FreddyV wrote:

hi,

You need to use the turbo pascal CRT Fix.
I do not fix the Executable when I release it.

TP7P5FIX solved the problem too (when I tried it on the K6-2+/550 I tested this week).

And any option you prioritize please keep an eye on memory usage. On a (max) 640k vanilla XT memory is a precious resource.

Oh, talking about free memory. I've never seen DOS shell work in Mod Master. It either says not enough memory or simply hangs on loading(?) command.com. Should this work at this point at all?

Hi.
Each time I van reduce the memory usage, I do it.
I Will release 2 version in the future. One with stm, s3m, mod only. It save more than 10kb of memory.
Aldo when doing the xm loader i saw that xm partition compression is simple.
I may implement it. Memory usage for pattern can be divided by 3

DOS shell is working under DosBox

DOSBox hides/fixes problems. I'll see if I can find the issue with dos shell on real hardware.

FreddyV wrote:

Aldo when doing the xm loader i saw that xm partition compression is simple.
I may implement it. Memory usage for pattern can be divided by 3

Nice, that'll help A LOT more than leaving out 10k of code!

FreddyV wrote:

For next releases, any idea for the next priority ? - SB16 stereo. - 16 bit mixing. - SB AWE32 - "Better" XM support. - Advanced […]
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For next releases, any idea for the next priority ?
- SB16 stereo.
- 16 bit mixing.
- SB AWE32
- "Better" XM support.
- Advanced channels "compression" system (for exemple play 16 channels mod using 8 channels) -> "16 channels" replay at 14khz on XT
- Adlib music files format

Don't forget support for the Stereo-on-1 DAC device! (like it was implemented in MODPlay Pro, Visual Player, and Inertia Player. GLX has buggy support as on DOSBox only the left channel plays on both speakers)

FreddyV wrote:

For next releases, any idea for the next priority ? - SB16 stereo. - 16 bit mixing. - SB AWE32 - "Better" XM support. - Advanced […]
Show full quote

For next releases, any idea for the next priority ?
- SB16 stereo.
- 16 bit mixing.
- SB AWE32
- "Better" XM support.
- Advanced channels "compression" system (for exemple play 16 channels mod using 8 channels) -> "16 channels" replay at 14khz on XT
- Adlib music files format

Don't forget support for the Stereo-on-1 DAC device! (like it was implemented in MODPlay Pro, Visual Player, and Inertia Player. GLX has buggy support as on DOSBox only the left channel plays on both speakers)

MobyGamer wrote:

These are good, and should be done in this order because XM support is going to require 16-bit mixing for XMs that have 16-bit instruments.

With this in mind, has 16-bit sample loading on GUS been fixed yet? For low-memory conditions or to make non-GUS playback more manageable for an XT, are you planning to down-sample to 8-bit?

16 bit samples loading with GUS was fixed some weeks ago but I don't have lots of music with 16b samples To test
(I rewrite this part as it was wrong)
Mixing of 16bit samples require much more CPU power as we can not use a volume table.
It is obviously better To modify the 16b sample to 8 bit than using MUL in the mixing code.

As 16b samples replay with GUS is there I suppose it is better than nothing.

Stéréo on DAC can be done.

Hi,

Here is the release 11.

10/10/19 BETA 11
- Fast Tracker 2 support Added. (.XM, Beta)
-> No Volume effect, Instrument envelop, multiple sample instr
- Monotone Support Added, PC Speaker. (.MON) -> You can play the full 8088 MPH music now 😀
- Pause in Stereo Corrected.
- GSLINGER.MOD Does not crash anymore.
- Added the Effect name and Left/Right display in the multi channel display. (F3)
- Some minor bug Corrected.
- .S3M Files loading Speed increase. (Faster Pattern Unpack)
- GUS Samples Loading Speed increased.
-> 2ND_PM.S3M Loads in 24s instead of 40s on a 8088 8MHz

As you can see,your most wanted feature are still not here. I needed to finish what I was working on first.

.XM support is not so bad. I can add some more effects and why not Volume envelop and multi sample instruments, but I need to do compressed pattern first.
With Compressed pattern, the memory will no more be a limit.

I Already started to work on the Compressed pattern code. I took a mix of FT2 ans ST3 code, modified to be faster.
Next should be 16 Bit Mixing.

Hi.

I tried to load .XM Files with Glx To compare but it fail.
It was with DosBox.

Anybody succeeded ?

No, the support is broken. I think he wrote it when .XM meant "the tunes ripped from Crystal Dream 2". I converted a 4-channel .MOD to .XM and it wouldn't play that either.

Ok, But I added it also to not have Mod Master behind GLX 😀

Some .XM Files still crash with Mod Master, I will correct after I finish the partition Compression. (I am progressing)
When partition compression is done, I will need to rewrite the partition display code….
Will take the opportunity to do it faster.

I am also now motivated to put back the Mod Master XP replay code in Mod Master 2.3 Display code, to have the full more modern interface in VGA Working.
(To be "Mod Master 2.4", No more XT compatible, except if somebody ask for it)

Partition compression is finished (For .MOD Files)
Partition size is divided by 4 on DOPE.MOD, reduced by 1/3rd on 4 Channels classical MODs.
I did not write the compressed partition read and display yet.
Partition, compression will also speed up the partition decoding code.

Hi,

Now the compressed pattern read and display is finished.
I added the Free DOS Memory display in the option menu and during the replay.
In DOSBox, with 64Kb of UMB, When I play DOPE.MOD, It Show 396Kb of DOs Memory Free, quite an improvement.
We will be able to load the partition and play the music even on 512Kb XT Computers (With GUS Of course)

I want to correct more .XM Bugs before adding he compression to this format.
This huge memory improvement will allow to add the multi samples instruments and envelopes easily.

I will also play with the Tandy 1000 EX, As I saw in a recent video that adding 512Kb of Base memory also add some UMB.
If I detect that DOS is <5, I will add a small memory detection code for segments D and E, and Increase the DOS Memory "Manually" -> 128Kb Memory added for the Tandy 1000 and UMB support for XT using an old DOS.

This si nice to work on retro PC, it is like having a new idea each day….

I'm curious, what method did you use for the pattern compacting/management?

For each Row:
First Byte is the Pattern Row Size: -> 0 Means empty and it allow to rapidly compute a pattern row offset (Does not exist in FT2 and ST3)

Then, I use the FT2 way: first Bit=0 means Note/Instr/Command and volume Follow.
Then, each bit tell if the next value is present.
I added one bit to say that the next channel is empty (Only one bit to test, Idea taken from ST3 format)
In this case, I also add the number of empty channel -> This compress better.

Fast Tracker 2 also compress the channel partition if only one byte is missing -> the result is the same size and longer to unpack..... I corrected this

I would like to add the possibility to convert the modules to the internal Mod Master format.
The resulting files will be smaller and really really faster to load.

I tested Mod Master on a 5155, It is working with the PC Speaker at 6KHz (4 Channels MOD)
We also successfully played 8088 MPH on it in composite, with a MCE2VGA card

FreddyV wrote:

I would like to add the possibility to convert the modules to the internal Mod Master format.
The resulting files will be smaller and really really faster to load.

That's exactly what DSMI did, with the "AMF" format. The only drawback to AMF is that it was formatted a little like MIDI and in-pattern jumps didn't work.

I tested Mod Master on a 5155, It is working with the PC Speaker at 6KHz (4 Channels MOD)

That's really impressive! With that kind of performance, I'll bet you could max out a Disney Sound Source (limited to 7.8 KHz, has a 16-byte FIFO buffer so only ~500 interrupts a second are needed). If/when the source is released, I can handle adding support for that.

We also successfully played 8088 MPH on it in composite, with a MCE2VGA card

😀

I can modifiy a DSS Clone for higher Output Rates 😁

its no problem as Shock_ released its plans i added a MCU to mine which allows to set custom frequencys.. 😀

i still have 2-3 pieces 😀

@MobyGamer:
I have not seen the DSS Like this, You are right, It can work well on a 5155
I added DSS support in my player but nobody told me if it was working. I am no sure it was not.
Add the FIFO Support is surely simple, fire less IRQ and do a loop :-p

@matze79: Modify a Covox to add a fifo should not be complex, like doing a "super" DSS for the machines not having a DMA, Like the early Tandy 1000 and PC Junior.
If you did one with variable output frequency, it is also possible to add support for it.
It is also possible to do DMA on ECP Parallel ports, nobody did think about doing a sound card with it.

I am stucked adding pattern compression for S3M for the moment, I did some file loading speed optimisation, various souce changes and corrected multiple bugs in .XM, but they are still a lot.

FreddyV wrote:

@MobyGamer: I have not seen the DSS Like this, You are right, It can work well on a 5155 I added DSS support in my player but n […]
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@MobyGamer:
I have not seen the DSS Like this, You are right, It can work well on a 5155
I added DSS support in my player but nobody told me if it was working. I am no sure it was not.
Add the FIFO Support is surely simple, fire less IRQ and do a loop :-p

Exactly: ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/drivers/Disney%20S … ers%20Guide.pdf
The only drawback is that the FIFO usage is at a fixed rate of about 7 KHz, but for an 8088 that's just fine.

(Edit: Most people program the DSS by treating it like a DAC and doing the speaker_on - send a byte - speaker_off method. This is extremely heavy and not really how it was meant to be driven. It does allow rates higher than 7 KHz, but there's a highpass filter on the hardware so, again, not much point.)

It is also possible to do DMA on ECP Parallel ports, nobody did think about doing a sound card with it.

Actually, I think the M-Sound did. It also had a DSP so you could feed it ADPCM, and supported stereo. Very few were sold.