, or you'll miss some of
the advanced options of Cubic Player...
You can simply start the player without command line options [and
filenames], the player will try to detect your sound device and start
playing the specified files.
If you have not specified any files, you will enter the fileselector
and can select a list of files of your choice.
After that you'll most probably find yourself in the instruments
screen.
2.1: General Keys:
-------------------
these keys are valid throughout the player. (not in the fileselector)
2.1.1: Very very general keys...
---------------------------------
F1 / ? / H : Online HELP
scroll with pgup and pgdn or ctrl-pgup/dn.
if the Help window :) is too small press z
return : next module
p : II / => (pause and play) have fun... ;)
ctrl-p : this is a faster version of pause...
alt-p : idle mode. stop screen output and wait for key!
nice thing for multitaskers.
d : advanced dos-shell!
ctrl-d : less advaned dos-shell... (no top line patching)
f : fileselector (see. 2.3 for usage)
z : toggle vertical screen size (25/50 lines)
alt-z : toggle horizontal screen size (80/132 rows)
ctrl-z : toggle vertical screen size (25/30 lines)
esc esc : the taboo keys... :)
quite useless feature, I think
2.1.2: Module Specific Keys
----------------------------
with these keys you can walk around in the song,
you have to press ctrl for all of them.
ctrl-right : go to next pattern
ctrl-left : go to previous pattern
ctrl-up : go 8 rows up in current pattern (rewind)
ctrl-down : go 8 rows down in current pattern (forward)
ctrl-home : restart the current song
2.1.3: Channel Options
-----------------------
The channels are displayed in all textmodes. In the graphic modes
there is a small box with the channel to let you know which channels
are active at the moment and which channel is selected.
There are 3 channel display modes toggled by c:
-no display: does exactly what it implies.
-small channels: shows from left to right:
instrument number, note, volume, effect and volume bars
-big channels: shows from left to right:
instrument name, note, note effect, volume, volume effect,
panning, panning effect, effect (written) and volume bars
If a note is struck it will be cyan for the current row.
The note, volume and panning effects are described in 2.2.2.2.2
2.1.3.1: Channel Keys
----------------------
c : changes the size of the channel display
left / right : go to previous / next channel
up / down : go to prev / next channel with wrap-around
q : toggle currently selected channel
s : solo channel
1 2 3 .. 0 : goto and toggle channel 1 .. 10
ctrl-1 .. 0 : goto and solo channel 1 .. 10
ctrl-q/ctrl-s: turn on all channels
2.1.4: Volume Options
----------------------
these keys are for volume, stereo fx, speed etc.
they are arranged like the 2nd line on the screen for easy usage.
F2 F3 : dec/inc the master volume
+ - : this lets you adjust the m.vol. more precisely
ctrl-F2/F3 : dec/inc the amplification level,
this takes a little bit of time on sb, so be careful
(We won't take responsibility for your ears..)
F4 : toggle surround (only stereo and Sound Blaster)
flips one channel, makes the sound surround you...
a nice options for headphones or if you have
4 speakers installed, (you can find a description
of how to set them up below) and even if you don't.
You will only hear it if some of the output is
equal on both channels... (combine it with panning)
does not work on a GUS of course!
F5 F6 : slide panning. panning shifts the sound to
the middle or exchanges the channels with each other
if you use headphones, set the panning to somewhere
in between middle and full. it will sound much much
much much better!!!
, . : finer panning
F7 F8 : slide balance
/ * : fine balance
F9 F10 : dec/inc playback speed (see ctrl-F12)
F11 F12 : dec/inc pitch (see ctrl-F12)
ctrl-F12 : toggle speed and pitch lock.
if on, a change in speed also will affect the pitch
and vice versa
backspace : toggle the amazing 32-bit-fast-fourier-interpolation
(SB only !)
ct-backspace : change filter, pretty useless with high sampling
rates... 3 different filters with increasing effect
and 32-bit-fast-fourier-interpolation
(SB only again !)
alt-F2 : save the current values for panning, balance,
amplification, filter/FFI, pitch etc.
alt-F3 : load previously saved values
alt-F4 : load manufactory default settings / reset
2.2: Modes and Related Keys
----------------------------
Note: all previously listed keys are still valid in all modes.
h ? F1 : Help Mode (should be self-explanatory)
i : Instrument Mode (2.2.1)
m : View Song Message (MTM/DMF), keys like in help mode
t : Pattern View (2.2.2)
a : Text Mode Spectrum Analyser (2.2.3)
g : Graphic Spectrum Analyer (2.2.4)
o : Scopes (2.2.5)
n : Note Dots (2.2.6)
w : Würfel mode, höhö.. (see yourself)
x : EXTENDED MODE... beat it!!!
e : Echo Editor (2.2.7)
2.2.1: Instrument Mode <i>
-----------------------------
The usual instrument display... a bit more comfortable than others!
tab : toggle between short and long instruments
pgup / pgdn : scroll
ctrl-pgup/dn : scroll fast
home : go home!
alt-i : clear instrument used flags... wow!
2.2.2: Pattern View <t>
--------------------------
it's really simple:
colors indicate the type of effect:
2.2.2.1: Global Effects
------------------------
green speed commands (tempo, speed)
red position commands (break, goto, patloop, patdelay)
blue global vol fx (set glob vol, glob vol slide)
2.2.2.2: Channel Effects
-------------------------
white instrument effect (set instrument, play note, etc.)
green pitch effect (porta, vibrato, arpeggio, etc.)
blue volume effect (set volume, volslide, tremolo, etc.)
purple panning effect (set panning, panning slide)
red note effect (cut note, delay note, etc.)
the symbols/letters indicate the effect, the values are given in hex
volumes: 00-FF in contrast to volumes in most module formats (00-40)
panning: 00-FF from full left to full right
first instrument is 00 not 01.
2.2.2.2.1: Global Effects
--------------------------
green t?? tempo, the number of ticks per row
s?? speed, the number of ticks per time
red down?? break pattern and start next one in row ??
right?? goto pattern
pl? pattern loop: 0 set label, others: loop ? times
pd? delay pattern for ?*tempo ticks
blue v?? set global volume
up?? global volume slide up
down?? global volume slide down
updown00 continue last global volume slide
2.2.2.2.2: channel effects
--------------------------
white i?? set instrument
C-4... play note C, octave 4
off key off (XM only)
right?? set envelope position (XM only)
green C-4... set porta to note note (porta to note)
up?? pitch slide up 00: cont (porta up)
down?? pitch slide down 00: cont (porta down)
+?? row pitch slide up (finetune)
-?? row pitch slide down (finetune)
note?? pitch slide to note 00: cont (porta to note)
~?? vibrato
~right? vibrato set speed
~=? vibrato set waveform
≡?? arpeggio
blue v?? set volume
up?? volume slide up
down?? volume slide down
+?? row volume slide up (finevol)
-?? row volume slide down (finevol)
~?? tremolo
~=? set tremolo waveform
⌐?? tremor, does anyone use it?
purple p?? set panning
right?? panning slide right
left?? panning slide left
>face< enable surroud sound for channel (see below)
red d?? delay, delays anything, usually notes
!!?? retrigger
right?? sample offset
^?? note cut
2.2.2.3: Keys in Pattern View
------------------------------
space : toggle auto / manual mode
ctrl-pgup/dn : scroll instruments
home : set optimum mode for current module
auto mode:
pgup / pgdn : change number of channels: 32,24,16,8,4
tab : toggle mode (fx on/off etc)
manual mode:
pgup / pgdn : move through patterns
[shift]-tab : change # of channels, mode
2.2.3: Text Mode Spectrum Analyser <a>
-----------------------------------------
On faster computers the spectrum analyser can look a bit dirty.
This is because the player does not wait for a refresh when displaying.
A decay speed is not yet included.
a / alt-F5 : toggle channel mode (all/current)
ctrl-pgup/dn : scroll instruments
pgup / pgdn : change visible frequency range
home : set maximum freq to approximately 3000Hz
tab : change colors
2.2.4: Graphic Spectrum Analyser <g>
---------------------------------------
That kind of stripes that are used in voice recognition...
Watch the vibratos!!! wow.. that's cool..
have a look at guitarsl.mod, armani.s3m and space.mod
g / alt-F3 : toggle channel mode:
- both output channels
- mixed output channels
- currently selected channel only
alt-g : toggle between fast and fine mode
pgup / pgdn : change visible frequency range
home : set maximum frequency to approximately 3000 Hz
tab ctrl-tab : change scale / palette
NEW: shift-g : The Big-GSA !!!! on amazing 1024x768 resolution
(we wish you a Pentium for this mode :-)
2.2.5: Scopes <o>
--------------------
Just simple oscilloscopes for all or one channel
The background piccy needs an extra 250k of memory, if you don't have
that much you can disable the picture with a command line option.
o alt-F2 : toggle mode (single/all channels)
alt-o : toggle trigger, starts the output on a
polarity change
pgup / pgdn : stretch scopes
2.2.6: Note Dots <n>
---------------------
They really look cool, because they use the real frequency and
the real volume...
n : toggle between dots, bars, stereo cones and
stereo dots !
pgup/dn : slide range
ctrl-pgup/dn : slide scale
2.2.7: Echo Editor <e>
-----------------------
Yeah, now it's here. The ultimate Echo Online Editor you have
long waitet for. Create your own Echos with 8 or 16bit quality and
up to 8 different generators. Or simply pick one of the predefined
Echos and enjoy your tunes with the glorious sound of Cathedral II.
(Echos are only available on SB and GUS MAX/WSS)
Selector Keys
--------------
enter : use the currently selected echo
ctrl-up/down : move the echo in list
ctrl-del : delete echo from list
ctrl-ins : store the echo from the editor at the current
position and save the echo list.
tab : jump to editor copying the current echo
esc : leave echo selector / editor returning to cp
Editor Keys / Usage
--------------------
At first you have to select how many Operators your echo should
have in the field OPNUM. Up to 8 Operators are possible.
Then you should define the maximum delay in 0.1 ms. This will have
an effect on the memory requierements of the echo. Then the general
feedback FB should be set. The higher the value the more often the
echo signal is passed in the generator (the louder and stronger the
echo will appear).
Now type in the delay of the Operators in 0.1 ms and their feedback
volume (volumes can be negative, that means the samples will be
player reversed).
At last you can choose a name and 8 or 16bit mixing (of course
16bit mixing takes more resources, but especially with modules
above 16 channels or MIDIs 8bit mixing does not work anymore,
you have to choose 16bit mixing (this has technical reasons))
You can also slide the values by pressing pgup/dn
If you have created interesting and new echos or any comments
the the echo function feel free to contact us!
btw: chorus will not often have much effect on the output...
2.3: FileSelector <f> <ins>
------------------------------
An easy way to search and play your favourite modules
now in version ][. now caches modules... reads from zips...
reads, edits and writes module information files
At first it scans the current directory for modules (files with
the extension .MOD .S3M .XM, .MID...) and lets you select
files. While you do this, it scans the modules for the titles
and number of voices. This can be very slow on disks and CDs and you
can stop it by pressing ctrl-backspace. If you've found a nice module
you can either play it now by pressing return or put it in the
playlist with -> or ins. There is also a quickfind feature: Simply
type the name of the module and the fileselector will go to the
file. (You don't need to complete the name or type it correctly,
it will take the name that is most similar to the typed name)
When you have finished the playlist, hit esc. Remember: return plays
the currently selected module.
2.3.1: Keys for Fileselector
up, down,
pgup, pgdn,
home, end : the usual stuff...
abc123... : quickfind
return : play selected module RIGHT NOW!
esc : leave fileselector, don't interrupt current mod
ins -> : add mod to list (both windows)
del <- : remove mod from list (both windows)
ctrl-left,
ctrl-ins : add all mod in current directory to list
ctrl-right,
ctrl-del : clear playlist
tab : toggle "window"
shift-tab : toggle editor (pgup/dn in editor for move in list)
alt-tab : toggle view mode
ctrl-up, down: move mod in playlist
pgup, pgdn, : (my god, why do i do this?? no one will ever use
home, end : this feature...)
ctrl-backspc : stop reading module info
alt-s : if ctrl-backspace does not work
alt-z : toggle 80*25 / 132*60 lines mode
alt-c : configuration menu (session only, not permanent!)
alt-a : write module information file for dir/list.
alt-w : write module information file for sel. mod.
alt-i : toggle view mode
alt-k : zap this file!
2.4: Command Line
------------------
At the command line you can specify the modules you wish to play.
This works very much like the dos DIR command, e.g. type
cp d:\mods\guitarsl
cp \mods
cp \mods\.xm
cp .
cp c:
You can also give a playlist: cp @d:\mods\favorite.lst
(playlists can be nested, though this feature has not yet
been tested extensively)
NOTE: This feature is not available at the moment due to complete
rebuilt of the fileselector and leck of time.
if you have not specified any modules or none of them could be found
cp will start up with the file selector.
2.4.1: Usage of Command Line Options etc.
------------------------------------------
The command line options are arranged in groups:
-h[n]: view help screen #n
-c: 2.4.2: Sound Device Specific Switches
-v: 2.4.3: Volume Specific Switches
-w: 2.4.4: Screen Specific Switches
-l: 2.4.5: Playlist Specific Switches
-m: 2.4.6: Midi Switches
You can use switches everywhere in the command line, you can
also set default values with the environment variables CP in the
file CP.CFG in CP.EXE's path.
The format is always the same, all switches begin with - or /
Switches of the same group can be put together separated by a ,
(no whitespaces in between!):
-cb -cc0 == -cb,c0
-h : This is a pretty good feature if you don't know
-? : all the switches by heart
2.4.2: Sound Device Specific Switches
--------------------------------------
-c...
c?? : sounddevice
0 : quiet
1 : sb 1.x
2 : sb 2.x
3 : sbpro
4 : sb 16 (asp)
10 : gus
20 : Windows Sound System WSS,
GUS + 16bit daughterboard
21 : GUS MAC CODEC
ATTENTION ! ALL GUS IRQs MUST BE BELOW 8
p??? : port in hex
z??? : secondary port
i?? : irq in dec
j?? : secondary irq
d? : dma
e? : secondary dma
r????? : sampling rate in Hz or kHz
q????? : sampling rate for 32 channels
b[-] : bypass mode [off], bypasses the detect/check
routines, make sure to set all parameters correctly!
m : mono
s : stereo
8 : eight bit
16 : sixteen bit
l[+] : small buffer, if you think the sound output is too
much behind. this could cause trouble on slower
systems, mods with many channels or if echo is
enabled
g[+] : slow gus upload: if dma does not work.
f : disable coprocessor usage
2.4.3: Volume Specific Switches
--------------------------------
-v...
v?? : master volume: 0%..100%, default 100%
a??? : amplify: 0%..400%, default 100%
p??? : panning: -100%..+100%, default 100%
b??? : balance: -100%..+100%, default 0%
s[-] : surround sound [off]
f? : lowpass filter 0..4 -
0 : none
1 : very soft
2 : soft
3 : middle
4 : effective
5 : 32-bit Fast-Fake-Interpolation
6 : 48-bit Adaptive-Oversampling-Interpolation
7 : 64-bit Full-Oversampling-Interpolation
2.4.4: Screen Specific Switches
--------------------------------
-w...
c[+/-] : channels: short, +:long, -:none
zxx : text mode: 0: 80x25, 1: 80x30, 2: 80x50, 3: 80x60
4:132x25, 5:132x30, 6:132x50, 7:132x60
cxx : channel display type xx:
0:none, 1:short, 2:long, 3:side
ixx : instrument display type xx:
0:none, 1:short, 2:long, 3:side
a[-] : turn spectrum analyser on [off]
t[-] : turn pattern view on [off]
x : display very much! (extended mode)
sx : startup screen x: o/g/i/a/t/w (see 2.2)
p[+] : don't [do] load scope background picture
[requires 200k mem]
2.4.5: Fileselector Switches
----------------------------------
-f...
l[+] : don't [do] loop modules
o[-] : don't [do] scramble playlist order
r[+] : don't [do] remove mods from list if played
a[+] : don't [do] scan archives
n[+] : don't [do] scan module names
b[+] : don't [do] scan in (ZIP) archives
i[+] : don't [do] scan module information files
w[+] : don't [do] write module information cache files
e[+] : don't [do] show module information window
c[+] : don't [do] use different colors for different types
z?? : screen size (see -wz)
pPATH : startup path in the fileselector (also affects
command line modules)
2.4.6: Midi Switches
---------------------
-m...
cnn : use nn channels for midi output
ppath : path of the gus-patches
3: Special Features
====================
3.1: Surround Sound
--------------------
This sounds pretty nice if you have a stereo non-wavetable soundcard.
Just buy 1,2 or 3 additional speakers, connect them as showed below
and press F5 twice and F4 in Cubic Player.
Stereo
+ L - - R +
+-+ +-+ +-+ +-+
+-+ +-+ +-+ +-+
I I I I
I I I I
+----+ +-----+-----+ +-----+
I I I I I
I I I I I
I I - I I
I I M-Speaker I I
I I + I I
I I I I I
I + - ----+---- - + I
I L-Speaker R-Speaker I
I I
I I
+---+ +-------------+ +------+
I I I I
+ - - +
S1-Speaker S2-Speaker
Thanks to Micheal Erdmann for this diagram.
(we cannot be made liable for burning equipment, etc.)
3.2: Midi usage
----------------
You have to have the GUS patches for midi support. If you haven't got a
GUS you can find them on many BBSs, they usually come as "GUS-drivers"
and are about 5-6 disks big. GUS users can skip the following part.
(hey, don't mess around with the default.cfg, this can cause errors,
if you make changes to the default.cfg, that refuse to work with cp,
make a copy of the original one and call it cpmidi.cfg)
After installing them into any directory, add the following statement
to cp.cfg: (if there is no cp.cfg yet, create it in the cp directory)
-mpPATH where PATH is the directory of your gus-patches.
In midi mode, some options are disabled and some will look different.
(not all midi effects are processed at the moment, so if you've got
information on midis or the gus patches, contact us!)
3.3: Cubic Player and WIN'95 / OS/2
------------------------------------
if you want to run cp in the background press alt-p to stop all
screen output and enter idle mode. press any key to continue.
Windows 95:
-----------
Yes, Cubic Player works with Windows 95. You have to disable the
"windows detectable" options for the DOS-Task:
- click the start button
- open the program folder
- launch the MS-DOS prompt
- switch the DOS prompt to a window [alt-enter]
- click in the upper left corner of the DOS window
- select "properties"
- select "advanced"
- activate "prevent MS-DOS based programs from detecting windows"
( - activate some other switch concerning ms-dos operation )
- close the DOS prompt and reopen it so changes can have effect
- now you can run CP under WIN'95 in a window (text mode 80x25 &
80x50 only) or in full screen [alt-enter] with all the modes.
thanks fly out to David Márquez Hernández for description.
we are not quite sure if cp will run satisfactory on all
configurations.
OS/2:
-----
Yes, Cubic Player works with OS/2 v3. Simply create a Program-Object
from the Template-Folder. Select DOS-Fullscreen from the Session-Settings
(NO, it does NOT run in a window.) Make sure to put DOS4GW.EXE as the
executable and CP.EXE as parameter. Cubic Player should now work with the
standard DOS-Settings.
If your soundcard is not detected properly, specify it manually in your
cp.cfg (See section 2.4 on this).
Now you have the ONLY Multi-format player that works well with OS/2!
There may be a small clicks or interruptions during task-switching,
but hey, thats OS/2...!
another thing... running CP with OS/2 may cause random disk writes... :]
3.4: Intelligent Memory Multiplying (IMM)
------------------------------------------
What is Memory Multiplying? Well, that's exactly what it tells you. It
can increase the amount of GUS-memory when playing large modules or
MIDIs with many patches.
CUBIC-Player can make up to 8MB out of 1MB of GUS-Ram, so there
shouldn't be any problem with loading large modules.
IMM is enabled automatically when playing on a GUS and low of GUS-RAM.
There is no way of disabling it, because otherwise your modules wouldn't
be played correctly (there're just samples missing :-)
What it does? The first step is to look if any 16bit samples exist.
These are converted to 8bit samples, because the quality loss between
8 and 16bit is almost neglictable (If you only have ONE intrument at
moderate volume 8bit are enough, not for a complete audio track
such as on CD of course). If the samples now don't fit into GUS-RAM
CP tries to crunch the lowest sample. So your HiHats and other
instruments that requiere high sampling rates should survive the process
of crunching sample data.
Other GUS-Player just crunch EVERY sample, not CP. We test after every
attempt to crunch if the tune does now fit into your GUS.
You'll here the difference!
3.5: Use of Co-Processor
-------------------------
You can disable the use of your Co-Processor with the -cf+ switch.
[default setting is Co-Processor enabled]
Co-Processor is only used for Fast-Fourier-Calculations, that means
all modes where spectrum analyser appear (text and graphic modes).
Normally the integer calculations are faster (386-486). But we don't
know for fast Pentiums, because of their new Co-Processor unit. If you
are the lucky owner of a Pentium try for yourself.
3.6: Double UltraSound
----------------------
CP can adress 2 UltraSounds at a time and output on 4 channels
There are 2 modes: 2D and 3D.
The speakers have to be set up as shown in the diagrams.
GUS1 GUS1
[L]------[R] [L]------[R]
2D 3D
[R] top
[L]------[R] /
GUS2 / GUS2
/
[L] bottom
CP will adress the first UltraSound as usual and the second one only
via its port. The amount of GUS memory will be the minimum of the 2
UltraSounds. You can the surround feature (F4) to make cp assign
the instruments to random points in space, or set the 3d-panning
by the Yyz command in XMs. This is a non standard command, and may be
changed in the future:
y=0:below, y=F:above, z=0:behind, z=F:in front
The 2 UltraSounds have to be properly inited before starting cp:
set ultrasnd=settings of GUS2
set ultra16=settings of GUS2 (if it has a DB or is GUSMAX)
ultrinit
set ultrasnd=settings of GUS1
set ultra16=settings of GUS1 (if it has a DB or is GUSMAX)
ultrinit
Then start cp with -cc11 [for 2D] or -cc12 [for 3D]
and -czPPP [port of GUS2]
4: Notes, bugs, etc.
=====================
4.1: Notes on the Implementation of the Formats
------------------------------------------------
XM: -Older XMs do not load. (claustr2.xm, shelter.xm), because that
format is completely different and will not be supported.
(unless I get a description...) Rewrite them with ft2!
Does anyone know exactly how to handle the auto vibrato effect?
-Yyz is used for 3d-panning:
y=0:below, y=F:above, z=0:behind, z=F:in front
DMF: -some fx missing
OKT: -some fx missing
PTM: -some fx missing (note slide)
4.2: Known Bugs
----------------
- cp crashes on some systems (this bug occurred between 0.96 and 1.0)
it might work with a different setup (boot with F5), though this
can only be a temporary solution. please tell us (if it works with
a clean boot) which driver, or which combination of drives causes
cp to crash on which soundcard. Does it crash with WSS or PAS at all?
strange thing... sorry if it happens!
- midis are not played 100% correctly all the time..
(docs, docs, docs, please! (but not the standard ones))
(especially about the .PAT format (not the SDK one))
- the first-note-after-a-loop in no-loops-mode bug
- If you press the <pause> key, the player may stop playing.
We could remove this bug, but then there will be another bug...
some keystrokes will be missed... hmm, there sure is another way... :)
- my GUS does not work :-(
OK, we know, that's because CP can't handle IRQs greater than 7.
(Apparantly that's not our fault but DOS4GW's. The DOS Extender does
not pass IRQs above 7 from real mode correctly) As Every GUS owns a
second IRQ, that is normaly set to IRQ5 in 95% GUSes do work. If you
have set your second (or MIDI) GUS IRQ to above 7 CP will take 2 or
more seconds longer to load all the modules and will most probably
stop playing after a few seconds). You can solve this by changing your
SET ULTRASOUND=port,dma1,dma2,irq1,irq2 commmand in the autoexec.bat
to any free IRQ below 8.
4.3: Future Enhancements
-------------------------
- more formats (AMS at first)
- MPU 401
- [secret] :)
5: Information on Cubic Player
===============================
The player was started somewhere in 1993, (was it?) using Borland C++ 3.1
and TASM 3.1, and was used in VEX-intro, which was presented at the
Assembly '94. That version was still quite buggy, but the bugs did not
appear in the VEX-tune... In late September '94 I got Watcom C++ v10 and
transformed the sources to Watcom's C++ implementaton. Then the player
was given a user interface, which was worked out in the following
nine months. The playback quality was also improved, so you now have
one of the best and fastest module players. The mixer is especially fast
(that's what my speed test program told me, a simple loop per time count
program, no tricks) with multi channel modules that use panning, faster
than any other players I know of.
This is quite astonishing, since less than 5% of the player was coded in
assembler, the rest in C/C++. (600k source in C++, 15k source in ASM,
10k assembler object code, the rest in C/C++, takes 15 min to compile ;)
Cubic Player uses Rational Systems' DOS4G DOS extender, so the player
can use all (or 16M at maximum) your extended / expanded memory.
well... currently we are having a kinda war with the coder, organizer
and sysops of another player... just for info... :)
(Huhu Nachhilfelehrer!!! huahua!)
[no time for more facts, David!]
6: Greets, Credits
===================
thanks go to:
--------------
Glenn & Marc Moore / Sound Solutions
Jens Uwe Rumstich / Green Apple
Scholar / $EEN
Matthias Beilicke
Iron Eagle / TC
Abyss / FC
SS.C
for ß-testing:
---------------
the Sodomist
Scholar / $EEN
Green Apple
Zomb
Shadow Dancer / $EEN
Encounter
the Frontier
greets:
--------
THE COEXiSTENCE
Green Apple
Future Crew
Legend Design
Cascada
$EEN
K.L.F.
Complex
Libertine / TC
Jinx! / TC
AVATAR / LD
Zodiak / Cascada
SiPiYou / VD
Zomb
Ratzkartoffel for nice hints!
Christophe Yvon
Moku / Assembly Organizing
Chaos, Pole & Garlick
Michael Erdmann
David "that cool spanish guy that writes loong and booring letters"
Márquez Hernández :)
and all those guys that wrote one or more letters to me...
(Just no time to reply... Berthold Meyer has delayed the release for
at least a day, and now I don't have the time to send you the
latest release before I leave... FEEEEERIEN!!!!)
you'll get a reply... but later.
6.1: Adresses
--------------
SNAILMAIL:
Niklas Beisert (pascal)
Oberstraße 84
20149 Hamburg
Germany
INTERNET:
bertolt.meyer@hamburg.netsurf.de
FiDO-NET:
Niklas Beisert@2:240/5121
SUPPORT BBS:
+---------------------------------------+
| MEDIA BBS, 5.2 GB online |
| |
| +49-40-677 95 53 [16.8 ZyXEL] |
| FIDO: 2:240/5121 |
| SFX: 747:49/4002 |
| WOS: 46:4920/110 |
| OA-NET: 123:4003/23 |
| +49-40-675 38 78 [28.8 V.Fast] |
| FIDO: 2:240/5122 |
| SFX: 747:49/4001 |
| |
| with a special menu for cubic player |
+---------------------------------------+
Have fun with CUBIC-Player...
pascal / doj / ?hook
PS: please vote for VEX-Intro on the Assembly '94 CD-ROM Voting Card (64k)