6 ms·

Impulse Tracker source code now available on GitHub

200 points by bane 2y ago

skrebbel 2y ago
It’s hard to understate the impact IT had on the tracker scene. Thanks, Jeffrey!
pkasting 2y ago
I hope hope hope the SchismTracker folks take a hard look through this!
- rzzzt 2y ago
  What would be the reason for that, other than general interest of how things were done? Any effects or playback differences that still need to be ironed out?
diggan 2y ago
As far as I can tell, the LICENSE.TXT (https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/main/LICENSE....) is the 3-clause BSD license, meaning proper FOSS and not just "source available" which is becoming more popular. Bit more about the history of IT (and more) in the blogpost celebrating the "20th anniversary", written by the software's author: http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-impulse-tracker.html http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-impulse-t...
- sublinear 2y ago
  > Copyright © 2014, Jeffrey Lim. All Rights Reserved. I'm curious why "All Rights Reserved." was added. It may be obsolete, but if it was taken seriously today wouldn't it also be at odds with the BSD license?
  - samatman 2y ago
    Nope. "All rights reserved" is a term of art that predates © but means the exact same thing. One of those rights is the right to license the work as one sees fit.
    - sublinear 2y ago
      > Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER> https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-clause https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-clause
  - jtlim 2y ago
    10 years ago when publishing the code to bitbucket, I grabbed what I thought was a copy of the BSD-3-clause and replaced my name and year Seems like it wasn’t accurate. I updated the license on the github repository a few hours ago so it is exactly the BSD-3-clause template now
JohnTHaller 2y ago
Nice! I was a Fast Tracker 2 guy back in the day. More recently I've played with OpenMPT and MilkyTracker (both of which I packaged for PortableApps.com) with my old MODs. I love seeing older stuff get properly open sourced. Impulse Tracker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker Fast Tracker 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2
- 29athrowaway 2y ago
  Any thoughts on Hively Tracker?
  - JohnTHaller 2y ago
    I'll take a look at it.
- jeffalyanak 2y ago
  Have you checked out 8bitbubsy's extremely accurate modern clone of FT2 (and one of Protracker as well)? https://16-bits.org/ft2.php https://16-bits.org/ft2.php
  - JohnTHaller 2y ago
    I just did! That's awesome. I may need to package these, too.
    - jeffalyanak 2y ago
      They're already available in the Debian repos and probably elsewhere as well.
      - JohnTHaller 2y ago
        Oh I meant package for PortableApps.com.
- 2y ago
WesolyKubeczek 2y ago
Sweet jesus, I knew IT had been written in assembly (and moreover, it looks like 8086-level assembly, with EMS support for memory expansion), but little did I knew it had support for networking! Granted, IPX, but still!
- e12e 2y ago
  From the Wikipedia page: > extra features, such as support for stereo WAV output and a personalized version of the driver for co-editing songs over IPX networks, were provided for a fee. Also looks like tfa should have a (2014). Ed: Ah, wikipedia mention bitbucket and links to an unofficial GitHub mirror, different from TFA. On a related note, I'm a little shocked to discover that MED/OctaMED apparently has new/current commercial support?! https://forum.amiga.org/index.php?topic=76507.0 https://forum.amiga.org/index.php?topic=76507.0
- omoikane 2y ago
  An interesting coincidence was that custom IPX usernames was a paid feature, and payment was processed by a company named "Kagi" (not the search engine). https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/fb47b325454ab0fd64db35cb12f7b79025a475da/ReleaseDocumentation/NETWORK.TXT#L49 https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/fb47b325454ab... Kagi the e-commerce site apparently went defunct in 2016: https://web.archive.org/web/20160915172120/http://kagi.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160915172120/http://kagi.com/
  - andrelaszlo 2y ago
    I thought you meant Kali until I checked the link. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(software) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(software)
29athrowaway 2y ago
Great software, great sound. Here is a tune I recommend. https://youtu.be/zuQHHlbzX_c https://youtu.be/zuQHHlbzX_c
contingencies 2y ago
Wow, check out https://github.com/jthlim/JavelinPattern https://github.com/jthlim/JavelinPattern ... guy's been busy.
- cryptonector 2y ago
  That's impressive!
netmare 2y ago
The Wikipedia entry on text-based user interfaces uses IT as an example of a text-mode program featuring a pixel-accurate mouse pointer. The "citation-needed" had always been annoying me, since I knew it was true, but I couldn't prove it. Now, we can finally link to IT_MOUSE.ASM and be done with it.
- rzzzt 2y ago
  Bisqwit has a video about the technique: https://youtu.be/7nlNQcKsj74 https://youtu.be/7nlNQcKsj74
- Gormo 2y ago
  But is Impulse Tracker a true textmode application? While not full of flashy graphics and icons, it uses lots of widgets and layout features that put it squarely in conventional GUI territory. And the repo contains the VESA code for rendering the equalizer UI.
  - rzzzt 2y ago
    Apparently this was hidden behind the Alt+F12 key combo? I might have to fire up a copy as I don't remember ever seeing this bit. Edit: it doesn't seem to be enabled in 2.14. Oh well, got to hear "Blue Flame" again! The rest of the application runs in 80x50 text mode, and it included a character editor so you could customize the box drawing characters if you were so inclined.
  - bitwize 2y ago
    It was a common technique in the DOS era to simulate GUIs with text. This was not just done with the characters in codepage 437 either; using redefinable character sets in the EGA and VGA, graphical elements such as buttons, input fields, etc. could be rendered in character cells. By redefining characters where the mouse pointer was supposed to be, a pixel-accurate mouse pointer could be created. Not just trackers used this technique, but e.g., later versions of Norton Utilities did as well.
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  That seems like an analytical conclusion based on a primary source, and thus a violation of No Original Research policy if sourced directly to the primary source on which the conclusion is based, and not a published secondary source that actually provides the analysis of the primary source.
bananaboy 2y ago
Note that this source code was originally released back in 2014 on bitbucket as a mercurial repository. Looks like he’s now moved it to GitHub. Here’s the original announcement http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/10/20-years-of-impulse-tracker-part-3.html?m=1 http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/10/20-years-of-impulse-t...
sen 2y ago
IT was probably one of the most influential pieces of software for me as a teenager. I can’t put into words how important it was to me as a way to escape a crappy life and just get lost in making music and sharing tracks on my local BBS, chatting to other people like me who I’d go on to meet and become life long friends with. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I owe Jeffrey so much.
- bane 2y ago
  Me too! I grew up very isolated in rural America and IT was a literal gateway into a global artistic movement that caused me to connect to people across the planet, develop a skill, and set me on a course into technology. I am forever in Jeffrey's debt.

200 points by bane 2y ago

skrebbel 2y ago

It’s hard to understate the impact IT had on the tracker scene. Thanks, Jeffrey!

pkasting 2y ago

I hope hope hope the SchismTracker folks take a hard look through this!

rzzzt 2y ago
What would be the reason for that, other than general interest of how things were done? Any effects or playback differences that still need to be ironed out?

diggan 2y ago

As far as I can tell, the LICENSE.TXT (https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/main/LICENSE....) is the 3-clause BSD license, meaning proper FOSS and not just "source available" which is becoming more popular. Bit more about the history of IT (and more) in the blogpost celebrating the "20th anniversary", written by the software's author: http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-impulse-tracker.html http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-impulse-t...

sublinear 2y ago
> Copyright © 2014, Jeffrey Lim. All Rights Reserved. I'm curious why "All Rights Reserved." was added. It may be obsolete, but if it was taken seriously today wouldn't it also be at odds with the BSD license?
- samatman 2y ago
  Nope. "All rights reserved" is a term of art that predates © but means the exact same thing. One of those rights is the right to license the work as one sees fit.
  - sublinear 2y ago
    > Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER> https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-clause https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-clause
- jtlim 2y ago
  10 years ago when publishing the code to bitbucket, I grabbed what I thought was a copy of the BSD-3-clause and replaced my name and year Seems like it wasn’t accurate. I updated the license on the github repository a few hours ago so it is exactly the BSD-3-clause template now

JohnTHaller 2y ago

Nice! I was a Fast Tracker 2 guy back in the day. More recently I've played with OpenMPT and MilkyTracker (both of which I packaged for PortableApps.com) with my old MODs. I love seeing older stuff get properly open sourced. Impulse Tracker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker Fast Tracker 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2

29athrowaway 2y ago
Any thoughts on Hively Tracker?
- JohnTHaller 2y ago
  I'll take a look at it.
jeffalyanak 2y ago
Have you checked out 8bitbubsy's extremely accurate modern clone of FT2 (and one of Protracker as well)? https://16-bits.org/ft2.php https://16-bits.org/ft2.php
- JohnTHaller 2y ago
  I just did! That's awesome. I may need to package these, too.
  - jeffalyanak 2y ago
    They're already available in the Debian repos and probably elsewhere as well.
    - JohnTHaller 2y ago
      Oh I meant package for PortableApps.com.
2y ago

WesolyKubeczek 2y ago

Sweet jesus, I knew IT had been written in assembly (and moreover, it looks like 8086-level assembly, with EMS support for memory expansion), but little did I knew it had support for networking! Granted, IPX, but still!

e12e 2y ago
From the Wikipedia page: > extra features, such as support for stereo WAV output and a personalized version of the driver for co-editing songs over IPX networks, were provided for a fee. Also looks like tfa should have a (2014). Ed: Ah, wikipedia mention bitbucket and links to an unofficial GitHub mirror, different from TFA. On a related note, I'm a little shocked to discover that MED/OctaMED apparently has new/current commercial support?! https://forum.amiga.org/index.php?topic=76507.0 https://forum.amiga.org/index.php?topic=76507.0
omoikane 2y ago
An interesting coincidence was that custom IPX usernames was a paid feature, and payment was processed by a company named "Kagi" (not the search engine). https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/fb47b325454ab0fd64db35cb12f7b79025a475da/ReleaseDocumentation/NETWORK.TXT#L49 https://github.com/jthlim/impulse-tracker/blob/fb47b325454ab... Kagi the e-commerce site apparently went defunct in 2016: https://web.archive.org/web/20160915172120/http://kagi.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160915172120/http://kagi.com/
- andrelaszlo 2y ago
  I thought you meant Kali until I checked the link. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(software) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(software)

29athrowaway 2y ago

Great software, great sound. Here is a tune I recommend. https://youtu.be/zuQHHlbzX_c https://youtu.be/zuQHHlbzX_c

contingencies 2y ago

Wow, check out https://github.com/jthlim/JavelinPattern https://github.com/jthlim/JavelinPattern ... guy's been busy.

cryptonector 2y ago
That's impressive!

netmare 2y ago

The Wikipedia entry on text-based user interfaces uses IT as an example of a text-mode program featuring a pixel-accurate mouse pointer. The "citation-needed" had always been annoying me, since I knew it was true, but I couldn't prove it. Now, we can finally link to IT_MOUSE.ASM and be done with it.

rzzzt 2y ago
Bisqwit has a video about the technique: https://youtu.be/7nlNQcKsj74 https://youtu.be/7nlNQcKsj74
Gormo 2y ago
But is Impulse Tracker a true textmode application? While not full of flashy graphics and icons, it uses lots of widgets and layout features that put it squarely in conventional GUI territory. And the repo contains the VESA code for rendering the equalizer UI.
- rzzzt 2y ago
  Apparently this was hidden behind the Alt+F12 key combo? I might have to fire up a copy as I don't remember ever seeing this bit. Edit: it doesn't seem to be enabled in 2.14. Oh well, got to hear "Blue Flame" again! The rest of the application runs in 80x50 text mode, and it included a character editor so you could customize the box drawing characters if you were so inclined.
- bitwize 2y ago
  It was a common technique in the DOS era to simulate GUIs with text. This was not just done with the characters in codepage 437 either; using redefinable character sets in the EGA and VGA, graphical elements such as buttons, input fields, etc. could be rendered in character cells. By redefining characters where the mouse pointer was supposed to be, a pixel-accurate mouse pointer could be created. Not just trackers used this technique, but e.g., later versions of Norton Utilities did as well.
dragonwriter 2y ago
That seems like an analytical conclusion based on a primary source, and thus a violation of No Original Research policy if sourced directly to the primary source on which the conclusion is based, and not a published secondary source that actually provides the analysis of the primary source.

bananaboy 2y ago

Note that this source code was originally released back in 2014 on bitbucket as a mercurial repository. Looks like he’s now moved it to GitHub. Here’s the original announcement http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/10/20-years-of-impulse-tracker-part-3.html?m=1 http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/10/20-years-of-impulse-t...

sen 2y ago

IT was probably one of the most influential pieces of software for me as a teenager. I can’t put into words how important it was to me as a way to escape a crappy life and just get lost in making music and sharing tracks on my local BBS, chatting to other people like me who I’d go on to meet and become life long friends with. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I owe Jeffrey so much.

bane 2y ago
Me too! I grew up very isolated in rural America and IT was a literal gateway into a global artistic movement that caused me to connect to people across the planet, develop a skill, and set me on a course into technology. I am forever in Jeffrey's debt.