Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /storage/content/49/145849/famitracker.com/public_html/forum/classes/dbHandler.php on line 29
FamiTracker
Alright so since I last posted, Famitracker [i]has[/i] become my go-to tracker for NES music (despite fierce competition from the IT2NSF folks). Way to go jsr!
So in the interest of making it go forward even more (and because Lunar asked), I made another list of things that I think could be fixed, feature requests and the like. Keeping in mind that these are things I want, I didn't go check if some of these were already suggested by other people. If others have mentioned them also, then consider it a "seconded!" to that request, but this is my personal list of improvements. If you need more convincing as to what the function could be, or if you want me to explain what I mean cause it's worded vaguely, by all means let me know. And remember I'm an Impulse Tracker user, so this is where all my experience lies. Some of these requests may just be a matter of being really used to something. I tried to order them in how important I think they are.
First of all I plucked a few out of my original list from a year or so ago that haven't been implemented yet. I don't know if this is because you didn't like the idea of them, or because they weren't possible, or you didn't get around to it yet, or if you just forgot, but I'll list them here anyway:
1) A command for fine volume slide (AFx and AxF), perhaps extra fine volume slide even (AEx, AxE)
2) A keyboard command to set step to a certain number (in IT this is bound to alt+1-9).
3) When inputting notes (in IT mode), the note should cut off when a note-off command is put into the same channel. it currently cuts off when you press the stop command, not when you put in a note-off (or note-release, for release) in the same channel.
Now for the new stuff:
- Mix Paste's behavior is currently incorrect: when you paste it, and there is already a note, it gets overwritten. This is incorrect behavior, both from a legacy standpoint (other trackers don't do it this way) and practically (since the normal need for this is when you're pasting in the echos to have single-channel alternating echos, naruto-stylee). The note that is in the channel should be kept.
- In IT, when you hold down alt and press arrowleft/right, it jumps directly to the next/previous track, instead of going by all the volume and effect columns and so on. This behavior would be very useful, especially if it also worked when combined with block selecting, so alt+shift+arrowleft/right would select the two channels right away. I can imagine that you'd want to make this a custom button, since ctrl serves that function in text editors usually.
- Would it be possible to make an option to create multi-track NSF file out of multiple .ftm projects? I imagine this is something other people have requested already, so just throwing it out there.
- A keyboard shortcut to summon the effects list would be nice. I would say F1 but that's already help, so maybe ctrl+f1 or alt+f1 or something?
- If you have an instrument that has a release envelope, (according to IT wisdom) it should play when you release the note in the test keyboard. Although this could cause it to loop endlessly if the release envelope doesn't end on 0, so maybe not (you could stop it by pressing the Stop button, but maybe that's not so logical for non-IT people). But it would be nice to be able to hear the release envelope when testing, somehow.
- Just an idea, but if it's not defined, maybe the default behavior of note release should be to cut the note? This is actually not how it is in IT, but I always thought that was kinda dumb. I mean, why would you put in a note release if you don't want it to do anything, right?
- When you put in a note on the same point that a Qxx or a Rxx command is, maybe the Qxx/Rxx command should be "read". I tend to use them to do 2 note slides (so if I want a G, I'll put an F and Q22). This way, the note that you hear when inputting it won't be the wrong one, which can be confusing sometimes.
- Qxx and Rxx are great commands (that I [i]wish[/i] IT had!), but I would love to see the ability to slide to more precise pitches too, less than a semitone. This would be especially great for pseudo-guitar solos. Also, the speed of the slide is quite fast, even on the lowest setting, for small distances.
- Not a huge deal, but I kinda miss the IT keyboard commands for Block Start (alt+b) and Block End (alt+e). As an added bonus, you can make them behave like IT and select the whole channel row (so including the volume and effect column(s)). Then they are different from the current shift+arrow block behavior, which only selects the thing you're actually on.
Well, that's all I can think of right now, and as you can see it's not nearly as many items as last time, and a lot of them are quite intricate. Other than that all I can say is it already works really well for me, so I hope you can fix the bugs and keep improving on the usability!
Hi and thanks! I've seen IT2NSF and think that tool is amazing so that's interesting to hear! (Haha)
There was some points from your last request that didn't make it into the current version (mostly due to taking too long), but I've planned to add them later at some point.
Step size can be set with Alt+[numpad 0-9], but perhaps you mean alphanumeric keys? (I can include those too.) I'll also look into adding finer volume slide commands.
Note offs not working like that in IT-mode is a mistake and will be corrected.
The new stuff looks sensible and mostly easy to add, so some of it will probably be done in the next upcoming version. It will also be possible to include multiple FTM files into a single file in the next version (0.3.6, already added in the beta), that will work as long as the instrument limit is not exceeded.
_______________________
Programmer and developer
RE: One Year Later... request list #2Posted: 2010-09-08 13:36
[quote=slash]
1) A command for fine volume slide (AFx and AxF), perhaps extra fine volume slide even (AEx, AxE)
[/quote]
Seconded.
Also, I've been having a lot of difficulty getting a nice vibrato on the really high notes... even the lowest amplitude setting bends the note too much. I don't know if there's a way to implement 'fine vibrato', but that would be great.
