Okay, I didn't have much time in these weeks, but I kept testing the program even though I didn't give a feedback. […]
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Okay, I didn't have much time in these weeks, but I kept testing the program even though I didn't give a feedback.
Now, on my computer (Dell Inspiron 15, Intel HDA: Intel PCH (Panther Point) (80861E20) -> Realtek (10EC0282) (max 19
2kHz/24bit/8ch)), I didn't see any improvement since 3 or 4 test versions in context of these issues (although, I'm glad and it's impressive that at the meantime you've addressed other issues successfully):
Sound effects (AdLib and SB respectively) doesn't work with some games.
Shanghai 2: SB SFX tries to play once, produces only distorted noise and never tries to play again, ever. Every time a sound effect should play one voice of the music goes silent until the loop starts again. With AdLib, only the muting-of-a-channel issue occures, but still no SE.
Wacky Wheels: The setup finds the sound card, plays music, but no sound effects. If I try to adjust their volume, the system hangs. If I execute the game, the system hangs.
WWF Wrestlemania: Similar to Wacky Wheels.
Interestingly, Japheth's version performs better with Wacky Wheels, because it doesn't hang the system. One can play the game with music using Japheth's version, although, without sound effects.
Maybe some of his changes would worth being incorporated into the main project, becuase of its stability, also, an unloader would be very VERY useful for SBEMU, because once any other program touches the HDA, SBEMU should be reloaded, and while Japheth's simplified version can be unloaded an reloaded properly, yours can only be unloaded using active non-verbal violence, which is bad.
Interesting experiences:
1. SBEMU does things to the chipset that don't even reset by cold reboot, at least not on my computer. Once a game crushes badly, SBEMU seaces to work properly, will crush many other games, freezes, etc. until I boot up Windows7 and then reboot to DOS. Strange.
2. I could never get a no-Jemm, HDPMI32i-only setup work. Others reported it works for PM games. Not for me. Jemm is always required to work. Doesn't bother me, I just mentioned it.
For other users: Instead of JemmeX, Jemm386 is also usable. You have to compile the proper version of it, with the same version number Crazii's JemmeX has, it will have the same functionality. I compiled one for myself and posted it in the original thread of SBEMU, I have been testing SBEMU with both and they behave exactly the same way. I prefer Jemm386 because I primarily use an UMBPCI+XMGR setup and that CAN be extended with Jemm386 from the command line and Jemm386 can be theoretically unloaded once I'm done. In practice, this is currently only possibly with Japheth's version, because Crazii's original can only be unloaded via tricks and then Jemm386 doesn't feel like unloading anymore.
Would it be possible to include an optional IBM-speaker emulation in the future? Many computers with HDA don't have an actual PC-speaker, but a widget in the HDA in order to act as one. But if the HDA is "transformed" into a Sound Blaster, this won't work anymore and for games that use AdLib or SoundBlaster for music but beeper speaker for SE, SE no longer plays.
