Offline Help Manual Available!! Version .85 (final beta)

[g]

I think this is a great initiative and I applaud it! Didn't really find any errors that haven't already been pointed out.

[Harbinger]

Download the .2 beta version of the OHM here. Fact-checkers needed; MPT rookies and veterans please post here any help in making this version better.

Here are the changes i made:
> Added a chapter on VSTs and plugins
> Added a chapter on Saving and Exporting files
> Added images for the Tuning chapter
> Minor fact corrections, namely the Channel Default setting, the Combine MIDI volume to Note volume description, etc.
> Re-formatting and corrections in the Effect Commands section.
> Other small corrections and format changes thru-out

Here is my plan for upcoming versions:

OHM .9 beta
By the time we get to this version all of the sections (except the Reference Section) shall have been written up and corrected. I'm sure we'll have several more versions before then.

OHM 1.0 Official
This version will coincide with the next release of ModPlug. Sounds like Jojo and Relab have some great new features/fixes for us then. I'll add to or correct the OHM to stay current with that build, and also release the .doc format to an "open-source" format, as it were, in case someone wants to make edits, transfer to another format (like HTML), or translate to another language. From this version on, i will keep a strict history of changes to the Manual.

OHM 2.0 Complete
This build will include the Reference section, which will have very detailed information designed especially for experienced and long-time users of MPT. This will take quite a bit of research, and i expect it to take me at least 6 months to complete it.

[uncloned]

Thank you very much for doing this. I know a bit about the tuning so I'll look at that part.

chris

[uncloned]

ok,

Unless something has changed in whatever version oMPT you are working with (I am using .48 and .52 I believe) the following applies:

you can have tunings with more than 12 note per octave - I've done it and its easy to do, though not necessarily easy to use.

as far as I know you can specify the frequency for each note if you want to get crazy so you could have different tunings in different octaves


Since I have some experience with this can I help you out?

[Saga Musix]

I thought I'd comment a bit on the soundcard setup:

- 8 Bit output does not decrease CPU load, so it should be avoided in any case (unless you love fuzzy sound). The days of "8 Bit-only soundcards" are over. The reason why this does not solve any speed problems is that MPT's mixing routines work at internal 32 Bit precision. So in theory, the fastest would actually be 32 Bit output (which may not work with cheap soundcards of course), but even that won't speed up MPT.
- Define "high-end computer". 16 channels are the max you can use on a P1 133 MHz, that's low-end. I think even computers that are considered "low-end" nowadays (f.e. a P3-500) can handle 256 voices.
- On most systems, a delay of 50ms should be OK with DirectX devices.
- 10ms and less (possible in the next version) should always be okay for ASIO devices.

Small note: I guess Olivier would appreciate it if you didn't capitalize the "P" in "Lapicque".

Another small note: I think OpenMPT still works with Win95.

[uncloned]

here is a link to a 22 TET piece with necessary .tun I made for Sam.

the piece is more or less a stub - serves as example though.

http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/sam/openmpt.rar

[Saga Musix]

Chapter 12, VSTs:
S3M can't save Plugins (just like MOD).

Appendix A, MOD Commands:
9xx works like XM's 9xx, i.e. the offset is x * 256 (not x * 25600)

Appendix A, S3M/IT Commands:
Oxx works the same way for 8-Bit and 16-Bit Samples. Remember, modplug shows samples everywhere, not bytes. So the offset (this is true for all four commands, of course). Is always (x * 256) in samples. A sample equals one byte for 8-bit samples, and 2 bytes for 16-bit samples. But this is not important anywhere in the tracker.

Appendix A, XM/IT Commands:
The "X-Param" (#xx) is missing. Here's how it works:
http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=2817.0

[Harbinger]

Thanks uncloned about tunings. I have it pretty much figured out except for the "GroupGeometric" type. I wonder if this what i can use to create a temperament whose pitch alterations are different with each octave, such as the Well Temperament. But i wasn't able to get it to work.
If you know anything about GroupGeometric or how to apply tunings whose tuning amount changes with each octave, post here.

Thanks, Jojo for your thoughts. I want to account for ALL possible systems that might run MPT, including obsolescent systems or architectures. If you didn't know, until last year, i was running MPT under Windows 98 via emulation on a Mac with System 9 (very classic!). My CPU was less than 100 mHz, i could only use the lowest-CPU VSTs, and i dared not go over 16-note polyphony! So i must account for low-end systems (as in, "must deal with speed limits") and soundcards (i'm sure there are folks out there who might still be using what we would consider obsolete setups.
However, i will take your perspective into account as i roll out the details for the Reference section, which i've begun work on again. :wink: I'm doing a LOT of testing of minor things in MPT, and i didn't even know about ASIO's benefit vs. latency. Any of those little things that might further a user's knowledge about MPT's capabilities, that you see i've missed, i desperately want to know.

Thanks joJo!

[Saga Musix]

Well sure, caring for older system is definitely ok, but you should notice that the terms "low-end" and "high-end" will get even more fuzzy then. I think the MHz numbers in the soundcard setups are pretty accurate, so you should probably rather rely on those instead of a "hi/lo-end". Hell, some hardcore gamers might even consider my almost brand-new laptop as "low-end". It's all a matter of perspective.

[uncloned]

With all due respect you state in the manual that tunings can't be more than 12 notes per octave - that is not correct. When you have a large pitch more notes in the alphabet are used to accommodate the extra notes.

With more respect,  I didn't think the Bach Well Temperaments changed on a per octave basis - do you have a reference? The guys on the tuning list (a lot of professors) still argue about the tuning Bach actually used (I guess he was not specific) and all of the talk I've read has been about a 12 note system and not something that varied per octave.

I'll look at this geometric option and get back to you.

[Harbinger]

With all due respect you state in the manual that tunings can't be more than 12 notes per octave - that is not correct.

I knew that, so if it says that, i made a typing or perhaps stream-of-thought mistake. Will correct in .3.

With more respect,  I didn't think the Bach Well Temperaments changed on a per octave basis - do you have a reference?

I could have sworn i read this in the Wiki pages Just Intonation and Well Temperament. I'll check those pages again -- i saved them at home.... :wink:

[uncloned]

checking the wiki page for well temperament - and nope I don't see that there and of course just intonation doesn't affect this.

[uncloned]

and the tobybear microtuner is no longer available it seems.... I wanted that one.

[Saga Musix]

Okay, you might want to completely rewrite the manual now... lol. You can at least remove the .MOD 800 to 8FF panning thing. It doesn't go from 800 to 880 anymore.

[uncloned]

Harbinger - I'm happy to help with the tuning aspect. I've been following the international tuning list on Yahoo that is filled with academics for a year and a half I guess now.

I don't now about you - I get bummed when I do something and get criticism but no help - so if you'll accept it I'd like to help.

If you can email me the microtuning section I can mock up my changes for you to look over.