file_id.diz
************************************************************************
RASTER MUSIC TRACKER - RMT
by Radek Sterba, Raster/C.P.U., 2002-2003
http://raster.atari.org
************************************************************************
About:
RASTER Music Tracker (RMT) is a cross-platform tool for making Atari XE/XL
music on PC (OS Win9x). RMT uses new Atari XE/XL music routines of my own
- I developed them for a very long time and I hope it will be small
revolution for all Atari musicians and fans.
Disclaimer:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING
THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN
TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE.
THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE
IS ASSUMED BY YOU.
Credits:
Bob!k/C.P.U.
JirkaS/C.P.U.
Main features:
* Mono 4 tracks / stereo 8 tracks.
* 254 tracks, each with its own length (256 beats max.) and with support for track loop.
* 64 instruments (stereo, instrument table up to 32 steps - 2 types and 2 modes with loop,
instrument envelope up to 32 steps with loop, portamento, filter, 16bit bass, volume slide,
volume minimum, vibrato, frequency shifting, etc.).Fully automatic management of AUDCTL
register (filters, 16bit basses) and/or manual AUDCTL settings.
* Support for "volume only" forced output.
* Note portamento up/down effect.
* Instrument envelope commands for note/frequency shifting and support for special
"like a C64 SID chip" filtering.
* Up to 256 lines for song (with "goto line" support).
* Beat speed 1 to 255 (1/50 to 255/50 sec).
* Instrument speed 1 or 2 per screen (1/50 or 1/100 sec).
* Main input/output song file format: RMT song files (*.rmt).
* Input/output instrument file format: RMT instrument files (*.rti).
* Export formats: RMT stripped song file (*.rmt), SAP file (*.sap),
XEX Atari executable MSX file (*.xex).
* Support for speed/size optimizations of RMT assembler player routine
for concrete RMT module (very useful for background music in demos, games, etc.).
* MIDI IN support!
Technical info:
Pokey sound emulation and Atari 6502 processor emulation aren't built-in
components of RMT. If the sound output is needed, the external dynamic DLL
libraries with the following functions are required.
If you run RMT without this way described DLLs (sa_pokey.dll, sa_c6502.dll),
RMT will work, but there won't be any Pokey sound output and Atari sound
routines won't be executed.
sa_pokey.dll
void Pokey_Initialise(int *argc, char *argv[]);
void Pokey_SoundInit(uint32 freq17, uint16 playback_freq, uint8 num_pokeys);
void Pokey_Process(uint8 * sndbuffer, const uint16 sndn);
UBYTE Pokey_GetByte(UWORD addr);
void Pokey_PutByte(UWORD addr, UBYTE byte);
void Pokey_About(char** name, char** author, char** description );
sa_c6502.dll
void C6502_Initialise(BYTE* memory );
int C6502_JSR(WORD* addr, BYTE* areg, BYTE* xreg, BYTE* yreg, int* maxcycles);
void C6502_About(char** name, char** author, char** description );
Greetings:
Fox/Taquart (Thanks for XASM)
Jaskier/Taquart (Thanks for TMC)
PG (Thanks for ASMA - Atari SAP Music Archive - http://asma.atari.org)
All the active "Atariarea" Polish Atarians (http://atariarea.nostalgia.pl)
...and other 8bit Atarians all over the world! :-)
************************************************************************
RASTER MUSIC TRACKER - RMT
by Radek Sterba, Raster/C.P.U., 2002-2003
http://raster.atari.org
************************************************************************
Changes in RMT 1.11
-------------------
- Maximal length of track increased to 256 beats.
- New Config dialog (menu View - Configuration):
* Track line highlight step.
* Some keyboard hotkeys options.
* MIDI IN support! (events: key on, program change)
* OK button save the configuration to rmt.ini configuration file.
- New input/output file format: TXT song files (*.txt).
(It's simple text format for easy making any convert tools.)
- Change of toolbar icon for PROVE MODE and new icon for MIDI on/off
- New TrackEdit block function:
Control+E ..exchange of block select data and the clipboard data.
- Show the AUDF, AUDC and AUDCTL Pokey registers
(default is off, turn on by menu View - Pokey chip registers)
- Light blue color of volume only values in the instrument envelope.
- Checking for right version of RMW working files (RMW work files haven't
portability through the different RMT tracker versions).
New songs
- Song "aspir332.rmt" (Aspiration 332, by Raster/C.P.U. 2003)
in "songs" directory.
Bug fixes
- Bug with bad beat count if standalone speed command has been in track.
- Other small corrections and bugfixes.
Changes in RMT 1.1
------------------
- Main RMT assembler routine changed to version 01:
- Backward compatibility:
* Support for loading of previous (version 00) RTI instruments.
(saving RTI instruments version 01 only)
* Support for loading of previous (version 00) RMT modules.
(saving RMT modules version 01 only)
- New RMT routine features:
* Support for manual AUDCTL settings (but also automatic management is preserved,
if you will use command 6 or "filter" switch).
* Support for VOLUME ONLY settings by command 7 with parameter value $80.
(Volume only forced outputs are indicated by light blue color of volume analyzer box,
see the easy example song file "examples/volumeonly.rmt".)
* Support for NOTES/FRQS TABLE length from 1 to 32.
* A lot of speed/size optimizations (RMT modules with easy instruments are smaller than before).
- Support for speed/size optimizations of RMT assembler routine for concrete RMT module.
(See the RMT player routine assembler source code and "Export song as.. RMT stripped
song file (*.rmt)" dialog and optimized routine example in "asm_src/optim" directory.)
- Hotkeys' changes:
Pause ... mute all sounds and reinit RMT routine only.
Shift+Pause ... mute all sounds, reinit RMT routine and sound output.
- If any instrument parameter is changed, then turn off this instrument on all
channels where it sounds.
- If save or export process is aborted or failed, destination file will be deleted.
Bug fixes
- RMT routine - instrument table speed bug (each first note/frq table item was shorter by 1/50 sec).
- Tab key while edit the instrument name (no CapsLock off).
- PageUp/Down for octave up/down in Prove mode.
- Instrument volume curve fault by mouse position after the instrument load.
- Mouse doubleclick to track/channels turn on/off.
- All the showed messages (message boxes) are owned by RMT application now.
Changes in RMT beta 1.02
------------------------
Since the RMT beta 1.02 version all the parts based on GPL sources are totally removed
from the RMT project (i.e. Pokey sound emulation and Atari 6502 processor emulation)
and these aren't a part of RMT henceforth.
Description of dynamic DLL functions for standalone Pokey and 6502 emulation
is specified in the readme file. If you run RMT without this way described DLLs
(sa_pokey.dll, sa_c6502.dll), RMT will work, but there won't be any Pokey sound output
and Atari sound routines won't be executed.
Improvements
- Use the hardware sound buffer if possible (instead of software sound buffer).
- Initialize the file load directory to program location.
- Block toolbar is showed by default.
- Much more summary informations in the About box.
- Text parameters editing was changed a bit. Because of ShiftKey is used for playing
the notes, You have to press the CapsLock key for switch to "normal" ShiftKey behaviour
(i.e. ShiftKey+Key for entering uppercase and other (!@#$%^&*()_+:"<>?|) characters).
CapsLock mode is turned off automatically when text editing is over by pressing the Tab key
or Enter key.
- CapsLock state indication in the status bar ("CAP").
- Reinit also RMT Atari sound routines when the Pause key is pressed.
- Functions for turn on/off the sound channels (tracks):
* Control+ 1-8 ...turn on/off the sound channel (track) 1-8.
* Control+ 9 ...turn on all the channels (tracks).
* Control+ 0 ...turn off all the channels (tracks).
* Control+ BackQuote ...turn on/off the active sound channel (track).
* Shift+ BackQuote ...negation of turned on/off sound channels (tracks).
* BackQuote ...solo play of active sound channel (track) / turn on all channels (tracks).
Note: Muted sound channels are indicated by gray color of track title and volume
analyzer scope.
- Status bar tool tips and short flying help messages completed.
- Other internal improvements.
TrackEdit
- Mouse control of turn on/off the channels (tracks) - it's indicated by mouse cursor design
change to "hand with title 'on/off'":
* LeftMouseButton ... turn on/off relevant channel (track).
* RightMouseButton ... solo play of relevant channel (track) / turn on all channels (tracks).
InstrumentEdit
- Drawing of envelope volume curve by mouse - it's indicated by mouse cursor design
change to "pen with title 'volume'":
* LeftMouseButton ... draw volume curve.
* RightMouseButton ... set volume to zero value.
Bug fixes
- Playing the block area.
- Inserting and deleting song lines from track edit when "go to line" is active.
- Other internal corrections.
Changes in RMT beta 1.01
------------------------
All modes
- Set the octave up-down hotkeys changed from Shift+up,down to Shift+page_up,page_down
(it works now in TrackEdit and InstrumentEdit only).
- Correction of bug with instrument copy/paste.
TrackEdit
- No more set number of the track by Control+0-9A-F keys.
- Hotkey changed: Control+I - insert new line into the song.
- Hotkey changed: Control+U - delete the current line from the song.
- Show title "EMPTY" for empty tracks.
- Shift+up,down,home,end - the block select functions.
- Control+A - select all data in the track (from the begin to the end of the track).
- Control+Insert,Control+C - copy block to clipboard.
- Shift+Insert,Control+V - paste data from clipboard.
- If the block is selected and paste function is used, then data from clipboard is placed into the block select area only.
- If the block is selected, then Delete key will delete data inside the block area.
- If the block is selected, then Control+X key will cut data inside the block area.
- New toolbar for block data modifications: menu View - Block toolbar. All this modify functions are available also by hotkeys.
- Block data modification hotkeys (the block must be selected at first):
* Shift+Control+A switch between block modify mode all / current instrument only.
* Shift+Control+page_up,page_down do transpose up,down notes in the block (by semitones).
* Shift+Control+left,right do change of instrument numbers in the block.
* Shift+Control+Num-,Num+ do change of volumes in the block.
Note transpositions, instrument changes and volume changes are indicated in window statusbar at the bottom.
- If the block is selected:
* Enter key will play the lines inside the block around.
* Home or End key set the cursor to the first or the last line in the block.
* Control+B will restore the block data changed by modification functions from the backup (backup is created when the block is getting start to select and destroyed when the block is deselected).
* Control+F4 will start cyclic playing of the part from the top to the bottom of selected block area.
Operation manual
- All this changes included to operation manual (see the rmt_en.htm, rmt_cz.htm).
RMT beta 1.00
-------------
- The first published version.
************************************************************************
RASTER MUSIC TRACKER - RMT
by Radek Sterba, Raster/C.P.U., 2002-2003
http://raster.atari.org
************************************************************************
Player speed/size optimizations
-------------------------------
Are you an Atari coder? Yes, then you can read below...
If you will export song as "RMT stripped song file (*.rmt)", you can take
a RMT FEATures definitions text and move it into rmt_playr.a65 source
code file by clipboard. (You have to replace a part between the "--BEGIN--"
and the "--END--" marks.)
If you do it and compile such modified player source, you obtain optimized
player routine for this concrete RMT module.
Optimized player routine contains only features used by this RMT module,
that's why it is more or less smaller and quicker. Of course, you can't
use it with any other RMT module and every time you change the RMT module,
it's very recommended to take RMT FEATures definitions text again
and recompile RMT player routine.
This technique is very useful for background music in your demos, games, etc.
Example:
You can see the example of this method in "asm_src/optim" directory.
Optimized player for "music.rmt" module only is smaller about 608 bytes (!)
and surely much faster than standard full-feature providing player.