ChipNomad v1.0.0

ChipNomad v1.0.0 is released! This is a fully functional chiptune tracker for AY-3-8910/YM2149F chips.

• Installation instructions
• User manual

Changes since v0.1.0b

• PLATFORM: Android (handhelds, phones, tablets), Miyoo Mini (Miyoo Ports)
• Press Opt+Left/Right at the Song screen to solo all tracks to the left/right
• Custom font loading
• FX implementation was re-built to match M8 and LSDj behavior
• Confirmation dialog before creating/loading a project is there are unsaved changes
• When entering a note with empty instrument, note preview looks up the instrument above in the track
• FIX: Division by zero in auto envelope logic
• FIX: You could open table FF for editing which led to unexpected behavior
• FIX: Env shape display was incorrect at the instrument screen
• FIX: Unexpected behavior when "cutting" values at screens other than Phrase and Table
• FIX: Phrase transpose was affecting notes playing from the previous phrase
• FIX: THO behavior in tables now match M8
• FIX: RET FX was stopping after a single row and didn't work in tables
• FIX: Changing vibrato speed over time caused weird phase issues
• FIX: Volume column in aux tables didn't work
• FIX: Random crash on project load and changing the number of chips
• FIX: Loading instruments didn't load the instrument table
• FIX: Loading color theme wasn't setting the theme name

ChipNomad v0.1.0b

This is the first beta version of ChipNomad. This build is feature complete in terms of music making and sound design tools. All features left for the first full version are just quality-of-life improvements.

• Installation instructions
• User manual

Changes since v0.0.3a

• PLATFORM: Linux x86_64 package for Linux desktops and Steam Deck
• BREAKING CHANGE: PIT now sets offset in semitones. New FIN command sets fine pitch offset
• Vortex Tracker 2 tracks (.vt2) import (by Pator)
• Gamepad support for desktop builds
• Support QWERTZ and other keyboard layouts for desktop builds (by koppi)
• User-definable key mapping with up to 3 physical buttons for each of 8 logical buttons
• Support for 2x and 3x AY/YM chips
• Linear pitch option (pitch tables are defined in cents)
• SNG FX to jump between song positions
• HOP FX now supports conditional loops both in Tables and Phrases
• ARP should work with octaves of any size, not just 12 notes
• Schematic waveform display
• Loop selection: select a range at Phrase, Chain, or Song screens and playback will loop over this range
• Mixer controls in AY instrument screen (tone on/off, noise on/off, env shape)
• LSDJ-style paired rows edit in Groove screen for easier swing creation (by laamaa)
• Triple-tap B on a chain at Song screen to highlight it (useful to visualize song structure)
• Mute/solo tracks (B + Select/Start on Song screen. Release B first to keep mute/solo)
• Clean up of unused instruments, unused/duplicate phrases and chains
• Chain and Phrase screens show asterisk next to chain/phrase number if it's used elsewhere in the song
• B+A on an empty cell at the Song screen now moves the whole column up (same as in LSDJ and M8)
• Project and Instrument save functions now check for empty filename before saving
• AY/YM emulator filter quality setting (lower quality - lower CPU load)
• Looping cursor in the file browser
• Color theme edit, load, and save
• Stems export and starting row for export
• FIX: Chip settings were not initialized when loading a project
• FIX: UI was monochrome in RG35xx build
• FIX: All saved values are correctly reset on loading or creating a new project now
• FIX: Multi edit bug on FX columns in phrases and tables
• FIX: Project title is lost when you load a project with an empty author
• FIX: Chain deep clone created one more copy of a chain

ChipNomad v0.0.3a

This is the third alpha of ChipNomad tracker and now it's a fully functional music creation tool with all essential features.

Documentation is here.

How to install

To install ChipNomad on devices supported by PortMaster, put the zip file to auto install folder

Anbernic RG35xx build works only on pre-2024 console with GarlicOS 1. To install, find APPS in the ROMs folder on the SD card and extract .zip file there to a new folder for ChipNomad. For newer RG35xx use PortMaster build.

Changes since v0.0.2a

• PLATFORM: proper macOS app bundle with the icon
• Added support for different screen resolutions (bonus: Mac Retina display support)
• New font and a convenient bitmap font generator for all screen resolutions from TTF fonts
• Copy/cut/paste functionality on Song, Chain, Phrase, Table screens
• Deep cloning chains (clones both chain and phrases in the chain)
• Edit multiple values in selection mode on Song, Chain, Phrase, Table screens
• Copy/paste instruments
• Save/load instruments
• Vortex Tracker 2 instruments (.vts) import (by Pator)
• Instrument pool screen with instrument reordering functionality
• Instrument preview on Instrument and Instrument Pool screens (A + Start)
• Additional FX help on FX selection screen
• New TXH effect: same as THO, but for aux table. THO now jumps in the instrument table only.
• Special case for TIC: when TIC is on the last row in the table, it sets the column speed on table start
• Special case for NOA: when NOA value is FF, it stops noise period output in the track/instrument. Convenient for resolving noise period conflicts
• Improved logic for finding next empty chain/phrase - looking for item not yet referenced in the project
• Settings screen with two functions: AY phasing conflict highlight, and Quit button
• Lowercase character entry in all text fields
• Create folder function in the file browser
• Show BPM for tick rate (only for default groove with 6 ticks per phrase row)
• 0.75MHz AY/YM clock option
• Export to WAV and PSG (AY register dump) formats
• FIX: Crash on deleting a chain under the playhead during playback
• FIX: OFF in note field stopped active track FX
• FIX: Playback now stops on project load and song position is reset to start
• FIX: Cursor could be drawn incorrectly at some screens
• FIX: Chain transpose column color could be wrong
• FIX: GGR command was working incorrectly

ChipNomad v0.0.2a

This is the second alpha version of ChipNomad.

To install ChipNomad on devices supported by PortMaster, put the zip file to auto install folder

macOS version is built only for Apple Silicon and not signed, so you will need to bypass macOS security checks. ChipNomad requires SDL2. You can install it with Homebrew: brew install sdl2

Anbernic RG35xx version works only on pre-2024 console with GarlicOS 1. To install, find APPS in the ROMs folder on the SD card and extract .zip file there to a new folder for ChipNomad.

Changes since v0.0.1a

• Platform: PortMaster build
• Project settings screen
• AY/YM chip settings
• Project save/load
• Pitch table save/load
• ARP and ARC effects for arpeggio (by laamaa)
• FIX: Random crash on app startup because of audio callback race condition (by Alexander Kovalenko)
• FIX: Random loss of instrument and volume values in Phrase editor
• FIX: App crash when deleting a chain or a phrase under playhead during playback
• FIX: Instruments of NONE type now don't output any sound
• FIX: PVB started from the lowest pitch offset instead of zero

ChipNomad v0.0.1a

This is the first alpha version of ChipNomad chiptune tracker.

It has all core editing functions and most FX implemented. Check user manual to learn controls and FX.

The project is automatically saved and loaded to autosave.cnm file.

macOS version is built only for Apple Silicon and not signed, so you will need to bypass macOS security checks. ChipNomad requires SDL2. You can install it with Homebrew: brew install sdl2

RG35xx version should also work on Miyoo Mini and similar consoles based on Linux. To install, find APPS in the ROMs folder on the SD card and extract .zip file there to a new folder for ChipNomad.