Renoise 'quits' (but not crashes) when using Beatskillz RetroKZ64 (VST) in a song

Description:

Renoise ‘crashes’ when loading a song using the RetroKZ64 VST. I can actually load the plugin, select a sound and work with the VST throughout song creation. When i store the song, quit renoise, start renoise, and try to load it back again, the renoise window simply disappears. This happens every time. Though the renoise window is gone, i do actually see renoise running in the background when i check using the task manager. The logs actually don’t mention anything. Renoise loads the song, the plugins and says it happily running (but without a window - there is just… nothing :slight_smile: )

Steps to reproduce look like this:

  1. Launch Renoise
  2. Load the RetroKZ64 VST
  3. Select a sound
  4. Add a note or two
  5. Save the song
  6. Quite Renoise
  7. Start Renoise
  8. Try to load back the song again
  9. poof. Renoise window = gone, but it still runs somewhere in the background

Expected results:

Renoise loading the song in the main window.

Actual results:

Renoise loading the song, but after loading it, the renoise window disappears.

Extra:

When i start Renoise clean, and load the plugin. It works (until saving/reloading later). However, when i select a sound, the window changes shortly with a ‘please wait’ screen to load up the actually sample. Maybe this causes strange behaviour within Renoise upon loading the instrument along with the song?

I realize it’s just a simple rompler, and probably not one of the best plugins written. However, it should kind of work correctly i think!

Thanks!

Dennis

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I also just noticed Renoise crashes (just disappears) when trying to use Softube Saturation Knob in a project, or, trying to open a project with the saturation knob used on a track. First I thought the project files or the plugin was corrupted so I uninstalled the plugin, the projects with it now open just fine, then reinstalled it and the projects crash once more. With Renoise 3.1.1 and Fl Studio 20 the plugin works fine so it’s at least 3.2.1 which crashes. The difference with your crashing is that I can’t even open the plugin, if I do, renoise just disappears straight away.

I don’t really know the cause. But only by deduction, the big difference between Renoise 3.1.1 and Renoise 3.2.0 / 3.2.1 is the scalability in the GUI. This is probably a problem loading graphics, and it has nothing to do with the audio engine. This makes me think that Renoise does not have a shield capable of supporting hermetic charges in this regard.

I have managed to hang up Renoise 3.2.1 (it just disappears, without any error message), just for failing to load an image file (an icon) in a window tool. Imagine that it is a corrupt image (a corrupt JPG, BMP or PNG, which exists and is correctly stored in a folder for reading). If you can’t load it, Renoise will hang up, whole.
In other words, as there is a reading problem with an image (icon or similar), Renoise will hang or simply will not load. This should have some shielding. If an image does not exist or fails, it simply should not be loaded, letting the rest load, for example, when you start Renoise.

Perhaps something similar happens with the loading of the VSTi. Does any image not scale well or something?

This sounds like the same kind of problem indeed. I hope someone will pick this up.

I can image this could be an issue, but the VST loads/works fine when i load it after starting Renoise. It only fails when i try to load it back when i saved the instrument in a song. It appears to me like a bug in renoise instead of access issues for the graphics and such. Loading it manually works every time …

It is strange that in 3.1.1 it does not fail, and in the current version it does. I have an old laptop for testing. When something that matters to me fails or gives problems on my main machine, I install it on the laptop with a clean Renoise installation to discard.

With the VST matter I am cleaning all my 32bit add-ons, in favor of using only 64bit. If there is any complement with the slightest problem, I automatically get rid of it. Sometimes the problems are from the VST, and sometimes they are from Renoise. With the new version of Renoise, you may have changed something related to the loading and use of VSTs (such as the known problem with 32-bit plugins, which do not get along with this new version).

I just hope that Renoise is calibrated as well as possible so that the VSTs work perfectly, and it seems that the VST3 version is relatively close for Renoise.

At the moment, you can only do 3 things, contact the author of Renoise, contact the author of the VST or get rid of the VST.

Just wanted to check/verify this, but I can’t find this on https://www.beatskillz.com/. Which version are you using exactly?

In general, we’re doing a lot of effort to avoid that Renoise simply quits without any further messages or without save a backup of the song. But there are crashes which are hard, up to impossible to catch when they do happen in plugins. For example when they crash in the GUI.

Hi taktik!

I have bought it for a few dollars through pluginboutique.It (the download) is marked as version ‘1.0’ there. I did same digging and it appears it has been build using ‘Maize Sampler Player 2.4.0.0’ @ https://www.maizesoft.com/cms/?page_id=48

Maybe that rings a bell. It appears to help one easily build a rompler VST :slight_smile:

By all means, it’s nothing special. Yet, Renoise shouldn’t do what it does. The logs don’t indicate a crash at all. The window is gone, but the Renoise process keeps running.

For the greater cause, i wouldn’t mind supplying it you taktik.

Dennis