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First post, by thecrankyhermit

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Now that Roland Sound Canvas VA has reached "good enough" territory, it's time for me to go on a DOS replay binge and hear what I've been missing, having been used to MS GS Synth and Adlib emulation for years.

What should I add to my MIDI bucket list?

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Reply 2 of 48, by MusicallyInspired

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Have to echo Descent. Some tracks are hit and miss, but a few of them are spectacular pieces of Sound Canvas MIDI engineering. Brilliant stuff.

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Reply 4 of 48, by PhilsComputerLab

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Some of the later Sierra games sound quite good. Strike Commander, Lost Vikings, Sam and Max, DOTT, Raptor and many more!

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Reply 6 of 48, by zerker

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PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Lost Vikings

I actually was running this one on the MT32 option and thought it sounded really good that way. I should record comparisons sometime. Officially the "definitive version" of that soundtrack is the SNES, but the DOS version can sound quite good on quality hardware.

Reply 7 of 48, by PhilsComputerLab

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zerker wrote:
PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Lost Vikings

I actually was running this one on the MT32 option and thought it sounded really good that way. I should record comparisons sometime. Officially the "definitive version" of that soundtrack is the SNES, but the DOS version can sound quite good on quality hardware.

I just remember playing that game in the old days and really liking the music 😀

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Reply 8 of 48, by thecrankyhermit

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There are a LOT of GM-compatible Sierra games. Can you be more specific about which ones are the best?

Also, I understand Lands of Lore uses capital tone fallback, and that won't work in Sound Canvas VA (or anything other than an old GS hardware synth, really). Is there any way around this, like a patch, or fixed version of DOSBox, or ScummVM? If not, how much of a difference does it make?

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Reply 9 of 48, by Kaminari

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What is this thread doing in MT-32 General?

Also:

Gabriel Knight
Quest for Glory 4
Death Gate
Shannara
Mission Critical
Crosstime Saloon

And the MIDI Collections from Falcom and Konami, among several Japanese GM/GS game soundtracks.

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Reply 11 of 48, by sndwv

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I really enjoyed:

Touché (but read this: Touché: Stuck note on SC-55)
Conquests of the Longbow (but get the MIDI patch: http://sierrahelp.com/Utilities/SoundUtilities.html)

edit: also really liked Frontier: First Encounters (the Dave Lowe stuff), Azrael's Tear and of course Duke Nukem 3D, The 7th Guest and the Tex Murphy games.

edit 2: and TFX and Warcraft 2, even though they both also have CD-audio alternatives

Reply 13 of 48, by MusicallyInspired

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Ah yes, I forgot about Warcraft 2. Good call. Though, I do prefer the SC-88 redbook recordings.

Yamaha FB-01/IMFC SCI tools thread
My Github
Roland SC-55 Music Packs - Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, and more.

Reply 14 of 48, by rgart

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carlostex wrote:

Warcraft 2 is one of the few games where Sound Canvas really beats competition to a pulp.

Yeah good call! Warcraft 2 is my go to game for the Roland Sound Canvas and testing audio hardware in general. Shame on us for leaving it out 😀

Lands of Lore actually sounds better to me on the Roland MT-32 for those heavy drums.

Space Quest 6 and Kings Quest 6 are some other good titles for the Sound Canvas.

I think you'll find most late Sierra titles had music made with the Sound Canvas in mind. If a Sierra title uses that newish mouse driven install program its a good indicator you should be using Sound Canvas while anything with the old school black and white batch style install program your probably better off using a Roland MT-32.

Last edited by rgart on 2016-04-23, 05:33. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 15 of 48, by clueless1

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Star Trek: Judgment Rites, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Sid Meier's Colonization, System Shock, Wing Commander 3, Wings of Glory, Pacific Strike, Anvil of Dawn. Don't believe these have been mentioned yet.

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Reply 16 of 48, by rgart

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PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Some of the later Sierra games sound quite good. Strike Commander, Lost Vikings, Sam and Max, DOTT, Raptor and many more!

I thought DOTT's musical scores were composed for the Roland MT-32?

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Reply 18 of 48, by thecrankyhermit

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Care to rate or rank these Sierra GM tracks? I don't think I'll be replaying all of them - just the best of them.

The Dagger of Amon Ra
EcoQuest 2
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
Gabriel Knight
Gabriel Knight 2
Island of Dr. Brain
King's Quest VI
King's Quest VII
Leisure Suit Larry 6
Pepper's Adventures in Time
Police Quest I Remake
Police Quest IV
Quest for Glory I Remake
Quest for Glory III
Quest for Glory IV
Space Quest V
Space Quest 6

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