If memory serves, VMware Workstation's virtual sound hardware is an ES1371 and the driver from Creative's site works.

https://support.creative.com/Products/Product … Others&CatName=

WDStudios wrote on 2021-06-22, 23:26:

Like... do I need to install a particular driver? Adjust a certain VM setting? SOUND NOT WORK, WAT DO

I am shocked! I thought playing games without sound was a part of the authentic retro experience for you based on this post of yours Re: Would you be interested in an x86-based alternative to the Raspberry Pi, optimized for retro gaming? . 😉

Seriously, other than a PCI ES1371 based card VMware can emulate a non-PnP ISA Sound Blaster 16

https://www.vmware.com/support/ws3/doc/ws32_vidsound4.html
https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Work … er/td-p/2235723
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2010400
https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Work … -12/td-p/918140

darry wrote on 2021-06-24, 02:04:

I am shocked! I thought playing games without sound was a part of the authentic retro experience for you based on this post of yours Re: Would you be interested in an x86-based alternative to the Raspberry Pi, optimized for retro gaming? . 😉

It is! 😀 Unfortunately, I have one particular game that will refuse to run AT ALL if it can't create a "DirectSound Object". Playing it without sound would require getting the sound working and then turning the volume slider to zero. And you know that's exactly what I'm going to do 🤣

VMware DOS sound improved.. now is finally possible to play FX + FM together!

It's a bit dated, though. 😅

Anyway, hope this is helpful.

Well, the Sound Blaster drivers worked. Yay! Now I have a wonderful new world of error messages to explore

WDStudios wrote on 2021-06-24, 18:50:

Well, the Sound Blaster drivers worked. Yay! Now I have a wonderful new world of error messages to explore […]
Show full quote

Well, the Sound Blaster drivers worked. Yay! Now I have a wonderful new world of error messages to explore

Does sound work using dxdiag ?

Have you installed a version of DirectX new enough to be supported by your game ?

Are there dsound.dll and/or ddraw.dll files in your game directory ?

darry wrote on 2021-06-24, 19:41:

Have you installed a version of DirectX new enough to be supported by your game?

ROFL. This game has the opposite problem: its developers thought they were being clever by taking advantage of a bug in DirectX 3.0 that was fixed in later versions. It specifically requires older versions of DirectX to function.

darry wrote on 2021-06-24, 19:41:

Are there dsound.dll and/or ddraw.dll files in your game directory?

There WAS a ddraw file: Aqrit's DDwrapper. It fixed an error message about something something video buffer, but replaced it with the error message you see above. Upgrading to newer versions of DirectX brought the video buffer error back. I tried replacing Aqrit's DDwrapper with cnc-ddraw (which fixes the incompatibility with newer versions of DirectX) only to learn that cnc-ddraw requires a newer version of Windows. No dsound files though.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...

WDStudios wrote on 2021-06-25, 20:02:

ROFL. This game has the opposite problem: its developers thought they were being clever by taking advantage of a bug in DirectX […]
Show full quote

darry wrote on 2021-06-24, 19:41:

Have you installed a version of DirectX new enough to be supported by your game?

ROFL. This game has the opposite problem: its developers thought they were being clever by taking advantage of a bug in DirectX 3.0 that was fixed in later versions. It specifically requires older versions of DirectX to function.

darry wrote on 2021-06-24, 19:41:

Are there dsound.dll and/or ddraw.dll files in your game directory?

There WAS a ddraw file: Aqrit's DDwrapper. It fixed an error message about something something video buffer, but replaced it with the error message you see above. Upgrading to newer versions of DirectX brought the video buffer error back. I tried replacing Aqrit's DDwrapper with cnc-ddraw (which fixes the incompatibility with newer versions of DirectX) only to learn that cnc-ddraw requires a newer version of Windows. No dsound files though.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...

What game is it ?

For further help trying to get the game to run in a Win98 VM, I should create a thread in the appropriate subforum. Audio works and that was the original purpose of this thread.

But the answer is C&C: Red Alert.