Cuz' it ain't been implemented yet, yer majesty Q.B. !

I meant, why didn't you use OPL3 in the first place?

The problem has a definite relationship to Audigy's drivers. I just upgraded to the 2.53 version of the drivers (as opposed to the 2.52). The sound improved (still somewhat off, but MUCH better), and the speed returned to normal. I'll of course report this to Creative Labs, who will then divert all of their attention to promptly revising their drivers to completely overcome this flaw. Well, I can dream, can't I? 😀

Has Creative released a new driver set recently? If so, I need to get them for myself, too.

The 2.53 drivers were posted on August 26. Some people like the Compaq 2.52 drivers better, though. XP only, if I remember correctly.

The KX drivers are supposedly faster (that's what they were designed for) may be more optimal than Creative's drivers for old games, since of course old games don't need the newer features.

Err..wait..the new drivers are XP-only, or the Compaq 2.52 drivers are XP-only?

There's no doubt in my mind that kX's drivers will be better ... when they've got all the features implemented. 'till then, well, they suck. 😜

I'm not sure if the 2.52 drivers are XP only. I believe they are at ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/softpaq/sp20501-21000/SP20920.exe
if you wish to check them out. Large download.

As for the kX drivers, I haven't tried them. I run some newer games that take advantage of the Audigy's advanced features.

vladr wrote:

Wait a moment there. The current ("Update 1") OPL emulation is supposed (according to its author) to be "as good as it gets". So if you believe that there is a problem then you (I) should definitely confirm this with Jarek. If it's not confirmed then rest assured, it won't change in the next version of VDMSound. 😀 (unless it is replaced with OPL3 emulation, that is).

V.

Well, didja look into it, Vlad? 😀

Enquiry: Is OPL3 reverse-compatible with OPL2 (and OPL1, if such a thing exists)? It's sounding like it is, but I thought I might as well ask a boring, redundant question such as this.
Um, also, since this thread has deviated quite a bit from its original intent, I'm renaming it. CHEERZ! 😁

Enquiry: Is OPL3 reverse-compatible with OPL2 (and OPL1, if such a thing exists)? It's sounding like it is, but I thought I might as well ask a boring, redundant question such as this.

Yes. The OPL4 (YMF278B) is backwards-compatible with the OPL3 (YMF262M), which is backwards-compatible with the OPL2 (YM3812), which is backwards-compatible with the OPL (YM3526). There's a lot of other chips in the family, but that's the gist of it.

MAME emulates the OPL, OPL2, and preliminary pre-release emulation exists for the OPL4. OPL3 emulation is being worked on by Jarek for MAME and its spinoff projects. (Once OPL3 is emulated, MAME should be able to better emulate OPL4's FM, which it does not currently do well, if at all.)

I tested MK2. It does sound weird with version 1.0.4.3 of the AdLib emulation ("Update 1"), but 1.0.4.3 had an envelope bug that was fixed in 1.0.4.4 (attached). MK2 sounds OK now (with 1.0.4.4).

Thanks for the file. MK2 sound works great. Now all I have to do is to resolve the joystick problem. Still jumps around. I've tried adjusting the min/max settings, the polling, and the mapping.

*Crosses off entry in "Waiting on..." list*

Yeah, sorry about the delay in MK2 testing. I tested SoundFX 2000's (commercial "competition") joystick emulation as well, and it also seems to jump around (or it's my makeshift two-potentiometer-and-two-exposed-wires-as-a-button joystick, though I doubt it). Very likely a MK2 issue with Windows... who knows what sorf of voodoo joystick polling it uses... Not to mention that it will actually crash sometimes (at least in my case) when specifying joystick (e..g 4-button joystick) in the setup screen (press F10), so there definitely is something fishy going on there... SWOS (soccer program) also has joystick problems, though joystick is one of the most straightforward emulation there is, so yes, there are ways for games to screw up on joystick emulation as well. 😜

V.

okayyyy, it's been months, why no OPL3? And what has Jarek said?

Couldn't find anything about Jarek and OPL3, but I did com across this:
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/source/opl3emu.html

I also found that, and from what I've read/been told, that is only Jarek's OPL2 code. I dunno. There is some confusion -- YM3812, according to Stiletto, is OPL2, but there is only ONE place (in English) that I have found to verify that, whereas if I search for "OPL3 YM3812" I get TONNES of hits.

Well then, that makes it clear as mud.

Jarek's busy with other things right now, as am I.

... it's kinda low on the priorities, only a few arcade games used it, and Jarek works mainly on MAME, not computer emulation (like MESS). If he worked more on MESS than on MAME, there'd probably be more of an interest from him in getting it emulated.

Have patience, even Vlad has said he'd look at it, maybe, if Jarek doesn't get around to it.

I will, however, ask Jarek for a status update - i.e. whether he's done any work on it yet and/or if he's going to work on it at all.

BTW - OPL2 (or sometimes seen as OPLII) == YM3812.
OPL3 == YMF262
There are other OPL3 chips, like the OPL3-SAx series (OPL3-SA1, OPL3-SA2, OPL3-SA3, OPL3-SA4), but the YMF262 was the original chip. The other ones are derivatives and not strictly compatible.

BTW, Google counts at least 1020 pages.

1[url]http://www.google.com/search?q=(YM3812+OR+%22YM-3812%22)+(OPL2+OR+OPLII+OR+%22OPL+2%22+OR+%22OPL+II%22)[/url]

😜