Ultrasound Daily Digest Wed, 24 Mar 93 Volume 2 : Issue 79 Today's Topics: answers_to_various_questions_posted_in_latest_digest CD ROM audio to GUS (2 msgs) Clicks and pops, X-Wing, and hey..how about that OS/2?? Comanche patch problem Finally got V2.04 working on Xwing gen midi emulators, sbos, and software GM driver - GMOS? GOT X-WING WORKING AT LAST GUS and Jill GUS is great: but I can't record ... gus memory speed gusmod 2.11 suggestion GUS Programming info, trivia etc Info on IRQ and DMA routines for GUS please? keyboard interrupts Midi/Joy-box from Gravis? More on gus memory NetNews??? Problems with 669 Player Question... Roland SCC-1 vs GUS with GM patches, my opinion SBOS 2.04 and X-Wing SBPro / GUS comments Starcontrol II noise/goofy music Those whacky Windows problems! Ultrasound Daily Digest V... X-wing and the GUS again! Xwing sound semi-solution. Zone66 and Stacker note Information about the UltraSound Daily Digest (such as mail addresses, request servers, ftp sites, etc., etc.) can be found at the end of the Digest. *** HEY!!! *** Before you ask a question, *** READ THE FAQ ***. It's available on the request server and the ftp sites, or check the newsgroup archives. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 21:49:23 GMT From: laurent@ismennt.is (Laurent Somers) Message-Id: <9303232149.AA23534@akureyri.ismennt.is> Subject: answers_to_various_questions_posted_in_latest_digest To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Ok, here are a few answers to some questions in the latest digest: - You CAN delete all those hidden files and directories the new GUS installation software makes. Furthermore, I think PlayMIDI creates hidden (?) files when executing, most probably when using the menu interface. These can, of course, be deleted when you aren't in PlayMIDI (if PlayMIDI, Heaven forbid, crashes & leaves the file open...). - Patch loudness CAN be controlled, in Windows at least, through the MIDI mapper, which, as I recall, can adjust the volume up to 200%. - GusMOD 2.11: It already uses the UltraSound environment variable for the sound card setup! The ONLY thing GusMOD still requires in its GUSMOD environment variable (which is *REQUIRED*) is the path to the executable and various .INF files. GusMOD 2.12 _could_ get the path information from DOS 3.1 and above (argv[0]). If you are running into problems with GMod 2.11 which weren't present in 2.04, I'd suggest making batch files which set the environment variable correctly for each version. I have had more problems with the GTSR which came with GMod 2.11 than 2.04, so I made a batch file to run the old GTSR... - Those strange coincidences... - I _also_ got a DOS read error on the new install disks, but on disk 3... and last, but not least, on the MIDI Emulator ramblings, notably a serial port and other strange phenomena... - Ever think about the LAPC-1? It's a card! It's a normal, IRQ and I/O port card, and as such, an application which uses it (Or ANY MIDI adapter, for that matter), calls an interrupt or I/O port. There are already FM MIDI emulators, and there is absolutely NO reason why a MIDI emulator can't be made for the 32-voice WTS GUS. Whether the GUS intercepts the output destined for the MIDI interface or behaves like a MIDI-device on a card, is not an issue. - IF you'd like to route the MIDI output of the GUS, you might as well route it to another computer, which has a GUS on it and is running Windows with patches loaded and some WinJammer or other composer running and accepting INPUT from the MIDI port... (Better yet, have a cheap SB on the computer you are using, and route the MIDI output from that card into the MIDI INPUT on the GUS computer running Windows...). [Really weird. Haven't tried this. Any volunteers...?] - I already mentioned the technical details for a MIDI emulator way back in GUS digests V2#62 & V2#63. - You may have noticed that the GUS MIDI Mapper has several options, notably 256K, 512K and 1024K setups as well as the normal Patch Caching method. THIS is a method a MIDI emulator could use, notably preloading the patches required for the specific application, ideally 1 MB of various patches. How about default .cfg's similar to the ones PlayMIDI uses, for specific apps, e.g. one for King's Quest VI, another for Wing Commander II, another still for X-Wing, and so on? Easier than dynamic patch loading /cache while running the program requiring the MIDI. Laurent F. Somers laurent@akureyri.ismennt.is (yup, Iceland) +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ** ** There aren't many countries whose names are used by UK firms... ** ** | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 21:05 GMT From: Paul Kokis Message-Id: Subject: CD ROM audio to GUS To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Hi GUSsers! I've recently fitted a Toshiba CDROM drive to my system, and would like to connect its audio o/p to the GUS CD input pins. Problem is, I don't know which pins are left/right/ground on the GUS. Does anyone know? Regards, Paul (Scratch) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 21:05 GMT From: Paul Kokis Message-Id: Subject: CD ROM audio to GUS To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Hi GUSsers! I've recently fitted a Toshiba CDROM drive to my system, and would like to connect its audio o/p to the GUS CD input pins. Problem is, I don't know which pins are left/right/ground on the GUS. Does anyone know? Regards, Paul (Scratch) ------------------------------ Date: 23 Mar 1993 23:59:17 -0500 (EST) From: DEATH BEFORE DISCO Message-Id: <01GW5ZPCOG869M16GJ@ritvax.isc.rit.edu> Subject: Clicks and pops, X-Wing, and hey..how about that OS/2?? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest 1) To eliminate clicks and pops with USS8*-> don't use EMM386. 2) The X-Wing slowdown is a pain...but after lengthy discussion with the tireless wizards at Forte, I consider the problem to be caused by Lucasarts and not Forte. Maybe something should be done here; a patch would be nice but a patch for GUS support would be better. In fact, I'd be willing to be that most GUS owners would pay say, $10 or so to get the patch. NOTE: Don't think I'm trying to start a rumor. Thank you. 3) Anybody got an OS/2 driver yet ?? ;-) 4) Zone 66 is quite the arcade-type game. 5) Have I bored you yet?? Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 22:54:21 GMT From: Mike Parkins Message-Id: <464.mike@kingpin.demon.co.uk> Subject: Comanche patch problem To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I found a file in the archive called cmo1bb which I presumed to be the patch which makes Comanche work with the GUS. When I ran it it aborted, claiming files were missing even though the game runs ok as far as I can tell. Is there another patch program that I need? Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 11:21:58 -0500 From: Michael Dauria Message-Id: <199303231621.AA03508@ra.cs.umb.edu> Subject: Finally got V2.04 working on Xwing To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I've gotten Xwing to work with SBOS 2.04 so I'd like to share what I have found on my system hopping It will help others too. When I installed the new set of disks the setgus program modified my config.sys file and added a new command call ultrinit.sys (along with a few parameters), but It failed to remove the command ultrinit.exe from my autoexec.bat file, which I am assuming to be the same. What I did was to go into my autoexec.bat file and remove two lines, one beginning with Set ultrasnd and the parameters and the second line I deleted was the one containing ultrinit.exe. Xwing now seems to work (I have only so far played it a few times with this new setup), I have yet to try it with other games though. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 10:21:40 +0700 (MST) From: Adam Cowen Message-Id: Subject: gen midi emulators, sbos, and software To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Hi gus owners, I must agree with Dan Nicholson about the point of not having sound emulators for games and other software. I want native support for my gus for new games, and not have to use any sbos 2.xx. Now I am not flaming the request, as for older stuff sure thats cool, but if the game companies can save a buck by making us lose sound quality then they will probably do it. Big companies like Sierra come to mind, esp with their recent posts. For example I have seen X-Wing from Lucas and I like it a lot, but I will not buy it because it doesn't support the gus. All of you seem to be having so many digitized sound problems so I probably wont miss it much anyways. However I will buy Zone66 because it is a good game AND it has gus support. In short if you keep buying the games that don't have gus support then the companies wil neglect to support it, and the gus will die. If you like a game that does not support the gus then (snail)mail that company and ask them why or if they will be providing an upgrade patch or whatever. Don't let the game companies who (hopefully) can afford it cheat you. Just look at Renaissence again, a couple of guys figured it out, so why couldn't Sierra? I seriously can't believe that they don't have programmers with the skill to implement gus sound drivers! That's a load of crap! Way to go Renaissence! You guys are cool! I am looking formard to CyberStrike! Just my $.02! As a side note to the response I made about gusmod reading the ultrasnd environment variable. My point was about the setup program. Why should I have to reiterate all of the same stuff like base port, dma channels, etc.. when it is already in the ultrasnd variable? I was not talking about the gusmod variable, thats cool with me. Thanks for the bandwidth! Adam Cowen cowen@ee.ualberta.ca ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 15:51:47 EST From: Matthew Spewak Message-Id: <930323.155147.7251@walnut.prs.k12.nj.us> Subject: GM driver - GMOS? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest >Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 09:05:26 EST >From: "Burns Fisher, VMS Engineering 22-Mar-1993 0906" > >Message-Id: <9303221405.AA12488@us2rmc.bb.dec.com> >Subject: General MIDI driver >To: Ultrasound Daily Digest > >There has been a lot of talk about a "General MIDI driver". Some people >have been saying stuff like "When Gravis produces it...". Others have been >suggesting writing one. > >First, I have not heard anything that implies that Gravis (or Forte) is >actually writing such a thing. I may be wrong, but I think it is a big >assumption. Yes we are talking of writing one. Gravis has no plans to make a GM driver or TSR for GUS. > >Second, I suggest that if some of us plan to write one, or if we want Gravis/ >Forte to do it, that we had better specify what we are thinking about a bit >more carefully. > >I think that what I hear being asked for is not a GM Driver so much as it is an >MPU-401/GM Synth emulator. Am I right? ... Yes.. The easiest thing for us to do for Gravis or us to write, would be to wright a TSR that would be able to convince games and utilities that there is an MPU-401 or MT-32 on your machine. The problem would be to load the patches, as someone mentioned before. Gravis should work on an GMOS (General Midi OS) that would load its own patches (to fit in 1 meg) just like SBOS does. This should not be difficult. if they can do it with SBOS, we should be able to do it with our own GMOS. Problems that Gravis may have is copyrights over MPU or Roland, etc. So this would need to be just a GM driver that would be compatible with the Roland or MPU. matthew spewak > >Burns ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 17:19:27 AEST From: Keith Smith Message-Id: <9303230719.AA10731@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au> Subject: GOT X-WING WORKING AT LAST To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Thanks for all the suggestions, in the end I got it working with QEMM 6.03 in STEALTH mode (that wasn't causing the problem), SBOS 1.43 or SBOS 2.04 (works with either, but better with 2.04), and SMARTDRV. The Soundblaster emulation now works, whereas before it would freeze. The alteration I made was moving the GUS IRQ from 5 to 15, leaving MIDI IRQ on 7, DMA on 7. If you're having any probs with xwing, you should try the same. Keith ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 17:00 EST From: "Matthew E. Bernold" Message-Id: <9303232201.AA26978@orca.es.com> Subject: GUS and Jill To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I had the same problem with Jill, but with SBOS 2.04. I partially solved this problem by loading SBOS into LOW memory. I've found that most of the times I have a delay with SBOS, or a problem running a game, loading SBOS into low memory will fix it. With Jill, the delay is still there, but it's MUCH less noticable, and this is on a 386-25. Matthew E. Bernold MEB117@PSUVM.PSU.EDU <> meb@haydn.psu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 09:20:13 EST From: oss@CHEMVAX.PRINCETON.EDU Message-Id: <00969ee4.d328d8c0.24312@CHEMVAX.PRINCETON.EDU> Subject: GUS is great: but I can't record ... To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I can consider myself as a satisfied GUS owner for how much it concerns installation, SBOS, and generally speaking, anything related to sound synthesis and reproduction. Well, a bit different is the situation about recording. Since I've tried my card for the first time, I've never been able to make an acceptable recording. What I mean to get something at least *smooth* and *continuous* in sound. As I'm not completely new to computer world, before writing this message I've been trying *everything* could be done. Changing DMA's, working on RAM disks, changing recording buffer size in AUDIO, using PLAYFILE with any possible combination of switches, NOTHING. This happens for both mic AND line inputs. What I get is popping sound, trucated pieces of voice, statics, with ANY recording software (pocket rec, multimedia recorder, shareware utils, playfile, playdigi, uss8 (awful object, BTW)) ... My actual config is: GUS with 1Mb (no problems with any DRAM check util) 486DX25 with 8M RAM 120 HD with XtraDRV compression (but I worked on uncompressed RAM disk as well) Have I to suspect I own a defective card? Hints/help are greatly appreciated !!! Stefano Oss Chemistry Department Princeton University OSS@CHEMVAX.PRINCETON.EDU ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 09:30:08 EST From: "Burns Fisher, VMS Engineering 23-Mar-1993 0931" Message-Id: <9303231430.AA26376@us2rmc.bb.dec.com> Subject: gus memory speed To: Ultrasound Daily Digest >From: GUIA@bldghsc.lan1.umanitoba.ca >Subject: gus memory speed > >i'm certainly no expert at this, but as far as i can tell, all that memory is >used for it to load a patch into, once in there that information does not >need to be calculated, moved or changed in any way until it's time to load >another patch, therefore the chip speed should not be a problem at all, >whether you'll get parity errors i do not know since i have not tested this >out myself, i have all 70 ns chips.... i suspect that it will not, it is >remember that however fast your memory speed is, the most you will ever have >to worry about is how fast can you load that patch into your gus's memory... >my response to that is that your hard disk access time will be the limiting >feature, not the 100 ns chips Sorry, but I don't agree with that. The GUS certainly has to READ the chips back as it is doing the sample playback. At 44.1Khz, that is about 1 sample every 22.7 microseconds. Not a prodigious rate (and not even close to 100ns) even if it has to read twice as fast for 16-bit samples (or 4 times as fast if it does not read two 4-bit chips in parallel!), but the real question is how the electronics is sequenced. In other words, if the GUS is putting out an address only 80ns before it latches the data coming from the chips, and the chips are rated at only 100ns, then boom...you get bad data and possible clicking etc, even if it only does this once every few hundred microseconds. Burns (not an expert either, but having played with this stuff some...) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 12:16:46 -0500 From: "It's your hand, Buckaroo" Message-Id: <9303231716.AA15666@magick.tay2.dec.com> Subject: gusmod 2.11 suggestion To: Ultrasound Daily Digest >> From: Adam Cowen >> Subject: GusMod 2.11 Problems >> BTW: for gusmod, why don't you guys just read the ultrasnd environment >> variable? I think that would provide for a much more easy installation of >> the software. > i've had a look at that program, it needs an environment variable to tell i > Wherex the executables and where the sound data files are kept... i for one > do not like to see many hundred files all in the same subdirectory, so if i > were to use gusmod i'd rather install it into a separate subdirectory, making > the ultrasound environment setting inaccurate I think there's a slight misunderstanding here. GUSMOD needs an environment variable to tell it where it's executeables are. Adam and I are talking about the SETUP program that tells GUSMOD what hex addr, IRQ, DMA, etc the GUS lives on. Since all this info (with the exception of Terminate/Loop) is already in the ULTRASND environment variable, why is a setup program needed? DDA ------------------------------ Date: 24 Mar 93 11:33:18 +0930 From: egg@dstos3.dsto.gov.au Message-Id: <1993Mar24.113318.1@dstos3.dsto.gov.au> Subject: GUS Programming info, trivia etc To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Greetings g'users Does anyone have any programming information they'd like to share with with the rest of us? Although Josh Jensen's "ultradox" are indeed helpfull there are still huge chunks of information missing. The sort of things I'm interested in (and I believe lots of you reading this also) are: * The structure and use of patches. * The format of MOD files * GUS DMA (probably the most important) * any other programming and technical info, trivial or otherwise. And before you start mentioning the developers kit, I could'nt afford it even if I knew how to obtain it, further more it is not in source form so you dont learn anything about the card after spending your hard earned cash. I like optimizing my code for specific purposes so object modules are definitely out. Perhaps the best option would be to purchase an asm decompiler and hack some of the stuff on epas but I'd rather do it the easy way - time is precious. So, is anyone knowledgable on the subject feeling charitable ? BTW:- On a related topic, is there a REALLY GOOD mod composer available that supports the GUS, or even MIDI sequencers with support for music composition without MIDI keyboards ? If I receive any information, I'll definitely post a summary so no "me too" replies please. Themie Gouthas egg@dstos3.dsto.gov.au ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 09:53:39 -0500 From: mchen@sol4.cs.psu.edu (Michael Chen) Message-Id: <9303231237.AA00484@sol4> Subject: Info on IRQ and DMA routines for GUS please? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I have a bunch of C routines which implement the info in Ultradox 2... enough to write a memory tester, and to load to GUS RAM and play 16-bit samples. What I need now is info on IRQ and DMA usage. Also, any info on the MPU401 DUMB mode emulation would be great! Phat? Josh? John Smith? Gravis? (Is there any possibility of releasing specs without development tools for free? I'll code stuff myself, but I can't afford the SDK.) -- Michael Chen | From the depths of our most lucid horrors | | spring our fond hopes and pure desires... | mchen@cs.psu.edu | except what comes from HELL! :-) 7/23/92 | ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 15:04:00 PST From: GUIA@bldghsc.lan1.umanitoba.ca Message-Id: <2BAF97C9@adminbldg.lan1.umanitoba.ca> Subject: keyboard interrupts To: Ultrasound Daily Digest sbos monitors the keyboard for volume control through the [] keys, or whatever you have in your sbos config file >From: twong@civil.ubc.ca (Thomas Wong) >Subject: keyboard problem with new GUS disks >problem and found that the IRQ 1 which is the IRQ for the keyboard has >been taken over by SBOSDRV. This is something internal becuase I had >irq and doesn't passes it along. Anybody else notice this? And why are >they grabbing irq1 anyways?!? John (Smith)? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 93 1:16:38 MET From: (FunkyTrip) zonnevel@dutiws.TWI.TUDelft.NL Message-Id: <9303240016.AA23064@dutiws.twi.tudelft.nl> Subject: Midi/Joy-box from Gravis? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I still haven't got my midi-box working, also due a lack of time. Does anyone have info on when the Gravis-box will really be available? A few months ago it was anounced for april. Will it also include midi-through ( I'm considering stopping work on my own stuff if this gravis thing gets to us all soon And for a reasonable price! 'Peace Y'all. I'm at: zonnevel@dutiws.twi.tudelft.nl YO Peace Increase 'Freedom is free of the need to be free' - George Clinton YO from me 'With love there is no death' - Prince YO FunkyTrip YOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYO ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 09:31:57 EST From: "Burns Fisher, VMS Engineering 23-Mar-1993 0933" Message-Id: <9303231431.AA26402@us2rmc.bb.dec.com> Subject: More on gus memory To: Ultrasound Daily Digest ...but I agree that faster memory won't help GUS's performance any. I may have misread what the response above was commenting on. Burns ------------------------------ Date: 23 Mar 1993 12:38:46 -0500 (EST) From: CheebA Message-Id: <01GW5BWSEPHU95RWC0@ritvax.isc.rit.edu> Subject: NetNews??? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest A while ago I heard someone mentioning the possibility of having A GUS conference on the NetNews (whatever its called). Has anyone heard anything more abnout this. Not to say I don't like having this Daily digest thing. But The SIZE of the emails are getting rather HUGE and if I let them stack up a few days, my QUOTA starts becomming overdrawn... -- thanx dave. One more thing. I havent downloaded the new disk set and I plan on waiting till everything seems ok with them (after hearing of all the problems others are having).. but I would like the new patches and the new SBOS 2.04? anyone know what disk those are on (so I dont have to download them alll??????) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 16:53:23 -0500 From: Roger Frederi Clark Message-Id: <199303232153.AA01624@bach.udel.edu> Subject: Problems with 669 Player To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I recently downloaded a copy of p669gu0.arj from epas and went to try it out, it didn't work. It appeared to do something, then said "Clearing memory..." and proceeded to sit there and stare at me. I've waited for up to 20 minutes for it to do anything. Anyone else had this problem with the program. Thanks. Roger Clark helios@bach.udel.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 17:02:32 -0800 From: 881-09993 Message-Id: <9303240105.AA00260@orca.es.com> Subject: Question... To: Ultrasound Daily Digest As a potential owner of a GUS card, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is possible to specify sampled sounds in the card's RAM as a midi patch. I.E. can you use a midi sequencer to compose music using sampled sounds? This is a feature I have been looking for in a sound card, and from what I hear, the GUS might fit the bill. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 20:19:38 GMT From: yoshida@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Stuart Yoshida) Message-Id: <107370020@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> Subject: Roland SCC-1 vs GUS with GM patches, my opinion To: Ultrasound Daily Digest In comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard, comm125@unixg.ubc.ca (Semke) writes: > [Lots of good comparisions of the SCC-1 and GUS deleted] > > The biggest difference I find between the GUS and the SCC-1 in terms of > sound quality, is as it has been said before, the trebles. I don't know > how to describe it, but strings, string ensembles, and general brass > instruments sound a lot better and much more realistic. The instruments > also sound better together on the SCC-1 than on the GUS, where it sometimes > sounds like the different instruments are being played in different rooms > or something. I have noticed the same thing by comparing the GUS sound with and without my effects processor. The reverb really accentuates the highs. I've also added some treble EQ into the mix with my Mackie mixer (which using "shelving"; i.e., every frequency above 12K is boosted), and with those things I get a great sound. Unfortunately, I don't have an SCC-1 to compare it to, but I can see where you're coming from. Bottom line: if you want to do serious recording with your GUS, I think a good mixer and effects processor are musts. However, dollar for dollar the GUS is still a great buy. -- Stuart Yoshida Internet: yoshida@elektra.fc.hp.com Voice: (303) 229-2324 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 10:30:56 +0100 From: waardenb@cs.utwente.nl (Jerry van Waardenberg) Message-Id: <9303230930.AA16262@hermes.cs.utwente.nl> Subject: SBOS 2.04 and X-Wing To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Axel Fisher writes: > However XWing is still unplayable due to the slowdown when you shoot > your lasers or fly very nearby a ship. I would like to see that slowdown > (also noticeable with Tristan) bug fixed. Maybe Gravis gets it sometimes > to a playable level. The readme file of X-Wing says that it is a SB related problem. It has to do with some chip on certain SB's, that cause the slowdown. SO it is not really a GUS problem (although there may be a way to fix it). Just don't use digitized laser sounds. Has anyone tried SBOS 2.04 (or 2.02) with Formula One Grand Prix (or World Circuit)? The engine sounds are *very* noisy on my system. I've tried other IRQ/DMA combinations, but that did not help. Greetz, Jerry *------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Jerry van Waardenberg _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ Tele Informatics and Open Systems _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Department of Computer Science _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ E-mail: waardenb@cs.utwente.nl _/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ ------------------------------ Date: 23 Mar 1993 03:20:48 -0800 From: i3y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca (Adam Nicolas Cheal) Message-Id: <1omrqgINNfd5@gambier.rick.cs.ubc.ca> Subject: SBPro / GUS comments To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Well, to follow up an earlier article I read that proclaimed a user would "certainly have no problems with an SBPro", I offer my HO. I was the happy owner of an SBPro (older) and I had it chuggin' away on my ol' 386DX-25 with NO problems. Wicked stereo on Wolf-3D and UW, although the FM sound got a biy hokey. Then I decide to make the big "computer upgrade" to a 486DX-50. All hell breaks loose, sound card wise. On almost every game I had I experienced crackles, pops, lost DSFX etc. The problems peaked on X-Wing which just froze after a couple of laser blasts. "No prob", I anxiously mutter under my breath, "I'll do some config changes. That's the ticket!". Wrong. I tried EVERY configuration known to man, from adjusting wait states and ATCLK bus speed, to DMA channel switching. NOTHING worked. Frustrated, I made "the" call to Creative Labs. I sat on the phone LD for about 30mins with a technician and completely stumped him and his cohorts (hard to do?) who said "they'd get back to me as soon as they had an answer". One month later, I haven't heard back from them. So, completely furious with anything with the Creative Labs mark on it, and eager to play X-Wing, I storm out to my local software store and pick up a GUS (after reading many rave reviews of it) and install it. Bingo. NO problems. The ONLY game I have mild problems with now is X-Wing that is very slightly jerky when I fire lasers or a TIE goes by. The MIDI demo is INSANELY cool, and completely stunned me, and I was left reeling after loading up Star Control II. There is simply NO contest sound quality wise between the SB/Pro/16 and the GUS. Remember that feeling you had when you first heard a sound card's sound over the ol' PC honker? Ditto for the GUS. It is truly incredible, and as for it's minor SB incompatibility; the compatibility is SOFTWARE oriented = it will eventally be "perfect", its just a matter of time. To sum up my advice is this: If you own a 486DX-50 or a 486DX2-66, buy a GUS. No question about it. If you own a slower (faster?) computer, buy a GUS. It WILL eventually offer perfect "downward" compatibility with SB/Pro, and the sound quality is... well...unbelieveable. Just my $0.00. (Spent all my money on tech "support" calls to Creative Labs.) -= Adam Cheal =- i3y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca ------------------------------ Date: 24 Mar 1993 00:17:04 -0500 (EST) From: DEATH BEFORE DISCO Message-Id: <01GW60G51SKY9M16GJ@ritvax.isc.rit.edu> Subject: Starcontrol II noise/goofy music To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Help! Help! Where is the patch for Starcon II? The mods are awful with the 1MB DRAM on my GUS. I tried KLINGON but I couldn't fine the files. Thanks, Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 16:03:54 -0600 From: ken@austin.ibm.com (Ken Goach IBM) Message-Id: <9303232203.AA19599@daedalus.austin.ibm.com> Subject: Those whacky Windows problems! To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Well, after trying everything I can think of, I still couldn't get the new Windows drivers to work. Skipped notes, missing notes, irregular tempos, Windows crashes, etc. So I went back to the original software (2.1) that came with my card. I re-installed it, and it seems to work like it always did. I even seem to have IRQ conflicts and it works! For example, I used IRQ's 11 and 7 (defaults) for the MIDI driver, even though Windows says in MSD that these are in use, and it works! Weird. It did take several (like 5 or 6) tries to get the old Windows driver to work properly. I had to eventually delete every Ultrasound file from the WINDOWS and WINDOWS\SYSTEM directories (including MIDIMAP.CFG) and re-copy them over by hand. I removed the driver prior to this. Then I re-added the driver. Eventually it worked. So I may try the same thing with the new software. I'm thinking I don't really have IRQ problems like I thought. Who knows? Ken ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 22:00:50 EST From: brentwh@aol.com Message-Id: <9303222200.tn60727@aol.com> Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V... To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I'd like to cancel my direct subscription to the Ultrasound Daily Digest and get it indirectly from PCC ModDan. Does this note serve to cancel my direct subscription or need I do more? Brent ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 14:50:50 -0500 (EST) From: Kevin Wengcheong Cheng Message-Id: Subject: X-wing and the GUS again! To: Ultrasound Daily Digest OK guys, let's try this again. I've been toying around with sbos and my setup the whole morning and this is what I have found out... SBOS 1.20 works perfectly ( discounting the slowdown ) with Xwing. No switches required. SBOS 2.04 doesn't work. -o1 gives some initial garbage and then a low continuous buzz with nothing else. However, 2.04 seems to work if I put a NOXMS option on my QEMM386.SYS line in my config.sys. Music is fine but I haven't been able to test the digital sound since I can't figure out a way to get enough memory left after my TSRs and SBOS to get digital sound. And I'm using stacker... still undecided if that's a problem but I can't test otherwise coz my harddisk's too small to install Xwing on the uncompressed portion. Anyway, if you have problems with Xwing and SBOS, please send me a copy of your config.sys, autoexec.bat and perhaps your hardware setup. I'll see if I can figure anything out. / Message-Id: <01GW5E9EXXUS8Y50SU@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU> Subject: Xwing sound semi-solution. To: Ultrasound Daily Digest After requesting help several times here there and the other place (and getting no answers) I finally noticed a message somewhere in which the poster mentioned turning off the music during combat. This seems to be the answer to the problems of the 'jumping' that occurs when you fire or a Tie passes. When the background music is off, all digitized sounds occur perfectly during combat without affecting performance at all. Also, I've heard several people state that Xwing, like much other software, wants the Soundblaster on a certain interrupt: 7, I think. 7 is the default setting for SBs above 1.5, and you are tempting fate if you have the GF1 interrupt on your GUS set to anything else - it's lucky that we can reconfigure this interrupt, because I'm noticing this disturbing trend of companies writing games that make almost no attempt to detect soundboards at non-standard settings or let the user tell the game what settings to use. I wonder what SB owners, who still have to pop the case to change interrupts, are doing? -- This is the way the message ends, not with a bang but with a .sig... **Richard Wyckoff**RWYCKOFF@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 20:31:54 EST From: "The Wombat" Message-Id: <9303240125.AA27226@scott.skidmore.edu> Subject: Zone66 and Stacker note To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Well, just to add my snot to the rag, I have a 386-40 MT-321 PC-chips AMI bios etc... etc... No GUS, (Yet) but Zone66 does work with Stacker V1.10 V1.11 I heard stories about old versions of Stacker thrashing HD's but I've been using it for 6 months or so, and 1.5 years on a 386SX-16 no probs. Anyone know if the new versions are all that much better, Smartdrv won't recognize my stacker, but Hyperdisk does, so I use that instead. -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-This message was brought to you by Matthew Frazer-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "With the pinched eyes of a gourmet sampling perfection, he chewed. He chewed a bit more. Then he swallowed the dogfood. He sat for a while. Well, he thought, now I know why dogs lick their testicles. It's to get rid of the taste of the food. -Dave Lister, Last Human Alive Finger mfrazer@scott.skidmore.edu for more --------------------------------=Be Seeing You=-------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #79 ****************************** Digest Address: ultrasound@dsd.es.com To post to tomorrow's digest Request Server Address: ultrasound-request@dsd.es.com To subscribe, unsubscribe, and request files Owner Address: ultrasound-owner@dsd.es.com To contact a human if the server has troubles FTP Sites: archive.epas.utoronto.ca pub/pc/ultrasound wuarchive.wustl.edu systems/msdos/ultrasound