OpenMPT 1.30 VST changes

[manx]

Not Ignoring Crashes

OpenMPT will not silently ignore crashes in VST plugins any more. Silently ignoring crashes in plugins can destroy your data and make debugging close to impossible because crashes when ignored could corrupt all kinds of internal state without noticing. (since 1.30.00.23)

Modern Process Security

OpenMPT.exe itself now uses modern process security settings (in particular Data Execution Prevention). This means that plugins which required data pages to be executable cannot work in OpenMPT any more. These plugins will still work in the Legacy (see below) Plugin Bridge. Note that such behaviour has always been a bug in the plugin itself. (since 1.30.00.24)

Legacy Plugin Bridge

OpenMPT now comes with 2 plugin bridges per architecture. One that also uses all modern process features, and one (named Legacy) that uses maximally compatible process settings for old and/or buggy plugins. Existing plugins that are configured to use the Plugin Bridge are be converted to use the Legacy version for maximum compatibility. Newly added plugins will default to the modenr Plugin Bridge. There is a new setting in the Plugin Dialog that allows switching. (since 1.30.00.25).

[Harbinger]

Would it be a good idea to maintain a running list of VST's that present problems with newer versions of OpenMPT?

I just started using an old VSTi (Project X1) with 1.29.1, and it keeps crashing MPT and possibly corrupting saves. I'm still trying to find out exactly where the problem is starting, but with 1.30, do you feel older and older VSTs are going to get left behind, and we should warn users of newer versions?

[Saga Musix]

The same plugins that used to work in 1.29 and older should keep working in OpenMPT 1.30, however some plugins might have to be run through the plugin bridge. That was already the case before these changes. It's impractical to create a list of plugins that require the plugin bridge to function. And there is no need for it - if a plugin doesn't work natively in OpenMPT, the first thing a user should try is using the plugin bridge.