List of sites with tracker music (S3M/IT/MOD/XM) for your Dmods
Since FreeDink, DinkHD and YeOldeDink have a support for using tracker music file formats though i'd share some sites which you can download and use em in your mods.
Amiga Music Preservation
ModArchive
Scene.org
Aminet
Mirsoft
What is a tracker music and how is it different compared to MIDI and other music files such as MP3?
Trackers basically operates on manipulating audio samples provided by the composer by utilizing tone keys,filters or specific commands in order to create music (or in some rare cases sound effects). With MIDI all the samples comes from what kind of soundfont your computer uses or external hardware such as MT-32 or SCS-55 as a music, since Windows already provides its own based on lighter SCS-55 version there are cases where people may not like it and switch to a different soundfont and the same MIDI file would end up being entirely different or in worst case scenario, even badly because the slot used for the instrument in soundfont ends up in other.
Trackers prevents that because all the samples are stored in a single file along with the data on how to play them, this lets you keep the "instruments" intact regardless of the hardware. Because of this the only thing that matters in terms of file size is the quality of the audio samples and how many of em are included and compared to other audio formats like MP3/OGG/WAV/FLAC which utilizes waveforms you end up with a much smaller size compared to them.
Are there any other uses for tracker music?
Yes! Because it uses patterns and they can be manipulated by either looping it at the set time or switch to an entirely different one at the end of it, you can essentially store multiple "music tracks" in just one file. Games such as Unreal or Deus Ex takes advantage of it to store tracks for battle themes, exploration, conversation etc. in just one module file and only tell the software which pattern to play if a specific situation occurs or continue where it left off, these are called sub-tracks. This also saves more time and space if you plan to use multiple audio samples for exploration and combat.
So far only YeOldeDink has an option to manipulate patterns for currently played tracker music using "play_mod_order(int pattern)".
Are there any softwares for creating your own tracker music?
There are multiple of them such as MilkyTracker,SchismTracker but the most popular one is OpenMPT as its far more friendly. Some are also available in web browser such as BassoonTracker.
As for samples you can create your own, be it recording a single instrument you played or from some part of the music you are listening. If not then there are multiple sites that provides audio samples for you to use, this topic lists some of the sites that are free or cheap to get, it may be also possible to take the sample from the tracker music itself.
Which software supports playing tracker music, in case i wanna listen to it before using it?
Since they have been around for quite a long time (Since they 1st appeared in Amiga which was released in 1985) a lot of the music players should support em, be it natively or through extension. There are some made specifically for em and depending on the software they also support sub-tracks. Some websites such as ModArchive have a built-in player for you to listen to the selected tracker before downloading.
What is the difference between S3M, IT, MOD and IT formats?
OpenMPT has detailed information about these files and features they provide.
Okay so how do i play trackers in my dmod then?
It may be possible to do it through the map editor of your choice by appointing the module file as a music, in case of DinkC you use the playmidi() command to do it. Just remember that only DinkHD,FreeDink and YeOldeDink supports trackers.
Videos about tracker
Trackers: The Sound Of 16-Bit by Ahoy - Documentary video about tracker music
Amiga Samplers: Budget dance music in 1990 by debuglive - Shows how trackers were made on Amiga and how it works
Music Trackers: A Brief History by ida deerz - A short 6 minutes about trackers with examples of it being used.
Amiga Music Preservation
ModArchive
Scene.org
Aminet
Mirsoft
What is a tracker music and how is it different compared to MIDI and other music files such as MP3?
Trackers basically operates on manipulating audio samples provided by the composer by utilizing tone keys,filters or specific commands in order to create music (or in some rare cases sound effects). With MIDI all the samples comes from what kind of soundfont your computer uses or external hardware such as MT-32 or SCS-55 as a music, since Windows already provides its own based on lighter SCS-55 version there are cases where people may not like it and switch to a different soundfont and the same MIDI file would end up being entirely different or in worst case scenario, even badly because the slot used for the instrument in soundfont ends up in other.
Trackers prevents that because all the samples are stored in a single file along with the data on how to play them, this lets you keep the "instruments" intact regardless of the hardware. Because of this the only thing that matters in terms of file size is the quality of the audio samples and how many of em are included and compared to other audio formats like MP3/OGG/WAV/FLAC which utilizes waveforms you end up with a much smaller size compared to them.
Are there any other uses for tracker music?
Yes! Because it uses patterns and they can be manipulated by either looping it at the set time or switch to an entirely different one at the end of it, you can essentially store multiple "music tracks" in just one file. Games such as Unreal or Deus Ex takes advantage of it to store tracks for battle themes, exploration, conversation etc. in just one module file and only tell the software which pattern to play if a specific situation occurs or continue where it left off, these are called sub-tracks. This also saves more time and space if you plan to use multiple audio samples for exploration and combat.
So far only YeOldeDink has an option to manipulate patterns for currently played tracker music using "play_mod_order(int pattern)".
Are there any softwares for creating your own tracker music?
There are multiple of them such as MilkyTracker,SchismTracker but the most popular one is OpenMPT as its far more friendly. Some are also available in web browser such as BassoonTracker.
As for samples you can create your own, be it recording a single instrument you played or from some part of the music you are listening. If not then there are multiple sites that provides audio samples for you to use, this topic lists some of the sites that are free or cheap to get, it may be also possible to take the sample from the tracker music itself.
Which software supports playing tracker music, in case i wanna listen to it before using it?
Since they have been around for quite a long time (Since they 1st appeared in Amiga which was released in 1985) a lot of the music players should support em, be it natively or through extension. There are some made specifically for em and depending on the software they also support sub-tracks. Some websites such as ModArchive have a built-in player for you to listen to the selected tracker before downloading.
What is the difference between S3M, IT, MOD and IT formats?
OpenMPT has detailed information about these files and features they provide.
Okay so how do i play trackers in my dmod then?
It may be possible to do it through the map editor of your choice by appointing the module file as a music, in case of DinkC you use the playmidi() command to do it. Just remember that only DinkHD,FreeDink and YeOldeDink supports trackers.
Videos about tracker
Trackers: The Sound Of 16-Bit by Ahoy - Documentary video about tracker music
Amiga Samplers: Budget dance music in 1990 by debuglive - Shows how trackers were made on Amiga and how it works
Music Trackers: A Brief History by ida deerz - A short 6 minutes about trackers with examples of it being used.
Almost exactly ten years after the previous thread! I'm convinced at this point it'll only ever be me using tracker modules in any releases, however. We'll check back in ten years.
