Optimal options

[MetalSnake]

Is there something like optimal options to get the best looking result?
For example there are alot of Graphics mode and I have no clue what these all will look like, or what exactly they do, plus there are a few Render modes.
Same goes to Audio with it's Music driver, MIDI with SoundFonts (??) and different modes.
I checked the Wiki but couldn't find anything about it.

Just in case if it's important: I'm on OS X 10.4.7, with a 21" CRT at 1600x1200

[eriktorbjorn]

Is there something like optimal options to get the best looking result?

If there was, there wouldn't be any need for options, would there?

For example there are alot of Graphics mode and I have no clue what these all will look like, or what exactly they do, plus there are a few Render modes.

Graphics modes are a matter of taste. My impression is that the AdvMame and HQ ones are the most popular, but I don't know.

From what I understand, render modes only work on a few of the older games, and actually degrade the graphics by simulating CGA (4 colours?) and Hercules (monochrome) graphics, instead of 16 colours.

Same goes to Audio with it's Music driver, MIDI with SoundFonts (??) and different modes.

The SoundFont setting is only used by the FluidSynth (emulated MIDI) and, I believe, CoreAudio (OS X) music drivers. For other ones, it may be possible to set the SoundFont outside ScummVM.

As for which music driver to use... If the game uses digitized music, this setting has no effect. It's only for synthesized music. I don't have an MT-32, or the means to se the MT-32 emulator, so for me it's generally a choice between (emulated) Adlib and native MIDI. In most cases, MIDI sounds better. For some, I prefer the Adlib sound.

For some of the old games, native MIDI is not an option. For the really ancient ones, even Adlib might not be available; only the PC speaker music. (In the latter case, PCjr sounds better than PC Speaker)

If you can't hear any difference between MIDI, Adlib and/or PCjr, it probably means that there was no such music for the particular game, so ScummVM had to default to a different driver.

[Whomper]

Graphics filters are very subjective - just have a fiddle and see what you like. The HQ filters are supposed to smooth without blurring, but I find them so horribly blurry that I compile ScummVM without them (which shaves a fair bit off the compile time, to boot).

AdvMame2x is my filter of choice. Aspect Ratio correction is a must on the older titles, too.

As for soundfonts, it's another one where you can get overexcited and start loading in 32Mb soundfonts. Most people (myself included) are content with the 8Mb one Creative released with the original AWE32, which knocks around the web.

If you've got a Soundblaster card, it'll almost certainly take soundfonts somewhere in its Windows settings. If you're on Linux, check out the awetools package (I think, it's been a while). On OS X, it's ease itself - just specify the soundfont in ScummVM and choose Core Audio, and I believe it does the rest itself.

Oh, and make sure you tick mixed ad-lib/midi mode for any pre CD speech games - you'll get much better sound effects than midi alone.

Enjoy!

[10basetom]

I guess I'm a little late to the party, but I have a few questions that I hope someone on here would be able to answer...

1. I changed the following global options:

- Music driver = MT-32
- Output rate = 44 kHz
- Mixed Adlib/MIDI mode = true (checked)
- Extra Path = pointing to dir containing MT-32 ROMs

My question is, if I play a game that doesn't support the MT-32, or outputs sound at 11/22 kHz, or doesn't use mixed Adlib/MIDI mode, then will this have a negative impact on the game's audio or performance? Or will ScummVM gracefully degrade to the next best option for me automatically?

I would prefer to just set settings once for all games in the global options instead of for each individual game, and then rely on ScummVM to fall back to the next best option for me when a game isn't compatible with the options I set.

2. Which produces better sound, MT-32 emulation or using an 8MB SoundFont file? If I use a SoundFont file, do I have to select Music driver = FluidSynth?

Or does this depend on the game? If so, is there a page that lists optimum configuration for each game? (Google wasn't much help here)

3. In your opinion what is the better experience in general, playing these games through ScummVM or DOSBox? (assuming latest versions of each)

I'm currently using ScummVM 0.13.1 on Windows XP Pro SP3.

TIA,
Tom

[bobdevis]

I would prefer to just set settings once for all games in the global options instead of for each individual game, and then rely on ScummVM to fall back to the next best option for me when a game isn't compatible with the options I set.

That would create more problems then it solves. Here is an example:
I like to play the older games with HQ3x. (I would even like HQ4x)
If I start Discworld2 with HQ3x however, my processor chokes and the game window is bigger then my screen.
And what is '2nd best"? I love the Dotmatrix mode, so when I go for 2x I use that. It is a matter of taste though.

I know you were talking audio, but the can of worms you open by letting ScummVM decide what 2nd best is, is about the same. Then there is the multi-platform issue. Different sound modes work differently on other platforms and I doubt the devs want more platform dependent code.

In your opinion what is the better experience in general, playing these games through ScummVM or DOSBox? (assuming latest versions of each)

If it's supported in ScummVM, it runs better in ScummVM then in any other way..... Unless you didn't upgrade your PC in the last 10 years.

2. Which produces better sound, MT-32 emulation or using an 8MB SoundFont file? If I use a SoundFont file, do I have to select Music driver = FluidSynth?

Yeah, only FluidSynth uses sound fonts. I have no opinion on sound quality.

[Red_Breast]

By the very nature of what ScummVM does there's never going to be optimal settings.
A setting that's good for gameA might not suit gameB.
Half the fun to be had comes from playing with the settings, especially on that Apple CRT. I had one of those once. Well I still do but it died. It had a beautiful picture though.

[10basetom]

Half the fun to be had comes from playing with the settings...

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Yeah, I'm finding this out -- it's like 6am and I'm still fidgeting with the settings, comparing the sounds for each setting with different games, etc....it's actually pretty fun, though my ears are getting tired trying to make out the subtle differences between different settings (and it doesn't help that my Koss PortaPros have lost their foam paddings).

I was happy with MT-32 emulation until the voices in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (IJFA) started to crackle intermittently, I'm guessing due to heavy strain on my CPU (Intel Core Duo L2400 @ 1.66GHz).

I then followed one of the stickies here to install MIDI Yoke / sfz / SAVIHost and a SoundFont for improved MIDI quality. To my pleasant surprise, it actually worked . Some SoundFonts actually sounded worse than MT-32 emulation, but after trying out many different SoundFonts (e.g., ChoriumRevA, RealFonts, SGM-V2.01, Silverspring), I came to the conclusion that PC51d was the best sounding to my ears. When I listened to the intro to IJFA with my eyes closed, it almost sounded like I was watching a real Indy movie! I felt the second best SoundFont was Silverspring, but it just didn't sound "right" to me at times (e.g., the horns in the IJFA intro didn't sound authentic as PC51d to me when compared to the real soundtrack). I dunno, maybe your ears may vary (YEMV? ).

OH, I almost forgot -- the best thing about using SoundFonts instead of MT-32 emulation is that, since there's no emulation, it's less CPU intensive; the voices no longer crackle on my system, so I'm happy. It's like killing two birds with one stone (better sound AND less strain on your system).

OK, I'm going to bed now.

[bobdevis]

Hahaha. I guess you will be a regular here then.
Go for those expensive headphones, setup your forum avatar and welcome to the fanatics club

[MeddlingMonk]

On Macs, Core Audio is a pretty good generic option to select.