Hey guys, I want to branch out beyond what I usually use for my games' music (MIDI Maker -> MIDI files) and heard that mods are the way to go. I've never used any myself but just downloaded a copy of Mod Tracker. I can't install Mod Tracker on the computer I'm at now so I had a couple of questions if I may:
1.) Do mods sound the same on every computer? MIDIs don't. This would be great if they did!
2.) Are there length limitations to the actual songs themselves? My copy of MIDI maker always gets an array out of data error if the song is much more than 1 minute long or too complex. Having songs that lasted 3-4 minutes would be like a dream come true for me lol.
3.) Are mod files very big? I know that MIDIs are tiny filesize-wise, and MP3s are pretty big at a couple of MB each at least.
4.) I know that my MMF1.5 doesn't support embedded mods, so which extension would you recommend I get to play them? There seem to be a few out there.
5.) On the Mod Tracker page there's also a file called Mod Player. Do I need this to even listen to my mods I make, or can I skip Mod Player and just listen to them using Mod Tracker until I save them as .mod files that my game will use.
Thank you for your time, I used to make decent music for my games but they were all using actual guitars and bass and saved as gigantic .wav files. MIDIs gave me that very "video game-y" feeling and they were small enough so I've used them for almost every click game I've made since finding Midi Maker. But their limitations are starting to show up and I want to get to that next level and make some killer tunes.
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I'm not an expert, but I think I can answer these.
1.) Yes.
2.) Not as far as I can see, maybe if you crank it up to about a 5 day long song.
3.) Mod file sizes are determined by the quality of the samples (the sound files that are played to create the music.) If its a chip tune, it will be significantly smaller than a mod that uses full instrument samples at 128kbps 44100hz in stereo. They can range anywhere from 10 kilobytes to 5 megs I suppose.
4.) I think that ModFusion thing is cool, but I'm not sure.
5.) You can listen in modplug tracker, and Winamp also plays mod files but sometimes messes them up a little.
1) Yes, they sound the same because the samples are contained in the file rather than the computer's sound card.
2) No length limitations.
3) They can be, but typically they're under 1Mb. If it doesn't bother you much, use 8-bit samples. Compressing them in a zip file with your game usually shrinks them by a lot anyway.
4) ModFusionEx 3
5) ModPlug Player is just a player. ModPlug Tracker is what you use to create them. Both will play mods but you might want to get ModPlug Player because it's just more convenient and you can set up playlists, etc.
When you're testing ModFusionEx, make sure you Load the song (on "Start of level", for example), then add a new event - "When Song has loaded: Play song". It sometimes crashes if you put them both in one event and the song hasn't loaded before it tells it to play.
Also, try to avoid using short patterns in your mods. By default, they're 62 rows so this won't be a problem unless you deliberately try to shorten them (for a time delay or something). Patterns less than 16 rows will crash your game.
I use MilkyTracker because it's pleasingly similar to a very old mod tracker I used back in the DOS days, but ModPlug Tracker is probably the better program.
Edit: bonesaw!
Edited by the Author.
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DaVince This fool just HAD to have a custom rating
Registered 04/09/2004
Points 7998
21st December, 2007 at 05:54:22 -
Originally Posted by Nim By default, they're 62 rows so this won't be a problemrows will crash your game.
64 rows. 16 rows per measure does not calculate 62 rows for 4 measures.
Thanks guys but Jesus Christ this thing sounds complicated as all hell!
The one saving grace of Midi Maker is that it was very easy to use. I'm going to install ModFusion EX 3 in a few minutes.
I will try and load the songs up with a ton of tracks so the songs won't crash. And about that loading bug, that sounds a bit like a bug I found while using the Blowfish extension once- That it was trying to save while encrypting or something at the same time and my MMF would crash every time.
--
"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
Is there a place on the net where someone can download a large pack of samples or pre made instruments.
Ive often attempted to start making modules, but unfortunately i'm put off by the lack of instant success. ripping samples every time i want to take another stab at learning mod making is a bit of a pain.
Originally Posted by DaVince [Ectoprods] 64 rows. 16 rows per measure does not calculate 62 rows for 4 measures.
Thanks DaVince I guess I can't do maths. Where's Joe when you need him!
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DaVince This fool just HAD to have a custom rating
Registered 04/09/2004
Points 7998
21st December, 2007 at 12:12:17 -
Each row represents an unit of time to put your samples in - 4 rows gives you enough time to put notes for 1 beat, at least at the default module timing speed.
To demonstrate better I'll copypaste part of these patterns (just 1 channel):
Dots are empty rows where nothing happens, but where you see the codes it's playing a C note at octave height 6 with sample 06. The above depicts how a hi hat would play every 1/2 of a beat.
EDIT: what's with the double line breaks in the code tag? It's kinda annoying...
Man, I didn't think a degree in rocket science was a prerequisite of this thing! It took me like 45 minutes to figure out anything simple, but I can't figure out how to get a specific note to stop playing. If I make the sample a non-looping one, the electric guitar just sounds like a little "blip". I'm also finding selecting a specific line hard to do with the mouse, as the whole pattern wants to jump around while I'm trying to select it. Very annoying to say the least.
Trying to remember what keypress I did to get a specific note / octave's pretty annoying too. There's no sort of keyboard interface that just lets you select a piano note and fly that I can see. I saw the option for a MIDI / keyboard connection but I'm all out of those
It's completely different than what I'm used to working with, but of course I'll give it another go tomorrow. Josh was right, it's going to take a LOT of getting used to. Music shouldn't be this hard to make IMO. I can play actual instruments and not have this much trouble laying down songs
--
"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
DaVince This fool just HAD to have a custom rating
Registered 04/09/2004
Points 7998
22nd December, 2007 at 08:22:12 -
It's not rocket science, there's a very comprehensive starter's guide included with Modplug Tracker. It's under the Help menu.
Also, there are a few different key settings you can choose from in the program's settings, as well as define your own keyboard configuration (I think).
EDIT: another good idea would be to add pattern highlighting on every 4th and 16th row, this allows you to see where the next beat/measure is more easily.
DaVince, I looked at the help guide that came with it and all it really says is that it expects me to be familiar with Mod Tracking first
Nim, do you know how to get a note to end using it? If I could get them to stop playing, I'd be well on my way.
I'll try finding some documentation on it now. It sucks I've had a total of about 5 hours of sleep these past 2+ days so I didn't get to do any computer today, which is amazing for me.
--
"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
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Edited by the Author.
I guess I can't do maths. Where's Joe when you need him!
