From the IBM "FastTracker" v 1.00 Music editor: ----------------------------------------------- 'The Triton FastTracker' v1.00, last change: 12/13/92 Coded by Mr. H of TRITON in the autumn of 1992. IBM Freeware. Fredrik Huss Fladervagen 12 860 35 Soraker Sweden About the Formats: ------------------ The samples are stored in 8-bit signed raw format. There is no header, I use the time and date field to store repeat and replen information. The repeat is stored in the lower word and replen in the higher. The maximum sample size is 64K. The 4-channel modules are stored in the common 31-instrument module format. 6 and 8 channel modules have a simmilar format, but there are diferences: # The 4-byte field at offset 1080 contains 6CHN or 8CHN instead of 'M.K.'. # Each row in the pattern is wider. About the Format Effects: ------------------------- All of the effects in ProTracker 2.2A is implemented except Filter Toggle and Invert loop: 00 - Arpeggio 01 - Portamento Up 02 - Portamento Down 03-0F - (Same as PT 2.2A) E0 - Not Implemented E1-EE - (Same as PT 2.2A) EF - Not Implemented ------------------------------------------------------------------------ But wait! There's more... FastTracker "clone" formats: ---------------------------- There are a number of MOD formats basicly exactly the same as the 8-track IBM FastTracker format, but with a different signature at 1080 different than "8CHN". Here are some: Signature Program System M.K. Grave Mod IBM (*.WOW modules) CD81 Octalyser Atari STe/Falcon (not the same as Amiga "Oktalyzer") OCTA ?? ?? (exists, according to kurtt@sfu.ca) Unlike native FastTracker format, some of these formats _do_ use the Filter Toggle and Invert Loop commands! (Like Octalyser) Never assume they are always unused by every program that creates this family of files. If you want to use these files in a program that plays FastTracker modules, just use a file hex-editor and change the signature to "8CHN". This does not seem to work with Amiga StarTrekker "FLT8" or "EX08" signature files, however. It might not be hard to write a routine that detects 8-track modules, even without knowing what the signature is, based on other information. Jamal Hannah , 5/2/94 -------------------------------------------