ProtrackerCommands
Protracker 1.1B Song/Module Format:
Offset Bytes Description
0 20 Songname. Remember to put trailing null bytes at the end...
Information for sample 1-31:
Offset Bytes Description
20 22 Samplename for sample 1. Pad with null bytes.
42 2 Samplelength for sample 1. Stored as number of words. Multiply by two to get real sample length in bytes.
44 1 Lower four bits are the finetune value, stored as a signed four bit number. The upper four bits are not used, and should be set to zero.
Value: Finetune: 0 0 1 +1 2 +2 3 +3 4 +4 5 +5 6 +6 7 +7 8 -8 9 -7 A -6 B -5 C -4 D -3 E -2 F -1 45 1 Volume for sample 1. Range is $00-$40, or 0-64 decimal.
46 2 Repeat point for sample 1. Stored as number of words offset from start of sample. Multiply by two to get offset in bytes.
48 2 Repeat Length for sample 1. Stored as number of words in loop. Multiply by two to get replen in bytes.
Information for the next 30 samples starts here. It's just like the info for sample 1.
Offset Bytes Description
50 30 Sample 2... 80 30 Sample 3... . . . 890 30 Sample 30... 920 30 Sample 31...
Offset Bytes Description
950 1 Songlength. Range is 1-128.
951 1 Well... this little byte here is set to 127, so that old trackers will search through all patterns when loading. Noisetracker uses this byte for restart, but we don't.
952 128 Song positions 0-127. Each hold a number from 0-63 that tells the tracker what pattern to play at that position.
1080 4 The four letters "M.K." - This is something Mahoney & Kaktus
inserted when they increased the number of samples from 15 to 31. If it's not there, the module/song uses 15 samples or the text has been removed to make the module harder to rip. Startrekker puts "FLT4" or "FLT8" there instead.
Offset Bytes Description 1084 1024 Data for pattern 00.
. . .
xxxx Number of patterns stored is equal to the highest patternnumber
in the song position table (at offset 952-1079).
Each note is stored as 4 bytes, and all four notes at each position in the pattern are stored after each other.
00 - chan1 chan2 chan3 chan4 01 - chan1 chan2 chan3 chan4 02 - chan1 chan2 chan3 chan4 etc.
Info for each note:
_____byte 1_____ byte2_ _____byte 3_____ byte4_
/ / / / 0000 0000-00000000 0000 0000-00000000
Upper four 12 bits for Lower four Effect command. bits of sam- note period. bits of sam- ple number. ple number.
Periodtable for Tuning 0, Normal
C-1 to B-1 : 856,808,762,720,678,640,604,570,538,508,480,453 C-2 to B-2 : 428,404,381,360,339,320,302,285,269,254,240,226 C-3 to B-3 : 214,202,190,180,170,160,151,143,135,127,120,113
To determine what note to show, scan through the table until you find the same period as the one stored in byte 1-2. Use the index to look up in a notenames table.
This is the data stored in a normal song. A packed song starts with the four letters "PACK", but i don't know how the song is packed: You can get the source code for the cruncher/decruncher from us if you need it, but I don't understand it; I've just ripped it from another tracker...
In a module, all the samples are stored right after the patterndata. To determine where a sample starts and stops, you use the sampleinfo structures in the beginning of the file (from offset 20). Take a look at the mt_init routine in the playroutine, and you'll see just how it is done.
Lars "ZAP" Hamre/Amiga Freelancers
Found that document...
Mark J Cox ------------------------------------------- m.j.h.cox@bradford.ac.uk University of Bradford ---------------------------- bc732@cleveland.freenet.edu Mark
EFFECT COMMANDS --------------- Effect commands on Protracker should be compatible with all other trackers.
0 - None/Arpeggio 8 - * NOT USED * 1 - Portamento Up 9 - SampleOffset 2 - Portamento Down A - VolumeSlide 3 - TonePortamento B - PositionJump 4 - Vibrato C - Set Volume 5 - ToneP + VolSlide D - PatternBreak 6 - Vibra + VolSlide E - Misc. Cmds 7 - Tremolo F - Set Speed E - COMMANDS ------------ The E command has been altered to contain more commands than one.
E0- Filter On/Off E8- * NOT USED * E1- Fineslide Up E9- Retrig Note E2- Fineslide Down EA- FineVol Up E3- Glissando Control EB- FineVol Down E4- Vibrato Control EC- NoteCut E5- Set Finetune ED- NoteDelay E6- Patternloop EE- PatternDelay E7- Tremolo Control EF- Invert Loop Cmd 0. Arpeggio [Range:$0-$F/$0-$F] ----------------------------------- Usage: $0 + 1st halfnote add + 2nd halfnote add
Arpeggio is used to simulate chords.
This is done by rapidly changing the pitch between 3(or 2) different notes. It sounds very noisy and grainy on most samples, but ok on monotone ones.
Example: C-300047 C-major chord: (C+E+G or C+4+7 halfnotes) C-300037 C-minor chord: (C+D#+G or C+3+7 halfnotes) Cmd 1. Portamento up [Speed:$00-$FF] ------------------------------------ Usage: $1 + portamento speed
Portamento up will simply slide the sample pitch up. You can NOT slide higher than B-3! (Period 113)
Example: C-300103 1 is the command, 3 is the portamentospeed.
NOTE: The portamento will be called as many times as the speed of the song. This means that you'll sometimes have trouble sliding accuratly. If you change the speed without changing the sliderates, it will sound bad... Cmd 2. Portamento down [Speed:$00-FF] ------------------------------------- Usage: $2 + portamento speed
Just like command 1, except that this one slides the pitch down instead. (Adds to the period).
You can NOT slide lower than C-1! (Period 856)
Example: C-300203 2 is the command, 3 is the portamentospeed. Cmd 3. Tone-portamento [Speed:$00-$FF] -------------------------------------- Usage: Dest-note + $3 + slidespeed
This command will automatically slide from the old note to the new.
You don't have to worry about which direction to slide, you need only set the slide speed. To keep on sliding, just select the command $3 + 00.
Example: A-200000 First play a note. C-300305 C-3 is the note to slide to, 3 the command, and 5 the speed. Cmd 4. Vibrato [Rate:$0-$F,Dpth:$0-$F] -------------------------------------- Usage: $4 + vibratorate + vibratodepth
Example: C-300481 4 is the command, 8 is the speed of the vibrato and 1 is the depth of the vibrato.
To keep on vibrating, just select the command $4 + 00. To change the vibrato, you can alter the rate, depth or both. Use command E4- to change the vibrato-waveform. Cmd 5. ToneP + Volsl [Spd:$0-$F/$0-$F] -------------------------------------- Usage: $5 + upspeed + downspeed
This command will continue the current toneportamento and slide the volume at the same time. Stolen from NT2.0.
Example: C-300503 3 is the speed to turn the volume down. C-300540 4 is the speed to slide it up.
Cmd 6. Vibra + Volsl [Spd:$0-$F/$0-$F] -------------------------------------- Usage: $6 + upspeed + downspeed
This command will continue the current vibrato and slide the volume at the same time. Stolen from NT2.0.
Example: C-300605 5 is the speed to turn the volume down. C-300640 4 is the speed to slide it up. Cmd 7. Tremolo [Rate:$0-$F,Dpth:$0-$F] -------------------------------------- Usage: $7 + tremolorate + tremolodepth
Tremolo vibrates the volume.
Example: C-300794 7 is the command, 9 is the speed of the tremolo and 4 is the depth of the tremolo.
To keep on tremoling, just select the command $7 + 00. To change the tremolo, you can alter the rate, depth or both. Use command E7- to change the tremolo-waveform. Cmd 9. Set SampleOffset [Offs:$00-$FF] -------------------------------------- Usage: $9 + Sampleoffset
This command will play from a chosen position in the sample, and not from the beginning. The two numbers equal the two first numbers in the length of the sample. Handy for speech-samples.
Example: C-300923 Play sample from offset $2300. Cmd A. Volumeslide [Speed:$0-$F/$0-$F] -------------------------------------- Usage: $A + upspeed + downspeed
Example: C-300A05 5 is the speed to turn the volume down. C-300A40 4 is the speed to slide it up.
NOTE: The slide will be called as many times as the speed of the song. The slower the song, the more the volume will be changed on each note. Cmd B. Position-jump [Pos:$00-$7F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $B + position to continue at Example: C-300B01 B is the command, 1 is the position to restart the song at. This command will also perform a pattern-break (see 2 pages below). You can use this command instead of restart as on noisetracker, but you must enter the position in hex! Cmd C. Set volume [Volume:$00-$40] ---------------------------------- Usage: $C + new volume Well, this old familiar command will set the current volume to your own selected. The highest volume is $40. All volumes are represented in hex. (Programmers do it in hex, you know!) Example: C-300C10 C is the command, 10 is the volume (16 decimal). Cmd D. Pattern-break [Pattern-pos:00-63, decimal] ---------------------------- Usage: $D + pattern-position This command just jumps to the next song-position, and continues play from the patternposition you specify. Example: C-300D00 Jump to the next song-position and continue play from patternposition 00. Or: C-300D32 Jump to the next song-position and continue play from patternposition 32 instead. Cmd E0. Set filter [Range:$0-$1] -------------------------------- Usage: $E0 + filter-status This command jerks around with the sound-filter on some A500 + A2000. All other Amiga-users should keep out of playing around with it. Example: C-300E01 disconnects filter (turns power LED off) C-300E00 connects filter (turns power LED on) Cmd E1. Fineslide up [Range:$0-$F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $E1 + value This command works just like the normal portamento up, except that it only slides up once. It does not continue sliding during the length of the note. Example: C-300E11 Slide up 1 at the beginning of the note. (Great for creating chorus effects) Cmd E2. Fineslide down [Range:$0-$F] ------------------------------------ Usage: $E2 + value This command works just like the normal portamento down, except that it only slides down once. It does not continue sliding during the length of the note. Example: C-300E26 Slide up 6 at the beginning of the note. Cmd E3. Glissando Ctrl [Range:$0-$1] ------------------------------------ Usage: $E3 + Glissando-Status Glissando must be used with the tone- portamento command. When glissando is activated, toneportamento will slide a halfnote at a time, instead of a straight slide. Example: C-300E31 Turn Glissando on. C-300E30 Turn Glissando off. Cmd E4. Set vibrato waveform [Range:$0-$3] ---------------------------- Usage: $E4 + vibrato-waveform Example: C-300E40 Set sine(default) E44 Don't retrig WF C-300E41 Set Ramp Down E45 Don't retrig WF C-300E42 Set Squarewave E46 Don't retrig WF C-300E43 Set Random E47 Don't retrig WF Cmd E5. Set finetune [Range:$0-$F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $E5 + finetune-value Example: C-300E51 Set finetune to 1. Use these tables to figure out the finetune-value. Finetune: +7 +6 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0 Value: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Finetune: -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 Value: F E D C B A 9 8 Cmd E6. PatternLoop [Loops:$0-$F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $E6 + number of loops This command will loop a part of a pattern. Example: C-300E60 Set loopstart. C-300E63 Jump to loop 3 times before playing on. Cmd E7. Set tremolo waveform [Range:$0-$3] ---------------------------- Usage: $E7 + tremolo-waveform Example: C-300E70 Set sine(default) E74 Don't retrig WF C-300E71 Set Ramp Down E75 Don't retrig WF C-300E72 Set Squarewave E76 Don't retrig WF C-300E73 Set Random E77 Don't retrig WF Cmd E9. Retrig note [Value:$0-$F] --------------------------------- Usage: $E9 + Tick to Retrig note at. This command will retrig the same note before playing the next. Where to retrig depends on the speed of the song. If you retrig with 1 in speed 6 that note will be trigged 6 times in one note slot. Retrig on hi-hats! Example: C-300F06 Set speed to 6. C-300E93 Retrig at tick 3 out of 6. Cmd EA. FineVolsl up [Range:$0-$F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $EA + value This command works just like the normal volumeslide up, except that it only slides up once. It does not continue sliding during the length of the note. Example: C-300EA3 Slide volume up 1 at the beginning of the note. Cmd EB. FineVolsl down [Range:$0-$F] ------------------------------------ Usage: $EB + value This command works just like the normal volumeslide down, except that it only slides down once. It does not continue sliding during the length of the note. Example: C-300EB6 Slide volume down 6 at the beginning of the note. Cmd EC. Cut note [Value:$0-$F] ------------------------------ Usage: $EC + Tick to Cut note at.
This command will cut the note at the selected tick, creating extremely short notes.
Example: C-300F06 Set speed to 6. C-300EC3 Cut at tick 3 out of 6.
Note that the note is not really cut, the volume is just turned down. Cmd ED. NoteDelay [Value:$0-$F] ------------------------------- Usage: $ED + ticks to delay note.
This command will delay the note to the selected tick.
Example: C-300F06 Set speed to 6. C-300ED3 Play note at tick 3 out of 6. Cmd EE. PatternDelay [Notes:$0-$F] ---------------------------------- Usage: $EE + notes to delay pattern.
This command will delay the pattern the selected numbers of notes.
Example: C-300EE8 Delay pattern 8 notes before playing on.
All other effects are still active when the pattern is being delayed. Cmd EF. Invert Loop [Speed:$0-$F] --------------------------------- Usage: $EF + Invertspeed
This command will need a short loop ($10,20,40,80 etc. bytes) to work. It will invert the loop byte by byte. Sounds better than funkrepeat... Example: C-300EF8 Set invspeed to 8. To turn off the inverting, set invspeed to 0, or press ctrl + Z. Cmd F. Set speed [Speed:$00-$FF] -------------------------------- Usage: $F + speed
This command will set the speed of the song.
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� Annotation by Mark Feldman (u914097@student.canberra.edu.au �
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The 6 and 8 channel mod files differ from the normal mods in two ways:
1) The signature string "M.K." at offset 1080 is either "6CHN" or "8CHN". 2) The pattern data table starting at offset 1084 stores 6 or 8 notes for
each pattern position position.