Okay, here's my second try:

I have reinstalled the game, and during the sound setup screen, there's simply no choice to enable 'Audio CD' as in-game music; you can only choose among MIDI devices, but no 'Audio CD' selection.

HUGE thanks for all the trouble, KAN! 😎

As you can see in the above posts, I'm trying to inquire Blizzard about why the soundtracks are present in the CD but not available in-game...

Disregarding the fact that it's (most likely) not a technical issue, it would be nice to know why we can't use it while playing.
After all, they went through all to trouble to create a beautifull soundtrack (don't have it, but judging by Glenn Stafford's work in other games, must be damn good!), and since there are other games from that time that also use audio tracks, it just doesn't make sense...

Even if they didn't release it due to lack of time, why didn't they released a patch to make up for it? We are talking about a company that supports their games for YEARS after they're released...

njaydg wrote:

HUGE thanks for all the trouble, KAN! 😎

No prob, bro.

By the way, when I told my mom about the Vogons forum, she was actually surprised that I'm not being the Sick, Twisted Fuck in this forum. Y'know, posting my disgusting thoughts and making people scream and the likes 😁

njaydg wrote:

As you can see in the above posts, I'm trying to inquire Blizzard about why the soundtracks are present in the CD but not available in-game...

Yes, and this is actually the most confusing thing.

But mind you, WarCraft was released in 1995. During that time, companies like Origin and SSI issued "CD version" of their games --which is nothing but floppy version stored in a CD (sometimes with manuals, but nothing more). Wing Commander Armada comes to mind, and so does Stronghold. TIE Fighter Collector CD is also my biggest disappointment in terms of music; I actually expected to hear those cool Imperial March as Audio CD soundtracks, but....

It seems to me that the CD tracks were just afterthoughts.... Maybe they just originally wanted to put floppy WarCraft in a CD and call it CD version, and then someone just had an idea, "hey, why don't we record the MIDI soundtrack as CD tracks, and put it in the game CD? After all, there's still lot of empty space anyway."

I know it sounds ridiculous, but "just for your listening pleasure" is by far the most plausible explanation here. There is simply no way to select the CD tracks as in game music; not during setup, and not in the Game Options either.

Besides, while WarCraft music is excellent, the synth quality of the CD tracks are not that good... Really, there's not much difference between the CD tracks and the MIDI music being played by average General Midi (most notably the brass instruments; trumpets and such). That's what makes me thinking that the CD tracks are just afterthought.

That is much different than WarCraft 2, where the CD tracks really make difference (unless if I'm connecting my computer to some really kickass MIDI synth, maybe).

Just my US $0.02, though.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

TIE Fighter Collector CD is also my biggest disappointment in terms of music; I actually expected to hear those cool Imperial March as Audio CD soundtracks, but....

Try to get the Windows version of it ASAP, my friend, if you can...! It's absolutely fantastic to play the game (there's also a compatibility patch for XP) with enhanced graphics & soundtrack. Add all this and a gamepad/joystick of your choice and you're in heaven.. Pure bliss! (starts whistling the Imperial March... 😈 )

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Besides, while WarCraft music is excellent, the synth quality of the CD tracks are not that good... Really, there's not much difference between the CD tracks and the MIDI music being played by average General Midi (most notably the brass instruments; trumpets and such). That's what makes me thinking that the CD tracks are just afterthought.

Really? Is it that bad? 🙁 Usually with proper audio soundtracks there's no "MIDI-like" instruments, but instead it's played with actual instruments (or "something" that doesn't sound like midi) AFAIK.

njaydg wrote:

Try to get the Windows version of it ASAP, my friend, if you can...! It's absolutely fantastic to play the game (there's also a compatibility patch for XP) with enhanced graphics & soundtrack. Add all this and a gamepad/joystick of your choice and you're in heaven.. Pure bliss! (starts whistling the Imperial March... 😈 )

You mean TIE Fighter remake by Totally Games? The one with texture-mapped graphics, which is based on X-Wing vs TIE Fighter engine?

I already have that one. Alas:
1) The intro music is still MIDI
2) The main menu music (Concourse, etc) is gone. You got various ambient background sound instead. 🙁
3) The one I got is only available in jewel case, so there is no Stele Chronicles.

njaydg wrote:

Really? Is it that bad? 🙁 Usually with proper audio soundtracks there's no "MIDI-like" instruments, but instead it's played with actual instruments (or "something" that doesn't sound like midi) AFAIK.

It is quite bad, actually. Play the first Human theme song and listen carefully to the brass instrument, and you know what I mean.

WarCraft 2, on the other hand....

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

You mean TIE Fighter remake by Totally Games? The one with texture-mapped graphics, which is based on X-Wing vs TIE Fighter engine?

I have this one:

1LucasArts Entertainment Co. LLC
2TIE Fighter for Windows 95
3Version 1.0

from Totally Games and it has audio tracks ingame, at least when I play with the original CD.

Get the Compatibility Patch HERE. It allows 3D acceleration and stops the TIE Fighter Launcher from asking you to install DirectX 5.2.

About Warcraft, I'm a bit dissapointed (but it's not much of a surprise, really) with Blizzard's (both Support and Sales Department) answer. Maybe it's my poor English or something...

I asked this (Sales Department):

Greetings! […]
Show full quote

Greetings!

As you can see from the forwarded message, I questioned Blizzard Support about the game Warcraft : Orcs & Humans (CD version) having audio soundtracks, and they have directed me towards your department .

What I would indeed like to know (with your kind help) is (#1) if the soundtrack was included as a "bonus" for the player to listen like a normal audio CD, or (#2) if it was intended be listened while playing the actual game (and if the later is verified, what are the procedures to listen to the soundtrack in-game).

Thanking in advance for any clarification and help on this matter,

Warmest regards,

and they replied this:

Hello, […]
Show full quote

Hello,

Unfortunately, the original Warcraft game, "Orcs and Humans," has been discontinued and is no longer available from our Blizzard store. We suggest contacting your local computer gaming store, as they may have a copy still available for purchase.

Sincerely,
Ted W.
Billing & Account Services Representative
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com
800-592-5499
Monday - Friday 8AM to 8:00PM PDT

Either my English sucks big time or they simply don't know/care about the game anymore (not that I didn't expect that).

From my end, I'll admit it's not a technical issue, as proven by several people here (thanks to all of those who kindly helped out) and give up on investigating any further.

All the old reviews I've found of the CD version didn't mention any audio soundtracks either... If someone else wants to try knocking at Blizzard's door (or calling their support, if someone lives there, as I'm not making an international phone call to get pushed around from one department to another) go ahead. Maybe that someone gets luckier, hopefully... 😖

I've accidentaly found this forum googling for the solution of this "mysterious CD tracks" problem 😀 because I also have this CD release with one data and seven audio tracks.

I believe I have an explanation. See, the first data track contains 70 MB of files, as seen in Explorer, but any CD software reports that the size of the track is 260 MB. And Blizzard says this is MS-DOS and Mac hybrid CD.
I explored the file structure of the CD with IsoBuster and found a bunch of Mac installation files, invisible by DOS.
Next thing, I also found the SoldOut edition manual in PDF format, originally printed for Mac, with the first page inserted stating the following info:

First, the loading instructions within these documents are for an Apple Macintosh installation (donít worry, the rules for the game are the same). Therefore, you should refer to the README document in the root directory of your CD-ROM for correct PC installation procedures and network functionality.

So, reading this PDF, I also found this:

If music during the game does not work, make sure that the CD is in the drive and that your Input Source is set to Internal CD and Playthrough is checked. This is set from the Sound Control Panel, under Sound In Options.

This, pretty much, explains everything. The audio hardware in old Macs probably didn't support MIDI commands and playback, and the computers were too weak to run the game and stream the compressed audio in the same time, so there was no other solution but to provide the CD tracks for Mac players.
(PDF also states that the game uses QuickTime for cinematic playback).

I hope I helped 😀

njaydg wrote:

I have this one: […]
Show full quote

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

You mean TIE Fighter remake by Totally Games? The one with texture-mapped graphics, which is based on X-Wing vs TIE Fighter engine?

I have this one:

Copy code to clipboard

1LucasArts Entertainment Co. LLC
2TIE Fighter for Windows 95
3Version 1.0

from Totally Games and it has audio tracks ingame, at least when I play with the original CD.

Does the music play during flight only, or does it also play in the menu?

I tried to play mine in XP. It has still MIDI music during the intro, no music in the game menu, and the whole damn thing just locks up when I started to fly. And then I stopped bothering with the game anymore. 🙁

njaydg wrote:

Get the Compatibility Patch HERE. It allows 3D acceleration and stops the TIE Fighter Launcher from asking you to install DirectX 5.2.

Thanks! Will try it. 😀

njaydg wrote:

Either my English sucks big time or they simply don't know/care about the game anymore (not that I didn't expect that).

The problem is not with your English. They just don't care about the game anymore, that's all.

voodoo wrote:

This, pretty much, explains everything. The audio hardware in old Macs probably didn't support MIDI commands and playback, and the computers were too weak to run the game and stream the compressed audio in the same time, so there was no other solution but to provide the CD tracks for Mac players.
(PDF also states that the game uses QuickTime for cinematic playback).

I hope I helped 😀

Ah, that solves the mystery.

And welcome, voodoo! 😀

Voodoo, you are 100% right, I've just checked my Warcraft CD with Isobuster with the same results.

Happy Mac users, they could play Warcraft with CD music and 640x480 resolution. DOS version sucks 😉

Zebius wrote:

Happy Mac users, they could play Warcraft with CD music and 640x480 resolution. DOS version sucks 😉

640x480? Now I'm jealous. Don't tell me that lasso function is enabled in Mac version too.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

640x480?

Not quite sure about it, I found this in Mac readme file:

Warcraft requires a color display with a minimum of 256 colors and 640x480 resolution.

Switch to 640x480: if this is checked, Warcraft will switch the game monitor to 640x480 before running the game (if you have Display Manager 2.0 software installed, this is installed by the Warcraft Installer by default), and will switch the resolution back when the game quits.

@ voodoo:

You've done more than just help, you just solved the mistery!!! Superb work! Outstanding...! 😀
Oh, and welcome to the forums! 😎

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Does the music play during flight only, or does it also play in the menu?

Only during flight. The CD has only 3 tracks. The 1st one is about 10 or 15 minutes and the other 2 are 3 minutes each, if I'm not mistaken.

Still, I've seen on Mobygames that there are more recent versions, so I'll see if I can track one down for purchase.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Zebius wrote:

Happy Mac users, they could play Warcraft with CD music and 640x480 resolution. DOS version sucks 😉

640x480? Now I'm jealous. Don't tell me that lasso function is enabled in Mac version too.

Jealous is an understatement. Why on earth didn't Blizzard just release the game with support for audio tracks on both versions?!?! I mean, DOS was their primary game platform for the first years. 😠

Now I only wonder if there was any patch, "official" or fan made, that would allow the game to support those tracks like the MAC version...

thats like the weirdest thing ive seen a company do 🤣. thanks for the idea/info voodo. 😀

np 😀

One more thing, I don't believe that the Mac version looks better because it uses 640x480. Maybe Mac video hardware, or OS, or both, simply doesn't support low VGA/VESA modes so the game uses 640x480 res. but draws "double pixels" and uses the same graphics as DOS version. Windows NT 4, for example, doesn't support anything below 640x480, so if you want to play, say, Quake 1 Windows version in 320x240/200 fullscreen, the game will switch to 640x480 and double the pixels (and add black bars on top and bottom if you want 320x200), running even slower than in "true" 640x480.

And there are no screenshots of resolution higher than 320x200 on Blizzards war1 page. It's logical that they should put better looking screens on the front page 😀

Btw, laso function works in DOS, just hold CTRL while dragging a rectangle.

Guess the only way we would actually know if the MAC version looks better than its DOS counterpart is if someone with both a MAC and a hybrid CD version would be kind enough to post some screenies... But it's not likely to happen, me thinks. 😵

And to think that this difference probably went by unnoticed for so long...

I could bet some money that Blizzard never came clean on this, because sure that would make PC/DOS users very angry (myself included 😠 )

Right now, the only 2 quirks I have with the game are the fact that it lacks the audio soundtracks ingame and the right-click action button.

You could probably play Warcraft under basilisk. Don't know if CD audio works in that though.

Mac users had CTRL/Command/Apple Click for many many years even those that preceed Warcraft so I'm sure Lasso works in their version too. Also, it was pretty common practice that Mac versions of games looked better than thier PC counterparts but played more slowly in the 1990's. This all changed with the advent of 3D acceleration where all Mac games looked worse and played even more slowly.... heh

I dislike ressurecting old forums, but I had something interesting to add to the discussion and I did not think it warranted a new thread.

I have two genuine Warcraft CDs. One I bought at Goodwill, one a friend gave to me.

The friend's CD is marked MS-DOS, has a file date of 5/2/1995, a game version of 1.22 and a 1.06 installer. It has no CD-audio tracks and has the same kind of manual lookup copy protection as the floppy version.

The Goodwill CD is marked MS-DOS & Macintosh and is the same as has been discussed earlier in this thread. It has seven CD-audio tracks, a game version of 1.22h, a 1.05 installer and no copy protection.

It is unusual for a CD game to have copy protection, and pure manual lookup must be almost unique for an enhanced CD version of a DOS game. The protection is unusual in that you have to pass it to setup the sound options. Once that is done, you can play the game without having to encounter the protection when you load the game. The protection is rather frustrating, however, because it requires you to use a US manual. The only available manual scan is for the European version, and that manual has formatting changes that require you to guess the word it wants. At least it gives you the first letter and the word is usually elsewhere on the page.

replacement docs have the manual for warcraft 1 if that helps

Davros wrote:

replacement docs have the manual for warcraft 1 if that helps

Thats what I meant when I said "The only available manual scan is for the European version".