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Amiga Format 93
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af093a.adf
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af1.lzx
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1978-01-13
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This is a list of the new features in V6 (in no particular order):
- New font-sensitive GUI layout.
- Font and screen mode freely selectable.
- Everything is now in windows. As a result, the tracker display is now
fully sizable, and can be scrolled with scroll bars.
- Can have several player commands beside a note. (There can now be
several "Command Pages" per block.)
- Most functions now available via ARexx interface. Also, a shell exists
for entering ARexx commands. (Note: if you'd like to have an ARexx
command for a function, which doesn't have one, just let us know..)
- OctaMED screen is public (name: OCTAMED).
- Can load (Type 0 and Type 1) and save (Type 0) Standard MIDI Files.
- Can play samples using the Toccata sound board from MacroSystems.
(Currently, only one sample at a time. This is subject to change in the
future, however.)
- Can save modules directly as executable files.
- Supports XPK for packing/unpacking saved files.
- PowerPacker parameters (Speedup Buffer and Efficiency) can be set.
- Supports stereo samples.
- Save Timer has new 'Active' and 'Open Save Window' options.
- Audio channels can be freed and reallocated at any time.
- A new Tempo Slow HQ option allows compatibility with the old pre-V5 HQ
mode with slightly slower playing speed.
- Can do rough SPD<->BPM and 4Ch<->8Ch tempo conversions.
- The default tempo set upon startup and clearing the song can now be
selected.
- Synth Editor layout changed (Program is now in a separate window), and
a new 'Reset Temp Wave' menu item was added.
- Sample Editor now displays the sample and buffer resolutions and current
channel on stereo samples.
- Sample Editor has a new zoom slider gadget. (Minimum Zoom can be set, as
well as whether the zoom should be centered on the range or on the center
of the display.)
- New sample formats are supported (both saving and loading):
MAUD Sample format released with, but not restricted in, Toccata
AIFF Audio IFF, a standard sample format across many platforms
WAVE PC .WAV files
All can handle 16-bit and stereo samples, but not looping.
- New Sample Editor edit operations:
Paste (Overwrite)
Erase to Start, Erase to End
Centralize
Adjust Y
- Other new Sample Editor functions:
Sample<->Buffer (swap)
Add Workspace
Calculate Range Time
Tuning Tone
Sample Editor<->Instr. Params Pitch copying
- Sample Editor's Change Volume window has a new Max Clip option, for
specifying the largest allowed clip.
- Sample Editor's Create Chord has a lot of new gadgets for selecting and
building the desired chord. It also has new options: 'Erase Trailing
Notes', 'Full Volume' and 'Play Chord'.
- A new Fast Graphics option speeds up sample editor screen updates
dramatically. (It takes some memory, though.)
- A new Loop menu in Sample Editor with many operations for handling loops.
- The Sample Editor Pitch can be expressed in Hz instead of Period.
- Icons will be optionally generated for samples.
- Sampler monitoring now uses a separate screen and is much faster than
in V5. You can also choose the channel to digitize from. (For stereo
samplers.)
- Sample List can be now cleared. Also, when loading a list, you can either
append to the current list, or replace it.
- You may now insert directories to top of the directory list.
- Input Map functionality changed. You can now perform almost any OctaMED
command (via ARexx), send command to another programs (supporting ARexx),
launch ARexx scripts or external programs.
- Playing Sequence window has new Append and App Curr gadgets.
- Song Annotation window now has a Load Text function, so you can incorporate
text files to your modules. (For more information about the module, its
author etc.)
- The Block List Window has now an option to mark unused blocks with an
asterisk.
- There are now three separate copy buffers for block/track/range operations.
Block cutting/copying/pasting now preserve the block dimensions.
- Instrument Parameters has a new Disable flag for temporarily disabling an
instrument. This is different from setting the volume to zero, because it
can't be overridden with player commands.
- Inst. Params Volume again displayed in both dec and hex.
- Due to some optimizations, Inst. Params window works much faster now when
changing instruments.
- Instrument Load Window now displays the current instrument number.
- A new Halve Loaded Samples menu item controls the halving of loaded samples
in 8-channel mode, instead of the braindead method of holding Shift.
- Keyboard Options: New options 'Poly Play' and 'F6-F10 = Highlights'. The
old 'Protracker Shortcuts' and Keypad gadgets were removed in favour of the
new Keyboard Shortcuts window.
- A new Keyboard Shortcuts window can be used to define new keyboard
shortcuts or to redefine the existing ones. You can map the following
operations to any key/qualifier combination:
- performing an OctaMED command
- sending an ARexx command to an external program
- launching an ARexx script
- launching an external program
- WB Palette can be used.
- A new Miscellaneous Options window with a lot of options:
Close Workbench
Overwrite Requesters
Warn if Disk Full
Size-Only Window Zoom (only with KS3.x)
Use ReqTools
Load Instr from MainCtrl
H->B (used to be a menu item)
Default Volume Mode (dec/hex)
Gadget Shortcut Qual (for underscored gadget shortcuts)
Default HQ Mode
Default Slow HQ
Help Viewer (AmigaGuide/Hyper/XPKGuide)
- New Snapshot/Unsnapshot/Auto-Snapshot options for recording window
positions.
- Default icons for modules, executables and samples are loaded upon
startup from PROGDIR:Icons, and can be replaced/modified by the user.
(Also, the default icons now have 8 colours, but they look quite good
with 4 colour-WB, too.)
- Uses the default busy pointer under KS 3.x.
- The AmigaGuide help is now asynchronous, and has a menu item.
- A lot of not-so-visible enhancements and bug fixes.