UFODAW 0.9.3.4

UFODAW 0.9.3.4 - closing the synth window no longer crashes

Fixed

• Closing the synth window could close the whole program. One of the lists in that window was released twice when the window was closed. It now closes normally (opened and closed repeatedly in the test).

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.3.4-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.3.4-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.9.3.3

UFODAW 0.9.3.3 - the Edit button of the built-in synth works

Fixed

• The Edit button next to Built-in synth (the VST button of a track > Instrument) did nothing. It now opens the synth window with every setting: oscillators, unison, filter, envelopes, LFO, glide and the piano engine.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.3.3-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.3.3-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.9.3.2

UFODAW 0.9.3.2 - the right version number everywhere

Fixed

• The exe showed 0.9.0 in its file properties (Properties > Details) in the recent releases, even though the program itself was newer. That made a new copy look like an old one. The file version now follows the real version.

New

• File > About UFODAW (version)... shows the version, the build date and the folder of the copy that is running, so you can always see which copy opened a project.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.3.2-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.3.2-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.9.3.1

UFODAW 0.9.3.1 - double-clicking a project opens the newest version

Fixed

• Projects opened in an older version. When Open with > Always use this app was used once, Windows kept the path of that one copy of UFODAW, so double-clicking a .mdaw file could keep opening an older copy. UFODAW now points that choice at the version that is started, and the installer points it at the installed one.

Also

• Automatic tests for projects in older formats (version 1 with a single audio file per track, version 2 with the old synth settings) were added; all older formats open in the current version.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.3.1-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.3.1-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.9.3

UFODAW 0.9.3 - scripting with Lua

New

• Scripting - File > Scripts (Lua)... runs Lua scripts from %APPDATA%\UFODAW\Scripts. A script can add tracks, write and change MIDI notes, set up the synth (all its settings and the 43 sounds), change the tempo, control the transport and render the project, with a built-in music library (note names, scales, chords, euclidean rhythms). The program asks for a script's settings first, a run is one undo step, and scripts run in a sandbox (no files, programs or network; limits on time and memory).
• Six example scripts are written the first time: a tour of the project, a chord progression, euclidean drums, a random melody, humanize and arpeggiate for the selected clip.
• Command line - UFODAW.exe --run-script script.lua [project.mdaw] runs a script without a dialog (exit code 0 or 1), for pipelines together with --render.
• The full reference is in SCRIPTING.md. Automatic tests run the example scripts and check the sandbox, the limits and the error messages.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.3-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.3-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.9.2

UFODAW 0.9.2 - a much better synth, a piano engine, remade drums

New

• Synth - up to five unison oscillators over the stereo image, a second oscillator and a sub oscillator, pulse width, a resonant filter with drive, key tracking and its own envelope, an LFO (pitch, cutoff, volume), glide, a pitch envelope (808 basses) and a mono legato mode. Edit sound... in the piano roll opens every setting; most can be automated. Old projects open with their old sound.
• Piano engine - a piano from decaying partials with string beating, hammer noise and velocity-dependent brightness; six piano sounds.
• 43 ready-made sounds (basses such as 808 sub, Moog bass and Legato bass, leads, pads, keys, plucks, pianos, brass), balanced to the same loudness.
• Remade drums - better kicks, snares, claps, hats, toms and cymbals; soft and round-robin versions of the sounds of every kit as velocity layers, so a pattern does not sound like a machine gun; two new kits, 909 and Acoustic (a small room, stereo).
• Command line - UFODAW.exe --render project.mdaw out.wav renders a project to wav, flac, aiff, mp3 or ogg without a dialog.
• More automatic tests: the synth presets, the piano, mono legato and the drums are checked on every change.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.2-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.2-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before; the starter pack is written again at the first start (a fraction of a second).

UFODAW 0.9.1

UFODAW 0.9.1 - clip launcher, project check, voice character

New

• Clip launcher - File > Clip launcher: a grid with a column per track and a row per idea. Click a cell or a row to start clips live; they repeat and everything starts on the next bar or beat so it stays in time. Fill cells with an audio file, a new pattern or a clip from the arrangement; the cells are saved in the project. A new Launcher jam template shows it working.
• Project check - one dialog for everything that did not come through when a project opens (missing files, plugins, a newer file format), with Find the files... to look for missing audio in a folder.
• Voice character - the pitch shift of a clip can keep the formants, so a vocal does not sound like a chipmunk or a giant.
• Automatic tests on every change: the engine must give identical results on one core and several, and old, newer and damaged project files must keep opening. Projects now record their format version.
• Tutorial video of the clip launcher in the guide.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.1-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.1-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before. From 0.9.0 on, Update available > Install now updates the program for you.

UFODAW 0.9.0

UFODAW 0.9.0 - update from inside the program, problem reports, a fuller guide

New

• Install now - the orange Update available button can install the new version: it downloads the installer, checks it against the SHA-256 that GitHub lists for it, closes UFODAW, updates and starts it again. Unsaved changes are kept in the autosave and offered at start. (Updating to this version from 0.8.9 or older still goes through the download page; from 0.9.0 on it is one click.)
• Problem reports - File > Report a problem, and after a crash a report with the version, Windows version, processor and the file that crashed (no project data). Nothing is sent by the program: you open a prefilled GitHub issue or copy the text.
• Documentation - the guide has a Getting started section, Updates and problem reports and Troubleshooting.

Download

• UFODAW-0.9.0-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.9.0-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.8.9

UFODAW 0.8.9 - multi-core audio and plugin crash isolation

New

• Multi-core audio - heavy projects are mixed on several CPU cores at once (tracks and buses side by side, then summed in a fixed order, so the sound is identical to single-core). Light projects stay on one core. Audio settings > CPU sets the number of helper threads (automatic by default).
• Plugin crash isolation - a crash in a plugin's own window or callbacks no longer ends the program: its windows close, the plugin is blocked and a message names it. If the program is closed anyway, the plugin that did it is blocked at the next start (with a notice) and the autosave restores your work.

Download

• UFODAW-0.8.9-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.8.9-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.

UFODAW 0.8.8.3

UFODAW 0.8.8.3 - sounds and templates included, a sample browser, an update check

New

• A starter pack made by the program - about 45 drum one-shots (kicks, snares, claps, hats, toms, cymbals, percussion), bass and synth sounds, effects and four drum loops, all synthesised (free to use in any music). Written to %APPDATA%\UFODAW\StarterPack on first start.
• Five drum kits in the drum rack (Punch, 808, Lo-fi, House, Tight): one box fills all 16 pads. Undo brings your own samples back.
• Ten sounds for the built-in synth (pluck, warm pad, strings, brass, lead, keys, bell, sub bass, fat bass) in the piano roll.
• File > New from a template - a beat, a lo-fi sketch, a house groove, a trap groove, a song sketch with named sections, and a vocal-recording setup with a ready effects chain. They open as new, unsaved projects.
• Sample browser - the starter pack by category and folders of your own, with search, a preview when you click a sound, and double-click or drag to use it.
• Update check - File > Check for updates, an orange Update available button in the top bar when a newer version exists, and an optional check once a day at start-up (one small request to GitHub; nothing about you or your projects is sent).
• The empty project screen points to templates and the sample browser.

Download

• UFODAW-0.8.8.3-setup.exe - the installer (recommended), or
• UFODAW-0.8.8.3-win64.zip - unzip anywhere and start UFODAW.exe.

Windows may show a SmartScreen message because the program is not code-signed yet: More info > Run anyway. Projects from earlier versions open as before.