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Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro 16 no sound in some games

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First post, by audiocrush

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Hi,

I'm not sure if this is a hardware or software topic, so I just put it here in the sound section.

I got a 486 computer with a aztech soundgalaxy nx pro 16 and it works great.
The driver installed with ease and all the test programs work fine in DOS 6.22 as well as WfW3.11
Also all the system sounds are played by windows and for example in SIMFarm.
But on DOS I have issues for example with Jazz Jackrabbit where it would't play any sound at all regardless of which soundcard I set. With the setting "Sound Blaster Clone" I can at least here a quiet "pop" when the game starts, but that's it.
Similar with a hand full of other games, but Lotus 3, Monkey Island or Lemmings work nicely.

Anybody a clue what the deal is here?

I tried also various settings, like enabling and disabling covox support or setting it to windows or sound galaxy mode. I also did reset it and fiddled with the mixer but to no avail.
About the system:
IBM PS1000
Apparently the 486 in it is a weird 486 with is basically a 386 with 486 instruction set and an external IIT maths coprocessor
48Megs of RAM
IDE HDD and CD
NE2000 ethernet
Using Windows EMM386 (but also tried with and without EMS/XMS, HIGH DOS, UMB DOS etc. with same results)

https://www.nerdsh.org/ - my blog, a bit neglected though
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsU6woi3lhLhtT_ILbSCCw - Some videos of mine

Reply 1 of 3, by dionb

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Jazz Jackrabbit s notoriously speed-sensitive, but can't imagine a Blue Lightning BL3 (I'm assuming that's the CPU we're talking about here in the PS1000) is that fast.

Aztech's 1st gen cards like this are generally nicely compatible, but not 100%. I've tried and failed to get my NX Pro (same chipset as the -16, just no WSS codec) to work with Ultima 7, for instance. That is a notorious case, I was only able to fully get it working (with SB digital audio and MT-32 MIDI) with my Snark Barker 1:1 SB1.0 replica and a MusicQuest hardware MPU-401 clone, but bottom line is that compatibility isn't a given. Jazz Jackrabbit is considered troublesome too, and I've found other examples of people reporting issues with otherwise bulletproof Aztech cards, like here https://www.dosforum.de/viewtopic.php?t=10984

Reply 2 of 3, by audiocrush

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Hmm thanks for your reply.
That kind of makes me sad 😁
I guess I'll try a few soundblaster cards I have kicking around. But I really like the Sound Galaxy in the PS1000 since they're both so uniquely weird.
But I guess there won't be any other solution to fix that situation right?
I mean there is no kind of compatibility layer driver that one could stick between the game and the soundcard right?

https://www.nerdsh.org/ - my blog, a bit neglected though
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsU6woi3lhLhtT_ILbSCCw - Some videos of mine

Reply 3 of 3, by dionb

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Possibly not - but be careful, I'm just replying based on experiences with different games and other people's experiences with different Aztech cards. I wasn't saying this is definitely your issue, just that it is something to bear in mind - and that the specific game you are testing with a very, very fiddly one. I wouldn't base any hardware choices on it unless you very specifically want to run this one. Also consider a lot of Creative cards are - painfully - buggy too with single-cycle DMA clicking or Vibra hissing/ringing, MIDI slowdowns and hanging notes etc - the all-round 'perfect' sound card doesn't exist.

Personally I hate platformers, so don't have it or test against it. Then again, Ultima 7 is a different story; have built a PC to specifically play that. Although I eventually moved to Exult so I could play it at my main PC instead..

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