Re: MED, OctaMED, Protracker

["Charles T. Turley" <cturley@wco.com>]

Yes, BeatBox is the only player-editor and modifier of MED, OctaMED and 
Protracker that plays 8 tracks of those file types.  It's also an alpha 
release that had great potential, but the authors seem to have given up 
with any updates to it!  It had the potentials to be the most astounding 
program ever for the IIGS.  But the DE dudes just busted up and all went 
there own way over to the PC (mostly)!   Tim Meekins was working on such 
for an update with SonicTracker, then he gave up on any more programming 
or developments at all for anything on the IIGS.  At least that's what 
he told me in our most recent tel-con, about a month or so back.

I released NTGS v2.0 to public domain, almost 2 years ago, (with all the 
beta's and src. codes for same) - hoping that somebody, with the talents 
and motivations could use it to make some mind-blowing MODfile, MED, 
OctaMED player and editor for the IIGS, with that material to work with.

Fat chance of that ever happening - as nobody seems to care about any of 
it any more.  I'll give it all a few more months - then I'll get to work 
on coordinating the development of a real mind-blowing update with it.
Actually that is in the works now but, progressing slower than a snail.

It really seems like development in any serious and talented manner with 
the S in the IIGS has gone for good now.  After two years, I've not seen 
anything worthwhile released for the IIGS that deals with Noise Tracker 
or MODfiles of any sort or format, with any form of new inovations or 
updates, with the exception of the update of the NDA MODfile player - 
SonoBox, (which I consider to be the very best MODfile-Protracker player 
ever released for the IIGS).  

Sure they all have some bugs and problems with them and what program 
doesn't?  But, with the unique sound hardware the IIGS has, if those 
with the programming knowledge would simply work together on a really 
good multi-format music sequencer and editor program for the IIGS, it 
could still dance circles around the other computers out there, even if 
it is only 8-bit sound in it's abilities! 

Cheers,
Tom