VOGONS


First post, by Mau1wurf1977

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Hi all!

I'm working on a new video and for this I am looking for games that cause issues on the original MT-32 (the one without the headphone port) because of the games not considering the 40 millisecond delay.

One game that causes this is Beneath a Steal Sky, however it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

I also tried Lure of Temptress and Gods which, according to the Wikipedia MT-32 compatible games list, is such a candidate, but I have not had any issues.

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Reply 1 of 14, by rcblanke

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What machine are you using the MT-32 with, Mau1wurf?

4-D Boxing (aka 4D Sports Boxing v2.0)
4-D Sports Boxing
Aces of the Pacific & Expansion Disk: WWII: 1946
Aces over Europe
Aces over Europe (CD version)
Advanced Tactical Air Command (ATAC)
Astro Chicken (from Space Quest 3)
B-17 Flying Fortress
Beneath a Steel Sky
Car and Driver
Code Name: ICEMAN
Colonization
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail
DaemonsGate
Dark Sun 1: Shattered Lands
David Leadbetter's Golf
Fire & Ice
Flight of the Amazon Queen: Interviewer for Hire
Flight of the Amazon Queen (CD version)
Freakin' Funky Fuzzballs
Gods
Heart of China
Heimdall
Hero Quest
Hoyle's Book of Games Volume 1
Hoyle's Book of Games Volume 2
Hyperspeed
Inferno
Jurassic Park
Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patty In Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals
Lemmings 2: The Tribes
Lure of the Temptress
Magic Pockets
Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle (CD version)
Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle
Might and Magic 4: Clouds of Xeen
Mortal Kombat 1
NFL Football
Operation Stealth (aka James Bond: The Stealth Affair)
Prince of Persia 1
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow & The Flame
Prophecy: The Viking Child
Protostar: War on the Frontier
Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire
Rome AD 92: The Pathway to Power
Shadowlands
Sherlock Holmes, The Lost Files of: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel
Sorcerian
Space Quest 1 SCI EGA
Space Quest 1 SCI VGA
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
Star Wars: X-wing
Star Wars: X-wing with Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing Expansions
Stunts (4D Sports Driving)
Tactical Fighter Experiment (TFX)
Tempest 2000
Thunderhawk 1: AH-73M
Trog!

Reply 2 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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It's a socket 7 machine, Pentium 133 with L1 and L2 cache disabled. It performs on the level of a fast 386DX.

Where is this list from?

Because Heart of China is definitely one of the games best played on a MT-32(Old) and doesn't have the buffer overflow issue.

Gods is listed on wikipedia as having issues, but I didn't encounter any. Same with Lure of Temptress.

So I am looking for one that really ends up sounding different because of the buffer overflow issue 😀

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
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Reply 3 of 14, by Dominus

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So I am looking for one that really ends up sounding different because of the buffer overflow issue

are you looking for games that trigger that issue or those that sound different because of it? 😉

Windows 3.1x guide for DOSBox
60 seconds guide to DOSBox
DOSBox SVN snapshot for macOS (10.4-11.x ppc/intel 32/64bit) notarized for gatekeeper

Reply 4 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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Dominus wrote:

are you looking for games that trigger that issue or those that sound different because of it? 😉

One that sounds different because of it. Preferably early in the game to show the issue.

So far I have only found one game that even triggers the message on the display and that is Beneath a Steel Sky. Gods and Lure of Temptress throw no such error.

EDIT:

OH! One sound effect at the begining of Beneath a Steel Sky is different (between MT-32(Old) and MT-32(New)). Guess the error message was for that sound effect 😁

I think it will do as a demonstration.

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 5 of 14, by rcblanke

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This is a personal test-list I used for the mt-32 buffer overflow patch. All these games trigger overflows using DOSBox in combination with my cakewalk UM-1G midi interface. I did not check for any apparent sound issues, 'just' the buffer overflow on the display. For example, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe sounds pretty funky without delayed sysex's, here.

Reply 6 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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Oh I have Prince of Persia! Will check it out, thank you.

EDIT: Hmm I found no issues with this game.

Even with my P133 at full speed (no cache disabled the games plays and sounds fine).

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Reply 7 of 14, by sergm

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Hmm, you didn't point out what MIDI cable you use to connect. If this is not a conventional gameport->MIDI cable but a USB-MIDI, it can introduce delays that make your old MT-32 happy.

Reply 8 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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Sorry should have mentioned that bit 😀

PC is a Pentium 133. Midi adapter is an Roland MPU401AT (ISA card) and the MT-32 connected with a standard MIDI cable. OS is MS-DOS 7.1.

But at least Beneath a Steel Sky triggers this error consistently. I was just under the impression a LOT more games had this issue and that more games, as per Wikipedia list, would trigger it.

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
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Reply 9 of 14, by sergm

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Sounds like your Roland MPU401AT solves the problem and the bug is DOSBox-only 😁

But Gods is definitely for LAPC-I. I had problems with several cheap USB-MIDI cables. Gods makes _no_ delay while transferring sysexes at startup.
BTW, did you tried MK for instance?

Reply 10 of 14, by sergm

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Any news? Does anyone who has such a setup (DOS + MPU401 + old MT-32) experience buffer overflows? Does the MPU add almost all the necessary delays? Is this really a DOSBox-only issue?

Reply 11 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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MK as in Mortal Kombat?

I will try the two games, Lure of Temptress and GODS with DOSBox and my USB MIDI adapter and see if there is a difference.

PS: I don't think it is a DOSBox only issue. I do get it in Beneath a Steel Sky and one sound is totally off (right at the beginning when you use the rod to force open the door). And it's well documented, so it's definitely true.

But Gods and Lure haven't caused me any trouble yet.

Maybe there are other things at play like speed of the PC, timing settings in the BIOS who knows.

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Reply 12 of 14, by Mau1wurf1977

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Update:

Yes using my USB MIDI cable, latest D-Fend reloaded and Gods AND Lure of Temptress I now do get the Message "Exec. buffer Overflow".

Went back to my Pentium 133.

I enabled L1 and L2 Cache again and tried Gods and Lure and now they also triggers the message 😀

But when L1 and L2 Cache are disabled, Gods and Lure work just fine.

So looking at this it shows me that by slowing things down (or having an old 286 or 386 instead of something faster), some games can be made to run fine on the MT-32 (Old).

I can use this in my video 😁

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 13 of 14, by sergm

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Oh, thanks for the info!

Reply 14 of 14, by NewRisingSun

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For a real treat, try the floppy version of X-Wing. It's the only game (that I know of) that actually manages to crash the firmware of the old MT-32.