[SOLVED] Files in the BP format

Started by quadibloc, October 19, 2018, 06:20:59

Previous topic - Next topic

quadibloc

I only recently learned about the existence of module files when I started looking at the music that came with PySol FC.

After learning what kind of files those were, I had been able to find other music to download and add to its collection.

One module file with an interesting title had the extension "bp". I was eventually able to listen to the file: the module file player XMPlay had an old-school Amiga file extension available for it that added support for .bp files.

The FAQ notes that certain module file formats contain fundamental extensions to the module file concept - SNDH, AHX, AdLib - which  it would not be practical for this program to support. I've seen a mention of "plugins" in the documentation, but they seem to be VST type plugins for modifying the audio, not plug-in modules for the program.

So is the BP format fundamentally incompatible, or is there an existing add-on for OpenMPT which would allow it to read such files? Or, for that matter, is there a converter for that format out there?

Saga Musix

#1
From a quick look, "BP" would be BrianPostma format, which is a very early module format with some format description available, but it's not very detailed when it comes to sample synthesis. You were probably able to play with through the Delix plugin in XMPlay which directly emulates the M68k assembly code required to play those files. Of course there is always the possibility to try and write a loader for OpenMPT if the synthesized instruments can be created statically during import, but I personally do not have time to look into this format, so it would have to be done by someone else.
» No support, bug reports, feature requests via private messages - they will not be answered. Use the forums and the issue tracker so that everyone can benefit from your post.

quadibloc

Thank you. Since the format has some built-in instruments, presumably it does fall into the category of formats beyond the scope of this program.

It was the Oldsk00l MOD Player 0.89 by Sorensen and Corlett that I found which enabled me to listen to a .bp file on XMPlay.

Saga Musix

Quote from: quadibloc on October 19, 2018, 14:55:15
Thank you. Since the format has some built-in instruments, presumably it does fall into the category of formats beyond the scope of this program.
It always depends on the complexity of the instruments. For example StarTrekker synth instruments are supported because they are very simple; but judging from the BP format description, its synth instruments would require a lot of new replayer code to be added to OpenMPT, making the implementation less likely.
» No support, bug reports, feature requests via private messages - they will not be answered. Use the forums and the issue tracker so that everyone can benefit from your post.

quadibloc

#4
Incidentally, the URL for the format description didn't work. It put "www.ftp.org", instead of "ftp:", in front of the main body of the URL.

I found Brian Postma's homepage, but the links there to a bp editor for Windows don't work. However, I did finally locate this:

ftp://ftp.modland.com/pub/software/trackers/Windows/Brian's%20Soundmon%20Editor/

It is a development version 0.3 of the program. I don't know if that's only how far it got, or whether it will work.

Saga Musix

Ah yes, SMF doesn't like ftp urls unless they are put in [ftp] tags... (I also fixed the one in your post)
» No support, bug reports, feature requests via private messages - they will not be answered. Use the forums and the issue tracker so that everyone can benefit from your post.