i am a beginner at tracking and i have a square wave sample thats has loop turned on but when writing patterns i cant seem to be able to stop the sample from playing. initially i thought i needed to turn the note off by using "==" in the same channel right after but that doesnt seem to work. the sample still keeps playing and im not sure why. im guessing i need to do something with volume commands but i think im getting ahead of myself and i cant figure out how they work anyway. does anyone know how to write a pattern with looping samples better than i do?
The == is a note-off command. When it reaches, the instrument will receive a note-off, and then play the end of the tail of the sound until it stops. Although this is correct and if you alter the instrument, it can stop the note instantly, this is not what you're looking for.
There is also the note-cut, ^^ which simply stops the sound by cutting it. I am not familiar with the default config to know what the note-cut is, but in the IT compatible layout, it is ` or 4. Might be capslock, but not sure.
To extend LPChip's explanation:
When == Note Off works (I assume IT/MPTM format, XM is slightly different):
- Samples with a Sustain loop (which is separate from the "normal" loop): exits the Sustain loop and switches to the normal loop, doesn't do anything when no Sustain loop exists
- Instruments with an ADSR envelope assigned in the Instrument Editor, with a Sustain enabled: releases the Sustain section and continues to play the envelope after it
^^ Note Cut works with both instruments and samples and instantly stops playing it, disregarding any envelopes
See also https://wiki.openmpt.org/Manual:_Patterns#Note_Column
thanks a lot i understand now