I remember playing this on my dos computer ages ago and thats how it always was. I found it really frustrating because whenever I quit and restarted back into windows the start sound was enough to knock you off your chair!! 🤣

I recommend Exult really. It simply makes it easier to setup and play on XP. Also, download the sound effects fpr perfect sound and the OGG music to get authentice music the way it was meant to be heard. You won't be dissapointed.

You have several choices.
1) Set the "mixer=" setting under "sblaster" to "false"
Reason: Sometimes DOSBox doesn't get it right. Happens under a few games I've played.
2) Type "mixer"
Then depending on what you're using.. type "mixer <soundcard> 'number"" to change the volume.
or you change just pump up the music using "mixer master 200" which doubles the sound volume system wide in DOSBox.

/Ieremiou

EDIT: btw, I PREFER DOSBOX to EXULT for two reasons..
One -. Ultima 7 emulation is pretty much prefect on DOSBox. (Intro especially)
TWO - Exult only uses MT-32 or General Midi soundeffects and the music is MT-32 Emulation.

I prefer Soundblaster because of my childhood.
The way it sounds in DOSBox is the way I remember it on my 386.

Although I do enjoy following Exult because it is a very courageous feat.

Have you seen the screenshots of the 3D Exult client that is being worked on? It amazes me what has been accomplished. It looks like its a ways off from being released though.

? You can download the soundblaster effects, I did...because like you I prefer it to be the way I played it back in the day. However, back in the day the music was very quiet and exult's mt-32 ogg files really bring their real quality into light. I don't use any of the fancy effects and rarely any new features. However the fact is the menus are more responsive and the movement is much quicker and smoother. Sure it "runs" in dosbox but I like the overall experience of exult. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the party formation.

Hmm...I remember not having any problems with the sound when I used to play it on my old 33/66MHz machine and an SB16...the music was always very prominent. Later, running the game in 98SE's dos mode and with a Soundblaster Live! Platinum doing SB16 emu, it was just as good...actually U7Run on that same machine didn't have give me any volume problems with the music (although I think the sound effects may have been a little quiet).

Avatar, if I can download the packs to have the proper sound and music in Exult, then I'll give Exult another look, although I was put off in the past by...I don't know...I guess it made me feel like I was playing the SNES port.

Priestlyboy, I didn't have such an option in my config file...I'd been looking for those kinds of settings, but had found none. Thanks for mentioning it, because I realized I was a couple versions behind (0.61), and I downloaded .63, going to try your solution out in a moment.

I do also prefer DosBox for those same emu reasons...my only complaint aside from the volume problems is that I get the most annoying sound effect for the firesword (screekscreekscreek), although it isn't as bad in DosBox as it is in U7XP. I don't know if that is specific to my Soundblaster Live! or if later Audigy cards or whatever also have that problem.

I'm looking forward to the Exult team's (or part of it) Ultima 8 version of Exult. I've tried U8XP but the sound effects always went off...haven't really tried it in DosBox yet.

Here:

Exult 1.2 http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/exult/exult-1.2-win32.exe
Soundblaster effects Black Gate http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/exult/jmsfx.zip
Soundblaster effects Serpent Isle http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/exult/jmsfxsi.zip
MT-32 Music Packs (the source the musics was originally supposed to be heard on) http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/exult/U7MusicOGG_1of2.zip
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/exult/U7MusicOGG_2of2.zip

As far as I can tell both Ultima 7 and 8 run fine in DOSBox.
Ultima 8 though suffers because of U8 has slowdown problems that I remember happening regardless. It happened on my P2 machine way back too so I think it will run smoother eventually with Pentagram but I'm not sure.

/Ieremiou

Damn you buggers....I was toying with ultima 7 in dosbox and found some beloved traits of the game that were lost in exult.. 😳 Why did you show me this?

Arg...now I have to figure out which is better...

Guess I simply haven't played the game w/o exult in a long time..

Aside from the messed up party formation...what are you speaking of? I have never even played past Trinsic in Exult, so I can't even guess.

There are many subtle things which I forgot about. The schedules were noted to be a little "off" in exult but I never realised how much. People just don't react and pathfind as well as they do in the original. I already knew about the combat (since the code is unkown), and that was one thing I missed and eventually forgot how well it used to work.

I know these may seem like small things but I just finally realised it when people go to their jobs and houses much easier/quicker. In exult sometimes when time goes by they don't get to their destination. It never really struck me how different it was...

Of course exult still has the ogg music...if only I could find me that MT-32 rom 😒

Hardly small things to me...hmm..

Well, the music quality has been just fine for me in DosBox; it is just very quiet. 😒 The mixer thing helped quite a bit though.

Yep, but when you have played that U7win9x thing preiously (with the slowdowns near clouds, etc, Exult seems like a damn fine idea.

🤣 I remember that...it was really bad on my old GeForce 2.

Actually...now that I think of it I never did try that patch on my new computer. 😳 When I get home I think I just may have to! I'll reply with the results! 🤣

EDIT- then again it didn't emulate soundcards... 😒 That might mean no sound/music.. 😅

*remembers why he downloaded dosbox in the first place*