The MT-32 has the ability to play digitised sound effects by uploading them into the module's memory banks using SysEx data and assigning them to a MIDI channel. Sierra games do this (that's what you see happening when the game is starting up and the "MIDI MESSAGE" LED is flashing -- on a real module, of course). For the games you mention (SQ3 and KQ1SCI), many of the digital effect are actually sampled versions of the MT-32 instruments, with a few exceptions.

Well falling in the water in KQ1 and Roger Wilco saying "Where am I" as well as explosion sounds are soundblaster digital effects, not instruments 😦 Although the games are hardly affected without them.

One thing that does bother me. In certain games like Police Quest 2, it seems like it is missing instruments. A sample from the theme song for example:

I've been trying to get a better impression of how accurate this mt-32 emulation is (and whether or not its something I'm doing wrong) but I can't find any real samples to compare it to.

Anyone? Queststudios remixes some of theirs with sound canvas so its not a good comparison. 😅

I have quickly made a few mp3s of Sierra games with my MT-32. The first is the opening theme from Quest for Glory. The 2nd is from the opening of Camelot. The last two are from the opening of Conquests of the Longbow. Longbow is a later SCI game that supports both MT-32 and SoundBlaster at the same time. The first is with both MT-32 and SB. the 2nd is just the MT-32 (no SB.) You can hear the difference with the sound of the bow.

Camelot

Longbow with SB

Longbow without SB

Robin Hood is amazingly close. However do you have Police Quest 2? I'm curious as to whether the emulated version is correct or actually missing instruments.

Also, is there a way to increase the MT-32 volume? Some tunes are hard to hear.

avatar_58 wrote:

Well falling in the water in KQ1 and Roger Wilco saying "Where am I" as well as explosion sounds are soundblaster digital effects, not instruments 😦

That's the exceptions I mentioned.

Attached is a recording of a real MT-32 playing the PQ2 intro (first minute or so).

Kippesoep wrote:

Attached is a recording of a real MT-32 playing the PQ2 intro (first minute or so).

Ah that shows me how off it sounds. 😒 I'm glad its not just me then. The watling street and Sq1 intros sound odd too. Seems I'm better off sticking with SB/Adlib until its all sorted out.

Comparing the real and emulated PQ2 samples, I can't understand how people could possibly say the emulation is "90%" accurate. The drum samples are there, yes, but that's no big deal; the actual synthesized parts don't even have the pitch right --- everything sounds flat and out of tune, or "pitchy", as an AI judge would call it. I'm not trying to be negative or anything, just wondering how people come up with that "90%" estimate.

Thats what my quarrel is with. 🙁 I thought they said it would be accurate but some games end up sounding much worse than the adlib tracks due to the problems.

Some games are very close but only for certain tracks....

Quest for Glory 2 also plays a digitized sound of the genie laughing in the intro on the SB that isn't heard on the MT-32.

I think NewRisingSun has some patches to QfG2 and SQ3 that let you use both MT-32 and SB and it tries to use whichever sound is subjectively better in most cases.