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NOISE TRACKER GS v1.0, By FTA.
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(This program is for advanced users only !!!)

     Please Wait ! The real documentation is coming soon... (I hope...)
This text file contains just some hints to help you apprehending NoiseTracker.
     Don't forget to read this file each time you get a new version of NoiseTracker! It should describe the important new features, or modifications...

Installation
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     This program may be copy on your hard disk. Just copy the files NOISE.TRACKER, and NOISE.DATA in the same folder... (If you have created some partitions on your hard disk, choose a folder in a partition recognized by ProDOS 8.) 

    (Note that old 5'1/4 Disks are not recognized by Noise Tracker GetFile program...)

    It uses the Memory Manager to allocate memory (badly, but it uses it!), so you can execute this program from GS/OS. But if you haven't got a lot of memory, I recommend to launch it from a ProDOS 8 disk, because you'll gain about 400/500ko of memory, which is the memory reserved  by the GS/OS system.

    Also, copy the icon file NT.ICONS in your Icons folder... (Icons courtesy of Michael Guitton), and modify the application path of each icons (using IconEd for example) to allow the system to locate the Noise Tracker program when double-clicking on a music file from the finder. (Since version 0.70, all the files created by Noise Tracker have their auxtype set to $0220.)

     (You can skip the loading of the picture and the music by pressing the Open-Apple key while loading.)


How does it work ?
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     NoiseTracker is a new kind of music software for the IIgs, very different from all the previous ones (Soundsmith, Synthlab, Music Studio...) by the fact that it can use almost as many instruments as you want (up to 64) and you're no more limited by the size of the Ensoniq Ram (64ko) !!!

     NoiseTracker uses two kinds of instrument... Those always in the EnsoniqRam, and those which are in the GS-Ram, and which are moved to the Ensoniq when needed... But, luckily, when playing a music, you can hardly notice the difference between these two kinds !!!

     Each kind of instrument must be played on its own dedicated tracks... These are Tracks A..G for the instruments in the GS-Ram, and Tracks 01..15 for those in the Ensoniq...

     Using the Sound Parms option, you select how many tracks are reserved for the GS-RAM based sounds... (Actually, each track reserves a small part in the Ensoniq Ram which is used for swapping and playing part of the sound...)

     (For those interested in the technical part, you can press 'T' at anytime to toggle the display of the Ensoniq DOC registers.)


Loading A Music
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     NoiseTracker can load a lot of music formats; there are 3 menu options involved for loading a music...

- OPEN MUSIC   (Music Menu)

     Load a NoiseTracker Music Format file (compacted).
     After loading a NT music, the program will ask you if you want to load the wavefile associated to this music (same name, with the suffix .W)

     Load a Soundsmith Music format file. The instruments are automatically loaded (like in soundsmith) if they're found in the same directory... If not, NT can load directly the 64ko Wavebank file generated by soundsmith, and get the instruments directly from this file !

 (Beware! This is not the main goal of NoiseTracker to replay soundsmith music... So most of the Soundsmith musics will be played normally, but some of them won't ! (depending on the kind of instruments and the kind of effects used...)).

- OPEN MODULE  (Module Menu)

     Load the NoiseTracker Module Format file... This is the format used by the NoiseTracker player to allow you to replay the musics in your own program... (see Player Info below...)
     This format includes the tracks used by the musics and also the instruments...

- AMIGA IMPORT (Module Menu)

     This is one of the most powerful option of NoiseTracker... It allows you to import directly music
modules from the Amiga... Just convert the module created on the amiga (by SoundTracker, NoiseTracker, ProTracker...) to a IIgs (using a Null-Modem cable, or a modem, or DOS2DOS on the Amiga then APPLEFILEXCHANGE on the Mac, or PC Transporter on a IIgs to read PC disk format...) and load it with this option (The module name must begin with the prefix MOD.). Then play it and enjoy! That's all!!!


Composing a Music
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     If you want to create your own music, it's very easy... (just like in Soundsmith ! (Sorry, Noise Tracker is not midi compatible!))

     Select the instrument (double clicking in the instrument list, or in the selection box to enter it through the keyboard, or using directly a non-keypad  key number), then the octave (using the keypad), and the notes (using keys :  GHJKL;' and YUOP[). If everything OK, you should ear the sound ! (Be careful of the good use of the Tracks and Instruments or you'll get nothing...(Tracks A...G are for RamBased instruments only, and the others for the ensoniq ones.))

     Then depending on the state of the LOCK flag (use TAB to change it, or click on it), the new note will be or not added to the 'partition'... (This is very useful to verify any note to be played...)
     About the effects, only two are supported by NoiseTracker : V to change the volume of a sound, and T to change the music tempo.


Playing the music in your own program
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     Since version 0.55, the music player is included on the disk... It exists under 2 formats, a tool (Tool220), and a player to be linked... These two players can only replay a music saved under the MODULE format !!! (Current version is 1.2 ($0102). Old version can't replay modules with more than 16 instruments)

     See the NTSAMPLE.S and SAMPLE.S16 file to see how to use it... There shouldn't be any major problem to replay a music by yourself!

     Just two points I have to insist on, because they may be the source of major malfunctioning :

     - When making the NTInitMusic call, you must give as parameters the address of the music module in ram (X=^@Module,Y=@Module). This address (@Module) must be PAGE ALIGNED !!!

     - Don't forget to make the call NTUpdateSound very often in your program just after have launched the music, because this is that call which will move, when needed, the instruments from the GS-RAM to the Ensoniq... (The call can move up to 7*256 bytes at a time).
     If you forget to make this call, or if your 'calling rate' is too slow, then notes on the tracks dedicated to Ram Based sounds (Track A..G) won't be played normally !!!


Have Fun with NoiseTracker !

Any Problem? Call 1-900-FTA-RULZ ! (Hey?! It's a joke!!!)
