3DsoundSurge News: June 12

News: June 12 - 18, 2000

Sunday, June 18, 2000

3-D Audio article - Mikael @ 03:56 EST

ZZZ Online seems to have reposted Aureal's 3-D Audio Primer article. They say in the end it's taken from Aureal.com so it's not like they are trying to hide it but still worth noting it's written by Aureal. With Aureal.com down this may be the only place you can find the article.

Vampire reviews - Mikael @ 03:42 EST

Plenty of Vampire reviews was posted yesterday and they all found the graphics and sound effects to be great while gameplay got rather poor ratings. Here's what they thought about the sound, first up IGNPC:

The graphics and sound quality are the highest points of the game, and frankly I can barely squeak out anything to complain about. The voice acting may not stun, but it's solid, and the music is moody, rich, and reflective of the time period. You'll hear strings and horns in the past, and bumps and samples in the present, all with a high production value. As for the sound effects, they're just as nice -- deep bass, authentic details, and some great sound tricks if you've got nice speakers. I was very, very impressed by what my ears were hearing

IGNPC gave sound 8 out of 10 while the gameplay got a score of just 5. FiringSquad had a similar impression of the gameplay even though they did consider the story to be excellent. Here's their opinion on the ear candy:

The sounds and music in Redemption are excellent, taking a backseat only to the graphics. Everything from ambient music and background sounds up to combat effects and speech is rock solid. There are a few 'weak' voices but when put up beside 90% of other games out there, Redemption has awesome speech.
Environmental effects are absolutely necessary for good gameplay, since hearing what's ahead is a lot more important than seeing it just because by the time you see it, it's already too late. Nihilistic uses just about every sound API in existence to provide all users with 3D sound - from Microsoft's own DirectSound, to A3D and EAX up through the excellent Miles Sound System.

Honest3D gave the gameplay a B rating while all other parts except performance got an A rating. They do note that the patch should fix most of their complaints of gameplay but until then they don't recommend the game if you want good single playing experience. They had nothing bad to say about the sound though:

The sounds in Vampire are very good. The combat sound effects are crisp and juicy. The voice acting gets the job done as well, although I swear Christof's voice sounds just like Brain's. In addition, Christof and Anezka's dialogue does get annoying fast, with all that whining about wanting to be together, ugh. The background music is excellent, as it sets the mood well.

Our last stop for the day will be at RPGdot:

The sounds were also very good. I have a Soundblaster Live card with 4 speaker setup and I was fooled several times into believing that some sounds were real. There is a cat in one of the stores that was done very well. I kept turning around looking for the cat, and I don't even have a cat. Walking across dirt, wood, metal, etc all makes different sounds adding to the realism. Other than a couple areas where the sounds of torment were a bit grating on the nerves and some points where the background noises made the speech a bit hard to understand, I was very impressed.

The game supports A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX.
News Source: AGN

Yamaha yst-m40 review - Mikael @ 03:24 EST

GamesXtreme has posted a review Yamaha's o50 2.0 system, YST-M40. They found it to be a good system but didn't compare it to any other system so doesn't give me much of an idea of how the system performs.
News Source: AGN Hardware

S.W.A.T is a realistic multiplayer teamplay Modification (MOD) for Unreal Tournament (UT). The game is based around two teams, the elite S.W.A.T team of the American police force (but we are aiming for more of "Special Weapons and Tactics" rather than the police S.W.A.T) and terrorists from around the world. S.W.A.T will introduce realistic weapons, maps, gameplay modes and never seen before scenarios. For the first few betas we will be accepting only 21st century realistic combat areas but in the future we may advance to military WW2 scenarios and futuristic areas, but that is still a maybe.

The MOD will be based around the UT engine, due to the fact it can create highly complex scenes and vast open areas witch also us to make your level much more realistic and the large open areas will allow up to boast the sniper rifles full potential. The engine also supports high-resolution textures to put extra eye candy into maps without slow down. UT's engine also has a crisp, sharp and fast network code so online SWAT will hopefully not turn into an LPB's game. One of the best features of UT's engine is the ability to add custom behaviours, like adding ladders and triggering events such as explosions.

News Source: AGN

JDoom v0.82 released - Mikael @ 03:10 EST

Version 0.82 of Jaakko Ker,nen JDoom has been released. It supports OpenGL, D3D and most importantly 3D sounds and reverb effects with DirectSound3D and EAX 2.0 or A3D 3.0.

News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Saturday, June 17, 2000

The sound of lasers blasting away at the enemy is extremely satisfying, with that volume knob turned WAY up. My dad thought that it was gonna rain because he could hear thunder in the distance but it was ME destroying the enemy fighters! J Other then that, the music score left much to be desired. Other than the music played in the CD-Player in your bunk (yes, there is a CD-Player in your bunk where you rest in-between missions), there isn't much.

One major gripe about the game is that once you enabled A3D or EAX sound, the game is UNPLAYABLE! Really! The 1st mission was okay, no problems but once the 2nd mission starts and there are a few capital ships in the area and when the enemy starts warping in to kick your butt, the game reverts to being a slide show! It could not be my machine because it's no slow coach. So I logged on the Internet and found out that many other gamers had this problem but once you turned A3D or EAX sound off, everything becomes baby-bum smooth!

The reviewer used a MX300 and the game isn't on Creative's EAX list so not sure if the game even support EAX. I guess he only tried A3D 2 which in many game causes a significant speed hit. I would also guess the A3D 2.0 code in the game is either broken or he used old drivers since even with a significant speed hit this game should play well on Celeron 566 @ 951mhz which is what this reviewer used. Also worth noting that Gamepen found the 3D sound to be excellent and didn't complain about poor performance. I seriously doubt they used a faster CPU so probably a different soundcard (most likely a Live) or other drivers for the Vortex2.

Evolva review - Mikael @ 09:43 EST

Avault has also posted a review of the DS3D with EAX supporting Evolva. They were quite impressed with this game as well giving it 4.5 stars overall but gameplay just 3.5 stars and sound effects only 3. Musical score was better earning 4.5 stars. Here's what they had to say about the aural parts

Sound FX: The sound effects in Evolva are great, but there are just too few of them. The planetary settings would be even more immersive if there were a lot of ambient environmental sounds coming from all directions. Pretty much all you hear are grunts and squeals from beasts you encounter and the noise of weapons firing. The weapon fx are particularly effective, with the sound of snot stupendous. There is full 3D positional support with Doppler effects, and this is quite helpful in giving you audio positional cues.
Musical Score: The music is beautiful and foreboding, adding perfectly to the mood of Evolva while not distracting you from the visuals, which were obviously the primary focus of the designers' efforts. There is a full orchestral score present, with excellent audio quality and without too much repetition. The soundtrack put me on the edge of my seat with tension. Despite the absence of a single really memorable tune, the score is of epic quality.

Allegiance review - Mikael @ 09:37 EST

Avault has posted a review of MS DS3D supporting Allegiance. They found it to be an excellent game giving it 4.5 starts overall and a perfect 5 stars when it comes to sound effects and gameplay. Music was considered more average earning only 3.5 stars. Here's a snip from the sound effects section

Sound is an especially noteworthy factor of Allegiance, and can even swing a battle or two for the particularly wary. Everything from the whine of the miners' engines to the roar of a distant afterburner is represented here, to pleasing effect. Even smaller issues like the mechanized whirr of a spinning turret or the painful hiss of an ejecting lifepod are reproduced in loving detail. Such matters can help greatly when entering a foreign sector, as the asteroids often prevent you from scanning enemies' engine signatures -- but not from hearing them. If you listen carefully enough when exploring, you can often hear an enemy's troops long before seeing them, giving you a considerable advantage. The fact that this is not only possible but so very well-done is a testament to the game's experience.

Rockford will License New Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Decoder - Mikael @ 09:02 EST

Rockford Fosgate, a division of Rockford Corporation, a manufacturer of high performance car audio, is the first company to license and implement the next generation of Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoders -- the Jim Fosgate-designed Dolby Pro Logic II. This new technology has been implemented into Rockford Fosgate's RFQ5000 Surround Processor system, which includes a new circuit design that allows 5 channel surround sound from all surround-encoded and stereo sources. The RFQ5000 is now shipping to domestic and international retailers.

So what's Dolby Pro Logic II?

Dolby Pro Logic II bridges the gap between Pro Logic and discrete Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio by presenting existing Dolby Surround encoded programs with a new sense of spatiality and directionality heretofore achieved only with discrete multi-channel audio. For the first time, Dolby is offering a surround decoder equally capable of bringing out the hidden spatial cues in all existing music recordings in a natural, convincing way.
For the car audio environment with the Dolby Pro Logic II technology, the RFQ5000 will now allow for front/rear fader, or ``panorama,'' mode as well as center image width control, which were not available with the original Pro Logic technology.

You can find even more details in the press release

Lake Technology announces global deal with RealNetworks - Mikael @ 09:01 EST

Lake Technology has finalised an agreement with internet media delivery giant RealNetworks, which will see the roll-out of a Lake-branded Dolby Headphone plug-in for the RealJukebox MP3 player/recorder software.The Lake branded product is called 'Lake Personal Listening Space (PLS) with Dolby Headphone' and provides an enhanced headphone listening experience for RealJukebox users. It is available from the Real.com website as a download for US$19.99. A free, time-limited evaluation version will be available. You can find a couple of additional bits in the press release

Aureal Signing Off? (updated) - Mikael @ 04:00 EST

That's the question Avault asks in an article they posted yesterday. They mention that at this time, no public relations staff are on hand and Aureal reps are not returning phone calls or e-mails, that you no longer can access www.aureal.com and www.a3d.com, that Aureal's shares are no longer being traded in the public arena but Aureal's Vortex soundboards are still reaching a number of retailers through vendors.

That Aureal isn't being traded in the public arena has been true since mid May, at least that's when Yahoo reports that the last trade took place. Aureal's sites has been down for over a week now but what Avault doesn't mention is that you can still reach Aureal support site, Aureal's linux site and Aureal's download site. When it comes to reaching Aureal stuff I know that the pr girl left a few weeks ago and the last contact I have is away until the 20th June. As for phone calls, there is no longer a receptionist, so the main number is not answered - you have to know the person's extension that you need to talk to. Aureal's tech support is still answering e-mails but it's worth noting that tech support was contracted out to a third party company. Apparently, the contract is still in effect and tech support is still being offered. Thanks to David from Vortex of Sound for letting us know that the tech support is done by third party and why there's no answer when you call Aureal.

D-Link DMP-100 MP3 Player Review - Mikael @ 03:37 EST

3Drage.com has posted a review of the D-Link DMP-100 MP3 Player. It's pretty much a standard MP3 player featuring 32 MB memory (expandable to 64MB), a pair of earphones, parallel port interface, 5 equalizer presets, LCD display, voice recorder an A-B button (used to repeat a part of a song, similar to most DVD players) and of course the standard playback/control buttons. Except for the A-B button this player clearly falls behind most new MP3 players on the market but with a price tag of just $120 it may still be a good buy. According to the review the sound quality is still top notch.

Pioneer 16x DVD Drive Review - Mikael @ 03:35 EST

Tech-review has put Pioneer's 16x DVD-ROM drive to the test. As the name suggests it offers transfer speeds of up to 16X (21,600 KB/sec) for DVDs and 40x for CD-ROM (6000 KB/sec). In actual testing the review didn't find it to be much faster than DVD 5x/CD 32x drive, not clear to me if this was done with a CD or DVD disc. I think their comments about smooth DVD playback is a bit irrelevant, you don't need for a 16x DVD drive to get smooth playback. It works perfectly well on my 2x drive and in case of speed even an 1x drive should work even though they are rather old so you may run into compatibility issues.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Japanese MP3 players showroom - Mikael @ 03:35 EST

USBWorkshop has posted a round up of 4 Japanese MP3 players: Sanyo Fisher SSP-PD7 Solid State Audio player, Sharp WA-HP1 Portable Memory Player, Samsung SVM-P32 Photo Yepp and Casio WMP-1V Wrist Audio Player. Relatively short overview of each player but still interesting to check out since none of these players are just me to players. The SSP-PD7 is the first MP3 player to include Liquid Audio's SP3 Secure Portable Player Platform and it has a design similar to Nokia 8800-series. The WA-HP1 uses Sony's Memory stick and ATRAC3 format instead of MP3s. It also a unique all-in-one design that integrates the headphone and the player. The SVM-P32 supports JPEG and SMIL files in addition to playing MP3 files. To display these files it includes a 2" 16-bit TFT LCD screen. Maybe the most interesting of the bunch is Casio's WMP-1V which is the world's first watch outfitted with wrist-type wearable MP3 player.
News Source: Anandtech

Programmers prepare open-source MP3 for free - Mikael @ 01:11 EST

It's not exactly MP3 but CNET reports that a group of open-source developers has created a new music format they say will be free and will equal or better MP3's quality. It's currently called Vorbis and is scheduled be unveiled in beta form at next week's MP3.com summit in San Diego. You can check out CNet's article for more.

Napster to cut deals with independent labels - Mikael @ 01:07 EST

CNET reports that Napster yesterday said it plans to forge a series of relationships with unsigned artists and independent labels to make their music available through its software. Napster also said it has hired David Boies, who was the Justice Department's special counsel in the antitrust case against Microsoft. You can find more details if you head over to CNET.

Starlancer demo released - Mikael @ 01:03 EST

MS has released a demo of StarLancer. StarLancer combines the action of first-person space combat with the drama and intrigue of a classic air combat movie. The game was expected to support A3D 2.0 but don't know if the game or the demo actually supports A3D 2 or not. According to reviews there are some form of 3D sound so I guess A3D 2, DS3D or both. You can grab it from 3dfiles

MK-01 Review - Mikael @ 00:55 EST

3DAI has posted a review of MidiLand MK-01 speaker mounts for the wall. It's the same that we posted a review of earlier this week.

DeusEx Demo released - Mikael @ 00:51 EST

A demo of the upcoming DeusEx has been released. In this thrilling roleplaying adventure, you play the part of a powerful, nano-technologically augmented anti-terrorist agent. It's up to you to stop the conspirators from achieving their goals. The game uses the Unreal engine and when I checked a couple months ago they said it would use the same sound code as Unreal Tournament, that is DS3D with EAX and A3D 2.0 with wavetracing.

Friday, June 16, 2000

Denon Electronics Presents The Most Advanced Home Theater Receiver - Mikael @ 14:37 EST

That's what Denon claims when they announced the introduction of its new flagship AVR-5800 A/V Surround Receiver. It's the world's first audio component to offer DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 and DTS Neo:6 surround sound decoding. In addition, the THX Ultra-certified AVR-5800 incorporates a host of leading-edge digital audio and video technologies such as THX Surround EX decoding, 24-bit/192kHz D/A conversion and a seven-channel amplifier section. The AVR-5800 will begin shipping August at a suggested retail price of $3,800. You can find all the details in the press release.

Analog Devices announced that AVR-5800 receiver integrates Analog Devices' Melody(TM) DTS-ES Extended Surround decoder. They also released a separate press release about the new Melody decoder hardware claiming its the industry's first decoder for the new DTS-ES Extended Surround(TM) digital audio standard.

TI System-on-a-Chip in Sony's New Walkman - Mikael @ 14:37 EST

Texas Instruments yesterday announced that the company has developed a system-on-a-chip (SOC) based on its low-power programmable DSP, TMS320C5000(TM) for the Internet Audio market. This technology was developed in collaboration with Sony which has incorporated the SOC in its new Network Walkman(TM), the NW-E3. TI's ultra-low power C5000 DSP supports the ATRAC3 audio compression format and integrates the LCD display and user interfaces. Additionally, this solution allows Sony to update feature and function with a simple software download, rather than by changing internal hardware.

Sales of DVD Players to Quadruple Over Next 4 Years - Mikael @ 14:36 EST

Jon Peddie Associates (JPA) has released the findings of their latest DVD market study. The DVD Market Study looks at the changes in the DVD market that have taken place since the publication of the Digital Entertainment Box Market Study in 1999. JPA expects the growth rated to continue to be very high for the next three years with continued fuel from the convergence trend in general. Some Key Findings

As digital television becomes more prominent, DVD will be impacted in both negative and positive ways. As people buy digital televisions for a higher-quality visual experience they will also want DVD players for movies. However, buying and renting DVD movies are expected to be replaced by video on demand services, as broadband access becomes generally available over the next five years.
By the year 2004, recordable DVD RAID (redundant array of independent disks) for the home will see initial use, albeit not mainstream acceptance.
By the year 2004, recordable DVD technology is expected to stabilize and price reductions will follow.

Ground Control review - Mikael @ 08:23 EST

FiringSquad has posted a review of Ground Control. I don't know if it supports any form of 3D sound but based on reviews it is one of, if not the best RTS game you can buy. Here's what FiringSquad had to say about the sound and music

With all the words of praise I have thrown in this review you're probably
expecting something bad to appear. Well all I can say as far as sound is concerned there were no problems. Everything from the death cry of a dying trooper to the voiceovers in the mission briefings were pretty darn good.
Unit effects were very convincing. What really added to this was the way they implemented proximity when doing sounds. This is fairly common in most games but I was quite pleased with the results in Ground Control.
Zooming across my troops as they were advancing was something I really enjoyed. Hearing each individual engine fade and grow in volume was icing on the cake.
Music was nothing to complain about. Hearing it over the din created by my troops was probably why. Techno-ish beats seem to be quite a theme in most games these days. Either that or I just end up classifying everything as techno. Either way the music was not bad enough to make me turn it off, which, in my eyes, is good enough. Of course I'm also the person who had the song "Fight, Win, Prevail" from Command & Conquer on
repeat.

Thanks to Karl for the pointer. For a second opinion you can check out Avault's review of this game

Motocross Madness 2 review - Mikael @ 08:14 EST

Telefragged has kicked up their MotoCross Madness 2 review. Like most but not all reviews they were pleased with what they heard:

The sounds in Motocross Madness 2 are probably as real as they can ever get. I've never been to a dirt bike race in person, but I have seen some on TV, and the game doesn't sound too far off from what I heard in the game. The engines roar when you hit the accelerate and the wheels sound like they stop spinning in mid-air when you let go of the accelerator. The crashes are also heard very loudly so you don't really need to keep your eyes off the road if you want to make sure that guy you forced into an obstacle hit it or maneuvered out in the nick of time.

They found the other Japanese including the most important, gameplay, to be great as well.

Thursday, June 15, 2000

MidiLand Survey and Contest - Mark @ 10:20 EST

Yesterday we let you know about our MidiLand MK-01 review. However, it seems that many people missed that there is also a really nice contest at the end of the review. There are a few questions that MidiLand is just dying to get answers for. So much so that they offering up a number of great prizes. Specifically, just for answering the questions on 3DsoundSurge you are entered into a contest with 5 runner up prizes of MK-01 kits, two second prizes of the MLi-490 4.1 speaker system plus a MK-01 kit and a great grand prize that consists of an S4-7100 5.1 Dolby Digital ready 100 watt speaker system, an ADS-2000 Dolby Digital decoder and an MK-01 kit! Again, the questions are at the end of the MK-01 review.

More on Half-Life 3D Sound - Mark @ 10:02 EST

Just a quick update to say that it looks like some people are not having any problems with their Vortex 2 cards and the latest (1.1) patch for Half-Life. You can get or give some more feedback from Vampire review - Mikael @ 03:35 EST

The TRUE Meaning of Life (yes that's a website) has posted a review of Vampire. They had a very positive impression of the gaming including the aural part:

The music is appropriately moody and is professionally done by several different composers. I still haven't played a game with music as good as Diablo's, but this game comes close. Positional sound effects are supported through DirectSound3D, A3D 2.0, and EAX. I tested DS3D and EAX, and both sound very good and are accurate at simulating the source of the sound.

News Source: AGN

MP3.com and Djangos.com Partner to Re-Invent Retail Music Industry - Mikael @ 02:26 EST

In a move designed to give consumers instant global online access to music they have purchased, MP3.com and Djangos.com yesterday announced a strategic alliance. This partnership will allow customers who have purchased music from a Djangos retail store or the Djangos.com web site to immediately hear that music online anywhere in the world through a co-branded music manager.

SOF patch breaks EAX? - Mikael @ 02:19 EST

I haven't even installed Soldiers of Fortune yet but Travis let us know that the new patch seems to break EAX. EAX will now only work sometimes and it drops out the weapon's sound and leaves the reverb. If you got a different experience let us know.

Latest HL Patch Breaks Vortex 2 Support? - Mark @ 00:16 EST

Thanks goes out to Chris Coleman for an email complaining of broken 3D sound support in Half-Life with the latest patch. Chris did not indicate what sound card he was using and I had not installed the patch yet. However, I just did so and tested both before and after installing the 1.1 patch with the Sound Blaster Live and Aureal SQ2500, both using their respective latest drivers. The Live worked fine in terms of EAX and 3D sound in both 1.0.6 and 1.1 version. The SQ2500 also worked fine for A3D 2.0, EAX and 3D sound in 1.0.6 but there is no wavetracing, no EAX and no 3D sound with the 1.1 version of Half-Life or Team Fortress Classic 1.5! I am really surprised that no one has reported this disappointing news to us before Chris. If you have the game we would appreciate EBNews: MP3 chip makers look to next-generation designs - Mark @ 22:11 EST

After successfully surfing the first MP3 wave, chip makers are preparing new codec families to catch more profits. At this beach, the king of downloadable audio has been the PC. But about a year ago, a small upstart called the Diamond Rio, by S3 Inc., kicked sand in the PC's face and ushered in a horde of decode-only MP3 players. OEMs are now looking to Cirrus Logic Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and start-up PortalPlayer Inc. for codecs to set their new products apart. Cirrus has already added MP3 firmware to its consumer-audio products, and plans to introduce its first dedicated MP3 codec, the Maverick EP9312, at the Embedded Processor Forum this week. PortalPlayer announced plans to challenge Cirrus with a similar approach. Texas Instruments, meanwhile, is adding encoder support to its line of 'C54 DSPs, although its work has been delayed a month. For lots more, check out the full article over at Electronic Buyers' News.
News Source: AGNHardware

No 3D sound in Dark Reign 2? - Mikael @ 20:15 EST

It's on Aureal's A3D 2.0 list but according to a preview at Ga-Strategy the game will not offer any 3D sound:

There isn't any support for the popular 3D API's, such as A3D or EAX, but the custom sound that's in the game is sufficient enough to portray and play all the sounds quite realistically.

They did test a beta version so there is I guess not impossible the release will offer 3D sound but I doubt it.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Evolva review - Mikael @ 20:08 EST

IGNPC has posted a review of Computer Arts DS3D with EAX supporting strategy game. In an overall rather mixed review they found the sound and music to be the strongest feature of the game. Here's what they had to say about the sound and music:

The music is a nice ambient score, with some interesting bleeps and bloops that you wouldn't normally hear in a video game. The sound design is just as strong, with some truly creepy sounds, especially the flame-breathing, pig-squealing spider things. Soul Reaver pulled similar creepy audio tricks, and they were just as effective -- but Evolva's weird character design has the insanity to back it up

News Source: AGN

DTT2500 Review - Mikael @ 20:03 EST

Hardware Central has posted 6 page review of the DTT2500. They come to a positive conclusion. For a second opinion you can check out our review of this system.
News Source: AGN Hardware

MX400 Review - Mikael @ 20:03 EST

3D Spotlight has posted 4 page review of Diamond's MX400. The liked the sound quality, 4-speaker positioning but complained about sound stuttering in some games.

Soldier Of Fortune patch - Mikael @ 20:02 EST

Raven has finally released the patch that is supposed to fix some issues with the A3D and EAX code among other things. You can grab it from 3dfiles.

Next LiveWare release details - Mikael @ 18:00 EST

Randy let us know that in the latest issue of the Computer Music Magazine (UK) there's an interview with Creative Labs where they say the next LiveWare drivers will be out in July. They also said it would offer cross-platform support and also include ASIO drivers. While the issue just recently come out the interview is a few months old so I checked with Creative Labs if the July date was still accurate and unfortunately it isn't. The next major driver release is now estimated to be released in the September/October time frame. It's currently no plans for cross-platform support with the next LiveWare release and uncertain about when ASIO drivers will be available.

Motocross Madness 2 demo sound - Mikael @ 17:59 EST

There's a MidiLand MK-01 Review and Give-away! - Mark @ 07:12 EST

In this review we take a close look at MidiLand's MK-01, which is their brand new satellite wall mounting kit that should work with most satellites that have a threaded wall mount insert. The main components of the kit are made from a material that MidiLand is calling Platallic. It's the same material their S4-7100 satellite enclosures are made from and it's described as a highly durable "plastic metal material". Depending on what you are attaching the MK-01 to, each unit can hold a satellite that weights up to ten pounds! For all the details, check out the review. There's more...at the end of the review you will find a few question that MidiLand is just dying to get answers for. So much so that they offering up a number of great prizes including some MK-01 kits, a couple of MLi-490 systems and a grand prize of an S4-7100 5.1 ready speaker system, an ADS-2000 Dolby Digital decoder and an MK-01 kit! So what are you waiting for...the questions are at the end of the MK-01 review so get reading.

DigiTheatre DTS Upgrade Program - Mikael @ 02:07 EST

Not sure when this was announced but I just noticed that VideoLogic now offers The DigiTheatre DTS available to existing owners of DigiTheatre and Sirocco Crossfire for just GBPo299.99 + shipping. For all the details head over to their site. We should have review of the system sometime next week.

Universal Studios Announces DVD Releases Of JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD - Mikael @ 02:02 EST

Universal Studios Home Video unleashes ``Jurassic Park'' and ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', two of director Steven Spielberg's most eagerly anticipated and biggest blockbuster films, for the first time ever on DVD as Collector's Editions on October 10, 2000. Both titles will be available with Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 audio for $26.98 suggested retail each. You can find a lot more details of the features of these two movies in the press release. The most interesting feature is the exclusive DVD-ROM link to a 'live' webcast and chat with the cast and crew from the production set of Jurassic Park III.

Tuesday, June 13, 2000

MP3.com CEO criticizes the music industry's online sales strategy - Mikael @ 23:47 EST

According to an article at CNET MP3.com chief executive Michael Robertson today criticized the music industry for its online sales strategies, saying efforts to charge customers several dollars for digital downloads will not work. The strategy that Robertson says will work is 'all-you-can-eat' buffets for 10 bucks, for 5 bucks, for 20 bucks. The article includes quotes form several analysts that agree with Robertson.

Week in Review - Mikael @ 23:37 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering June 5-11.

This weekly newsletter covers new driver releases, games, patches and demos that support 3D sound including information on any new bugs, bug fixes and other tips. The newsletter now also includes links to all sound related hardware reviews on the web as well as updates on what we did and what we plan to do in the coming week. The 3D Audio Week in Review is a great way for busy people to be right on top of all latest in the PC audio world.

UltraPlayer announces strategic relationships - Mikael @ 23:21 EST

UltraCo Incorporated, makers of the popular and powerful UltraPlayer audio software, Spacial Audio Solutions, developers of the revolutionary Streaming Audio Manager (SAM) webcasting technology and Net Radio Promotions announced today a strategic relationship to integrate key components of their respective products and services into a comprehensive webcaster to end-user system. For the details read the press release

Napster Inc. Speaks Out Against RIAA Filings and Statements - Mikael @ 22:53 EST

Napster today released a statement by CEO Hank Barry in response to the recent Recording Industry Association of America's filings and statements. Here's a snip:

We are trying to find ways to work with all of the constituencies that are part of the Napster community, including the major record companies and the independents. This case is about whether it is legal to share mp3 versions of sound recordings over the Internet. We say yes -- the major labels say no.
[snip]
People are sharing over Napster, not selling. Napster is doing no harm to the record industry. By their own numbers, record sales are up, and file sharing has proven to be a great promotional tool. People over the age of 30 are reconnecting to music through Napster in ways nobody anticipated. In fact, a recent public study said 51% of Napster users are over the age of 30. Further, over 95% of all files that are downloaded are soon erased. Napster is a sampling and listening experience, not a permanent copying experience that would displace conventional CD sales.
[snip]
Let's take a look at some specifics about what is happening now:
First, the RIAA tries to drum up proof of lost sales due to Napster, but its efforts fall flat. The RIAA ignores the 8% overall increase in sales in 1Q 2000, when Napster was a factor. Instead, they dredge up the discredited Soundscan Report that studied sales 'near colleges' in 1Q 1997 through 1Q 2000. The report shows that a minor decline in college store purchases happened from 1998 to 1999 -- before Napster even existed. There is nothing to suggest that Napster in late 1999 early 2000 had any impact the course of sales. And, the study did not take into account the impact on the surveyed stores of big box or online retail competitors. The survey also did not refer to independent record store sales generally, which are down even more than those in 'college' areas. The survey says nothing about Napster or its users.

You can read their entire statement here. If you missed it you should check out RIAA's press release, released yesterday.

Panasonic and RealNetworks Team Up to Make Internet Music Downloads Easier - Mikael @ 22:53 EST

Matsushita Electric Industrial, best known in the U.S. by its Panasonic brand name, today announced plans to collaborate with RealNetworks to enable consumers to download premium audio content securely and conveniently to RealJukebox(TM) and to Panasonic SD Memory Card compatible devices, as demonstrated in Rob Glaser's keynote yesterday at Streaming Media East. The two companies also announced the RealJukebox will be the only music management application to be bundled with portable SD Audio players in the U.S. You can find more details in the press release

CustomHifi.com Debuts To Custom Electronics Installation Market - Mikael @ 22:52 EST

Hifi.com today announced the launch of CustomHifi.com. CustomHifi.com is the first comprehensive national, Internet-centric marketplace to offer custom electronic design and installation professionals access to leading audio/video products, information and installation support. Hifi.com is a sister company to Cambridge SoundWorks, a leading manufacturer of home entertainment and multimedia products, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd.

Check out the press release if you want to learn more about this new site.

SRSWOWcast Showcases Multi-Channel Surround-Sound For the Internet - Mikael @ 22:51 EST

SRSWOWcast.com, the Internet entertainment subsidiary of SRS Labs, is providing a technology preview and demonstration of its next generation streaming surround sound technology capability in booths 112 and 114 at Streaming Media East. These technologies allow for the broadcast of multi-channel surround-sound music and video over the Internet, with playback over any PC or device playing Internet content. The surround sound format works for listeners who have complete multi-channel speakers, if you have only 2 speakers SRS Labs' virtualization technology, TruSurroundr will be used to create the surround channels. The press release doesn't give any info on exactly how they will access the rear channels of your speakers.

When SRSWOWcast.com launch next month you will be able to check out this technology for now you can find more details in the press release

Cirrus Logic announces chip for Home Internet Audio Jukebox - Mikael @ 22:51 EST

Cirrus Logic today announced the Maverick(tm) EP9312. The Maverick EP9312 system-on-chip combines the powerful new 200 MHz ARM920T processor core, Cirrus Logic's new MaverickCrunch(tm) math co-processor, patent-pending MaverickLock(tm) security technology, and a broad range of peripheral devices for product design flexibility. Here's a quote from Greg North, vice president of engineering for the Embedded Processor division:

We created an ideal engine to process audio algorithms by combining floating and fixed-point architectures in our MaverickCrunch coprocessor. The innovative 32b x 32b MAC with 72-bit accumulation preserves full precision throughout intermediate filter loop calculations, thereby eliminating the cascading effects of quantization errors.

The new Maverick EP9312 will begin sampling in the fourth quarter with volume shipments expected to begin early next year. The Maverick EP9312 will be priced at $38.50 in quantities of 10,000. You can find a lot more technical details about Maverick EP9312 in the press release.

Sony introduce New Minidisc Walkman(R) Player/Recorder PC Bundle - Mikael @ 22:50 EST

Sony will introduce another MiniDisc PC product bundle. The new MZ-R70PC bundle allows consumers to record a combination of Internet music, tracks from personal CD collections and favorite songs off the radio. The MZ-R70PC includes a plug-and-play USB interface called the MiniDisc PCLink that automatically configures itself when connected to a Windowsr 98/2000-enabled PC. The MZ-R70PC MD Walkman product PC bundle will be available later this summer in silver or blue and is expected to sell for about $250. You can find more details in the press release

MotoCross Madness 2 Review - Mikael @ 22:04 EST

Sports-Gaming Network has checked out MS MotoCross Madness 2. It's overall positive review (score 95 out of 100) but rather negative on the audio (score 60). All other reviews I've read have had a very positive impression of the audio (do a search for MotoCross to see other reviews of this game). One of the designers of the game also mentioned audio as one if not the best aspect of the game. Here's a bit from their negative sound impression:

Unfortunately, MCM2's audio is a little disappointing and its obvious that this was an aspect of the game the developers spent the least time on. Each class of bike has its own distinct sounds, but there isn't a huge aural difference between a 125cc bike and a 400cc bike. There are also selected ambient sounds depending upon the stage, such as the sounds accompanying tractors, trains and other vehicles. The ambient sounds contribute to the atmosphere of the various stages, but only marginally, as most of the time you only hear the monotonous hum of your bike. The Supercross stages include crowd sounds but these basically consist of a background crowd noise, jeering for when you crash your bike, and cheers for when you pull off a stunt.

The game supports DS3D and one review also mentioned reverb effects so perhaps it also supports EAX even though it's not on Creative's EAX list.
News Source: AGN

Icewind Dale preview - Mikael @ 22:03 EST

Ga-RPG has posted a preview of the upcoming (this summer) Icewind Dale. It's an RPG game using the same (but slightly updated) engine as Baldur's Gate, the game play will be quite different according to this preview. Here's a bit on how it compares to Baldur's Gate:

Icewind Dale takes everything that made Baldur's Gate tick and has improved upon it to create a fast paced dungeon crawl set around a previously unseen area in a CRPG for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of the Forgotten Realms, the Spine of the World. Although a fairly linear experience, the actual story appears to be quite good from what we have seen with 60+ hours of gameplay featured. The game is combat heavy with over 70 distinct models for monsters to do battle with, and dialogue is not as important. The graphics and artwork are gorgeous for such a low resolution game, and Black Isle's implementation of the AD&D 2nd Edition Ruleset is the best seen to date.

The preview also includes a bit on the sound:

As far as the audio goes for Icewind, support is included for both A3D and EAX 3D Audio Sound. The press preview contained roughly two different voice sets for every race / gender combination with about 40 .wav files of sounds for each one. If you're curious you can check out how the male dwarf sounds here. The over quality of the music in Icewind is very good.

You will find out a lot more about this game if you read the preview
News Source: AGN

Rome UP-301 Mp3 Player review - Mikael @ 10:34 EST

CTNews3D has posted a review of the Rome UP-301 Mp3 Player. If you haven't heard about this MP3 player the following snip should make you realize this is not your standard MP3 player:

The Rome Mp3 player comes in a shape of a casette tape. A simple novelty cover? No way. It serves a definite purpose. The Rome mp3 player is shaped in the form of a casette because it IS a casette, or at least a virtual one. Using technology similar to what the 'casette adaptors' for CD players uses, it emulates a casette and thus plays like one in ANY standard tape player. Yes, even your car, which is perhaps the main purpose of this player. But the Rome Mp3 player is also a standalone player, and has an earphone jack which allows you to plug in earphones (included) and listen to music on the go. It makes for a perfect ultra-light portable mp3 player.

The reviewer found it to be a pretty interesting MP3 player but complained about the lack of LCD display, the use of a parallel port instead of the faster USB port and the relatively high price tag of $200. CTNews also mentions that an upcoming model of this player (Rome UP-321) will feature a LCD remote control, additional flash memory and an USB port.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Creative Labs has NOT dropped Support for Ensoniq based products - Mikael @ 10:01 EST

Alive last week posted a message from Mike Byrns that said "Creative Labs is officially dropping Windows 20000 support for all the technology they acquired from Ensoniq last year". We never posted it since we didn't exactly trust Mike Byrns as a reliable source. I've now checked with Creative Labs and the info provided by Mike Byrns, just like as expected, is incorrect. The message on Alive from Mike Byrns also includes several other errors, most importantly WindowsME will also work with VXD drivers (that is standard Win9x drivers) not only WDM drivers and that Ensoniq was acquired more than 2 years ago not 1 year ago.

Here's the correct info:

A recent posting to the Creative News Server may have led customers to believe that Creative Labs has dropped Windows 2000 support for Ensoniq based products. Creative Labs has not dropped support for Ensoniq products, and remains committed to continuing support to the extent possible for all of their Ensoniq based products. The posting was generated based upon a lack of a released Windows 2000 driver for models of the SoundBlaster 128 PCI and SoundBlaster 64 PCI based upon Ensoniq's 1370 chip (Models CT4700 and ES1370). Windows 2000 drivers were not originally planned for these models since they cannot be submitted for WHQL certification like other WDM drivers.
However, due to user requests the development of WDM drivers for Windows 2000 is currently under consideration. It should be emphasized that only the CT4700, and ES1370 models are affected. Windows 2000 drivers for other Creative products branded as SoundBlaster PCI 128 have already been released and are currently available from Creative's Web Site.
Harvey Fong
Technical Marketing Specialist
Creative Labs Inc.
1901 McCarthy Blvd.
Milpitas CA 95035

You can grab the drivers for PCI128 (CT4750 & CT4751 model) and Sound Blaster AudioPCI (model no. CT4740 & CT481x) from Creative Labs' Soundblaster site.

RIAA asks judge to pull all major-label songs off Napster - Mikael @ 09:21 EST

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) on behalf of their members, late yesterday evening filed a motion for preliminary injunction against MP3 file-swapping company, Napster. Included in the press release you will find a list of people supporting this injunction. Most interesting is that list includes Michael Robertson, CEO and Chairman of MP3.com.

In the press release they also includes a bit about a study showing a direct correlation between Napster use and decreased CD sales. You can find more details in the press release For some analysis to this announcement you can check out this CNet story or this article by Ron Harris, Associated Press Writer.

Next Live!Ware for Windows 2000 still scheduled for mid June - Mikael @ 09:20 EST

Harvey Fong (Technical Marketing Specialist at Creative Labs) made a post in the newsgroup late Friday saying the next Live!Ware release for Windows 2000 "is still scheduled for mid-June but it looks like it will be in the latter portion of "mid". The reason for the slight delay is that they need to install new server hardware. I would guess this means we will see the release sometime next week. Perhaps it's time for us to pick up a copy of Windows 2000 in the next few days.

PowerDVD v2.55 review - Mikael @ 07:24 EST

Inmatrix.com has posted an 11 page review of PowerDVD 2.55. When it comes to sound I have a bit different impression of the LFE soundtrack. I am not sure I've tried with and without LFE channel for the movies mentioned in this review but I have tried several others with and without LFE and it didn't make much of a difference. Also worth noting that what PowerDVD doesn't support is downmixing of the LFE channel it does support it if your soundcard has a subwoofer output (e.g. BestData's Theatrix 5.1.
News Source: 3DSL

Carmageddon TDR 2000 demo review - Mikael @ 07:24 EST

3DAction Planet has tried out the alpha demo of Carmageddon TDR 2000. They found it to show some promise but a bit rough right now. A good read for anyone that still hasn't decided if they should download the alpha demo or not. Here's a short bit on the sound:

The audio was great in some areas, but obviously lacking in others. One such example would be the appealing sounds of the liquid-flow-like bursting when hitting a zombie and the muffled sounds of the engine.

Not sure what the demo supports but according to an article at Avault from early last fall they would use Miles Sound System and support all the 3D sound card that SDK supports which include DS3D, A3D, EAX, RSX (software 3D audio) and a few other options.
News Source: AGN Hardware

MDK2 does NOT support A3D - Mikael @ 06:59 EST

Travis Howell just sent us the following interesting and disappointing e-mail:

> At 10:34 PM 6/10/00
Star Wars: Force Commander review - Mikael @ 06:56 EST

GibWorld has posted a review of Lucas Art's strategy game Star Wars: Force Commander. They gave it a pretty good score of 86%. Here's a taste of the sound:
The sounds of the enviornment and units in Force Commander are probably the main contributing factors in allowing LucasArts to develop the atmosphere within the game, of the Star Wars universe so well. Each individual sound is true to life (or the movie), as like the graphics, each involving the player more and more as the game progresses. From the first time you play Force Commander, you'll notice the seperate sounds of each unit or structure, while playing. If a selected unit makes a noise within the game, you will immediatly be aware that this unit should be making the sound. From the stomping of Stormstroopers, to the blast of a laser gun, and even to the mechanical clunk of the AT-ATs, the sounds stay of the same quality throughout the game, although, as like most real-time strategy titles, the sounds can become repetitive and tiresome, especially when you're controlling a unit for a while and the Commander responds with the same acknowledgement message 5 times in a row.
The general attitude of the music and sound effects suits the Star Wars enviornment well, thus helping create the Star Wars atmosphere within the game, again (LucasArts obviously obsessed with this fact in the game). Large, metal units actually sound that they have a mass, by long you'll be able to tell the stomp of a AT-AT a mile away, and the blast from a Rebel attack craft, even if you're not in direct line of sight. Overall the sounds are pleasing, capturing the original trilogy's atmosphere very well indeed.
The game was supposed to support DS3D with EAX and A3D but not sure if any of these APIs actually went into the game. It's not on Creative's EAX list and no mention of any 3D sound or EAX on Lucas Arts pages. If you got the game or tried the demo let me know if it supports 3D sound or not.
Soldier of Fortune review - Mikael @ 06:48 EST

PlayDevil has posted a 2 page review of Soldier of Fortune. They come to a positive conclusion of the game including the sound and music part. Here's what they had to say about the sound and music:
Very good dynamic music ! It's a long way from those boring MIDI tunes and it adds a lot of atmosphere to the game. As far as the weapon sounds go : some of the best in the genre. Even the enemies die in the most satisfying way : by screaming a lot, unless you blow of their head :-)
As you probably already know the game supports A3D,DS3D and EAX with some issues that should be fixed with the upcoming (Wednesday) patch.
MDK2 review - Mikael @ 06:48 EST

VoodooExtreme has checked out MDK2 and liked what they saw (98%) and heard (85%). Here's the sound bit:
The sound is generally impressive, with a fairly liberal use of Creative's EAX to spice up the mix. Music ranges from Hollywood-esque scores (in the levels with Professor Hawkins) to generic "dance dance dance" TB 303-crud for the Max maps. My biggest complaint is the voiceover acting for Kurt. Simply put, it sucks. I'm fairly sure that they used two different people for his voice, because his voice in the first cutscene (terribly awful) is different than how he sounds in the later scenes (slightly less terribly awful). His voice seems to suggest Bioware dragged some homeless guy from a phone booth and asked him to read a bunch of lines on tape; it's simply bad and unconvincing.
Certainly not the first review to complain about the voice acting in this game but other than that they don't have many complaints.
More about MP3.com settlement with Time Warner and BMG - Mikael @ 06:47 EST

IF you want to know more details/analysis of MP3.com's settlement with Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music Group and BMG Entertainment you should check out this Reuters story. They say that the two major record labels may have gotten the best of all worlds while the deal is not that great for MP3.com. The problem according to the analysts they talked to is not the money they had to pay in damages (15-25 million per label) but that they know has to pay the labels a royalty per unit. This may not sound as bad but MP3.com doesn't charge their customers per unit, instead they use a subscription revenue model or an advertising model. Not sure if MP3.com really had much of a choice if they wanted to stay in business, it's after all the labels that own the content MP3.com wants to make money of.
Monday, June 12, 2000
Deus Ex has Gone Gold - Mark @ 22:22 EST

Eidos Interactive announced today that Deus Ex, developed by Ion Storm (Warren Spector), has Gone Gold. It's the new millennium. Civilization is near collapse. The world economy is in chaos. The middle class no longer exists. Deadly viruses have ravaged the earth's population. Terrorism runs rampant, from this maelstrom of violence and suffering an ancient conspiracy bent on world domination emerges from the shadows of legend. The conspirators' greatest strength? No one believes they exist. No one but you. Travel the globe as you develop your skills and build a network of allies. Employ stealth, strategy or action. But remember, trust no one. Even your allies may be more than they seem. For more of the PR check out Gone Gold. Deus Ex is supposed to support A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX. You can get more info, as well as preorder the game ($37.99) over at Gamestop.
Psycho Sound Interview - Mark @ 19:18 EST

Stomped has posted an interview with Will Loconto, audio designer for KISS: Psycho Circus. Here's a snip:
Stomped: Sound design often goes unsung, as it were, in discussions of games. What do you believe the sound designer's responsibility is for PC game in general and for Psycho Circus in particular?
Loconto: In all games, a sound designer needs to create a soundscape that will aid in the suspension of disbelief of the players. 50%, if not more, of the atmosphere in a game can be created with sound and music alone. In Psycho Circus I get to do both, so I play a major role in helping the map designers set up the atmospheres in their locations.
It's worth noting that among several other pieces of equipment, Loconto is using a Sound Blaster Live and a Vortex 2 board. Way back in November KISS Psycho Circus was an Aureal A3D Game of the Day with A3D 2.0 support announced. Hopefully that still holds true.
News Source: Blue's News
Vampire Reviews - Mark @ 13:16 EST

A bunch for Vampire reviews for you. First a couple of very positive reviews. XL Gaming's review rates the game at 98/100 and gives the sound a perfect 10/10! Here's a snip from a fairly lengthy section on sound. In the sound section, the reviewer goes out of his way to poo poo negative comments on voice acting:
This goes back to voice acting and such. Overall there are some very nice sounds in the game; the music played in game is very fitting to the scene around you. When you are coming up on danger for instance you might hear some fast paced music, you know like you hear in Jaws. When you are roaming the streets of Prague you might here some nice flutes and slow soft music. A lot of the areas have ambient sounds to them as well, like a smith shop in Prague when you get close you will hear the smith hitting on the anvil from outside. Another good example is when you are in New York you hear all the people yelling and taxies honking their horns, just like the real city.
Next up is the review from CT News. Nothing on sound but they end with the following:
I think that Nilisitic Software did one hell of a job on one hell of a game. If you ever even came close to loving role-playing games then do this title the honor its worth and beat down the door of your local EB and grab it, its worth it. (And I know you Vampire lovers out there already did :>) Vashies Final Word: 4.5 out of 5 Tugs On The Bottle
Sitting well on the other side of the fence when it comes to impressions of the game are reviews from Gamespot and Daily Radar. The Gamespot reviewer has the following to say on route to a 6/10 for sound and an overall 6.8/10:
The weak cinematics and voice acting might begin to explain why the game has comparatively little dialogue overall, and why it has almost no character interaction whatsoever. You'll occasionally be faced with choosing from two different options during the dialogue, but in hindsight - or in replaying to test the other alternative - you'll realize that most of these decisions are trivial. Though the game's script uses a lot of fancy language and generally reads well, you'll likely find yourself growing weary of the game's typically static, drawn-out monologues.
Daily Radar gives the game a miss on its hit/miss rating system. They have basically nothing to say on sound beyond complaining that "dialogue tree interaction is rare and of little or no importance" but have numerous other complaints on gameplay..
News Source: AGN3D
Battlezone II Review - Mark @ 12:49 EST

Glide Underground has posted a review of Battlezone II and were very impressed with the overall quality of the game. Unfortunately, they were not so impressed with the sound. Here's a snip:
The music is nicely done, but many of the sound effects seem a little forced. There's not quite enough to distinguish noises, especially in a large-scale firefight.
Battlezone II was on Aureal list for A3D 2.0 and also supposed to sport DS3D with EAX. As I recall, Extreme Audio Reality had indicated they were going to be doing the sound engine for this game, but not sure if that's how it worked out in the end. For what its worth, the Extreme Audio Reality site has not been updated since February.
Soldier of Fortune Patch Update - Mark @ 12:38 EST

Raven's Rick Johnson has updated his .plan with the following news on the upcoming 1.05 patch:
SoF 1.05 Patch and SDK will be released late Wednesday afternoon. Technically, it is all ready to go, but I will be away from the office for the next 48 hours, so I don't want to release this until I get back, in case something bad happens.
This patch mainly adds the Pure server option. Some other issues have been addressed as well as some things that weren't originally included in 1.04 (mainly the EAX and A3D sound improvements). The patch is under 2 megs in size and will require you to upgrade from 1.03. Network and Save Games are not compatibile between these versions (as we are preparing for the next thing we are working on).
Soldier of Fortune is supposed to fully support A3D 3.0 and DS3D with EAX 2.0. Hopefully with this patch it will be working problem free.
News Source: Blue's News
Allegiance review - Mikael @ 12:03 EST

Gamepen has posted a review of the DS3D supporting Allegiance. The found it to be fantastic game and gave it the following description:
Allegiance is a lot of a space sim, some of a RTS, a little bit of role playing, and a whole lot more
They had a positive impression of the sound as well:
Allegiance also features some fantastic sound. The ships and weapons make convincing sounds, and there are literally dozens of voice commands and cues that you can trigger through in game hotkeys to send messages to your friends. While it is not always easy to access the numerous commands, they add a great deal of functionality to the game. I am embarrassed to say that I don't even know what to say about the musical score in Allegiance. It is perfectly fine, but I was often so engrossed in the constant action that I paid no attention to it. Overall though, especially in the voice cues and commands Microsoft did an excellent job with the audio portion of the game.
News Source: AGN
Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed Review - Mikael @ 12:01 EST

Sports-Gaming has posted a review of EA's Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed. They found it to be pretty good with an overall score of 92 and a gameplay score of 98. The audio part slight behind with a score of 85. Here's a snip from their audio section:
Each car has a distinctive sound from the Volkswagenish 356 to the basso profundo of the Turbo. I was impressed with the job the sound designers did to give a sense of power to a car like the GT2 without making it noisy or shrill. The car is quiet but the subtle rumble from the subwoofer leaves no doubt that this is a car to be reckoned with. Gravel, grass, pavement and dirt each have their own sounds, and when you mess up, you can feel the car's pain with the crunch and shatter of rollovers and impacts. You can also have music while you drive, but why obscure the wonderful symphony of engine and road?
The game supports DS3D. It's not on Creative's EAX list but still some chance it does support it.
News Source: AGN
Tzar review - Mikael @ 11:27 EST

Gamesfirst has posted a review of Talonsoft's strategy game Tzar. They found it to be a pretty good game and thinks it will be the next sleeper hit in the RTS genre. So what about sound and music?:
The music is good, but the sound effects are great. The sounds of clashing steel will soon be ringing forth from your speakers as you wage your holy war against the forces of evil. The music, however, left a little something to be desired. While it was good, it did get to be annoying after a while. But the solution to that problem was easy enough. turn off the music and just listen to the sound effects.
The game supports DS3D with EAX.
News Source: AGN
Dolby's tunnel vision: moving Net sound offline - Mark @ 07:43 EST

That's Thomas Dolby and not Dolby Labs...Musician Thomas Dolby Robertson is once again blinding them with science, offering the latest example of how the Internet is pushing the boundaries of art. Through a collaborative project supported by the ex-pop star's Beatnik music company, a team of artists last week began piping sounds into a kilometer-long tunnel. Using the Internet, participants add random noises to the mix, which is being broadcast on 64 speakers spread along the span of the Clyde Pedestrian and Cycle Tunnel in Glasgow, Scotland. Up to 16 people at a time can add their sounds to the mix by logging on to the tunnel's Web site and downloading a software program, called the CASMclient software. Visitors can pick from 256 samples of sounds to broadcast and determine the distance and speed at which the sound travels along the tunnel. You can get the full story over at C/Net news. You can also get a lot more details over at the Clyde Tunnel website.
News Source: Audio Today
Vampire: the Masquerade: Redemption First Impressions - Mark @ 07:33 EST

Thresh's Firing Squad has posted their first impressions of Nihilistic's Vampire: the Masquerade: Redemption which are somewhat mixed. This game is getting an odd assortment of early reviews/impressions. The "word on the street" seems the be that its simply great so maybe some of these reviewers just don't like the style. Anyway, here is the small bit Firing Squad had to offer on sound:
Sound and speech are impressive and anybody can get surround sound thanks to just about every single API being supported (including the Miles sound system.) In short, Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption is absolutely tops in the technological department.
Note, this is not their full review so it's possible that their final impressions will change, for better or for worse, when they manage to get right through what is supposed to be quite a long game. I picked up a copy yesterday (unfortunately the Collectors Edition was sold out) but did not even get time to install it. Hopefully I can get to it tonight and get far enough into the game to offer some early impressions on its aural aspects.

News from June 5-11, 2000

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