Not sure, but I think games developed from (but not necessarily released in) '93/'94 onwards usually sound better on General MIDI/Sound Canvas,
while the older games sound best on MT-32. But that's just a vague definition. I'm saying it this way, because sometimes games were released
several years after their development started/finished. Or in other words, some games were developed when an older technology was common,
but when they were ready for the release, that technology was obsolete. And some titles were also frozen in their development and
released years after their planned release. So in theory, a game from '95 could also sound better on a MT-32 than a Sound Canvas.

I want to say the Dynamix flight sims supported LAPC-I and/or CM-32L. Maybe some Sierra or LucasArts adventures too? Have to fire them up and check now. 🤣.

Wikipedia has a list of titles supporting MT-32. Some also support wavetable MIDI, generally those released after approximately 1992.

Also, you should differentiate between MT-32, CM-32L (with enhanced LA), GM, and GS. By this I mean that some games support LA synth but are designed to use the extra capabilities of the CM-32L or the quirks of the original MT-32 rather than the one with the headphone jack. Similarly with wavetable MIDI, some titles use the extra capabilities of GS or XG.

Also, how about games supporting Soundblaster Pro 1.0 vs Soundblaster Pro 2.0 for music. Soundblaster 16 1.0 vs Soundblaster 16 2.0 for music? I.e. - some game that supports the OPL4 chip?

I can probably just add to what Jo22 & gdjacobs have already said.

Since the General MIDI standard wasn't published until 1991 (the first device that supported it was the Roland Sound Canvas), you won't find any games prior to 1992 that supported the General MIDI standard "out of the box". Some game developers did later on release patched drivers to support General MIDI, but they will (in most cases) sound better on an MT-32.
There were a few titles that supported the extra sound effects of the CM-32L (and by extension the LAPC-I as well), but there weren't that many (I believe this page is what was referred to earlier).
I believe that Phil has also done a comparison between the MT-32 & CM-32L of a couple of pre-1992 games.

Prior to the end of 1992 (taking into account what Jo22 has said), most games were written to support the Roland MT-32 and its compatible modules.
Post this date, games were written on General MIDI sound modules (with the Roland Sound Canvas being the most popular), but many still provided "patched" drivers to support the MT-32.

However, I think that the adoption rate was quite quick for game developers to "convert" to the General MIDI format (especially after Creative released their Sound Blaster 16 with its Wave Blaster header), since there were many more devices that were General MIDI compatible (although some had very poor quality samples). There were no other manufacturers that provided 100 % "authentic sounding" MT-32 compatible modules. So, if you wanted "authentic sounding" MT-32 playback, you had to buy an MT-32.

dnewhous wrote:

Also, how about games supporting Soundblaster Pro 1.0 vs Soundblaster Pro 2.0 for music. Soundblaster 16 1.0 vs Soundblaster 16 2.0 for music? I.e. - some game that supports the OPL4 chip?

There were a handful of games that directly supported the dual OPL2 setup of the Sound Blaster Pro 1, but you won't hear any difference (in terms of FM synthesis) between a Sound Blaster Pro 2 and a Sound Blaster 16 (the latter of those that had an OPL3 synthesis chip and not Creative's CQM synthesis). CQM synthesis just emulates an OPL3 chip. So, there is no direct support for it in games.

The OPL4 incorporates both FM synthesis (OPL3) and sample-based synthesis and therefore also supported the General MIDI standard. If the game supports General MIDI, then you can also play back your music on this chip. I think there were maybe one or two games that supported both FM synthesis and General MIDI playback at the same time, but I'm speaking under correction.

OPL4 was a wavetable chip (with OPL3 built in as well). Most SB cards were similar to each other, except for the transition from dual OPL2 based SB Pro 1.0 cards to OPL3 based FM. Even so, only a few titles made use of the extended feature set of the SB Pro 1.0.

but what exactly is the use here? more poliphony with harder programming? is there anything else?

I'm just interested in the history of MIDI usage.

Also, there are two file types used for FM MIDI data, SBI and CMF. Which OPL chip was compatible with which?

OPL2. OPL3, CT1978 (CQM Synthesis) on Soundblaster 16 later versions

What I am most interested in, after studying, is how many games supported CQM synthesis. They would have to have a Soundblaster 16 2.0, Soundblaster 16 later version, or Soundblaster 16 PCI mode distinct from a Soundblaster 16 for music playback. Is there any game like this?

dnewhous wrote:

I'm just interested in the history of MIDI usage.

Also, there are two file types used for FM MIDI data, SBI and CMF. Which OPL chip was compatible with which?

First of all, don't confuse or mix up OPL with MIDI.

OPL chips are FM sound generators. Like CPUs they have registers that controls the output sound. MIDI can be played back on OPL2 or OPL3 programatically using "MIDI to OPL" driver and a set of General MIDI timbres.

MIDI is a protocol of data transfer. The data consists of events that sent over MIDI cable connection. MIDI synthesizers have their own sound generators.

CMF files are played on OPL2. SBI instruments can store OPL2 and OPL3 timbres.

If SBI is the file extension for the OPL3, what is the file type, if any, for the CT1978 (CQM Synthesis)?

dnewhous wrote:

If SBI is the file extension for the OPL3, what is the file type, if any, for the CT1978 (CQM Synthesis)?

CQM is OPL3 clone as long as I know, it doesn't have any special features. And there are no known file types that designed specifically for this chip (they are just not needed).