.IN 0
.ce 3
MIDAS Module Player v1.00b
--------------------------

Copyright 1995 Petteri Kangaslampi and Jarno Paananen


.IN 8
.NO
MIDAS MODULE PLAYER IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL ANY OF THE AUTHORS OR
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE USE,
OR INABILITY TO USE, OF MIDAS MODULE PLAYER.

MIDAS Module Player may freely be distributed as long as no money is
charged for it, and no attempt is made to restrict further copying,
distribution and using of MIDAS Module Player. If you have problems
with this, or do not understand this, contact us.
.bp
.HE "MIDAS Module Player"
.CH "Foreword"

As the version number shows, this is the first version of MIDP which we
consider fully finished. Do not let it mislead you though, as MIDP is
now almost a year old and has several releases already behind. All of
the bugs reported from previous versions, mainly v0.41 and v0.42, have
been fixed and numerous features have been added. MIDP is now very
stable, at least on all computers tested, and plays almost every module
it recognizes correctly. There is no other PC player we know of which
plays Protracker or Scream Tracker 3 modules better than MIDP.

However, we are still looking for feedback. During this long break in
MIDAS releases, MIDAS Sound System has gone through an extensive
rewrite, and is now much cleaner and more modular. Loads of bugs have
been fixed and new features added, including support for Multitracker
modules. To understand how well we have succeeded we need your
comments. Especially we are looking for feedback regarding sound card
support, as this is a major cause of problems in PC world today, and we
are also very interested in hearing from you if you find a module that
MIDP does not play correctly. And of course, if MIDP simply refuses to
work on your computer please contact us.

When giving us feedback, especially bug reports, please remember to
include information about your computer system, especially the type of
your sound card. Please also include, if possible, the MIDAS error list
given by MIDP on an error situation. It gives us invaluable information
about the error and, even more importantly, where that error occurred.
This way we have better chances of finding the bugs. Also, if you
encouter another kind of problem, such as Expanded Memory Manager
exception dump or divide error (MIDP has its own internal divide error
handler), please include as much of the information as possible, at
least the exact error message and all addresses given. Otherwise we
will not be able to locate the problem.

Unlike most other module players, MIDP is not commercial, shareware, or
even cardware. But, if you like MIDP, nothing naturally stops you from
sending us something, money, a postcard or whatever. We would hope to
get at least a "Hey, MIDP works with my sound card" e-mail message, but
please include the type of the sound card as well.
.bp
.CH "Configuration"

.SU "Introduction"

When you run MIDAS Module Player for the first time, you will be
prompted for configuration information including sound card type, port,
IRQ, DMA and sound output mode. Use cursor up/down to select the
correct values, Enter to confirm and Escape to exit. The
detected/recommended values will be highlighted as default, but please
verify each selection before proceeding as these might be incorrect.
The configuration information is saved to file MIDP.CFG, in the same
directory with MIDP.EXE, and will be used in the future when MIDP is
run.

After the initial configuration, you can use the command line arguments
to override the settings for one session, or use the command line
option "-r" to completely reconfigure MIDP. Settings forced using the
command line arguments are not saved to MIDP.CFG.

.SU "Sound Devices"

MIDAS uses all sound cards through modules called Sound Devices. One
Sound Device can include support for several sound cards which are
functionally alike. In the configuration screen each supported sound
card will appear as a separate selection, but if you later wish to
force the sound card type from command line you must set both Sound
Device and sound card type numbers.

Currently available Sound Devices are:

1. Gravis UltraSound
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Available sound card types: (-cx option)
.IN 24
.LI 4 "1 -"
Gravis UltraSound (GF1 hardware mixing)
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
All Gravis UltraSound versions
.IN 8

2. Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum series
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Available sound card types: (-cx option)
.IN 24
.LI 4 "1 -"
Pro Audio Spectrum
.LI 4 "2 -"
Pro Audio Spectrum plus
.LI 4 "3 -"
Pro Audio Spectrum 16
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Note that with normal PAS mixing rates over 22kHz may not work
properly.
.IN 8

3. Microsoft Windows Sound System
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Available sound card types: (-cx option)
.IN 24
.LI 4 "1 -"
Windows Sound System (Crystal/Analog CODEC)
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Should also work with other WSS compatible cards,
such as Compaq Business Audio, and is tested to work
with Audiotrix Pro.
.LI 2 "*"
Note that there is no autodetection for this Sound
Device.
.IN 8
.bp
4. Creative Labs Sound Blaster series
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Available sound card types: (-cx option)
.IN 24
.LI 4 "1 -"
Sound Blaster 1.0 or clone (DSP v1.xx)
.LI 4 "2 -"
Sound Blaster 1.5 (DSP v2.00)
.LI 4 "3 -"
Sound Blaster 2.0 (DSP v2.01)
.LI 4 "4 -"
Sound Blaster Pro (DSP v3.xx)
.LI 4 "5 -"
Sound Blaster 16 (DSP v4.00+)
.IN 8

5. No Sound
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Available sound card types: (-cx option)
.IN 24
.LI 4 "1 -"
No Sound
.IN 16
.LI 2 "*"
Plays nothing, is always used when nothing else is
detected.
.LI 2 "*"
Just to allow sound synchronization even with no sound
card.
.IN 8
.NO

.bp
.CH "MIDAS Module Player usage"

.SU "Command line syntax"

The command line syntax for MIDP is:
.IN 16

MIDP [options] <filenames> [options]

At least one module file name must be included. MIDP
also supports multiple modules and wildcards.
.IN 8

Options:
.IN 16
.LI 8 "-r"
Reconfigure MIDAS Module Player. This prompts for new Sound Card, Port,
IRQ and DMA values and output mode, and saves them to MIDP.CFG for
later use.
.LI 8 "-sx"
Force Sound Device x (1 = GUS, 2 = PAS, 3 = WSS, 4 = SB, 5 = No Sound)
.LI 8 "-cx"
Force sound card type x (depends on Sound Device)
.LI 8 "-pxxx"
Force I/O port xxx (hex) for Sound Device
.LI 8 "-ix"
Force IRQ x for Sound Device
.LI 8 "-dx"
Force DMA channel x for Sound Device
.LI 8 "-mxxxx"
Set mixing rate to xxxx Hz
.LI 8 "-oxxx"
Force output mode (8 = 8-bit, 1 = 16-bit, s = stereo, m = mono). Can be
combined, eg. 8-bit mono is "-o8m"
.LI 8 "-b"
Disable Virtual DMA usage. Use this if you experience problems related
to Virtual DMA Servies.
.LI 8 "-e"
Disable EMS usage
.LI 8 "-t"
Disable BPM tempos in Protracker modules. Necessary with some (usually
older) modules that attempt to use speeds over 31.
.LI 8 "-g"
Disable DMP-compatible 8-command panning in Protracker modules. Needed
if the module uses the command 8 for other purposes, such as music
synchronization in a demo.
.LI 8 "-x"
Enable extended octaves in Protracker modules. May be needed with some
modules using notes in octaves above 3 or below 1. If this option is
not enabled the notes may be cutted at the Amiga period limits.
.LI 8 "-u"
Enable Surround sound (affects only GUS). Uses twice the amount of GUS
memory, but allows Surround panning. MIDP is the only player we know of
that supports surround panning on GUS.
.LI 8 "-ax"
Force amplification level x. 64 is normal (no amplification), 128 200%
etc.
.br
.IN 16
------
.br
.LI 8 "-v"
Disable real VU-meters (saves memory)
.LI 8 "-y"
Disable timer screen synchronization
.LI 8 "-Y"
Enable timer screen synchronization also in DOS shell
.LI 8 "-O"
Scramble module playing order
.LI 8 "-nxx"
Default panning. Channels normally on left are panned to -xx, and those
on right to xx. For example, if you are using headphones, try -n24.
.LI 8 "-M"
Display free memory information
.IN 8
.NO

Also '/' is recognized as option delimiter.
.br
Note that the options are CASE SENSITIVE.

.SU "Environment variables"

MIDAS Sound System specific options (above the line in the command
line option list above) can also be set to environment variable MIDAS,
so that they do not have to be entered every time. The syntax is
exactly the same as with the command line options. Also other programs
that use MIDAS Sound System will probably recognize the environment
variable.

Any MIDP command line options can also be placed in environment
variable MIDP, including also those below the line. This is preferred
over the use of MIDAS environment. Note that you can override the
options set in the environment variable from the command line.

Example:
.IN 16
SET MIDAS=-s3 -p530 -i9 -d3 -om -m32000
.IN 8

.SU Keyboard

When playing a module, MIDP can be controlled using the following keys:

.IN 16
.LI 16 "Alt-X"
Quick exit
.LI 16 "Esc"
Exit with fade out
.LI 16 "+/-"
Increase / Decrease master volume
.LI 16 "D"
Jump to DOS shell
.LI 16 "Left/Right"
Next / Previous position
.LI 16 "Up/Down"
Select active channel
.LI 16 "Page Up/Down"
Scroll instrument list
.LI 16 "Tab"
Toggle instrument list mode
.LI 16 "1-9, 0"
Toggle channels on/off
.LI 16 ",/."
Adjust active channel panning left / right
.LI 16 "M"
Set active channel panning to middle
.LI 16 "L"
Set active channel panning to left
.LI 16 "R"
Set active channel panning to right
.LI 16 "U"
Set active channel panning to surround
.LI 16 "T"
Toggle active channel on/off
.LI 16 "P"
Pause module. Pree P to continue
.LI 16 "Space"
Mute playing. Press Space again to un-mute
.LI 16 "N"
Next module
.LI 16 "A"
Amplification adjustment screen. See below for more information.
.LI 16 "V"
Show MIDAS and MIDP version information.
.LI 16 "F"
Display free memory information
.LI 16 "B"
Display free memory blocks
.LI 16 "F1, h"
Display keyboard help
.LI 16 "F8"
Toggle screen blanking on/off
.IN 8
.bp
.SU Amplification

When playing multiple channel digital sound, the output volume can get
very low and sound quality with 8-bit sound cards decreases. MIDAS
Sound System compensates for this using amplification. When playing on
a 8-bit sound card, the sound is amplified as a default and also on
16-bit sound cards amplification can be added. This increases volume
level and also improves sound quality on 8-bit cards. You can override
the default amplification level using the "-ax" command line option,
and adjust it while playing by pressing the "A" key.

Keys in amplification adjustment screen:

.IN 15
.LI 17 " ./,"
Multiply / divide current amplification level by two.
.IN 16
.LI 16 "+/-"
Add / substract 16 to the current amplification level
.LI 16 "V"
Toggle output VU-meter mode between mixer output and channel VU meter
sum.
.LI 16 "A"
Toggle automatic amplification limits on/off.
.IN 8

Note that on 16-bit sound cards the sound will get distorted very
quickly if you use too high amplification values. This is because there
is no clipping in the sound mixer and the output will wrap. On 8-bit
sound cards the mixing output is clipped and thus you can use higher
amplification values without problems.

.SU "Archive support"

MIDP also includes a primitive archive support, built as we ourselves
needed it. When playing a file with extension .ZIP, .MDZ, .S3Z or .MTZ
MIDP first decompresses the file using PKUNZIP to the directory set by
environment variable "TEMP", or to C:\ if none is set. Then the first
file from that directory with same name as the archive (but with any
extension) will be played and deleted immediately after playing starts.
When multiple archives are being played, the decompression of the next
start immediately after starting to play the previous one, to give
almost uninterrupted background music.

Archive support will be enhanced in the future, after we implement some
kind of configuration file, to include any archivers and extensions.
But for now this must do. Please also note that the archive support
fails if the archive is stored in the TEMP directory.

.bp
.CH "The future"

MIDAS Module Player, as the whole MIDAS Sound System itself, is under
constant development. As time permits we will add more features to
MIDP, both to test new functions in MIDAS and to enhance its
usefulness. MIDP currently represents what we think a module player
should be like, but we are open to suggestions. So if you feel there is
an important feature missing, or think that the existing ones are
somehow faulty or unintuitive to use, do not hesitate to contact us.

Features planned for some future MIDP version:

- Configuration file, including customizable archiver support, colors,
character set etc.

- Module-specific configuration, probably added to 4DOS descript.ion
file in the form of MIDP command line options for each module file

- File selector with 4DOS description support

.bp
.CH "Contact information"

If you have questions, comments, suggestions or bug reports about MIDAS
Module Player or MIDAS Sound System itself, please contact us. The
preferred method is naturally e-mail, because it is fast, inexpensive
and lets us deal with the messages when we have time. Note also that we
probably will not be able to answer your letters unless you include a
stamped and addressed return envelope (International Reply Coupon is
OK too).

e-mail:
.IN 16
pekangas@sci.fi (Petteri Kangaslampi)
.br
jpaana@kauhajoki.fi (Jarno Paananen)
.IN 8

voice:
.IN 16
+358-31-3646764 (Petteri Kangaslampi)
.br
+358-31-3422147 (Jarno Paananen)
.br
Please restrict your calls to 10.00 - 21.30, Finnish
time.
.IN 8

normal mail:
.IN 16
.LT "Petteri Kangaslampi"
.LT "Simeoninkuja 4"
.LT "FIN-36240 Kangasala 4"
.LT "Finland"
.LT "Europe"
.sp
.LT "Jarno Paananen"
.LT "Puskalantie 6"
.LT "FIN-37120 Nokia"
.LT "Finland"
.LT "Europe"

.bp
.CH Distribution sites

The latest MIDAS Sound System and MIDAS Module Player should always be
available on these fine BBSes:

.LT "WarmBoot BBS            +55-194-265112
.LT "        Sysop: Carlos Henrique Cantu (WarmBooter)
.sp
.LT "Moir Brandts Honk       #1: +31-(0)70-3461215 USR/DS 14.4k
.LT "                        #2: +31-(0)70-3457929 ZyXEL 19.2k
.LT "                        #3: +31-(0)70-3452981 LineLink 14.4k
.LT "        Sysop: Hugo Voerman
.sp
.LT "The Pantheon            703-378-3553 (changing soon?)
.LT "        Sysops: Farmicus [CiA], Lord Soth [iCE], and Shaggy [iCE
.LT "        Senior Staff]
.sp
.LT "ULTiMAT BBS             +32-2-3755651
.LT "        Sysops: Cobra, Access
.sp
.LT "Sourcery BBS            +46-8-7674313
.LT "        Sysop: Martin Alexanderson
.LT "        Fidonet: 2:201/406, Freq. "MIDAS" for latest version

If you are supposed to be a MIDAS distribution site, but are not on
this list, please contact us!

MIDAS and MIDP can also be found in Internet. Whenever a new version is
released, we will try to upload it to at least ftp.cdrom.com,
/pub/msdos/demos/incoming/music and x2ftp.oulu.fi.
