I have a blog site which is doing very well since I opened it in January 2006 and the most active area for downloads and views is by far the ScummVM Music Enhancement Project I set up:
A lot of the point and click adventure games from the past of years gone by, used the MIDI format for presenting the music. Although this worked well at the time of release, by modern standards and varying users with different MIDI hardware, this results in an average performance for the music reproduction.
Using pure digital recording methods and Yamaha workstations, it is my personal aim to increase the quality of the music, however still remaining true to the originals. Using ScummVM, to which I will be aiming the tracks to be used for exclusively, we will all be able to enjoy the game music all over again with hopefully a far superior sound quality.
Recently I have updated this page with new information, including a couple of samples from Inherit the Earth. There are also a couple of samples for Beneath A Steel Sky for you to have a listen to.
I would like to thank many of the ScummVM team for their encouragement and support and I can hardly wait for ScummVM to support external audio music files which I create which hopefully with appear in the future.
I am also an musican, but i think its not so good to restore music that it sounds much better, because the culty on the games are the midi music. There is 2 or three 3 down of this thread in this forum a topic for reproduction of the BASS music. I also postet a sampes. I am an Musican too which want to help to do something on the old games.
Your samples are not bad but the culty character of the games isnt available in this music. it doesent fit really to the game.
I and my orchestra have played some midis into an professional studio in see the BASS Music topic.
Hello!
Imo the best way would be to extract the music files from the amige versions. EVERY andventure had a better sound/music quality on amiga.
If I hear Inherit the earth on PC i could just cry. The music of the amiga version was so wonderfull.
If ScummVM could use these external (amiga) music files...
€dit: I've just listened the village theme from inherit the earth and I must say great work!! sounds nearly like the amiga version. I took the amige music as example?
Nightkin wrote:Hello!
Imo the best way would be to extract the music files from the amige versions. EVERY andventure had a better sound/music quality on amiga.
If I hear Inherit the earth on PC i could just cry. The music of the amiga version was so wonderfull.
If ScummVM could use these external (amiga) music files...
€dit: I've just listened the village theme from inherit the earth and I must say great work!! sounds nearly like the amiga version. I took the amige music as example?
Greetings...
Yes you have been right it sounds perfectly on an amiga (a friend of mine have found an old amiga on the attic. Its sounds better then every modern sequenzer can programm it, really great
Thank you for your informations its a quiet good hint
Nightkin wrote:Imo the best way would be to extract the music files from the amige versions. EVERY andventure had a better sound/music quality on amiga.
That's debatable. The recordings I've heard of the Amiga music from The Secret of Monkey Island didn't impress me. I much preferred the audio tracks from the PC CD version.
But as I wrote in another thread, I'm convinced that there are those who would claim that nothing beats the PC Speaker, because that's what they heard the Monkey Island music on first.
Nightkin wrote:Imo the best way would be to extract the music files from the amige versions. EVERY andventure had a better sound/music quality on amiga.
That's debatable. The recordings I've heard of the Amiga music from The Secret of Monkey Island didn't impress me. I much preferred the audio tracks from the PC CD version.
That particular release (the PC CD version) did have better music. However, there are many games that never had a CD release, and therefore were forced to use MIDI music (often Adlib, sometimes MT-32 or AWE32) on the PC. In almost all cases where Adlib was used on the PC, the Amiga version has a much better music rendition, partly of course because trackers offer better control than most sequencers, giving an edge even over the MT-32 which has the best sounds (IMHO) but is limited by the MIDI implementation. Extracting the Amiga tracker music into a more modern format (XM, IT) and replacing the sounds with their MT-32 or newer equivalents (the Amiga used 8-bit samples as opposed to most wavetable MIDI cards) would perhaps be the simplest method (not in any way implying that it is simple, just simpler than other methods) of improving the music of an existing game.
It really depends on the game..... some games sound perfectly fine using MT-32, although others could do with a little extra. Also remember MT-32 emulation is still no way near perfect and adlib is a poor substitute. Amiga music can be good, but still not up to today's standards in professional MIDI hardware.
Simon the Sorcerer which I have completed sounds far better now and hopefully when I get some samples uploaded you will agree.
Remember all the music I am working on is optional and it is left to each individual to decide which version they prefer, be it Adlib, MT-32 or my version.
Off course Amiga music cannot match the latest music qualitiy standard. The system is nealry 15 years old. But whenever i compare Indiana Joness 3+4, Monkey Island 1+2, BASS, Simon 1+2, ITE with the PC version I have a clear winner.
I dont know the PC CD soundtrack of Monkey Island. For sure they are good. But most people have the "normal" version, not the cd.
Sure, the pc speaker maybe the "nostalgic" sound device for some gamers. But I there is the possibility to enhace graphic with those "sai" and "eagle" filters, the possibility to enhace music has the same justification.
glidem wrote:It really depends on the game..... some games sound perfectly fine using MT-32, although others could do with a little extra. Also remember MT-32 emulation is still no way near perfect and adlib is a poor substitute. Amiga music can be good, but still not up to today's standards in professional MIDI hardware.
Simon the Sorcerer which I have completed sounds far better now and hopefully when I get some samples uploaded you will agree.
Remember all the music I am working on is optional and it is left to each individual to decide which version they prefer, be it Adlib, MT-32 or my version.
We have in our Studio also Yamaha Keyboards but we used only one instruments in some files in reproduction it sounds to syntesizerly, the same as your files, therefore we have a big library of 1,6 Terrabyte Orechestral instruments. We used them on the Midis and we also played some parts such as the vibraphone in all songs really in with the help of an professioniall Vibraphonenist.
I am sorry but your reproductions might be nice but the quality is not really professional
FeebleFiles1 wrote:I am sorry but your reproductions might be nice but the quality is not really professional
When did I ever claim I was a professional, I said I use professional equipment... why can't we both do our own work without the other person knocking the others?
Nightkin wrote:Maybe not professional, but MUCH better than the "normal" ones. For me it would provde a much greater gaming experience than with normal midi sounds.
