{"slug": "fasttracker-ii", "name": "FastTracker II", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 3.776, "rising": 2.67, "first": "2026-07-29", "latest": "2026-08-02", "why": "So thank you to the author for resurrecting this amazing and somewhat esoteric bit of software!", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 3, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "So thank you to the author for resurrecting this amazing and somewhat esoteric bit of software!", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://16-bits.org/ft2.php", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["FastTracker II", "Fasttracker II"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 786412401, "item_id": 49150775, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49150775", "by": "piperflatline", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Love FT2!", "excerpt": "Love FT2! I did some PlayStation/N64 soundtrack stuff (known if you know) and released a few \"albums\" with it back in the 90s (essentially unknown). These days I use FL Studio but I'm always wanting in many ways to go back to tracking. Renoise is pretty cool but I do miss FT2, and yeah as someone mentioned there's also MilkyTracker. Annnnnnd... now I want to go track something.", "context": "made PlayStation/N64 soundtracks in the 90s", "use_case": "tracker music", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}, {"id": 786335568, "item_id": 49145973, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145973", "by": "Benanov", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I stuck to FT2", "excerpt": "As someone who was in the demoscene: FastTracker II was more of a successor to ProTracker on the Amiga than it was a successor to ScreamTracker 3. I say this because I used it for years; if you go by user interface and keyboard shortcuts the heritage is very visible. That isn't to say that FT2 didn't build upon what ST3 (ScreamTracker 3) did; FT2 loaded ST3 files and played them just fine, as long as they were sample", "context": "Former demoscene member", "use_case": "Music tracking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}, {"id": 786331504, "item_id": 49145719, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145719", "by": "tomduncalf", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So thank you to the author for resurrecting this amazing and somewhat esoteric bit of software!", "excerpt": "This rocks. Such nostalgia. FT2 was how I discovered anything about music making - I loved the euro dance music I heard on the radio as a 12 year old but had no idea about the scene or how electronic music was was made. PC Format had FT2 plus hundreds of modules on its cover CD one month, I used to love exploring all the random stuff on there and opened it up and my mind was blown when I realised that there was music", "context": "", "use_case": "music making", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "piperflatline", "context": "made PlayStation/N64 soundtracks in the 90s", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49150775", "date": "2026-08-02"}, {"by": "Benanov", "context": "Former demoscene member", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145973", "date": "2026-08-02"}, {"by": "mhd", "context": "made tracks on it 1996-2001", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094888", "date": "2026-07-29"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["tracker music", "music tracking", "music making"], "compared": [{"slug": "fl-studio", "name": "FL Studio", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "milkytracker", "name": "MilkyTracker", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "renoise", "name": "Renoise", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094151", "title": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49093434", "title": "User Interfaces of the Demo Scene", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 786412401, "item_id": 49150775, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49150775", "by": "piperflatline", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Love FT2!", "excerpt": "Love FT2! I did some PlayStation/N64 soundtrack stuff (known if you know) and released a few \"albums\" with it back in the 90s (essentially unknown). These days I use FL Studio but I'm always wanting in many ways to go back to tracking. Renoise is pretty cool but I do miss FT2, and yeah as someone mentioned there's also MilkyTracker. Annnnnnd... now I want to go track something.", "context": "made PlayStation/N64 soundtracks in the 90s", "use_case": "tracker music", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}, {"id": 786335568, "item_id": 49145973, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145973", "by": "Benanov", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I stuck to FT2", "excerpt": "As someone who was in the demoscene: FastTracker II was more of a successor to ProTracker on the Amiga than it was a successor to ScreamTracker 3. I say this because I used it for years; if you go by user interface and keyboard shortcuts the heritage is very visible. That isn't to say that FT2 didn't build upon what ST3 (ScreamTracker 3) did; FT2 loaded ST3 files and played them just fine, as long as they were sample", "context": "Former demoscene member", "use_case": "Music tracking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}, {"id": 786331504, "item_id": 49145719, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145719", "by": "tomduncalf", "date": "2026-08-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So thank you to the author for resurrecting this amazing and somewhat esoteric bit of software!", "excerpt": "This rocks. Such nostalgia. FT2 was how I discovered anything about music making - I loved the euro dance music I heard on the radio as a 12 year old but had no idea about the scene or how electronic music was was made. PC Format had FT2 plus hundreds of modules on its cover CD one month, I used to love exploring all the random stuff on there and opened it up and my mind was blown when I realised that there was music", "context": "", "use_case": "music making", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fasttracker II clone in C using SDL 2"}, {"id": 785518208, "item_id": 49094888, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094888", "by": "mhd", "date": "2026-07-29", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "There's also Renoise, which tries to marry the contemporary DAW with a tracker-style timeline. https://www.renoise.com", "context": "made tracks on it 1996-2001", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "User Interfaces of the Demo Scene"}]}