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
Hi!
Now that I'm partaking on some new & exciting projects, I'm about to make the (not so daunting as I first thought) leap from Nerdtracker II to Famitracker
I've finally tried out the newest beta extensively, and I must say that I'm about ready to ditch my old venerable yet painful friend NT2.
However, there's still a few missing commands that still hold me back.
I really think that software-controlled versions of relative portamento up/down (similar to Protracker/Fasttracker/Nerdtracker's 1xx & 2xx) are sorely missing in Famitracker.
"Portamento to note" effect is simply not enough, especially if you're wanting to slide the pitch immediately when a [u]completely new & different note[/u] is played (and not simply just sliding from the previously played note).
I'm aware that there's a hardware/register-controlled sweep function that relatively does the same thing (which I'm extremely grateful by the way, as that makes complex non-vblank-bound sound effects possible).
However, as you probably are aware: Since the hardware sweep function simply pounds the appropriate registers at one single instance (instead of inc/decrementing the actual pitch registers in every succeeding frame as a software-controlled portamento does), it doesn't keep track of where the pitch would end up (and would reset back to the initial pitch if you were to change any sweep values in the pattern effect field) -- rendering it pretty much useless for sliding to an intended level and changing the slide amount / halting the slide afterwards.
If these pitch commands are implemented as soon as the next planned release / beta, I will love you forever and probably marry you for FINALLY RELEASING ME FROM THE ABUSIVE SPOUSE KNOWN AS NT2.
Thank you in advance jsr!
(Edit: Erased the request on repeated instances for the portamento up/down commands on the track, just realized that adding an extra fx row on the channel makes that aspect unneccesary.)
Those effects are added right now! 1xx and 2xx is portamento up and down respectively. The old automatic portamento is moved to 3xx. Now these effects behaves like arpeggio (one command to turn it on, 100/200 to turn off), but I can change it to the traditional style if it's important.
You know I love your music (or maybe you didn't, but now you do), so please tell you manage to write any music with it!
If you got any more wishes then just tell them right away.
Finally, I dunno how hard it is to move from NT2 after using it for so long, but if you still want to use it then thefox made a SDL port of NT2 that also has better sound emulation (maybe you already knew).
Maybe I'm using it wrong, but it seems like the 1xx and 2xx commands just start the channel bending upwards or downwards until you turn off the command.
The command I'm thinking of would be Yxx where the first digit is the number of semitones to go up by, and the second digit is the speed. So Y24 would bend up by 2 semitones at speed 4, or something. You'd need a second version for bending down, I guess.
This is a lot more useful, musically, than just arbitrarily sliding the pitch up or down, since you can stop on exact pitches without having to do lots of manual work.
This is the #1 thing I want in FamiTracker. Way more important than expansion chips! :D
Bend-to-note would be very helpful indeed - it'd be more like how GM pitchbends act. Up until now I've used portamento + two notes juxtaposed to get the same effect. Though if that were also added, there'd be 4 different pitch bend methods:
3XX - Old automated porto
1XX and 2XX - New pitchbend/porto
IXX and HXX - Hardware Sweep
(?) - Bend to note/pitchbend
Automatic portamento is useful in certain instances where the other pitch controls just wouldn't be suitable replacements, so that should stay. As tumult noted, the new porto added recently isn't much different to hardware sweep, so maybe changing 1XX and 2XX to include bend-to-note functionality as tumult outlined would be a better idea. I guess changing an effect drastically like that wouldn't be backwards compatible though. Making a whole new effect for it seems redundant, but if that's what has to be done then so be it. I guess it isn't a big concern if there's multiple effects that only do slightly different things, just it seems something to avoid if possible.
Also, I and some others are still hyped about expansion chip support. The tracker is very usable at this stage - there isn't a lot you can't do from the point of view of low-level musical meticulisms (yeah I just made up a word.) Improvements to the tracker would make doing certain things easier, but you can still get your desired end results somehow using "get-arounds" for the timebeing, even if it means more work. That isn't the case with expansion chips though - if they're not implemented, they just can't be used period, and there are no "get-arounds" for that.
Either-way, I'm looking forward to new updates in whatever form they take .
I gotta say, I'm with Dave on this. Right now the only way to get more than three notes of polyphony is to use either the DPCM channel or the noise (hah!) channel for tones. Doing specific sweeps was never a huge issue for me, I'd just put a muted note directly before if I didn't want it to stick for a while.
Plus, how can us non-MML guys compete without any expansion chip support!
Why are you so concerned about making the NES sound less like an NES? The 3 synth channels are what made us love the NES in the first place.
JSR, implementing the relative pitch pornamento would enable many musicians that are hesitant to use Famitracker to finally make the jump, not to mention having the FINAL piece of the tracker interface puzzle fall into place. You would definitely make a ton of people(including me) happy, and it would take a LOT less time to implement than expansion chips, so you could do it fast. :P
JSR, you are truly doing an INSANELY great job on this tracker, and you have succeeded in breathing new life into the NES tracker scene. Thus ends the soapbox.
Expansion chips are not a matter of life or death, or even urgent by any means. They shouldn't be an obstruction to those who only wish to use 2a03 sounds either. Plus I respect that it's a monumental task to implement expansion chips anyway. I certainly see their appeal though. I love the classic NES sound like everyone else (I even avoid using DPCM usually), and I've spent good time using the standard channels, but I also love the sound of the VRC6, FDS, etc. They all have their own personality and quirks, which would be fun to explore.
There's nothing to suggest that one would use expansion sound all the time just because it was there to use either. You could make something using just noise+VRC6 channels, or standard channels+FDS to write music akin to disk system games, etc. There are a lot of possibilities. It isn't just a matter of getting more polyphony, however if someone just wanted that - for whatever reason - that's fair enough IMO, more power to them. One of the things I'd like to do is Konami-style VRC6 covers of SNES Konami tunes :D and MMC5 covers for Nintendo tunes too. They wouldn't sound like colloquial NES covers so much, they'd sound more specifically like expansion game covers, and there's nowt wrong with that.
Anyway, it's just options ultimately nothing threatening about it, and you wouldn't have to use them if you didn't want to. I know I'd still do pure-2a03 stuff even if I had the other 6 expansion chips at my disposal. The scope of .nsf is great, so FamiTracker with that same scope would be incredible.
