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MIDI files and PIMap files
To play a MIDI file on the 3DO Station, you need the following files:
- The MIDI file itself
- The PIMap (program-instrument map file), which tells the 3DO system how to match MIDI numbers with sounds
- Compiled patches (.ins) or samples referred to in the PIMap
This section discusses the PIMap file format, including the currently supported flags and an example file.
Working with PIMaps
A PIMap associates MIDI program numbers with 3DO instruments.
Parts of a PIMap
A PIMap consists of several lines, separated by carriage returns. Each line contains:
<HTML><ul></HTML> <HTML><li></HTML>MIDI program number (1-128)<HTML></li></HTML> <HTML><li></HTML>Filename <HTML><ul></HTML> <HTML><li></HTML>If the filename ends in .aiff, .aif, or .aifc, it is considered to be the name of a sample file and the file is attached to the appropriate sample player instrument.<HTML></li></HTML> <HTML><li></HTML>If the filename does not end in .aiff, .aif, or .aifc, it is assumed to be an instrument name. For example, if the file ends in .ins, it is a compiled ARIA patch.<HTML></li></HTML><HTML></ul></HTML>
<HTML></li></HTML>
<HTML><li></HTML>Optional flags<HTML></li></HTML><HTML></ul></HTML>
Currently supported flags
The following table lists the flags that are currently supported as part of a PIMap:
Table 1: Flags in a PIMap.
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Flag |Description
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-f |Play sample file using a fixed-rate sample
|player that uses fewer ticks than a
|variable-rate player would
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-m n |Set maximum number of voices (default is 1)
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-l n |Set low note for a sample
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-b n |Set base note for a sample
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-h n |Set high note for a sample
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-p n |Set priority for instrument, default = 100, max
|= 200
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-d |Set a detune value. This works only on
|instruments that use the default sample playback
|module (sampler.dsp); not on compiled ARIA
|instruments.
--------------------------------------------------------
Note: The base note is the “home” note of the sample and is not necessarily the lowest (bass) note.
PIMap example
The example below shows a small PIMap file. The following points are of interest:
- The PIMap file assigns the appropriate samples to the different ranges of the instrument.
- Each .aiff file covers no more than a half octave, as you can see when you look at the low notes, base notes, and high notes assigned to the different .aiff files.
- The gong is fixed pitch.
- The clarinet is set up as a multisample with octave spacing.
- The organ has its MaxVoices set to 4 to make it possible to play chords.
- The sample bell.aiff is played by the instrument varmono16.dsp because the instrument is specified before the sample is specified.
- The instrument ending in .ins (windnoise.ins) is a compiled ARIA instrument.
Example 1: PIMap example file.
1 clarinet1.aiff -l 30 -b 48 -h 53 1 clarinet2.aiff -l 54 -b 60 -h 66 1 clarinet3.aiff -l 67 -b 72 -h 84 2 gong.aiff -f 3 bass.aiff -p 150 4 organ.aiff -m 4 5 varmono16.dsp 5 bell.aiff 6 sawenv.dsp 7 windnoise.ins
Note: In addition to .aiff files, you can also use instruments you previously created in ARIA (.ins files). The last line of the example above illustrates this.
