[EDIT: added - wont let me edit my post]
(i tried this with both continuing a game and starting a new one)
changing both the AdLib and SoundBlaster settings to Microsoft Sound Mapper (Wave) allowed the game to start, play some midi-like music, but then stopped when an alien was supposed to start to talk.
changing both the AdLib and SoundBlaster settings to Primary Sound Device (DirectSound) gave similar results, but didnt get as far.
changing both to SoundBlaster Audigy [Wave] gets some voice action, but the game quickly freezes (previously, the game continues to run, aka current animations work, but this is a total freeze)
turning off either soundblaster or adlib emulation support and the game fails to load (although it seems sometimes random whether the game will load or not).
increasing the XMS memory doesnt help.
running SB in SB 1.x mode got the game to run for a bit, but with no music or voices, just sound effects... however, when i tried to save the game froze again...

this game is a classic and id love to play it again. aby help would be appreciated!

Be sure you aren't using the crappy default XP drivers for your sound card. Those are worse than Creative's.

Presuming this is the version by Papyrus, I have some bad news, more bad news, and a little bit of good news for you. By the way, congratulations. You found a genuine "Problem Child". I have placed a slightly different post in that forum so others will know...

First, I found this message on Underdogs from the person responsible for "pre-setting" their version (Kaimu):
BTW, the strange configuration settings were for compatibility purposes... I run the game on WinXP, and apparently if you don't disable the sound and intro, it can jam/crash windows boxes. This is all-too-true, all I got from changing configurations was variations on locking up hard (all bad).

Second, I tried it with DosBox. Same results. Fine without SoundBlaster, locks up hard when you use it.

Third, finally some good news. Nomad (if it's the Papyrus/GameTek version) supports both SoundBlaster and the Disney Sound Source. As of version 0.57, DosBox supports the "Sound Source". It's not as "clean" as SoundBlaster audio, but it's better than nothing. With a bit of tweaking, I got this to work.

NOTE: DosBox presumes you understand the basics of running DOS, (how to change directories, how to edit batch files or configuration files, etc...). If you don't know these, you might want to learn if you're going to use it.

In your NOMAD game directory, there should be a SPACE.CFG file (it may be a NOMAD.CFG file instead). Inside that file, it should look something like:

#lpt1
sb27
#nointro
#ega
#nosound
Delete the '#' in front of lpt1, while adding it in front the sb
(SB27=SoundBlaster A220 IRQ7).

Like this:

lpt1
#sb27
#nointro
#ega
#nosound

You'll also need to make sure your DosBox .CONF is created properly. If you don't already have one, DosBox will create the file with it's default settings for you by typing this command (within DosBox).

config -writeconf dosbox.conf

Edit this file and change the "keepsmall" setting to "true".

"Mount" the location of the game you wish to play:
IE: If you want to play Nomad, located in D:\Fun\Nomad
MOUNT D D:\
D:
CD FUN
CD NOMAD

Then run SPACE.EXE
or

MOUNT D D:\FUN\NOMAD
D:

Then run SPACE.EXE

Before you start the game, make sure the mouse is captured (Ctrl-F10) and press Alt-Enter for a FullScreen display (unless you want to play it in a 320x200 window).

Once you've got it running properly, you can set DosBox to run it automatically from a batch file like this:
NOMAD.BAT
E:
CD EMULATORS\PC\dosbox
dosbox.exe d:\NOMAD\space.exe

wow. thanks, it works fine now.

oooh, the nostalga of the sounds of this great game.

many thanks!

I'm a genius. All I need now is applause and a paycheck.

*whistles quietly* 😁

Closing thread: RESOLVED