Better Music for GM ScummVM (and DOSBox) games

[Darktalon]

I find that FatBoy sounds a bit odd in King's Quest VI, I am using the CD/Windows version. The very opening that displays the title and menu has some flute noises that are out of place, or rather far more prominent than they should be.

[cwadge]

I find that FatBoy sounds a bit odd in King's Quest VI, I am using the CD/Windows version. The very opening that displays the title and menu has some flute noises that are out of place, or rather far more prominent than they should be.

Interesting. I wonder if this could be a settings issue? This is how it sounds for me (ScummVM v2.0.0 on Debian, FB v0.783 via FluidSynth v1.1.11):

https://youtu.be/x2Mn8GPhiZk

If yours doesn't sound like that, please provide as much of the following info as possible so we can figure out what's up:

• ScummVM version
• Which platform you're running it on (Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, dead ferret, etc.)
• Sound backend and synth being used by Scumm
• Everything in the "Audio" and "MIDI" tabs of the game
• If at all possible, and this is the most useful thing you can provide, a recording of what you're hearing

[Darktalon]

I find that FatBoy sounds a bit odd in King's Quest VI, I am using the CD/Windows version. The very opening that displays the title and menu has some flute noises that are out of place, or rather far more prominent than they should be.

Interesting. I wonder if this could be a settings issue? This is how it sounds for me (ScummVM v2.0.0 on Debian, FB v0.783 via FluidSynth v1.1.11):

https://youtu.be/x2Mn8GPhiZk

If yours doesn't sound like that, please provide as much of the following info as possible so we can figure out what's up:

• ScummVM version
• Which platform you're running it on (Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, dead ferret, etc.)
• Sound backend and synth being used by Scumm
• Everything in the "Audio" and "MIDI" tabs of the game
• If at all possible, and this is the most useful thing you can provide, a recording of what you're hearing

I hear it at 0:19 in your video, the flute behind the main ones.

I'm using ScummVM 2.1.0 June 1st, Windows 10, FluidSynth, Mixed Adlib/Midi mode.

[cwadge]

I hear it at 0:19 in your video, the flute behind the main ones.

I'm using ScummVM 2.1.0 June 1st, Windows 10, FluidSynth, Mixed Adlib/Midi mode.

Ohhhh, I see what you mean now. That's just the multi-velocity nature of that particular flute preset. At harder velocities you can hear more breath tones, and at lower velocities it is much more subtle.

That particular piece alternates between high and low velocities. On more heavily synthetic modules (or soundfonts) there is only one tone for all flute velocities, so this would not be noticeable. On Fatboy, these are two distinct samples, so they sound different.

[Darktalon]

Ok thank you for explaining! What are your recommended FluidSynth settings?

[cwadge]

Ok thank you for explaining! What are your recommended FluidSynth settings?

It should basically "just work" on most systems, and on my Linux box at least (JACK backend for sound) the default 1.0 volume seems to work perfectly with 95% of supported games. This can be a little different in DOSBox, where you're running FluidSynth as a daemon. The only thing I might tweak otherwise is reverb based on personal preference (I leave mine default most of the time) and chorus (which I leave off on certain games, particularly Sierra ones). But again, that's all up to your own preference.

[cwadge]

Another minor update, basically just a little polish here and there.

https://pub.dotbalm.org/misc/FatBoy-v0784.7z

Sample:

▶ Bop On The Rocks

Changelog:
• Micro-adjustments to attenuation on few presets
• Altered velocity split on GM Flute to 50/50 rather than 75/25 to help account for some strangely performed MIDI (thanks to Darktalon for the report)

[Darktalon]

404 not found :*(

[cwadge]

404 not found :*(

Ugh, thanks. It helps to actually upload the file, doesn't it? Try again.

[cwadge]

I've been extremely busy lately, but I have been putting scraps of time into working on the new flute preset I'd been working on. It's a lot closer to finished at this point, but not quite ready for general use just yet. Unless I get any more problem reports before then, my effort will be going towards that for the time being.

[almeath]

Thanks for all the effort you are putting into this.

[cwadge]

Thanks for all the effort you are putting into this.

You're welcome!

And this project isn't dead, I'm just busy with work and crazy personal circumstances at the moment. I did put about 20 minutes into the new flute preset this week, but nothing worth putting out for testing just yet. Will keep you posted, and do let me know if you run into any problems with FatBoy in the meantime.

[LouEatingSalami]

Did anyone notice in a lot of Sierra games you can't adjust the music volume properly when using any other sound device other than the Adlib emulator?
In some games like Space Quest 6, Larry 6, Police Quest 4 (maybe others) it only changes the volume of the drums which is really a shame because the soundfont is great but often the music is too loud and need some adjusting which I can't do properly in ScummVM.

[cwadge]

Did anyone notice in a lot of Sierra games you can't adjust the music volume properly when using any other sound device other than the Adlib emulator?
In some games like Space Quest 6, Larry 6, Police Quest 4 (maybe others) it only changes the volume of the drums which is really a shame because the soundfont is great but often the music is too loud and need some adjusting which I can't do properly in ScummVM.

Sure, it just works a bit like a hardware synth sitting on your desktop would have in the 80's-90's. You just need to set per-game overrides:

• • Highlight the game you wish to adjust
  • Select the "MIDI" tab
  • Click "Override global MIDI settings"
  • Adjust MIDI Gain according to your preferences
  • Click OK

[LouEatingSalami]

Did anyone notice in a lot of Sierra games you can't adjust the music volume properly when using any other sound device other than the Adlib emulator?
In some games like Space Quest 6, Larry 6, Police Quest 4 (maybe others) it only changes the volume of the drums which is really a shame because the soundfont is great but often the music is too loud and need some adjusting which I can't do properly in ScummVM.

Sure, it just works a bit like a hardware synth sitting on your desktop would have in the 80's-90's. You just need to set per-game overrides:

• • Highlight the game you wish to adjust
  • Select the "MIDI" tab
  • Click "Override global MIDI settings"
  • Adjust MIDI Gain according to your preferences
  • Click OK

That doesn't really help as there seems to be an issue with some SCI games regarding volume changes. In the games I mentioned all volume changes only affect the drum channel, all the other instruments stay at the same volume no matter what you set it to.