Re: FM vs MT-32 vs General MIDI DOS Game Music Comparo

Posted on 2019-03-23, 21:20

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

This project is DONE. I've got seventeen games and 81 tracks uploaded to SoundCloud (see first post for link). Hopefully this is useful/interesting/entertaining to some of you. I had a blast doing this for the past couple of weeks, but I'm now burned out and finished. 😀 Back to gaming!

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Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

Posted on 2019-03-23, 12:49

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I've taken a couple of weeks off of my playthrough of Realms of Arkania: Star Trail because I got sidetracked with recording game music to compare FM, MT-32, and General MIDI in games that support all three. What started off as a few games to compare the differences turned into a bit of an obsession …

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Re: Ghost around the corner

Posted on 2019-03-20, 01:33

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

liqmat wrote: Returned tonight, with a good camera. hehe they_see_you_final.jpg Pareidolia.

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Re: FM vs MT-32 vs General MIDI DOS Game Music Comparo

Posted on 2019-03-19, 23:37

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Added two songs from Lands of Lore: Northland Forest (first outdoor area) Cimmeria (Scotia's castle prior to final battle) The Cimmeria song is one of the better General MIDI songs I've ever heard. I'm pretty disappointed in the MT-32 renditions, they seemed an afterthought in this game. Also added …

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Re: High pitched screech when turning on PC?

Posted on 2019-03-19, 22:18

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I agree it's probably the PSU but it could potentially also be the HDD if it's old and bearings are going. Open up the case and put your ear against the inside to try and pinpoint the source. If it is the HDD, it's on its way out and you should image it to another one ASAP.

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Re: FM vs MT-32 vs General MIDI DOS Game Music Comparo

Posted on 2019-03-19, 22:14

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I think my issue was operator error*. I have not confirmed yet, but my suspicion is that I forgot to change the MPU-401 port of the general midi device away from 330. My DreamBlaster typically occupies port 300 while the MT-32 uses 330. But there are games that don't let you change the port of the …

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Re: Looking for Flight of the Amazon Queen

Posted on 2019-03-19, 02:08

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

Was the GOG version ever DOSBox? I seem to remember downloading it years ago and it being for DOSBox, but maybe I'm mistaken. Might have an old download of it on another computer that's not together. If I think of it, I'll see if I can check.

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Re: Looking for Flight of the Amazon Queen

Posted on 2019-03-19, 00:37

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

I think my GOG version is DOSBox. It's free. Have you checked it out? https://www.gog.com/game/flight_of_the_amazon_queen

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-18, 02:01

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

Thanks, CrossBow777. Sounds great! Not sure why I can't get Dune 2 playing normally. I'm guessing maybe an issue with the Midiman. I know it has compatibility issues with Legend games, maybe this is another quirk with it.

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-17, 15:37

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

By no means was I trying to correct you. I agree. They are rare. :) If anything, you reminded me of that fact. I just wonder how many of these games have soundtracks that actually sound good in more than one format. I'm going through my library and finding more that support all three. :) So far, …

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Re: FM vs MT-32 vs General MIDI DOS Game Music Comparo

Posted on 2019-03-16, 17:05

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I added the Smith Shop music from Realms of Arkania. As I play through the game, I'll record and add more tracks that I find enjoyable. I couldn't get Dune II to play correctly on the MT-32, so I haven't added this game yet. The notes get stuck and the whole thing sounds horrible. I've listened to …

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Re: Screamer 2 - low FPS on Pentium 200MMX

Posted on 2019-03-14, 20:59

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

I bet you are remembering with nostalgia lenses. Back then slow was <10fps in my mind because I never felt >30fps. On a Pentium 200, there's no way this game plays smoothly in SVGA unless you are using a Voodoo for 3d acceleration.

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Re: How To Give Dos More Than 4 Partitions

Posted on 2019-03-13, 19:18

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

IIRC, DOS 7 + a motherboard with BIOS support for >8.4GB will solve all your problems. With these two prerequisites, you won't be limited to 8.4GB total capacity or 2GB partition size.

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Re: Phil's Wing Commander IV benchmark

Posted on 2019-03-12, 19:42

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

I always thought the bad performance was during when your ships is being launched at start of any mission. Phil always said that performance gets better once you clear the hangar. The performance drop happens while your ship is inside the hangar--doesn't matter whether at the beginning or ending of …

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-11, 22:17

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

I'm having trouble with the MT-32 playback of Dune II. It sounds horrible, not at all like it should. Notes on top of notes getting stuck open. I did disable L1 to slow the system down to 386 speeds and that had no effect. If I can't get it working, I'll have to leave this one out. Any ideas? Any …

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-10, 15:44

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

Was just noticing that the original X-Com supports all three as well and there are pretty decent differences between the MT-32 and General Midi versions. I think I've got the original CD of that, and now that I think about it I believe I remember that being the case. I'll dig it up, thanks :) edit: …

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FM vs MT-32 vs General MIDI DOS Game Music Comparo

Posted on 2019-03-09, 19:07

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

https://soundcloud.com/himemsys36/sets/yamaha-opl3-fm-vs-roland-mt-32 Six Seventeen MS-DOS games that support all three formats: 1942: The Pacific Air War Betrayal at Krondor Heroes of Might & Magic II Pacific Strike Realms of Arkania: Star Trail Strike Commander edit: added Under a Killing Moon …

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-09, 17:35

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

This has turned into a much bigger project than I originally intended. :blush: I've recorded FM, MT-32, and GM tracks from the following games so far: 1942: The Pacific Air War Betrayal at Krondor Heroes of Might and Magic II Pacific Strike Realms of Arkania: Star Trail Strike Commander edit: Under …

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Re: Project: First Person Shooter History

Posted on 2019-03-09, 10:10

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by clueless1

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I hope some people might shed some light on this, but I've been under the impression that the average fps player isn't really much into plot etc. It's more about full on fast paced action. Perhaps I am wrong, but that is how it has seemed to me at least. I guess I'm not average then. :) I was never …

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Re: Planning an FM/MT-32/GM comparison. Requesting suggestions.

Posted on 2019-03-08, 12:44

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by clueless1

in Milliways

in Milliways

Here's a preview if anyone's interested. Travel music in GM via DreamBlaster X2. Using the GUD 1.04 soundbank. Nice ! Thanks! I added the MT-32 and FM versions of the same song to the post above. Sorry for the occasional pop or crackle in the audio, I did this super quick. Not sure if my volumes …

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