"crackling" sound with monkey island 2 anyone??

Ask for help with ScummVM problems

Moderator: ScummVM Team

Post Reply
Cyphox
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:38 pm
Location: Germany

"crackling" sound with monkey island 2 anyone??

Post by Cyphox »

I`ve got a problem with audio playback in mi2 with mt-32 emulation...

it`s the ONLY game in my collection which produces a loud "crackling" sound when playing music. I can still hear the music of course, but there`s this annoying crackling in it.
All other Games (Dott, s&m, mi1 and so on) are working PERFECTLY fine with MT-32....

anyone has the same problem? solution someone? could it be my soundcard?

i tried different versions of scummvm, i tried different sound setting etc....

it`s exasperating... :shock:

i`ll try to upload a sample tomorrow, so you can hear for yourself...
User avatar
eriktorbjorn
ScummVM Developer
Posts: 3558
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:39 am

Re: "crackling" sound with monkey island 2 anyone?

Post by eriktorbjorn »

Cyphox wrote:I`ve got a problem with audio playback in mi2 with mt-32 emulation...

it`s the ONLY game in my collection which produces a loud "crackling" sound when playing music.
All music, or just the campfire music during the intro? If it's the latter, it's probably normal -- there's a crackling fire nearby.

I don't have the means to try the MT-32 emulator myself, so if it's the former I have no idea.
Cyphox
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:38 pm
Location: Germany

Re: "crackling" sound with monkey island 2 anyone?

Post by Cyphox »

eriktorbjorn wrote:
Cyphox wrote:I`ve got a problem with audio playback in mi2 with mt-32 emulation...

it`s the ONLY game in my collection which produces a loud "crackling" sound when playing music.
All music, or just the campfire music during the intro? If it's the latter, it's probably normal -- there's a crackling fire nearby.

I don't have the means to try the MT-32 emulator myself, so if it's the former I have no idea.
i was a little bit wrong, actually the crackling is in more mt-32 games, but not that loud and anoying as in mi2.

no, i don`t mean the crackling fire and (thank god) it`s not everywhere in the game, but the main theme goes crummy and the part where lechuck hurts you with the voodoo doll etc. and a few other scenes between i can`t remember right now...

here`s the sample (main theme):
http://uploaded.to/?id=sesxbg

mmmh.... i guess i will try a different soundcard next. got realtek hi-def onboard right now... tried with realtek ac-97, same effect.
tutnix
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:42 pm

Post by tutnix »

you are not alone with this problem ;). think its the mt32-emu and not a hardware problem.
tburke
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:15 am

Post by tburke »

I think this might be my fault. See this bug report.

I was trying to bring the overall volume level in line with other music drivers and sound effects. (If you've still got an old copy of scummvm around, go to the bar on Scabb and listen to the difference between the music in the background and the sound effect of the bartender spitting. Compare the results of using the Adlib driver versus the MT-32 driver.)

I noticed the crackling when I was testing my change, but only at fairly high volumes. At 192, say, the problem goes away; as this is the default, I didn't worry too much about it. Try setting the volume lower, see if that helps.

As a side note, I'm fairly certain this has to do with the reverb in the MT32 we're trying to emulate; this problem is especially bad when the music is loudest (for example, when LeChuck is moving around). What's most likely happening is that sample overflows and what should be a very large value is actually a very small one. It makes me wonder if perhaps the MT32 author saw this problem and was intentionally shifting by an extra bit. I still think the change was worthwhile, however, as the problem (so far as I've been able to diagnose it) is easily correctable and this brings the MT32 volume closer to the other music drivers' volumes.
Cyphox
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:38 pm
Location: Germany

Post by Cyphox »

wuhuu, i really have set all volumes to 256 :?

thx for the tip with lower volume, i will try this out, thanks.

:D

btw. i think the best game to test the crackling soundproblem is "I have no Mouth and I must scream". The crackling in the intro is sporadically nerve-splitting :shock:

EDIT: you were absolutely right, with volume at 192 the crackling's completely gone... :shock:

BIG THANKS *hug* :D
Last edited by Cyphox on Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Cyphox
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:38 pm
Location: Germany

Post by Cyphox »

...clicked the wrong button, sorry about that...
Post Reply