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1993-02-11
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--- When size & performance DO make a difference ---
FOREWORD:
---------
As I'm not particularly interested in writing DOCs, I'll try to make this
a short one. I won't explain what these modules are, because I assume you
wouldn't have even downloaded this program if you didn't already know. :)
The player is made by the coders of THE ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE (EMF). Had to
mention that, too. ;-)
POWERPLAYER IN A NUTSHELL:
--------------------------
We decided that it was about time to release a MOD-player which plays the
modules exactly as they should be played. We also think that most people
don't need scopes, equalizers and other fancy graphics on the screen when
playing modules - they just want to "play 'n' go!" ;-) So we focused on
finetuning the music routine itself to the extreme, and I sincerely think
that we DID succeed in that. The player is very fast, it eats up only
31 kilobytes of memory (plus the module, of course), and what's the most
important thing - the modules DO sound just like they should. I have
tested several module players with nearly a thousand MOD and STM files -
PP seems to be the only one to play all of them correctly.
FUTURE PLANS:
-------------
We start working on Gravis Ultrasound support as soon as possible; we now
have some documents for it (thanks to Tran and CyberStrike of Renaissance
for releasing the information into Public Domain!), and PP 2.0 will have
support for GUS! Support for new module formats (like ST3.0) might also
be added, given that they gain enough popularity...
HOW TO USE POWERPLAYER:
-----------------------
Using the program is pretty simple - Just type in "PP filename", where
filename is the module you want to play. Quite simple and straighforward?
The player will start by searching the module from the current directory;
if it does not find it there, it will try the default module path, which
can be specified in the configuration file. The default extension is MOD,
so you don't necessarily need to type the extension at all. PowerPlayer
uses Sound Blaster by default; if you want to use Covox or change playing
frequency or set the default module directories, you must either run PP
with the /C parameter or make the changes with your favorite ASCII editor
for example QEdit.
ADDITIONAL HINTS FOR USAGE:
---------------------------
1) If you notice that some modules are playing too slow or too fast, try
the /P override, which will disable ProTracker's extended tempos. Some
older NoiseTracker modules (e.g. klisje.mod) may use speeds like 20
or 90, even though all speeds in the range of 20-FF are reserved for
extended BPM tempos in PT! Naturally that kind of modules will sound
wrong if they are played as Amiga's ProTracker would play them. That's
why we had to include a switch for disabling the extended tempos. And
there's no way to detect if extended tempos should or should not be
used; you have to decide it yourself. Fortunately non-standard modules
like Klisje.mod are quite rare and therefore you won't usually need to
bother with this option.
2) If you have some modules which are made on PCs (the vast majority is
made on Amiga; say, 996 MODs out of 1000), for example with ModEdit,
you might want to experiment with the /O command line parameter. This
option will force the player to enable two extra octaves; Amiga MODs
use only three octaves, whereas MODs made on PCs may use five. Usually
you won't hear any difference, should the module use five octaves or
not, but if you notice some module playing "out of tune", try using
the /O override and see if it helps.
3) SB Pro-users: remember to turn on the SB Pro's filter using the "SBP-
SET" program. Otherwise the sound will be somewhat distorted. This is
a known bug and will be fixed in the near future.
4) Hint for 4DOS-users: write the following lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:
(replace "c:\bin\" with the directory where your copy of PP resides)
SET .mod=c:\bin\pp.exe
SET .stm=c:\bin\pp.exe
SET .oct=c:\bin\pp.exe
SET .wow=c:\bin\pp.exe
Now, when you want to play a module, you just type the name of the
desired module, and the music will start! Executable extensions are
really handy, aren't they? (Note: if you're NOT using 4DOS yet, go get
it somewhere immediately, because using a PC without 4DOS is PAIN!!!!)
5) PowerPlayer is the most suitable choice for playing really big modules
which can't be loaded with other players. First, PP requires far less
memory than other players; second, you can use VIDRAM.COM or similar
to get 96 kB more base RAM. Most other players use VGA graphics, and
therefore VIDRAM can't be used. Some users have noticed that when
VIDRAM is loaded, the screen goes black when loading a module. Haven't
had time to examine the problem, but you can get the text visible
again with the CLS command, so that's only a minor nuisance...
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS:
---------------------
Usage: PP [-C] [-P] [-O] [-Sn] [-Dn] [-In] [-Mn] filename
"Filename" is the module file to be played.
-C lets you update the configuration file (PP.CFG).
-P disables the ProTracker's extended tempos (look above for more info).
-O forces the player to use 5-octave mode (look above for more info).
-Sn forces the player to use a certain mixing frequency, where n is
the frequency either in Hz or kHz (eg. -S16000 is the same as -S16).
-Dn forces the player to use a certain output device:
-D1 = Use Sound Blaster
-D2 = Use Covox DAC on LPT1
-D3 = Use Covox DAC on LPT2
-In forces the player to use a certain IRQ when playing with SB;
-I2 = Use IRQ 2
-I3 = Use IRQ 3
-I5 = Use IRQ 5
-I7 = Use IRQ 7
-Mn is the module type override switch, where n is the number of the
desired module type. You should use this if the player fails to detect
the module's type. Do not use this option unless you know what you're
doing.
-M0 = STM (ScreamTracker 2.x)
-M1 = normal 4-channel .MOD file;
-M2 = MOD file with 15 instruments;
-M3 = An 8-channel WOW or OctaComposer module.
NOTE: Both switch characters ('-' and '/') are accepted.
The options can be in any order, before or after the filename.
FEATURES OF PP (mainly for programmers and composers):
------------------------------------------------------
Supports the following module formats:
o SoundTracker
o NoiseTracker
o StarTrekker
o ProTracker
o OctaComposer
o ScreamTracker (note: these are played in the same way as MODs!)
o 8-channel .WOW modules (converted from .669 format)
o 8-channel Fast Tracker modules
o ...and compatibles
In addition, several features not so commonly
supported by PC module players are available:
o Modules with either 15 or 31 instruments
o Samples which are longer than 64 kB
o Modules with over 64 patterns (PT2.2 100-pattern mode)
o ProTracker's FineTune
o ProTracker's extended speeds (10-1F in vblanks, 20-FF in BPMs)
o Extended Vibrato & Tremolo waveforms
o All other extended commands of ProTracker, except FunkIt.
o A very fast & reliable DOS-shell (Note: COMSPEC must be set!)
Music can be output via a Sound Blaster card or a DAC in the printer port
(either LPT1 or LPT2). The player hasn't been tested with Thunder Board
or Pro Audio Spectrum, but it should work on them. If it doesn't, they
are not Sound Blaster compatible which is not our fault. :-)
LEGAL STUFF: