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User's Manual
1. Introduction
1.1 What is Impulse Tracker?
1.2 About Impulse Tracker
1.3 Running Impulse Tracker
1.4 Technical information about Impulse Tracker
2. Using Impulse Tracker
2.1 Playing songs
2.2 Pattern editor
2.3 Order list, channel panning & volume
2.4 Samples
2.4.1 Information about samples
2.4.2 Sample functions
2.5 Instruments
2.6 Song Variables
2.7 Hey! This program looks like Scream Tracker 3!!!
2.8 Gravis UltraSound / Interwave / AWE32 users.
3. Before you write to me (Important notes)
4. Closing words
5. How to get the latest version of Impulse Tracker
6. Legal stuff
** Please note that this document hasn't been udpated in a long time.
** Some information may be missing, which may be present in supplementary
** files such as DRIVERS.TXT, FILTERS.TXT, MIDI.TXT, UPDATE.TXT, etc.
1. Introduction
If you are familiar with tracker programs, then you could probably
skip through most of this document. (I strongly suggest that ANYONE
print out SUMMARY.TXT though, for a list of effects and editing
commands.) For those of you who have had experience with Scream
Tracker 3, read section 2.7. This should detail most of the major
differences between Scream Tracker 3 and Impulse Tracker. For those
of you who are unfamiliar with tracker programs it would probably be
best to print out this document, and then refer to it as you work
with the program.
Check out the file UPDATE.TXT. If this document contains conflicting
information with what's listed in UPDATE.TXT, then follow what
UPDATE.TXT contains, as I may have forgotten to update this text.
1.1 What is Impulse Tracker?
Impulse Tracker is a program used to create high quality music
without the requirements of specialised, expensive equipment. The
hardware requirements should be easily met: Any IBM 386+ compatible
computer (although a 486+ is recommended), and a VGA or higher video
card. If you want to hear sound, you'll need one of the following:
<20> Sound Blaster series (or most compatibles)
<20> Pro Audio Spectrum
<20> Windows Sound System
<20> ESS ES1868 AudioDrive
<20> Ensoniq SoundscapeVIVO
<20> EWS64XL Soundcards
<20> Gravis UltraSound
<20> Interwave based board
<20> Generic MPU401 for MIDI Input/Output
<20> DAC on LPT1/LPT2
<20> PC Speaker
Note that stereo effects (including surround sound) can only be
experienced on software mixed stereo cards. Hardware mixed soundcards
support panning, but do not support surround sound.
You'll need about 500k of conventional memory to get the program
running - about 600k to have it load almost any song (as long as you
have an EMM driver - samples are stored in EMS when possible, otherwise
the songs that you are able to load will be limited even further!).
If you use EMM386.EXE, add "H=255" at the end of it to prevent
"Out of memory" messages when you still have EMS remaining. If
you're using some other memory manager, check it's documentation
to see how to increase the number of "memory handles".
Impulse Tracker supports direct control over 64 channels, and can
load and play the following formats: S3M, MTM, MOD and of course,
IT. At the moment, modules can only be saved in the IT and S3M
formats.
The number of channels playable on hardware mixed soundcards is
limited by the hardware. Check DRIVERS.TXT for specific details
on your soundcard hardware.
The Gravis UltraSound can only play 32 channels, although this
shouldn't be too much of a limitation. Note that if you put notes
in channels 33->64 in sample mode using a Gravis, you WILL NOT hear
these notes! (There's an explanation of sample mode much later on,
just keep it in mind if you own a Gravis UltraSound - it shouldn't
cause any problems.) The same restriction applies for the Sound
Blaster AWE 32, but to 30 channels. (ie. notes in channels 31->64
will not cause any sound)
1.2 About Impulse Tracker.
Impulse Tracker began simply as an extension to Scream Tracker 3
(which should be quite obvious to Scream Tracker 3 users, due to
the interface.) At first, I only intended a couple of extra
features (eg. proper panning and a couple of other interesting
functions), but with the release of Fast Tracker 2, it became obvious
that there were many areas in which Scream Tracker could be improved.
In spite of all the limitations of Scream Tracker 3 (in comparison
to Fast Tracker 2, which offered Volume/Panning Envelopes, 16-bit
samples, Samples > 64k, an in built sampler, proper stereo panning
on SB16, etc. etc), there were still more .S3M releases than there
were .XM releases! And the reason must have been within the way
you WRITE music with Scream Tracker 3. That's why I've used the same
simple and QUICK interface that Scream Tracker 3 offered. And I've
also incorporated all the power of Fast Tracker 2 and more!
The Tracker was written in 100% Assembler. All the routines are of
my own coding (That's why some of them suck so much :) ).
The program was written on and off during 1995, but most of the
work was completed in the summer holidays of '96. The source code
is over 100,000 lines long and occupies over 3MB. The Tracker runs
entirely in text mode (!) with some neat remapping of characters
(that's why I haven't been able to use colours to help in some places
ie. making the volume envelope nodes a different colour would have
made it easier to use!).
1.3 Running Impulse Tracker.
Win95 Users - ignore all this HIMEM and EMM386 stuff.. as long as
you don't have "noems" or "noframe" as a parameter to EMM386 in your
config.sys file, it'll work fine. If you have no idea what I'm talking
about, you can probably assume it's fine :) (unless you get "out of
memory messages")
Impulse Tracker uses EMS. If you want to be able to load large songs,
you need the following lines in your CONFIG.SYS file (on your boot
drive)
DEVICE=<path>\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=<path>\EMM386.EXE RAM H=255
eg. if the files are in your C:\DOS directory, you need this:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM H=255
If you use QEMM, use the following line instead:
DEVICE=<path>\QEMM.SYS DMA=64, HANDLES=255
If you want to run Impulse Tracker in Windows 95, check out WIN95.TXT
To find out details about the driver for your soundcard, check through
DRIVERS.TXT.
Most users should not require any command line switches, however
the following are available:
SFilename.Drv - Sets sound driver to use. eg. IT /sITIW.DRV
this may become necessary as new sound drivers
are released.
S# Set sound card
S0 = No sound card (silent mode)
S1 = PC Speaker
S2 = Sound Blaster
S3 = Sound Blaster 2
S4 = Sound Blaster Pro
S5 = Sound Blaster 16
S6 = Sound Blaster AWE 32
S7 = Gravis UltraSound
S8 = Interwave
S9 = Pro Audio Spectrum
S10 = Pro Audio Spectrum 16
S11 = Windows Sound System
S20 = .WAV writer device
If this parameter is omitted, then a (hardware) detection
routine is used. Check DRIVERS.TXT for specific information
on the various drivers.
Axxx Set Base Address of sound card (hex)
D# Set DMA of sound card (decimal)
I## Set IRQ of sound card (decimal)
M##### Set Mixspeed. Values are accepted between 0->65535,
however, the soundcards have hardware limits which will
override the command line switch. Again, check DRIVERS.TXT
for specific information on your sound driver.
L### Limit number of active channels
When you limit the number of channels, you are limiting the
number of notes that you can hear on playback. In a "Sample"
controlled song (explained later), the result is that if you
play a 16 channel piece with the limit at 4 channels, then
you will lose the last 12 channels! Even if the first 4
are not playing anything. In an instrument controlled song,
the result is that you will hear 4 notes at most, which can
be controlled from any of the 64 channels, excess notes will
be lost. (The reason for this is within the channel
allocation routines.)
Note that the hardware mixed devices (eg. Gravis UltraSound,
AMD Interwave and Sound Blaster AWE32) cannot play more
than a certain number of channels (drivers.TXT will provide
the exact details).
If you are new to tracking and didn't understand what I was
just talking about, hilight this section with a marker
(you've printed this out, right?), and in your dabblings,
if you notice that some notes aren't being played, reread
this section. It should make sense by then, and the reason
hopefully lies in the above paragraphs.
V1 Override VGA detection routine.. in case you DO have a
VGA and the program doesn't recognise it. If characters
look weird, you may need to use this switch to override
the Matrox mode autodetect.
V2 Force Matrox mode. Use this switch if you get garbled stuff
appearing on your screen
R Reverse stereo channels.
This is only really useful on the SB16. (Swaps left/right
outputs). The Sound Blaster Pro stereo setting routines
aren't accurate, and will sometimes set the left to left
and right to right (how it's supposed to be), and
sometimes set the left to right and right to left (how
it's not supposed to be :) ).
You can also switch left/right channels in IT by pressing
Alt-R on the info page.
C Control playback in DOS Shell.
When this option is on, the following keys will operate
within the DOS Shell:
Right-Alt: Stop playback
Right-Ctrl: Play song (if not already playing)
Grey Plus: Increase global volume
Grey Minus: Decrease global volume
Warning: There are problems on some computers with this
enabled! If your keboard locks up, it may be
necessary to press the left ctrl/alt to "unfreeze"
it... sometimes (other times.. I don't know!)
F Disable file colour distinctions.
When this is on, all file colours will appear the same as
the background colour. This is just to make it easier to
redo the palette to your liking more easily.
1.4 Technical Information
Formats supported
Modules:
MOD (M.K., M!K!, 4CHN, 6CHN, 8CHN, xxCH, FLT4, FLT8)
669 (Composer 669, Unis669)
MTM (MMEdit files)
S3M (Scream Tracker 3 files)
XM (Fast Tracker 2 files, DigiTracker 3 files)
IT (Impulse Tracker 1.xx, 2.xx files)
Samples:
S3I (Scream tracker sample, 8 bit or 16 bit)
IFF (Fast tracker 2 sample, 8 bit or 16 bit)
WAV (Microsoft WAV, 8 bit or 16 bit)
Wxx (TX Wave format samples)
ITS (Impulse tracker sample, 8 bit or 16 bit)
RAW (Raw sample information, assumed 8 bit)
PAT (Gravis UltraSound patches)
KRZ (Kurzweil Synth files)
MOD (Samples from almost all .MOD formats)
PTM (Samples from Poly Tracker modules)
669 (Samples from 669 and 669 Enhanced modules)
FAR (Samples from Farandole composer modules)
MTM (Samples from MMEdit modules)
S3M (Samples from Scream Tracker 3 modules)
XM (Samples from Fast Tracker 2 modules)
IT (Samples from Impulse Tracker 1.xx, 2.xx modules)
Instruments:
XI (Instruments from Fast Tracker 2)
ITI (Instruments from Impulse Tracker)
XM (Instruments from Fast Tracker 2 modules)
IT (Instruments from Impulse Tracker 1.xx, 2.xx modules)
Modules
99 Samples maximum
99 Instruments maximum
200 Patterns maximum (from 32-200 rows per pattern)
256 Orders maximum
64 Channels under direct control
256 Channels maximum for virtual control (64 max default)
Samples
8/16 bit samples
Maximum size around 4MB
No Loop/Forwards/Ping pong loop
Default pan for samples (optional)
Vibrato parameters
Instruments
25-point Volume/Panning/Pitch envelopes
Default pan for instruments (optional)
Pitch pan separation
Volume / panning swing
Virtual controls (*REALLY* worth understanding)
MIDI Output controls
Sound Devices
Generic MPU401
Sound Blaster 1.xx, 2.xx (8 bit mono)
Sound Blaster Pro (8 bit stereo)
Sound Blaster 16 (16 bit stereo, MIDI In supported)
Sound Blaster AWE 32 (16 bit stereo, hardware mixing, MIDI In &
MIDI Out supported)
Pro Audio Spectrum (8 bit stereo)
Pro Audio Spectrum 16 (16 bit stereo)
Windows Sound System card (16 bit stereo)
ESS ES1688 AudioDrive (16 bit stereo)
ESS ES1868 AudioDrive (16 bit stereo, MIDI In supported)
ESS ES1869 AudioDrive (16 bit stereo)
Gravis UltraSound (16 bit stereo, hardware mixing)
Interwave based board (eg. GUS PnP, Dynasonix, 16 bit stereo,
hardware mixing, MIDI In & MIDI Out
supported)
EWS64XL (Codec driver, 16 bit stereo)
Sound Track '97 PCI (16 bit stereo)
DAC on LPT1/LPT2 (8 bit mono)
PC Speaker (very final option not recommended... )
MIDI Output
Supports 128 MIDI Macros
Supports 16 parmaeterised MIDI Macros
Internal handling of conflicting notes
Fully configurable output messages
2. Using Impulse Tracker
Before any specific details of how to use the tracker, it may be
worth knowing these few "editing" keys:
When using Thumbbars.
Pressing Left and Right arrows will shift the values left/right
Holding down Ctrl while pressing left/right will move them quicker
And Shift-Left/Right will move them even quicker....
But just typing in a number will get you directly to the desired value!
String (text) entry.
Nothing special here (and the routines need to be rewritten), but
pressing Ctrl-Backspace will clear the entire text..
Numerical entries (of the 7 digit or 3 digit variety)
Pressing '+' or '-' will increase/decrease the value by 1. This is
especially useful when modifying loop values.
2.1 Playing songs
If you are like most of us, you would have run the program first,
and probably figured out how to do this yourself. Songs are simply
loaded by pressing F9 at any time (to invoke the file load menu)
and then selecting a song by pressing Enter. You can also type the
first few characters of a filename, and a "search" will be made for
the first match.
Note that on all the file menus in Impulse Tracker, you can also
delete files by pressing Delete.
After loading a song, use F5 to play it and F8 to stop. The Info
Page should appear, and you can cycle through views using
PgUp/PgDn. Separate view windows can be created by pressing Insert
(and removed by pressing delete) and these separate windows can
each have a different view method.
Details (ranges follow in brackets):
Frequency - the speed (pitch) at which the sample is played in
samples per second
Position - the offset in a sample (in bytes)
Smp - The sample currently being played (1->99)
FVl - The final volume of the sample, taking into account
all the scaling factors (viz global volume, sample vol,
envelope volume, channel volume and fadeout) (0->128)
CV - Channel volume (0->64)
SV - Sample volume (0->64)
VE - Envelope volume (0->64)
Fde - Fadeout component (0->512)
Pn - Panning (0->64, Su = surround)
PE - Panning envelope value (0->32)
NNA - The current NNA (Cut/Con/Off/Fde)
Tot - The total number of active virtual channels 'owned' by
the channel
If you're looking for some songs to play, check out the following
places:
ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music [huge collection!]
kosmic.wit.com/kosmic/songs
ftp.uni-muenster.de/pub/sounds
archie.au/pub/aminet/mods
2.2 Pattern editor (F2)
The pattern editor allows you to edit patterns. For those of you
who are familiar with music, patterns can be thought of as "bars",
and the order in which these "bars" are played is determined by
order list. For those of you who are not familiar with music,
consider patterns as a small collection of notes. Impulse Tracker
supports up to 200 different patterns - it *IS* quite a lot more
than it may initially sound!
Each pattern can range in length between 32 and 200 rows. You can
change this value by using the "Pattern Editor Configuration" screen by
pressing F2 when alredy in the Pattern Editor. (If you want to change
the number of rows of several consecutive patterns, use Ctrl-F2)
The other options available are the base octave (explained later),
the skip value (also explained later), the row hilight major and
minor (which determines the distance between the emphasized rows)
and the command/commandvalue link/split option, which determines
whether when editing, the cursor should move downwards when entering
an effect, or across to the effect value columns.
The pattern editor appears normally as 5 'channel' columns as such:
(You can configure the pattern editor .. press F1 in the pattern
editor, then page down to find the Track View options.)
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
<20>C-5 01 23 A02<30>E-5 02 64 D01<30><31><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> .00<EFBFBD>
^ ^ ^ ^
Component Columns: 1 2 3 4
What the component columns mean:
1) The first column contains the note and octave of the note.
Notes are entered by using the keyboard as such:
(Note) C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C# D#
<20> <20> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20> <20>
<20> <20> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20><> <20> <20> <20> <20><> <20> <20>
(What you <20> <20>S<EFBFBD><53>D<EFBFBD> <20> <20>G<EFBFBD><47>H<EFBFBD><48>J<EFBFBD> <20> <20>2<EFBFBD><32>3<EFBFBD> <20> <20>5<EFBFBD><35>6<EFBFBD><36>7<EFBFBD> <20> <20>9<EFBFBD><39>0<EFBFBD> <20>
type) <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20>
<20> Z<> X<> C<> V<> B<> N<> M<> Q<> W<> E<> R<> T<> Y<> U<> I<> O<> P<>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
(Note) C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E
(Octave 0) (Octave 1) (Octave 2)
(For those of you with AZERTY keyboards, you will find that
the keys should work as positioned on the keyboard, rather
than having to figure out QWERTY equivalents)
The octave of the note is determined by adding the BaseOctave
to the Octave of the note played. The BaseOctave can be
adjusted by pressing the Grey keys '/' or '*' or using
Ctrl-Up Arrow or Ctrl-Down Arrow.
The range of notes is from C-0 to B-9. The 'middle' note is
considered as C-5
Pressing '1' on the note column will enter a notecut command.
This causes any note in the column to immediately stop.
Pressing '`' (the note below ESC) on the note colume will enter a
noteoff command. This causes all sustain points to be released
(Explained in samples and instruments in more detail.)
At the bottom of the channel is an 'edit mask'. This highlights
what will be affected when you type anything in. Note that
typing a note in can affect more than just a note - normally
it's set to enter an instrument and volume with it! You can easily
tell IT to enter an effect with it also by changing the
channel mask with ',' (comma) on columns 2, 3 and 4.
Examples of interpretation:
<20>C-4 01 <20><> .<2E><><EFBFBD> - will play note C octave 4, instrument 1
<20>D-4 <20><> <20><> .<2E><><EFBFBD> - will play note D, octave 4, instrument 1
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> 02 <20><> .<2E><><EFBFBD> - Will play note D, octave 4, instrument 2
<20>E-4 <20><> <20><> .<2E><><EFBFBD> - will play note E, octave 4, instrument 2
<20>G-6 12 <20><> .<2E><><EFBFBD> - will play note G, octave 6, instrument 12
2) The second column contains the sample/instrument, depending on
whether the tracker is operating in sample mode, or instrument
mode. Valid ranges are from 01->99 (decimal).
3) The third column contains the volume or panning of the note.
To toggle between entry of volumes and panning, press '`'
Volumes.
0 is the softest (ie. nothing) and 64 (decimal!) is the loudest.
If no volume is specified, then the default volume for the sample
is used. (Note that effects *CANNOT* raise the volume above 64)
The volume scale works linearly - ie. one note played at a
volume of 64 will be the same 'loudness' as 4 of the same note,
one played at a volume of 10, another at a volume of 30,
another at a volume of 20 and another at a volume of 4.
(10+30+20+4 = 64)
But if you have a choice, always go for the single note (it
will require less processing (occupy less channels), and also
sound better in quality, due to roundings that occur in processing
softer volumes).
Panning.
Panning controls appear in a different colour to the volume
controls. For panning in this column, 0 represents far left, and
64 represents far right. If you have an Xxx effect at the same
time, the Xxx will take precedence over this column.
It is more efficient filesize-wise to use a panning control in
this column rather than in the effect column.
Volume, Panning & Effect??
OK. So you want to do something tricky. Well, it's possible to
get all 3 of these how you want with a little meddling with
the channel volume control - just place one before the row with
an appropriate value (remember that the range is 0->40 HEX) such
that the channel volume scales the default volume to the desired
value.... What I mean is that if you want to play a note at volume
32, pan 48, with vibrato H81, then you can do the following:
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> M20<32> - Set channel volume to HALF.
<20>C-4 01 48 H81<38> - The 48 is a pan command - this assumes that
the default volume for sample/instrument 1
is 64.
Volume Column Effects
In IT208 and higher, some extra functions are available in the
volume column. These allow you to slide the volume up/down and
pitch up/down, just like the final column effects. If you aren't
familiar with the rest of the editor, leave this section out for
now and come back after you have become acquainted to column
(4) of the editor - the effects column.
Volume column effects are selected by pressing A-H in the first
column of the effects.
Ax = fine volume slide up by x
Bx = fine volume slide down by x
Cx = volume slide up by x
Dx = volume slide down by x
Ex = pitch slide down by x
Fx = pitch slide up by x
Gx = portamento to note with speed x
Hx = vibrato with depth x
In all cases, if x is 0, then the effect memory is used (as
explained in (4)
The memory for Ax/Bx/Cx/Dx are shared, as is the memory for
Ex/Fx.
4) The final column contains effect data. For those of you who are
just starting, I would advise you to leave this section until
later, when you have already dabbled with entering notes, and
want some special features. It's easy to get caught up with all
these special features and you can 'overdo' the effects.
And it will sound absolutely pathetic.
Trust me, I know - I've done it :)
Effects are entered by typing 'a'-'z', then a hex value
(see later for an explanation of hex numbers) as the final two
entries. The effects allow you to a wide variety of functions
that are otherwise impossible to obtain.
Due to the repetitive nature of some effects, there is a
'memory' so that instead of typing:
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 It is easier to <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 use: <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
The following effects 'memorise' their previous values:
(D/K/L), (E/F/G), (HU), I, J, N, O, S, T, W
Note: Bracketed commands share the same 'memory' value. So
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> E12 can be written as: <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> E12
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> F12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> F00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> E12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> E00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> F12 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> F00
C-4 01 <20><> G12 C-4 01 <20><> G00
Commands H and U are linked even more closely.
If you use H00 or U00, then the previous vibrato, no matter
whether it was set with Hxx or Uxx will be used. So:
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> H81 Is the same as: <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> H81
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U00 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> H81
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U83 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U83
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U00 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U83
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> H00 <20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> U83
Hex Numbers
Note: Impulse Tracker works ENTIRELY with decimal numbers
EXCEPT for the effects column.
Instead of using a decimal system (ie. base 10), it is more
natural for the computer to work with hexadecimal (often
abbreviated to simply 'Hex') - numbers which operate in base
16. The first 9 numbers in hex are denoted by '1' to '9' and
the next 6 are denoted by 'A' to 'F'. So if you count in hex,
it will be as follows: (0), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B,
C, D, E, F, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 1A, 1B,
1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 2A etc.
To convert a hex number to decimal, multiply the 'tens' column
by 16 and add the value of the second column. ie. 32 Hex =
3*16+2 = 50 decimal. 2A hex = 2*16+10 = 42. (because A = 10)
The maximum number that you can represent with two Hex digits
is FF = 255 decimal.
Hope that this makes SOME sense :)
Effects.
Axx Set Speed.
I prefer to think of this command as "Set Frames per Row".
Normally, the tracker operates at around 50 frames a
second. If the rows were played at this speed, then a huge
amount of space would be required to enter the pattern data.
Instead, setting the 'speed' of the song will cause the
tracker to wait on the current row for 'xx' frames. Hence,
setting the speed at 50 (decimal = 32hex) will cause each
row to last about a second - quite a long time! The default
is A06. The initial speed can be set in the variables
screen on F12.
If two Axx commands are given in the same row, then the
command in the higher channel (by number) will take effect.
Bxx Jump to order.
Causes the song to jump to order xx (hex). This is often
used to create looping songs.
If two Bxx commands are given, then the command in the
higher channel will take effect.
Cxx Break to row.
The Command Cxx signifies the end of the current pattern,
and also that the next pattern should be played from row
xx (hex)
If two Cxx commands are given... you know :)
D0x Volume slide down
The volume slide down command causes the volume of the
note to be reduced by x for each frame after (for that
row). ie. If you have a note at volume 64, with command
D01 and speed A06, then the final volume will be 64-5=59.
A note at volume 32 with command D02 at speed A05 will
result in a volume of 24.
For greater S3M compatibility, D0F will cause the volume
to drop by 15 EVERY frame, instead of just off-note frames.
Here's a full frame-by-frame description which should provide
greater understanding:
At 'speed' 4:
C-4 01 .. D04
What this does is:
Frame 1: Plays C-4 with instrument 1
Frame 2: Lowers the volume by 4
Frame 3: Lowers the volume by 4
Frame 4: Lowers the volume by 4
The next frame will be controlled by the next row of
information.
Dx0 Volume slide up.
Operates exactly the same way as D0x, but slides the
volume up by 'x'. Volumes cannot exceed 64 (checked
and limited internally).
For greater S3M compatibility, DF0 will cause the volume
to rise by 15 EVERY frame, instead of just off-note frames.
DFx Fine volume slide down.
Takes the volume down by x at the start of the row.
DxF Fine volume slide up.
Takes the volume up by x at the start of the row.
Exx Pitch slide down
The pitch will slide down with speed xx (hex). In linear
frequency mode, a pitch slide down by a particular value
will always cause the same "pitch interval" - this does
not occur in Amiga frequency mode. Valid ranges for xx
are between 0 and 0DFh (as > 0E0h will be interpreted as
fine slides)
EFx Fine pitch slide down
Slides the pitch down by x at the start of the row.
EEx Extra fine pitch slide down
Same as EFx, but 4 times finer. (ie. EE4 is equivalent to
EF1)
Fxx Pitch Slide up
FFx Fine Pitch slide up
FEx Extra fine pitch slide up
Operates in the same manner as the Exx commands, but
slides the pitch up. If the pitch gets 'too high', then
the channel is turned off.
Gxx Portamento to note.
This command requires 2 parameters: A note to slide to
and a speed. Example:
C-4 01 <20><> .00
G-4 01 <20><> G08
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> G00
This will cause the note C-4 to slide to G-4 with speed 8.
You *CAN* change the sample that the note is sliding to.
It is a good idea to make sure that the C5Speed of the
samples is similar, if you want to try this! The new sample
will play from it's beginning.
Hxy Vibrato with speed x, depth y
Causes the frequency to osciallte with depth 'y' at speed
'x' which causes an interesting effect. Don't get carried
away with it though! If you specify EITHER x or y as 0, then
the previous value will be used.
Ixy Tremor with ontime x, offtime y.
Causes the volume of the instrument to remain normal for
x frames, then sets the volume to 0 for y frames.
Jxy Arpeggio with halftones x, y.
This causes the note to quickly cycle through three notes -
the note playing, a note x halftones above, and a note y
halftones above. This causes an effect similar to old
C-64 chords.
Example: C-4 01 <20><> J47 will cause the notes C-4, E-4 and
G-4 to be cycled.
Kxx Dual command: Vibrato + Dxx (Volume slide)
Note: The vibrato could have been set with either Hxx or
Uxx
Lxx Dual Command: G00 + Dxx (Portamento to and Volume slide)
Mxx Set channel volume
Each channel has a volume range from 0->40h. The lower
the value, the softer the notes in the channel. This
command is convenient for making 'echoes'... you won't have
to modify the echoing channel from the original, except
for placing a M20 at the top of it!
Values greater than 40h are ignored at playtime.
N0x, Nx0, NFx, NxF Slide channel volume commands
These commands work in the same manner as the slide
volume commands, but operate on the channel volume,
rather than directly on the note volume.
Oxx Set sample offset.
This will cause a sample to be played from offset yxx00h.
This is useful to skip past the first part of a sample
which may have a loud hit, or to start a speech sample
half way through.
If you specify a value PAST the end of a sample, then the
command is ignored.
The "y" part of yxx00h is set with command "SAy"
Example:
... .. .. SA5
C-4 01 .. O10
This will play note C-4, instrument 1 at offset 51000hex
Note to programmers: Oxx for 16-bit samples will move
to the xx00h*2 position in the sample - ie. the 'xx00th'
sample.
P0x, Px0, PFx, PxF Slide panning commands.
These work in the same maner as the slide volume
commands, but operate on the channel panning. P0x slides
the panning right, while Px0 slides the panning left.
Qxy Retriggers a note after y frames with volume modifier x.
This will cause a sample to be replayed from it's
beginning after every y frames. 'x' can be any of the
following:
Value Effect on volume each retrig.
0 No change
1 -1
2 -2
3 -4
4 -8
5 -16
6 *2/3
7 *1/2
8 No change
9 +1
A +2
B +4
C +8
D +16
E *3/2
F *2
Rxy Tremelo with speed x, depth y
This command acts similarly to the vibrato command, but
affects the note volume, instead of the pitch. If you specify
EITHER x or y as 0, then the previous value will be used.
S3x Sets vibrato waveform to x
S4x Sets tremelo waveform to x
S5x Sets panbrello waveform to x
Values for x: 0 = sine wave
1 = square wave
2 = Ramp down
3 = Random!
S70 Past note cut
S71 Past note off
S72 Past note fade
With the loss of 1-1 correspondence of editing channels
to internal playing channels, these commands provide
control over notes that have already been played by a
channel.
Example:
Consider the following situation, where instrument
1, notes C-4 & D-4 map to a looped sample, and the
New Note Action is set to continue.
C-4 01 64 .<2E><>
D-4 01 64 .<2E><>
E-4 01 64 .<2E><> <--- Use S70 here!
Ordinarily, control would be lost over C-4 and D-4, but
using command S70 at the point indicated, the notes C-4
and D-4 would be stopped immediately when the note E-4
plays.
Similarly, note off commands and Fadeout commands can
also be issued.
Note: You *MUST* be in instrument mode for these
to have any significance.
S6x Pattern delay for x ticks.
S73 Set NNA to note cut
S74 Set NNA to continue
S75 Set NNA to note off
S76 Set NNA to note fade
These options allow you to override the default NNA for a
particular NOTE (ie. it does not affect the instrument)
See section 2.5 for an explanation of NNAs.
Note: You *MUST* be in instrument mode for these to have
any effect.
S77 Turn Volume envelope off.
Stops the processing of the volume envelope. This is for the
times that you don't want to use the volume envelope that
you've created.
S78 Turn volume envelope on.
Sometimes, you'll decide that it's better not to use the
volume envelope for most cases, but you may just want to
use it a few times - this is the command that lets you
do that!
Note: You *MUST* be in instrument mode for this to work.
S8x Set panning position
Set panning position, S80 is leftmost, S8F is rightmost.
This is an obsolete command, provided only for ST3
compatibility. Use command Xxx instead.
S91 Set surround sound!
For those of you who are lucky enough to have a dolby
surround sound decoder (myself not included - so if ya
wanna send me something.....), this *should* cause the
sound to come from the surround speaker. This is a
pseudo-panning command, and issuing either Xxx or S8x
will cause the surround sound to be reset.
If you try and play Surround Sound on a GUS, Interwave
or AWE32, it will be played as a central pan.
SAy Set high-offset. Check Oxx for an example.
SB0 Set loopback point
SBx Loop x times.
This pattern space-saving feature will cause the pattern
to be looped x times back to the last SB0. Note that you
can only loop within the pattern! Also, each channel has
it's own loop-back information... so you HAVE to have the
SB0 and SBx in the same channel for it to operate.
SCx Note cut after x frames
This will cause a note to be immediately stopped after x
frames. It is similar to issuing a "^^^" in the note column,
just that it has a finer control over timing.
SDx Note delay for x frames
Actually, this command works like "interpretation" delay
for x frames. Any data - note, sample/instrument or volume
in the channel will not be interpreted until x frames into
the row.
SEx Pattern delay for x rows
This will cause a "pause" on the row for effectively x rows
longer.
Note that if TWO pattern delay commands are issued, then
the only the command in the higher channel will be considered.
Txx Set tempo to xx
Valid ranges are between 20h and 0FFh. The higher the
value, the faster the playback. This essentially
determines the time length of each frame, by the following
formulas:
Frames per minute = 24*Tempo
equivalently:
Frames per second = 0.4*Tempo
T0x Tempo slide down
T1x Tempo slide up
Tempo slides up and down are used to smoothly modify the
speed of the song. The tempo is modified by <20>x every
non-row frame.
Uxy Fine vibrato with speed x, depth y
Same as vibrato, but 4 times finer in depth.
Vxx Set Global volume
Valid ranges are between 0 and 80h. All notes playing are
affected by this change.
Values greater than 80h are ignored at playtime.
W0x, Wx0, WFx, WxF Slide global volume
Similar to the Dxx commands, but operate on the global
volume. Useful when fading out songs.
Xxx Set panning position
Sets the panning position anywhere from left to right (X00
is left, XFF is right).
Yxy Panbrello with speed x, depth y.
What the hell is panbrello? Well, it's a word that I coined
late one night after a friend suggested that there should
be a random pan position command. I decided.. why not - I'll
make the vibrato/tremelo equivalent of panning! And so you
have here, 'panbrello.' What this does is instead of
oscillating frequency (pitch) or volume, it oscillates the
panning position about the 'set' panning position for a
channel. This is for you techno freaks out there who want
another function to stuff around with! :)
The random pan position can be achieved by setting the
waveform to 3 (ie. a S53 command). In this case *ONLY*, the
speed actually is interpreted as a delay in frames before
another random value is found. so S14 will be a very QUICK
panbrello, and S44 will be a slower panbrello. With any
other waveform, the higher the value for x, the faster the
panbrello, like vibrato and tremelo. If you don't know what
I'm talking about, check out the stereo-indicators on the
info page (don't forget that you have to be in stereo mode!)
If you specify EITHER x or y as 0, then the previous value
will be used.
5) Editing Functions
For a complete list of available functions, check the help screen
for the pattern editor (on F1)
Ctrl-Backspace IMPORTANT! This one will save you a lot of
frustration - it's a 10-stage listed Undo
function!
Grey Plus Advance to next pattern
Grey Minus Goto previous pattern
Shift-GPlus Advance 4 patterns
Shift-GMinus Go back 4 patterns
Ctrl-GPlus Go to the next order's pattern
Ctrl-GMinus Go to the previous order's pattern
Alt-Delete Remove an entire row from the pattern
Alt-Insert Insert an entire row into the pattern
'.' erase data.
Space will enter the previous data for that column.
'4' play the note under the cursor.
'8' play entire row.
Ctrl-F6 play pattern from the current row.
Ctrl-F7 Set playback mark - this will be the position that
subsequent playback will occur when you press F7.
Remove the mark by pressing Ctrl-F7 on the row
that is already 'marked.'
Alt-0 -> 9 Quick select "skip value"
The skip value is the number of rows that the
editor advances by when a note is entered - this
makes it easy to enter notes on alternate rows
(press alt-2 first!)
If the skip value is 0, then the editor will
advance to the next channel (making it easier to
enter chords)
If the skip value is 0, AND template mode is on,
then entering a note will cause the editor to
advance by the length of the template block.
Alt-Enter Store current pattern in memory
Alt-Backspace Restore current pattern
6) Block Functions
Alt-B Mark top left of block
Alt-E Mark bottom right of block
Alt-L Mark entire column (channel)
Alt-L*2 Mark entire pattern
Alt-D Mark the minor row hilight number of rows. Pressing
this repeatedly doubles the length of the block.
eg. Pressing Alt-D once may mark out 16 rows,
pressing it twice will mark 16 rows.
Alt-A Transpose all the notes in the block a semitone
down If no block is marked, then the current note
will be transposed a semitone down.
Alt-C Copy marked block into the clipboard
Alt-F Double the length of the selected block
Alt-G Halve the length of the selected block
Alt-I Toggle Template mode... read part 8
Alt-J Volume Amplifier... modify the volume controls
between 0 and 200%
Alt-K Slide volume... if you want to manually control a
fadeout, or fadein, then set the volumes at the
extreme ends of the blocks, then press Alt-K ONCE!
Alt-K*2 Remove all volume controls in the selected block
Alt-M Mix clipboard with pattern data.. try it out, and
you'll understand (it's like an advanced paste
command - it'll only copy the data IF there is nothing
on the row it is copying to.)
Pressing this two times will copy the data if there's
nothing in the same FIELD (not just same row).
Alt-N Toggle Multichannel mode.. Multichannel mode allows
you to select for each channel whether it should be
part of the multichannel list. If you enter a note
while on a channel which is in the multichannel
list, then the editor will advance to the next
channel.
Alt-N*2 Multichannel menu.
Alt-O Overwrite pattern data with clipboard. Like paste,
but without the "insert" part :)
Alt-P Paste clipboard into pattern at current position
Alt-Q Transpose all the notes in the block a semitone up
If no block is marked, then the current note will
be transposed a semitone up.
Alt-S Set all the instrument (sample) values to the
current instrument (sample) within a block
Alt-U Unmark block / release clipboard from memory.
Alt-V Set all the volume controls to the current
Alt-W Remove all volumes not associated with a note/inst
Alt-X Slide command value. Similar to Alt-K (slide
volume). This command can be convenient to slide
the panning from one position to another, or to
slide global volume effects, channel volume, sample
offsets... whatever...
Alt-X*2 Erase all effect data in the selected block!
Alt-Y Swap selected block with a samesized/shaped block
starting at the current position. Swap blocks
CANNOT overlap.
Alt-Z Cut current block.
Warning: If you don't have enough memory, the
current block WILL be erased, although there is no
record of it in the clipboard....
7) Track View functions
Sometimes you just want to know what you've put in those tracks
that are currently off the screen... these functions allow you
to do just that!
Alt-T Cycle Track view mode.
Alt-R Remove all track views
Alt-H Remove track view divisions (allows you to view 36
channels!)
Ctrl-0 Remove current track from track view
Ctrl-1->5 Quick select a track view for current channel.
8) Templates
Templates are an invention to make entering repeated
'sequences' easier. Often, you may want to enter a note with
the same effects following each note. eg.
C-4 01 00 D10 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 } Enter this....
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D02 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
D-4 01 00 D10 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D02 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 } Use the templates to enter this!
E-4 01 00 D10 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D02 }
<20><><EFBFBD> <20><> <20><> D00 }
etc..
With templates, this can be done by entering the first 'block',
then marking it and copying it into the clipboard (using
Alt-C). Toggle the template mode by pressing Alt-I to Template:
Overwrite, then go to the start of the second block, and press
the key for D-4 (normally X). The whole block will be filled
in! This is easiest to understand if you print this section out
and try it in the editor.
The templates can also include other notes, which will be
translated accordingly, and can span several channels.
A VERY neat use of templates is to enter multiple notes:
(eg. octaves, different samples, left/right stereo sample
pairs...)
C-4 01 32 .00 C-5 02 32 .00 } Enter this...
G-4 01 32 .00 G-5 02 32 .00 }
D#4 01 32 .00 D#5 02 32 .00 }
C-4 01 32 .00 C-5 02 32 .00 } And use Templates here!
G-4 01 32 .00 G-5 02 32 .00 }
D#4 01 32 .00 D#5 02 32 .00 }
Templates can span more than one row and one channel - you
can template blocks of any size.
2.3 Order List, Channel panning & volume. (F11)
After creating patterns, the tracker has to know what order to
play them back in. The order list is the means by which this is
done. Another wording of the Order List which may make it simper
to understand is the "Pattern sequence list." ie. the sequence in
which the patterns are played back.
Simply enter the patterns into the list in the order they
should be played, and voila! - you have a new piece of music.
(as long as you have something in the patterns, of course!). The
"---" marks the end of a song, and "+++" is simply a marker which
is skipped (for ST3 support). Pressing N on a row will enter the
previous order's pattern+1. eg. Entering 000, then pressing 'n' 5
times will enter 000 (which you typed), then 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Initial channel panning and volume is the panning and volume that
each channel is set to whenever the song is reset. It will not
affect anything currently playing. On the panning list, you can
also mute channels by pressing spacebar. Pressing S will select
the initial 'panning' as surround sound. The initial channel
volumes can be accessed by pressing F11 once you are already on
the Order list and channel panning screen.
2.4 Samples
2.4.1 Information about Samples
Samples are the raw sound information. They can be of *anything*
you like - normally a musical instrument of some sort, but you
could have voice samples or sound effects too!
Impulse Tracker accepts 8-bit or 16-bit samples. It can import
several different formats, which are detailed in section 1.4
If you import a 16-bit file which isn't recognised, you have to
use the following steps:
1) Press Alt-A (to convert signed/unsigned) and convert the
data.
2) Press Alt-Q (to toggle to 16-bit) and DON'T convert
the data
3) If the sample is unsigned, you will then need to convert
it AGAIN by pressing Alt-A (and selecting yes to convert
data)
Samples have the following information: A name, a default volume,
a global volume, vibrato information, loop information and a
frequency
The default volume of a sample is the volume at which a sample is
played, IF no volume is specifier.
The global volume is the modifier by which ALL occurrences of the
current sample are scaled by.
Vibrato information - the vibrato speed is the speed at which the
vibrato oscillates. Although it is possible to enter values 0->64,
the best effects are obtained by entering values around 24-48. The
vibrato depth determines the maximum deviation from the mean
frequency. The vibrato rate determines how quickly the vibrato is
applied. Higher values cause the vibrato to be applied more
quickly, a low value like 1 can take many seconds before the
vibrato is noticed.
Loop information. Samples can be looped to provide a continuous
sound. The loop beginning and the loop end must be specified, and
the loop method (either forwards or ping pong) must be set.
(Toggle by pressing spacebar). The loop boundaries can also be
modified using '+' or '-' (even while the sample is playing!)
Sustain loops are the loops used as long as no note off command is
encountered. In the sample tester, releasing a key provides a note
off command to the player. Once a note off command is issued, the
normal loops apply. The idea behind sustain loops originated after
listening to some synthesizers which provided 'after note' sounds
- like fingers lifting off guitar strings. With sustain loops, you
can have a guitar sound in the sustain loop, with the end of the
sample containing the 'finger off' sound. This way, you should be
able to achieve a new degree of realism. The best way to do this
is to have a reasonably small sustain loop, and a section after it
containing the note-off sound, possibly looped. (The sustain loop
should ideally be less than 1/20th of a second, so that you have
reasonably good control over the timing of the note-off, but this
is not always possible)
Example: If you have a sample with no sample loop, but a sustain
loop around bytes 19000-20000, then while no noteoff
command is issued, then the sample will loop between
19000 and 20000. Once a noteoff command is received,
then the sample will be played until it's end and then
will stop.
If you have a sample of length 64000 with a ping pong
loop around the whole sample (0->64000) and a sustain
ping pong loop around bytes 20000-30000, then the
sample will loop backwards and forwards between 20000
and 30000 until a noteoff command is received, after
which it will loop between 0 and 64000 (backwards and
forwards).
It is recommended that you do NOT have a ping pong sustain loop
going to a forwards loop or no loop and that if you DO have a
sustain loop AND a normal loop, that the sustain loop lies
within the normal loop (for ping pong), or that the normal loop
end is after the sustain loop end (for forward's loop) (think
about what you're asking it to do in these cases carefully...
it should make sense - the tracker can still handle the cases
when this is not adhered to, but the resulting note-off effect
can vary greatly depending on timing and pitch!)
The frequency of a sample determines its pitch. The higher the
frequency, the higher the pitch. The frequency can be doubled or
halved by pressing Alt-Grey Plus/Minus to cause an octave
rise/decrease. For the technically inclined out there, the
frequency is the number of bytes per second that have to be played
for a C-5. You can increase the frequency by one semitone by
pressing Ctrl-Grey Plus or decrease it by a semitone with
Ctrl-Grey Minus.
To load in a sample, go to the entry in which you want to load it
then press enter. The sample library should appear. You can test
out any sample just by "playing" notes on the keyboard while you
are on top of the sample. Load a sample into the sample list by
pressing enter. Of course, if you don't have any samples, no
samples will appear :)
Where can I get samples from??
You can steal ('rip') samples from modules by going to the sample
in the sample list, then pressing Alt-O. Scream Tracker 3 samples
can be saved by pressing Alt-T (vibrato, global volume + susloop
information lost) or raw samples can be saved by pressing Alt-W
(all variables lost!)
Warning: Be careful where you rip samples from!! Some people don't
welcome it at all! And in some cases, sample ripping may be a breach
of copyright - this mainly a concern when you use commercial samples)
There are also many great sample 'packs' available... try a local
music BBS, or the bigger FTP sites.
Some synthesizers have patch files (eg. Kurzweil 2000 as .KRZ) which
are available through the internet. You can download these, and
convert them with an appropriate utility (I recommend Convert 1.4 -
convrt14.zip on ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/programs/convert and use
it to convert the files to .S3I format - even for 16 bit samples).
I don't know what sort of copyright these samples have. *YOU* have
to read any text accompanying the files to find this out.
Finally, you can make your OWN samples! With a sampler (eg.
Digiplay 3.0) or with some other tracker (eg. Fast Tracker 2), you
are able to record information through the microphone socket of
the computer!
Note: The length of a sample is *NOT* necessarily the number of bytes
it occupies! The length quoted is the quantity of SAMPLE INFORMATION.
If you have an 8 bit sample, then the size in bytes IS the same as
the length. If you have a 16-bit sample, then the size in bytes
is DOUBLE the length.
2.4.2 Sample Functions
Alt-A and Alt-Q provide basic sample-conversion functions. Alt-A
will convert a sample to or from unsigned to signed format. Alt-Q
will allow you to change a sample between 8 and 16 bits.
If you want to remove the part of a sample before a loop or after the
end of a loop, you can use Pre-loop cut sample (Alt-B) or Post-Loop
cut sample (Alt-L)
To reverse a sample, use Alt-G. This can produce interesting effects.
If you are working to a size limit, check out the functions Alt-E
and Alt-F. These functions allow you to resize the sample to whatever
size you would like! (Note that there is a reduction in quality
associated with a reduction in size). Alt-E will resize the samples
WITH interpolation, Alt-F will resize the samples WITHOUT
interpolation.
To decrease the volume of a sample, the best way for 8 bit samples
is to reduce the Sample's GLOBAL volume. For 16-bit samples, it's
better to just attenuate the sample (ie. use Alt-M to 75%). The
sample will retain greater quality if you follow these guidelines.
Alt-M is used to amplify a sample to between 0 and 400%. The default
value for Alt-M which appears is the maximum the sample can be
modified without creating clipping distortions.
To exchange two samples *in the sample list only*, use Alt-X. To
swap two samples *even in the pattern data*, use Alt-S.
2.5 Instruments
For those who have never used a tracker before, I strongly suggest
that you skip this section for now - learn how to 'use' samples
first. After that, you'll should be able to understand and hopefully
fully appreciate the power that instruments can provide.
To enable instruments, go to the song variables (F12), and press
on the "Instruments" button after then "Control" prompt. This *MUST*
be done in order to use ANY instrument function (including special
note effects, viz S7x).
The instrument parameters are split into four screens - one for
each of general options, volume options, panning options and pitch
options. To select the appropriate screen, just whack enter on any
of the four buttons at the top of the instrument list.
Instruments are collections of samples (or just a single sample).
The translation of samples is controlled by the column in the
centre of the screen on the general options page which shows what
note/sample pair a single instrument note will be translated to.
Example: If you're on instrument 1, and the note translation table
appears as such:
C-5<>C-5 01
C#5<>C-5 02
D-5<>D-4 03
D#5<>D#4 03
Then entering "C-5 01" into a pattern will cause sample 1 to be
played at pitch C-5, "C#5 01", wil cause sample 2, to be played a
pitch C-5, "D-5 01" will cause Sample 3 to play at D-4, "D#5 01"
will cause Sample 3 pitch D#4 to play... get the idea?
Why would you want to combine several samples into one instrument?
Well, one very good reason is that it makes it easier to enter
drum parts - you no longer have to change the 'instrument' if you
want another sample. And also, combining them into one instrument
makes them easier to manage - you can specify a volume envelope,
NNA or FadeOut which will apply for ALL of the samples in the
list.
Another reason is if you want a very high quality sounding
'instrument.' If you wanted to go overboard, you could sample
every single note on a piano separately, and set up the note
translation table to point to each sample accordingly - you'd
get a very, very nice sound - if you don't run out of memory
first. Or patience :)
When you save an instrument to disk, all the related samples are
stored with it. This means that you can setup a 'drum kit' instrument,
and to load it into another song, you only need to select that
instrument and all the samples will be loaded for you.
The Fadeout value for each instrument determines how quickly the
volume of the instrument decays under any of the following
conditions:
1) NNA "FadeOut" is selected, and another note is played. (see
later in this section for info about NNAs)
2) The end of a volume envelope is reached.
3) A note off command is encountered, without a volume envelope.
4) A note off command is encountered, and the 'normal' volume
envelope loop is on.
The larger the fadeout value, the quicker the volume decays.
Each instrument also has an associated volume/pan/pitch envelope!
The volume envelope is editing by selecting the node (left/right
arrows) then picking it up (with enter), moving it around (using
arrows, or Alt-Arrows for quicker control), then pressing enter
again to "put down the node". Nodes can be inserted or deleted
(with the keys insert and delete!). Note that the envelope will
only be used if the envelope flag is set to "on" (just below the
envelope graph)..
Remember that you have to be in instrument mode for this all to work!
There are 3 pieces of information for each Envelope graph -
the node number (hopefully obvious), the time of the node (the
number of 'ticks' or 'frames' that elapse before the node point)
and the value of a node (also hopefully obvious). So the x-axis
is time, and the y-axis is volume/pan/pitch - simple, really!
You can also specify envelope loops and sustain loops. These
operate in the same manner as the sample loops, but the numbers
refer to node numbers.
The powerful feature of this tracker, though, is not the
envelopes by themselves - it's the New Note Actions! What these
options do is allow you to select what should happen to an
instrument when another note is played in the same column. If NNA
"Cut" is selected, then the previous note will immediately be
stopped (like in all other trackers). If NNA "Continue" is
selected, then the note will continue playing! This is especially
useful for Drum Parts, where there may be a long-ish snare sample
- you can go on ahead and put a bass drum in the very next row
after it - the snare drum will still complete playing! NNA "Note
Off" issues a note off command to a note when a new note is played
in the channel. This is particularly useful in combination with
volume envelopes and volume envelope sustain loops. NNA "Note
Fade" causes the current note to fade out with the fadeout value
when a new note is played.
WARNING!!
New Note Actions are EXTREMELY powerful, but they CAN cause
problems if you are not careful. Selecting NNA Fade with a fade
value of 0, or note continue with a looped sample (no volume
envelope) or anything which can cause a quick build up of
allocated channels can easily hang a slow computer (or even a
quick one, for that matter!) I tried to put checks against this,
but they always triggered too late - "past the point of no return"
where the CPU becomes so bogged down with processing the
information, that it can't do or try to do anything else. (The
tracker has *MANY* calculations to do - the most time consuming
are the mixing routines, which require the processor to process as
many bytes as the mixing speed per second for EACH note ie. a
mixing speed of 44kHz means that for each note playing, 44000
calculations have to be made EVERY second... so with 64 channels
'active' at the maximum mixing rate for a SB16, almost 3 MILLION
calculations have to be done EVERY second to produce the sound (in
mono)!!! (My 486 can cope with this, but my 386 just dies!)
Duplicate Check Type (DCT) / Duplicate Check Action (DCA)
DCT = Off/Note/Sample/Instrument, DCA = Cut/Off/Fade
When the duplicate check type is enabled, then repetitions of the same
instrument&note/sample (or just repititions of the same instrument)
pair in a particular channel will cause the previous occurence of
the instrument&note/sample pair to be cut or faded (depending on
the DCA)
Example: If the DCT is set to note, and DCA is set to Cut, then the
asterixed notes will cut out the tilda notes
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
<20> C-4 01 ~ <20> C-4 02 ~ <20> C-4 03 } <20>
<20> D-4 01 <20> C-4 02 * ~ <20> D-4 03 } Nothing get's cut. <20>
<20> C-4 01 * <20> C-4 02 * <20> C-4 02 } <20>
<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
This option was included to help limit the number of active channels,
and is especially useful for drum tracks.
Another nifty application of Duplicity checks is the following
example: You can have a separate sample for each string of a guitar
and setup and instrument to accomodate this. Setting the NNA to
continue, the DCT to sample and the DCA to fade (with a relatively
quick fadeout) means that whenever you play a new note, the previous
note will continue to play on. BUT! If a previous note of the same
instrument has the same sample as the new note being played, then
it will be faded out - this closely relates to what you hear when
someone plays a guitar - when they play the same string, they have
to put their fingers down on the string, which causes the last note
*on that string* to fade out.
I sincerely hope that these options do not cause the death of brilliant
4 channel music - that would be a great shame! There is truly an art in
making a decent sound in as few channels as possible! (If you're new to
this sorta thing, then it'll grow upon you...)
For interest's sake...
Channels are turned off internally under any of the following
conditions:
1) The end of a sample is reached (quite obvious)
2) When the end of a volume envelope is reached, and the final
envelope volume is 0
3) When the fadeout value for a channel causes it to become silent.
4) When a duplicate note is played when DNT is set to Note and DCA is
set to cut for the instrument.
5) When a notecut is issued (obvious)
6) When a channel is moved to the background (using NNAs)
AND the volume is 0.
Out of all the functions provided for the Samples and Instruments,
perhaps the only one that requires explanation is the "Update
Pattern Data" function. This function was written for people who
have already written music in MOD/S3M/MTM formats, and want to
combine their percussion parts into a single instrument. The way
to do this is to set up the instrument->note/sample table, and
then use the "Update Pattern Data" function. What this does is
search through all the patterns for all occurrences of the
note/sample pairs that appear in the instrument->note/sample
table, and replace it with the appropriate note/INSTRUMENT pair.
Sounds quite complicated... sorry :)
Example:
If you originally have the following setup
Sample 1 = Bass Drum
Sample 2 = Snare Drum
Sample 3 = Closed Hihat
Sample 4 = Open Hihat
And the following column within any pattern:
C-5 01 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 03 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 03 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 03 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 02 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 04 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 01 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 04 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 01 <20><> .<2E><>
You can combine these four samples into one instrument by
creating the instrument->note/sample table with the
following entries: (say for instrument 10)
C-5<>C-5 01
C#5<>C-5 <20><> <--- just an empty slot...
D-5<>C-5 02
D#5<>C-5 <20><>
E-5<>C-5 03
F-5<>C-5 04
And using the update pattern data command will produce the
following
C-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
E-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
E-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
E-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
D-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
F-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
F-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
C-5 10 <20><> .<2E><>
2.6 Song Variables
Most of the options on this screen should be quite obvious, but they
are explained here for clarity.
Song Name - should be obvious. Shove whatever you like in here :)
Inital tempo - The tempo that the piece starts with. The tempo
calculation is explained under the set tempo
command (Txx)
Inital speed - The speed that the song starts with. The speed
calculation is explained under the set speed
command (Axx)
Global volume - This scales all the volumes in the song. It may be
necessary to change this value if there is overload
occuring (in the form of crackles in the music) -
especially on the Gravis UltraSound, as it is a
non-mixing device, and not scaled by the mixing
volume.
Mixing volume - This value affects mixing sound devices (ie.
all Sound Blaster cards + PC Speaker).
Separation - The separation determines how far apart the left/right
panning sounds. It is suggested that for a stereo
system (where the speakers are relatively close together)
that the separation be around its maximum (ie. 128).
For a stereo system where the speakers are placed a
large distance apart, a value of 80 may suit better.
A suggested separation for headphones is around 40.
This value has no significance unless stereo playback
is selected.
Old Effects - When Impulse Tracker was first written, some effects
were interpreted differently from other formats, most
notably vibrato. When you turn this ON, then it effects
will be interpreted how the used to be in ST3/MMEdit/...
but when it's off, it'll operate how it use to in
previous versions.
Differences:
The Vibrato (and Tremelo) used in IT is smoother than
how it was implemented in MOD/S3M/etc. It is updated
EVERY frame and hence is independant of song speed,
whereas the standard vibrato WAS dependant upon song
speed. Vibrato is two times 'deeper' with Old Effects
on.
Sample offset commands past the end of a sample in IT
were ignored, whereas with Old Effects on, the sample
is played from it's end point.
Control - This is the option that lets you use Instruments!
When Control Sample is selected, then all the instrument
information is ignored. The query to initialise
instruments, if accepted, will copy all the sample
names to the instruments (if the samples exist) and set
up the Note Translation Table for each instrument to point
to a sample.
Playback - Mono: When you select mono playback, all stereo commands
are essentially ignored. If you are using a SBPro,
selecting Mono provides a higher quality output
than selecting Stereo and using a central pan.
Stereo: This is the option to go for!
Note that stereo mode requires more processing
power than mono (unless you are using a hardware
driver)
Pitch Slides - Amiga: This is the mode to choose for compatibility
with S3Ms, MODs, MTMs, XMs... when you select
amiga pitch slides, you'll often have to
experiment to find the adequate slide value.
- Linear: With the linear slides, a certain slide value
will always cause the same music "interval"
change. An example of what this means is if
you slide up a note with speed 8 (ie. F08) at
speed 5, then the result will be that the
note is raised a tone. Everytime. So a C-4
will rise to a D-4, C-5 will rise to a D-5.
(It's not like this with amiga slides! A
C-4 *MAY* rise to a D-4, but if it does then
the C-5 will rise to a note around E-5!!)
The benefit of linear slides is that if you
slide a pair of notes at the same speed, they
will maintain the same interval (pitch
difference) throughout. Also, if you modulate
(transpose) a pattern, you will not have to
modify any slide values.
Directories - this shows the current song/sample/instrument
directories. If you want to save the current directories
as the default to have on bootup, then press enter
on the Save button. Note that this save function also
saves the palette, keyboard type, info page layout
and pattern editing preferences to IT.CFG
2.7 Scream Tracker 3 Users
This section is just for users of Scream Tracker 3 who would like to know
the differences between ST3 and IT without working through the whole
document. In a nutshell:
1) Differences in use.
a) The Order List, Panning and Variables used to be on F1. In IT,
F1 has been reserved for the Help Screen, F11 for the order list
and panning, F12 for the variables.
If you REALLY do find this too inconvenient, use the command line
switch -k to swap the interpretation of the keys F1 and F11...
no text will be updated tho (and it does seem sorta weird!)
b) Samples now have associated Vibrato information and a global
volume. The global volume affects all instances of the sample
throughout the song. This is useful when you replace a sample,
which is at a different volume from the original - you can just
adjust the global volumes of the samples to suit.
d) Block functions are no longer restricted to one column. This also
means that when you copy entire patterns, you will have to go to
the top left of the pattern. Also, you will have to set the number
of rows in the destination pattern to the appropriate number if
it is different from the source.
This difference may take some getting used to - you may often
find yourself doing several block functions in a single columns
when you could actually have done it across the whole block!
* To mark blocks, you can use Alt-B and Alt-E, or Shift+Movement *
e) In the pattern editor, the following commands have changed:
1) Alt-T : Track View has been upgraded. Alt-T will cycle
through all of the possible 5 viewmethods. You can
use Ctrl-1 to Ctrl-5 to quick select a view, or
Ctrl-0 to remove a view. Press Left-Ctrl+Shift 1->4
to select a 'different way to edit' :)
2) Alt-X : Pressing Alt-X once will slide the effect data value
in a block (useful for controlling global volume,
panning or sample offsets in some cases). Pressing
Alt-X twice will cause all of the effect data to be
deleted as in Scream Tracker 3
3) Alt-K : Pressing Alt-K once will slide the volumes. Pressing
Alt-K TWICE will remove all volume controls in the
block. (Works like Alt-X, but on the volume column)
4) Alt-I : Cycle Template control.
5) Alt-J : Volume amplifier. Select an amplification between
0 and 200%.
6) Alt-H : Now toggles view divisions on/off. Makes it possible
to view/edit up to 36 channels in the pattern editor!!!
7) Alt-Z : Originally the Zap command (if pressed twice)... now
it is effectively a "Block Cut" command. It will
copy the block into the clipboard, and then wipe the
block clean.
8) Alt-V : Will set all the volumes in the block to the default.
9) Alt-W : Will remove ALL volumes not attached to a
note/instrument Therefore, the old Alt-V command can
be simulated using Alt-V then Alt-W. The reason for
doing this was so that the Alt-K, Alt-W combination
would slide all the volumes with notes/instruments
associated.
f) There is no chord edit feature in IT. I considered the chord
edit feature of ST3 useless and a bad influence on new trackers :)
g) Patterns can be from 32 to 200 rows! (Under Pattern edit config
on F2, or Ctrl-F2)
h) Pressing spacebar in the pattern editor will cause the previously
entered note/instrument/volume/efffect/effectvalue to be entered.
Quite convenient. Hopefully.
i) Alt-F10 now solos a channel instead of toggling all of the
channels on/off. On the InfoPage, you can use 's' to solo
channels, and 'q' to toggle channels. I felt that this was more
usable than the original.
j) The infopage itself has become upgraded... press PgUp/PgDn to
cycle through view methods, "Insert" to add a window, "Delete"
to remove the currently highlighted window, Tab to move between
windows, Alt-Up/Down to move the base of the window up/down.
k) To increase the sample frequency by an octave in the sample
list, press Alt-Grey '+' or Alt-Grey '-' to decrease the
frequency by an octave. To change it by semi-tones, use Ctrl-Grey
'+' and Ctrl-Grey '-'
l) The Sample library is accesible from all screens in the program
by pressing Ctrl-F3. The Instrument library is accesible on
Ctrl-F4.
m) Each channel has an associated volume. Echoes can be created by
just copying one channel onto another, then setting the "channel
volume" (Command Mxx)
n) When channels are muted, all commands are still interpreted, but
the notes aren't played. What this means is that commands such
as Axx, Bxx, Cxx, SBx, Vxx, Txx, Mxx, Nxx will be processed even
if they are in a muted channel.
o) Pressing Ctrl-Grey Plus and Ctrl-Grey Minus in the pattern
editor will go to the next/previous pattern according to the
order list!
p) Samples have sustain loops + Ping Pong loops supported
q) Note off command & Note cut command implemented... Note cut is
exactly like ST3's ^^^ (and appears like it too!) Note off
appears as "<22><><EFBFBD>" and releases sustain points.
r) You can enter panning values (between 0 and 64) in the volume
column. Do this by pressing '`' to toggle between entry of
panning/volume values.
s) You can use samples >64k and 16 bit samples!!!
t) When you use a skip value of 0, the cursor will move across to
the next channel. This is a very convenient way to enter chords,
especially when combined with the multi-channel selection (whack
Alt-N twice)
2) Differences in interpretation of notedata.
a) Global volume changes will affect ALL of the notes playing. In
ST3, global volume changes only affected new notes. The range
for the global volume command is from 0 to 80h
b) If you specify an instrument without a note, then in ST3, the
volume is set to the default volume. In IT, the volume will be
set to the default volume *IF* the instrument specified is the
SAME as the currently playing instrument. Otherwise, the new
sample will be played from it's beginning.
c) Command X (Set panning, not REALLY implemented in ST3) now has
range from 0 to 0FFh.
d) Command C (Break to row) now works in HEX. This is so that you
can jump to any row in the (next) pattern.
e) New commands:
M: Set channel volume
N: Slide channel volume
P: Slide panning
S5x: Set panbrello waveform and reset panbrello position
S6x: Pattern delay for x frames.
S7x: Instrument related controls (8 different controls here)
S91: Surround sound on!
SAy: Set high offset
T0x: Tempo slide down
T1x: Tempo slide up.
W: Global volume slide.
X: Set pan position.
Yxy: Panbrello
f) If you use the portamento to command (Gxx) to a different sample
in ST3, the sample offset is undetermined. In Impulse Tracker,
the sample will be played from it's start.
g) The commands Hxx and Uxx will cause a vibrato half the depth
of ST3 if "Old Effects" option is OFF and the vibrato in IT is
also smoother than the vibrato in ST3.
3) The greatest difference is the implementation of instruments. Read
section 2.5 for more information.
4) Saving S3M modules.
The following guidelines have to be followed to compose 100%
compatible S3M modules.
General Stuff
1) *Pitch slide mode MUST be amiga.
2) *All initial channel volumes MUST be 64
3) *No instruments functions can be used. If you ARE in
instrument mode, however, Impulse Tracker will translate
the pattern data according to the Note Translation Tables.
4) The song message is *NOT* saved in S3M format.
Pattern stuff
1) *The total number of patterns MUST NOT exceed 100.
2) *The number of rows in each pattern MUST be 64
3) *Data is only translated within the first 16 channels.
4) *All notes must lie within the range of C-1 to B-8
5) Several commands will not be interpreted by a standard
S3M player (viz. Mxx, Nxx, Pxx, S5x, S6x, S7x, S91, SAy, Wxx,
Yxx).
Also, you should have Old Effects (on the variable list)
put to *ON* if you want to write S3M files.
6) *Panning controls in the volume column are NOT stored.
Sample stuff
1) *No sustain or ping pong loops can be used
2) *No sample vibrato can be used
3) *The sample global volume must be 64.
4) The Scream Tracker 3 module format supports 16 bit samples
and samples >64k although the actual program did NOT.
Note that *MOST* players probably ignore these fields
and it is likely that the module will NOT be played correctly
by a standard S3M player if it contains samples >64k and/or
16 bit samples.
All conditions with an asterix preceding them are checked at save
time.
Note that both note off (<28><><EFBFBD>) and note cut (^^^) will get translated
to a note cut (^^^) in S3M format.
2.8 Gravis UltraSound / Interwave / AWE32 users.
For hardware mixed devices (eg. Gravis UltraSound, Interwave and
AWE32), there are some limitations that are outlined here.
I've already mentioned a few things throughout the DOC about hardware
mixing, but I'll reiterate them here with a few more points.
1) The maximum number of notes that you CAN play with a GUS and
Interwave is 32. The maximum number of the AWE32 is *30*.
This was incorporated by effectively limiting the number of active
channels to 32/30. So if you play a 64 channel song which is using
control:Samples, then you will LOSE the last 32/34 channels. If you
are playing a 64 channel song with control:Instruments, you
shouldn't miss out on too much. This shouldn't really be a
problem in 99.9% of the cases.
2) The GUS playback quality is dependent on the maximum limit of active
channels. The GUS can be initialised to play anywhere between
14 and 32 channels. Values above 32 are reduced to 32, and values
below 14 are increased to 14. The lower the number of channels, the
higher the playback quality. (14 channels will give 44100 Hz, with
16-bit interpolation - very, very nice quality!). The default
GUS driver dynamically chooses a particular number of channels.
This doesn't ALWAYS work with all cards, so if you don't like the
transition of sample quality as the channels increase, or your
GUS seems to stop notes unexpectedly, use the other driver(s).
3) The GUS/Interwave/AWE32 routines occupy less memory than the mixing
routines. You will have about 30k-100k more of memory to play
around with.
4) The memory allocation routines are very simple and not very
versatile. When you are working through the sample library, samples
are NOT always deallocated when you move on to the next sample! If
you get the message "Out of soundcard RAM", then it may be necessary
to press Ctrl-G (or select Reload Samples from the samples menu) to
reorganise the samples in memory. Sorry about the inconvenience.
5) Changing the mixing volume does NOT affect these cards.
It may be necessary to reduce the global volume to remove crackle
if the output is overloading.
6) The surround sound option will cause the sample to be played with
a central panning. This is because I don't know how to get hardware
surround without wasting a lot of memory and channels.
7) The panning positions are reduced to a scale of 0->15 in the GUS,
so fine alterations in the panning may go unnoticed. The Interwave
and AWE32 permit 256 pan positions
3. Before you write to me. (Important notes)
I would very much like to get feedback on this program, but I am already
aware of several problems (?).
1) If you're going to write because the program looks 'too' much like
Scream Tracker 3, then don't :) I've used Scream Tracker. I loved
using it - it was the best, easiest, most convenient program ever,
so why not adopt it's design?????
2) The program could easily crash if you try to load a corrupted
module. If you've got some modules that you know are corrupted, try
to resist the temptation of testing the stability of the program....
in many cases it'll die :)
3) A couple of people have asked about ASCII characters > 128. I'm
sorry - I can't let you have 'em on anywhere else except the message
editor. The reason is because I've used a lot of the characters for
'graphics' - real time character generation. (the ASCII characters >
128 don't really exist anymore)
4) If you 'overload' your CPU... the subsequent playback can also
become distorted! To fix this, reinitialise your sound driver with
Ctrl-I.
5) The help screens have only been defined for the following screens:
a) Pattern Editor
b) Sample List
c) Instrument List
d) Info Page
e) Order list and panning
f) Order list and channel volumes
g) Message editor
I didn't think it necessary to include help screens for the other
screens, but if you feel strongly about including help on certain
points/screens, then I suppose I could make the effort...
6) If you have a bug to report, please check through BUGS.TXT first to
see if it's listed, and also check through this document - the problem
may be in the understanding of how the program works! Otherwise,
contact me, AND LET ME KNOW WHAT VERSION YOU ARE USING!
7) Any further GUS click removal is very difficult to achieve. ST3's
GUS click removal requires double the number of channels on the GUS
to be used and I can't allocate any more! Try out the alternative
GUS drivers first
8) Got suggestions for IT? At the moment, I'm really sorry - I barely
have enough spare time myself. I can't promise to add any suggestions
you make, but please send them along anyway.
You can contact me by writing to:
Jeffrey Lim
9 Wilgena Avenue
Myrtle Bank
South Australia 5064
EMail account:
pulse@cyburbia.net.au
WARNING!!!
If you ask me anything which is obviously contained within this document or
the FAQ, I will reply with RTFM (Read the #$%@#$% Manual). Sorry, but I hate
idiots who can't be bothered to take their time to have a quick look through
this document and write to me with stupid messages which have recently become
a chore to answer (You'd understand if you received 4000+ EMails...)
BUT!
If there *is* something that you HAVE made an effort to understand/look for,
then don't hesistate to write to me. The worst that can happen is that I
reply with RTFM :)
********ALSO********
If you have an incorrect reply-address, don't expect to receive anything.
If you are reporting a bug, let me know what version you are using.
If you find any major problem with the tracker, please try to find the
circumstances which cause it to trigger - if you can't, don't worry - write
to me anyway. It's just that it's much easier if I know a likely cause of
the error. (Don't worry if it seems that the cause is very, very remote -
I had a problem in my GUS playback routines which originally caused my
palette configuration screen to hang - now that's obscure!)
Send money! I don't demand that you send me anything, (and I don't like
spoiling a program by shoving in reminder messages), but if you *DO* use
the program and think that it's worth contributing a small amount towards,
then please do so... it would be GREATLY appreciated. Remember.... even a
few dollars will be appreciated! It's very unlikely that I'll make a huge
profit (I doubt I could get close to sufficient money from this program to
make it even worth $1 for every hour I put in!). I won't be sending out any
nice thankyou notes, or bound manuals... but I will include your names in
the future versions of the tracker and I will EMail you each new version the
minute the are released if you wish.
I believe that software *SHOULD* be cheap - you've spent perhaps a few
thousand getting your computer, so you wouldn't want to spend TOO much
more on programs! If you think this program is worth $5, then send $5.
If you think it's worth $10, then send $10. If you think it's worth
$1,000,000,000... don't let me stop you :)
So... get together with a couple of friends and send me $10... If you send
me a significant amount, I'll put together a "special contributor's" list..
(Oeeerrrrr :) )
Methods of payment:
International Money Orders - (NOT postal orders though!)
Cash (Make sure it's securely wrapped!) - it doesn't have to be Australian
currency, although it'd be nice if it could be!
Bank Transfer - EMail me for my details
4. Closing Words
I would like to thank the following people:
Psi: For introducing me to tracking with the brilliant Scream Tracker 3
Purple Motion: For being my music hero.... I still think
"When the Heaven's Fall" is *THE* best S3M ever written.
Red Haze: For constantly bugging me to get the tracker done, and for
his effort in testing out the program and making suggestions.
(He's directly responsible for the inclusion of Ping Pong
loops - I originally couldn't be bothered :) )
Also extensive testing of later versions of IT...
The WALKER: For his flow of ideas & beta testing and getting the PoP
DiskMag finished.... tomorrow. Or is that next week?
OK... so he has done it. Finally.... 6 months late. :)
Perception: For his constant support over the many years he ran his BBS
Psibelius: For being the nice friendly Epinicion founder that he is.
Dominic: For his thoroughness in beta testing the program, and providing
suggestions. (He came up with more than double the number of
suggestions than almost anyone else... even though many of
them were not finally implemented :) )
Chris Jarvis: For his effort in beta testing the tracker and producing
Firestorm (released with v1.00 of the tracker)
Pale Dreams! (released with v1.01 of the tracker)
Firepower (released with v1.03 of the tracker)
Sidewalk (released with v1.05 of the tracker) and
Fallen World (released with v2.01 of the tracker)
These are ALL amazing pieces of work! (Yes, I'm jealous!)
Zilym Limms: For his technical help with the tracker and his love of
Fast Tracker 2. Hahaha. :)
Also for his information and source code for the PAS 16.
Benjamin Bruheim: For his super list of contributions to v1.01
ZaStaR: For his effort in putting together ITF - the font customiser!
and ITTXT - the text file importer for IT's messages!
Also for being the willing target of a barrage of beta
versions, a great contributor of ideas, a musician with whom
I could exchange work and for being a great dude all round!
Emmanuel Giasson: For creating the utilities MMCMP/MMUNCMP/MMTSR -
the music module compressor!
Diablo: For creating the Impulse Tracker directories on ftp.cdrom.com!
Siren: For providing me a contact to obtain an Interwave card!
AMD: For providing me with an Interwave card to program for!
To the other beta testers:
Eric Bonython Phorte
Alistair Watts Julian Ellis
Alex Bates David Rohrsheim
Delta X GD (Grave Digger)
Andy Chen ShawnM
Clef Emmanuel Giasson
KXMode
And anybody there who uses this program!!!
Big thanks and thumbs up to Advanced Gravis for releasing their
Software Developer's Kit (SDK) free of charge!
Congratulations to Creative Labs for finally releasing their SDKs
free of charge!
Especially *BIG* thanks to AMD for providing me with an Interwave
card to use and the SDK!
Finally... I have a request.....
If *YOU* write something with this program... share it with the
rest of the world!!!
If you have an iNet account, you can upload your songs to:
ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/incoming/music/songs/it
- remember to ZIP up your song, to use a *lower* case filename
and to also upload a short description of your song in a .txt
file, otherwise your file will just be deleted.
If you know of any other places where modules can be uploaded to,
let me know and I'll include them in the above list.
5. How to get the latest version of Impulse Tracker
There are several places around the internet where you can find the
latest version of Impulse Tracker:
1) ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/incoming/music/programs } Check (1) first!
2) ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/programs/trackers }
3) http://www.noisemusic.org/it
- American Site
4) http://www.maz-sound.com
- Music and Tracking Site
5) http://www.unidev.com/~logic/music/it
- IT Resource Central
6) http://www.musica.org/impulse
- Spanish Site
7) http://www.mixbbs.demon.co.uk
- UK Site
If you want to have the latest version sent to you via EMail, or at least
be notified of new releases, then you'll have to send $omething to me :)
Check section 3 on how to contact me.
6. Legal stuff
No matter what happens, no matter how bad, I'm not going to be held
responsible.
That's basically the same as any other license agreement, except you
should be able to understand this one without an interpreter :)
YOU MAY NOT CHARGE ANYTHING FOR THIS PROGRAM - DISTRIBUTORS WHO
ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM MUST WRITE TO ME FIRST AND HAVE MY
APPROVAL! (yeah, even by snail mail if you don't have EMail access).
USE OF THIS PROGRAM COMMERCIALLY IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN WITHOUT WRITTEN
AND SIGNED APPROVAL FROM ME. COMMERCIAL USE INVOLVES ANY USE OF IMPULSE
TRACKER IN WHICH MONEY IS INVOLVED (SPECIFICALLY THE CREATION OF ANY
MUSIC WHERE PAYMENT IS INVOLVED). THIS PROGRAM IS ONLY FREEWARE FOR
NON-COMMERCIAL USE.