#1: game probably locks up way befoe it tries to play music just because it is not in full-screen mode.

#2: idle sensitivity in the default .pif (if not using "Run with VDMS") - timer goes low when nothing happens in the window with those settings.

#3: combination of #2 above and definitely Windows' timer emulation - speeds up for a while if window is kept frozen for a few seconds/minutes; speedset will help with this issue as long as the game isn't prtected mode.

1: imuse.exe is text mode, it can run in a window and sound still works (although the timing is slow)

2.) It's using run with VDMS.

3.) I don't think this explains why it only works with VESA activated, or why it works normally if I switch between windowed and fullscreen. Speedset does not help, I've tried. 😀

I should say, I use VDMS Launchpad feature. I also can't get General MIDI to work with a DOS box + dosdrv, even if I replace all of my config files with the launchpad temp files.

In addition: With VESA support activated, *all* sound is slow until I do the fullscreen->window->fullscreen dance. Then it works normally. But, again, without VESA support active, General MIDI use causes the app to hang (which makes no sense to me).

All "vesa suport"means in LaunchPad is that the app is started in full-screen mode. If you don't use that and manually switch to full-screen (Alt+Enter) as the game is starting you may hear MIDI *and* not have the slowness problem (bug in XP if you're using XP).

Cheers,
V.

I am using XP... I said I was in my original post.

While I was searching for a resolution to this issue I noticed that several others have experienced this problem too, but I don't think you understood the issue as they presented it. All you've managed to do is tell me information that I already provided in my original post.

1. run imuse in windows without vdmsound
2. dark forces works perfectly for me with vdmsound, general midi without using svga basic support (in winxp) (while dark forces is loading hit alt+enter to switch it to full screen - it will gain speed)

Edit: Imuse works perfectly with vdmsound too

All you've managed to do is tell me information that I already provided in my original post.

Suit yourself. I urge you, however, to read my previous post again, and try what was suggested there. I think I understand the problem more than you think I do.

Perhaps I was not clear, so let me rephrase: there is a bug in XP; when "full screen" is specified in a .pif (i.e. when so-called "VESA support" is enabled in LaunchPad) timer problems arise. Therefore do *not* use that checkbox (this is where I might have been too vague) and switch manually to fulls-screen using Alt+Enter (that does not trigger the bug.)

V.

Vlad, I believe it's worth mentioning that the "Enable basic VESA support" option does nothing more than switching the VDM into full screen mode. It does not provide any extra VESA functions that would not be available otherwise. You loose nothing by switching int full screen with Alt-Enter manually.

Regards,

Can you explain why General MIDI does not function with basic VESA support disabled then? No other options are changed, and it makes no difference if I switch it to fullscreen first.

Try this:
make a test.bat file:
pause
dark.exe

run test.bat file with vdmsound with "basic svga support" enabled
hit alt+enter to shring it to window and again to make it back fullscreen
hit space

I found out that in the .pif file there is a slider responsible for CPU usage by the program. Program uses less CPU if you move it to the right. Start in fullscreen option affect this slider by moving it to the right (actually it moves the scale to the left and the slider stays in the same position). That is why game is slower if you check "start fullscreen". But you can speed the game up by moving slider to the left.