I have currently no setup with 386MAX, though if you try then change the memory manager detection part to be skipped and default to the EMM386 way. If it is fully compatible then this should do.
If that works we have to adapt the memory manager detection a bit. It would also helpful to know which version of 386MAX was the first to support the port trapping API.

digger wrote on 2021-09-02, 20:34:

georgel wrote on 2021-09-02, 10:10:

digger wrote on 2021-08-08, 20:24:

Question: has anybody tried using SoftMPU with the 386MAX memory manager? And if so, did it work? 386MAX is supposed to be compatible with the I/O port trapping API of Microsoft EMM386.

I'm asking this, since 386MAX might eventually be made open source, and bundled with FreeDOS. See https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/mailman/message/28740668/ (point 4)

The 386MAX API is absolutely different than that of QEMM and I doubt it offers port trapping to V86 clients despite it uses exactly that mechanism for its very own API interface.

If you read my quote again, you'll see that I mentioned compatibility with Microsoft's port trapping API, not QPI (QEMM). From what I found on-line, 386MAX is compatible with the Microsoft API, including the port trapping stuff, and can even be considered a superset of it. To be fair, though: I haven't actually tried that myself yet. It'll be fun to experiment with this in the weekend. I was just wondering if someone here had already tried SoftMPU with 386MAX already, and if so, what the results were.

I am aware of the misleading info that you quote. A rumor is a weak word for it -- it is 100% lie.

I have a question of my own -- what is that catch of the motherboards that have the ability in their CMOS SETUPs to set the COM ports to be of MIDI type? Is it just that thus they allow the MIDI bitrate to be set on that COM port or is it more?

With my P166MMX, using SetMul, games that require Intelligent Mode take a few minutes to load. Does somebody know why this could happen??
Thank you!

georgel wrote on 2021-09-03, 18:53:

digger wrote on 2021-09-02, 20:34:

If you read my quote again, you'll see that I mentioned compatibility with Microsoft's port trapping API, not QPI (QEMM). From what I found on-line, 386MAX is compatible with the Microsoft API, including the port trapping stuff, and can even be considered a superset of it. To be fair, though: I haven't actually tried that myself yet. It'll be fun to experiment with this in the weekend. I was just wondering if someone here had already tried SoftMPU with 386MAX already, and if so, what the results were.

I am aware of the misleading info that you quote. A rumor is a weak word for it -- it is 100% lie.

If you are referring to this article on Programmer's Heaven, I would consider it a bit harsh to call it flat-out "misleading" or a "100% lie", since the writer does clarify that he hasn't tried it himself and doesn't know for sure.

You seem quite sure that it doesn't work, though. Have you confirmed this by trying this out yourself?

Also, through some more googling/duckduckgoing on this topic, I stumbled upon the source code of usbjstik, a DOS legacy joystick driver/emulator for USB joysticks, which uses the same "INT 2Fh, Function 4A15h" API and contains multiple references to 386MAX support in the code. Also, in this forum post, Bret Johnson implies that 386MAX is supported by (and verified to work with) the usbjstik TSR.

@elianda Do you think the usbjstik source code that I linked to above would also provide a nice reference for the SoftMPU developers to add 386MAX support to SoftMPU, if that doesn't yet work out of the box (other than the EMM manager detection routine not yet taking 386MAX into account)?

My first impression from SoftMPU (1.91) is too bad -- it is not compatible with the AWEUTIL (when loaded as TSR with /EM:xxx) - the Creative's semi-software MIDI emulator for AWE sound blasters under DOS.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-07, 20:53:

My first impression from SoftMPU (1.91) is too bad -- it is not compatible with the AWEUTIL (when loaded as TSR with /EM:xxx) - the Creative's semi-software MIDI emulator for AWE sound blasters under DOS.

SoftMPU's main purpose is to emulate an intelligent mode MPU-401 MIDI interface (using a supported sound card's UART mode MIDI interface) so that you can use it in conjunction with a real Roland MT-32 /CM-32L and also RA-50.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-07, 20:53:

My first impression from SoftMPU (1.91) is too bad -- it is not compatible with the AWEUTIL (when loaded as TSR with /EM:xxx) - the Creative's semi-software MIDI emulator for AWE sound blasters under DOS.

I'm surprised that you didn't know about this. 😜

SoftMPU needs to use a dumb MPU-401 interface and SB IRQ (doesn't use the MPU-401 IRQ) to emulate the intelligent mode and the only way to use this on AWE cards is through the actual MPU-401 interface. The EMU8K synth doesn't even have a MIDI interpreter there and is more akin to the GUS GF1 and AMD InterWave chips there in programmability.

This program can also be used with serial ports and SB-MIDI interface but the latter one decreases compatibility.

Here is my preliminary build of SoftMPU that under QEMM (QEMM V9 tested only, EMM386 fails with AWEUTIL /EM:xxx but otherwise is usable to some extent) supports separate I/O ports for virtual and physical MPU-401's thus allowing usage of AWEUTIL /EM:xxx with your favorite soundbanks . Apart from utilizing AWEUTIL this allows you to have very flexible sound setups. If you specify on the command line same (overlapping) ports for virtual and physical MPUs then this works exactly like conventional SoftMPU 1.91 but such setup prohibits AWEUTIL from operating.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-15, 21:26:

Here is my temporary build of SoftMPU that under QEMM (V9 tested only, EMM386 fails with AWEUTIL /EM:xxx) supports separate I/O ports for virtual and physical MPU-401's thus allowing usage of AWEUTIL /EM:xxx with your favorite soundbanks . Apart from utilizing AWEUTIL this allows you to have very flexible sound setups. If you specify on the command line same ports for virtual and physical MPUs then this works exactly like conventional SoftMPU 1.91 but this setup prohibits AWEUTIL from operating.

Really congratulations for what has been done! I am amazed, you have succeeded where the dreams of others were shattered 👍

I haven't been on Vogons for a while now, keep up the good work all. I originally wrote SoftMPU to provide intelligent MPU emulation but it's interesting to see how it's been repurposed to support various MIDI redirection schemes. Obviously support for protected-mode games is more relevant in that context.

Hi,
I built the Snark Barker MCA (Clone of the SB MCV for PS/2 Microchannel).
This is a SB1.5 clone but with DSP FW 2.02 it's now a SB2 😉
It has like early 8-bit SB-cards no real uart MPU. The Midi-Interface is provided through the DSP at Port 220.

I just tested successfully SoftMPU 1.91 on my Model 70 386/16MHz with some games and RA50 / SC55:
Wing Commander - MT32
Wing Commander 2 - MT32
Monkey Island - MT32
Kings Quest 4R - MT32
Cannon Fodder - MT32
Dune II - MT32 / Sound Canvas
Lost Vikings - MT32 / Sound Canvas
Tetris Classic - Sound Canvas
Prince of Persia 2 - no success (needs irq)

A 220, IRQ 5, P 330, output:sbmidi, RA50

Thanks to SoftMPU I now have Midi sound even in General Midi games !!!

PS: It would nice to have protected Mode / DOS4GW support for faster PS/2 machines. On the 386/16 most of these games are even not playable 😉

Christian

vossi wrote on 2022-03-18, 10:16:

PS: It would nice to have protected Mode / DOS4GW support for faster PS/2 machines. On the 386/16 most of these games are even not playable 😉

I upvote this request:

Protected Mode / DOS4GW support for faster PS/2 machines

I just found out that SoftMPU with the snark Barker mca runs also on my model 95 Pentium 90 with the 1MB SVGA card.
- sadly not with does4gw. But WC, WC2 Monkey, Monkey2, DOTT and so on are OK!

In my other P90 with XGA2 card SoftMPU doesn't detect the sb mca.

I believe I've identified a few more games that require intelligent mode:

• Balance
• Breach 2
• Champion of the Raj
• Even Better Than the Real Thing (scene demo)
• F29 Retaliator
• Freakin' Funky Fuzzballs
• Heimdall
• Hoverforce
• Infestation
• International Rugby Challenge/Campo's International Rugby
• The Legend of Billy the Kid
• The Magic Candle II: The Four and Forty
• Miami Vice
• Rules of Engagement
• Siege
• Xmas Demo 1992 (scene demo)

I say 'believe' because I've purely been using MUNT, DOSBox (vanilla and ECE) and PCem and thus have no idea how these would fare on actual hardware.

Thanks all for continuing sound card compatibility info - have updated the list here https://github.com/bjt42/softmpu/wiki/Compatible-Sound-Cards

kykypyza wrote on 2021-04-04, 22:02:

Princess Maker 1 (Japanese) and Princess Maker 2 are now liberated from fixed IRQ=9 .

Great work on this and your other patches!

spiffythedog wrote on 2022-04-30, 16:19:

I believe I've identified a few more games that require intelligent mode:
I say 'believe' because I've purely been using MUNT, DOSBox (vanilla and ECE) and PCem and thus have no idea how these would fare on actual hardware.

Excellent thanks, I will take a look at these. I also have Corporation and Mechwarrior to test.

I also found another one just the other night - Legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_(1992_video_game)

I have a game called Armour-Geddon that my 486 with an Intelligent MPU-401 card doesn't like my MT-32 and if I run the SoftMPU software, it works great.

Can someone provide assistance please? I am trying to use SoftMPU as follows:

Raspberry Pi 3B+ >> MT32-Pi Hat >> USB to Serial

I ran SoftMPU with the following command line:

softmpu /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:COM1

I also tried:

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:7 /OUTPUT:COM1

I verified MT32-PI is booting because I do see the logo on my pi hat's LCD and I can navigate through the menu. So regardless of how I have the configuration file set up, I should see activity on the screen at least if it is in fact intercepting commands from the serial port.

USB adapter is vid 067b pid 2303 and I tried with both a null adapter as well as straight through.

I also tested my serial port with a serial mouse, it worked perfectly.

What I'd like to do is something like lsusb to see if it sees my adapter correctly. Is this possible?

Any ideas?

Thanks

Here are a few more games that seem to require intelligent mode to run correctly. I tested these on a virtual Intel Pentium 75 via the MPU-401 interface of an emulated SBAWE32 PnP using Munt, loopMIDI and 86Box (I get inconsistent results using PCem and DOSBox ECE or similar forks):

• The Bard's Tale Construction Set
• The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate
• Car & Driver
• Cartooners
• Centurion: Defender of Rome
• Daughter of Serpents
• Gods
• Hard Nova
• The Immortal
• Indianapolis 500
• Keef the Thief
• The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes
• Low Blow
• Lure of the Temptress
• Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
• Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen
• Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
• Might and Magic: World of Xeen
• Sierra On-Line Christmas Card 1988
• Spot: The Video Game
• Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2 - Martian Dreams
• Wing Commander: Academy
• Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire
• Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire

All of these games either crashed or were silent (silent after the logo in the case of the M&M Xeen series) without running SoftMPU first. Strangely enough, both Ultima VI and Bad Blood seem to output MT-32 just fine on this build without having to load SoftMPU, despite them being documented as requiring intelligent mode. Chalk it up to the emulation maybe? Or does a UART interface cause crashes and other irregularities later on in the game?