Dusko wrote on Yesterday, 03:03:

Hey Kordanor! Try this mixer and let me know what do you think. It may solve some of your problems. (Or maybe you did solve the […]
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Kordanor wrote on 2024-09-08, 04:42:

Hey there. Just installed the Orpheus 2 into my machine, downloaded this software and I think I got most of it up and running. H […]
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Hey there. Just installed the Orpheus 2 into my machine, downloaded this software and I think I got most of it up and running. Here is my experience. Maybe you can confirm/explain some stuff, and maybe this also acts as constructive feedback to further improve the software/process. So here, we go:

First was a bit confused first on what to do here, as it doesnt "install" itself and there aren't like step for step instructions.
Also I was confused with the term WSS in the ini which I never saw before.

For now I just want to use the Orpheus as Soundblaster /Adlib, later on I want to use the MT32-Pi as well, but that I didnt buy yet.

So the first thing I noticed is that in the ini, it makes a difference between WSS and SB, declares them as different modes, but then you set IRQ for WSS, which is then also used for SB mode (I guess).
I usually use IRQ7, so I changed the WSSIRQ. Maybe is a better way to name it, if its not just for WSS but also for SB mode.
I also found it weird, that the PC speaker is muted as standard. Why would you want to do that? Because the headers are usually not used and to avoid potential noise? There is also no comment about a range there (so whether a number like "9" is high, or you need to enter like "150".
Then I tested around but the values for PC Speaker were all over the place. 10 was silent. 20 was a bit to loud. 18 was louder than 20, and 15 was more silent than 10. I then set it to 22 which was perfect for me. But I didnt follow the logic at all (why is 22 more silent than 20 and 18). As some games only provide Speaker Sound (Keen 1, Wizardry 6), it's very welcome that it's now passed through the card and adjustable. Just the adjustment is...weird.
I also found the sorting a bit weird.
Like there is CDvol but also SB-CDVol, and I guess CDvol is overwritten by SB-CDVOL, but next to CDVol there is also PCSpeakerVol and that one is not overwritten. Overall the naming and sorting in the ini looks extremely confusing.
Also more granular controls would be nice, but from the ini it sounds like this isn't possible for SB settings. I often found myself wishing "between 3 and 4 would be perfect" or something similar.

Also I didnt quite get the use of the .bat files. I mean ideally you load the drivers on startup with autoexec.bat, I guess? But I also saw that the environment variable sin the .bat dont set P300 or P330, neither have I found anything which seemed related in the ini.
So I added the orphinit.exe to the autoexec.bat without parameters (should take the .ini, right?) and kept the environment variables I had from my previous soundcard (A220 I7 D1 T4 D330)
But for the config.sys I am not so sure. My ESS had an /A:168 /I:A, not sure if the Orpheus needs anything similar. Tried to add Device=C:\Drivers\Orpheus\orphinit.exe (without parameters), but that just breaks the boot, so put nothing orpheus related into the config sys.

Lastly, because all games require different configurations, I usually create a "mystart.bat" file for each game and in that one I set the CPU frequency and cache for the game, but also the volume settings for that game, which previously I did via ESSVOL.exe and the parameters. Now the orpheus doesnt seem to have this, and you also cant seem to give volume paramters to the orphinit.exe. But from how I understand it, I can just create a custom ini for each game, and then write the custom .ini as parameter for the orphinit.exe in the "mystart.bat" I create for the game.

Like:

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1setmul 6 l1dx
2C:\drivers\oprheus\orphinit.exe /f:C:\drivers\oprheus\KRONDOR.INI
3kron.exe

It's a bit tedious but it does work. But if there is a simpler way, let me know.

What I did not try yet is Windows and locking sound mixers for games like Lands of Lore who like to screw with the mixer themselves.

Hey Kordanor!
Try this mixer and let me know what do you think. It may solve some of your problems. (Or maybe you did solve them, that was a few years back)
Orpheus II Sound Card DOS Mixer
Yeah, most games do change volumes around (mostly PCM and FM), but I figured that if the volume is high enough, they leave it alone (sometimes)...

This was still my prior solution. But will test out the Mixer program in a later project. Just don't have much time atm for tests. Thank you!

Dusko wrote on Yesterday, 02:36:

I don't know if Orphinit.exe can configure the L/R channel orientation of specific sources (such as OPL3 or PCM) while initializing the card for a particular mode, or if that's even technically possible.

This is not something most chips expose as a software-accessible feature, whether during initialisation or otherwise. Even if there is something "under the hood" that would allow such things, the details are not public. If someone can present compelling evidence to the contrary, I might look into it, but for the moment, it looks like as much of a "solved" problem as it can be.

I see, thanks for the explanation. This really intrigues me. We'll see if something comes up, assuming there's nothing unusual in the way the board is routed.
Thanks again!