scummVM 1.4.0+ and svn daily builds on it have audio issues

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:47 am

I have noticed that certain sfx sounds from either resource.aud or resource.sfx are not playing whatsoever in 1.4.0 and all daily builds built on it and 1.5.0. Don't know whats going on, but go ahead and try it.

For example in space quest 4 CD version, the lightning does not sound when your 2 screens up from the beginning of the game, instead you get the crappy sound effect in its place. there are numerous games that scummVM is not playing the high quality sounds anymore. When wilco drops to the ground from the vortex theres supposed to be a high quality sound of him dropping when he hits the ground. Intsead a simeple beep is used in its place. Go to the left when the game starts and open the glove compartment. A high quality sound of it being opened supposed to play, instead its a dull beep.

I went back to 1.3.1 and everything was there. also you can try Freddy Pharkas. Right at the title screen your supposed to hear a bing then someone yelling out yeeehawww. Also when you open doors in this game your supposed to hear a high quality sound of a door being opened or closed. It's not working whatsoever. You don't hear it in 1.4.0. What the hell? This is a huge problem....

In King's Quest 6 CD version, a nice quality sound supposed to play when you pickup the piece of wood which is to your right side, instead its a type of wind sound. When you open doors it just beeps instead of sounding like such. I'm sure this is affecting every CD talkie sierra game there is, and might even affect certain sounds even in the floppy versions.

envisaged0ne · Post by **envisaged0ne** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:01 am

What sound device are you using? I'm using an mt-32 (real one & synth one) and the sounds are all perfectly fine. Using the latest daily build

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:29 am

I'm using the default device as i always do. it doesn't matter which kind of midi device you choose anyway, because the issue is not music, its the digitized audio samples that are in some CD talkie SCI games that aren't being played. I go to scummVM 1.3.1 and lower and everything works as it should, except for 1.4.0. I use scummVM ever since the first build came out years ago. I was wondering what was going on when I started using 1.4.0 and wasn't hearing certain sounds i was used to hearing, at first I thought it was just me, but then i realized what was going on. 1.4.0 has bad code for SCI games.

Mau1wurf1977 · Post by **Mau1wurf1977** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:31 am

I've only tested SQ4 (specifically the CD version from Steam's Space Quest Collection) and have reproduced the issue.

I wouldn't call it "beep sound" though. It sounds more like it plays the sound effects you would get if you didn't have a digital sound device (like a Sound Blaster). So you get the Adlib only version of the Thunder sound.

I also noticed this issue that I couldn't go North and West in the game. I got the North screen but he turns back right away.

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:32 am

I've produced this problem over and over again in the CD version of KQ6, SQ4, Freddy Pharkas, so far that's what I've found.

fuzzie · Post by **fuzzie** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:33 am

To ask the obvious question: you all have the "mixed adlib / MIDI mode" checkbox checked, right?

Code: Select all

SCI&#58;
   - Added better handling of digital vs. synthesized sound effects. If the
     "Mixed Adlib / MIDI mode" checkbox is checked, the engine will prefer
     digital sound effects, otherwise their synthesized counterparts will be
     preferred instead, if both versions of the same effect exist.

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:36 am

I have it on default settings. If default settings causes this problem, thats still crap. I've even deleted the scummvm.ini and started from scratch. This problem has started with 1.4.0. Every other version works fine! The digital effects are what are supposed to play with the original engine playing on true DOS, or Dosbox. Scummvm should not be defaulting to play the synthesized effects. Those only play when you have a crappy sound card that doesn't support the digital effects.

Mau1wurf1977 · Post by **Mau1wurf1977** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:41 am

fuzzie wrote:To ask the obvious question: you all have the "mixed adlib / MIDI mode" checkbox checked, right?

Not so obvious to be honest...

It does solve the issue though.

Still I have to agree with monster99f150. It's not logical / obvious that you have to tick "override global MIDI" and enable "mixed Adlib mode" to get digital sound effects while digital speech works just fine...

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:42 am

Same problem with space quest 1 vga remake. When you skip the intro and you see the the ship or starbase whatever it is, a digital sound is supposed to play, then wilco is in the station coming out of the door, the door has a digital sound effect that sounds like a door opening, it should not play just a simple beep or some synthesized crap. Same crap when you touch acid and he screams, and at another acid point, he screams I'm melting, those don't play on 1.4.0,

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:45 am

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:
fuzzie wrote:To ask the obvious question: you all have the "mixed adlib / MIDI mode" checkbox checked, right?
Not so obvious to be honest...

It does solve the issue though.

Still I have to agree with monster99f150. It's not logical / obvious that you have to tick "override global MIDI" and enable "mixed Adlib mode" to get digital sound effects while digital speech works just fine...

I just found this option and now i hear the digital samples. If you didn't tell me i would have never knew that option existed or that it was the issue. Someone def needs to come out with a 1.4.1 to fix this issue. It's not right...

fuzzie · Post by **fuzzie** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:46 am

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:Still I have to agree with monster99f150. It's not logical / obvious that you have to tick "override MIDI" and "mixed Adlib mode" to get digital sound effects while digital speech works just fine.

Well, it's in the release notes which we linked from the announcement, and the downloads page, and etc..

I imagine this is part of the ongoing argument about whether ScummVM should default to what the original SCI engine does, or whether it should default to the "enhanced" ScummVM version, and there seems to always be an awful lot of complaining on the forum when we default to enhanced stuff.

Mau1wurf1977 · Post by **Mau1wurf1977** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:48 am

I agree with you...

In the past I used this setting to get certain sounds in Monkey Island 2 when played in MT-32 mode.

On a real 486 with MT-32 certain sounds simply don't exist in the game (but do exist when you play with an Adlib card). So in this context the setting enabled "extra sounds" beyond the capability of the real thing.

But for Sierra games I'm not sure what to make of this option...

I agree that by default it should play the digitized sound effects...

fuzzie wrote:
I imagine this is part of the ongoing argument about whether ScummVM should default to what the original SCI engine does, or whether it should default to the "enhanced" ScummVM version, and there seems to always be an awful lot of complaining on the forum when we default to enhanced stuff.

While that's a valid debate, in this case it defaults to an inferior version (FM effects rather than digital ones).

Or are the FM effects seen as "enhanced" when compared to the digital versions?

EDIT:

Or is this a "side effect" because of the push to have MT-32 as default music device?

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:52 am

fuzzie wrote:
Mau1wurf1977 wrote:Still I have to agree with monster99f150. It's not logical / obvious that you have to tick "override MIDI" and "mixed Adlib mode" to get digital sound effects while digital speech works just fine.
Well, it's in the release notes which we linked from the announcement, and the downloads page, and etc..

I imagine this is part of the ongoing argument about whether ScummVM should default to what the original SCI engine does, or whether it should default to the "enhanced" ScummVM version, and there seems to always be an awful lot of complaining on the forum when we default to enhanced stuff.

Reading about a mixed adlib mode option doesn't let people know that if it's not checked certain SCI games wont sound the way has been sounding since the first version of scummvm that supported playing SCI games, not to mention these sounds already did play and exist when playing them in DOS or dosbox. Could there be at least a readme replacement/fix to let people know that option must be ticked? Otherwise people like me will have a headache and just use an older version of scummvm.

monster99f150 · Post by **monster99f150** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:02 am

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:I agree with you...

In the past I used this setting to get certain sounds in Monkey Island 2 when played in MT-32 mode.

On a real 486 with MT-32 certain sounds simply don't exist in the game (but do exist when you play with an Adlib card). So in this context the setting enabled "extra sounds" beyond the capability of the real thing.

But for Sierra games I'm not sure what to make of this option...

I agree that by default it should play the digitized sound effects...

fuzzie wrote:
I imagine this is part of the ongoing argument about whether ScummVM should default to what the original SCI engine does, or whether it should default to the "enhanced" ScummVM version, and there seems to always be an awful lot of complaining on the forum when we default to enhanced stuff.
While that's a valid debate, in this case it defaults to an inferior version (FM effects rather than digital ones).

Or are the FM effects seen as "enhanced" when compared to the digital versions?

EDIT:

Or is this a "side effect" because of the push to have MT-32 as default music device?

I don't know but i can't even force these games on dosbox, to play the fm effects instead (which sound like beeps and other "noises") fm effects are inferior and only play when the games in question come up with the error, "unable to initialize audio hardware" which is due to buggy SNDBLAST.DRV, or AUDBLAST.DRV, for which there are fixes for, and as I recall, bad sound blaster compatible cards that used emulation drivers also could cause the "unable to initialize audio hardware" error.

fuzzie · Post by **fuzzie** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:04 am

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:While that's a valid debate, in this case it defaults to an inferior version (FM effects rather than digital ones).

Or are the FM effects seen as "enhanced" when compared to the digital versions?

EDIT:

Or is this a "side effect" because of the push to have MT-32 as default music device?

Well, I don't know, as I said - "I imagine", although having looked, the default for that option probably dates back to 2003 or so. And you're both arguing while everyone else is still asleep, but I guess someone who knows might be around later.