VOGONS


First post, by 7F20

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Just did a new install of crusader through DOSBOX on my win7 machine, and the sound is very scratchy/sibilant. I tried both GUS with the proper install folder, SoundBlaster 16 and 32AWE. My CD-Rom version is a late 1997 reissue of the game with all the EA origin patches already applied. (thus native GUS)

I don't remember the sound being this weird, and I'm sure that my setup is okay for anything else. I've been playing a bunch of other stuff on this setup without the same issue.

Any ideas to fix it, or similar experiences?

Reply 1 of 15, by Silanda

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Without a recording of what you're hearing I can't be 100% sure, but I think it always was a little hissy. This will be even more noticeable if you've heard the music played through a modern player that interpolates the output.

That being said, if it's any more than a little hissiness, there might be something wrong with your DOSBox setup.

Reply 2 of 15, by leileilol

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I think Asylum mixes the music in 8-bit always and their filter isn't that good (though to be fair it was 1995 and an ambitious game like that needs all the speed it can get)

The GUS playback is still software mixing IIRC.

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Reply 3 of 15, by 7F20

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Thanks for the input 😀

It sounds like I just forgot about the hissiness. It's not intense and overwhelming, just like a layer of sibilance on top of the mix. it's most annoying when trying to listen to people talk. I suppose if there's nothing to be done, i'll just EQ it a little bit and hope that it does the trick

Reply 4 of 15, by gdjacobs

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leileilol wrote:

I think Asylum mixes the music in 8-bit always and their filter isn't that good (though to be fair it was 1995 and an ambitious game like that needs all the speed it can get)

The GUS playback is still software mixing IIRC.

Asylum mixes and renders at up to 16 bit, although No Remorse only uses 8 bit samples. Apparently No Regret uses higher bit rate sound data.

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Reply 5 of 15, by Cloudschatze

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Scratchy/hissy sound isn't normal for SB16/AWE32 playback with either No Remorse or No Regret.

Where it's assumed that your later game release already includes the v1.06 ASYLUM.DLL, here are a couple of things to check:

  • Ensure that the mixer rate in your dosbox.conf file is appropriately set to either 44100 or 48000.
  • Ensure that the relevant 16-bit DMA channel (5, 6, or 7) has been selected in the game's sound configuration.
  • Edit CRUSADER.CFG, specifying either mixrate=32000 or mixrate=44100 (depending on your liking), and filter=false.

After that, you should be getting results similar to this DOSBox capture from No Regret.

Reply 7 of 15, by gdjacobs

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7F20 wrote:

Thanks for the detailed answer 😁

I will definitely check through all this, and hopefully have cleaner sounds on the other side!

Is SB sounds for No Remorse better than GUS?

Well, No Remorse doesn't use the GUS' hardware mixing engine, so it doesn't offer any particular advantage. Which card sounds better will be a function of the output quality of stereo PCM for each.

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Reply 10 of 15, by gdjacobs

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Cloudschatze wrote:
gdjacobs wrote:

Which card sounds better will be a function of the output quality of stereo PCM for each.

Therein lies the rub - the GUS support is mono.

Ouch!

Asylum had a patch to support Ensoniq as well.

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Reply 11 of 15, by 7F20

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Ensoniq is an option in the installer for my retail cd-rom. it's got a date of 1997 on it, so i think it's a greatest hits type version with all the patches already applied. But I don't have an ensoniq card, and it's not emulated in dosbox, correct?

Reply 15 of 15, by Jo22

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^Is this one related to the AudioPCI 3000 ? - If so, then yes. 😀 Re: Games that sound best with GUS?

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