[OliverTriplett]

Hey all,

 

So I’m charting a prog song, and naturally there are BPM changes. However, after charting about 2 minutes of the song I decided to test it in-game and low-and-behold, the first BPM change I placed doesn’t appear to be registering. The song starts at 145 BPM and after about a minute goes to 187 BPM. But in game, the song stays at 145 throughout. The only thing I could think of was to make sure that the BEAT track was properly synced and indeed it is, so I’m out of ideas. Anyone have a solution?

 

Here’s all the necessary files for those inquisitive enough https://www.mediafire.com/folder/2vgn2rqq6zzy0/Rock_Band_Customs

 

Thanks in advance!

[Farottone]

Make sure you’re exporting the tempo map and that you’re exporting the whole project. When I opened your project and exported the MIDI, the marker was in the exported MIDI.

[OliverTriplett]

Ah, of course! I wasn’t extracting the tempo map. Such a simple problem for so much confusion. Thanks Far!

[OliverTriplett]

Alright so I’ve run into another problem, this time Magma is giving me this error:

 

Build started at 7:31 PM.
Reading the archive
SystemInit Params: C:Program Files (x86)Harmonix Music SystemsMagma v2MagmaCompiler.exe -have_lock Rock Band CustomsProjectsSea in the SkyTread LightlySea in the Sky – Tread Lightly.rbproj Rock Band CustomsProjectsSea in the SkyTread LightlySea in the Sky – Tread Lightly.rba -mutex HMX_Magma_1392336024810853131101
Project Compiler: Reading project ‘Rock Band CustomsProjectsSea in the SkyTread LightlySea in the Sky – Tread Lightly.rbproj’…
Project Compiler: Entering Phase 1 of 5…
Project Compiler: Entering Phase 2 of 5…
MIDI Compiler: Starting…
ERROR: MIDI Compiler: (PART DRUMS): Gem at [106:1:240] in expert difficulty has a duration of 1800 ticks; max is 120
MIDI Compiler: Done.
ERROR: Project Compiler: Midi compiler failed.
Build ended at 7:31 PM.

 

 

Researching this error didn’t turn up anything helpful. I found that removing the note placed right after this measure removes the error, however the note in question is no longer than 1/16 and is definitely quantized. Upon closer examination, I noticed when zoomed in enough I see what appears to be measures overlapped:

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps this is the issue? If it is, I have no idea how to fix it. This occurs on a time signature change but I must be inserting it wrong. Any ideas?

[Ultimate_MANG0]

Had this happen to me. I had put in a time signature in by accident and in turned what looked like a 16th note into a 4th. I deleted the time signature and reduced it down. If you need that time signature though, find the note and just make a 64th or smaller until it work ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_cheeky.001.gif” /> That’s how I do it haha

[OliverTriplett]

Unfortunately I do need this time signature…also, I tried shrinking it as low as it can go (128th) and it’s still at 1695 ticks. I don’t know the exact math but I’m pretty sure I would have to somehow drop it to something much smaller to get below 120 ticks ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_cheeky.001.gif” /> thanks though.

[raynebc]

From what I’ve read, Reaper doesn’t handle mid-measure time signature changes well. Is the time signature change correctly placed on the first beat of a measure?

[OliverTriplett]

No it’s not as unfortunately the time signature change happens mid-measure. I’ve tried remedying it by placing a shorter time signature right before on the first beat but I don’t think I’m well versed enough in time signatures to know what the configuration should be. The time signatures on either side of the change are both 4/4.

[Farottone]

From what I’ve read, Reaper doesn’t handle mid-measure time signature changes well. Is the time signature change correctly placed on the first beat of a measure?

 

Right, let’s expand on this (so I’m replying to him, I’m just using your quote as a starting point ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_wink.gif”> ): time signature changes happen on the 1 one of the measure. Unless you are autoring avant-guarde music, there are really no reasons to do any differently. And even if you are, players are not reading sheet music, they are playing a game in which time signatures are used essentially to define the beat lines.

 

You need to appropriately change time signature for the measure before that one to accomodate the change.

[raynebc]

As an example, say the song is in 4/4, but on the 16th beat it changes to 8/4. To author this in a way that would work properly, the first three measures would need to be 4/4, the fourth measure should be 3/4 and then the 8/4 could be placed on beat 16 as it would now be the beginning of the fifth measure (measures are underlined):

4/4

Beat 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

3/4

Beat 13, 14, 15

8/4

16, …

 

Edited for typos.

[Chips]

As an example, say the song is in 4/4, but on the 16th beat it changes to 8/4. To author this in a way that would work properly, the first three measures would need to be 4/4, the third measure should be 3/4 and then the 8/4 could be placed on beat 16 as it would now be the beginning of the fourth measure (measures are underlined):

4/4

Beat 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

3/4

Beat 13, 14, 15

8/4

16, …

 

Exactly. The way I would think of it in this context is that the last measure before the switch to 8/4 isn’t 4/4, it’s 3/4. So you’ve got 3 different time signatures altogether. Many songs do this so it’s something you’ll have to learn to adjust to, especially if you plan to chart a lot of progressive stuff.

[ShinyZeni]

I’m just going to add that REAPER is REAAALLY picking about it being exact. If it’s not, either you’re going to end up with the gems being off sync, or a “crunched” measure. I spent about 20 hours beating my head against this problem on my third custom, and still didn’t understand it until a few songs later.

 

You can manually specify where you want the TS placed in the dialogue window. Make sure it’s on X.1.00, and not X.1.01 or X.3.99.

 

The most consistent way I’ve found to make sure I don’t have an issue is to manually place them with the menu, rather than clicking to add the change up in the tempo line. Good luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ShinyZeni]

Also don’t move the BPM TS markers after putting them down to try and fix the issue. If it’s not in the right spot, remove it and place it back down again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OliverTriplett]

I hate to say it but I’m 100% lost. I don’t understand what you guys mean about the time signatures and I feel like I’ve tried every configuration at this point. It seems like I can bypass the “ERROR: MIDI Compiler: (PART DRUMS): Gem at [106:1:240] in expert difficulty has a duration of 1800 ticks; max is 120″ no problem now by offsetting the note in question by 128 but now I’m stuck in an endless loop of trying a time signature configuration, rendering the files for in-game, playtesting and then finding out RB still doesn’t recognize the change in signatures.

[ShinyZeni]

If you look at the offending gem, what measure does it land on, and what measures are immediately before and after it? If you want to take a screenshot and post it up (or even the RPP) we might be able to look at and explain it a little better.

 

Trust me when I say I understand your pain and frustration. This was easily the biggest hurdle I had to overcome when I was learning how to make REAPER play nice.

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