The tragedy of the Tempest is not in the lofty list of unrealized features that so many people got hung up on, like sample import and the likes; but rather, it's about the elegance and simplicity that got lost along the way.
At its inception, there were just a handful of things remaining on the to-do list:
- fix the lagging MIDI clock output
- add odd time signatures, and one overlooked LFO time division (dotted 8th's)
- get the legato mode and LFO sync working
- fix the parameter wrap-around on the FX sliders
- patch the hole in the file system
- iron out a few sequencer bugs (flam, flam)
- clean up a few graphics
Otherwise, we were all but there; at least in so far as what was proclaimed in the manual I received with my Tempest.
Had DSI simply focused on fixing those issues, those of us who understood what the Tempest was supposed to be, would have been happy; and five years of bad press, brand damage, and frustration on both sides of the fence would have been averted. Instead, they kept building on a shoddy foundation, chasing functionalities that were never supposed to be there, and pandering to the expectations of DAW-based beat makers; which resulted in over-taxing the processor, with no room left to code, and more than 140 bugs to fix. In some ways, the community at large has only itself to blame.
I still hope that Chris Hector will pop up here one day with a buttoned-up version of the original OS: i.e. no playlist, no external sequencer, no arp, no compressor envelope, no undocumented key-combo short cuts that no one can remember, and a dozen other trivial additions removed... Just a simple and bullet-proof implementation of what the Tempest was originally designed to be.
Had Roger Linn himself overseen the Tempest’s development, all the way, we would absolutely have that machine today. To that end, a LinnDrum 2.0 is coming, and I guarantee that it will do what it says on the tin; so, forget any aspirations of a Tempest sequel.
To the OP… Polymetric and polyrhythmic sequences can indeed be done on the Tempest; albeit only by way of step programming. I have templates for every Euclidean rhythm combination that the Tempest can do in this regard; if I find the time, and can find the files, I’ll post them up here for you. It’s just that I’d have to write an explanation of how they work, because it won’t be obvious at a glance. I did have all this info up on the old forum, but I doubt anyone can access that these days.
Cheers!