	==============================================================
				A M P   1.21
	  The module player for Sound Blaster AWE32 and compatibles
	(c) 1995-1996 by Lada Kopecky a.k.a. Grinus / Torture Of Music
	==============================================================


FEATURES

 - plays S3M modules (ST3.0 - 3.21)
 - plays MOD/NST modules (M.K.  FLT4  nCHN  nnCH  OCTA  N.T.)
 - plays MTM modules
 - plays multiple modules (using wildcards and/or listfiles)
 - up to 32 channels and 30 sounding notes
 - makes no clicks!
 - the strict compatibility with the ST3.21 playback routine!
 - can play in Windows, even in background!
   Just increase the Priority (using PIF editor) in Windows 3.x or decrease
   the Idle Sensitivity (in Properties of AMP icon) in Windows 95 to achieve
   the continuous playback.
   However, the background playback may be affected by running other tasks.
 - supports the animated messages using sample names
 - can report all suspicious events! (during the module load and playback)
 - fast forward mode, pattern skip in both directions
 - forced tempo mode
 - settings taken from AMP.INI or the command line
 - can play if not enough AWE memory
 - no problems with memory or extenders (40-200 KB of DOS memory is enough)
 - does not change the Sound Blaster mixer settings
 - and of course, the maximal sample upload speed :)



SWITCHES  (preceded by '/' or '-')

  V     verbose mode
	  - all info shown in Log window, incl. unsupported effects in runtime
	  - message colors: INFOS - white, WARNINGS - yellow, ERRORS - red

  S     single mode
	  - no module looping, no batch looping

  P     pause mode
	  - waits at the end of each module in single mode
	    (you can continue switching and scrolling the screens)

  F     force play if not enough AWE RAM
	  - some samples will be ignored

  I     show numeric pan values 0 to F and M (instead of L/M/R)

  Nn    default panning from the middle (0..7, default 4)
	  - this is the initial panning of the left/right MOD/S3M channels
	    (something like 'n' switch in DMP player)

  Mn    initial volume 0..64 (default is the automode)
	  - in automode the initial volume depends on the number of channels

  Rn    initial reverb level (0..255, default 36)

  Cn    initial chorus level (0..255, default 0)

  En    reverb type (0..7, default 4)

  On    chorus type (0..7, default 0)

  Bn    initial bass level   (0..11, default 5)

  Tn    initial treble level (0..11, default 5)

     n      Bass/Treble       Reverb Type      Chorus Type
    ---     -----------       -----------      -----------
     0        -12 dB          Room 1           Chorus 1 (*)
     1         -8 dB          Room 2           Chorus 2
     2         -6 dB          Room 3           Chorus 3
     3         -4 dB          Hall 1           Chorus 4
     4         -2 dB          Hall 2 (*)       Feedback Delay
     5          0 dB (*)      Plate            Flanger
     6         +2 dB          Delay            Short Delay
     7         +4 dB          Panning Delay    Short Delay Feedback
     8         +6 dB
     9         +8 dB
    10        +10 dB
    11        +12 dB

 All switches above can be used in AMP.INI, one option per line.
 The command line switches take precedence over the INI file settings
 (but the On/Off switches V/F/S/P/I can't be reset from the command line).
 AMP.INI must be placed in the same directory as AMP.EXE !



MODULES AND LISTFILES

 You can specify one or more modules and/or listfiles in the command line.
 You can use wildcards in module names. The extensions may be omitted.
 The listfile is the list of modules to play, one filename per line.
 The lines with leading ';', '#' or space will be ignored (also in AMP.INI)



KEYBOARD

  F1            Help Screen
  F2            Log Screen (in verbose mode only)
  F3            Channels Screen
  F4            Instruments Screen
  PgDn PgUp     scroll channels or instruments

  Enter         next module in batch
  ->            pattern forward (the remaining pattern data are ignored)
  <-            pattern back
  Up            fast forward (4-times faster)
  Ctrl Down/Up  forced tempo down/up (the remaining tempo changes are ignored)

  Esc           exit to DOS
  spacebar      pause/resume

  -  +          volume down/up
  F5  F6        EMU equalizer bass level down/up
  F7  F8        EMU equalizer treble level down/up
  F9  F10       reverb level down/up
  F11 F12       chorus level down/up
  1-9 A-P       channel 1-25 on/off  (no more free letters)
  R  S          all channels off/on



REQUIREMENTS

 - at least PC 286  (but not tested on 286)
 - EGA/VGA
 - Sound Blaster AWE32 or a compatible sound card with EMU8000 at port 620h
    (at least 2 MB of on-board sample RAM strongly recommended)
 - no AWE32 drivers or environment variables are needed
 - 40..200 KB of free DOS conventional memory (no EMS/XMS required)



UNSUPPORTED EFFECTS

 - set filter             (unsupported by ST3.x, Amiga HW specific one)
 - old S3M stereo control (unsupported by ST3.x, anybody knows the function?)
 - funk repeat            (unsupported by ST3.x, never seen it)
 - set fine tune          (unsupported by ST3.x, never seen it)
 - set glissando control  (never seen it)



FUTURE PLANS

 - XM support (the time has come)
 - a file selector with ZIP/ARJ support



SOMETHING ABOUT THE CLICKS

 One of the goals of this player is a clean sound without clicks.
 Other AWE players make a lot of clicks which make them unusable for me.
 The only other AWE player without clicks is Cubic 1.6 (as I know), but it has
 got a bug in the initialization of the AWE - if used after any program using
 the ADIP 2.52 style code (e.g. AMP), some sounds are lost. For this reason
 I created a simple utility called AWERESET to reset the AWE32 in the style
 of ADIP 2.0. You'll need it to prepare the AWE32 hardware for Cubic 1.6 after
 AMP was used.



SOMETHING ABOUT THE TREBLE SETTING

 When playing a module, there are 2 or 3 equalizers in chain:
     1. the digital equalizer in EMU8000
     2. the equalizer in AWE32 mixer (controlled by SB16SET or Windows mixer)
     3. the equalizer in external amplifier
 I think there should be used only last one in chain.  So I decided to set
 the default bass & treble levels of the EMU8000 equalizer to zero.
 But the AWE32 hardware defaults to the treble level approx. +10dB.
 That's why you can hear some loss of high frequencies compared to other AWE32
 players which use the hardware default.
 However, you can use '-Tn' option to change it.



COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE

 My Internet mail address is  kopecky@tsoft.cz

 If you use AMP, don't be lazy and send me at least a few words.
 The player is released as freeware and I'd like to know of you :*)

 Also the future enhancements depend on feedback I'll get. It's up to you!
