
      /----------------------------------------------------------------\
      |             A M P   f o r   W i n d o w s    1.11              |
      |  The module player for Sound Blaster AWE32 and compatibles     |
      |            Copyright (c) 1996-1997 by Lada Kopecky             |
      \----------------------------------------------------------------/





1. CONTENTS
   ========

        2.  Opening words
        3.  Features
        4.  Requirements
        5.  Files in this package
        6.  Installation
        7.  Uninstalling
        8.  Using the player
        9.  Basic commands
        10. Player options
        11. Command line arguments
        12. Unsupported module events
        13. Something about treble setting
        14. Future plans
        15. Disclaimer
        16. Distribution rules
        17. The license agreement
        18. How to register
        19. Common questions and answers
        20. Comments and suggestions
        21. Contacting the author



2. OPENING WORDS
   =============

 Hello and welcome to the AWE Module Player for Windows!
 The long time of waiting is finally over - the very first native Windows module
 player using a hardware mixing on the Sound Blaster cards is released.
 Now you can listen to your favorite modules without sacrificing the computer's
 power and resources.  Isn't it great?

 The player has been designed and optimized mainly for running in background
 without a user intervention. That involved some changes in conception.
 A built-in file selector with an easy to use playlist editor is included.
 New options have been added for controlling the playlist behavior (a loop
 removal, a playlist position saving etc.). The player can be configured so that
 no user interaction is needed. On the other side, the real-time data displaying
 is limited, mainly due to the overhead of the Windows GUI routines.

 The player engine is the same as in the DOS version with all its excellent
 features such as a protection of highest notes by a high quality resampling,
 the most correct module playback, a reliable loop removal, etc.

 If you are interested in a top quality playback of modules on the Sound Blaster
 AWE32/64 or Sound Blaster 32 with a minimal processor power and system memory
 consumption, then AMP for Windows is the best choice.

 Before you start using the player please do read through this description file.
 It will help you to get the maximum of every function provided by the AMP.

 In case you are totally unfamiliar with playback of music modules on your PC
 in general, you may need more information than this description file provides.
 We suggest you to visit some of the many web pages on the subject of music
 scene and music modules available on the Net.



3. FEATURES
   ========

 This player does not offer twenty screen modes nor a spectrum analyzer. No.
 It is being developed to do a single thing perfectly - to play all modules
 as correctly as possible and to deliver the maximal sound quality.

 An excellent GUI of any player does not help you to enjoy music when the sound
 is degraded by clicks, some notes or instruments are missing and samples are
 reproduced with a ringing distortion. 

 So, if you really want to enjoy listening to tracked music this is a player
 of your choice. Try it yourself and you'll hear the difference.


 Why AMP sounds so smooth and clean?
 -----------------------------------

 The major advantage is a use of EMU8000 synthesizer that performs following
 tasks in hardware (i.e. with no CPU load):

  1. a high quality pitch-shifting using a patented dynamic four-point
     interpolating filter

   This allows a removal of a signal distortion that is so typical for all
   software mixing players. Their interpolators (if any) are mostly two-point
   linear, rarely three-point quadratic, or they are unknown (hidden behind
   magic and meaningless names like FFT, FOI, IDO, 24-bit etc.). Those basic
   mathematical algorithms are not suitable for a signal interpolation and
   therefore they can't remove the distortion and preserve the original signal
   content.

   For those of you being unfamiliar with digital signal processing, here is
   a brief explanation:
   Let's take an example. You've got an instrument sampled at 20kHz when playing
   the note C-4. But you need to play the note C-3 at output rate of 40kHz.
   To do it, you have to increase the number of sample points (i.e. decrease
   a pitch) by factor of four _without_ changing the information content.
   If you obtain the 3 new points by repeating the old-sample value then
   the resulting frequency spectrum will include new high-frequency replicas
   (mirrors) of the original signal's spectrum. In our case, the original
   spectrum 0..10kHz would be shifted to 0..5kHz and also mirrored to ranges
   5..10kHz, 10..15kHz, and 15..20kHz. These replicas would add an ugly ringing
   distortion to the output sound. To remove them, you need a sharp-cutoff
   low-pass filter, that won't damage the signal which is passed through.
   The result will be the "right" new samples smoothly inserted between old.
   This kind of digital filter is often unfortunately called an "interpolator"
   even if it does not perform "interpolation" in a common mathematical sense
   (such as linear or polynomial interpolation between known points).
   It is important to know that a well designed filter's response is more
   crucial then just a number of input sample points used for interpolation.

  2. mixing at frequency 44.1 kHz allows output frequencies up to 20 kHz

   You would need a very fast Pentium machine to get just a simply interpolated
   sound in 30 channels at the same mixing rate with software mixing player.
   And it would eat most of the CPU processing power.
   With AMP, all you need is a Sound Blaster AWE32 compatible sound card
   with sufficient sample RAM and any 386 (even slowest one) or better computer.

  3. starting and terminating the notes without any clicks (using the EMU8000's
     envelope engine)

   Software mixing players can't afford a similar volume ramping.

  4. adding a customizable reverb and chorus effects

   Without effects, the sound is dry and flat.
   Any good effect processing requires many complex computations.

  5. smooth panning in 256 steps


 Additionally, to get most of the hardware and to consider hardware limitations,
 AMP performs following tasks in software:

  1. a sophisticated dynamic allocation of 30 usable hardware channels

   This allows to play modules with more than 30 channels without loosing notes.
   The dynamic allocation is also necessary to avoid clicks when notes are being
   replaced in each logical channel.

  2. downsampling the samples that are to be played at rates above 176kHz
     (it is the EMU8000 hardware limit)

   Without resampling (reducing the rate and the length), some notes or sounds
   would be lost.
   To avoid aliasing distortion and to preserve high-frequency parts of sounds,
   a very high quality digital filter (equivalent to a 13-point optimized
   interpolation) is used.
   A special care must be taken to preserve the exact pitch of looped samples.

   NOTE: The "aliasing" distortion appears when sampling a signal containing
   frequencies above the Nyquist frequency (equal to 1/2 of the sampling rate).
   These high frequencies are then aliased (mirrored) under the Nyquist
   frequency as a distortion. The same thing happens when downsampling a signal
   without filtering-out the frequencies above 1/2 of the destination sampling
   rate.

  3. avoiding clicks caused by the multi-point interpolation

   When sample loops are present, a special care must be taken to avoid clicks.
   The situation gets much more complicated if bi-directional loops are present
   and/or if downsampling is involved.


 Another advantage of AMP is a fast and simple use (with or without a mouse).
 If you don't like players that can't work on all machines, having problems
 with memory managers and protected mode extenders, players that need 5 seconds
 or more to load and initialize themselves, then try AMP.


 The complete list of features:
 ------------------------------

 - plays XM modules (FT2.0x, format version $0104)
 - plays S3M modules (ST3.0+, IT1.01+)
 - plays MOD/NST modules (M.K.  FLT4  nCHN  nnCH  OCTA  N.T.)
 - plays MTM modules
 - plays PTM modules
 - plays IT modules (IT1.01+, a beta stage - see sections 12 and 14)
 - up to 32 channels and 30 sounding notes
 - the strict compatibility with the FT2.06 and ST3.21 playback routines
   (including the emulation of many undocumented bugs)
 - professional quality downsampling of highest samples to avoid the EMU8000
   pitch overflows. A high quality anti-aliasing filter is used and numerous
   secondary complications involved by downsampling are properly handled.
   So, you won't loose *any* note and the quality of playback is the best
   possible!
 - runs perfectly in background
 - a configurable protection of SBKs loaded in sample memory
 - a minimal processor and memory usage!
   If you want to see some numbers: Microsoft WinTop utility shows a processor
   load of 0.7 - 1.0% when playing a complex 16-channel module (CRONOLOG.S3M)
   on my 486DX2-66 machine with AMP for Windows (the player minimized).
   The latest MOD4WIN player (in multimedia task mode, with the same 44kHz
   mixing rate and surround disabled) shows 80-110% CPU usage on its own panel
   and about 100% in WinTop with the same module on the same machine.
 - the synthesizer hardware is held only when a module is loaded
   You don't have to exit AMP when you want to use the EMU8000 synth in another
   application.
 - plays multiple modules in batch (using wildcards and/or listfiles)
 - features an internal file selector and listfile editor
 - can play modules in a random order
 - all kinds of song loops can be reliably disabled - a 'must have' option for
   background playback with listfiles
 - all functions are reachable from both the keyboard and mouse
 - basic control commands are available also when the player is minimized
 - most parameters are configurable from a command line so you can create
   different icons for a quick start with predefined configurations or playlists
 - loads and plays even slightly corrupted MOD files
 - the fast forward mode, pattern skip in both directions, the module restart
 - a direct(!) support for custom reverb/chorus types created by AWE32FXWorkShop
   (no import is needed)
 - an easy to use song message viewer (you don't have to press Shift-F9 or other
   extra key to check whether a message is present)
 - can play even if not enough AWE memory (but with some instruments lost)
 - does not change the Sound Blaster mixer settings
 - does not use the SB DSP chip (i.e. you can simultaneously run a MIDI player
   or a tracker (configured to SB16) in another DOS box under Windows 95)



4. REQUIREMENTS
   ============

 - any PC 386 or better machine (the CPU speed is not important)
 - Sound Blaster AWE32 or a compatible sound card with the EMU8000 synthesizer
   (at least 2 MB of on-board sample RAM is *strongly* recommended)
 - if your card is a plug-and-play type, the EMU ports have to be configured
   into compatible locations (400hex apart). There should be no problem as this
   is the default setting.
 - Windows 3.1+ (in Enhanced Mode only) or Windows 95
 - Windows AWE drivers as follows:
    Win 3.x ... version 2.25 (June 96) or newer
    Win 95 .... version 4.00 (original Win95 distribution) or newer
                version 4.25 (April 96) or newer is recommended for PnP cards



5. FILES IN THIS PACKAGE
   =====================

 Here is a list of files enclosed to this package:
   AMPW.EXE     - the AMP player application
   AMPSEQ.DLL   - the AMP sequencer engine
   AMPW.INI     - configuration file (it remains in application's directory)
   AMPW.TXT     - this file
   AMP.REV      - a revision history
   REGFORM.TXT  - Registration Form
   FILE_ID.DIZ  - short program description
   AMPWINST.INF - a script for an automated install/uninstall in Windows 95



6. INSTALLATION
   ============

 a) Automated installation (Windows 95 only)

   Unzip the archive into a temporary directory.
   Right-click the file AMPWINST.INF and select "Install".
   Then wait for disk activity to stop.

   What happens?
    1. The files are copied to C:\Program Files\Amp
    2. The file type "Tracker Module" is registered
    3. The player is assigned as a default application for modules so you
       can start it by double-clicking a module
    4. A second command is prepared for a DOS based AMP player (you should
       place the DOS player in the same directory to have it work)

 b) Manual installation

   Unzip the archive into a destination directory. Don't copy or move
   anything into the windows directory.
   Then create an icon (a shortcut in Windows95) pointing to AMPW.EXE.
   You can also assign the player as a default application for opening files
   with extensions MOD, NST, S3M, XM, MTM, PTM, IT. The suitable command line
   is: "ampw -s -p- -x %1".



7. UNINSTALLING
   ============

 a) Automated uninstalling (Windows 95 only)

   Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, then double-click
   "AMP for Windows" and wait for disk activity to stop.

 b) Manual uninstalling

   Delete the whole directory and shortcuts/icons that you've created.



8. USING THE PLAYER
   ================

 I will focus mainly on things that are new to the Windows version.

 The player keeps an internal queue (or "playlist") of modules to be processed.
 This playlist can be loaded from, merged with or saved to a disk file
 (the default extension LST) and edited with internal playlist editor.
 NOTE: The playlist length cannot exceed 64 KBytes. When the limit is reached,
 a warning is displayed and remaining modules are discarded.

 The modules are fetched from the queue either sequentially or in a random order
 (the Jukebox mode). They are left in the queue (just marked as processed).
 When all modules were processed and the playlist looping was disabled, the
 playback terminates. Then a user can rewind the playlist by selecting the
 Next Module command. Or he can clear the playlist and create or load another. 

 As before, you can start the player with modules or listfiles specified
 on the command line. All these modules are added into the internal queue and
 processed in a standard way. For more details on the command line arguments,
 see the section 11.

 If you start the player without any arguments you'll have to use the playlist
 editor to select some modules or you can load an existing playlist from disk.

 It's important to know that the synthesizer device is held only when the status
 is 'Playing' or 'Paused'. As soon as the playback stops, the AWE device is made
 available to other applications (e.g. MIDI player or a sequencer).



9. BASIC COMMANDS
   ==============

 Most commands and corresponding hotkeys are the same as in the DOS version.


 Playlist Editor

   Keyboard: Insert
   Mouse:    click the left-most button in toolbar (with a note symbol)

   Both the playlist and the file list allow multiple selections in a standard
   way (holding Ctrl or Shift, or dragging the mouse inside a list).
   You can easily add or remove a single module by the mouse double-click.
   The modules which have been already processed are marked by a leading space.
   Once added it is not possible to change the position of a module in a queue
   (but you can remove it and insert it again into any other position).

   The playback will continue while the editor window is open, but only within
   a current module.

   When you press Enter (or the <Ok> button) the action is as follows:
   1. if the playlist is empty and some modules are selected then they are added
      to playlist (this allows the fastest selection of modules to play)
   2. then, if the playlist is not empty, the editor window is closed and
      a playback is started
   The side effect of this feature is that you can't clear the whole playlist
   here. Use the 'New' command instead.


 Open Playlist

   Keyboard: Ctrl-O

   When you load the playlist from disk, its content is merged with a current
   queue and the new name is set (memorized).

   The listfile is a pure text file containing one filename per line.
   The processed files are marked by a leading space.
   The lines with leading ';', '#' are ignored.
   This simple format allows to create playlists also by "DIR /B" or using
   a third-party software (e.g. the Batch command in XTG).


 Save Playlist

   Keyboard: Ctrl-S

   You will have to confirm the destination file name.


 New Playlist

   Keyboard: Ctrl-N

   This is the only way how to clear the internal queue completely.


 Next Module

   Keyboard: Enter
   Mouse:    click the corresponding button in toolbar

   If no module is being played and if there is an unprocessed module in the
   queue, the playback starts.
   If all modules are marked as processed, the user is asked to confirm
   queue rewinding.


 Pause/Resume, Stop

   Keyboard: Space, Esc
   Mouse:    click the corresponding button in toolbar


 Fast Forward

   Keyboard: Up arrow
   Mouse:    click the right arrow on the horizontal slider

   Until you release the key, the playback runs 4-times faster.
   No pattern data is skipped in this case.


 Pattern Back/Forward

   Keyboard: Left or Right arrow (this allows only skipping by a single pattern)
   Mouse:    click anywhere in the horizontal slider or drag the thumb on either
             side (the target position is being displayed on the main panel)

   Remaining pattern data is ignored in this case.
   Active notes are terminated (so that they could not hang).


 Module Restart

   Keyboard: Ctrl + Left arrow
   Mouse:    drag the thumb on the horizontal slider to the very left position 

   Note that you can't restart a song after the playback has finished (like in
   the DOS player). Instead, the song has to be reloaded.
   This is a price for releasing the synthesizer device to another applications.


 Equalizer

   By mouse: click on the equalizer values on the right side of the main panel

   The child window is displayed which allows you to control all the equalizer
   settings including the effect parameters.
   The internal effect types are marked by a leading asterisk.

   You can control these values also directly from keyboard (without invoking
   the equalizer window) as follows:
     -   +           Main Volume down/up
     F5  F6          EMU8000 equalizer Bass Level down/up
     F7  F8          EMU8000 equalizer Treble Level down/up
     F9  F10         Reverb Level down/up
     F11 F12         Chorus Level down/up

 
 Song Message

   Keyboard: F4
   By mouse: click on the song name (or anywhere on the left side of the panel)

   This command toggles the Song Message (only if it is present) and Instrument
   Info windows. Note that you don't have to press Shift-F9 or other extra key.
   The columns displayed in Instruments Info are:
     - instrument name
     - instrument type: 8-bit, 16-bit, Adlib
     - sample length (in samples)
     - loop length (in samples)
     - resampling factor (in octaves)


 Options

   Keyboard: Alt + O

   This command invokes the configuration window.
   For details, see the next section.


 About AMP

   The software versions of AMP and Windows AWE drivers are displayed
   as well as the amount of sample memory available on the sound card.
   NOTE: If SBKs have been overwritten, the whole sample memory is available
   (i.e. free) to the player.


 Other important keyboard shortcuts are:
   F1                a simple help on keyboard commands
   PgDn PgUp         scroll the Song Message or Instrument info
   Home End          for a faster scrolling
   Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn    - " -

 Old keyboard shortcuts not available in the Windows version:
   F2                Fullscreen Log
   F3                Channels Screen
   Ctrl Up/Down      Force Tempo
   1-9 A-P  S R      Channel On/Off
   Alt-F9..F12       Effect Types switching

 You can control the playback even if the player is minimized.
 The basic transport control commands have been added into a control menu
 (reachable by a right click on the minimized player in Windows 95
 or a left click in Windows 3.x):
   - Next module
   - Stop
   - Pause
 A second group of commands is available through standard AMP hotkeys if the
 minimized player has got the keyboard focus. These are:
   - Pattern skip, Fast forward, Module restart
   - volume, equalizer and effect level controls



10. PLAYER OPTIONS
    ==============

 Single mode
   The internal module loops are disabled in this mode.
   The loop detection works at the pattern level (it may fail only if some
   patterns are splitted into non-continuous parts).

 Pause mode
   In this mode the playback stops between modules and possible error messages
   are displayed in a message box (they need to be acknowledged).
   To play the whole playlist without any user intervention you have to set the
   Pause mode = Off and Single mode = On.
   HINT: If you're having any problems with the player, enable the pause mode 
   temporarily to see possible error messages.

 Exit at the end
   In this mode the player is closed after the last module was played or after
   you pressed Esc.
   This option is suitable for starting AMP by double-clicking modules in the
   Windows Explorer or File Manager.

 Jukebox mode
   Modules will be processed in a random order.

 Force play
   A module will be loaded even if there is not enough sample memory.
   Some samples will be missing.
   NOTES:
   The value 'AWE memory' on the main panel indicates the sample memory used 
   for the current module.  
   The total and free sample memory is displayed in player's About window
   (or in AWE Control Panel).

 No Playlist Looping
   The playlist won't rewind automatically if this checkbox is enabled.

 Save Playlist Position
   If the playlist's file name has been defined, the file will be updated (for
   a next session) when AMP terminates.

 SBKs loaded
   Windows MIDI drivers allocate the sample memory from the top.
   The AMP for Windows allocates the memory from the end.
   You can choose a level of protection for SBKs loaded in sample memory:
    0. Overwrite    - the memory will be overwritten without notifying the user
    1. Warn at exit - the user will be notified if SBKs have been overwritten
    2. Ask before.. - the user will be asked before overwriting any SBKs
    3. Protect      - the memory used by SBKs will never be used
   NOTE: The protection works only if the sample memory is not fragmented.
   The fragmentation appears if you load multiple SBKs and then you clear any
   SBK except the last one.

 Timer precision
   This option serves mainly for diagnostic purposes. It's recommended to leave
   it set to "Auto" (which gives 5ms for 386 machine and 3ms for 486 or better).

 Default panning
   This is the initial panning of the left/right MOD/S3M channels measured from
   the middle (0..100%, default 56%). It is similar to 'n' switch in DMP player.

 Downsampling control
   Use it to set the EMU8000 pitch safety value in semitones (1 to 24).
   A zero value has a special meaning - it disables downsampling at all.
   The default value of one octave (12 semitones) means that samples will be
   downsampled so that the highest note won't exceed the virtual sample rate
   of 88.2 kHz.
   Very small values are not recommended as there must be some range left for
   vibratos and slides. Another reason is that EMU8000 doesn't avoid an aliasing
   distortion when doing a pitch up-shifting, so it's better to avoid virtual
   sample rates above 44.1 kHz.

 Effects directory
   The directory where your FXR and FXC files reside. If you've configured it
   correctly you'll be able to use your custom effect types as well.
   An example: c:\awefxws\  (the final backslash is appended automatically)
   NOTE: All effect files should be placed in a single directory. Don't use
   the original AWEFXWS subdirectories (named FXC and FXR)!

 Initial data directory
   Here you can override the starting data directory used by AMP.
   An example: d:\modules\kosmic
   NOTE: Command line arguments are processed before this setting applies.

 Initial values
   These are equalizer and effect settings that will be set when each module
   is loaded.
   The Volume can be set to "Automatic" (it replaces a zero value). Then the
   initial volume will depend on a number of channels used in current module.
   The volumes above 20 are not recommended as a sound distortion can appear.

 Font size
   You can choose a size of Windows OEM font that is used in the main window.
   To display all pseudographic characters correctly, only fixed pitch fonts
   with OEM (MS-DOS) character set are available.
   The size of the main window depends directly on this choice.

 Save button
   The displayed values are saved into AMPW.INI as well.



11. COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS
    ======================

 You can specify one or more modules and/or listfiles on the command line.
 The listfiles (i.e. saved playlists) are distinguished by a leading '@'.
 You can use wildcards in module names. The module extensions may be omitted.

 You can override the default options (saved in AMPW.INI) by specifying any
 number of the following command line switches (they are not case sensitive
 and they have to be preceded by '-' or '/'):

   -S    Single mode
   -P    Pause mode
   -J    JukeBox mode
   -F    ForceLoad mode
   -L    No Playlist Looping
   -A    Save Playlist Position
   -X    Auto Exit mode

   -Rn   Reverb Level      n = 0..100 [%]
   -Cn   Chorus Level      n = 0..100 [%]
   -Et   Reverb Type       t = a valid effect name (or FXR file)
   -Ot   Chorus Type       t = a valid effect name (or FXC file)
   -Mn   Volume            n = 0..64
   -Bn   Bass              n = -12..+12 [dB]
   -Tn   Treble            n = -12..+12 [dB]
   -Nn   Default Panning   n = 0..100 [%]
   -Dn   Downsample Ctrl   n = 0..24 [halftones]
   -Kn   SBK protection    n = 0..3

   -Un   base port in hex, e.g. 620 (if there are multiple AWE cards present)
   Or you can add the following line manually into the [Settings] section in
   AMPW.INI:
        EmuBasePort=620

 The modes can be reset from the command line by appending the minus sign
 (e.g. -S-).

 Examples of usage:

  a) To play all modules from a directory (all MOD/MTM/S3M/XM/PTM/IT extensions)
     you can create the shortcut as follows:
        AMPW  E:\MODULES\*

  b) To play your favorite songs in a random order without a user interaction:
        AMPW  @E:\MODULES\MY-BEST.LST  -J  -P- -S -L-

  c) To play specified modules with looping enabled:
        AMPW  E:\MODULES\DOPE  C:\*.XM  -S-

  d) To play all modules from a directory sub-tree:   (hint by Roger Dahl)
        DIR /B /S /A-D  E:\MODULES  >ALL.LST    (creates a listfile)
        AMPW  @ALL.LST



12. UNSUPPORTED MODULE EVENTS
    =========================

 Unsupported pattern effects:
  - Set Filter             (unsupported by ST3/FT2, Amiga HW specific effect)
  - Old ST Stereo Control  (unsupported by ST3, does anybody know the function?)
  - Funk Repeat            (unsupported by ST3/FT2, never seen it)
  - Set Finetune           (an obsolete effect in ST3, FT2, IT)
  - PTM effects J,K,L,M    (does anybody know the function?)
 All other pattern effects are fully supported.

 The S3M AdLib instruments and channels are ignored.
 Up to 128 instruments are used in PTM modules.

 The IT format limitations in this version:
  - instruments and NNAs not supported
  - linear pitch slides not supported
  - channels above 32 ignored
  - sustain loops ignored
  - some IT specific effects ignored
 Anyway, there are many ITs that can be played with no problems.



13. SOMETHING ABOUT THE TREBLE SETTING
    ==================================

 When playing a module, there are 2 or 3 equalizers in chain:
     1. the digital equalizer in EMU8000
     2. the equalizer in AWE mixer (controlled by SB16SET or Windows mixer)
     3. the equalizer in external amplifier
 I believe that there should be used only last one in chain.  So, I decided
 to set the default bass & treble levels of the EMU8000 equalizer to zero.
 But the EMU8000 hardware defaults to the treble level approx. +10dB.
 That's why you can hear some loss of high frequencies compared to other AWE
 players which use the hardware default.



14. FUTURE PLANS
    ============

 - full IT support (the highest priority)
 - a command for stepping back in playlist
 - more views / screens
 - an output of warnings (as in the DOS based player)
 - internal option allowing to reload the overwritten SBK samples
 - a support for PnP cards configured to non-standard ports (only if there will
   be a sufficient demand)
 - support for ZIP/ARJ/etc. archives
 - Win32 version (with long filenames, a better toolbar, ...)
 - online help



15. DISCLAIMER
    ==========

 This software program is spread "as is", without express or implied warranty
 of any kind. In no event will author of this software program be liable for
 any special, incidental or consequential damages resulting from possession,
 use or malfunction of this software product. (E.g. deafness or blown speakers
 by the volume being turned up too high).



16. DISTRIBUTION RULES
    ==================

 This program is shareware.

 The unregistered software can be made available on Internet and BBS sites,
 as well as included on CD-ROMs containing other shareware/freeware programs
 provided that all files are distributed in their original unaltered form,
 preferably in the original archive.

 The free unregistered version can load and play only MOD and S3M modules.
 To enable all module formats, you have to register.

 The first reason for requiring the registration was to prevent users from
 staying anonymous as before. The registration fee is very affordable
 and should be considered as a way how the author can get a minimal satisfaction
 for thousands of hours spent when writing both players. If I wanted to take
 that work as a real job, the price would have to be much higher.
 Please note that the DOS based AMP player is still free and I won't change
 anything about it.



17. THE LICENCE AGREEMENT AND COPYRIGHT
    ===================================

 In contrast with standard shareware rules the author grants you a permission
 to test and use the unregistered version for an unlimited time period. You are
 not required to delete the files if you've decided not to register.

 By registration a user obtains the fully functional version of the software
 and is granted the license to use the player on a single machine at a time.
 It is strictly prohibited to distribute registered copies of the software
 or registration information or to make it available to a third party.

 The software is owned by its author and is protected by copyright laws.
 You may not remove the copyright notice from any copy of the software.
 The reverse engineering, patching, hacking, cracking of this program, and all
 attempts to defeat the registration are a violation of the copyright and are
 strictly prohibited. Any violation against this rule may be subject to
 prosecution under copyright law.

 By installing and/or using the AMP for Windows software, you are hereby
 agreeing to all these license conditions.



18. HOW TO REGISTER
    ===============

 Fill out the registration form (REGFORM.TXT). Send it by e-mail *or* save it
 on a 3.5" diskette and send it along with the cash. Don't forget to include
 your computer's stamp string that appears in AMPW.INI once the player was used.
 Enclose the cash (securely wrapped and hidden; avoid coins if possible) into
 envelope and send it via regular mail to the address specified in the 
 registration form. This way of payment is very easy and reliable from our
 experience. 
 The registration costs $12. Only USD, DM, or CZK will be accepted.
 If you can't receive e-mail then add $3 for additional postage and handling.

 Then I will create a "genetic information" being able to initiate transmutation
 of your AMP player into the full version. I'll send it back to you along with
 instructions how to inject it.
 You should know that the registered player is not transferable. It will work
 only on the computer that was used to generate the stamp.

 Your registration will be applicable also for next player versions.
 Once registered you'll also be informed about new versions by e-mail if you've
 asked for it.



19. COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
    ============================

 Q. Where can I find latest AMP versions?
 A. They are likely to be found on these locations:

     "Slovak Antivirus Center FTP"
        ftp://ftp.elf.stuba.sk/pub/pc/sound
        ftp://ftp.vse.cz/pub/msdos/SAC/pc/sound

     "SDC FileServer - Sound Distribution Channel"
        ftp://sdc.wtm.tudelft.nl/pub/music/utils

     "Hornet Archive"
        http://www.hornet.org

     "Toni Lindroos's page"
        http://www.sip.fi/~tonilind

     "The Sound Blaster AWE32 Homepage"
        http://www.lysator.liu.se/awe

     "AWE32 Homepage"
        http://www.telebyte.nl/sound/   

     "Jonas's AWE32 page"
        http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~til/modpage.html     

     "Torture Of Music Home Page"  (to be moved to SDC soon)
        http://frodo.hiof.no/~gislemm/tom/tom.html

 Q. Why the player's look is so simple?
 A. I wanted to release this long awaited and innovative piece of software
    as soon as possible. There was not enough time to play with bitmaps, custom
    sliders, help file etc.
    The player offers the best sound quality. It works with a minimal CPU load.
    It successfully lives with Windows MIDI drivers. It allows to create and use
    playlists. All other things are less important at the moment.

 Q. Why the player is not a 32-bit application?
 A. Two reasons:
     1. There are people still using Windows 3.x
     2. The whole Windows multimedia system is 16-bit based (even in Win 95)

 Q. How to check the drivers version?
 A. All the versions are displayed in the About window.
    Or you can check the Windows drivers directly as follows:
    Windows 3.x:  Control Panel -> Drivers -> SB AWE32 MIDI Driver -> Setup
    Windows 95: Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager 
                -> Sound... -> Advanced Wave Effects... -> Properties 
                -> sbawe32.drv

 Q. Where to get updated Windows AWE drivers?
 A. The most preferable way is from Internet (www.creaf.com or ftp.creaf.com)

 Q. Why Windows NT is not supported?
 A. Windows NT has a different device driver architecture. It does not support
    VxD drivers and the direct access to hardware is not allowed.
    The DirectSound API has limitations which make it unusable for module
    players. 
    The result - there is no way how to use hardware mixing on Windows NT. :-(

 Q. Can I use my playlists with a DOS version of the AMP player?
 A. The playlists are still pure text files. The only change is the leading
    space for distinguishing modules that have been already processed.
    Older DOS versions (up to 2.01) ignore these lines (modules).
    So, you should save your playlist with -A option disabled to make it
    compatible with the old DOS player.

 Q. Will my registered version continue working if I buy a new motherboard,
    processor, or hard disk?
 A. I can only tell here that some upgrades are allowed and some are not. 
    It depends on hardware you have. I've designed the copy protection to allow
    secure upgrades of your hardware. Don't be afraid of loosing your money.
    In case that your registration would not survive, just let me know about it.

 Q. Sometimes the font used in main window gets changed. Why?
 A. This is a known internal bug in Windows. The problem may appear e.g. when
    a DOS based application is started or terminated.
    You can repair the screen by changing a font size temporarily in player's
    options. Sometimes pressing F4 can help as well.

 Q. I've got only 512KB sample memory. Why AMP does not shrink samples in order
    to push them into my sound card?
 A. After many experiments with the resampling feature I've decided not to
    support sound cards with a very small sample memory.
    The reason is that I do prefer the sound quality and fidelity (these are
    still and forever the main goals of AMP player).
    Let's take an example: If 1MB of 8-bit samples has to fit into 512KB sample
    RAM (== 256k samples), most samples would be reduced by factor of 4.
    Every such downsampling involves a very big loss of high frequency parts
    and the sound becomes unacceptable.
    HINT: To hear the difference, just set the Downsampling control to a maximum
    of 24 halftones and try listening to a couple of today's huge modules.

 Q. I've got two AWE32 compatible cards installed. How can I specify which one
    to use?
 A. Add the 'EmuBasePort' line manually into your AMPW.INI (as described above),
    or use the -U option on the command line.
    NOTE: Multiple hardware instances are not supported in Windows 3.x
    architecture. There are no problems under Windows 95.

 Q. I'm not able to run the player on my Windows 3.1. When I start it, it just
    gives me an Application Error / Stack Fault.  What's wrong?
 A. Your computer's hardware does not meet all standard specifications.
    Add the following line manually into the [Settings] section in AMPW.INI:
        CompatibilityMode=<value>
    Try values of 1 and then 2 (the default is zero).
    If this wouldn't help, you will have to upgrade to Windows 95 to be able
    to use AMP for Windows.

 Q. Can I use AWE Control Panel to play sounds or to load SBKs while the AMP is
    playing?
 A. Although it's very strange, drivers allow to control the EMU8000 hardware
    through AWEMAN API even if it is owned by other application (e.g. by AMP or 
    MIDI sequencer).  But this is very dangerous and you can expect big troubles
    including the total crash of your system when you try to do it.
    So, you can have AWECP running simultaneously, but do not make any changes
    while AMP is replaying a song.
    The same limitation applies to AweToy or similar utilities.



20. COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE
    ======================================

 Although the player was tested carefully, it may contain unknown bugs. 
 In case you find any major or minor problem with the player, please try to find
 the circumstances in which it happens.

 I would also appreciate your comments (both positive and negative) and
 suggestions on the software itself.



21. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR
    =====================

 If you want to contact me for any reason then send me a mail to:

        kopecky@tsoft.cz

 To those of you without an access to Internet, here is my snail mail address:

        Lada Kopecky
        Nad lesnim div. 1116
        142 00    Praha 4
        Czech Republic
