The lack of sample-based music wasn't about storage limitations only, it was also about limited CPU power.

Before GUS and AWE32, common PC sound cards offered the following:
- up to 11 (OPL2) or 20 (OPL3) FM channels
- 1 or 2 PCM channels

Let's assume we have some music, composed for eg. 8 channels...
so, there are two approaches possible:
- use 8 FM channels
- use samples, requires mixing them into 1 or 2 PCM channels - needs a lot of CPU power, for low-end PCs probably impossible

Generally when talking about sample-based music, there are two scenarios:

1) Playback involving sound modules or wavetable daughterboards that contains digital sound samples (typically stored in ROM), and are fed MIDI data (essentially digital sheet music) for playback using those samples. The audio hardware generates the music playback based on the MIDI data (pitch, length, etc.). Since different audio hardware can include different digital samples, the same MIDI music file played back on different hardware will often sound different.

2) For tracker music (.MOD, .S3M, .IT, etc.) these include a form of digital sheet music (similar to MIDI), but also include digital audio samples as part of the file itself. When playing back music, these digital samples are processed in a similar fashion adjusting pitch, length, etc., to generate the music. But since the included digital files are part of the tracker file, these will generally sound the same regardless of the sound card used.

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 20:59:

The lack of sample-based music wasn't about storage limitations only, it was also about limited CPU power.
...
- use samples, requires mixing them into 1 or 2 PCM channels - needs a lot of CPU power, for low-end PCs probably impossible

Aren't the cards supposed to do the heavy lifting though? What about games of the Pentium 1 era? It seems even then digital music wasn't used in games, or perhaps was and I'm not aware of them? or even a P1 is not enough?

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-16, 21:00:

2) For tracker music (.MOD, .S3M, .IT, etc.) these include a form of digital sheet music (similar to MIDI), but also include digital audio samples as part of the file itself. When playing back music, these digital samples are processed in a similar fashion adjusting pitch, length, etc., to generate the music. But since the included digital files are part of the tracker file, these will generally sound the same regardless of the sound card used.

Was this the only method of doing digital game music? Any games you know that use them?

eddman wrote on 2023-03-16, 22:21:

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 20:59:

The lack of sample-based music wasn't about storage limitations only, it was also about limited CPU power.
...
- use samples, requires mixing them into 1 or 2 PCM channels - needs a lot of CPU power, for low-end PCs probably impossible

Aren't the cards supposed to do the heavy lifting though?

No.
Before GUS/AWE32 (1992/93), playback of more than 2 PCM channels required mixing them in software, using the CPU.

What about games of the Pentium 1 era? It seems even then digital music wasn't used in games, or perhaps was and I'm not aware of them? or even a P1 is not enough?

Pentium was released in 1993.
GUS and AWE32 were already on the market, with up to 32 PCM channels.
No need to mix PCM in software anymore.
And yes, in that era sample-based music got common, but only available on cards with wavetable synthesis.

Precisely speaking, there was also a bunch of games using sample-based music with software mixing, but not too many...
I can only recall two: Pinball Fantasies and Megablast.

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:03:

No.
Before GUS/AWE32 (1992/93), playback of more than 2 PCM channels required mixing them in software, using the CPU.

Those are the type of cards I had in mind. Basically anything from SB16 and up that can do hardware mixing. (Ok, now I get it. I was somehow confusing it with cards that can output more than stereo audio.)

EDIT: Isn't the term "voices", as in AWE32 being able to mix 32 voices in hardware?

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:03:

And yes, in that era sample-based music got common, but only available on cards with wavetable synthesis.

Maybe I'm just not understanding this correctly. Aren't these a different kind of sampling, compared to PCM? I thought wavetable MIDI music was a different thing.

For example, shouldn't a card like SB16, with no extra attachments, be able to play PCM music?

EDIT:
So CD audio, although being digital PCM based, can be played on all digital cards because it's basically all pre-mixed and hence the processing load is much lower. (I guess 16-bit and 44.1 KHz support are needed though)

eddman wrote on 2023-03-16, 22:21:

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-16, 21:00:

2) For tracker music (.MOD, .S3M, .IT, etc.) these include a form of digital sheet music (similar to MIDI), but also include digital audio samples as part of the file itself. When playing back music, these digital samples are processed in a similar fashion adjusting pitch, length, etc., to generate the music. But since the included digital files are part of the tracker file, these will generally sound the same regardless of the sound card used.

Was this the only method of doing digital game music? Any games you know that use them?

Generally digital game music back then would be in the form of MIDI + wavetable samples, tracker music or recorded CD-audio. All of those could be considered digital game music.

Insofar as games that use tracker music specifically there were a number back in the mid-90s including the Jazz Jackrabbit series, One Must Fall 2097, Epic Pinball, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Star Control 2, and Crusader: No Remorse & No Regret.

eddman wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:14:

Maybe I'm just not understanding this correctly. Aren't these a different kind of sampling, compared to PCM? I thought wavetable MIDI music was a different thing.

Sound modules also use PCM. Samples are typically stored digitally in ROM.

Tracker files and MIDI + wavetables are more or less the same idea: digital sound samples coupled with synthesis to manipulate them as part of musical playback.

The difference is where the samples are stored and what is doing the processing.

Wavetable, samples, PCM - it's all about the same.

SB16 lacks wavetable synthesis, so it can only play PCM music via software mixing, with heavy load of the CPU.

eddman wrote on 2023-03-16, 22:21:

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-16, 21:00:

2) For tracker music (.MOD, .S3M, .IT, etc.) these include a form of digital sheet music (similar to MIDI), but also include digital audio samples as part of the file itself. When playing back music, these digital samples are processed in a similar fashion adjusting pitch, length, etc., to generate the music. But since the included digital files are part of the tracker file, these will generally sound the same regardless of the sound card used.

Was this the only method of doing digital game music? Any games you know that use them?

Reunion also has mod tracks, at least in the intro. You can find them in the folders and play them back with a tracker program.

eddman wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:14:

Isn't the term "voices", as in AWE32 being able to mix 32 voices in hardware?

Yes, "channels" is usually equal to "voices".

So CD audio, although being digital PCM based, can be played on all digital cards because it's basically all pre-mixed and hence the processing load is much lower. (I guess 16-bit and 44.1 KHz support are needed though)

Yes, pre-mixed PCM playback needs less CPU power.
but...
with CD audio, it's even better - there's *ZERO* CPU load, as the playback is handled by the CD-ROM drive itself.

Wavetable is essentially based on same technology used by a "ROMpler".
A soundcard with soundfont support thus would be a "RAMpler".

The MT-32 MIDI module uses LA synthesis on top of short PCM snippets stored in its ROM chip.
Due to it having RAM, too, it can receive a limited amount of new PCM samples over MIDI messages.

In some way or another, the Gravis Ultrasound, the Yamaha OPL, the EMU8000 and the Super Nintendo's SPC-700 module all support wavetable.

The difference to later MIDI standards is, that the MT-32 can modify the existing waveforms (attack, decay etc).
It thus is more like a synthesizer, not just a ROMpler/RAMpler device.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rompler

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:50:

with CD audio, it's even better - there's *ZERO* CPU load, as the playback is handled by the CD-ROM drive itself.

That only applies when using a vxd driver though, correct?

With wdm you don't need the cable and I assume the sound card and/or CPU do the processing.

I suppose it'd also depend on the drive itself having audio playback capabilities and a cable connector.

eddman wrote on 2023-03-17, 08:13:

Grzyb wrote on 2023-03-16, 23:50:

with CD audio, it's even better - there's *ZERO* CPU load, as the playback is handled by the CD-ROM drive itself.

That only applies when using a vxd driver though, correct?

No, the drive itself has capabilities to play audio tracks. Those are true audio CD tracks, the tech predates the use of CD for data storage.
So virtually every CD-ROM is a classic CD audio player + additional features to store the files.