Cloudschatze wrote on 2024-10-28, 17:58:

...
lb2.SF2 will get automatically loaded when using an SB Live! or Audigy if the game and SoundFont MIDI Router have been properly configured beforehand.

For an SB Live!, that configuration is as follows:

Maybe it depends on the Liveware driver version but for my SB LIve! 5.1 (SB0100) no such router is installed:

Apart from this loading custom SF2 files to user banks through SFMAN32 API calls works perfectly (FSMP uses this method to automatically load SF2 files for corresponding Midi files and it works).
Yet I had to load lb2.SF2 manually to Bank 1 in order to get proper vocals.

I don't think FF7 was "designed for yamaha" if they have a complementary synth driver (to get a Win95 player out of "fm bleep bloop hell"). For earlier months of the port's development, they didn't even have MIDI in use - adpcm streams were considered.

Also FF7's original samples on PSX sound more out of Roland JV's than Yamahas.......

leileilol wrote on 2024-10-28, 20:36:

I don't think FF7 was "designed for yamaha" if they have a complementary synth driver (to get a Win95 player out of "fm bleep bloop hell"). For earlier months of the port's development, they didn't even have MIDI in use - adpcm streams were considered.

From what I've read, the XG music from the PC version of the game was enhanced for Yamaha's hardware and soft synth. There's an archived press release here if the Wayback Machine works now.

No idea what Uematsu used for the original PlayStation music though, aside from the console's own hardware.

Falcosoft wrote on 2024-10-28, 20:31:

Maybe it depends on the Liveware driver version but for my SB LIve! 5.1 (SB0100) no such router is installed:

It's part of the "SoundFont Management System" that is included on the Final Fantasy VII installation disc. Alternatively, the "sfmgrupg.exe" package contains the latest/last version of the SoundFont MIDI Router, which is what I'm using.

leileilol wrote on 2024-10-28, 20:36:

I don't think FF7 was "designed for yamaha"

Yeah, almost certainly not. Here are some of my own statements on the matter:

Re: Favorite MIDI game soundtracks?
Re: Significant differences with certain MIDI files across Roland synthesizers

NU used Roland SC hardware to do his game music and the XG music was done by Yamaha, who paid someone (unknown individual) to modify the original MIDI files provided by SquareSoft, with no input or involvement from NU. For FF8, only a few tracks were XG-ized and they require the DirectMusic patched versions of the Yamaha SoftSynth executables to be used, otherwise the game simply uses the regular files for those specific tracks and plays them through whatever DirectMusic synth is available, usually the crappy GM.DLS one that doesn't work well at all or the DLSbyXG (Yamaha XG Lite).

To sum up.

If the soundfont midi router is installed, creative cards work.

If you are using xg lite, you want to use the yamaha gm choice

but you actually want xgsoft instead, and use the xg midi. Bombing mission and makou reactor themes are much improved, so you can tell right off the bat. if you got it right, it sounds like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=HsV_6qs0fm4

and this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw_bCngRMWQ

I was unable to install the soundfont midi router with a sb live back in the day.

There are two gm choices. the normal gm choice is simply the same awe32 midis with one subtracted from the bank numbers. the yamaha gm choice is actually a proper gm conversion.

As for the actual samples used, they were from many different sources.

Notably, the organ in Fight On! was from emu systems Vintage Keys (001 B3DistLwSlw) , and the guitar is 091 Heavy Gtr A from the roland jv-1080

There's also a patch called "prophet" which is most likely from that analog synth.

Thanks for all the input guys. Appreciate it.