Orca is a very original MIDI sequencer, using only a grid and some alphanumeric characters to interact with it.

https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/orca.html

It is between a tracker, a roguelike and the visual aestetic of the C64, it can run on many plateforms. It has an electron / desktop, web, terminal implentation, and also on a dedicated virtual machine able to run on devices such as the Nintendo DS or the Raspberry Pico.

It can create original sequences, and also random patterns, because of the way you can program it.

It is very geeky, and therefore very suitable for BotB!

It can not produce sounds alone, but there is a synth created by the same genius behind Orca: Pilot, a mini synthetiser designed to be used with orca via UDP.

https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/pilot.html


Here is a short video showing why you'll want to play with it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-CzNpa5Apk

I am definitely not opposed to this!

I need to do a bit more research, but my guess is we should combine Orca and Pilot into a single format. Since Orca is a sequence/midi generator and Pilot is a synth I do not think they would make ideal formats on their own. I didn't know about the synth until you mentioned it here!

Might even be worth it to reach out to the developer. :D

I swear these people also had a tracker, but it appears they deleted it from their itch.io?

(duplicate)

@Razerek: I suppose the tracker you're talking about is this one: https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/marabu.html

@puke7: To use Orca + Pilot, the .orca file should be enough, because you can drive the Pilot settings directly from Orca, through some special commands dedicated to the synth (using UDP).

I don't know much about Orca at the moment, I'm watching some tutorials, but it looks awesome...

I've seen from the main Orca page, the desktop version, using electron, is not very well advertised (the link will lead to the uxn version, which can be cool, but not very friendly for newcomers). You can find it there: https://hundredrabbits.itch.io/orca

That's a new spankin' sequencer right there, with some rather quirky features on its own (at least with its play grid). That being said, it'd definitely help reaching out to the devs themselves, for, let's say, if they don't mind this new "battle format" of their being used here, and also to report any seen bugs to them.

I've posted the idea on the "officiel" Orca thread on this forum, and Neauoire, the developer thought it was a cool idea:

https://llllllll.co/t/orca-livecoding-tool/17689/1618?u=garvalf

I suppose he has a BotB account (according to his reply), but I don't know exactly which one. Maybe it's this one because it's the same nickname as one of his projects...: https://battleofthebits.com/barracks/Profile/aliceffekt/

that's really cool, and more reason to consider this format! it seems pretty unique and i'd be willing to give it a go for sure, it's popped up a few times when researching live coding stuff (which i still haven't really tried yet). we just have to be careful and make sure we precisely describe the format rules (like how to load in pilot patches for example).

i also found this which is like a sampler program for use with orca ( https://person0b.itch.io/cassetter ) but i don't think we can use it because it doesn't save a file with all the samples in it as far as i know, so it would be a bit confusing to set up, you'd have to provide a zip with all the samples as well i think so there's a lot more to go wrong with that.

btw i also found this demo; seems like you can actually make a tracker type thing in orca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzUQlmQvtjI

Bump because I would also love to see an Orca format!!

Although it is fun to use Orca with a sampler, I can see that getting a bit tricky...I think the original concept of limiting the format to just Orca+Pilot is the easiest solution. We could call it OrcaPilot.

funnyfact, one of the systems we use at work is called orca too - this isn't confusing at all! :D

I have tested some Orca companion alternatives and I think SunVox is a great option. It's powerful, rather simple to setup, it has a sampler and it’s also modular, which I think is very fitting. Here’s a guide to get started (example included).

Orca + SunVox

Initial setup

You will first need a virtual MIDI port (see the official tutorial's General section

).

Then, to make Orca communicate with SunVox via midi:

1. In Orca, cycle through MIDI output ports using CTRL+. (CMD+. on mac) and select your virtual MIDI port.
2. In SunVox, go to “Main Menu > Preferences > MIDI” and set one of the MIDI controllers to your virtual MIDI port and it's “Ch.” to “Any”.

Linking MIDI channels to the project’s modules

In SunVox, double click on a module to open its properties. Set “MIDI in” to “always” and the “Ch.” next to it to one of the 16 MIDI channels.

This change will be saved in the SunVox project.

Linking MIDI CC to the project’s module controllers

SunVox can listen to MIDI CC to automate the various parameters of its modules. This can be taken advantage of using Orca’s “!” operator.

1. Before setting up the SunVox controller, Orca should be stopped in order to prevent the wrong CC to be linked. In Orca, press Space to stop the program.
2. In SunVox, double click on a module controller (i.e. a parameter slider) to open its properties. Click on the button next to “MIDI IN:”. After clicking, it should say “Waiting for MIDI evt”.
3. In Orca, manually trigger the “!” you want to link by placing the cursor onto it and using CTRL+P (CMD+P on mac). The SunVox controller waiting for an event should now listen to this CC.

This change will be saved in the SunVox project.

Sharing and opening a project

Send a .zip file containing the .orca and .sunvox files.

Here’s an example project: Google Drive

Provided the user previously did the initial setup and that the virtual MIDI port is available, they can get the project running following theses steps:

1. Open the SunVox project.
2. Open Orca, and make sure the MIDI output is set to the right port (CTRL/CMD+. to change the port).
3. Open the Orca file (File > Open).

The patch should work as intended at this point. Adjust the zoom with CTRL/CMD+- and CTRL/CMD++ to see the whole patch if it's cropped.