ModForm

Short:        Creates a 8ch module out of a 4ch one
Author:       andezl@kastelli.otol.fi (kastelli.ouka.fi soon?)
Uploader:     andezl kastelli otol fi
Type:         mus/edit
Architecture: m68k-amigaos

This text file doubles as achive's readme and in-lha instructions to use, so
I'll make it short.

This application makes it possible to make your pt the long sought 8 channel
tracker.  ModForm takes in one 4ch module and according to some rules,
constructs a 8ch one out of it.  I made this because GuruS2 (PS3M's author)
again refused to make the FT2 Song Editor I have been brainwashing him to do
for a few months.  ;) I was too lazy to make a real 8ch editor myself, so think
this as a compromise.

ModForm's command line usage is as follows:  'ModForm filename'.  Use no
quotas/wildcards, file name is taken in as typed.  Path can be specified.

What ModForm does?  It picks all the adjacent patterns of a module as pairs and
combines them as one, in other words, it takes patterns 2n and 2n+1 and joins
them as one 8ch pattern n.  Thus patterns 0 and 1 are joined as one 8 channel
pattern 0.  The next patterns 2 and 3 are joined as 8ch pattern 1 and so on.
Note that the real PATTERNS are joined, not the song-position -referring
patterns!  The even pattern defines the 1-4 channel side of a 8ch pattern and
the odd pattern defines the 5-8 channel side of it.

To construct your module, you specify the pattern order table as normally,
remembering that the 4ch patterns 0 and 1 ALWAYS mean the 8ch pattern 0.  So
now the first free pattern after 0 is 2, then after 2 comes 4.  You can also
specify the odd patterns in the order table - it will still refer to the
correct 8ch pattern.  The last pattern of a module must be odd, because
otherwise the whole 8ch module will be corrupt:  the pt must save an even
number of patterns!  So avoid this mistake by making sure you save the both
parts of the last 8ch pattern.

I retrackered one of my favourite 4ch tunes I have always thought needing extra
channels, but did very quickly and roughly and only partially - apologizes to
the module Belle-Helene's author Tiny.  To be honest, I have always thought
myself to be better as coder than musician.  ;) Use the ModForm to make the
real playable 8ch module for PS3M/Hip/others.  The mod-prefix will change to
md8 to indicate the 8channelness.

I know that this piece is a complete fuck-up on the code level.  But as a
two-hour utility I think I'll allow it to it.  Did you know that this document
is three times the size of the actual utility?  If you have comments,
suggestions, booze and/or advise then I'll be extatic and looking forwards to
hearing from you.  If you find this useful and/or manage to make a good 8ch
tune with the help of this, let me know.  Should this document seem
ununderstible (it does), look at the example.

Oh yeah, I just made this utility backwards compatible - it is possible to
convert normal mod8:s back to program's special 4ch modules, but that loses 8ch
patterns above 32 unless 100 patterns mode is enabled - 50 should be enough,
you know.  ;) Have fun!

* STL / Damage --- andezl@kastelli.otol.fi --- Antti Lankila *