Feb 192010
 

Good news from Arkos: The Arkos Tracker, a Windows based music tracker program, will be released within a few weeks. You can compose songs on the PC which will be later played on the CPC or any other computer which uses the same music chip (AY-3-891x and YM2149). It will be released with a pack of Z80 players and tons of music and sounds.

For now, you can have a look at the video:

 

UPDATE: Targhan, the developer of the Arkos Tracker, provided more information about it in the CPC Wiki forums. Here are the features of the Arkos Tracker:

Features:

  • 256 patterns available.
  • Each pattern is composed of 3 independent tracks.
  • 512 tracks available, each being reusable in any pattern, or even several times in the same pattern.
  • Each track can be transposed independently in a pattern.
  • A track has a height from 1 to 128 lines, independently of the pattern that uses it.
  • 255 instruments available.
  • The instrument editor allows you to modify each registers of the PSG.
  • Replay frequency of 13, 25, 50, 100, 150 or 300hz.
  • Possibility to put "events" in your song. They can either be used to synchronize your music with your production, or trigger digidrums for exemple.
  • Big news: instruments are divised into two channels : a Software, and Hardware one. These channels can be independant or dependent from each other. Allows using two waves at the same time!
  • Allows you to play sound effects in a very flexible and powerful way. You can also play the SFXs without any music.
  • You can import any STarKos song.
  • NO SID/DMA for CPC+ for now. I may plan that…

About the Player:

  • Only 25 scanlines maximum used!
  • On top of being faster than the STarKos player, it’s lighter: one and a half kb.
  • The player works on Amstrad CPC, MSX, Spectrum or Pentagon (using conditional assembling : only the necessary code is used).
  • The generated songs are very light (about as much as the STarKos song. Sometimes a bit lighter, sometimes not).
  • Can be used in Basic (call the player by yourself, or use it under interruptions), and Assembler.
  • The source of the player is given, and documented.
  • The format of the music is given. So you’ll be able to create your own custom tools (conversion, new players…).
  • Fade in/out available.

About the sound effects:

  • Every instrument of your song becomes a sound effect.
  • You can play/stop a sound effect on any, or all, of the 3 channels.
  • You can choose the note, volume, speed of any triggered SFX.
  • You can add Pitch to them (useful to add randomness to the sounds, for example).
  • Sound effects are in a seperate file : you can use the same sound bank even if you change the music.

  One Response to “Arkos Tracker on the way”

  1. […] just released the first beta version of their already announced windows-based chiptune tracker – the “Arkos Tracker”. With this tracker you can compose songs […]

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