Folks, A new build is up at <http://www.doggiebox.com/distribution/Doggiebox- 1C3.zip> for your boxing pleasure! Following are the release notes as included in the archive. Please read them through, then play around with drum kits with the new build and let me know if you run into any anomalies or performance issues. As you will see, I have tried to devise a neat solution to the "recipe" idea that has been bandied about on this list for some time. Provided that this works as well as planned, it should provide an almost- transparent way to create and distribute "recipe"-based drum kits while requiring virtually no new learning curve for the end user. Let me know how it goes, and hopefully we can finally get some distributable ns_kit and GarageBand dbkits moving around! -ben ------------------------------ Notes for 1C3 (11 May 2004): This build contains some major improvements to the underlying mechanics of drum kit system, facilitating faster load times for songs as well as support for linked (as opposed to embedded) sound files. The .dbkit file format has changed in this version and now uses a "bundle" (enclosed subdirectory) format. On systems running a pre-1C3 version, new drum kits may appear in the Finder as a folder containing several files. If the included "GB Rock Drums.dbkit" appears to be a folder (instead of a file with the usual dbkit icon), make sure you delete any older copies of Doggiebox. You may also have to logout and re-login. Waveform data for each drum sound is now stored individually in the drum kit and each is loaded on demand as required, as opposed to all waveforms for the entire kit loading at once as before. This should result in better memory management, as well as faster response when opening drum kits and song files (particularly noticable with large drum kits). To upgrade existing kits to the new format, simply open them up in the drum kit editor and re-save them. In addition to deferred loading, the new kit format now also facilitates linking to external sound files as opposed to saving them within the drum kit file. This way, it is now possible to create kits based on audio repositories from other sources (such as GarageBand and ns_kit) and exchange them with others without having to duplicate and transport all of the audio data. If you attempt to use a drum kit containing linked sounds which you did not assemble, it is likely that Doggiebox will not initially know where to find the audio files. In such a case, the user will be automatically prompted to choose a folder in which to search for the sounds. Doggiebox will perform a recursive search and attempt to locate sound files matching the originally linked filenames, and remember them from then on. CHANGES TO THE DRUM KIT EDITOR: The drum list has a new column, labeled "Sound". Clicking in this column will activate a pop-up menu allowing you to specify whether to Embed or Link the waveform data for each drum sound. By default Doggiebox will Embed (as in previous versions), but you can also choose to Link, in which case the audio data for that drum will not be saved in the drum kit file. Above the drum list is a button labeled "Fix Links", which will manually invoke the link resolution process by prompting you to choose a folder to scan for sound files. Doggiebox will then attempt to locate sound files for any broken links. Before being prompted to choose a folder, an explanatory alert will be displayed. Clicking the "Set Prompt..." button allows you to customize the message that's shown. (It is advisable to provide some helpful text, depending on the nature of the drum kit, to point the user in the right direction. For example, "please choose the folder containing the files you downloaded from nskit.com"). The link-fixing process will be invoked automatically if you open a song file that uses a kit containing broken links. OTHER CHANGES IN THIS BUILD: No changes to MIDI since 1C2. Effort in this cycle was focused on the drum kit system only. Next build will contain MIDI improvements. (Is anybody actually testing MIDI? I have received zero feedback since 1C2.) The master tempo slider in the song editor has been adjusted so that there should no longer be ambiguity about the middle setting really being 100%. Also, minor cosmetic changes to the push/pull tempo buttons. GENERAL TESTING NOTES: The included "GB Rock Drums.dbkit" is an initial (incomplete) effort at creating a dbkit for the Rock Drums kit supplied with Apple's GarageBand, using icons from the Reverend Rat's set. If you have GarageBand installed on your system, please attempt using this kit and report any problems you have making it work. If anyone would like to pick up the ball and complete this kit, I would encourage it -- please mention so on the mailing list so we can avoid duplication of effort. I would like to eventually have all of the GarageBand kits available for when Doggiebox 1.2 is ready for release. Same with ns_kit 7, too! This build has been tested under 10.3.{3,4}, but not 10.2. As usual, please report any and all feedback either to Ben or to the mailing list. Enjoy! ------------------------------ Again, it's snaggable at <http://www.doggiebox.com/distribution/ Doggiebox-1C3.zip> -- Ben Kennedy, chief magician zygoat creative technical services 613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628 http://www.zygoat.ca