First post, by bristlehog
- Rank
- Oldbie
I've made a large list of sound engines that I met in DOS games. There it is:
You can edit this table if you want, or suggest an edit if you are unsure of something.
Obviously the most popular sound middleware engine is a family developed by John Miles, which includes six (!) variants, namely:
Audio Interface Library 2.0
Audio Interface Library/16 (for 16-bit DOS protected mode)
Audio Interface Library/32 (for 32-bit DOS protected mode)
Audio Interface Library 3.0 which was rebranded as Miles Sound System 3.0
DIGPAK/MIDPAK - the PCM part here was written by John Ratcliff
DIGPAK/MIDPAK for 32-bit DOS protected mode
These six cover hundreds (not to say thousands) of games, including some of the most venerable and recognized titles of the time.
The second is Sound Operating System by Human Machine Interfaces. There are were several versions, all of which share the same name. Same here - dozens and dozens of well-known titles.
Other middleware sound libraries were far behind and couldn't really compete. A honorable mention is Sound Images library known by Mortal Kombat I/II. By the time of Mortal Kombat III the developers switched to Miles Sound System.
It's interesting for me to watch some game developers dropping one sound library in favor of another in game series. Examples:
Mortal Kombat II - Sound Images
Mortal Kombat III - Miles Sound System
TES: Arena - Audio Interface Library 2.0
TES: Daggerfall - Sound Operating System
Magic Carpet - Sound Operating System
Magic Carpet II - Miles Sound System
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