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MultiPlayer Version 1.17 Copyright 1991 Bryan Ford All Rights Reserved Disclaimer ~~~~~~~~~~ This program is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the results, reliability and performance of this program is assumed by you. Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to the most powerful, versatile, and user-friendly music player ever created on the Amiga! As you will see, MultiPlayer has almost all the features you've seen in other music players, plus a great number that have never been implemented before in a music player. If you want to get full benefit from MultiPlayer you should at least scan through this whole documentation. However, it is very easy to use, so feel free to take it for a test drive first. If you're upgrading from a previous version of MultiPlayer, make sure you look at the History section near the end of this document to see what's new. One of the goals of MultiPlayer is to be as system-friendly as possible. It multitasks well, it doesn't interfere with high-priority interrupts such as serial port interrupts, and it properly allocates audio channels so that the music doesn't conflict with other programs. It is fully functional on Kickstart 2.0 and 1.3 (although it works much better under 2.0), and isn't prone to "lose" notes on fast processors like most other players are. Another goal of MultiPlayer is to support a very diverse array of music formats. MultiPlayer currently supports over twenty different common module formats, plus some special ones. See 'Supported Formats' near the end of this document for a list of the module types MultiPlayer can play. (Not all of MultiPlayer's features are available with every module format, but MultiPlayer will at least play each format on the list.) The unregistered version of MultiPlayer is freely redistributable as long as it and its documentation is not modified in any way, and the files listed below are distributed with it. (See the end of this file for details about registering MultiPlayer.) You may not charge more for distributing it than a small fee to cover the disk copying expenses. The MultiPlayer version 1.17 distribution must contain the following files: Player.doc MultiPlayer documentation (this file) Player The unregistered version of MultiPlayer Player.info Icon for MultiPlayer Programmers/Formats.doc Specification of GMOD module format Programmers/GMOD.i Include file to help with GMOD's Programmers/DW_GMOD.asm Example GMOD header Programmers/DW_Convert.c Example program to write GMOD files Programmers/DW_Convert Executable version of same Programmers/LMKFile SAS/C makefile for DW_Convert ChipMunch/ChipMunch Useful utility if you have >512K chip RAM ChipMunch/ChipMunch.info Icon for ChipMunch ChipMunch/ChipMunch.doc Documentation for ChipMunch ChipMunch/src/chipmunch.c SAS/C source for ChipMunch ChipMunch/src/makescript MakeScript for ChipMunch ChipMunch/src/sascopts SAS/C options Acknowledgments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michael Sinz (CBM) for tips on the memory manager. Darren Schebek for lots of suggestions and ideas. (When's your player library coming out, anyway? :-) ) Janne Saarme for lots of players and other stuff. Teijo Kinnunen for MED/OctaMED support and player code. Barry McConnell for lots of testing, suggestions, and possibly some new user interface code. (Hint, hint. :-) ) And most of all, to the talented people who create all the wonderful music on the Amiga! General Usage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To start MultiPlayer, just type 'player' from the CLI or click on the icon from the Workbench and it will present the ASL or ARP filerequester to select a module from, depending on which version of the operating system you are using. (If you are running 1.3, you must have the arp.library version 39 or higher installed to get the file requester - if you don't, you won't be able to load modules from the window.) Under 2.0, you can select multiple modules at a time (as many as you want). Under 1.3, you will have to select them one at a time (although you can still build programs). If you run MultiPlayer from the CLI, it automatically detaches itself, so there is no need to Run it. You can also start modules playing immediately when MultiPlayer starts up - see the section on 'Startup Options' for more information on starting MultiPlayer. While MultiPlayer is running there is normally a small window in the title bar displaying the name of the module that is currently playing (or just "MultiPlayer" if nothing is loaded). You can click the close gadget to stop the music and terminate MultiPlayer. If you are running Kickstart 2.0, the MultiPlayer window will have a zoom gadget near its right end. If you click it, you will see a control panel that allows you to load different modules and gives access to some of MultiPlayer's more advanced features. Since 1.3 doesn't know about zoom gadgets, you can get the control panel under 1.3 by pressing the right mouse button while the MultiPlayer window is active. If you have the xpkmaster.library (a freeware compression "supervisor" standard mostly by Dominik Mueller, Christian Schneider, and myself) installed in your system, MultiPlayer can automatically unpack modules that are packed using any format it can understand. (This includes PowerPacker format, if you have the powerpacker.library installed as well.) If you start getting shaky when you see MultiPlayer's size (>80K), don't worry (be happy) - thanks to a custom memory management and overlay system, MultiPlayer uses only the memory it needs to do its job. All of the module players are loaded only when needed, and any players not currently in use are unloaded on demand if the system runs out of memory. The parts of the program used to control MultiPlayer's various windows are also only loaded when they are needed (when the respective windows are open) and are freed as necessary. Thus, generally only about 25K of program code is usually loaded at any one time. If you have tons of memory and don't want overlays, the registered release comes with a separate version of MultiPlayer ("Player.nov") that runs without overlays (like a normal program). It generally uses about 50K more memory than the overlaid version does, but it can be compressed with PowerPacker or Imploder if you're short on disk space. (Imploder *should* be able to compress the overlaid version of MultiPlayer, but it won't - I haven't figured out why.) For all you hackers (used in the positive meaning) that like to rip out every form of music imaginable, when you come across some obscure module format that nothing understands, don't despair. There are several special formats built into MultiPlayer that you can use to easily interface it to any kind of module. All you need is the module, some player code for the module (if the module doesn't already have embedded player code), and a little assembly language programming. Details on all three formats are in the separate file 'Formats.doc'. If you are the author of a music composer program, you should also read this document and consider supporting the GMOD embedded-player module format in your program. (It's not a music storage standard - it's more like a music playing standard.) Control Panel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The main MultiPlayer window normally sits quietly in the title bar. (If you don't like it there, move it somewhere else and save the preferences - it'll stay put wherever you want it.) However, if you click the zoom gadget under 2.0 or click the right mouse button under 1.3, it will become a small control panel. Under 2.0, if you have a 3-button mouse, the middle button will act the same as the zoom gadget. This panel displays a few pieces of information about the module currently playing, and has some buttons you can use to control MultiPlayer. When running under Workbench 2.0, the MultiPlayer control panel is an AppWindow, so you can play modules by simply dropping their icons into the MultiPlayer window. When you do, the new module (or several modules, if you extended-select them) replaces the current program, and MultiPlayer starts playing the first module immediately. This works basically like selecting modules with the New button. Module box This box displays the filename of the module currently loaded (essentially the same as what is displayed in the title bar). Any 'mod.' prefixes for Soundtracker/Noisetracker modules will not be displayed. Type box Displays the type of the loaded module (as MultiPlayer sees it). Simple enough? Author box Displays the name of the person who wrote this module, if MultiPlayer can glean this information from the module. Most current module formats don't have direct facilities for identifying the author - in this case, the box will just display 'Unknown'. Soundtracker/Noisetracker modules often have author names embedded in the instrument list - in this case, MultiPlayer will try to make a good guess by searching for keywords such as 'by'. (If it screws up for some reason, you can always type the module in hex to find out for sure.) MED modules have somewhat better support, but they still don't have a convenient 'author' field - just a catch-all 'annotation' field, which MultiPlayer processes much the same way as with Soundtracker modules. GMOD modules are the only types I know of that directly support author identification, but they are at the moment few and far between. (Let's get with it, OK? Don't all the wonderful musicians want to be recognized?) Song gadget This gadget serves two purposes. First, it displays the name of the currently loaded module or song as recorded in the module itself. For example, with Soundtracker/Noisetracker modules this gadget will display the song name as recorded in the first 20 bytes of the file. Many module formats don't have built-in name fields - in this case, the box will just display 'Unknown.' For most types of modules, which support only one song per module, this gadget will serve no purpose other than displaying the song name - clicking on it will do nothing. However, some module formats such as (GMODs) allow several independent songs to be contained in a single module (for example, to save memory by using the same instruments on several songs). In that case, this gadget will cycle through the available songs in the module. You can also change songs using the left and right arrow keys. Volume slider This slider controls the volume of the currently playing module. Minimum volume is all the way to the left; maximum is all the way to the right. This feature doesn't work with all types of modules, but it works with the most popular types. The current master volume, balance, and speed settings are saved with MultiPlayer's Preferences, so when MultiPlayer starts up they will be set to whatever they were set to last time you saved MultiPlayer's preferences. Balance slider This slider adjusts the balance by scaling the left and right volumes separately. When the slider is all the way to the left, only the left channels will be played; when it is all the way to the right, only the right channels will be played. Normally it's in the center, where both sides play with equal volume. Like the volume control, this feature doesn't work with every type of module MultiPlayer supports. Speed slider This slider adjusts the module's current playing speed. Move the knob to the left to slow down the module; move it right to speed it up. The PAL and NTSC buttons to the right of the slider set the speed to two common presets. PAL (the default) sets the speed to 50Hz, which is what most modules are written for. NTSC sets the speed to 60Hz, which simulates the speed at which poorly-written music players and games play music written for PAL mode. New button This button displays the file requester and lets you select any number of modules. The new list of modules replaces the current program, if there was one. The first module in the list (or a random module, if you have selected random playing) will be started. The program will be created with the order in which the modules were displayed in the file requester. (At least this is how the current ASL file requester works - it may change.) If you select a directory but don't select a file (leave the "File" string gadget blank), MultiPlayer scans the directory and adds everything in that directory to the program. Play button Starts or continues playing a module that was previously stopped but not unloaded. If the module type supports the continue feature, the module will continue playing where it left off. Otherwise it will start again from the beginning. If you have selected the 'Fade...' checkbox in Preferences, and the module type supports volume control, the music will fade in gradually instead of just starting instantly. Stop button Stops the current module without unloading it. Audio channels and interrupts are freed while a module is stopped, so you don't have to exit MultiPlayer completely if you want to run some other program that needs the audio hardware. If you have selected the 'Fade...' checkbox in Preferences, and the module type supports volume control, the music will fade out gradually instead of stopping instantly. If the module type supports restart, you can restart it where it left off by pressing the Play button. Eject button Stops and unloads the currently loaded module, and frees all memory and other resources that the module was using. Next button Loads and plays the next module in the current program list. If you have selected random play, this button simply loads another module in the list, at random. This is the same as pressing the down arrow key in the MultiPlayer window. Prev button Loads and plays the previous module in the program list. If you have selected random play, this button does basically the same thing as the Next button - picks another module at random. This button does the same thing as pressing the up arrow key in the MultiPlayer window. Program button Opens the Program window, described below. Under 2.0, you can also do this by clicking the right mouse button while the main MultiPlayer window is active. Prefs button Opens MultiPlayer's Preferences window, described later. Program Window ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The program window displays a list of all the modules in the current module 'program'. You can select modules from the list to load and play immediately by simply double-clicking on their names. You can also build and rearrange your program using this window. You get this window by pressing the 'Program' button on the main window's control panel, or by pressing the Help or F1 keys in the MultiPlayer window, or, under 2.0, by simply clicking the right mouse button while any of MultiPlayer's windows are active. Note that this window doesn't cause the main control panel to "freeze" - you can still watch and use it while this window is open. In fact, all of MultiPlayer's windows (even the file requester) are this way. If sequenced play is selected (the default), when one module is finished, the next lower one on the list is loaded and played. (This only applies on modules that can detect repeat - most do, but on those that don't, unless you have set an end time in the Settings window, the module will just play forever until you explicitly tell MultiPlayer to go to the next module.) With random play, a different module will be randomly chosen. There is no limit to the number of modules you can have in a program, and modules in the program can be located in many different directories - MultiPlayer will remember the location of each module. When running under Workbench 2.0, the Program window is an AppWindow, so you can add modules by simply dropping their icons into this window. This window works slightly differently from the main Multiplayer window, however. When you drop icons into this window, the behavior is the same as if you had selected the modules with the 'Add' button: The new modules are added to the end of the current program list (instead of replacing the current program), and whatever is currently playing remains unaffected. Besides the module listing, this window contains several buttons that allow you to manipulate the module list. These are described below: Top, Up, Down, and Bot buttons These buttons allow you to rearrange the modules in the program. They work on the currently selected module, and their meanings should be obvious. Add button This button works basically the same way as the 'New' button on the main window - it brings up the file requester and allows you to select modules. However, it doesn't cause the previous program to be cleared when you finish, and it doesn't start playing a new module immediately. If you select a directory without selecting a filename, MultiPlayer will scan that directory and add all the files in it to the program. Del button This button deletes the currently selected module in the program list. If this module is currently playing, it doesn't stop the module immediately - the module continues playing until you select a different module. Play button This button does basically the same thing as double-clicking on a module name in the program list: it loads and starts playing the currently selected module. Settings button This button toggles the Settings window, described later. The F3 key can also be used for this purpose. Clear button Clears the entire current program list. As with the 'Del' button, it does not stop any currently playing module. Sort button Sorts the entire current program list alphabetically. Handy if you like to use random play (and thus don't really care about the play order) and you'd like a nice neat module listing. Load button Brings up the file requester so you can load a previously saved program from disk. (This button will only work on the registered version of MultiPlayer.) The newly loaded program will replace the current program. Note that you can also load saved programs from the regular module requester - programs are recognized just like modules, and programs selected this way will automatically be loaded and run. (You could even put the name of another program file at the bottom of the first one, and chain programs together!) Save button Brings up the file requester and lets you save the current program to a disk file. (Also only works on the registered version.) You can then load it again later through the Load gadget or using any method normally used to select modules - the file requester, Workbench extended-select when starting MultiPlayer, or CLI arguments. (See the 'Startup' for details on starting MultiPlayer.) OK button This button simply closes the Program window - the same thing as clicking the close gadget. If you want to create or modify module program files yourself, just take a look at one of the files MultiPlayer generates - it's just a simple text file. Lines starting with 'DIR' denote changes of directory - all filenames after that until another 'DIR' keyword will be looked for in that directory. Lines that start with a tab character (make sure they remain tab characters, and don't get converted to spaces!) contain the settings information for the module on the previous line. I won't explain the format exactly, but it shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out if you want to. Preferences Window ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MultiPlayer's built-in Preferences window can be opened by clicking on the 'Prefs' button in the main MultiPlayer window, or by pressing F2 in any of MultiPlayer's windows. It contains a few options which you can use to tailor MultiPlayer to your own preferences. The gadgets are described below: Play gadget Use this to select between sequenced play, random play, and 'over and over' mode. In sequenced play, the modules in the program list are played one after another, from beginning to end, in the order they appear in the program list. In random play, a module plays once and then another is randomly selected. In 'once' mode, the song is played only once, then is unloaded and MultiPlayer becomes idle. In 'over and over' mode, anything you select is played forever until you tell MultiPlayer to start a different module. (In these last two mode, you can still use the 'Next' and 'Prev' buttons in the main window to change modules; MultiPlayer just doesn't do it by itself.) Show gadget This cycle gadget allows you to select the type of display you want to appear in the main window's title bar while a module is playing. In clock mode, a clock appears displaying the amount of time this module has been playing in minutes and seconds. In sequence mode (this has no relation to the 'in sequence' mode in the 'Play' gadget), on NoiseTracker or similar modules that play sequences of blocks, the current sequence number and the number of sequences in the song is displayed. (On modules that don't support this, the clock is displayed instead.) You can tell MultiPlayer to display the current sequence number either starting from 0 and ending at length-1, as most tracker programs display sequence numbers, or starting from 1 and ending at (length), which is the more 'natural' way of counting. Selecting the 'Nothing' option in this gadget will leave you with a simple, clean, unadulterated title bar. Spectrogram checkbox Use this to turn the spectrogram window on or off. The F6 key also serves this purpose. Note Scroller checkbox Use this to turn the note scroller window on or off. The F7 key also serves this purpose. StereoScope checkbox Use this to turn the stereo scope window on or off. The F8 key also serves this purpose. QuadraScope checkbox Use this to turn the four-channel scope window on or off. The F9 key also serves this purpose. Fade... checkbox If this checkbox is activated, whenever you press the 'Play' or 'Stop' gadgets in the main control panel (or press the spacebar), the music gradually fades in and out rather than abruptly starting or stopping. This will only happen on modules that support volume control. Keep... checkbox If this checkbox is activated, MultiPlayer does two things differently than it normally does. First, when you save the preferences, not only are the preferences saved as usual, but the currently loaded program is also saved in ENV: and ENVARC: in a file called "MultiPlayerProgram". Second, when MultiPlayer starts up, if it sees that you have this option set, and you haven't specified any other modules or programs in the startup options, it automatically loads this program (without starting it). This way, if you generally only keep one program around, this option provides an easy way to always load it automatically without worrying about any startup options or anything. Even if you have this option selected, you can still load and save other programs normally through the Program window. Hot key string gadget By default, this string gadget is empty and MultiPlayer behaves like a normal application. However, you can enter a Commodities-style hotkey name into this gadget. (Make sure you press return in the gadget after changing the string!) MultiPlayer will then activate that key as a hot key which you can use to open the main MultiPlayer control panel at any time. When a hot key is active, clicking the control panel's close gadget closes all of MultiPlayer's windows, but does not terminate MultiPlayer or stop playing music. You can use this too keep MultiPlayer hidden in the background, without using any screen space at all. This feature only works on 2.0. Save button Saves the current preferences to the disk file ENV:MultiPlayerPrefs, as well as to the same file in ENVARC:. (With a preferences window as simple as this, there's no real need for separate 'Save' and 'Save Default' options.) The preferences saved include, as well as the current settings of the above two gadgets, the positions of the three main MultiPlayer windows. The next time you run MultiPlayer, the windows will pop up wherever they were when you saved the preferences. OK button Does exactly the same thing as the close gadget on the window does - closes the Preferences window. It does NOT cause the new preferences to be activated, because they are already activated: anything you select gets activated the moment you select it. (None of those exclusive Macie dialog boxes, please.) There is no 'Cancel' gadget because I figure it's not too difficult to change back any buttons you accidentally hit, since there are so few... Settings Window ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MultiPlayer's Settings window serves a function very similar to the Preferences window. However, instead of storing settings that apply to MultiPlayer as a whole, it is used to select options that pertain to individual modules in the program list. To get it, click the 'Settings' button in the program window, or press F3 in any of MultiPlayer's windows. The Settings window contains a number of gadgets which control how the currently selected module (not necessarily the currently playing module) is to be played. MultiPlayer stores separate settings for each module on the program list. When you save the program list, the settings for each module are saved with it. Not all of the settings are applicable to every type of module; on those modules, the appropriate settings gadgets will be disabled. Module box This text box displays the name of the currently selected module (the same as the name displayed under the program list gadget in the Program window). This is not necessarily the module that is currently playing - you can edit the settings for one module while you play another (or while you're not playing any module). Volume, Balance, and Speed gadgets The gadgets in these two rows complement the corresponding gadgets in the control panel. While the controls in the main window control whatever module is currently playing, these gadgets control the individual modules in the program. For example, when you play a given module, the volume at which it plays is determined by both the master volume setting on the main control panel, and the volume setting for that specific module defined in the Settings window. This allows you to set specific settings for individual modules, while still being able to control the overall speed, volume, and balance independently from the main control panel. End text box and gadgets These settings allow you to tell MultiPlayer when to stop a module that normally doesn't stop by itself, or to make MultiPlayer stop playing the module before it would normally end. The text box displays the amount of time MultiPlayer will let the module play before stopping it, if you've set an endpoint. To set a module's endpoint, you must be currently playing the module you want to change the setting for. (The Set button will only be activated if this is the case.) When the music gets to the point where you would like it to stop every time you play it, click the Set button. MultiPlayer will record the endpoint and (since setting the endpoint implies that you have reached it) the module will immediately end. Next time you play that module, it will stop automatically at that point. To clear a module's endpoint, just press the Clear button. Note that the endpoint stored is only an amount of time to play - MultiPlayer generally can't actually tell where in the module you are at that time. Therefore, messing with the module's playing speed will throw off the endpoint timer. Changing video frequencies (i.e. switching between PAL and NTSC mode) while the module is being timed can also throw off the timer. I may fix this problem in the future, if there is enough demand. (If it's really important to you, tell me and I'll put it higher on my list.) Filter cycle gadget This gadget determines how the low-pass filter (and the power LED) is handled. Normally it's just set to 'controlled by module', so music modules can turn it on or off as part of their effects. However, if a particular module does things you don't like with the filter, you can force the filter permanently on or off with this gadget, so the module can no longer control it. Of course, this feature works only on module types that allow MultiPlayer to control the filter. Protracker tempo commands checkbox This checkbox is only activated for standard ST/NT/PT modules. If it is not set, the Protracker player interprets all speed commands in the module as NoiseTracker and other older trackers did, and keeps the baseline frequency at 50Hz (or whatever you set the speed to). If this checkbox is set, the newer Protracker tempo commands are enabled. Basically, this option is here because there is no reliable way to detect whether a module is using NoiseTracker speed commands or Protracker tempo commands. While most modules will work fine on either setting, some will only play at the correct speed at one setting. If you play a module and it suddenly starts going way too slow, or way too fast, or otherwise plays at an obviously "wrong" speed, try flipping this checkbox and start the module again. In general, older modules need this checkbox to be off, while newer Protracker modules need it on. Fade checkbox If you select this checkbox, and the module supports volume control, when the module ends, instead of stopping immediately it will continue for a couple seconds longer (most likely repeating an earlier part of the song), gradually fading out. This is nice for the many modules that just repeat over and over, and never actually end. With this feature you can make the ending seem a little more natural. Current button Pressing this button will set the currently selected module to the same as the currently playing module. Thus, if you are listening to a module and decide you want to change something about it, you don't have to hunt it down in the program list - just press this button, and you will be instantly at that module. OK button This button simply closes the Settings window. Like the OK button in the Preferences window, it doesn't actually cause anything else to happen, because whenever you change anything in the Settings window, the changes take effect immediately. Flashy Windows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For your viewing pleasure, MultiPlayer contains some little gizmos that you've probably seen before in Eurodemos and other players. The Spectrogram window displays a bar graph of the frequencies currently playing. The Note Scroller window shows a miniature tracker-like display of the notes scrolling up the screen. (You can't read the notes, but if you're using MultiPlayer you're probably wanting to listen to music, not read it, right?) This works only on Protracker-type modules. The Stereo Scope window shows an Oscilliscope-like view of the sound coming out of each channel. The QuadraScope is basically the same thing as the Stereo Scope, except it has a separate display for each of the four channels. (You can have both the StereoScope and the QuardraScope active at the same time if you want.) All four windows can be toggled on and off from the Preferences window. Each also has a function key that works from any of the windows. You can toggle the Spectrogram window with F6, the Note Scroller with F7, the StereoScope with F8, and the QuadraScope with F9. All "flashy" window updating is done in a separate task with a priority of -5, so turning on these windows should not generally degrade system performance at all. However, this means that the windows will stop updating temporarily when the system is heavily loaded. Keyboard Shortcuts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several keyboard shortcuts are available from any MultiPlayer window (except the file requester). Most of these have been mentioned before in this document, but they are listed all together here. All of these are available under 1.3 as well as 2.0. These keys are listed below: ESC key Terminates MultiPlayer immediately (a shortcut for the close gadget on the main window. F1 and Help keys Toggles the Program window (opens it, or closes it if it was already open). F2 key Toggles the Preferences window. F3 key Toggles the Settings window. F6 key Toggles the Spectrogram window. (Also toggles the Spectogram item in the Preferences window.) F7 key Toggles the Note Scroller window. F8 key Toggles the StereoScope window. F9 key Toggles the Note Scroller window. Spacebar If a module is currently playing, stops (or pauses) it without unloading it, just like the 'Stop' button in the main window. If a module is loaded but NOT playing, it continues or restarts it, just like the 'Play' button. Delete key Unloads ('ejects') the currently loaded module. Up/down arrows These switch to the previous or next modules in the program list, respectively. In random play, these simply select another module at random. (These are shortcuts for the 'Next' and 'Prev' buttons in the main window.) Left/right arrows For modules that contain more than one song, these select the previous or next song, respectively (shortcuts for the 'Song' cycle gadget). Startup Options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When starting MultiPlayer from Workbench (either 1.3 or 2.0), you can extended-select the icons of as many modules as you want when you start MultiPlayer. It will add all of these modules to the program and immediately start playing the first one (or a random selection, if you have selected random play in your saved preferences). Additionally, you may set certain default parameters in the ToolTypes field of MultiPlayer's Workbench icon; these are described later in this section. If you're running Kickstart 1.3, MultiPlayer will accept a single argument from the CLI (don't use quotes, even if there are spaces in it). If this argument ends in a ':' or '/', MultiPlayer will change to that directory before displaying the ARP file requester. If it doesn't end in one of these characters, MultiPlayer will try to load the specified file as a module and start it playing rather than displaying the file requester immediately. MultiPlayer doesn't have any extra command-line goodies under 1.3, so if you need any of these extra features, maybe it's time to upgrade... If you're running Kickstart 2.0, MultiPlayer supports a full set of command-line options: DIR=DIRECTORY,PLAY=MODULES/M,PROG=PROGRAM/M, SCREEN/K,NOREQUEST/S,NOWINDOW/S,NOREXX/S Following is a description of these arguments: DIR (synonym: DIRECTORY) The first argument on the command line (or the argument preceded by the DIR keyword, if you use the keyword) tells MultiPlayer what directory to go to the first time it displays the file requester. This is also where it will look for modules you specify on the command line (see below) if you don't specify full pathnames for them. Using this option to specify the directory where everything else comes from can save you some typing if you specify several modules that reside in the same directory on the command line. PLAY/M (synonym: MODULES/M) The second argument (if you don't explicitly use the DIRECTORY or PLAY/MODULES keywords) begins a list of modules to put into MultiPlayer's program list on startup and start playing immediately. MultiPlayer imposes no limitations on the number of modules you can specify using this keyword, although AmigaDOS command lines are currently limited to 256 characters. After MultiPlayer starts up, instead of showing the file requester immediately, it will load and begin playing the first module in the program list (or a randomly selected module, if you have selected random playing in your saved Preferences). With the registered version of MultiPlayer, program list files act the same way as modules, so you can specify a program file to load and start initially instead of a list of modules. PROG/K (synonym: PROGRAM/K) You can use this keyword followed by the name of a program file as an alternative to the PLAY option. If you use this option, MultiPlayer will load the named program file on startup and just go idle, rather than starting the first module immediately as it would if you used the PLAY keyword. To start the program, just hit the "Next" or "Prev" gadgets in the main window (or just hit the up or down arrow keys in any of the MultiPlayer windows). This feature only works on the registered version. Note that, apparently due to a bug in 2.04, if you specify the PROG keyword without giving a directory name as the first option, the PROG keyword and the program get put together and interpreted as a module name for the MODULE keyword! Therefore, instead of "Player prog mus:blah", just use "Player mus: prog blah". SCREEN/K You can use this parameter to tell MultiPlayer to open its windows on a screen other than the Workbench (or default) screen. Just supply the name of the public screen as this parameter, and MultiPlayer will try to use it for all its windows. The named public screen must already be open. NOREQUEST/S If you specify the switch, MultiPlayer will not display the file requester immediately after it loads, even if you don't specify any modules to start playing. If you don't specify any modules, MultiPlayer will simply sit idle until you tell it to do something. NOWINDOW/S This switch causes MultiPlayer to load and run without opening its main window. If you specify modules to start playing, MultiPlayer will play them as usual, but you won't see any visual indication that MultiPlayer is running. If you have activated a hot key in MultiPlayer's saved preferences, you can later open the control panel with it. You can also open the window through MultiPlayer's ARexx port, assuming you haven't turned that off as well. NOREXX/S If you specify this switch, MultiPlayer will not open its ARexx port. (On the unregistered version, MultiPlayer doesn't have an ARexx port, so this switch will do nothing.) If you run MultiPlayer from the Workbench, it will search through the ToolTypes array in its own icon for parameters which are roughly equivalent to the CLI parameters described above. DIR (synonym: DIRECTORY) PROG (synonym: PROGRAM) SCREEN These ToolTypes act exactly like the corresponding CLI arguments. Simply enter one of these ToolType labels, then an equals ('=') sign, then the appropriate text. For example, to load the program "Mus:DefaultProg" on startup, add the ToolType "PROG=Mus:DefaultProg". REQUEST WINDOW REXX These ToolTypes perform the same functions as the similarly named CLI arguments, but instead of simply being flags,they are YES/NO ToolTypes. For example, to prevent MultiPlayer from opening the main window on startup, enter "WINDOW=NO" into the ToolTypes. ARexx Port ~~~~~~~~~~ If you have ARexx, either as an independent program in 1.3 or as part of the operating system in 2.0+, you can use it to control the registered version of MultiPlayer. Whenever MultiPlayer is running, there is an ARexx port available called "RXTRACKER" which you can send various commands to. MultiPlayer's ARexx port is designed to be (mostly) compatible with the program RxTracker by Dominic Giampaolo. In addition, it has several extended features, and of course you can use it to play all the different kinds of modules MultiPlayer understands. If MultiPlayer runs into an error when trying to load or play a module, it generally returns an error code of 10. When any error occurs, a descriptive error string is saved and you can get it with the LASTERROR command. A listing of the ARexx commands MultiPlayer understands follows: LOAD <filename> Loads a module into memory from disk. It is generally a good idea to supply a complete pathname, since MultiPlayer looks for the module starting at whatever directory the file requester last happened to be looking at. This command does not start the module playing. If you want to start playing immediately, you don't have to use this command at all - you can simply supply a filename on the PLAY command and it will load and start playing immediately. Note that unless you tell MultiPlayer to load a program file, this command won't affect the program list at all - the ARexx port in general operates independently of the standard user interface. If you explicitly tell MultiPlayer to load a program file using this command, then the new program list will replace the old one. PLAY [<filename>] [<songnumber>] Starts playing a module. If you supply the filename, MultiPlayer stops any module currently playing and tries to load the specified module from disk, like the LOAD command. If you don't supply the filename, MultiPlayer plays (or re-plays from the start) an already-loaded module. (If no module is loaded and you don't specify a filename, MultiPlayer returns error code 5 and otherwise does nothing.) For modules with more than one song, you can supply the song number to play. Songs are numbered starting at zero. If you don't supply a song number, the first one (song zero) is assumed. STOP Stops playing any module that is currently playing without unloading the module. You can then restart it later with PLAY or CONTINUE. UNLOAD Stops and unloads any currently loaded module. CONTINUE Tries to restart a stopped module at the position it was at before the STOP command was given. If the module has never been started, it simply starts from the beginning. If the module was already playing, it does nothing. If the module type doesn't support restarting, MultiPlayer returns error code 5 and does NOT start the module - you can then use PLAY to start again from the beginning if you want, or else chew out the user for playing weird module formats. OPENWINDOW Opens the main MultiPlayer window. It will be opened in the small title-bar zoom state, and none of MultiPlayer's other windows will be opened with it. If the window was already open, this command does nothing. It returns an error if the window can't be opened. Remember that while the window is open the user can use it to change modules and such, possibly messing up your perfectly organized and timed ARexx-controlled playing sequences. CLOSEWINDOW Closes the MultiPlayer window, if it was open. MultiPlayer remains active, but impervious to user interface (through Intuition anyway). Now only ARexx commands can affect MultiPlayer. LASTERROR Returns an error message describing the last error that occurred that had to do with the ARexx port. (Errors that the user causes by manipulating the window do not affect this.) You'll have to have 'options results' turned on for this to work, and the error will appear in the 'RESULT' variable. QUIT Causes MultiPlayer to terminate immediately. Messages ~~~~~~~~ This section lists most of the error or warning messages MultiPlayer can produce. Look here if you have trouble deciphering the meaning of one. "Not enough chip memory" Tracker-style modules generally must be loaded into one big continuous chunk of chip memory. Therefore, even if the Workbench (or some other program) says you have enough memory, it may not have one big enough chunk. Close some windows, exit some programs. If all else fails, reboot and try fresh. "Not enough memory" You really are getting low. MultiPlayer doesn't normally need too much non-chip memory, since modules are always loaded into chip memory. If you get this message, it means you don't have much memory of ANY kind available. Better free up something quick. "Required memory occupied" You will only get this message from non-relocatable AMOD or GMOD modules. It means that the module has a specific address it must be loaded into, but part or all of the required block of memory is already in use. Free up as much memory as possible and try again. If most of your memory is free and you still can't load it, chances are there's some little allocated fragment that some program has forgotten about that's still sitting in the required area. Your best bet is to reboot and try on a fresh system. If you have more than 512K of chip memory, try running my program 'ChipMunch' (included with MultiPlayer) just after you reboot to keep programs out of the commonly used areas. "Nothing selected" Not an error, this simply means that you pressed Cancel in the file requester without selecting any modules. MultiPlayer then happily goes on doing whatever it was already doing. "Unknown module type" MultiPlayer doesn't recognize the file you selected as one of the module types it knows. Either this isn't a music module, or it's one that it doesn't know how to handle. If it is a music module that MultiPlayer doesn't know about, send me the module and player/interface code, and it should make it into the next version of MultiPlayer. "Corrupt module" MultiPlayer recognized the module, but it didn't look right for some reason. Maybe it's a module written with an incompatible version of the music program, or maybe the module itself got munched somehow. "Error playing module" A general catch-all. This error usually is displayed as a result of error reports from initialization routines of individual players. It generally means that the module loaded fine, but the player had trouble playing it. Sometimes it means the same thing as "Corrupt module", or it might mean that the player ran out of memory but was too stupid to tell MultiPlayer about it specifically. "Can't load module" The requested file was not found, or there was a disk error while reading it. If you get this message after selecting a file from the file requester, chances are the disk is corrupt (in this case AmigaDOS should have already given you a requester saying so), or the file may be open for writing from some other program. "Directory not found" Somehow you managed to tell MultiPlayer to load something from a directory that doesn't exist. Maybe you moved the directory somewhere else, or forgot an Assign somewhere. This usually only happens with ARexx commands or loaded program lists. "Audio hardware in use" MultiPlayer can't allocate the audio hardware through the audio.device. This probably means that some other music editor or player is currently running. Find the culprit program and close it. If all else fails, reboot and try again. "No CIAB timers available" MultiPlayer generally uses one of the two timers on CIA (Complex Interface Adapter) B for timing its music. However, other programs like to use these also. In particular, (I believe) one of the timers may be in use if the serial port is in operation. Other than that, music programs are generally the biggest consumers of CIAB timers. Make sure no other music player or composer programs are running, and try closing terminal programs or other programs that use the serial port. "Please decompress this module" It is unlikely that you will ever get this message, but if you do, it means that (a) the module MultiPlayer is trying to load is compressed somehow (MultiPlayer had to use the xpkmaster.library to decompress it), and (b) it is an AMOD or GMOD module that must load at an absolute address, and (c) MultiPlayer would have to re-load the module rather than just copying it to its final position because the memory the module occupied initally overlapped the required module address. If you don't quite follow, don't sweat - just decompress the module. Supported Formats ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MultiPlayer currently supports the following module types: 15-instrument SoundTracker modules (most anyway) 31-instrument SoundTracker/NoiseTracker 1.3D modules Protracker 1.0-1.1B modules NoiseTracker 1.3D packed modules (with or without the embedded player) StarTrekker 1.2 AM/FM modules (Extra '.NT' file required) MED 3.00-3.21 and OctaMED 1.00-1.00b modules Modules (MMD0) only - not "Song&Samples" files. (Thanks Mr. Kinnunen!) Oktalyzer 4- and 8-channel modules Uses my own 8-channel play engine. 8-channel modules will be slightly higher quality on a 68020+ processor. SoundFX V1.3 executable modules (Player V2.2) Will probably ONLY work with this version, since it does some run-time patching to make it play under MultiPlayer. Future Composer 1.3 ('SMOD') and 1.4 ('FC14') modules JamCrackerPro 1.0a modules SoundMonitor 2.0 modules SidMon 2.1 modules Delta Music modules (two versions) Mark II modules Dave Whittaker modules Face The Music modules (DO NOT COMPRESS!) This is very kludgy at best - you must have "PlayFTM:" ASSIGNed to the PlayFTM program file. (Didn't know you could ASSIGN to a file? Now you do!) The procedure involves loading the module, the external player, and then the module again. Ack! Apologies to floppy users. I'm trying to contact the author(s) of FTM to get some real player code, but no luck so far. Generic embedded-player modules that start with something like jmp init(pc) jmp music(pc) jmp end(pc) (Such as NoiseTracker 1.3 packed w/player modules) AudioMaster III sequenced 8SVX sounds (mono only) 'XMOD', 'AMOD', and 'GMOD' formats described in 'Formats.doc' Some of the module types are marked as 'untested'. This means exactly what it says - I found out the appropriate methods to play these and easily added support into MultiPlayer, but I didn't have any modules to test it on. So if I made a stupid mistake, one or more of these may not work at all. If you try one of these formats and it doesn't work, send me a few modules in the appropriate format to test with, and if you're the first to do so, I'll register you for free and send you the new bug-fixed version of MultiPlayer. Although sequenced 8SVX sounds are technically only sampled sound files, they have some music capability and look promising. Besides, the player also plays non-sequenced 8SVX sounds, so you can also play your movie clips and such with MultiPlayer. (I'm not sure if AudioMaster III is the only program that currently supports sequenced 8SVX files, but it's the only one I've seen so far.) Stereo is currently not supported - sorry, I'll get to that eventually. History ~~~~~~~ 1.17 (28-Feb-92) Fixed a serious bug in Guido (the user interface system) that sometimes caused crashes under 2.0. Fixed a tempo bug in the Protracker player. Modules in the program list are now played by double-clicking them. (lets you delete and do other things on them without playing them.) Added Settings window. (Get to it from the Program window.) Rearranged the function key assignments yet again. (Sorry - they should stay the same for a while now.) MultiPlayer can now read parameters from its ToolTypes for options when started from Workbench. Added volume control to Oktalyzer 8-channel player. Added Commodities support under 2.0 - only one copy of MultiPlayer gets run at once, and you can pop it up with a hot key. Two of the ARexx port's command names have changed: OPENWINDOW and CLOSEWINDOW are now OPENWINDOWS and CLOSEWINDOWS. Added "Keep program with preferences" option (in the Preferences window). Changed the random number generator, hopefully for the better. Note: The 1.3 support in this version of MultiPlayer is very minimal. The next version will probably not support 1.3 at all. Going, going... 1.16 (8-Feb-92) Fixed a serious bug in the DeltaMusic player. Save Prefs now snapshots both states of main window. Flashy window updates now run in a separate low-priority task. Upgraded MED 3.20 player to 3.21, and added Continue support. (Thanks Mr. Kinnunen!) Added (very kludgy) Face The Music support. (See the "Supported Formats" section for how to use it.) Added PROG keyword to command line options. (Lets you load a program file without starting immediately.) Fixed Mark II player. Protracker player now supports CIA tempo commands. Created Quadrascope and Note Scroller windows. Right and middle mouse buttons now work in all windows. LED (and filter) no longer get turned on at inappropriate times. Added directory scanning feature to program list manager. (If you "add" a directory to the program, MultiPlayer scans it and adds its contents to the program.) Added volume, balance, and speed controls to main window. 1.15 (17-Jan-92) Upgraded MED 3.11 player to MED 3.20. (The MED player also now supports multiple songs). Added OctaMED 1.00 support. Fixed a small bug in author search routine. Fixed SidMon player bug. Added Spectrogram and Scope windows. Created non-overlaid version (Player.nov) for registered release. 1.14 (6-Jan-92) Internal pseudo-release. 1.13 (1-Jan-92) Added Oktalyzer 8-channel support using my own 8-channel audio engine. (Never did find a real Oktalyzer 8-channel play routine.) 1.12 (29-Dec-91) Protracker support added by replacing the NoiseTracker player with the (similarly modified) Protracker 1.1B player. I haven't detected any backward incompatibilities with NoiseTracker modules, but tell me if you find any. Oktalyzer 4-channel player finally tested and fixed. (Yep, it didn't work at all. Sorry...) 1.11b (19-Dec-91) Control panel clock/sequence display now always matches title color under 2.0. Fixed minor event-handling bug. 1.11a (12-Dec-91) Fixed bug in 8SVX player. Window positions are now saved with preferences. 1.11 (10-Dec-91) Repeat detection bug in ST/NT player fixed. Program and preferences windows now save their positions while closed. Enhanced author name detection. Added middle-mouse-button zoom feature. Added 'Nothing' option to the show mode in preferences. Improved Delta Music module recognition. 1.10 (18-Nov-91) Right mouse button in the main window has changed functions: Under 1.3, it zooms the window (since there's no zoom gadget) Under 2.0, it shows the program window (like the Help or F1 key) File requester is now asynchronous (other windows remain active). Control panels are now fully 1.3 compatible. (Although they still don't look as nice as in 2.0...) Keyboard shortcuts now supported in all control panels. Added public screen support. Added "play once" feature. DMA delays now use scanline waits instead of delay loops. Re-opening sub windows now closes them rather than bringing them to the front. Added AppWindow support for 2.0. 1.01 (8-Nov-91) Added 'Sort' button in program window. Fixed a serious bug in GMOD player. (Only serious if you have GMOD modules...) Enhanced author name recognition for ST/NT modules. 1.00 (5-Nov-91) This is basically a rewrite of most of the program. (I'm not listing all the additions - there are way too many.) Major changes and additions to Formats.doc. Music no longer cuts off when file requester is displayed. Removed built-in code compression. (Maybe I'll put it back in later.) Audio device now allocated while playing music. Fixed SoundFX player bug which caused crashing on advanced processors. Players now use longer DMA delays (normally 300) only on fast processors. (Wouldn't want to bog down you poor ol' 68000 users would we?) Major rewrite of player selection code. CIAB interrupts now defer to software interrupts to avoid hogging CPU time in a high-priority interrupt. 0.95a (6-Sep-91) Fixed bug where song position appeared when no module was playing. Fixed ST/NT player bug for modules with negative song repeat positions. 0.95 (27-Jul-91) Added song position indicator for ST/NT and MED modules. Added code to turn low-pass filter off by default (will soon be selectable). Added Messages section to the documentation. Fixed window position so it snuggles right up next to the screen gadgets. 0.94a (26-Jul-91) Fixed player window height on pre-2.0 operating systems. Increased delay loop (ugh!) in NoiseTracker player for faster processors. Fixed song repeat bug in NoiseTracker player. Hacked NoiseTracker player to play old 15-instrument modules. Fixed memory trashing bug in NoiseTracker player. (I hate cleaning up someone else's code!) 0.94 (23-Jul-91) Uses one of the CIAB timers for timing rather than the VBlank interrupt. Finally uses Workbench 2.0 ASL file requester if available. Added MED 3.xx modules, removed MED 2.xx songs. 0.93 (3-Jul-91) Workbench 2.0 compatible (although some modules may not be). 0.92 (7-Jun-91) Added 'AMOD' absolute loading module format described in 'Formats.doc'. Added 'GMOD' general module format described in 'Formats.doc'. Added NoiseTracker 1.3D packed (with player) modules. Added StarTrekker 1.2 AM synthesized modules. Updated the SoundTracker/NoiseTracker player. (New player comes from NoiseTracker 1.3D) 0.91 (29-Apr-91) Added 'XMOD' format described in 'Formats.doc'. Removed "unknown" module formats (turned those modules into XMOD's) 0.90 (27-Apr-91) First preliminary release. Nothing fantastic. Registration ~~~~~~~~~~~~ MultiPlayer is Shareware. For the small price of $15 you will get the registered version of MultiPlayer which allows loading and saving of programs (module lists), as well as the full-featured ARexx port described earlier in this document (useful for playing modules with AmigaVision and the like). Of course, you also gain my favor - suggestions for improvements will be taken much more seriously from registered users. I'm planning to release the source code to MultiPlayer eventually. However, it uses many of my library routines that I have not released yet (though I'm planning to when I have the chance), so it will have to wait a while. The source code will probably be available with a $30 registration fee (or an additional $15 for users who have already paid the $15 registration fee). How hard I work on getting my library routines cleaned up and released, and therefore how soon I get MultiPlayer's source code released, depends a great deal on how much support I get for MultiPlayer. Contact Address ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tend to move around a great deal, so mail sent directly to me sometimes has a hard time catching up. If you want mail to reach me (it may take a while, but it WILL reach me), send it to this address: Bryan Ford 8749 Alta Hills Circle Sandy, UT 84093 I can be reached more quickly (for the time being anyway) on the phone or through one of the electronic mail addresses below: (801) 585-4619 bryan.ford@m.cc.utah.edu baf0863@cc.utah.edu baf0863@utahcca.bitnet If you want to get something to me through the mail more quickly, FIRST call or E-mail me to make sure I'm still here, then send it to this address: Bryan Ford 27104 Ballif Hall University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 84112