VOGONS


First post, by Gahhhrrrlic

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I decided to test out my Vortex 2 under 98 with some example games. I already know I can get HL working perfectly as I achieved that before. But I never tried Descent 3 or Unreal Tournament. Descent 3 shows a3d in the options but doesn't produce a vortex splash screen and the sound sounds like normal directional sound without wavetracing or any of that fanciness. Unreal Tournament is v400 because I've read that the newer versions break a3d so this is the original version that shipped so you'd think if they advertised a3d support it would have been QC tested at least on that version. Again I'm not getting any sort of wavetracing, just normal directional sound. On my other computer with Sensaura, it was broken too but that had chaotic wavetracing so I have an idea what wavetracing sounds like, which is how I know it's not working on the vortex machine. I've tried tweaking the ini file but not sure which ini settings give you the magic sauce.

I'm also not sure about the driver version or any interference from other things like directx. As I said, half-life works so it's not like the drivers are totally broken or anything. The demos throw the splash screen too. But I'm wondering if certain drivers work for Unreal and Descent or if you need specific versions of Unreal or descent or if the games just need to be set up a certain way...

Also I have directx 9 somehow. Don't ask me how, I must have forgotten how I did that... I always thought dx8 was the max for windows 98.

Just looking for anyone with experience playing Descent 3 or Unreal Tournament with full a3d 2.0 effects, which versions of the games did you use, which version of the vortex drivers did you use, what was your directx version and how did you have the game files themselves configured? I feel like it shouldn't be rocket science to get this to work, as people in 99 probably just installed the game and it worked but for me that's not happening.

Much appreciated.

https://hubpages.com/technology/How-to-Maximi … -Retro-Computer

Reply 1 of 6, by NeoG_

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Gahhhrrrlic wrote on 2026-02-16, 20:43:

Also I have directx 9 somehow. Don't ask me how, I must have forgotten how I did that... I always thought dx8 was the max for windows 98.

Directx9.0c was released officially for win98

98/DOS Rig: BabyAT AladdinV, K6-2+/550, V3 2000, 128MB PC100, 20GB HDD, 128GB SD2IDE, SB Live!, SB16-SCSI, PicoGUS, WP32 McCake, iNFRA CD, ZIP100
XP Rig: Lian Li PC-10 ATX, Gigabyte X38-DQ6, Core2Duo E6850, ATi HD5870, 2GB DDR2, 2TB HDD, X-Fi XtremeGamer

Reply 3 of 6, by ott

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
Gahhhrrrlic wrote on 2026-02-17, 04:08:

Ok thanks for the clarification. I only mentioned it because 1) I thought it stopped at 8 for some reason and 2) I thought having dx too high can break stuff if it's too far from period-correct.

Some users report issues with DirectX9c and recommend staying with DirectX 7.0a and v.2015 driver:
Re: Aureal Vortex 2 - Positional audio is screwed up through TOSLINK

However, others haven't noticed any issues:
Re: Aureal Vortex 2 and DirectX 8
Re: Aureal Vortex 2 and DirectX 8

I have Vortex 2 SQ2500, but I can't verify these reports yet due to upcoming repair (recap).

Reply 4 of 6, by BaronSFel001

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I recall Joe Joestar's testing verified Unreal Engine games are better with Sensaura than A3D (some even ceased proper support past being upgraded to a particular version). To a point it is id Tech games that are better tuned to A3D (Half-Life technically is one, GoldSrc being derived from Quake). Descent 3, however, is more of a wild card and I am likewise interested in the findings there.

System 20: PIII 600, LAPC-I, GUS PnP, S220, Voodoo3, SQ2500, R200, 3.0-Me
System 21: G2030 3.0, X-fi Fatal1ty, GTX 560, XP-Vista
Retro gaming (among other subjects): https://baronsfel001.wixsite.com/my-site

Reply 5 of 6, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
BaronSFel001 wrote on 2026-02-18, 17:39:

I recall Joe Joestar's testing verified Unreal Engine games are better with Sensaura than A3D (some even ceased proper support past being upgraded to a particular version).

I wouldn't say verified. It's just my subjective take that Sensaura sounded better in some Unreal Engine games, based on comparing two specific cards: a Yamaha YMF744 and a Turtle Beach Montego II. As you say, this may vary based on which game patch is applied, which driver version is used and so on.

BaronSFel001 wrote on 2026-02-18, 17:39:

To a point it is id Tech games that are better tuned to A3D (Half-Life technically is one, GoldSrc being derived from Quake).

The best implementation of A3D 2.0 that I've experienced was in Quake 3. Again, just my personal view on things, not an objective assessment. Also, you need to make sure that Q3 isn't patched above version 1.17. Later updates removed A3D support.

My retro builds

Reply 6 of 6, by Gahhhrrrlic

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I have a sensaura card too (Turtle Beach) and that works fantastic with half-life but I was never able to get 2.0 features to work with anything else. I would be immensely appreciative if anyone who can get 2.0 features working on either API could share their version info, as I feel I'm missing out if I can't get Unreal Tournament or Descent 3 to work, especially since both those games are also good showcases of 3dfx graphics and my sq2500 rig was also built around voodoo graphics so right now I'm only getting 1/2 the enjoyment from that computer.

https://hubpages.com/technology/How-to-Maximi … -Retro-Computer