Simon the Sorcerer Music Issues

slopesandsam · Post by **slopesandsam** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:50 pm

Hi,

I've had problems with the music from Simon the Sorcerer 1. I can't get it to play "correctly". By this I mean: I want the game to sound like it did back when I first played it in the mid 90s. I remember the game sounding like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... n_Eg#t=28s

That's the music that I really fell in love with. But all the audio options in ScummVM produce music that sounds considerably different. Same melodies, obviously, but the instrumentation is all different.

Does anyone know of a way to get the game to sound like it does in the above video?

(Not the speech or sound effects, just the music.)

Post by **eriktorbjorn** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 5:49 am

The music in the video sounds like AdLib, and I know the DOS CD version of the game has a file called mt_fm.ibk which presumably contains AdLib instruments. Unfortunately, ScummVM doesn't know how to use it, which would probably account for the difference in sound. (I looked at it once, and it seemed like it shouldn't be that difficult to handle, but I never managed to get it to work.)

Judging by the video, the tempo is a bit off too. I've never managed to get my DOS version to run in DOSBox, so I never knew how it was meant to sound anyway.

I don't think that the instrument file is part of the Windows version of the game, by the way.

Kirben · Post by **Kirben** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:22 am

Yes, the DOS versions of Simon the Sorcerer 1 used an instrument bank (mt_fm.ibk) and custom drum mapping (hard coded) for AdLib, which currently isn't supported by ScummVM.

That is why the music sounds different in ScummVM at the moment.

slopesandsam · Post by **slopesandsam** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:02 am

I actually solved this! I noticed that there was an install.exe on the CD along with the setup.exe, and remembered that once upon a time this used to mean that one was for installing to DOS and the other was for installing to Windows. So I re-installed using the install.exe file.

I had to do this with DOSBox, and then play it through DOSBox as well. Playing this install via ScummVM still gives me different music, but through DOSBox it sounds perfect.

SimSaw · Post by **SimSaw** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:40 pm

DOSBox is one solution. Its emulation gets quite close to the original OPL2 created music. However, it isn't that close enough to betray my ears.

If you want to have the original music of Simon the Sorcerer 1 in ScummVM, feel free to use my created soundtrack that is offered on my website: www.Best-StS.de.vu

You can find it easily in the download section. I recorded it from a 486 computer with a Sound Blaster. I worked them over a bit so that they loop fine but also are perfect when played back for the first time. I also removed some disturbing pops.
Simply copy the tracks in your game folder and they will be selected automatically by ScummVM the next time you start the game.

JamesWoodcock · Post by **JamesWoodcock** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 3:51 pm

I know you are looking for the original music, however I have created an 'enhanced' soundtrack if you care to take a look at something a little different that can be used within the game.

http://www.jameswoodcock.co.uk/content/ ... t-project/