Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!ira.uka.de!smurf!gopnbg!tpki!kriski!kris From: kris@kriski.toppoint.de (Kristian Koehntopp) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: NoiseTracker - where did it come from? (was Re: NoiseTracker on GEnie) Summary: This is, what I have been told. Message-ID: <1242@kriski.toppoint.de> Date: 14 Oct 90 11:28:57 GMT References: <3214@corpane.UUCP> <3380@corpane.UUCP> Organization: Private UNIX, Kiel, BRD Lines: 72 sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) writes: > I see a lot of people CLAIM that >they are commercial, but I see no proof. But from reading the doc files >that come with the programs, I do see evidence that they are freely >distributable. does anyone have any proof one way or the other, rather >than just rumors and hearsay? I am really interested in this. I am reporting the following things to the best of my knowledge. I may be wrong in some places or completely at all. Please DO NOT MAIL ME - I have to PAY FOR INCOMING MAIL! Please excuse my english. In 10/86 there was a tracker-program "Sound Monitor" listed in the german "64er" magazine of "markt&technik verlag ag". It was written by Chris Huelsbeck. On Amiga Chris Huelsbeck is selling TFM-X, which has been reported to me as not being compatible to SoundTracker and its derivatives. In early 1987 the program "SoundTracker", written by Karsten Obarski, was published by EAS. As far as I know, EAS does not longer exist. This program ist definitly not pd. "NoiseTracker" is a cracked, hacked and completly modified version of SoundTracker. You can take it as a coproduction of most of the infamous german cracker guilds. The following features were added to NoiseTracker (there may be more): 32 instruments support (instead of 16), sample recorder, playable module saving, set restart point, copy/cut/paste, insert/delete, revised play routine (about 5 times faster), directory "window", integrated preset editor, packed songs, dynamic replay speed, more sound effects, pattern position jump, pattern break, filter control etc. These changes were incorporated into NoiseTracker by different people. There are many different flavours and streams of NoiseTracker. The person I asked could not even tell me the most recent version number, it must be somewhere between 3.4 and 5.0. My source said "Karsten Obarski had the idea and defined a format. But NoiseTracker has nothing to do with SoundTracker any more. And I don't know anyone, who can claim to have a copyright on this program." You may judge yourself if you take NoiseTracker as pd or not. There are compatible programs: "SoundFX" is a SoundTracker with real gadgets and minimal changes in internal formats. SoundFX was written by Christian Haller and was to be sold. According to my source it never came out since it was too much like SoundTracker inside. SID-Mon I by TurtleByte is also a Tracker-lookalike. It was written by some dutch person (R.van Vliet ???). An improved version, SID-Mon II is about to be released in a few months by TurtleByte. It is able to load scores produced by SoundTracker, NoiseTracker and its derivatives. It also has some nasty bugs of Version I fixed. SID-Mon II was written by Michael Kleps. Octalyzer was written by Armin Sander and is sold by "Verlag Mayer" in germany. I do not know anything about compatibility between SoundTracker and Octalyzer. SoundTracker and NoiseTracker are single big Seka-isms and are trying to ignore the ROM-Kernel-Services as far as they can do. I know of versions of NoiseTracker that crashed upon the existence of fast memory or the presence of a fixed disk in system. This has been fixed in newer versions. I seems that cracker guilds are deeply involved into the development of most of these programs. My source claimed some of the persons mentioned above to have well known three letter acronyms. I can not verify or prove this. Disclaimer: I do not own an Amiga any more. My informations relies completely on the reports of one single person and my own observations of about 2 years ago, when I had an Amiga. I can not tell you where to get a copy, legal or not, of any of the programs mentioned above. I know that software piracy is illegal, so there is no need to mail me this fact. Kristian Kristian Koehntopp, Harmsstrasse 98, 2300 Kiel, +49 431 676689, kris@tpki.UUCP Eine Nachricht dieses Absenders enthaelt 235 Bytes ASCII und 2% Header (mind.) nach DIN. Der Bundesinformationsminister: Net-News gefaehrdet Ihre Freizeit!