UCyborg wrote on 2025-07-28, 18:23:

sharangad wrote on 2025-07-23, 11:54:

Meanwhile here's Drakan:
https://youtu.be/K0eKUydsugw

Inside the church uses auditorium preset, the entry part uses cave preset. Level Editor says EAX volumes are set to low levels, so I guess it's correct that they sound subtle / quiet, which was my initial observation in other areas of first level.

The church does sound different and there's no reverb outdoors.

Just in case it wasn't clear, first part inside the church uses cave preset, the one before the main area. The main area uses auditorium.

UCyborg wrote on 2025-07-28, 20:09:

Just in case it wasn't clear, first part inside the church uses cave preset, the one before the main area. The main area uses auditorium.

Ah ok.

sharangad wrote on 2025-07-28, 16:25:

Unreal 1: https://youtu.be/iGl_bVobBaA

Unreal was the very first game that ever supported EAX, according to Creative's old website.

On that note, I used the OldUnreal update on a newer PC a few years back, and was amazed by how well it utilized OpenAL to faithfully reproduce the EAX features of the original version. Kudos to the OldUnreal devs on that!

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-07-29, 07:15:

sharangad wrote on 2025-07-28, 16:25:

Unreal 1: https://youtu.be/iGl_bVobBaA

Unreal was the very first game that ever supported EAX, according to Creative's old website.

On that note, I used the OldUnreal update on a newer PC a few years back, and was amazed by how well it utilized OpenAL to faithfully reproduce the EAX features of the original version. Kudos to the OldUnreal devs on that!

I was looking at their site early while looking for the 225f patch. Didn't realise it was a port.

Hello, everyone! It’s good to find a thread where people understand that audio in games is a big deal ☺️ I really miss EAX and CMSS-3D.

This coming weekend I’ll put together my first retro machine with a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1. The sound card choice is deliberate, cause I wanted a WinXP machine but my priority are the Baldur’s Gate games and I wanted the occlusion effect (which, through the BGT mod, will apply to the first game as well.)

However I already have an upgrade planned for October—can’t afford it before then—which includes a Titanium Fatal1ty. I’ll swap the two sound cards depending on the games I want to play.

Couple questions for the savvy in this thread:

- What are the best drivers to use under Windows XP 32bit for the Fatal1ty?
- Do the GOG versions of Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. support EAX or was it stripped? I’m not above fetching the games on disc if need be.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2025-07-30, 18:49:

...
- Do the GOG versions of Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. support EAX or was it stripped? I’m not above fetching the games on disc if need be.

Gog quake 4 has eax.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2025-07-30, 18:49:

- What are the best drivers to use under Windows XP 32bit for the Fatal1ty?

You can either use the original installation CD or follow my guide. Avoid the latest official drivers from Creative since they can cause bugs with games that use OpenAL.

- Do the GOG versions of Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. support EAX or was it stripped? I’m not above fetching the games on disc if need be.

I have both games on GOG and they do support EAX. However, I think F.E.A.R. was recently added to their "preservation program" so I'm not sure if the current version can be installed on anything older than Win10. I downloaded the GOG offline installer years ago, so my copy still runs fine on WinXP.

Couple more questions from me: would an Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 be better than an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty?

Would the same drivers work for the Auzentech?

AndreaColombo86 wrote on Yesterday, 12:59:

Couple more questions from me: would an Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 be better than an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty?

It's a higher grade product with superior build quality, so it will give you cleaner sound. In terms of EAX capabilities, it uses the same CA20K2 chip as the Titanium Fatal1ty. Meaning, it supports EAX 5.0 and every version below that.

Would the same drivers work for the Auzentech?

No idea. Maybe someone who has that card can chime in.

Ah, looks like the one on eBay comes without the metal bracket at the back of the card, so I wouldn’t be able to mount it. Pity.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on Yesterday, 13:33:

It's a higher grade product with superior build quality, so it will give you cleaner sound. In terms of EAX capabilities, it use […]
Show full quote

AndreaColombo86 wrote on Yesterday, 12:59:

Couple more questions from me: would an Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 be better than an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty?

It's a higher grade product with superior build quality, so it will give you cleaner sound. In terms of EAX capabilities, it uses the same CA20K2 chip as the Titanium Fatal1ty. Meaning, it supports EAX 5.0 and every version below that.

Would the same drivers work for the Auzentech?

No idea. Maybe someone who has that card can chime in.

I had one of those, wile the hardware is goodish far better then a stock X-Fi the drivers are 100% crap, you can't use the stock drivers with it and dan k drivers don't work right with it in XP and the drivers from Auzentech I was able to find are super buggy and glitchy. Its a shame too as they are rather nice hardware. If you want better sound get a DAC for you X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty.

Wouldn’t a DAC defeat the purpose of having the X-Fi?

I could, on the other hand, get a mini jack to RCA cable and hook my headphone amplifier to the X-Fi—but only if the output volume of the X-Fi proves insufficient.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on Yesterday, 14:47:

Wouldn’t a DAC defeat the purpose of having the X-Fi?

I could, on the other hand, get a mini jack to RCA cable and hook my headphone amplifier to the X-Fi—but only if the output volume of the X-Fi proves insufficient.

no. it just replaces the analog output on the card and not the card, you would still have EAX and be able to use the control panel apps with the card

How would you connect the sound card to the DAC? SPDIF?

AndreaColombo86 wrote on Yesterday, 19:56:

How would you connect the sound card to the DAC? SPDIF?

The digital output connector on the card...

Just checked, it’s an optical SPDIF. Awesome, I should be able to use it with my DAC. I’ll try that for sure, thanks for the head’s up!