ChipWave Studio 0.2.16.0: Controller maps, named Undo and a glowing display

Controller maps, named Undo steps and a glowing display

0.2.16.0 lets you save and load controller maps for your MIDI keyboard, makes the Edit menu say what it will undo ("Undo: Move clip"), and gives the top display a soft glow and glassy shine in whichever backlight colour you pick. Behind the scenes, every knob now comes from one shared list, and a new contributor guide says where each kind of new feature goes. Every song saves, plays and renders exactly as before. Help > Check for updates offers this version.

Download

• Windows: ChipWave-0.2.16.0-setup-x64.exe (installer) or the portable ChipWave-0.2.16.0-windows-x64.zip. The installer isn't code-signed, so SmartScreen may warn: click "More info", then "Run anyway".
• macOS (universal, unsigned: Control-click > Open): ChipWave-0.2.16.0-macos-universal.dmg (or the .zip) runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 11 or later. It isn't notarised, so the first time, Control-click the app and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ChipWave.app. See MACOS.md.
• SHA256SUMS.txt lists the checksums of all eight files.

New: controller maps

• File > Save controller map… saves the knobs you've MIDI-learned as a small file for that controller (by default in the settings folder under Controllers, named after the MIDI device).
• File > Load controller map… brings a saved map back, replacing the learned list. The same two buttons sit under the learned list in Settings > MIDI.
• A map is plain data (CC numbers and knob names, no scripts). Knobs it doesn't recognise are skipped and named in the status bar. See MIDI.md.

New: named Undo steps

• The Edit menu now says what it will undo or redo, for example Undo: Move clip or Redo: Add note.
• Named so far: clips (move, copy, resize, fade, delete, duplicate, split, paste), notes, tracker cells and rows, tracks and knobs. Other edits still undo as plain "Undo".

New: glow and shine display

• The top display has a soft backlight glow in the middle and a glassy shine across the top, tinted by the backlight colour you choose (Mint, Amber, Ice and the rest).
• The text stays easy to read: at least 4.5:1 contrast on the brightest spot for every backlight. It's paint only, so nothing sounds different.

Behind the scenes

• One knob list: every knob in a song (instrument, patch, generator, effect, mixer, modulation, tempo) now comes from one shared list with its name and range. MIDI learn, controller maps, automation lane names, modulation and generator knob names all read it, with tests that keep them from drifting apart. New knobs will be easier and safer to add.
• Where does this go? A new contributor guide, ARCHITECTURE.md, says which files a new knob, effect, instrument, saved setting, MIDI feature or named edit touches, plus the rules for the audio thread.

The song format is unchanged, so songs from 0.2.16.0 open in 0.2.15.0.

Before release, these checks were run on the release code (the merge into main has the same files): the automated test suite (1205 tests passed, 18 slow ones skipped, plus 3 more in a second suite); the 11 racks acceptance tests, 6 Rack tests, 10 piano-roll copy tests and 13 display tests; rustfmt; clippy for the Linux and Windows targets; an icon check; and a render check. The render check confirmed that the demo songs, the older-version fixture songs and the generator presets render bit-identically to the same reference renders 0.2.15.0 matched, and StringWave's Velvet Ensemble preset renders the same as before. The macOS build passed its CI build, launch smoke test and dmg check.

Full details are in the CHANGELOG.

Known limits

• Controller maps hold MIDI CC learn only (no notes, pitch bend or pressure), and loading a map replaces the learned list rather than merging it.
• Not every edit has a name yet; the rest undo as plain "Undo".
• Testing: the Mac build was tested on CI only, not on a real Mac. This Windows installer was built and checked on Linux, not run on Windows before release. Please report anything odd in an issue.

Credits

• Controller maps, named Undo steps, the glow and shine display, the one knob list and the contributor guide by Del (postmanpat).

The full list of the libraries and authors ChipWave builds on is in Help > About, the README and THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.txt.