Did you check out the ASS source code? It ships with ROTT and Duke3D's source and is the sound library those games use (as well as Shadow Warrior and Blood)

Did not know that. Thanks - will check.

thanks for that!
any way we can replace the midis inside the GRP file with those? or maybe make an external GRP files that loads and replace the internal ones? is it possible?

Has anyone ever compiled the ASS source code and got the produced binaries to actually work? I'm having huge problems with it under both Watcom 10.6 and Open Watcom 1.9

keropi wrote:

thanks for that!
any way we can replace the midis inside the GRP file with those? or maybe make an external GRP files that loads and replace the internal ones? is it possible?

External files should always override files from the GRP file. If you want to make a new grp file, get KGROUP from your Duke3D CD's Goodies/Build folder.

^ thanks, I have created a .grp , will test it later but in the meantime here it is 😊

edit: I am not sure a .grp will work as-is... do we also need a .duk file and a .con file?

You might have to combine the normal Duke3D grp file with the external mid files. Dosbox only loads DUKE3D.GRP, ignores other GRP files so far.

@tikalat
for now I just have the .mid files in the game's directory... and I have to say KUDOS on your work, on the DB-50XG music sounds enriched and better!
Trying on a real pc btw 😀

Probably the GS reset forcing Yamaha to use drum kits. Hmm... that's important for Yamaha users (many).

Using Yamaha S-YXG50 softsynth, it's drum kit due to GS reset. Quite a change when you hear it live - ogg sounds watered down a bit. Thanks for mentioning this. 😀;)

More interesting, Yamaha / Roland VST use 2.3 Steinberg SDK. Not supposed to support sysex, but Yamaha switches modes (MIDI pass-thru confirmed). Roland fails (new month-long dism project begins).

Either way, I'll consider going back and adding GS resets to old / new 'unofficial sound enhancement hack' work (reboot GM driver thread). I felt the difference and it's important to add in.

^ yeah, I was testing patched/not patched back and forth to make sure I was not delusional about the difference 🤣
glad this observation leads somewhere and it was not just my ears playing tricks on me 🤣

Shadow Warrior (1997) (shareware)

Title: Driver + MIDI fixes
Date: June 30, 2013

About:

General MIDI
- Send GS resets

Soundtrack
- E1L03 - fix chorus reset

^ thanks for that!

too bad the full version has CDDA tracks... :\

Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins (1994) (shareware)
Rise of the Triad: Dark War (1994)
Extreme Rise of the Triad (1995)

Title: Driver fixes
Date: July 3, 2013

About:

General MIDI
- Send GS resets

Should have small effect other than wiping the sound unit clean from previous games.

###############################################
###############################################

Checked Blood. Small GS percussion: shaker, scratch push, belltree.

Lots of weird banks used: 38h, 3Eh (drum), 7Fh. This messes up CTF devices - VSC just plays piano.

Blood (1997)
Blood: Cryptic Passage (1997)
Blood: Plasma Pak (1997)

Title: Driver + MIDI fixes
Date: July 3, 2013

About:

General MIDI
- Send GS resets

Soundtrack
- Fix bad BANK values (CTF)

########################################
########################################

1) So game uses BANK 7F with PESTIS.MID - Str Sect 3.
2) CTF should be fixed - no faulty instrument sounds.
3) Sound setup program uses different MIDI than game = no CTF in that song (plays okay)

Something I can't properly fix
4) 'Note on' before 'Program change'. Unknown instrument plays until later.

PESTIS.MID

1ch2
2
3[0015C2]  00 ____ FF 03      (track name = Track-3 )
4[0015CD]  00 ____ 91 1A 35  (ERROR!!)
5[0015D1]  28 ____ B1 07 50
6[0015D5]  84 2D ____ 81 1A 30
7[0015DA]  F3 2B ____ B1 00 00
8[0015DF]  00 ____ C1 5C      (program = 93) (Bowed Glass)
9[0015E2]  0C ____ 91 26 40

1ch8 - program never set in MIDI file
2
3[002D78]  00 ____ FF 03      (track name = Track-8 )
4[002D83]  00 ____ 97 56 02  (ERROR!!!)
5[002D87]  0C ____ 97 62 02  (ERROR!!!)
6[002D8B]  9F 0A ____ E7 56 40
7[002D90]  0C ____ E7 00 40
8[002D94]  1A ____ E7 56 40
9[002D98]  26 ____ E7 00 40
10[002D9C]  0E ____ E7 56 40
11[002DA0]  58 ____ E7 2C 41
12..
13.. (many pitch wheel)
14..
15[002F3D]  26 ____ E7 56 40
16[002F41]  1A ____ E7 00 40
17[002F45]  C4 72 ____ 87 56 0F
18[002F4A]  0C ____ 87 62 12
19[002F4E]  00 ____ FF 2F      (end of track)

Don't know what to set the default instruments to. Left alone. ^^

Hocus Pocus (1994)

Title: Driver + MIDI fixes
Date: July 9, 2013

About:

General MIDI
- Send GS resets
- Fix MPU reset

Soundtrack
- Fix drum kit CTF (ROOM ~ track 2)

niiiicceeeeee!!! feedback in a mo

Hocus Pocus sounds better IMHO, better piano/ambients/drums? also it seems that you can't run it again after exiting once. If I run it then exit and try to run it it will complain about "music card error" ... you need to do something else before you run it again (like running blood setup and testing music). This happens in original 1.1 version too btw. Maybe you can add a reset on exit?

edit: Blood is just spectacular. I was using my LAPC-I because GM sounded crap with a DB50-XG. Don't know if it was my game version or files (v1.21) but GM was crappy. Now it's great.

Hocus Pocus sounds better IMHO, better piano/ambients/drums? also it seems that you can't run it again after exiting once. If I run it then exit and try to run it it will complain about "music card error" ... you need to do something else before you run it again (like running blood setup and testing music). This happens in original 1.1 version too btw. Maybe you can add a reset on exit?

Sounds like your card has - GM (no reverb) + GS (reverb 40). Would give me an excuse to hack Doom 1+2 to send GS resets (add reverb on some cards).

I can try sending reset on exit - unknown difficulty. No restart errors with Dosbox + Roland VSC so far.

edit: Blood is just spectacular. I was using my LAPC-I because GM sounded crap with a DB50-XG. Don't know if it was my game version or files (v1.21) but GM was crappy. Now it's great.

Probably the 'bad instrument' bank errors - serious problem with Blood. Had all piano music until the bad CTF got fixed (v1.00).

Side-note: Rise of the Triad will sound 'improved' also then - added reverb effect.

Glad GS reset turned out better than I imagined. 😀

edit:
HP sends GS reset on exit already with patch. ^^
Time for #2 idea then.