This page on the Vogons wiki states that Dark Forces used SC-88 as the original synth for its music, and that there are note cutoffs on other Roland devices.

I vaguely remember having some minor issues with the music in that game on my SC-155 but I never did any detailed testing. A bunch of recordings of the Dark Forces intro are available on wavetable.nl.

Also, I think someone once mentioned that the WarCraft 2 soundtrack was at least partially composed on a SC-88. That should be easier to verify since the game has options for both MIDI and CD Audio playback.

The GS soundtrack for this game seems to be tailored for the Roland SC-88Pro specifically. I've just added it to my list of games that use GS variation tones in this post. Thanks for pointing it out!

FYI, here's a list of all the games I've managed to identify so far (for both DOS and Windows) that require at least a Roland SC-88 or above to sound correct:

• Brave Soul (2001 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Dink Smallwood (1998 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Hopmon (2002 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Kioh Gyoku (2001 - aka Rare Venerable Orb - Roland SC-88Pro)
• La-Mulana (2006 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Mario Teaches Typing 2 (1995 - Roland SC-88 - note cut-off issues on SC-55/mkii)
• Richman 4 Plus (2000 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Shadow Warrior (1997 - shareware version only - Roland SC-88)
• Shuusou Gyoku (2000 - aka Autumn Frost Orb - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997 - Roland SC-88 - note cut-off issues on SC-55/mkii)
• Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995 - Roland SC-88 - note cut-off issues on SC-55/mkii)
• Torte le Magic (2001 - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Touhou Eiyashou - Imperishable Night (2004 - aka Eastern Eternal Night Vignette - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Touhou Koumakyou - The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (2002 - aka Eastern Scarlet Devil Land: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - Roland SC-88Pro)
• Touhou Youyoumu - Perfect Cherry Blossom (2003 - aka Eastern Ghostly Dream - Perfect Cherry Blossom - Roland SC-88Pro)

Of course, this is only an incomplete list, and I'm sure there are countless more Windows games out there that directly support it.

spiffythedog wrote on 2023-09-01, 11:00:

The GS soundtrack for this game seems to be tailored for the Roland SC-88Pro specifically. I've just added it to my list of games that use GS variation tones in this post.

Interesting findings!

It might be worth updating this wiki page with that info.

@Spiffy, what's the Sonic 3K track(s) that needs an 88Pro? i'm not doubting it, I just never checked in the MIDI files.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-01, 04:47:

Also, I think someone once mentioned that the WarCraft 2 soundtrack was at least partially composed on a SC-88. That should be easier to verify since the game has options for both MIDI and CD Audio playback.

The music in the FMV intro sounds much closer to the SC-88 than the SC-55, however the in-game CD audio music is almost identical on the SC-55. A couple of instruments in the in-game music on the SC-88 and SC-88Pro sound off , especially the french horn.

Shadow Warrior (1997 - shareware version only - Roland SC-88)

Haven't listened to that in years, used to listen to it on the Awe64 Gold with the 4MB Creative Labs soundfont back in the day. Listened to it again last night on the SC-88Pro in SC-88 compatibility mode and it sounds amazing! Very close to the CD audio in the full game.

Following on with Shadow Warrior, the Sound Canvas VST with the SC-88 map sounds even closer to the CD soundtrack than a real SC-88Pro in SC-88 mode. The timpani in A10tion.mid is spot on with the VST, not quite right with a real SC-88Pro in SC-88 mode. The VST does emulate the SC-8820, so I'm not sure if the timpani patch was changed in the real SC-8820 (and thus the VST as well) and uses that same patch in SC-88 map mode, or if the timpani patch was only changed in the VST and thus sounds different from a real SC-88 or real SC-8820 in SC-88 map mode. Unfortunately I don't have a real SC-8820 to confirm this, only an SC-88Pro.

Spikey wrote on 2023-09-08, 08:51:

@Spiffy, what's the Sonic 3K track(s) that needs an 88Pro? i'm not doubting it, I just never checked in the MIDI files.

Apologies for the late, late reply, but it looks like I was wrong about S3KC. It doesn't actually use any SC-88/Pro-exclusive instruments or variations but only suffers note drop-outs when played on an SC-55 or mkii. I've amended the info in my previous post. Now I just need to get around to putting all this stuff on the wiki once I'm finally finished with that pesky MT-32 page (I just keep on finding things to add!).

Edit: Ice Cap Zone Act 1 seems to use the Standard 2 drum kit. Not much audible difference, but it's still something at least.

No worries, I could have gone through the files myself, I still haven't!

Polyphony limitations are a legit concern though, so that means SC-88 recommended. Plus Standard 2 drums as well.

What are you doing with the MT-32?

Lee Jackson's tracks for Duke Nukem 3D. From Lee Jackson himself:

I've never owned nor had access to an SC-55 in my life. I've had a RAP-10, an SCC-1, and an SC-88. Some of ROTT was done using the RAP-10. Most of Duke Nukem 3D was done on the SC-88.

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2484124

The SCC-1 was a SC-55 though.. 😜 Still, good information.

Spikey wrote on 2023-10-12, 12:31:

The SCC-1 was a SC-55 though.. 😜 Still, good information.

Other sources state that Lee Jackson used the Roland RAP-10 during Duke3D development.

It looks like he switched to the SC-88 for the expansion pack, which contains the fourth episode.

Joseph_Joestar wrote:

It looks like he switched to the SC-88 for the expansion pack, which contains the fourth episode.

This is certainly possible as his music from the first three episodes is strictly GM only. He also talked about the development of Rise of the Triad on DoomWorld, mentioning the RAP-10. But I think in an interview with YouTuber RMC he mentioned the SC-88 being the unit he used during development. Bobby Prince's Duke music uses GS drum kits and probably used an SC-55 MKI.

Rawit wrote on 2023-10-12, 14:43:

This is certainly possible as his music from the first three episodes is strictly GM only. He also talked about the development of Rise of the Triad on DoomWorld, mentioning the RAP-10. But I think in an interview with YouTuber RMC he mentioned the SC-88 being the unit he used during development. Bobby Prince's Duke music uses GS drum kits and probably used an SC-55 MKI.

I'm inclined to trust the interview where Lee mentions the RAP-10 a bit more since that was made much earlier than the RMC video.

People's memories can fade over time.

I think you are right. What you linked and what I read it seems more likely he went from composing ROTT on the RAP-10 to Duke on the RAP-10.

Spikey wrote on 2023-10-12, 06:42:

What are you doing with the MT-32?

Apologies again for the delayed response. I've pretty much done all I can for the MT-32 wiki page working purely with emulation (Munt, DOSBox, 86Box, PCem, etc.). All that remains now is to systematically test for buffer overflows on MT-32 'old' as well as the possible need for intelligent mode on actual hardware. There's also the need to test game soundtracks which I suspect were composed with AWE32 in mind (anything by PC Music is a likely candidate), which once again can't be done without hardware comparisons.

Unless I purchase an actual MT-32 'old' model (which I'm currently considering) I'd say I'm pretty much done with the page for the time being.

spiffythedog wrote on 2023-10-17, 03:14:

Spikey wrote on 2023-10-12, 06:42:

What are you doing with the MT-32?

Apologies again for the delayed response. I've pretty much done all I can for the MT-32 wiki page working purely with emulation (Munt, DOSBox, 86Box, PCem, etc.). All that remains now is to systematically test for buffer overflows on MT-32 'old' as well as the possible need for intelligent mode on actual hardware. There's also the need to test game soundtracks which I suspect were composed with AWE32 in mind (anything by PC Music is a likely candidate), which once again can't be done without hardware comparisons.

Unless I purchase an actual MT-32 'old' model (which I'm currently considering) I'd say I'm pretty much done with the page for the time being.

Thanks, man. There is a need for intelligent mode to a limited extent as far as I remember. Haven't used old PC hardware in many years.

Don't know if you want ports or drivers that support AWE32, or just natives, but Sierra supported it briefly through drivers.

Pretty hard to determine whether AWE was targeted natively with the exception of EverQuest where there was a special SF bank used for it alongside EAX.
If the source files are just General MIDI, I mean. Hardware comparison isn't going really sound conclusive, I wouldn't think - since the SC-55 sounds much nicer and balanced than the AWE32 in default GM mode.