As you have observed, FT2 plays the module exactly like OpenMPT does. The tune was written in FT2 (MPT didn't even exist yet when it was written), so OpenMPT plays it like FT2 would, not like old MPT versions would (including ModPlug Player and VLC, which uses libmodplug). The offset effet is past the end of the sample, which stops sample playback in FT2.

Why is the melody there, then, when it cannot be heard even in the original tracker? Good question. It could be that Hunz optimized the samples before releasing the track, reducing their length to save space, but didn't listen to the whole track again and so he didn't spot that the lead didn't play correctly anymore. I am not aware of any FT2 version that wouldn't have this playback quirk, so I find it unlikely that you ever heard the melody like this in FT2 itself - however many players don't get this quirk right, so it's very much possible that whatever different players you would have user over the years, they all got it wrong. Or you listened to a different version of the file with a longer sample where the offset effect remains effective. But as it stands, with this particular file, the melody should not be audible in any compliant XM player.

This cannot be true because this exact file, not its other version, is played correctly in VLC and Modplug Player, as I have stated in the ticket. The sample is there and is played normally. Unfortunately, the issue tracker does not allow me to attach an XM file but it's the same file I linked to on modarchive. Please, try listening to it with the aforementioned players.

And what kind of files can one attach? I just rendered a wav file from ModPlug Player with the correct playback but looks like neither wav nor mp3 are accepted.

Please read my message again. I didn't claim that VLC or ModPlug Player would play the file like OpenMPT, quite the opposite. OpenMPT specifically fixed the offset bug that ModPlug Player / ModPlug Tracker / libmodplug (and by extension VLC) fail to emulate correctly, and that's why OpenMPT plays the file like FT2 does. If you load the XM file in an old ModPlug Tracker version (e.g. 1.16) and re-save it in ModPlug Tracker, then OpenMPT will play it like ModPlug Tracker / Player / libmodplug would (i.e. with ModPlug playback bugs), and then the lead can be heard.

And what kind of files can one attach?

Files need to be compressed (e.g. ZIP/7Z/RAR) before upload.

I'm also wondering if the file would play correctly in FT2 if it was played through GUS? In my DosBox I only have a Sound Blaster option but the instrument text mentions GUS.

The offset bug is identical between GUS and SB drivers in FT2.

I contacted Hunz about this. Let's see if maybe he has the high quality version he mentions in the text. Maybe that fixes it? If not, I might do what you suggest, resave it and maybe upload the corrected version to modarchive (and assign it to Hunz)

Most likely the high-quality version will sound correct, yes. It's a common mistake to shorten or downsample samples and then not listen back to the broken result (I certainly did it at least once). Please don't upload a simple re-saved version to ModArchive though - because this will, forever, manifest that the file should be played with ModPlug's playback quirks, which is simply wrong. The song was made with FT2, so it must be resaved in FT2 with a correct 9xx parameter (956 is just within the playable range of the sample). If we assume that the sample was downsamples by a factor of two, 938 would probably be more correct.

Understood. Let me see if I can correct the command and maybe reupload the corrected version? I will make my corrections directly in the FT2 clone (https://16-bits.org/ft2.php). Good idea?

Done! Changed 970 to 938. This seems to be the intended value. It is different from how legacy Modplug Tracker would've played it but you have convinced me that that was actually an error. There's definitely a weird blip which I don't think Hunz ever intended.

Yeah I think that looks okay. Though it would be much nicer to have the original 2MB version!