A.D.A. Amiga Demoscene Archive

Is anyone familiar with 4champ? It's an iOS app that connects to the wonderful AMP (amiga music preservation) database of modules and let's you play modules. It also has a rather neat radio feature which let's you connect to AMP and listen to random tunes. Admittely, amongst a lot of obscure stuff, i've discovered some nice new tunes this way.

I've re-discovered my love for modules with this app. I'm no audio purist so i can't judge the replay quality of the modules (it would be interesting to hear an expert's opinion on that matter). Also, i feel that the app needs a lot of work both on features and user interface (i haven't found any forum/discussion place for it yet). But i like the idea of being able to connect to AMP with a device and listen to modules.

I've tested the app during the day and I think it's nice. The best way to get in touch with him/her is by Twitter i think - https://twitter.com/4champ_app

Sorry to disagree, but this is no good.

The replayer lib sucks and there is no way to control the settings.

Modizer is all right but Eightbitbubsy has it all under control at http://16-bits.org

Please encourage him on #protracker on ircnet to make a real replayer for amiga modules.

@wasp: interesting to hear a musician's opinion on it (which is also why i started this thread). I really like the idea though: a portable module player that connects to a huge module resource like AMP.

Can you be a bit more specific as to why the replayer lib isn't good? Does it result in incorrect playing of modules?

That was just a first impression, but yes, it's the replayer.

Modizer is a great app resource-wize and it's a fairly decent replayer for mods and sids for ios, but it's not linked to AMP.

Hugs and kisses to Coma for all the time spent on modland, but the mirroring is simply not working. You know what I mean. :/

I'm no developer, but the solution seems to be pretty close.

Eightbitbubsy has made a protracker clone worthy of being a compo player and we have two replayer apps connected to the most valuable databases of amiga modules.

Looking forward to see the result of this.

@z5, @deadguy nice to hear that you like 4champ :) @wasp while I'd not say libmodplug exactly sucks, I'm aware of its limitations. Maybe I should look into incorporating UADE in an update - to get on par with Modizer on the playback (as far as I know, Modizer uses UADE + libmodplug for amiga mod playback). For me, 4champ has been a great learning opportunity, and continues to stay so - it seems. I am not planning to set up a forum for 4champ, but if you have improvement ideas / other suggestions, you can get in touch through my Twitter account @4champ_app.

@florist: i really like the idea of a portable module player tapping into the amp database. However, I think there is room for improvement, especially on the user interface.

My biggest request would be to be able to listen to a module without it being added to the local library. In many cases, i want to check out a module before deciding if it's good enough to keep in my library. That way, the library would become a collection of my favourite tunes. Now, i have to listen to it and when i don't like it, i have to delete it again. This gets very tiresome after a while and discourages further discovery of tunes. I assume the module has to be downloaded to be played hence why it's automatically added to the library?

Anyway, it will be interesting to see this evolve.

I got 4 champ on my ipad/phone, and enjoy it.

I have used a unlisenced version up to today, and obviously without background play it wasnt much use. The registered version I just paid for will be tested extensivly and I will make comments about the "feel" in a few days when ive gotten more expirience with it.

As for the soundquality; for my non-musician ears the playback sounds ok. On the iphone with Koss headphones atm.

Other than that I agree with z5's comment about not being able to listen to a tune before its added to library. Somewhat annoying, but not a make or break issue.

Overall im very happy with the app. Worth the 7 norwegian kroners i paid for sure :)

Made a Amigaworld.net thread regarding this app, just to get some visibility regarding the existance of it;
http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=39106&start=0&post_id=735303&order=0&viewmode=thread&pid=0&forum=17#735303

@z5, @Overflow - thanks for the feedback. I can see your point regarding the library getting overcrowded and will keep it in mind when preparing the next release. There will be one by the latest in the autumn when iOS8 is rolled out, no dates set yet though.

Good to hear that there will be continued development of this app.

I use it every day now :)

Perfect for my iphone while reading or whatnot.

Just FYI: 4champ full version is free this weekend (13th to 15th of June 2014) - If you have been pondering purchase, now it is your chance. Download from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/4champ/id578311010?ls=1&mt=8 (if not already done so) and activate full version on the About tab. Happy listening!

4champ 1.5 now released to App Store. The new version has two new "channels" in the radio - New in AMP plays most recent additions in the amp.dascene.net database. Local plays mods that have been stored to device - great for offline use.

In addition there's better control in adding tunes to playlists (try long tapping a module) + some bug fixes. To celebrate the new release, full version is free until next sunday (14th of September). Enjoy!

Pity you didn't find a way to not store each module that you want to play in the local directory. The way i want to use 4champ is: browse the AMP database, preview a song (listen to it to see if the tune is good) and if it's good, then i could decide to add this song to my local dir. If it's not good, then i don't want it in my local dir.

In short: browse amp, listen to tune, if tune good, then i add it to local, if tune bad, then i don't add it to local.

@z5: Your proposal makes sense, and I'm implementing auto-clean feature as an option. The UX will not be exactly as you describe above but how would it sound if you'd get an option to clean any non-favorited songs that are not on a playlist when you clear a playlist? In this fashion:

Not the thing i'm looking for but it's nice to see that the app is still under development. Keep it up :)

4champ 1.6 now in App Store! This update adds in-app settings where you can adjust some playback parameters like stereo separation, bass boost and surround. You can also control how 4champ treats downloaded mods when you clear playlists. Either keep all downloaded mods or delete the mods that are no longer referenced/favorited when you clear a playlist.

4champ 1.6 integrates with Google Analytics, and at first launch you'll be asked whether you want to help making the app better by allowing anonymous data collection or opt out - your choice! This you can also change later in settings should you change your mind.

As with previous release, the full version will be free for about a week until Nov 23. To get the full version, navigate to About tab in the app and just tap Buy Full Version button. Also don't forget to follow @4champ_app for updates, great module shares and other related stuff.

I hope you enjoy the app. If you have a minute to spare, please consider writing a review in App Store - it would be greatly appreciated.

4champ 1.7 released to App Store! The new version is the first 64-bit build, and has crisp & clear gfx for iPhone 6+ users. In addition some minor feature improvements (e.g. you can now rename playlists) and bug fixes. Activate full version for free this week (on About page of the app). Go to http://bit.ly/1a8Xnjm to download.

Only posting to show appriciation for your app :)

Still using it more or less daily.

Out of curiosity, do you see how much traffic your app got, how many users etc? Is that what Google Analytics is for?

Anyhow, great app all the same.

I was not aware of this one. Thank you.
I guess my iPhone is gonna play mod's quite a while instead of spotify. TNX!

Recently, i started using this app again. I had an empty local list so i started building my list of favourite tunes again. But it's just not practical the way it is implemented now. I keep spending time adding tunes to my local library in order to be able to check them out after which i have to delete them again if i think they are not worth keeping. It discourages me from checking out/discovering tunes and it makes me give up on trying to build a good local selection of tunes very fast.

All that is needed is some sort of "preview" option, e.g. tap once to preview the tune, tap twice to add it to the local database (or just two buttons for the different options). I hope you will consider this in future :)

I haven't checked for a while here - it is really nice to see that you guys take the time to comment / suggest on 4champ features. Some thoughts below on your comments.

@Overflow: The analytics data is collected exactly to get some kind of insight on how many users are using the app, from where, and how - I have some hooks in the app that indicate the use of certain features like favoriting, sharing and using the radio. The numbers that I get are not very high, some 40-50 active users per month - not too many, but then again maybe all of you don't opt in for the analytics collection ;)

@tassel - thanks!

@z5 your account on the preview feature is clarifying. I can see why the auto-clean thing that I implemented did not quite meet your needs. I'll have to think how to incorporate something like your description into the 4champ business logic. It makes sense, really.

Past months I've been totally (over)loaded with my day job, but a while ago I managed to squeeze a couple of hours for 4champ development and I implemented playlist mode selection feature (you can choose sequential/shuffle play for playlists). Now I'm looking into localisation - based on the analytics data I'm planning to add localisation for 4-5 languages for countries where most of the sessions are from, namely Russian, Danish, Polish, German and Spanish... Maybe Finnish too, I'd not need to use a localisation provider for that ;)

Stay tuned for an update by June at the latest. Meanwhile, if you have a spare minute, App Store reviews are always appreciated. Don't forget to follow @4champ_app on twitter, and generally - spread the word in your circles. The mod-music scene is fantastic thing and 4champ is providing a way to enjoy it on the go.

It's been taking more time than I anticipated to get the localisation going, but now I've got German, Norwegian, Danish, Russian and Finnish covered. If anyone here interested to participate in beta, drop me a PM in twitter (@4champ_app) or in mail sitomani at iki.fi. The beta has shuffle mode for playlists + the aforementioned localisations included.

Plan is to have the update in App Store at the time of Assembly 2015, where I will be participating - you can find me at the oldskool area, will be having some 4champ identifying material around.

Hey there florist! Still using your app more or less daily, and Ive finally turned on the data collection option.

I'm for the most part using the player while being offline, driving the car/Bluetooth, so will the data be stored and transmitted once I turn on the mobile data/wireless?

Anyhow, a must have app ;)

@Overflow: Thanks :D Yes, the usage metrics collection is done using google analytics API, it will cache the events during offline and send a burst when back online.

As you probably noticed, the 1.8 version is now out - adds shuffle mode for playlists, and 5 languages. More will come in future releases.

The full version is free during Assembly 2015 week, so anyone without background play yet can get it for free up till sunday. Just launch the app and go to About tab, there you'll find the in-app purchase option if you haven't already bought it.

4champ 1.9 now in store - full version free until 6th of December. This version adds background mode notifications, I.e you can register to get notified when new modules are added in AMP database. Happy listening!

4champ 2.0 released today. This update consists of the following features:

- The background play feature is now free (no in-app purchase needed)
- Now playing -footer view on all screens when a module is playing
- Module info view that shows the sample information from currently playing module. Access by tapping the now playing footer.
- Preview mode on search: When preview mode is on, downloaded modules are not stored permanently until saved/favorited.
- Bug fixes + minor improvements.

Check it out in App Store https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/4champ/id578311010

@z5 I think you might find the preview mode in search useful (you can now choose to listen without storing the mods permanently until saved/favorited).

It's obviously been a while - and it's not only because of me. In late 2017 Apple decided to reject the 4champ version 2.1 update due to the review guideline 5.2.3 Audio/Video Downloading (apps that use third party services to download music must provide documentation about permission to use these services upon request).

Despite a good effort with AMP staff to work this out with Apple, we could not come into agreement and I pulled the app from store for the time being.

Recently I've set up a github repo where I'm rewriting the app with Swift pretty much from scratch. Please star the repo / follow it to stay updated when I add features. Anyone with a mac and xcode can now build the app for personal use. I will look into releasing it again through AppStore in the future, but until then it is DIY install only.

Currently the github version only has the Radio feature implemented, with two "stations": All (playing from the whole AMP database) and New (playing the most recent additions)

4champ repository: https://github.com/sitomani/4champ

On the news: Search feature implementation now merged to master, see a bit of a backstory at github. This version allows search by module name, composer, group or in-module texts (instrument/sample names). Sideload install only.

Pleased to announce that I'm getting 4champ back to AppStore in a while. There's some final touches that I have planned before the official re-release, but I've already pushed it out to Testflight Public Beta. So if you want to have a test on an iOS device running iOS13.x, go to https://testflight.apple.com/join/j1yhaJQ1 to join the beta program. Any feedback welcome!