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Text File | 1993-11-18 | 66KB | 1,176 lines

█▄ ▄█ █ █ █ █▀▀▄ █ (c) █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄ █ █ █ (tm) ▄▄█ ▄▄▄ ▄▄ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄▄▀ █ ▀▀█ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ █▄█ █▄█ ▄█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ▄▄█ █ █ █▀▀ █ ▄▄█ █ █ █▄█ █ █▄█ █ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █▄█ █ v2.01b 1993 █ █ MULTIPLAYER Version 2.05 (C) 1993 DGS Italian Software Company / ExCiTe! Sound Routines are (C) by VangelisTeam and Otto Chrons. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ User Manual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- | INDEX | --------- 1. What is MultiPlayer 2. Hardware Required for Using MultiPlayer 3. Music Files supported 4. MultiPlayer installation 5. Multiplayer's desktop 6. The 'VDS' SubSystem 7. Other Utilities 8. What to do? 9. MultiPlayer Internet Support 10. Electrical Schemes for Covox Compatible DACs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. WHAT IS MULTIPLAYER MULTIPLAYER is more than a module player. It is a music desktop allowing your PC to play all types of digitized music (module), VOC sound samples and synth music (CMF, ROL, MID). Module playing options can work on several sound devi- ces, while FM music is a privilege granted to all SoundBlaster (or compatible cards) users. Unlike actual module players available for PCs, MultiPlayer is not a command- line program, but a menu-driven program. It can work as a stand-alone player but it can be also used as a front-end for some module/FM player available in the Public Domain. In the first case MultiPlayer provides a nice text screen, shown during module playing, allowing you to give your own effects to song. MultiPlayer was written in Turbo Pascal 7.0, from a modification of Vangelis- Tracker 1.2b, another module player available in public domain. Anyway, it's quite different from VangelisTracker, especially for its user interface (it has configuration menus and filerequesters), allowing you to play modules di- rectly and easily. MultiPlayer can work in several ways, called 'modes': - Classic Mode : it works in the way MultiPlayer 1.x versions do. It includes full support for PC Speaker, Covox and Sound Blaster Card. It plays a large number of mod types, but limited to 64k samples. You can use only memory under 640k base memory for a module. In Low Quality Mode, you can play mo- dule bigger than 640k (up to 800k, sometimes), but you have a loss of sound quality. - Advanced Mode : it uses enhanced module routines, written in 80386 assembly language. A smaller number of module types can be played, but they can have samples bigger than 64k bytes. Also, more sound devices are available and the sound quality is better than Classic Mode. You can use only memory un- der 640k base memory for a module. - Automatic Mode : it uses one of previous modes, depending on the sound de- vice you have and the module type you want to play. Also, you are allowed to play MID, ROL, CMF or VOC files. - DMP Mode : in this case, MultiPlayer can be used as a front-end (shell) for the Otto Chrons' Dual Module Player (version 2.65 or higher). So, for exam- ple, you can play module bigger than 640k in DOS/EMS mode, one of the grea- test DMP's features. - Editing Mode : allowing you to edit modules, invoking Dark Tracker Editor, (DARKEDIT.EXE) a public domain editor. You must have a VGA graphic card, a mouse and a SoundBlaster Card in order to run it. During module playing, MultiPlayer displays at top of the screen, total DOS memory, available memory for mods, and memory used by module played. If you have a VGA card, you can use a Video Memory Manager (like Quaterdeck's VIDRAM utility included in the QEMM-386) in order to 64k more available memo- ry for mods. In this case you are not able to run MultiPlayer in 28-43-50 li- ne mode, or in Editing Mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. HARDWARE REQUIRED FOR USING MULTIPLAYER For a correct working, Multiplayer version 2.00 needs of: - a PC-IBM 386/486 or compatible, in Advanced, DMP or Automatic Mode. You can use a 286 in Classic/Editing Mode, but it's not recommended. - 2 MB memory, 4 MB or more recommended. Memory should be a EMS v4.0, because MultiPlayer uses several overlays and needs a lot of EMS for swapping. - a hard disk, with almost 1MB free space (after MultiPlayer's installation) for disk swapping, if you don't have enough memory. - a sound device, one of that described below. - LHA.EXE, PKUNZIP.EXE and PAK.EXE located in your PATH statement,in order to unpack corresponding archives. - a VGA card is not required, but it's recommended. WARNING! MultiPlayer doesn't work correctly if: - you have a XT or a slow AT. MultiPlayer doesn't work on XTs because its co- de includes 286 assembly language routines for better performance. - you run it under Microsoft Windows 3.00 or 3.10, when it's executed in 386 Enhanced Mode, or in a OS-2 2.x DOS Window. Actually, Ms-Dos runs in a very slow virtual 8086 mode, causing Multiplayer to lose performance. - you have a write-delayed disk cache installed (SmartDrive, HyperDsk, and so on). Please disable it when you use MULTIPLAYER! During some disk swapping operation, an enabled disk cache can have conflict with module data present in memory, resulting in some trouble when you make access to disk or an au- tomatic reboot after or before you return to DOS. MULTIPLAYER can use one of following Sound Devices, if they're recognized: a) PC Speaker is supported, but it's not recommended, due to its low sound quality: anyway, some Amstrad PC has a good internal speaker, with a volume pad, so, if you have one of these PCs, you can use MultiPlayer's PC-Speaker support. b) Adlib Synthetizer Card. Quality is not good on this card: volume is ve- ry low, so you should pump up the HI-FI's amplifier volume for a better sound. c) Creative Labs' Sound Blaster 1.x, 2.x, Sound Blaster PRO, or Sound Bla- ster ASP 16 (or all compatible sound cards, of course). For standard Sound Blasters, only DMA mode is supported. For Sound Blaster PRO, both DMA and Mixer Modes are supported. Sound Blaster ASP 16 is supported in PRO emulation mode. All SoundBlaster compatible cards should work cor- rectly. Sound Blaster I/O address is automatically detected if no con- figuration file is present, else you can choose it from setup menu. d) Covox or compatible cards, including Covox Parallel Interfaces,Walt Di- sney's Sound Source, DWY interfaces and SoundMaster ][. You can build a simple Covox parallel digital-analog converter, by using one of the e- lectrical schemes reported in last paragraph. Covox can be connected to LPT1 port (first system's parallel port), but you can use two DACs by connecting them to LPT1 and LPT2 ports. In this case, you must specify Covox Stereo as Output Device in the Setup Menu. Since both Covox cards and DACs cannot be detected automatically,a default I/O Address is cho- osen by MultiPlayer for both ports. LPT1's I/O Address is 0378h, LPT2's I/O Address is 0278h. Anyway, you can choose other port addresses easi- ly by using Setup Menu (see above). e) Pro Audio Spectrum Plus or 16 card. This device is available in Advan- ced and DMP mode. f) Gravis UltraSound. This device is available in DMP mode only. g) Aria Sound Card. This device is available in Advanced Mode or DMP mode. h) Microsoft Windows(tm) Sound System. Available in DMP mode only. i) A special device supported from release 1.20 is the FILE DEVICE. If you select it as default device, Module will be played on a raw sample file called like module but without extension. Be careful when you use this device, because output file can require a lot of disk space. Songs cre- ated can be played by using any raw-sample player, e.g. RAWPLAY utility included in MultiPlayer's package. If you want to use the VPLAY utility provided with SoundBlasters,or any other VOC player, you should convert to a .VOC file by using a program called VOC-HDR located in one of the SoundBlaster disks. You must specify source file name, destination file name (.VOC extension is obligatory), sampling type (you must specify 8 bit), and frequency rate (use same frequency mix rate used during play- back, or your .VOC will be played to a different speed) If you have a monophonic Sound Blaster Card and a Covox, you can play modules in a great stereo sound . You can use one of two Mixer Modes available in the Setup Menu, improving sound quality a lot. If you notice sound quality diffe- rences between the Sound Blaster Card and the Covox, you should to improve sound manually by changing equalization on your HI-FI system. Following table shows sound devices, as they are recognized by playing modes: DEVICE CLASSIC ADVANCED AUTOMATIC DMP EDIT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PC Speaker X X X Adlib X X Covox DAC X X X SoundBlaster X X X X X SoundBlaster Pro X X X X Covox+SoundBlaster X X Pro Audio Spectrum X X SoundBlaster ASP 16 X X X Gravis UltraSound X Windows Sound System X Aria Sound Card X X Raw Sample File X X ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. MUSIC FILES SUPPORTED A lot of music files is supported by Multiplayer. Depending on mode currently selected, some music format should not be available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - MOD - SoundTracker / NoiseTracker / ProTracker / Startrekker / ModEdit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is the original Amiga SoundTracker 4-channel format. At the be- ginning, it supported only 15 instruments, then, NoiseTracker increa- se number of instruments to 31. All MOD files created on Amiga have a three octave range (1-3). On PCs, MOD format was slighty changed so that five octaves (range 0-4) can be played. Norman Lin's ModEdit mo- dules are recognized by Multiplayer, but they could not be played correctly 'cause of ten octave range used by this program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 6CM - Triton FastTracker ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is a variation of NoiseTracker MOD format (6CM is for 6-Channel Module), created by a composer called Triton FastTracker on PCs; whi- le NoiseTracker uses 4 Channels, FastTracker uses 6 Channels. You can find these modules with .MOD extension too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 8CM - Triton FastTracker ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ it's similar to 6CM, but it has 8 channels. You can find these module files with .MOD extension too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - WOW - Grave Mod Player ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is another variation on MOD format, based on 8 channels. These mods can be recognized only by file extension (WOW), so that you can- not rename it. Some public domain utility allows you to convert other module types in WOW files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - STM - Scream Tracker 2.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is the module format that has become a standard on PCs, by an e- ditor created on 1990. It uses 4 channels and 31 samples. It's sligh- tly different from MOD format, but it have some effect more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - S3M - Scream Tracker 3.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is the new Scream Tracker format, but an official editor doesn't exist yet. It's currently used in the Future Crew's Demos. It can ha- ve up to 16 channels, and over than 50 instruments. S3M moduls can be 'ripped' (that is, extracted) from FC demos by using a program inclu- ded in MultiPlayer : S3MRIP.EXE, written by James Holderness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 669 - The 669 Composer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this is a new format created on PCs on '92. All module have 8 channel patterns. In last months it became very popular(a lot of 669 mods can be found on several BBSes and Anonymous FTP sites). A file converter (MOD2669) is also available on public domain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - OKT - Oktalyzer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the first eight-channel module format for Commodore Amiga. It was supported by a tracker called OKTALYZER, but it's no longer used by Amiga users and musicians. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - MED - OctaMED Pro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ a module format written by Teijo Kinnunen on Amiga (editor needed for them is called MED or OctaMED). MED has currently two variants (type 0 and 1), and can have over than 60 instruments, synthetic or sampled (or both). Multiplayer 2.0 can play digital instruments only, so, if some synthetized sound is included in a module, it is not played. Oc- taMED modules can have a large number of rows per pattern, up to 3200 but MultiPlayer can play only modules having up to 128 rows per pat- tern. Also, MEDs can have more than one module per file, but Multipl- ayer can play only the first module stored in the file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - P16 - ProTracker Studio 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the Protracker Studio 16 module format, created by Joshua C. Jensen for PCs.It supports 16 channels, 31 instruments, several sound effects and compressed patterns. It can include synthetic instruments too, but this feature is not implemented in MultiPlayer. Some useful information about this format can be found in PS16FORM.LZH, available on public domain. I was not able to find P16 mods, but I tested play- ing code with some MODs converted by CTOP16, a conversion utility in- cluded in the PS16FORM package. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - AMF - Advanced Module Format ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the DMP's internal format, created by Otto Chrons, a general format compatible with all kind of mods. You can convert all mods re- cognized by DMP (see below), by using M2AMF conversion utility provi- ded with Otto Chrons' Dual Module Player. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - CMF - Creative Music File ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's a FM-music file created by Creative Labs, so you can play it if you have a SoundBlaster Card (or compatible). You must load SBFMDRV driver in memory (it's included in the SoundBlaster diskettes). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ROL - Adlib Music File (Roland) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the Adlib FM music file format. A lot of ROLs can be found on public domain. You must have a FM sound driver like SOUND.COM program provided with Adlib Sound Card (SoundBlasters use a corrected driver called SB-SOUND.COM). This sound driver should be loaded in memory as TSR, before you load Multiplayer. Also, you must have SPUTROL player in your PATH statement and a BANK Data File (.BNK) containing instru- ments needed for playing ROL files. A Bank File is included in Multi- player distribution file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - MID - Standard MIDI File ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the most common format used by music synthetizers and sequen- cers. It can be played on a music keyboard or a synthetizer through a MIDI port (SoundBlaster, MPU401, and so on). Multiplayer hasn't a in- ternal support for playing MIDI files, so you should have a SoundBla- ster Pro or ASP card and the utility PLAYMIDI.EXE provided with this sound card. Also, PLAYMIDI requires SBMIDI.EXE to be installed before you use it. MIDI drum channel and patch assignment can be choosen by Setup Menu (see above). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - VOC - Creative Voice File ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the Creative Voice File Format for digitized samples. To play VOC files, you must have a SoundBlaster or compatible and the CT-VOI- CE.DRV driver file copied in your SoundBlaster directory. VOC files can have any length (they will be loaded and played one segment at a time, by using DMA),but only monophonic VOC files will be played cor- rectly. Stereo VOCs created by using the Creative Labs' Voice Editor or some other stereo sampler can hang up your PC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note 1 : OKT, WOW, 669, MED and P16 modules are available in Classic Mode on- ly, while AMF modules are available in Advanced Mode. If Automatic Mode is selected, all modules can be played. Note 2 : CMF and VOC files are played only on SoundBlasters or compatible. Be sure to install the correct I/O Address on your SoundBlaster before playing them. Following table shows what kind of modules are recognized by MultiPlayer pla- ying modes: Playing Mode MOD 6CM 8CM WOW STM S3M 669 OKT MED P16 CLASSIC X X X X X X X X X X ADVANCED X X X X X AUTOMATIC X X X X X X X X X X DMP X X X X X X EDITING X Playing Mode AMF CMF ROL MID VOC CLASSIC ADVANCED X AUTOMATIC X X X X X DMP X EDITING ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. MULTIPLAYER INSTALLATION To install MultiPlayer, simply decompress the distribution ZIP file (usually MULTPxxx.ZIP, where <xxx> is current version number) into a directory on your hard disk. All files, included examples, need about 950K free space on your disk. Modify your <PATH> statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT file by adding directory where you have installed MultiPlayer. Then, reboot your PC to make your chan- ges actived. You can execute Multiplayer by typing MULTIP followed by a parameter: MULTIP [/rows] [/m] [/pro] [/?] rows can be 25, 28, 43 or 50: it specifies number of screen lines you wish to use on your desktop. Remember to use a slash (/) before number. If you have a monochrome or a Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), the value you can choose is 25. If you have an EGA card, you can choose 25 or 43. If you have a VGA card, you can choose all alues, except 43. For example, if you want to use a 50 line display on your VGA you can type: MULTIP /50 You can also type MULTIP /M for monochrome cards (MDA/Hercules/Olivetti). /PRO parameter is supported for compatibility with older Multiplayer's relea- ses, but it has no effect anymore. /? parameter shows command-line parameters available. If no parameter is specified, Multiplayer looks for a environment variable called MPENV. Its value can be specified in the same way you specify command- line parameters, for example: SET MPENV=/50 lets Multiplayer to be ran in 50-line display mode, unless you specify a your own mode on the command line. If the command-line and the MPENV variable are both null, Multiplayer uses 25 line display mode. Note 1 : Before you run Multiplayer you should set a TMP environment variable containing the directory where some temporary files can be put, that is, songs extracted from archives, or swap files created by overlays and external programs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. MULTIPLAYER'S DESKTOP After a intro screen is displayed, a desktop will be shown. At the top of the screen, you can see a menu with three options. File Setup Devices Active keys during desktop are: <Alt-F> to enter File submenu. <Alt-S> to enter Setup submenu. <Alt-D> to enter Device submenu. <Alt-X> or <ESC> to exit. <Alt-1> to change to classic playing mode. <Alt-2> to change to advanced playing mode. <Alt-3> to change to automatic playing mode. <Alt-4> to change to dmp playing mode. <Alt-5> to change to editing mode. <F3> to display filerequester. <F9> to display mixer control window. <File> <Load modules and play> : Actually, this is the most important option in this version of MultiPlayer. A file requester will appe- ar. Select files you want to play by pressing Space bar, then press <F10> when you want to play them. You can choose up to 500 different files at a time. Also, you can press <Enter> key on a directory name to make it current directory or <Esc> to close file requester and return to desktop. Also, you can se- lect a .LZH, .ZIP, .PAK or .ARC compressed archive. When you select a compressed archive, and you have a corresponding unpack utility in your PATH state- ment, you can choose one of files included in this archive. Then, MultiPlayer invokes the file extrac- tor, unpacks the module in the temporary directory pointed by TMP environment variable, plays it, then removes it from hard disk. See notes below for some information about file dearchivers. This option is available by pressing <F3> too. When you use the file requester, you can press ALT- D, and invoke the device selection menu. <Use LZMOD Archive> : Similar to previous option, but it doesn't invoke a requester on the current directory, but looks for a archive file, called LZMODARC, placed in a directo- ry stored in your PATH statement. LZMODARC is a fi- le created by LZMOD, a module archiver allowing you to unpack your modules automatically, and catalog all module disks. Multiplayer's option examine this archive (by using module's title), so you can choo- se a title. Then, you will be prompted for right diskette (You can insert it in any disk drive you have installed), Multiplayer will unpack file choo- sen and play it as usual. Then, file will be remo- ved. For information about LZMOD, write to author. <Output Device> : You can choose current sound device to be used. If Classic Mode is selected, all types of sound devi- ces can be selected (Multiplayer checks available sound cards and allows you to select only cards re- ally installed on your system). If Advanced Mode is selected, selection will have no effect, since Mul- tiplayer autodetects a sound card starting from the Pro Audio Spectrum, thru a SB16, a SoundBlaster PRO and finally tries a SoundBlaster. Also, if DMP mode is selected, a sound card is automatically detected (see DMP documentation for informations). When you select Editing Mode, output device selection has no effect, since Dark Editor will use SoundBlaster. <Playing Mode> : Select the current playing mode : default is <AUTO- MATIC>. See above for an explanation about all ope- rating modes. <About Multiplayer> : shows introduction screen. <Dos Shell> : exit to dos by executing a command processor, swap- ping Multiplayer on XMS, EMS or hard disk, depen- ding on your system capabilities. Anyway, you will have a lot of memory free space for executing your applications. Type <EXIT> when you want to return to Multiplayer's desktop. <Exit> : exit to dos. You will have no confirm question when you select this option. Note 1 : In order to unpack a LZH archive, you must have LHA.EXE release 2 or upper. About unpacking a ZIP archive, you must have PKUNZIP.EXE: you can use any release of it, from 0.91 to 2.04g. If you want to unpack PAK or ARC archives, you must have PAK 2.50 (by NoGate Consulting) installed on your system. All compression programs must be stored in a directory pointed by PATH statement. Note 2 : MultiPlayer cannot extract informations from compressed archives, if they have the read-only attribute turned on. Be sure to switch to ON the ARCHIVE attribute. <Setup> <Frequency Mix Rate> : allows you to select a change frequency rate. A hi- gher frequency mix rate means a better sound quali- ty. Default value are 15000Hz for the Classic Mode, 22000Hz for Advanced or DMP Mode. Editing mode se- lect it automatically, depending on computer speed. If you've a fast PC, and the actual playing mode is set to Classic, you can try to increase frequency mix rate, but you should be careful. If frequency is too high your system can crash. A best sound de- vice allows higher frequency values. In all playing modes, you can set frequency rate up to 16000Hz for a SoundBlaster, 22000Hz for a SoundBlaster Pro, 44000Hz for Gravis UltraSound Card, Pro Audio Spec- trum or SoundBlaster ASP 16. If you use the PC Spe- aker or a Covox DAC, you shouldn't exceed 10000 Hz, due to hardware limitations (on my 386sx/25, when a SoundBlaster-Covox couple is choosen, Multiplayer is not able to select a frequency rate greater than 9000Hz). You can use the WHICH utility to know what is the optimum frequency rate allowed by your sound card. <Initial volume> : selects initial playing volume. Classic Mode allows you to set a volume from 0 to 255, while Advanced Mode has a range from 0 to 64. Volume is measured in absolute value. <Fade Speed> : the 'fade out' speed when you press 'N' during play back. <Loop Module> : if it's setted to YES, module will be restarted af- ter last pattern is played. <Mono Mode> : in Classic Mode, allows most of four-Channel Modu- les (NoiseTracker, ProTracker, StarTrekker, Scream Tracker 2.0 and ModEdit) and 699 Composer's Modules to be played in mono on all stereo devices (Covox+ SoundBlaster included), but volume and sound quali- ty decrease slightly. In Advanced Mode, it works on any kind of module if your card has stereo/mono register (e.g. SoundBlas- ter PRO). <Spatial Sound> : this is a specific MultiPlayer feature! This option available only in 4-Channel Modules and only when Classic Mode is selected,allows module to be played in enhanced 3D-Stereo (on stereo devices). When op- tion is enabled, MultPlayer puts channel 1 and 2 on both device DACs, while voice 3 will be played on DAC connected to left device, and voice 4 will be played on the right device. Advanced and DMP modes don't need this option, because they have an inter- nal mechanism allowing you to 'pan' channel through both stereo sides (see below). <Save Memory Space...> : enable or disable the Low Quality Mode. In Classic Mode, when this option is setted to YES, memory needed for module is reduced to about 50%. If option is setted to NO, you need more memory for a module but sound quality is better. This option doesn't affects all modules. Scream Tracker 3.0 mo- dules will be improved considerably when the option is enabled. In Advanced or DMP Mode, This option enable/disable a quality mode support provided for 8-bit cards. <User Panning> : if this option is setted to YES, you can use a your own panning table for Advanced playing mode, else, a default panning table is selected. A panning tab- le can be configured by <Panning Control Panel>. <Panning Control Panel> : let you create a new panning table, to use with Ad- vanced Playing Mode. Panning gives you the possibi- lity to choose channel position on an amplifier si- de. Select the channel to pan with <up> and <down> arrows, then change panning by pressing <left> and <right> arrows (moving highlited bar). If bar is on the left, the corrispondent channel will be totally played on the left side. If bar is on the right, it will be played on the right side. It's possible to choose intermediate values: a negative number indi- cates that a channel will be put mainly on the left side, but also on the right. A null value allows a channel to be put on both side with same intensity. 'L' key puts a channel totally on the left. 'R' put it totally on the right, 'M' puts it on the middle. You can exit from Panning Control Panel by pressing <ESC> key. <MIDI Patch> : let you select a patch assignment for Standard MIDI files. You can choose a BASIC MIDI patch (only MIDI channels from 11 to 16 will be used), a EXTENDED patch (channels 1 to 16 are in the correct position and a Standard MT32 Drum Patch will be used) or the most common GENERAL MIDI Assigment (A standard pat- ch used by a lot of music synthetizer will be used during playback). Default is GENERAL. <MIDI Drum Channel> : allows you to select a channel, where PLAYMIDI puts each drum instrument. Default is 10. Channels from 1 to 16 can be selected, but the most common chan- nels used are 10 and 16. <Default values> : if you select this option, all parameters setted by setup menu will be brought back to the default va- lues (that is, values setted by MultiPlayer inter- nally). Sound Card Settings will not be changed by this option. You should edit MULTIP.CFG manually. Note 1 : All parameters configured by Setup Menu will be saved on disk in a text file called MULTIP.CFG when you exit from menu. This file will be loaded automatically when you restart MultiPlayer. You can modify the configuration file manually, by using a simple text editor, but be careful when you do it. Note 2 : This menu has no effect on FM music and on VOC playback. <Devices> <Covox Left I/O Addr.> : allows you to choose the I/O Port address where a Covox (or compatible) device is installed. If cur- rent output device is setted to Covox Stereo, this parameter can be used to choose left device (well, of course, you should put the Covox plug into left side of your amplifier).If current output device is setted to Covox Mono, or Covox+SoundBlaster, use this option in order to modify the Covox I/O port address. You can put decimal or hexadecimal numbers in input field. If you put a 'h' after a number,the number will be considered as an hexadecimal number (e.g. 0408h). When you use a digital-analog conver- ter plugged into LPT1, you must specify 0378h. When it's plugged into LPT2, you must write 0278h. <Covox Right I/O Addr.> : allows you to set the I/O Port address where a Co- vox or compatible card is installed in order to be used as a right device (if its plug is connected to right side of your amplifier, of course). This op- tion must be used only when the Covox Stereo Device is choosen (in the output device menu option). See above for information about port values. <SoundBlaster Settings> : invokes a submenu, allowing you to select all I/O parameters of a SoundBlaster Card: I/O Address, DMA Channel and Interrupt Line. You can use only stan- dard values for I/O Port address (210h, 220h, 230h, 240h, 250h or 260h), values from 0 to 3 for DMA Channel, values from 0 to 7 for Interrupt Line. Be careful when you use this option, because an incor- rect parameter can cause your PC to crash. <SoundBlaster Mixer> : shows the mixer control window. This option is al- ways available, even if a SoundBlaster PRO Card is not present on your system. Your system can hang up if you call this option and a SoundBlaster PRO card is not installed properly. See below for a rapid e- xplaining about Mixer Panel Control. Now let's see what MultiPlayer shows during module playback. During playback, MultiPlayer's Desktop shows two windows. the first, smaller, placed at the screen top, shows information about module currently played: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Module Name: Debbie Gibson Remix Tempo: 006 Frequency Rate: 12000 Hz Track : 001/024/012 (001) BPM : 125 Filter On : 1 Format : NoiseTracker/ProTracker Filter Off : 2 Device : #12:Covox+SoundBlaster Equalizer : ON Volume : ████ 015 Looping : ON ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Figure #1: The Information Window At the top-left side, you can see internal module name, track informations (current pattern, total patterns, current row, current pattern number), modu- le format, device name, current volume, current tempo, beats per minute, cur- rent frequency mix rate, filter settings, equalizer switch and a switch indi- cating if module has to be looped). The second window displays animated bars, pattern partitures, samples or help according to mode currently selected by function keys (see below). An example reported below shows the 'bar' mode: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 01 BassDrum E-2 048 - L 02 Chorus C-3 024 - R 03 Electric Guitar A-2 024 42 R 04 Pizza E-1 024 - L 05 Chorus C-3 024 - L 06 BassDrum E-2 048 - R ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Figure #2: The Main Window When you play a module, you can change some effect and switch in order to mo- dify sound reproduction, by pressing alpha-numeric or function keys on your keyboard. Alphanumeric keys take effects to module currently played: Home : jump back to start of song. Left and Right : change song's tempo. When you press <Ctrl> together with them, you can change beats for minute (BPM). Initial tempo value is decided internally by the module, while BPM is a program parameter (exception made for new protracker modules with extended tempos). Default value for BPM is 125 for all module formats, while WOW modules have BPM set to 80). Up and Down : change frequency mix rate, by adding (UP) or subtracting (DOWN) 100 Hertz for each key pressure. ** WARNING ** : This option is not available in Advanced Mode. PgUp and PgDn : jump backward and forward in the song, one pattern at a time. If you go down to last pattern, module will be re- wound to the first pattern automatically. 1 .. 0 : turn on/off a channel. Channel <0> is channel #10. If NumLock is on, keys 1-6 work on channel 11 to 16, rispe- ctively. Alt-F1 .. Alt-F10 : they work in Advanced Playing Mode only. Move a channel on amplifier's left side. When NumLock is pressed, keys from F1 to F6 work on channels 11-16. Alt-1 .. Alt-0 : In Classic Mode, increase a single channel volume. In A- dvanced Mode, move a channel on the middle (it will be played on both amplifier's sides). If Numlock key is on, keys from Alt-1 to Alt-6 work on channels 11 to 16, res- pectively. Alt-Q .. Alt-P : In Classic Mode, decrease a single channel volume. In A- dvanced Mode, move a channel on the amplifier's right side. <Alt-Q> corresponds to channel 1, <Alt-W> to chan- nel 2, and so on. These keys work on channels from 11 to 16 if <Numlock> light is turned on. E : equalize the sound, improving it if possible. This opti- on is available only in Classic Mode. F : change current filter's bandwidth. You can choose one of three possible bandwidths, by varying cut-off frequency. In Advanced Mode, this option toggles the SoundBlaster PRO internal filter (it doesn't work with other standard sound devices) G : change filter type used during playback. In Advanced Mo- de, this option toggles the SoundBlaster PRO filter. I : display sample informations: name, length, repeat start and repeat length. You can press Up and Down to scroll thru the list, or press <ESC> to come back to standard display mode. L, R : this option turns on (or off) all channels reproduced on left (L) or right (R) channels. M : runs the MultiPlayer's Mixer Controller for SoundBlaster PRO. You can set all SoundBlaster PRO volumes (like the Creative Labs' SBP-MIX utility does), but you cannot mo- dify left or right channel volume separately. When the Mixer Controller is actived, you can press left or right cursor key to choose the device, up and down key to in- crease or decrease its volume. Mixer let you modify Ma- ster Volume (the global), Voice (for mods or sampled in- struments), FM (for all synthetic song files), Micropho- ne and Line-In Volume, for input devices (not used by Multiplayer) and the CD power volume (for a Compact Disk player connected to SoundBlaster Pro [not used by Multi- player]). Mixer Control Panel saves all informations in SoundBlaster registers, so they will be kept also after Multiplayer is quitted). Mixer is not available of a Mo- nophonic (1.x or 2.x) or a SoundBlaster ASP 16 Card is installed on your system. P : pause module. Module playback can continue by pressing P key again. When a module is paused, you can use all com- mands described in this section, but some of them will not have effect immediately, but only after you resume the module. S, D : save all samples included in current module in temporary directory, giving them the module's filename followed by a number (tipically, this number is the ordinal sample number in the module instrument list). Samples are saved in signed or unsigned format, depending on module format using them. You can use any raw-sample player (PLANY or RAWPLAY utility included in MultiPlayer's package) for playing saved samples. <S> save samples without perfor- ming a signum conversion, <D> converts all signums befo- re saving samples. NOTE: in Classic Mode, module will be paused during sam- ple saving. +, - : change master volume, that is, the global volume value. If NumLock is OFF, the volume will be changed at a step rate 4, else, it will be changed at a step rate 1. The- se options are disabled when a module fades out. / : toggle module loop mode. It may work incorrectly on some module. <, > : change bar shape if display is in Bar Mode (F8 key). You can use any ASCII character. N : fades the song out and exit to file requester or to next module to play, if module buffer list is not empty. ESC : go out of song without using a fade effect. All modules kept in buffer list (if there's someone more) will not be played. Function Keys activate the 'Display' mode on the main window, displaying se- veral informations in it. When you change display contents, they will stay on screen until you press another function key. F1, F2 : display some help screen, reporting all hotkeys used by MultiPlayer. If display has 25 or 28 lines, F1 will show first page, while F2 show the second. If you use 50-line mode for display, then both F1 and F2 keys will show all help informations. F3, F4, F5, F6 : display module's pattern partiture, as usual in most of module players and trackers. <F3> shows channels 1 to 4, <F4> shows channels 5 to 8, and so on. **WARNING** : This feature is available in Classic Mode only. F7 : show the module instrument list. During module playback, samples played will be highlighted for a moment. F8 : display volume bars, similar to HI-FI digital vu-meters. This is default display mode used by MultiPlayer when it is loaded. If screen has 25 lines (option /25 or not-VGA cards), MultiPlayer shows only 15 channels. F9 : clear main window. this command also speeds up interrupt device poll, so you can try to increase frequency rate and improve sound quality. F10 : invokes the VDS (Virtual DOS Shell) subsystem. See next paragraph for more details. MultiPlayer plays also ROL, CMF, MID and VOC (Mono) files. No window will be displayed on desktop during ROL and MID playback. During CMF or VOC playback, you will see a window similar to that one displayed in module playback. Following keys are available during a CMF playback: F1 : show a quick help. F10 : invokes the VDS (Virtual DOS Shell) subsystem. See next paragraph for more details. Left and Right : change the frequency rate. Unlike module playback, sound speed will be modified, but sound quality will be the same. If <CTRL> key is pressed together with Left or Ri- ght keys, BPM will be changed. Up and Down : transpose the song, adding or subtracting a seminote to each instrument played. Current transpose value is di- splayed at the top window (0 means no transposition). M : runs the SoundBlaster Pro Mixer Controller for SoundBla- ster Pro. See above for more details. P : pause a song. You can resume it by pressing <P> again. ESC : stop the music and come back to file requester (or to next file in the current queue). Following keys are available during a VOC playback: F1 : show a quick help. F10 : invokes the VDS (Virtual DOS Shell) subsystem. See next paragraph for more details. ENTER : breaks a sample section, and moves sample offset to next marker immediately. TAB : like ENTER, but move sample offset to next marker after current loop has finished. See your Creative Labs manual for more information. F : like module playback, applies a high-pass filter. It is allowed to SoundBlaster Pro users only. G : disable high-pass filter. It is allowrd to SoundBlaster Pro users only. M : runs the SoundBlaster PRO Mixer Controller. See above if you wish to know something more. P : pause voice playback. You can continue playback by pres- sing <P> again. ESC : stop voice playback and come back to file requester (or to next file in the current queue). During ROL and MID playback, there's no key actived, exception made for <ESC> key, allowing you to break the song and come back to file requester. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. THE 'VDS' SUBSYSTEM VDS is a new Virtual DOS Shell system, created by DGS, actually installed on- ly into MultiPlayer program, allowing you to perform some typical file opera- tions while you play mods. VDS works similarily to a shell programmed into Telemate, a great communications program,maybe the best, available now in any shareware collection. Since VDS is not a real DOS Shell, you cannot execute other programs in it, but you can execute most of basic DOS commands, and something more. These o- perations DON'T affect general sound quality (you can see this, if you have a fast machine). All desktop keys are disabled during a VDS session. VDS is not available during ROL and MID playback. Note : DOS syntax are respected almost completely. But, there are some little differences. Here are the commands implemented in the VDS: - COPY : copy files from a drive or a directory to another. Syntax is simi- lar to Ms-Dos <COPY> command, but when you specify 'C:' you mean to indicate the hard disk's root directory. F or example, if you type the following command: COPY REDHOT.MOD A: VDS will copy REDHOT.MOD in the root directory of drive A. You can use also wildcards (*,?). Don't try to copy from standard devices like CONsole device: effects can be unpredictable. - MOVE : copy files from a drive or a directory to another, then remove the original files. Wildcards (*,?) are allowed too. About directory specification, see the COPY command. - REN : rename a file. You must specify old name and new name. - DIR : if no parameter is specified after <dir>, it shows the current di- rectory; if parameter is a directory or a drive name, it displays its contents. You can also specify wildcards (*,?) as parameters. In this case, it displays a group of files only. This is a simpli- fied version of MS-DOS <dir> command. - CD : change current directory. If directory doesn't exist, the command will have no effect. - TYPE : displays a text file. You can break this operation by pressing any key during file scrolling. - CLS : clear the virtual screen, that is, the text window used by VDS. - VOLUME : this is not a DOS command. It changes master volume of module cur- rently played. You must specify an offset, not an absolute number, that is, a signed value to add to master volume. If number is po- sitive, master volume will be increased; otherwise it will be de- creased. This command doesn't work when you play CMF or VOC files. - INSIDE : looks into a compressed archive, and displays informations of fi- les included in it: file name, compressed file size, original file size, compression ratio (expressed in percent) and the compression method used. For ZIP files,compression method is identified by a number, accor- ding to following table: 0 : Stored 1 : Shrunk 2 : Reduce (0.92) 6 : Implode 8 : Deflate (1.93) For PAK and ARC archives, method is identified by a number too: 2 : Stored 3 : Distilled 4 : Squeezed 8 : Crunched 9 : Squash 10 : Crushed 11 : Distilled For LZH files, compression method is displayed with original name. (-lh1- to -lh5-) - HELP : show all commands recognized by VDS. - EXIT : go out from VDS. After VDS is turned off, display will come back to Bar Mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. OTHER UTILITIES MultiPlayer package includes several external command-line programs: - S3MRIP.EXE : This program is written by James Holderness. Its documentation is included in the package (S3MRIP.DOC) with some informations about it. S3MRIP is a Scream Tracker 3.0 module extractor from demos. Usually all Future Crew's demos use some S3M module. S3MRIP hangs when it tries to extract some Scream Tracker v3.0 beta module (S2M). - STEREO.EXE : This little utility sets the SoundBlaster PRO Stereo registers (version 1 only). SoundBlaster can be put in Mono Mode or Ste- reo Mode, depending on the parameter specified on command line when you execute this program. If you don't specify parameters SoundBlaster will be put in Mono Mode, so MultiPlayer and o- ther programs will reproduce the music in mono. If you specify 1 on the command line, SoundBlaster PRO will be switched to Stereo Mode and several application like Multipla- yer will reproduce the music using stereo sound. If you specify 0 on the command line, all sounds, FM and digi- tal songs will be played in mono, unless your application sets SoundBlaster register by its own. This utility works only when SoundBlaster is installed on 220h port. - AMFPLAY.EXE: This program allows you to play the Otto Chrons' AMF modules. It requires a PC with a 80386 or a 80486 processor (sorry for 286 users), 512k RAM, a SoundBlaster (normal, PRO or ASP 16) a Pro Audio Spectrum or an Aria Card. Your sound card will be detected automatically. AMFPLAY syntax is the following: AMFPLAY <module file name> <options> Options can be: -b<nnn> : set the buffer size to <nnn> bytes -f<nnn> : change frequency rate -l : play module in loop mode -s : don't load unused samples Buffer size must be less than 8192 bytes. You can set frequency mix rate up to 22000 Hertz, resulting in a great output sound (it uses same routines used in Multipla- yer Advanced Mode). You can stop module playing and return to DOS by pressing ESC. AMFPLAY was written by using DSMI, the Otto Chrons' Digital Sound Music Interface. Refer to DMP documentation for informa- tions (DMP is available in public domain). - MPLAY.EXE : This is a player allowing you to play all module formats avai- lable in Classic Mode. You must specify module file name only. Device informations (Type, Device, and so on) are loaded from MULTIP.CFG directly. You can stop module and return to DOS by pressing ESC key. MPLAY can run on a PC with a 80286 processor. - RAWPLAY.EXE: This utility plays raw 8-bit samples, including all songs cre- ated by MultiPlayer configured in 'Raw Sample File' Output De- vice Mode. Sample file size cannot be greater than 384000. RAWPLAY requires a PC with a 80386 or a 80486 processor, 640k RAM and a sound card (SoundBlasters, Pro Audio Spectrum, Aria) Your card will be detected automatically. RAWPLAY syntax is the following: RAWPLAY <file name> <frequency> <-c> <frequency> is the playing frequency, not frequency mix rate as both MultiPlayer or AMFPlay programs mean. If a sound was sampled at 8000 Hz, you would play it at 8000 Hz. All sampled songs created by MultiPlayer should be played at the same frequency than the frequency mix rate used by MultiPlayer du- ring module playback. <-c> allows sample conversion, from unsigned to signed format, or vice versa, depending on original format. Songs created by MultiPlayer are unsigned samples, but instrument samples gene- rated by pressing 'S' key, during module playback, are usually signed. If you have a stereo sound card installed, sample will be pla- yed on both sides (channel volumes will depend on sound card mixer register values). If you want to stop sample playing and come back to DOS, just press a key. RAWPLAY was written by using DSMI. See AMFPLAY for details. - WHICH.EXE : Gives some information on your sound card: name, version, sam- ple size, I/O address, minimum and maximum frequency rate it can support (in advanced mode). Simply type WHICH followed by <ENTER> key. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. WHAT TO DO? I don't know if Multiplayer will be released again in the future. Anyway, if it will happen, it will have (I hope...): a) ARJ/SQZ shell support. b) a Karaoke system (editing+playback). c) a lot of things.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. MULTIPLAYER INTERNET SUPPORT MultiPlayer is available via Internet on Anonymous FTP Sites. The distributi- on compressed file is called MULTPxxx.ZIP, where <xxx> is the current version number (for example, MULTP122.ZIP is the file containing release 1.22). Here follow some official FTP site where a copy of MultiPlayer is stored: cs.uwp.edu /pub/msdos/modplayers nic.funet.fi /pub/msdos/sound/sound sound.usach.cl /pub/Sound/Players/PC wuarchive.wustl.edu /pub/msdos_uploads/sounds (see MULTIP.BBS for more information) If you want informations on MultiPlayer, you can contact author by writing an E-MAIL to following e-mail addresses: <progetto@csdux01.cised.unina.it> <progetto@cised.dms.unina.it> see E-MAIL.DOC text file for complete instructions and informations in order to send me e-mail. If this file is not present in MultiPlayer's distribution diskette, look for it on cs.uwp.edu in the modplayer directory, or in some o- ther directory. If you have not access to Internet, you can use postal mail by writing to: DGSoftware / Music c/o Davide Guida via Rodolfo Falvo 10 80127 Napoli (Italia) Please don't ask me for source code. Since source code uses a modification of VangelisTracker's module playing library, you must write to its authors (Van- gelisTeam) in order to have information about sources. Anyway, VT executables and sources are also available via Internet. You can find author's e-mail ad- dress included in that package. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10. ELECTRICAL SCHEMES FOR COVOX COMPATIBLE DACS COVOX LPT1 CARD RESISTOR ELECTRICAL SCHEME Printer Port: signal pin 20k 20k D0 2 >───░░░─┬─░░░──0v 20k ░ 10k D1 3 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D2 4 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D3 5 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D4 6 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D5 7 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D6 8 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k D7 9 >───░░░─┤ 20k ░ 10k 100nF ├──────┤█────> TO AMPLIFIER ░ 10k GND 20 >───────┼────────────> 0v COVOX LPT1 CARD FERRANTI ELECTRICAL SCHEME Zn426e +5V D-type pin no \ ┌────────┐ │ (2) D0 ───┤9 14├──┤ (3) D1 ───┤10 │ ┌┴┐ (4) D2 ───┤11 │ │ │ 390Ω (5) D3 ───┤12 │ └┬┘ (6) D4 ───┤13 5├──┤ (7) D5 ───┤1 6├──┤ + (8) D6 ───┤2 4├──│────────┤█────> TO AMPLIFIER (9) D7 ───┤3 7 │ │ 10µF └────┬───┘ +╧ (may not be needed) │ 4.7µF█ │ │ (25) GND ────────┴──────┴────────────── GND COVOX LPT1 CARD DAC080 ELECTRICAL SCHEME DAC 080x Parallel Port Pin ┌────────┐0.01µF 0.1µF (2) D0 ───┤12 16├──┤█────┤█──────┬─── GND (3) D1 ───┤11 │ │ (4) D2 ───┤10 15├─────────██████─┘5kΩ (5) D3 ───┤9 │ (6) D4 ───┤8 14├─────────██████─┐5kΩ (7) D5 ───┤7 13├────────────────┤ (8) D6 ───┤6 2├──┤█────────────┴── +5V (9) D7 ───┤5 3 1 4├──────────┤█────> TO AMPLIFIER └──┬─┬───┘0.1µF + 10µF └─┤ (may not be needed) │ (25) GND ────────┴──────────────────── GND Note : capacitors are ceramic! These electrical schemes was taken from ModPlay's documentation. ModPlay is a module player created by Mark Cox.