Hi guys,
I spent some time this weekend outlining the interface for the Instrument model feature. The net result is two-fold: (a) I've managed to get what has to be done fairly straight in my head; (b) I've realised how much work this might actually entail - it is literally adding, to reViSiT, the difference between Scream Tracker 3 and Impulse Tracker 2. Bwah. However, it is easily the biggest hurdle between now and v1.0 - once this is down the other features should slot into place fairly easily.
So, to whet your appetites - and to keep those of you with less patience happy - I've uploaded the fruits of my UI prototyping. They can now be found at http://www.nashnet.co.uk/english/revisit/screenshots.htm. Mostly, aside from the interface layout, it should have same functionality as IT. However, there is one important difference. The keymap will no longer be pitch to pitch+sample map - for each pitch, you will be able to effectively enter a complete tracker row. This will not only allow you to create your own pitch to panning mappings, but sample offsets (using the Oxx command), detuning and manic pan/vol slide weirdness, which I'm sure will find some creative use
. So, for example, this will allow you to map different parts of a drum loop over the keyboard and then use different pitches to trigger different parts - you might even create GM percussion kit out of a single loop! Detuning will, of course, help out any wannabe Stockhausens and allow for custom microtonal scales.
Let me know what you think.
All the best,
Chris