Shuffle play instead of Random play

wdekler · 18th October 2002, 22:11

As the subject says, I consider the current so called shuffle play function more like an adjustable playlist randomizer...

Please consider implementing a REAL shuffle function which not only randomizes the playlist but plays all songs just once when the repeat function has been turned off!

If this function would get implemented it would prevent winamp from playing a song which has already just been played while other songs still haven't had their turn.

I hope that I haven't overlooked this request in a whish list, but it seems to annoy a lot of people when searching the forums. Surely it must be a simple piece of code compared to the other high-tech components (from the viewpoint of a non programmer like me

)?

Wanne.

dsboulder · 19th October 2002, 05:46

I understand that the randomize playlist is an ALTERNATIVE to the shuffle function, but I don't think that it's a SUBSTITUTE. Sometimes I want to be surprised by what's next, while still being able to find the songs in order if I need to pull one up, and that's what the shuffle function would be good for. Just my opinion, but I know so many others who agree.

wdekler · 20th October 2002, 09:37

I know that I can 'Playlist > Sort > Randomize' but that is exactly what shuffle play should do. Just as on a CD Player, why not change the SHUFFLE play behaviour so that it does what everyone would expect of it? I don't understand who's enjoying playlists of say 25 songs and hearing the same song 4 times before you've heard some of the otherones.... maybe there should be a poll... ?

Wanne.

GX1327 · 20th October 2002, 18:01

winamps shuffle sucks. until it gets fixed, heres what i recommend and have been using for a while

when using a large playlists, instead of "shuffle", play it straight through (no shuffling) and sort list by randomizing order. this way, every song only gets played once, the shuffle uses a perfect randomization (none of this window size bullshit), and you can see the list of songs to come, and the songs played. if you liked the song that played songs ago, you can click back four times. and you can see whats coming up, incase you don't appreciate teh song thats playing.

some people don't like this because they can't find a particular track (because they love teh J key soo much). you can use F3 but its kind of conflicting with all of my loaded playlists. not too shabby, though.

am i a genius, or what

damage07 · 21st October 2002, 03:36

wdekler, I know what ur saying. And there's only one thing that annoys me more than the shuffle ... is the people who think the problem is solved by randomizing the playlist.

I never used the J key in WA2, I rarely use F3 in WA3. You know what I use? The friggin' scroll bar!
How can I scroll down to a particular song if it's somewhere muddled up with the other 3857 MP3s in the list???

Randomizing my playlist is good for nothing! I have mine sorted alphabetically because it makes sense.

Honestly though, I don't see too much wrong with the current shuffler (apart from not remember where it was after being closed, lack of memory of played songs and always starting on the same damn track). I have enough files that the chances of 2 files being played in short space of each other is rare in a session. But yeah, it could be better.

wdekler · 21st October 2002, 07:52

Damage07, I'm not proposing a random shuffle of the playlist (that function is already there). I would just like to see an option added so that you can chose between shuffle and random play!

That's why I added this topic to the wishlist instead of.... the bitching forum.

I don't mean to say that shuffle is superior to random or otherwise. I would just like to see the shuffle function behave the same as on any cdplayer or an option to change it. The random function should stay as well for those who like it better.

Wanne.

sanosuke · 21st October 2002, 09:15

Bacially what u want is a shuffle like the one from winamp2 right?? Relax...it has already been requested for.

wdekler · 21st October 2002, 09:23

That's good news! And I'm absolutely not annoyed or anything, I just made a request in the wishlist!

thanks,

Wanne.

bjay125 · 26th October 2002, 10:05

One more vote for an option to do the shuffling *exactly* as in Winamp2.x. I don't care if it replaces the existing functionality or is an additional option.

Also, instead of starting a new thread, I'd really like to see the play button act as it does in Winamp 2.x. Right now, if shuffle is turned on, and you hit the play button, it picks another random song. I would like it to go to the beginning of the currently playing song. This is kind of important when I control Winamp with my remote, as I can't seek to any position (namely the beginning) as I can when I am in front of the PC. If shuffle is not enabled, then the play button already acts as it does in Winamp 2.x.

Thanks for considering these suggestions!

DocDavidErickso · 26th October 2002, 15:59

Did you notice that the shuffle function wont play anything about the 800th song.. I have like 2800 mp3's... And I can sit there and hit the next button all day and not only does it shuffle in a predictable order all day and repeats songs constantly but it wont play any song over 800... So I reinstalled my winamp2 version i had the install for on my computer... Between that and taking out the Jump option from winamp2... That was so much easier to hit 'J' and then type what i want then to play with that search feature in the playlist editor... Now.. maybe these issues would be fixed more expeditiously if the developers had money to work with.. Why dont you start charging for winamp? I'd pay for it since I use it all the time...

Quote:

Originally posted by bjay125
One more vote for an option to do the shuffling *exactly* as in Winamp2.x. I don't care if it replaces the existing functionality or is an additional option.

Also, instead of starting a new thread, I'd really like to see the play button act as it does in Winamp 2.x. Right now, if shuffle is turned on, and you hit the play button, it picks another random song. I would like it to go to the beginning of the currently playing song. This is kind of important when I control Winamp with my remote, as I can't seek to any position (namely the beginning) as I can when I am in front of the PC. If shuffle is not enabled, then the play button already acts as it does in Winamp 2.x.

Thanks for considering these suggestions!

DocDavidErickso · 26th October 2002, 22:10

I clicked on the link to the FAQ it was about this forum.. and that's a stupid feature to have in setting a maximum shuffle size.. would it be in our playlist if we didn't want to hear it?? duh!

Quote:

Originally posted by Sawg

I noticed that you didn't read the Winamp3 FAQ

Shuffle isn't that random
Preferences (Ctrl-P) > System> Playlist > MAX "Shuffle Window Size"

pete.hodgson · 30th October 2002, 00:47

You read and learn, huh? : I've just realised from reading this thread that I can Randomize my QueryResults and get a history/upcoming list! (Now if only I could save and load my queries? (I know, that's a separate request!) Thanks for that one

Basically, I use Shuffle, along with Queries, 95%+ of the time, so any improvements to Shuffle have my vote. In particular:

- any function that guarantees I hear all of my 7200+ collection. A "played X times" memory and customID3tag that influences the Shuffle pick would be my top suggestion. And then I could also use it in a Query: PLAYEDTIMES<2 AND GENRE="Acid Jazz" (In fact, I'm going to suggest the PlayedTimes tag separately)

- a between-session memory, so Winamp3 remembers where it was up to in the Shuffle list.

Pete, Wellington, NZ

Snappy · 11th December 2002, 23:56

...for 'non-repeating shuffle'. keep everyone happy and make it an option 'repeat songs in shuffle play [on/off]'.

oh and by the way i have 1337 hunderd million billion tracks in my playlist.

18th October 2002, 22:11	#1
wdekler Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 50	Shuffle play instead of Random play As the subject says, I consider the current so called shuffle play function more like an adjustable playlist randomizer... Please consider implementing a REAL shuffle function which not only randomizes the playlist but plays all songs just once when the repeat function has been turned off! If this function would get implemented it would prevent winamp from playing a song which has already just been played while other songs still haven't had their turn. I hope that I haven't overlooked this request in a whish list, but it seems to annoy a lot of people when searching the forums. Surely it must be a simple piece of code compared to the other high-tech components (from the viewpoint of a non programmer like me )? Wanne.

21st October 2002, 03:36	#5
damage07 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Brisvegas, Australia Posts: 160	wdekler, I know what ur saying. And there's only one thing that annoys me more than the shuffle ... is the people who think the problem is solved by randomizing the playlist. I never used the J key in WA2, I rarely use F3 in WA3. You know what I use? The friggin' scroll bar! How can I scroll down to a particular song if it's somewhere muddled up with the other 3857 MP3s in the list??? Randomizing my playlist is good for nothing! I have mine sorted alphabetically because it makes sense. Honestly though, I don't see too much wrong with the current shuffler (apart from not remember where it was after being closed, lack of memory of played songs and always starting on the same damn track). I have enough files that the chances of 2 files being played in short space of each other is rare in a session. But yeah, it could be better. SDMF #581

11th December 2002, 23:56	#13
Snappy Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Detroit, MI, USA Posts: 31	add my vote... ...for 'non-repeating shuffle'. keep everyone happy and make it an option 'repeat songs in shuffle play [on/off]'. oh and by the way i have 1337 hunderd million billion tracks in my playlist.

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19th October 2002, 05:46	#2
dsboulder Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 3	I understand that the randomize playlist is an ALTERNATIVE to the shuffle function, but I don't think that it's a SUBSTITUTE. Sometimes I want to be surprised by what's next, while still being able to find the songs in order if I need to pull one up, and that's what the shuffle function would be good for. Just my opinion, but I know so many others who agree.

20th October 2002, 09:37	#3
wdekler Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 50	I know that I can 'Playlist > Sort > Randomize' but that is exactly what shuffle play should do. Just as on a CD Player, why not change the SHUFFLE play behaviour so that it does what everyone would expect of it? I don't understand who's enjoying playlists of say 25 songs and hearing the same song 4 times before you've heard some of the otherones.... maybe there should be a poll... ? Wanne.

20th October 2002, 18:01	#4
GX1327 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 107	winamps shuffle sucks. until it gets fixed, heres what i recommend and have been using for a while when using a large playlists, instead of "shuffle", play it straight through (no shuffling) and sort list by randomizing order. this way, every song only gets played once, the shuffle uses a perfect randomization (none of this window size bullshit), and you can see the list of songs to come, and the songs played. if you liked the song that played songs ago, you can click back four times. and you can see whats coming up, incase you don't appreciate teh song thats playing. some people don't like this because they can't find a particular track (because they love teh J key soo much). you can use F3 but its kind of conflicting with all of my loaded playlists. not too shabby, though. am i a genius, or what

21st October 2002, 07:52	#6
wdekler Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 50	Damage07, I'm not proposing a random shuffle of the playlist (that function is already there). I would just like to see an option added so that you can chose between shuffle and random play! That's why I added this topic to the wishlist instead of.... the bitching forum. I don't mean to say that shuffle is superior to random or otherwise. I would just like to see the shuffle function behave the same as on any cdplayer or an option to change it. The random function should stay as well for those who like it better. Wanne.

21st October 2002, 09:15	#7
sanosuke Major Dude Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,891	Bacially what u want is a shuffle like the one from winamp2 right?? Relax...it has already been requested for.

21st October 2002, 09:23	#8
wdekler Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 50	That's good news! And I'm absolutely not annoyed or anything, I just made a request in the wishlist! thanks, Wanne.

26th October 2002, 10:05	#9
bjay125 Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 82	One more vote for an option to do the shuffling exactly as in Winamp2.x. I don't care if it replaces the existing functionality or is an additional option. Also, instead of starting a new thread, I'd really like to see the play button act as it does in Winamp 2.x. Right now, if shuffle is turned on, and you hit the play button, it picks another random song. I would like it to go to the beginning of the currently playing song. This is kind of important when I control Winamp with my remote, as I can't seek to any position (namely the beginning) as I can when I am in front of the PC. If shuffle is not enabled, then the play button already acts as it does in Winamp 2.x. Thanks for considering these suggestions!

30th October 2002, 00:47	#12
pete.hodgson Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 26	You read and learn, huh? : I've just realised from reading this thread that I can Randomize my QueryResults and get a history/upcoming list! (Now if only I could save and load my queries? (I know, that's a separate request!) Thanks for that one Basically, I use Shuffle, along with Queries, 95%+ of the time, so any improvements to Shuffle have my vote. In particular: - any function that guarantees I hear all of my 7200+ collection. A "played X times" memory and customID3tag that influences the Shuffle pick would be my top suggestion. And then I could also use it in a Query: PLAYEDTIMES<2 AND GENRE="Acid Jazz" (In fact, I'm going to suggest the PlayedTimes tag separately) - a between-session memory, so Winamp3 remembers where it was up to in the Shuffle list. Pete, Wellington, NZ