| NitroTracker | |
| File:Nitrotrackerds.png | |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | 0xtob |
| Type | Music |
| Version | 0.4 |
| Licence | Mixed |
| Links | |
| [Media:NitroTrackerv04ds.zip Download] | |
| Website | |
| Source | |
<htmlet>adsense</htmlet>
NitroTracker is a FastTracker II style tracker for the Nintendo DS. If you didn't understand that, you might want to read up on trackers. For starters, NitroTracker is a versatile tool for creating music - everywhere! It supports the popular XM file format that is used by many PC trackers and that can be played on many PC audio players such as Winamp or XMMS.
It was ranked 1st in the NEO Spring Coding Competition 2006. In 2009, it was ranked 4th in the Top 20 Nintendo DS Homebrew.
Features
- Composing with the stylus using an on-screen keyboard
- Selecting, copying and pasting with the stylus
- Loading and saving XM modules (sorry, no effects yet)
- Loading and saving WAV samples (any sampling rate, 8 or 16 bit)
- Recording samples with the DS's built-in microphone!
- Editing samples (cut, fade, reverse, ...)
- Forward and ping-pong loops
- Volume envelopes for instruments
- Multiple samples per instrument that can be mapped to keyboard keys
- MIDI integration via DSMI
- 16 hardware channels
- Standby mode when the DS is closed
- Support for nearly all DS card adapters
Installation
Before using NitroTracker, you need to apply a so-called DLDI patch. This means that you have to install a driver for your specific card adapter.
- Get DLDI patching software for your operating system from here.
- Get the DLDI patch for your card from here: slot-1 (ds slot) / slot-2 (gba slot).
- Patch NitroTracker.nds .
- Then, copy NitroTracker and some XMs and/or WAVs to your card. Check out the download section for some great sources of music and samples.
User guide
With NitroTracker, you can carry your XMs around in your DS and compose whenever and wherever you feel like it. "Tracking on a handheld console? Sounds like a pain in the ass." You might say.
But because of the touchscreen and stylus of the DS, it's quite easy. Compose your melodies using an on-screen keyboard, directly edit your patterns by making selections, copying and pasting - all with the stylus. And that's not where it ends: If you don't have any samples at hand, make your own with the DS's microphone. You can even replace the samples in existing songs with your own recorded ones. There are many possibilities already and there will be even more.
Resources
A list with some great resources for samples and music.
Control
D-Pad - scrolls in the pattern
B - accelerates vertical scrolling
Start - start/ pause playback
Select - stops playback
X or L - flips the screens
R + up/down - Scrolls to the beginning/end of the pattern
Lid - (close) enters standby mode, (open) leaves standby mode
Start+Select - reset DS
Compatibility
Tested on: Flash card NDSTT (Top Toy Ds) with unofficial firmware 1.17a12
- Flash Card M3 DS Real with unknown firmware
- ITouch DS Flash card with unknown firmware
- Flash card R4 Pro with firmware 1.51
- Supercard DS One Flash card with firmware 3.0 SP8
Credits
NitroTracker beta testers: alienspurm, andars, atomtwist, Biiaru, chrislody, grobsen, Ignatzthemouse, infradead, Jono-60, license, lotlemmwax, nitro2k01, nonfinite, parkstenator, reSet, Shagbat, silent_code, spielor, totoee, Vengeful Parasite, willgripp
joat, dovoto and WinterMute for libnds and DevkitPro
chishm for the universal FAT library
sgstair for the incredible wifi lib
Headspin for the great on-screen typewriter design
doublec for his ds development tutorials that got me started with DS coding
Martin Korth for the incredible gbatek reference and the no$gba emulator
Friends in #dsdev for patiently answering my questions
starpause for providing the samples used in the tutorial
Michael Krause for the open source SoundTracker, that was a great help with the XM format
Last but not least: Vogue and Mr.H of Triton for Fasttracker II, the tracker that NitroTracker was designed after.