First post, by ripsaw8080
- Rank
- DOSBox Author
The PCM audio in the CD-ROM version of SQ4 is plagued with loud clicks/pops that occur seemingly at random. The overall sound quality is not that great, but the clicks are particularly annoying. An example with several clicks is in the intro when the hologram of Vohaul's head appears and speaks to Roger, starting around the point where the word "domination" is spoken.
The cause of the problem appears to be an error in audio processing of the PCM waveforms where samples that should have been clipped at the maximum value (0xff) were instead given the minimum value (0x00), and the sudden transition in level results in a clicking/popping sound. Real DOS systems are affected as well as DOSBox and ScummVM; however, it's possible that certain kinds of audio hardware could diminish such noise with filtering.
I made a tiny DOS program that scans through SQ4's audio resource file, locating and repairing 331 incorrectly clipped samples spread across ~1500 waveforms. It won't remove minor clicks or any other sort of audio glitch, but removing the loud clicks is truly a mercy for the ears. Copy RESOURCE.AUD from the CD-ROM to HDD and run the program where the file is located. Modification is done in-place, so nothing beyond the ~160 MB of disk space for the file is needed. The repaired file can be used with the stock game or with the patch made by NRS.
Forum member Keropi was kind enough to test the program on a real system, and he informs me that it takes about half a minute to run on a P55C 233 MHz, so use that for an idea of how long it will take to run on other systems. If running the program in DOSBox, settings of core=dynamic cycles=max are recommended.
