Notes as i'm wandering:
The MIDI Macro help is better than nothing, but somewhere there should be more centralized help on HOW to set these macros up. I saw all the possibilities, but i had no idea what you could do or how to set it up. I could definitely use more knowledge on this subject for the CHM.
The tooltips and other changes in the Res and Cutoff sliders in the Instruments page is GENIUS.
The draggable mouse across the keys of the Sample Map is also a welcome change, but i would like to see the drag across the black keys separate from the white keys (possibly by separating by halves). It would also help if you had a "Reset" button to cancel out changes but allow the user to keep editing. (I'll make a FR.)
I also like the option of selecting a channel by double-clicking a field in the channel. Now to just click and drag to select more columns...
I do have a few questions:
[Imp] When trying to paste but no pattern data was found in the system clipboard, previously copied pattern data is now regained from an internal clipboard.
I don't understand. If the clipboard does not have valid pattern data and a paste is attempted into the PE, is Modplug storing a backup clipboard of PREVIOUSLY copied pattern data? That means MPT has 3 clipboards -- the OS clipboard, this backup clipboard, and Modplug's "Quick-Paste" clipboard?
[New] Added "mapped" MIDI channels (like in Impulse Tracker). If a plugin's MIDI Channel is set to "mapped" in the instrument editor, note data is transmitted on a triggered note's pattern channel modulo 16.
Could not find how to set a MIDI channel to "mapped" on the Instrument page or the plugin's GUI window. How do you activate this?
UPDATE: Never mind, i found it. Now my question is, is
only MIDI data being transmitted for any instrument set to Mapped (any associated samples are ignored/not played)? I'm guessing that the channel in the pattern editor where the instruiment is called defines which MIDI channel to send; "modulo 16" means the PE channels are divided into groups of 16, so that a MIDI-Mapped instrument whose note is played in PE channel 16 will transmit on MIDI Ch. 16, and for PE channel 17, it's MIDI Ch. 1, and so on? Can you fill us in on how we can best use this feature, and what you initially intended with it? Is it designed mostly for calling external MIDI hardware?
[New] Experimental feature: A Sample Tuner which tunes the sample to a specified note.
If you read my description of the different possible frequencies in the OHM (Reference-Audio Processing:Pitch:Frequency Calculation), i describe (admittedly with some verbal trudgery) of 3 frequency settings of a given sample in ModPlug -- the "apparent" frequency (the actual pitch of the sound when played back at the same speed it was recorded), the "declared" frequency (the value that appears in the sample's header, which doesn't have to do anything with the actual pitch that was recorded), and the "playback" frequency (which is the transposition that takes place according to the note that you're playing the sample at). I'm wondering which frequency the new Sample Tuner is modifying and its relationship to the Freq field in the Samples page. Does the Sample Tuner change the internal 'recorded' frequency (the actual waveform pitch) or is it changing the value that was in the sample header, or some other program variable that is neither?
[Imp] OpenMPT also checks for the new VST DLL entry point ("VSTPluginMain") when loading plugins now, so plugins that only export "VSTPluginMain" and not "main" will now also load (if there are any).
Not sure what this means for the average user. Can you clarify this new capability?...
[Mod] Knob mode is set to linear (instead of circular) mouse actions for VST plugins that support it.
Does this means that round knob elements in plugin GUIs can now be changed with a click-and-drag that moves forward or backward, instead of trying to emulate a knob "turn" while dragging the mouse?
[Fix] When finishing a sustain loop that is behind a normal sample loop, sample playback is not simply stopped anymore.
Not sure what this means. The Sustain loop of a sample or an Instrument? "Behind" a normal sample loop; what do you mean by "behind"? Can you give an example of what triggered the playback to stop?
[Fix] Multiple fine pattern delays on the same row are now added up.
Wait a minute. If you put pattern delay commands on the same row but in different channels, Modplug now ADDs them all together so that you can delay playback more than the number of ticks in a row?!?
[Imp] Saving: Samples that are not associated to any instrument are now tried to be written to XM files anyway.
This means that normally ModPlug would not normally save a sample that wasn't called in any pattern? You say it "tries;" what does that mean if it fails? The save is not completed, or the XM file has a missing sample slot?
[Imp] PixPlay panning heuristics only apply to modules made with versions of ScreamTracker older than 3.20.
Never heard of PixPlay. Does this have something to do with more recent S3M tracks made in ScreamTracker? Some background and "overknowledge" is necessary to understand what this means for ModPlug users who track, edit, or play in S3M format.
[Imp] UMX Loader: Instead of "scanning" Unreal files for modules, they are actually parsed correctly now. As a nice side effect, it is now also possible to load UAX files (collections of samples) from older Unreal Engine games as modules.
Excellent! As you may or may not know or remember, i got into MPT because i wanted to compose UMX tracks. Now i can unlock the UAX files too?! Incidentally i tried this out, and i couldn't Import any UAX sounds in the Samples page, but UAX files do open in the Folder Tree, and it will show all the sounds in the package. However, the preview playback (double-clicking on the sample icon in the Folder Tree) leaves something to be desired, and the only way i could hear the sounds correctly was to drag it into the sample window and play it back. Perhaps a contextual menu with different playback rates for previewing so you don't have to touch the module...
[New] Template modules can now be loaded and saved through the "File" menu.
Please provide a link on how to set up and use templates, for newcomers and the lazy...
[Mod] Compatibility export hints are now hideable.
Can't seen to find the option or toggle. Is it an INI setting?
Seems like one thing you forgot to mention in the changelog was access to the Help file...
I've been waiting with anticipation to see how you'd implement the Help manual call, and it seems that Modplug looks for the properly named PDF in the root directory of the application. You sure that's the best way?
For those who don't know, stick the latest PDF in the same folder as the Modplug EXE and make sure it's named "OpenMPT manual.pdf" -- just like that (it's apparently hard-coded).
I would also think we should have two Help menu items, one for an offline Help manual, and one for the wiki manual.
I also noticed that our skinny little application is now nearly twice as bulky. What did you insert that nearly doubled its size? I'm going to guess this is partly refactoring, partly backward compatibility retention, and partly MIDI enhancements, no?...
Most all of these changes will affect the text of the Reference section in the OHM, but not so much the upcoming Windows Help File for MPT.
All in all, an excellent set of fixes and new capabilities. Now hopefully with all these bug features, you can invest some serious time in requested features. (Yeah, i know... you just found time to catch your breath and we're already asking for 10 more laps!!

I think we'll understand if you take some time off to pursue other projects.

)