        MIDAS Module Player for Linux 0.2.0 Alpha
        -----------------------------------------

MIDAS MODULE PLAYER IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT
WILL ANY OF THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
CAUSED BY THE USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, OF MIDAS MODULE PLAYER.

MIDAS Module Player may freely be distributed as long as no money is
charged for it, and no attempt is made to restrict further copying,
distribution and using of MIDAS Module Player. If you have problems
with this, or do not understand this, contact us.

MIDAS Digital Audio System is Copyright 1996, 1997 Housemarque Inc. It may
only be used, modified and distributed under the terms of the MIDAS Digital
Audio System license, license.txt.


1. Foreword
-----------

Thank you for downloading MIDAS Module Player, and, above all, thank
you for reading the documentation. This is now the third publicly
announced release of MIDAS Module Player for Linux, but, as the version
number should suggest, far from a final version. The user interface is
still practically non-existant and there is very little documentation
(ie. read the source), but the most important feature is here (or at least
should be ;) : correct playback.

So what is MIDP anyway? MIDP is a free module player for Linux (and 
possibly [Free|Net]BSD/LITES). It plays Protracker (MOD), Scream 
Tracker 3 (S3M) and FastTracker 2 (XM) modules on all sound cards that
Open Sound System (formerly known as Un*x Sound System, Voxware and TASD)
supports.

MIDP might seem very unfinished and in general look like a music system
test program more than anything else - and that is exactly what it is.
The main intention of MIDP is to test MIDAS Digital Audio System and give you
an impression what it sounds like - that's why our emphasis is on playback
quality instead of the user interface. Moreover, MIDAS is still very much
under development, so all feedback you can give is appreciated.



2. Using MIDP/Linux
-------------------

Using MIDP is simple - just start it with a module name and you are on
your way to play music. At the moment the "user interface" consists of
sample names and a simple progress display.  If someone is willing to
do a better looking one, be my guest.  Some interaction is achieved by
using keys:

ESC       		Exit
,/.			Go backward/forward in the song
+/-			Control master volume



Also, this version of MIDP/Linux uses a .midasrc file in your home
directory and a sample .midasrc-file is available here. It's
self-documenting or at least is supposed to be. If it's not or you
want to share your echo effects with us and the rest of the world,
mail me.
	 
And that's about it.





3. Other information
--------------------

MIDP/Linux has been developed under kernel versions 1.99.3 - 2.1.48, using 
Unix Sound System 3.5.2 - 3.8beta and gcc 2.7.2/2.7.2p/2.7.2.1/2.7.2.2, but
it should work with modestly older versions too.  Tell me if it doesn't.

If you want to compile MIDP yourself, Linuxthreads-package is now
required and can be found from:

ftp://ftp.inria.fr/INRIA/Projects/cristal/Xavier.Leroy/linuxthreads.tar.gz


Known quirks in this beta are (at least):

	- only one module (the last one on the command line) is played

	- GUS doesn't seem to work properly in 16-bit mode 44100 Hz
	  stereo.  Try a) switching to 8-bit
	               b) switching to mono
		       c) reducing mixing rate
	  
	  Also drivers from the UltraSound Project seem to work much
	  better with this kind of software and are available from
	  http://www.pf.jcu.cz/~perex/ultra
	

4. Contact information
----------------------

Comments, bug reports and improvement ideas are always welcome. At this
point I hope you only send MIDP/Linux-related comments via e-mail to
jpaana@iki.fi. Generic MIDAS related mail should be sent to
pekangas@sci.fi. Our other contact info can be found from the MIDAS
pages below.

The latest version of MIDP/Linux is always available at
http://www.s2.org/midas/midp.html, and more information about
MIDAS Digital Audio System can be found at http://www.s2.org/midas/



On behalf of the Linux version,

	Jarno Paananen


[$Id: README,v 1.6 1997/08/02 00:54:39 jpaana Exp $]
