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WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr WOWII Version 1.30 Module Player for the PC "Introduction to the World Of Music" Contents: I. What the hell IS WOWII? II. What do I need to use WOWII properly? III. I want to know how it sounds like!!! IV. More information for the uninterested... (Or: How It Works) 1.) Commandline Options 2.) WOWII.INI - Optionsfile 3.) Keyboardcommands V. Basic Information 1.) "Communication between WOWII and SoundBlaster" - The Audio DMA 2.) "WOWII looks cool!!" - The 'Tweaked' Video Mode 3.) "WOWII does not like managers" - Why you should not use EMM 4.) "Lovelife of Modules" - Portrait of a well-known format VI. 'Hostile' Environments or "What WOWII can cope with" 1.) Windows 3.0, 3.1 2.) Desqview 2.31 3.) OS/2 2.0 VII. Copyright, Copyright and ... Copyright! 1.) The Shareware Idea 2.) CrippleWare? What is that? 3.) What am I allowed to do exactly? 4.) What could I do more? 5.) "Do I WANT to do more?" - Philosophical Excursions 6.) Copyrights and Restrictions in short! Translation: T. Meyer Page 1 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr VIII. How To Register Easily IX. Other things 1.) The All Important Address 2.) Acknowledgments 3.) Some history, sources and other blah X. Afterword All mentioned Trademarks and Copyrights are registered by their respective owners. This manual was formatted with PROFF written by Ozan S. Yigit & Steven Tress Translation: T. Meyer Page 2 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr I. What the hell IS WOWII? ────────────────────────── WOWII is a program that plays four-voice musicfiles on an IBM PC (or compatible). With WOWII it is possible to play any Soundtracker or ProTracker "Module" on the PC. These so-called "Modfiles" originate on the Commodore Amiga homecomputer and serve mostly as background or title tunes for games or demos. The modules owe their popularity to their excellent sound that is achieved by four independant digital channels. WOWII can only play modules through the Soundblaster or Soundblaster Pro soundcard. II. What do I need to use WOWII properly? ───────────────────────────────────────── A Soundblaster (Pro) card is absolutely necessary in order for WOWII to work. On the Soundblasters 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 the music is being played in mono, but WOWII uses the Soundblaster Pro's stereo mode for even better sound quality. Because the output of four digitized voices requires lots of processing power, the minimal configuration is a 80286 AT. You will be able to customize WOWII to the computing capacities of your specific computer. Additionally, a Standard-VGA graphics card is necessary. And last, but not least, you will need some modules. Soundtracker and ProTracker modules are available on many BBSes and at Public Domain dealers. "Modfiles" are very popular, so it should be no problem for you to put your hands on a few. If you still have problems getting them, you can also contact me. For a few bucks I will search my collection of around 600 modules and copy a few of them for you. III. I want to know how it sounds like!!! ───────────────────────────────────────── If all requirements mentioned under II. are fulfilled, you are absolutely ready to enjoy the pleasure of digitally reproduced music. The following recommendations should be followed: - The files WOWII.EXE and WOWII.PIC must be in the same directory. - The parameter /I:x must be the interrupt number of your Soundblaster (Pro) card. Translation: T. Meyer Page 3 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr *WARNING* If you do not specify the IRQ number and your Soundblaster is configured to any other IRQ than IRQ 5, WOWII will refuse to work. If this happens, you will possibly have to reset your computer (switch it off, if necessary). Do this, if WOWII still refuses to play the module, even when you specified the correct IRQ this time. Example: You want to play the module "AXEL-F.MOD" and the Soundblaster is configured to use interrupt number 7 (factory setting). You should start WOWII on the DOS commandline as follows: WOWII /I:7 axel-f The ".MOD" extension will be automatically appended; the order of the parameters "/I:7" and "axel-f" is not important. When you press the [Return]-key the screen blanks and after a brief moment you will see a display with 4 oscilloscopes and 4 peakmeters. If you do not see this, your system has no VGA compatible graphics card installed or the parameters were incorrect. To quit the program, you will have to press the [Esc]-key. A few informational texts appear and you will be returned to the DOS commandprompt. Translation: T. Meyer Page 4 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr IV. More information for the uninterested... (Or: How It Works) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.) Commandline Options ─────────────────────── WOWII has lots of commandline options and will interpret them correctly (most of the time). The order of them is not important, WOWII tries very hard to figure out what you mean. A quick reference of all options WOWII understands is printed when you call WOWII *without* any option. Example: C:\MODFILES>WOWII [RETURN] WOWII Version 1.30 SOUNDBLASTER(PRO) MODPlayer Copyright (c) ... Usage: WOWII MODFile[.MOD] [/H:xxxx] [/I:x] [/B:xxxxx] [/PRO] .. /H:xxxxx defines the output frequency. /I:x specifies the IRQ of the SOUNDBLASTER. /B:xxxxx defines the size of the DMA-Buffer (1000-31000). /PRO enforces the SOUNDBLASTER Pro. /SB enforces the normal SOUNDBLASTER. /FLT enables the output filter of the SOUNDBLASTER PRO. /S start program with unRealtime Spectrum Analyzer. C:\MODFILES> This reference can be displayed anytime this way, to ease the usage of WOWII. a.) Short reference of commandline options ────────────────────────────────────────── /H:xxxxx specifies the output frequency. Allowed values are between 6000 to 22000 Hz. /I:x specifies the interrupt number (IRQ) of the Soundblaster. The factory setting of the card is IRQ 7, but if you experience problems with other hardware components, values 2, 3, 5 and 10 can be used also. (Consult your Soundblaster manual if you are not sure about the right IRQ.) /B:xxxxx specifies the size of the DMA-buffer. Allowed values are between 1000 and 31000 bytes. /PRO forces stereo output on the Soundblaster, *even* on the Soundblasters 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. /SB forces mono output on all versions of the Soundblaster. Translation: T. Meyer Page 5 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr /FLT enables the highpass-filter of the Soundblaster Pro. /S displays a "(un)RealTime Spectrum Analyzer" in the lower part of the display instead of the 4 oscilloscopes. b.) In-depth description ──────────────────────── The option /H:xxxxx specifies the output frequency in Hertz. The higher the frequency, the more data must be output and of course calculated per second. A frequency of 22KHz requires a lot more processing power than a frequency of 16KHz. The default frequency is 16 KHz and should fit normal quality demands. When using the highest frequency of 22 KHz, even fast computers like an IBM 386DX with 25MHz are at the peak of their capacities. Specifying an output frequency that is too high for your computer results in short interruptions or pauses during play. If you experience any of these problems, you will have to decrease the output frequency or use the "(un)Realtime Spectrum Analyzer" instead of the 4 oscilloscopes. The option /I:x specifies the Soundblaster IRQ. You should choose this parameter with utmost care because a wrong value will "crash" the Soundblaster card, and a reboot of your system will be necessary. The option /B:xxxxx specifies the size of the DMA-buffer. WOWII uses a variable sized memoryarea for the transfer of the audio data. Parts of the digital music are stored here and are being played by the Soundblaster itself. The bigger the buffer, the longer the delay after pressing special keys, e.g. Fast Forward, Rewind, or muting the channels. The smaller the buffer, the more often the Soundblaster must be told to play the memoryarea, which results in an undesired effect (see V.1.). The advantage of specifying a small buffer is that the delay after keypresses shortens. The option /S forces WOWII to display the "(un)Realtime Spectrum Analyter" right from the start of the program. This display uses less processing time than the 4 oscilloscopes, so you can squeeze some more Hertz out of a slower computer. Translation: T. Meyer Page 6 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr 2.) WOWII.INI ───────────── The WOWII.INI file can be used to store default options. All options mentioned under IV.1. may be used, but only *one* option on a line. WOWII.INI must reside in the same directory as WOWII.EXE and WOWII.PIC! Example for WOWII.INI: ────────────────────────────────────────────────── cut here ; WOWII.INI Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr ; Commands: ; modfile[.mod] Name of module. ; /I:x Specifies Soundblaster IRQ (default of WOWII is 5). ; /H:xxxxx Output frequency in Hertz (14000-23000). ; /B:xxxxx Specifies the size of the DMA-buffer (1000-31000default) ; /PRO Forces Soundblaster Pro stereo mode, even on the ; normal Soundblasters. ; /SB Forces the Soundblaster into mono mode. ; /FLT Enables the filter of the Soundblaster Pro. ; /S Starts WOWII with the "Spectrum Analyzer". /I:7 /H:18000 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── cut here again Please note that lines starting with a semicolon (";") are interpreted as remarks. The example sets the Soundblaster's Interrupt as IRQ 7 and the output frequency to 18KHz. 3.) Keyboardcommands ──────────────────── WOWII allows the user to manipulate the reproduction of the music in many ways. You can activate many options that influence the music directly or indirectly. The keyboard routine was implemented in a way that even simultaneous keypresses are recognized correctly and are even handled simultaneously most of the time. Due to the output method via DMA (see also V.1.), keypresses that have a direct effect on the music output can be delayed to up to 2 seconds. This delay is directly affected by the size of the DMA-buffer. I have the following recommendation for keys that are marked with a (X) below: Be patient. If the desired effect is not experienced immediately, one is normally tempted to press that key again. This results in the deactivation of the according option, so do not fall from your chair because of surprise. Translation: T. Meyer Page 7 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr a.) Basic keys for program interaction ────────────────────────────────────── [Esc] (X) : Press the Escape-Key to quit WOWII. Cursor down/Cursor up : Switches from the instrument display to the oscilloscope/analyzer display and vice versa. Pressing the key while the screen is still scrolling will immediately scroll back. [Return] : Pressing the Return-key will switch the display from the oscilloscopes to the "(un)RealTime Spectrum Analyer" and vice versa. [Return] is ignored during fade-in and -out. T : Switches the timer from playing time to remaining time and vice versa. b.) Basic keys controlling the music output ─────────────────────────────────────────── Cursor left (X) : Rewind. "Rewinds" the music very fast. Some Soundtracker/ProTracker modules behave somehow strange during rewind, but these complications do not last very long. If WOWII reaches the beginning of the module it halts there. Cursor right (X) : Fast Forward. "Fast Forwards" the music very fast. If WOWII reaches the end of the module, it will exit automatically. The output volume is reduced to half of the original when rewinding or fast forwarding! [Pos1] (X) : Jumps to the beginning of the module. Shift+[F1]..[F10] : Stores the actual position on that function key (i.e. the Track, see V.6.). [F1]..[F10] (X) : Jumps to the previously stored Track in the module. If no position has been stored on the function key, nothing will happen. 1..4 (X) : Mutes the according channel. P : Stops the output immediately. Be careful when using this on multitasking-systems. The computer may crash. Translation: T. Meyer Page 8 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr V. Basic Information ──────────────────── "1.) "Communication between WOWII and SB" - DMA and other stuff ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── In difference to other Module-Players like MP (ModPlay by Mark J. Cox), WOW (oohh, from meeee) or SPP (Super Pro Play by Joshua C. Jensen), WOWII uses the DMA-Transfer of the Soundblaster (Pro) for digital output. The main reason for using DMA is that it is the ONLY way to play stereo digital sound on the Soundblaster Pro! Compared to WOW, WOWII is a completely new program. Additionally, DMA (Direct Memory Access) has some other important advantages: By using DMA, the processor is free to do other things, while the Soundblaster outputs the data by itself. Data-transfer from memory to the Soundblaster card is almost transparent. This way, the processor can calculate the digital data, while the Soundblaster reads the pre-calculated data from memory and writes it to the analog output. Due to this method, some difficulties during the development of WOWII were encountered: The processor calculates the data, before it is actually played. This is done by a process called "double-buffering". The data that was calculated is written to a buffer, while another buffer which has been filled before, is being played. Once the "Play"-buffer was fully read by the Soundblaster, the buffers are exchanged and so on. This is very easy, but if some graphical output corresponding to the audio output is desired, things get complicated. The visual representation of the music must be synchronized to the previously calculated audio data. For this purpose WOWII uses an interrupt that is produced in cyclic intervals by the Soundblaster's hardware. Another almost unsolvable problem occurs when one tries to synchronize the music to keyboard commands. If a key gets hit that effects the music directly, this happens: At the time of the key being hit, the Soundblaster plays one of the precalculated buffers. So the wanted effect, for example Fast Forward, will not be heard until the other buffer is being played, which can be up to 2 seconds later. The long delay can be shortened by specifying a smaller DMA-buffer, so that buffers are switched more often. This again yields a very special disadvantage that gets further explained in V.3. Translation: T. Meyer Page 9 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr 2.) "WOWII looks cool!!" - The 'Tweaked' Video Mode ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── WOWII uses an undocumented videomode of the standard VGA graphics card for it's display. This mode supports a resolution of 320x240 pixels in 256 colors with a pixelresolution of 1:1 and is an improvement over the standard 256 color mode with 320x200 pixels. Another advantage is the possibility of more than one screen pages. Although this videomode is undocumented, all standard VGA graphics cards should support it. Multitaskingsystems like Windows, DesqView (/X) or OS/2 do not store the attributes of the videomode correctly when switching to another application. This is not WOWII's fault of using an "undocumented" videomode, but the programmers' of these systems who seem to be uncapable of storing the visual environment of the tasks correctly. 3.) "WOWII does not like managers" - Why you should not use EMM ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── First let me say that WOWII works very well with memory managers. It is even capable of using High Memory Areas (HMA - regions of memory beyond the 640K boundary) as instrument buffers. To enable this feature, the installed memory manager must confirm to the XMS-Interface-Standard. If WOWII would not work with installed memory managers, it would not be possible to run WOWII under multitasking environments like Windows, DesqView or OS/2. But there is still a problem, which I am tempted to conceal, but it is not my fault, so here we go... Memory managers are switching 80386/486 processors into the Protected Mode and mimic a normal 8086 to the OS MS-DOS. This mode of operation is called Virtual V86-Mode and improves the processing speed of certain operations. Due to the principal of this mode, interrupts and commands that access the hardware of the PC must be emulated by the memory manager. These emulations are slower than without the manager and delays or general loss of speed is unavoidable. The problem with WOWII is now as follows: The Soundblaster generates an interrupt when the processing of the DMA-buffer is finished (IRQ 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10). The interrupt handler now has the chance to start the playing of the other buffer. The delay between the occurance of the interrupt and the playing of the following buffer seems to be enhanced by a memory manager. The result is a short silence between DMA-buffers, which can be heard in quite modules as a "bubbling" or "klicking" noise. Translation: T. Meyer Page 10 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr This problem is well-known and is experienced in *any* software using DMA-transfer with installed memory managers. Some module players do struggle especially hard with the problem of choosing a small DMA-buffer and thereby increasing the occurance of this "bubbling". WOWII can be customized to your needs in specifying an appropriate buffersize. The largest buffersize of 31000 bytes takes exactly 31/15.5 = 2 seconds when being played in mono with a frequency of 15.5KHz. The "bubbling" (if any) will occur only every 2s. This annoying effect only creeps up in very quiet modules. A short pause is easily heard. 4.) "Lovelife of Modules" - Portrait of a well-known format ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Sadly this has not been a very investigated topic yet... Translation: T. Meyer Page 11 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr VI. 'Hostile' Environments or "What WOWII can cope with" ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.) Windows 3.0, 3.1 ──────────────────── Using WOWII with Windows only yielded a few problems. You should not switch tasks when WOWII is playing because Windows obviously is not able to restore WOWII's videomode correctly. Retests have shown, that Windows 3.0 IS capable of restoring the videomode, but NOT Windows 3.1. See? Don't blame me! Special care must be taken when using the 'P'(ause)-Key. WOWII calls a Soundblaster command to stop the DMA-transfer immediately and it caused all 3 tested multitasking environments to crash. Other applications may well continue working in the background while WOWII is playing. Remember to start WOWII in a full DOS screen - it will definitely not work in a window. This applies to all other multitasking systems, too. 2.) DesqView 2.31 ───────────────── Most problems mentioned under 1.) apply to DesqView, too. Restoring the videomode when switching back to WOWII is more an attempt of killing the monitor than having the wanted effect. You should definitely avoid switching tasks, which also applies to using the Pause-key, which most likely crashes DesqView. WOWII has now been tested under DesqView/X also, with the same result. DesqView/X cannot even restore the videomode of WOWII, but crashes immediately. DO NOT switch tasks when WOWII is playing. 3.) OS/2 2.0 ──────────── As far as testing has gone, OS/2 2.0 seems to be the best multitasking system for DOS, Windows and OS/2 applications. OS/2 is able to run WOWII as a foreground task, too. On an IBM AT 386 compatible computer with 33 MHz WOWII could play a module with 22KHz effortlessly while the OS/2 mailbox system Maximus BBS did it's work in the background. But due to it's advanced videomode WOWII even pushes OS/2 2.0 to it's limits. As yet it is unexplained why WOWII ignores some keypresses when running under OS/2. Translation: T. Meyer Page 12 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr [ And Now For Something Completely Different ] VII. Copyright, Copyright and ... Copyright! ──────────────────────────────────────────── 1.) The Shareware Idea ────────────────────── Shareware are programs that were put together by hobby programmers and that are not distributed via commercial channels (e.g. a Software Publisher). Due to this, most authors release versions of their programs that are more or less usable and may be freely distributed. These versions are spreading very fast most of the time and make the program known to a lot of users. By 'registering' the program, the user will get a fully functioning version of the program. To do this, the user has to send the author some money. If a programmer receives lots of registrations he will be convinced to put a lot more effort into the program, in order to satisfy the users who registered. Should the programmer receive very few registrations he will most likely get deep depressions which can result in a very strange behaviour. Some authors have even gone commercially. 2.) CrippleWare? What is that?? ─────────────────────────────── Shareware programs lacking so many features that they become useless to the user are called CrippleWare. The crippling of his software is the programmer's only way of guaranteering it's protection from being copied like hell with him not getting any rewards. The distance from bearable to unbearable restrictions is very narrow. But think of the programmer who is getting word of his program being used far more often than he has received registrations... The 'Era Of Trust' in the software business has vanished long ago - if it ever existed. Gone are the times when one was programming to receive acknowledgment and praise. But there is still a lot of idealism in Shareware, which to lose would mean the end of a great idea. Translation: T. Meyer Page 13 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr 3.) What am I allowed to do exactly? ──────────────────────────────────── WOWII is a Shareware program. This yields the following rules: You are allowed to test WOWII for a period of 4 (four) weeks after receipt, to see if it fits your needs. After this period you are not allowed to use the program any further. Whoever gets himself another testversion of WOWII to get himself another four weeks of testing incurs penalty ( ever seen a PC disintegrating to stardust? ). Beware! At the moment I am rendering my alternative service and have the right to legal remedy. Yeeeeaaaahhh! WOWII may be freely distributed, even after expiration of the testing period. Even Shareware-Distributors or dealers, who are distributing Shareware by mail, may put WOWII in their collection. The same is valid for other distribution channels, e.g. 'Bildschirmtext' or 'Channel Videodat' and other electronic online services. But I would like to send me a note if you do this, so I do not get annoyed by calls like "I got your program from BTX, why didn't you include any modules?" - "Huh???". WOWII may not be used commercially in the testing period. This includes single sale and bundling with other soft- or hardware. Exceptions may be granted after contacting me. If I agree, I will send you a written permission. WOWII may be used for display purposes, as long as the source of the program can be recognized unmistakably. WOWII may not be modified and this is valid for the distribution archive, too. This includes adding advertising textfiles for BBS or something like that to the archive. Disassembling WOWII does *not* incur penalty. But when using my routines, please state the original author. 4.) What could I do more? ───────────────────────── If you register WOWII, you will receive a fully functional and unrestricted version. I offer an "updateservice" free of charge, which guarantees free new versions to the original registrator. It is for the user to get himself the new version, either by mail or modem. Translation: T. Meyer Page 14 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr I am planning to implement many new features into WOWII. The most important is an interactive interface, which allows easy selection of modules instead of one at a time by commandline. The development of these features depends on the number of registrations I will receive. Also, I'm very interested in ideas you may have. 5.) "Do I WANT to do more?" - Philosophical Excursions" ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── "I would like to express my deepest admiration to anyone, who can live without WOWII after testing it for four weeks. This leads me to the conclusion that there are still some persons out there who can pull themselves together and keep their most inner feelings and natural desires for play, fun and suspense (version 2.0 in the handy chocolate egg - doesn't melt in the hand, but on the modem's power supply) under total control." - Jan Ole Suhr, 1992 Not everyone is into registering Shareware, but nonetheless I would like to explain what my reception of the Shareware idea is. There are loads and loads of Shareware authors, who are scattered all over the world. They deliver high-quality software to a wide range of users and many of their products reach the quality standard of commercial products and some are even better. Most of these programming ideas could not be realized by the 'big' software companies, but a corresponding market for the Shareware is non-existant. The Biggies are busy enough handling their own brand products and are scared of investing into other projects. On the other hand, the small software companies do not have the appropriate distribution channels and so they specialise on individual solutions, that are paid for very good. When a Shareware author takes the role of a 'lifeguard' of innovation and does not get support from the *users*, it is very frustrating. And it is getting very annoying when one has to argue about absolutely rediculously low fees, whose value often only cover the author's expenses. 6.) Copyrights and Restrictions in short! ───────────────────────────────────────── The program WOWII Version 1.xx is copyrighted and was evidently developed by Jan Ole Suhr. Who ever spoils my soup by taking my code without credit will get his stomach emptied by me, ok? Restrictions? Good heavens, these were mentioned already Translation: T. Meyer Page 15 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr in VII.3. Translation: T. Meyer Page 16 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr VIII. How To Register Easily ──────────────────────────── Those who want to get WOWII without a timelimit and nerving texts, should contact the nice and needy author: Please send a self-addressed envelope (not stamped), a disk of current format and 20 US Dollars (or the equal amount in your currency) in notes or a collection-only check, plus a short note stating "Order of WOWII" to the author: Jan Ole Suhr Bockhorster Weg 28 2806 Oyten Germany I urge you to note your name and address on an extra piece of paper, so I can easily verify the authencity of a registrator when I receive update requests. Short addendum: ─────────────── Of course I am very pleased when I receive disks with new modfiles. But please, if you do, just send *one* disk. If the resonance is as huge as it was with WOW, I will have all my hands full handling the registrations and cannot fill all those disks with modules again. Also, I am very interested in any new innovations in music reproduction. Those who program stuff like this themselves are encouraged to send it to me, too. Translation: T. Meyer Page 17 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr IX. Other things ──────────────── 1.) The All Important Address ───────────────────────────── The author's address: Jan Ole Suhr Bockhorster Weg 28 2806 Oyten Germany Tel.: 04207/2571 Guaranteed to be a voiceline! 04207/801033 Call this number after 25-May-1992 Fido: Jan Ole Suhr, 2:241/2002.8 A very nice local (german) BBS I visit very often: FANTASIA BBS, Achim Line 1, 04202/84777 (U.S. Robotics Dual Standard) Line 2, 04202/84649 (U.S. Robotics Dual Standard) If you want to contact MnemoTroN, he can be reached thru InterNet as i03a@alf.zfn.uni-bremen.de 2.) Acknowledgments ─────────────────── At first, let me thank my betatesters Michael Baekow, MnemoTroN (Thomas Meyer), Mogwai (Roger Böhmermann), Harald Zappe, Michael Hesse, Daniel Meer and Markus Schwarz. I am especially indebted to Michael Baekow for testing WOWII in a very hard and intensive way (OS/2 2.0, Soundblaster Pro). WOWII's almost perfect emulation of most of the effects from the original Amiga ProTracker is due to the information provided by MnemoTroN (Thomas Meyer). As he is the author of the Soundtrackers V2.3-V2.6 on the Amiga, he knows the material very well. He also gave me the opportunity of listening to WOWII on the Soundblaster Pro, thus awakening tremendous euphoria. "The World Is Waiting" (tm) - MnemoTroN, 1992. Two other persons I would like to thank very deeply are Harald Zappe, who spared no expenses in order to provide me with information regarding the programming of the Soundblaster Pro and Jim Chun Wah, Software Engineer at Translation: T. Meyer Page 18 July 19, 1992 WOWII V1.30 Copyright (c) 1992 Jan Ole Suhr Creative Labs, Singapore, who helped me with a few very difficult problems. I must not forget my friend Sven Rohde, who often bursted my illusions with almost unsolvable suggestions and improvement ideas. His criticism is appalling, but that's how it goes with "non-computing" friends. 3.) Some history, sources and other blah ──────────────────────────────────────── to be continued ... X. Afterword ──────────── I would like to wish you much fun while testing WOWII and may no bugs be with you! "I'm a man on a mission! - WOW(II)" - Jan Ole Suhr, 1992. Bye, bye and don't forget to register ;-) Jan Ole Suhr P.S. : Thanks to mom & dad for proof-reading this document! P.P.S.: Many thanks to MnemoTroN for translating the whole document into English. [No problem, it was fun... NOT! :-) MTN] Translation: T. Meyer Page 19 July 19, 1992