samples/digi support

[cyberic99]

Hi

Is it possible to play some samples or digi with this player?

Thank you
Eric

[ggnkua]

Hi Eric,

Currently there's no support for samples in the player.

• STE samples can be added fairly easily (by use of event codes).
• STF/M samples will be a bit more tricky than that.

Which target(s) are you interested in?

[cyberic99]

Thank you for you quick reply

Which target(s) are you interested in?

The tricky one ;-)

[ggnkua]

Which target(s) are you interested in?

The tricky one ;-)

Well, there goes the hope for resolving this fast :D. So, from what I can tell:

• There is sample support in Arkos Tracker 2
• This is handled in a format called AKG only
• The player I converted (at the author's suggestion) is the one that supports the AKY format

So there are two major tasks involved here

1. See the differences between AKY and AKG players (which are both in z80 code of course) and create a AKG player for ST.
2. Code a sample player that will be lightweight, play ball with the rest of the player and possibly be system friendly.

Now, I more or less don't mind putting in the hours into this but since this requires a substantial amount of work I'll have to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What's your end goal here? Is this a "good to have" feature request or do you have a project that you consider using Arkos Tracker 2 for music?
   1. Is it a demo?
   2. Is it a game?
   3. Is it a music entry for a competition?
2. What's my time frame for delivery? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?

Give me a pitch so I can prioritise the work! I have more than one Atari project running so this will definitely help me get some perspective on the matter.

Thanks,
George

[cyberic99]

Thanks again for your reply

I totally understand that this is no easy task!

.sndh has become the de facto standard file format for atari tunes.

The SNDH collection (http://sndh.atari.org/) tries to include every tune created on ATARI ST, and they chose the .sndh format.

SNDH files are more complex than YM ones, but they are the only ones suporting digi playback.

There are also tools to remix and dj with SNDH files, like gwem's STj.

So the aim is to be able to compose tracks in arkos tracker and convert them to a standard, agnostic, and capable file format.
SNDH is also a standard way to deliver a track. If you want people to listen to it, that is a good way to distribute it, rather than a .akg file that will need a specific tool (ie Arkos tracker)

Plus, arkos tracker is able to import .MODs (at least partially), so with some work, you can import a .mod, edit id, then mix it live with STj for instance.

So... here was my pitch.

I do not have any deadline nor a perfecly defined project, but I really would like to use Arkos Tracker to compose chiptune, and digi would be a wonderful addition.

Of course I am ready to discuss all that with you ;-)

Thx
Eric

[ggnkua]

Hi!

Regarding the SNDH project - I do personally know the maintainers of the project and contribute to the project on occasion so it's not unknown to me ;)

In any case, I see you like the tracker and want to create music with it and play it on ST - that's great.

So - the .AKG ST player will happen eventually, rest assured. This was in the backburner but your request kicked it up the queue a bit. I just need to find some free time and motivation to get started on it. In the meantime you can keep composing on the tracker of course!

[cyberic99]

Thx!

and also: take your time, I just started with Arkos Tracker (but I can see its potential) ;-)

[cyberic99]

hello, just asking if you made any progress on this issue ;-)

thx!

and thx also for your source code repo, it is a great piece of history!

[ggnkua]

Well, some things are happening in the background. "Stay tuned" is all I'll say for now!