First post, by Great Hierophant
- Rank
- l33t
I have heard many people praise and extoll the virtues of a Gravis Ultrasound, but I know of few games in which it is an advisable device to use. Games using General Midi usually will get better results with a 3MB SCC-1 than a 1MB GUS GM Patch. The GUS is no substitute for an Adlib/Soundblaster or LAPC-I.
So what gaming value (as opposed to demo value) does the GUS have? I would suggest not much if you own the other devices mentioned above. The GUS's best value is to process and mix digital audio streams (14-32) without CPU intervention. The Sound Blaster, Pro/16 can also output digital audio, but requires a faster CPU because it can only work on 1-2 audio streams at a time. How many games support this feature on the GUS only?
The GUS's second value is for those games that utilize Tracker-like music. These games use custom patches and store them in the GUS RAM for playback. Games that utilize midi can also be in this category if the GUS was the device for which the game was composed. (Midi and tracker share similar sound philosophies.) How many games had their music composed for the GUS?