FastTracker
| FastTracker II
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| Basic data
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| developer | Fredrik "Mr. H" Huss, Magnus "Vogue" Högdahl |
| Current version | 2.08 (1997) |
| Current preliminary version | 2.09 ( leaked ) (1999) |
| operating system | MS-DOS |
| programming language | Pascal , TASM |
| category | tracker |
| License | Freeware |
| www.starbreeze.com/ft2.htm ( Memento from May 30, 1998 in the Internet Archive ) | |
Fast Tracker is a freeware - grid sequencer , a so-called tracker for MS-DOS from a demo crew called Triton, the 1998 Starbreeze Studios founded.
In the 1990s, it was one of the most popular trackers and one of the few that was graphically designed.
history
top : general track properties, sample list, pattern list
middle : command list for the channels (along the line) and the time sequence (along the columns), the red bar cursor marks the current point
in time in the middle -below : sample curve
all-down : sample commands
The first FastTracker was a Protracker clone for DOS. The demo crew Triton decided in 1995 to publish their own tracker after they stormed the charts of the demo scene in 1992 with Crystal Dream and a year later with Crystal Dream 2 and won several competitions.
FastTracker was initially distributed as shareware , version 2 (Fasttracker II, FT2) was then released as freeware . The FastTracker II was a "revolutionary" tracker in its day . The programmers wanted to develop it to bring order to the PC musician scene. So no more effects were developed, but instruments were added that can, for example, change the velocity curve of a sample.
He introduced a new file format , the XM format ("E X tended M odule"). The old Mod file format of Protracker was on the capabilities of the Amiga - sound chip Paula coordinated with four physical output channels (hardware mixing / re-sampling) and would not allow enough space. Fasttracker II, on the other hand, was able to offer significantly more options thanks to its freely programmable software mixer / sampler or the " Gravis Ultrasound " card .
Later, the XM format was supported by the Galaxy Sound Engine , so XM files became part of the Unreal and Deus Ex computer games .
The tracker and the associated XM format achieved widespread use in the mid to late 1990s. It continues to be used and has greatly influenced many of the later trackers (e.g. Skale Tracker , Renoise , MadTracker 2 and the Milky Tracker).
The developers of the Fasttracker founded the later Starbreeze Studios in 1998 .
Technical specifications
Fasttracker II
Up to 32 channels are available on which samples can be played. Up to 128 instruments are possible, each of which can contain up to 16 samples that can be assigned to different pitch ranges. Each sample can be “tuned” in semitone or 1/128 semitone steps , and includes a panning setting. The instrument can also optionally be assigned a volume envelope and a panning curve. The length of each individual pattern is variable and comprises up to 256 lines.
FT2 is compatible with Protracker apart from a few inaccuracies. So old MODs can be imported and further processed. One of these inaccuracies is the standard C-4 frequency; H. the sampling rate at which a middle C is played by default. If it was 8287 + (59/428) Hz for PAL - or 8363 + (181/428) Hz for NTSC Amigas with Protracker, it is now exactly 8363 Hz with Fasttracker. This means that old MODs sound in a slightly different pitch.
FT2 “inherits” all effect commands from Protracker and defines some additional ones (e.g. “Set the global volume”). However, since FT2 internally uses a simpler frequency model (1/64 semitone steps instead of period duration) internally, some of the old effects are slightly redefined in terms of their meaning. However, this can be changed using a corresponding switch. FT2 has an additional effect column for each channel in the editor - the so-called "volume column". It has a completely different syntax and is mainly used to adjust the volume. Probably due to negligent programming, many effects behave unexpectedly, also in comparison to their Protracker counterparts. For example, the combination of some effects in both effect columns (e.g. retrigger with volume command) leads to unexpected results. Other examples are the notorious "E60 bug" and the combination of arpeggio and speed, which was probably not intended.
FT2 can export the finished pieces of music as WAV files . This was still unusual at the time.
Other "fast trackers"
- There is also a Windows program called Fasttracker 3 . But this was written by other programmers and is therefore not an official successor. It also only reached beta status and is no longer being developed. From this, however, the scale tracker emerged.
- The free MilkyTracker is available for Windows, PDAs and Linux . This program claims to be almost 100 percent compatible with the Fasttracker.
There are some clones or programs inspired by the Fasttracker II, e.g. B. the free SoundTracker . For an overview, see the list of trackers .
Web links
- Starbreeze - what FT2 programmers are up to today (see Starbreeze Studios )
- Milky Tracker - FT2 clone for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X (Universal, PPC), PDA
- Skale Tracker - extended FT2 clone for Windows, Linux
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fast tracker. starbreeze.com, March 3, 2000, archived from the original on March 3, 2000 ; accessed on February 4, 2011 (English): " A development version of FT2.09 has apparently been leaked from one of our beta-testers. "
- ↑ FT2 v2.08 (PDF; 172 kB) manual (1996, English)
- ↑ Deus Ex & Unreal Game Music .umx, .it, .xm . renoise.com, December 21, 2004, accessed February 2, 2011 .
- ↑ Composing Music for Unreal - Alexander Brandon, epicgames.com (1999)
- ↑ MilkyTracker Documentation - Retrigger
- ↑ MilkyTracker Documentation - Pattern Loop
- ↑ MilkyTracker Documentation - Arpeggio
- ↑ BakTery: FastTracker 3 homepage. Archived from the original on June 28, 2001 ; accessed on January 31, 2012 (English): " BakFT3Beta025.zip "
- ↑ Peter Kirn: MilkyTracker Pan-Platform Tracker Now Open Source, with New Features. In: Create Digital Music. March 14, 2008, accessed May 17, 2010 .