Issue playing MIDI files

[JMC002 Neil]

I'm still learning about Adventure Maker! As part of this, I created a simple plugin that is just a set of useful functions and procedures. Some of them deal with playing audio files using Media Player controls. My "test project" currently plays a mixture of .wav, .mp3 and .mid files. When it is ran from Adventure Maker, all of the audio files play correctly. However, when I create an executable and install from that then run it, I get errors. The WAV & MP3 files play OK but, whenever the application attempts to play a MIDI (.MID) file, I get an "automation error". Experimentation has shown that enabling the option "Do not encrypt the file extensions" before I create the .exe file, all sound files play OK, including the .mid files. I assume that something is going wrong preparing the encrypted files for Media Player, and that the "automation error" is because the Media Player control is unable to find (or load) the .mid files.

[GM-Support]

Thanks for the info.

I will look into it asap.

[Lyberodoggy]

The problem is probably based on this: wav, mp3s, oggs, rms etc are just sound codecs, which are automatically detected when a media player is trying to play the music, independently from the extention. Midi files yet are not encoded musci files, but commands to the midi mapper and synth of the pc (which are lockated on the sound card), therefore hardware handlers rather than software ones... So if somebody encrypts the extention, the files cannot auto detect the way the should be played.

That's my opinion. Could be wrong.

[Chromegloss55]

To avoid this download a MIDI-converter.

Google 'MIDI Converter Studio'...
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[JMC002 Neil]

The problem is probably based on this: wav, mp3s, oggs, rms etc are just sound codecs, which are automatically detected when a media player is trying to play the music, independently from the extention. Midi files yet are not encoded musci files, but commands to the midi mapper and synth of the pc (which are lockated on the sound card), therefore hardware handlers rather than software ones... So if somebody encrypts the extention, the files cannot auto detect the way the should be played.

That's my opinion. Could be wrong.

Sounds reasonable. Indeed, when I tried renaming a .WAV file to .WAP - and edited my code accordingly - the sound still played when the frame was tested. However, when I subsequently tried renaming a .MID file to .MIN and changed the code to match, that played OK too. I tried creating an executable with the renamed MIDI file and it plays OK from the installed game! So a MIDI file with the correct extension doesn't work when the extension is encrypted but a MIDI file with the wrong extension plays correctly!

[JMC002 Neil]

To avoid this download a MIDI-converter.

Google 'MIDI Converter Studio'...

Interesting. I'll have to take a look at that. For now, I can simply give my MIDI files incorrect extensions. Then they play OK!

[Mystery]

Indeed, when I tried renaming a .WAV file to .WAP - and edited my code accordingly - the sound still played when the frame was tested. However, when I subsequently tried renaming a .MID file to .MIN and changed the code to match, that played OK too. I tried creating an executable with the renamed MIDI file and it plays OK from the installed game! So a MIDI file with the correct extension doesn't work when the extension is encrypted but a MIDI file with the wrong extension plays correctly!

Really?!? Lol, that sounds strange...

[Lyberodoggy]

Then, I can only blame encryption (since another algorythm should be used for encrypting midi files for the reasons described before). If your plugin ever comes out, I 'll check your code...

[JMC002 Neil]

Then, I can only blame encryption (since another algorythm should be used for encrypting midi files for the reasons described before). If your plugin ever comes out, I 'll check your code...

I am fairly confident that there isn't anything wrong with the code. After all, it works for other media files, and it isn't even complicated.

[Lyberodoggy]

Just curious...

[JMC002 Neil]

Just curious...

That's OK! I do plan on "releasing" the plugin once there's enough in it to make it (hopefully) worth having. It's certainly making it easier for me to start new projects at the moment!

[GM-Support]

Indeed, when I tried renaming a .WAV file to .WAP - and edited my code accordingly - the sound still played when the frame was tested. However, when I subsequently tried renaming a .MID file to .MIN and changed the code to match, that played OK too. I tried creating an executable with the renamed MIDI file and it plays OK from the installed game! So a MIDI file with the correct extension doesn't work when the extension is encrypted but a MIDI file with the wrong extension plays correctly!

If is possible that it works when the extension contains only letters and it doesn't work when the extension is a 3-digit number?

That's the only difference I can see...

[JMC002 Neil]

If is possible that it works when the extension contains only letters and it doesn't work when the extension is a 3-digit number?

That's the only difference I can see...

It is certainly true that the "wrong" MIDI extension is not altered by the extension encryption, and stays ".MIN", so you could be right!

[JMC002 Neil]

Hmmm.... I tried actually changing the extension of a MIDI file from .MID to .123 (and edited the code accordingly), just to see what would happen. When I tested the frame, the MIDI file played OK!

[GM-Support]

Hmmm.... I tried actually changing the extension of a MIDI file from .MID to .123 (and edited the code accordingly), just to see what would happen. When I tested the frame, the MIDI file played OK!

Surprising!

[JMC002 Neil]

Sure is an interesting mystery!

[Mystery]

For a moment I thought you were talking to me

Yes, seems to be a strange "computer logic"

[GM-Support]

The default behaviour of the encryption changed in AM 4.5.2.

[JMC002 Neil]

The default behaviour of the encryption changed in AM 4.5.2.

Cool!