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EnigmA Amiga Run 1996 February
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EnigmA AMIGA RUN 04 (1996)(G.R. Edizioni)(IT)[!][issue 1996-02][Skylink CD III].iso
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modform.rea
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1996-01-16
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57 lines
Short: Creates a 8ch module out of a 4ch one
Author: andezl@kastelli.otol.fi (kastelli.ouka.fi soon?)
Uploader: andezl@kastelli.otol.fi
Type: mus/edit
This text file doubles as achive's readme and in-lha instructions to use, so
I'll make it short.
This application makes it possible to make your pt the long sought 8 channel
tracker. ModForm takes in one 4ch module and according to some rules,
constructs a 8ch one out of it. I made this because GuruS2 (PS3M's author)
again refused to make the FT2 Song Editor I have been brainwashing him to do
for a few months. ;) I was too lazy to make a real 8ch editor myself, so think
this as a compromise.
ModForm's command line usage is as follows: 'ModForm filename'. Use no
quotas/wildcards, file name is taken in as typed. Path can be specified.
What ModForm does? It picks all the adjacent patterns of a module as pairs and
combines them as one, in other words, it takes patterns 2n and 2n+1 and joins
them as one 8ch pattern n. Thus patterns 0 and 1 are joined as one 8 channel
pattern 0. The next patterns 2 and 3 are joined as 8ch pattern 1 and so on.
Note that the real PATTERNS are joined, not the song-position -referring
patterns! The even pattern defines the 1-4 channel side of a 8ch pattern and
the odd pattern defines the 5-8 channel side of it.
To construct your module, you specify the pattern order table as normally,
remembering that the 4ch patterns 0 and 1 ALWAYS mean the 8ch pattern 0. So
now the first free pattern after 0 is 2, then after 2 comes 4. You can also
specify the odd patterns in the order table - it will still refer to the
correct 8ch pattern. The last pattern of a module must be odd, because
otherwise the whole 8ch module will be corrupt: the pt must save an even
number of patterns! So avoid this mistake by making sure you save the both
parts of the last 8ch pattern.
I retrackered one of my favourite 4ch tunes I have always thought needing extra
channels, but did very quickly and roughly and only partially - apologizes to
the module Belle-Helene's author Tiny. To be honest, I have always thought
myself to be better as coder than musician. ;) Use the ModForm to make the
real playable 8ch module for PS3M/Hip/others. The mod-prefix will change to
md8 to indicate the 8channelness.
I know that this piece is a complete fuck-up on the code level. But as a
two-hour utility I think I'll allow it to it. Did you know that this document
is three times the size of the actual utility? If you have comments,
suggestions, booze and/or advise then I'll be extatic and looking forwards to
hearing from you. If you find this useful and/or manage to make a good 8ch
tune with the help of this, let me know. Should this document seem
ununderstible (it does), look at the example.
Oh yeah, I just made this utility backwards compatible - it is possible to
convert normal mod8:s back to program's special 4ch modules, but that loses 8ch
patterns above 32 unless 100 patterns mode is enabled - 50 should be enough,
you know. ;) Have fun!
* STL / Damage --- andezl@kastelli.otol.fi --- Antti Lankila *