[Rack Performer 0.99-beta - detailed release notes]

--[Version 0.99-beta]--

[MODULE] External MIDI Gear (special module to control external instruments and effects via MIDI output)

Important new special controller module acting as a bridge between the internal application world and MIDI equipment connected on MIDI output. All standard MIDI parameters are exposed inside the patch as standard control ports (automatable, mappable etc) and the appropriate MIDI messages are automatically sent.

[MODULE] Dual-Stereo Clear-Path Master Module (2x2 in + 2x2 out + clock)
[MODULE] Octo-Channel Clear-Path Master Module (8/8 + clock)
[MODULE] 16-Channel Clear-Path Master Module (16/16 + clock)
[MODULE] 32-Channel Clear-Path Master Module (32/32 + clock)

These 4 modules complete the initial master modules offering, and unlock the multichannel I/O with master clock use cases.

[FEATURE] MIDI Output is now fully functionnal (up to 8 devices for a maximum of 128 output channels)

Those are accessed using the above-mentionned External MIDI Gear special module.

[FEATURE] MIDI Output turbo mode option (allocate one core to greatly improve MIDI output timing precision and reduce jitter)

Our intensive tests displayed clear precision improvements and noticeable jitter reduction, especially when coupled with the "aggressive scheduler timing" advanced option. CPU impact is not necessarily high, but for optimal timing one core needs to be dedicated to it, meaning this option is only available on 4+ cores machines.

[FEATURE] MIDI input messages can be filtered per type at different levels (global, per device or per channel, and also per module)

Very complete MIDI filters, can be set at several levels. Useful to get rid of parasitic messages etc.

[FEATURE] MIDI effects can be applied individually to all modules that can receive MIDI
[FEATURE] Notes transpose MIDI effect (transpose all notes inside configured range)
[FEATURE] Notes range MIDI effect (excludes all notes outside of configured range)
[FEATURE] Message filter MIDI effect (filter incoming messages by type)

These basic effects allow to create keyboard splits/layers/merges, amongst other things. More effects are likely to be added in the future.

[FEATURE] VST plugins with MIDI output can send MIDI to other modules (interlinks)
[FEATURE] Pure MIDI processing VST plugins are now supported (ex: sequencers with no audio I/O)

This was a much requested feature. Beware of patch execution order when setting interlinks, otherwise you will get some extra latency and tracks might sound out of synch if it happens. Display the "execution order" dialog from the "Patch" menu to get a clear view of how the patch scheduler decided to order your modules, and eventually manually correct it.

[DETAIL] Optimized patch live-updating (faster and less ressource intensive)

Small but pleasant detail.

[DETAIL] Refactored advanced thread affinities configuration (now 3 possible choices: OS managed, balanced and strict)
[DETAIL] Optimized multi-core load balancing (in strict and balanced affinity modes)

A lot of work went into refactoring the application threading model and everything is more consistent now. Note that the MIDI output turbo mode option has an impact on the affinity model, but this is way too complex to explain and you should not have to worry about that!

[DETAIL] Holding a modifier key (shift or control) when creating audio patch links allow to connect multiple pins at once

Faster patching! Especially useful for multichannel processing patches.

[DETAIL] All modules having name labels on their GUIs now properly update when the module is renamed

Should have been implemented in previous version when the module renaming command was introduced, but some modules were not updated back then.

[DETAIL] Added support for two new keyboard physical layouts (US 104 variants)

Check the keyboard configuration dialog hints to determine what characterizes these layouts.

[DETAIL] Module and control context menus now display ticks when mappings are active

Another small but useful detail.

[DETAIL] Improved presets XML loading to allow better forward compatibility

Should support module versioning better now.

[DETAIL] Improved MME and DirectSound polling wave engines performance

They improved so much that they sometimes work better than their "blocking" equivalents.

[DETAIL] Selecting a hard drive root directory as VST plugins path is now prevented

We all do silly mistakes from time to time, but selecting "C:" as VST root directory leads to a very very long scan... Now a warning will be displayed instead.

[DETAIL] New hidden option to remove all document save confirmation prompts (some of you hate those, use at your own risk)
[DETAIL] Added some integrated help and instructions to the monitor groups management dialog
[DETAIL] Thread priorities configuration is now hidden deeper in the advanced config tab (new dialog)
[DETAIL] Optimized VST plugins MIDI input (more efficient handling code)

Other minor improvements.

[FIX] Fixed regression in Rapier DX and Trident DX (single) DirectSound wave engines

Those two were completely broken (again?) but nobody complained.

[FIX] A fix introduced in previous version led to a regression in the way VST GUIs dimensions are retrieved (some GUIs had wrong size in wrappers, ex: dblue Glitch)

Let's hope it will not re-introduce the bug that the previous fix tried to prevent! But at least GUI should have their correct size again.

[FIX] SyncToPush and other events coming from the synch engine did not trigger clock location change flags
[FIX] Partially incorrect clock information was sent to VST plugins, leading to some sequence looping issues (ex: Superior Drummer)

Should mostly improve VST plugins with clock synchronisation.

[FIX] Changing VST control rate in config without reloading document would crash

Config menu displayed a warning about the need to reload the current document, but unfortunately powering off and on again before reloading would lead to a crash.

[FIX] Finally resolved the long lasting bug around MIDI input (falsely identified as a timing bug in previous release, now properly fixed)

This one was a polymorphic monster and most users surely have experienced it when using MIDI input (it seemed to affect Windows XP more though) It led to a lot of different looking but all equally bad crashes.

[FIX] Resolved a nasty bug leading to the "problem with the modules" error message

Another bad guy, killed it too.

[FIX] Sometimes patch was not live-updated after using undo/redo history

Minor issue.

[FIX] Fixed a bug that prevented disabling MIDI routings (driver-level thru-mode) after a config change with engine running
[FIX] Fixed some edge cases around presets management when operating on disabled or non-powered modules
[FIX] Too many VST plugins do not support a tempo value of zero, a tiny value is sent instead to avoid crashes
[FIX] Module popup context menu is no longer displayed for internal modules inside a PopUp Design GUI wrapper (led to bad things)
[FIX] Fixed slight font display issue in two RMC modules as well as the RMC LFO


...and some minor fixes!