pouët.net

Hi,
I've been working on a plugin rewrite of bubsy's clone. Looking for some testers at the moment. You can sync bpm, transport and position from the daw (eg. the loaded module will skip to a location). The plugin version calculates a timetable for the module so eg. e6x pattern skips should map correctly to the DAW timeline (eg. if you repeat a pattern x times). If Fxx speed changes are enabled, the sync obviously goes off, and if you're not using a multiple of 3 for speed (eg. 3/6/12) it won't sync cleanly either. You can turn off Fxx speed changes in the config for it to lock on speed 6. The intention isn't to have every module load and play perfectly with all the timing stuff, but rather have the FT2 interface to do music with in a DAW. So use bubsy's version if you want accuracy. However the replayer should be identical otherwise.

preview

Mac VST3 here:
https://www.oceanloader.com/FT2.Clone.v1.MAC.vst3.zip

Current limitations:
- No autosave (eg your module wont save with your project), this is coming
- No multi-outs (yet)
- No MIDI (yet)

Changes from standalone version:

- General: Compiles as VST2/VST3/AU/LV2 plugin using JUCE framework.
- General: DAW sync to BPM and transport (toggleable in config).
- General: Only XM, MOD and S3M modules are supported.
- General: Some config settings do not make sense in a plugin, so they have been disabled.
- Graphics: Uses OpenGL instead of SDL.
- Disk op: WAV save option is removed (if you need to save a WAV, use the standalone version).
- Disk op: Rename and delete disk operation buttons are removed.
- Config: Settings for DAW transport, BPM and position sync have been added.

Any issues please let me know (there are a bunch probably still). Consider this an alpha release. Going on github next week.

xox

windows is coming too, just too busy today!

multi-outs would definitely make it interesting for remasters etc.
nice project juho

Windows + Linux + Mac builds here: https://github.com/juho/ft2-plugin/releases

Fixes since the first release earlier today:
- Multi outs
- State + config saving works better (your module state is persisted with the DAW project)
- Better "timemap" calculation (supports infinitely looping modules correctly when synced to DAW timeline)
- Saving modules in the disk op dialog works correctly
- Supports odd-numbered modules properly
- MIDI support (in and out)

It works fine, I always wanted to hook up FT2 into ReNoise :D

First some random xm module of mine was offsync, then I realized speed has to be set to 6. Then the plugin glitches, once few seconds it displays black bars over FT2 for about 1 frame. Other than that works without issues here!

@nula please leave an issue with reproduction steps in the github repo (what OS, DAW, version, etc). Unlikely to fix unless I know exactly what you are using

👍

A dream comes true!

Great work!

thanks guys, remember to please d/l off github :) i fixed the flicker issue earlier and there's stuff like triggering patterns with midi notes now! it should have an update notification now as well when new builds are out.

Excellent.

Nice stuff, works in Reaper. The only thing to keep in mind is to set the project's tempo to 125BPM, otherwise the module will be a tad slower (Reaper's default project tempo is 120).
Now, I wish for an Impulse Tracker VST too... I know, I know, I shouldn't be greedy :)

I never used IT as extensively as FT2 so it's a bit of the same situation as with protracker, frustrating to get into as it'd be going at it basically blind.. I might give it a go eventually though unless someone gets to it first. :)

Please update btw, there was a pretty bad bug with updates to the plugin causing the mod in the DAW state to be cleared, it should work now... sorry if that causes grief! First though save the mod in diskop before updating if you've done something you don't wanna lose.

Also fixed a bunch of instrument editor issues, thanks rp for flagging that.. please do feel free to file more issues on gh if there's anything not working properly still, I will fix asap.

@vincenzo are you talking about something being off with bpm sync turned on? I'm not sure I follow what you mean there, sorry.

I simply loaded the VST and a module. Then I noticed the tempo is off, and found that Reaper's tempo was on 120BPM (it's the default). I do remember that 125BPM is the default for trackers for some reason.
So I changed Reaper's tempo to 125, and the module's playback speed now sounded as the original's.
I haven't check and change any setting/option inside the VST.

Now, testing it again today, I noticed the DAW Sync BPM tickbox is on by default.
Unchecking it "fixes" the tempo difference of 120 vs 125, the modules' tempo is just as the original.

I guess I didn't notice the BPM sync option and just assumed the modules should sound as the originals. It might make sense to highlight the tempo/sync in a different way in the VST, so the not-too-bright musicians like me would not be shocked when their modules' tempo is off.

I think only the player routine has been ported to modern computers. Unlike FT2, the rest of the tracker is assembly code, so porting that is a huge job before even thinking about VST integration.

I've added a "legacy" MacOS build that will work on Mojave as well.

@vincenzo there's better displaying of the "original" bpm when sync is turned on now. also when Fxx speed changes are disallowed, you can still switch between speed 6 and 3 for double-time.

this project is interesting!
would it be possible to route each FT2 instrument to its own Ableton audio track?

"Fasttracker II.componen" Not Opened. Apple cound not verify "Fasttracker II.component" is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.

Any idea how to get around this? (macOS Sequoia 15.7.3, Logic Pro 11.2.2)

@juvenile I've thought of it but it's too much work. There's only 16 total channels available so it would need its own config screen, and even then you'd still be limited to 16. The config channel routing is as ergonomic as it will get I think.

@mysdee please read the end of the readme on the main github page

I see, but without the possibility to route individual instruments, this VST is not very practical in terms of using it to mix tracks that use several instruments per channel, like 4 channel chiptunes. bummer

Yes I'm ok with that. Make new music with it :)

Also: nothing is stopping you from loading the same mod into several instances and routing that way by muting instruments! So it's still possible but the channel to output routing is the one that makes sense to do in the plugin itself.