News:  July 3-9, 2000

Sunday, July 09, 2000

KISS Psycho Circus has gone gold - Mikael @ 21:48 EST

Ga-Source reports that the LithTech powered FPS, KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child has gone gold and should be in stores by the weekend of the 21st. The game should support A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX. For more info about the game check out the official site
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

New drivers for YMF724, YMF740, YMF744 and YMF754 - Mikael @ 19:35 EST

Not sure how new the drivers are but when I checked Yamaha's driver page I saw that the Windows 2000 drivers are now of version 2228, Windows 95/98 4.07.1040, NT4 1235 and MS-DOS v3.16. The file date is June 21st for the Windows 2000 drivers and June 12th for the DOS drivers. The other files seems to have been posted April 27. Thanks to Rafael for the file date info. The reference drivers will most likely work on all cards (e.g. Guillemot's Fortissimo) using one of these chips.

The last version of the Windows 2000 drivers that is posted on Guillemot's site is 2225 while the Windows 9x drivers are 2013. I think 1040 is a newer version and the reason for the lower number is that it's DirectX7 certified which the 2013 probably isn't, that is the full version number for the 2013 is probably 4.06 or 4.05 not 4.07.

X-Tension has gone gold - Mikael @ 19:05 EST

Egosoft has announced on its site that the upcoming 3D accelerated mission pack for X: Beyond The Frontier, X-Tension, has gone gold. X: Beyond The Frontier supports DS3D and A3D 1.x so I guess the mission pack will feature support for these two APIs two. You can find more info about XTension on Egosoft's site
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Music in games part 6 and 7 - Mikael @ 19:03 EST

GameSpy has posted the two last interviews in their musician interview week. In the first interview today they interviewed Anvil Chorus about working for Weapons Factory Software and other music related biz. If you missed it you can read our interview with Anvil Chorus which was conducted last fall. Since he later left the project I'm not sure what if any of his work that ever went into this Quake3 mod.

In the second part of today's interview Gamespy talked to David Rivera about creating music for Counter-Strike. Here's an interesting bit:

GameSpy: To finish things off, where do you want to see mod music head in the next few years?
David Rivera: I would like to think that in the future people like myself may have a chance to produce music for mods/games that get fully supported by gaming companies Like Sierra, LucasArts and so on. But until then I'll just keep creating music for mods in my spare time and will continue to do so while mods are still being made. I have no doubt that in the years to come, mod music will evolve to a more professional level as will the mods.

Elite Force Demo Review - Mikael @ 19:03 EST

GameRush has posted a review of Elite Force demo. Here's the sound bit:

The sound also deserves a notable mention, all the original sounds from the series have been used and the music gets tense in just the right places. Elite Force also features the voices of al the actors from the series which adds authenticity to the game

Pioneer DVD-303S vs. Toshiba SD-M1212 - Mikael @ 09:54 EST

Storage Review has posted a comparison test of two 6x DVD drives, the Pioneer DVD-303S (SCSI) and Toshiba SD-M1212 (ATAPI). The comparison includes both DVD and CD tests including DAE transfer speed.
News Source: Anandtech

Saturday, July 08, 2000

Diablo II reviews and sound issues - Mikael @ 20:52 EST

IGNPC has posted a bit less positive review of Diablo II than most other sites. It's not only the bugs and the not that excellent graphics they complain about like everyone else. They also consider the gameplay very repetitive and except for multiplaying they don't think it have much lasting appeal either. They found the aural aspect to be pretty good anyway:

The sound on the other hand is very good. All of the different monsters have their sounds which are all good, especially the little creepy guys with big heads and even bigger knives in Act III. The voice over acting is once again done with style and talent, and adds to the game immensely. Even the little things that the characters say when there is no more room in the inventory is done well. The music in the game is also very good adding to the ambiance of the game nicely. The music in the Harem level of Act II particularly sticks out in my mind, but it was all done well.

Voyager: Elite Force Demo Reviews and FAQ - Mikael @ 20:45 EST

Raven Software's Project Admin made the following update to his .plan file

:Saturday, July 8th, 2000 - The Elite Force Demo launch is going
very well. If you still need to download it, check here.

I've started up a FAQ for the demo and you can view that here.
I'll be updating the FAQ regularly as questions and issues arrive.
When there are major FAQ updates, I'll let everyone know.

If you need demo technical support, visit http://eliteforce.ravensoft.com.
Send us comments, feedback and suggestions at efdemo@ravensoft.com

Here are some early demo reviews:
1. Hard News EF Demo Review
2. Sci-Fi Gaming EF Demo Review
3. Firing Squad EF Demo Review

Music in Games Day Five - Mikael @ 20:43 EST

Gamespy continues their musician interview week, this time it's a 5 page long interview with Lee Jackson. He has done music, sound effects, and/or voices for the Rise of the Triad, Stargunner, Balls of Steel, Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D. Here's an interesting bit:

GameSpy: Where do you see the soundtrack industry going in the next ten years? Is there anything you'd like to see happen?

Lee Jackson: I covered some of this a bit earlier with the discussion about big name artists/groups. I see the game music industry becoming more and more like the television and film music industry.

What would I like to see happen? Well, I'd like to see music hardware and driver subsystems that are capable of full real-time mixing and effects processing on multiple tracks of CD quality (or DVD-Audio quality) playback, with easily chosen and used levels of interactivity in the game playback engines.

I'd like to see better hardware acceleration of music playback, along the lines of current video acceleration, but with a single hardware and software standard supported by multiple hardware manufacturers. If you could compare the current state of audio hardware evolution to the progress made in video hardware, I'd say we're maybe approaching the equivalent of the Rendition Verite chipset, just getting past the S3 Virge. We haven't even reached the audio equivalent of the Permedia 2 yet, much less any of the 3dfx or NVIDIA chipsets.

Icewind Dale Tech support FAQ and another review - Mikael @ 20:11 EST

Let's star with the review that popped up on IGNPC yesterday. The found the game to be great to the point of completely takes over their lives. They overall score was 8.8 with sound getting a perfect 10:

Even though the sound effects are pretty good, nothing can prepare you for the music in this game. In my opinion Icewind Dale contains some of the best music to every grace a computer RPG, and without a doubt it is the best music ever put into an AD&D title on any platform. The soundtrack is less like a game score, but more like an epic Hollywood film score. The closest comparison would be the Conan: The Barbarian soundtrack. That epic soundtrack perfectly captured the feel of high action and adventure, just as Icewind Dale's does.

SRSWOWcast.com Accepting Music Submissions - Mikael @ 02:47 EST

SRSWOWcast.com, yesterday announced it is accepting music submissions from artists via the web at www.srswowcast.com. Prior to launch later this month, the site will be open for music submission exclusively. SRSWOWcast.com, Inc., the Internet entertainment subsidiary of audio and voice technology pioneer SRS Labs, Inc., will feature original programming, a wide selection of music genres, interactive music communities, live concert performances, music chat lounges, audio-based infotainment, a store for purchase of hardware and software, and an artist colony showcasing unsigned, independent artists. You can find more details in the press release. You can also check out the press release from last month for more details of the upcoming launch of SRSwowcast.com

Music Industry Looking for Fair Way to Share Tunes - Mikael @ 02:06 EST

That's the title of an interesting article by Reuters where they report that Hilary Rosen, Chief Executive Officer of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) trade group doesn't think anybody's goal is or should be to eliminate the technological capability (of Napster). Instead RIAA's goal is to find a way to have the technology work with creative interests, not against them. It's a response to Napster's lawyer Boies claim that RIAA tries to stifle Napster's technology to maintain dominance.

Shogun: Total War review - Mikael @ 02:06 EST

Avault has posted a review of the strategy game Shogun: Total War that went gold a few weeks ago. It's not on Creative's EAX list and it's not mentioned on EA's or Creative Assembly sites that it supports 3D sound but Avault had the following bit in their sound section:

Sound FX (4.5 stars): From the ambient environmental noise of the battlefields to the positional audio, there's a lot to like about Shogun's sounds. Everything is as appropriate as you could imagine: for instance, the strategy map's wooden units making a muted clicking noise as you move them from province to province. For a true atmospheric touch, you can even choose to have English subtitles with all spoken text in Japanese, which would appear to be impeccably rendered. Such detail is especially appreciated within conflicts, as you can often make out the distant rumbling of your foes long before you ever see them. Other such details include being able to hear something as simple as a hundred arrows being loosed from their bowstrings, to the resulting screams of felled soldiers. The only minor detail that would negatively affect the category is the clash of metal-on-metal that you'll so often hear during a battle. Given, it sounds as it should...the first time. However, when you've heard the same noise several dozen times over the course of a conflict, you'll slightly wish that maybe they used a little more variety in this area. Still, it's well done, and doesn't prove to be significantly distracting.

Diamond Rio 500 MP3 Player Review - Mikael @ 01:48 EST

Savagenews has posted a review of Diamond's Rio 500. It includes the features you expect from a second generation MP3 player including USB port, 64 MB memory (expandable to 128MB), upgradeable firmware (allows it to support other formats than MP3s in the future), back lit LCD display, supports the audible format, equalizer presets, custom bass and treble. Savagenews found every aspect of player to be excellent and gave it a perfect 10.

Midiland S4 7100 Review - Mikael @ 01:34 EST

Firingsquad has posted a review of MidiLand's 5.1 speaker system, the S4 7100. The review is quite detailed and it's clear they liked the speaker system. What isn't clear (at least to me) is how it compares to other 4-speaker or 5.1 systems in this price range. The closest we get is that the construction of the satellites and subwoofer on the MidiLands is superior to the DigiTheatre. As I recall Mark didn't think the MidiLand S4-7100+ADS-2000 is behind the DTT2500 when it comes to DVDs but ahead when it comes to 4-speaker gaming. I also know he thinks the S2-4100 is much much better than the S4-7100.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Sirocco Spirit review - Mikael @ 01:33 EST

Gadget Squad has posted their review of VideoLogic's Sirocco Spirit. They found it to be an excellent system, clearly better than the Sirocco Crossfire when it comes to sound quality except for the lower frequencies. Their only complaint is the weak bass. The review have somewhat mixed comments on the bass. At one point they say it's no problem when you sit close, only when you need to increase the volume it becomes apparent. Later in the review and in the conclusion they complain quite a bit on the lack of bass. One other bit I don't get is that they say the attitude control produced exaggerated audio, it's supposed to exaggerate either the low-end or high-end so what's the complaint?

If you haven't already you can check out our review.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Midiland MLi-490 Speakers review - Mikael @ 00:37 EST

Planet hardware has posted a review of MidiLand's MLi-490. It's 4.1 speaker system priced below $100 just like Cambridge Soundworks FPS1000, Altec Lansing's ACS54 and Labtec's LCS-2514. They found the system to be really good considering the price clearly beating the FPS1000. The also say it's the best 4.1 system below $100 but not sure if they actually heard the ACS54 and/or Labtec's 2514 system. I would also add that comparing the Watts RMS or the provided frequency response is really pointless.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Philips will release a CD player that can play MP3s - Mikael @ 00:37 EST

The Register reports that Philips plans to release a portable CD player that can play MP3s in August. The Register tries to make this to be something big but I think they are completely wrong. It's really not much different than many other MP3 players on the market that lacks any support for SDMI. I don't think this MP3 player will increase the threat of far east mass producing CDs in any significant way either. At the end of the article they mention that the company is currently recruiting 50 "lucky" beta testers via its US Web site.

Friday, July 07, 2000

Sound in DOS games under Windows 2000 - Mikael @ 22:43 EST

If you want sound in DOS games under Windows 2000 or NT4 you should check out VDMSound. Here's a short description from their page:

VDMSound is a package that overcomes some of the limitations of DOS boxes under Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. More specifically, it aims to offer adequate sound support to any DOS applications (utilities, games, etc.) running under Windows NT 4.0+.

As of this version, VDMSound emulates an MPU-401 interface (for playing MIDI music) as well as a SoundBlaster 16 card (for PCM sound effects).

Tank Time demo - Mikael @ 22:38 EST

A demo for Tank Time has been released. The game is described as a "First person TankBased 3D shoot 'em up game". According to the more detailed description on 3dfiles the game should support 3D sound. You can as usual found download links at 3dfiles.

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force demo - Mikael @ 22:38 EST

The demo for the upcoming Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force has been released. You can find download links and a description of the game at 3dfiles. As is typical the demo is huge, 115MB. The game is supposed to support A3D 3.0 and at least earlier they said the game would also support DS3D with EAX. Considering it uses the Quake3 engine I'm not sure it will actually be any working 3D sound in this game.

No 3D sound in the next Daikatana patch - Mikael @ 22:31 EST

The patch for Daikatana will not include any support for 3D sound if we should believe the readme posted on Planet Daikatana today. In a recent interview Romero said the 3D sound should be added "around the time the patch is released". The patch will be released next Monday so if he deliver on that release date the 3D sound patch should certainly be out this month. I think it's about 10% chance we will see it before September.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

DVD Genie 3.75 released - Mikael @ 22:25 EST

Yet another version of this little tool that allows you to tweak your DVD player has been released. The new version mostly fixes adds things for those that use WindowsME or Windows 2000. One other new bit is that it supports the latest version of MGI SoftDVD MAX. You can check out the list of new features/bug fixes here.

X-Gamer review - Mikael @ 22:15 EST

Was awhile since we saw an X-Gamer review but today JDAlpha posted a 3 page review of this Live card. They really liked this card and had really nothing but good to say about it. One minor point in the end they make a comment like EAX 3.0 is already released which isn't true. LW 3.0 just like LW 2.0 supports EAX 2.0.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Motocross Madness II review - Mikael @ 22:15 EST

Another Motocross Madness II review appeared today on 3DGW.com. 3DGW just like so many others thinks this is one of the best racing games ever. Sound impressions has been more mixed with some considering it simply excellent and others rather poor. 3DGW joins the simply excellent majority:

The audio section in Motocross Madness II got some much needed help in the retail version. In the preview I noted the lack of good sounds, I think someone from Rainbow Studios read my preview. This game now does a fantastic job of crash sounds, crowd sounds, and engine sounds. The different bikes sound different depending on the type of motor that you choose.

Dark Reign 2 review - Mikael @ 21:49 EST

Gamerankings has posted an overall positive review of Dark Reign but they didn't think every aspect of the game was great. One of the not so great/annoying parts of the game is the sound:

The sound is not quite as good. While the atmospheric music is nice, the unit voices get very annoying very fast. Every time you have them move they say something predictable. You can only hear the same phrase said in the same voice so many times in one game. Still, the explosions and weapon sounds, while not anything you'll remember for long, does the job competently.

MDK2 review - Mikael @ 21:43 EST

Electric games has posted a review of MDK2 which they found to an excellent game with all categories getting at least 4.5 out of 5 stars and sound and graphics got a perfect 5. Here's their more detailed sound impression:

Sound effects are very good, and the music is excellent. It changes with the pace and is totally appropriate for the action. When the music kicks up a notch, it's time to start watching out, because it is usually a sign that the action is going to pick up.

Soldier of Fortune review - Mikael @ 21:33 EST

The game was released sometime ago but still reviews keep popping up. Today Electric games posted their impression of this game. They liked the game quite a bit and gave it 4 out of 5 starts. Here's their impression of the sound:

Sound effects are nicely done; the various weapons make a distinct, realistic sound when fired. Music is well orchestrated but tends to stay in the background. The voice acting is decent - nothing that will win an academy award, but gets the job done.

Diablo 2 reviews - Mikael @ 21:32 EST

Game-Guru and Firingsquad both posted their reviews of Diablo II today. Both having about the same impression as everyone else, that is great game play not that great graphics and some other flaws (e.g. poor performance of Battle.net). Especially Game-Guru goes into detail about what they consider bugs and flaws but in the end they just like Firingsquad considers the game to be great. Here's the sound bit from Firingsquad's detailed review:

Diablo II uses many sounds from Diablo yet it doesn't feel cheap, only more familiar. In fact, given all the changes between the games, it is one of the few familiar aspects in the sequel. You'll see the occasional barrel and sarcophagus, and the music might be slightly derived from Diablo, but the sound effects are the only true remnant of the original game. It was a nice touch.
The music is just awesome. It always fits the mood and manages to creep out even jaded gamers such as ourselves. Only once did it get annoying and that was in the Palace in Act II. Every other time it tended to blend seamlessly into the background or heighten the tension.

Deus-Ex reviews - Mikael @ 21:09 EST

3 Deus-Ex reviews popped up on the net today. Gameunit and Gamersdepot were both extremely impressed with the game with Gamersdepot even saying it's the game of the year so far. Only flaw mentioned is the D3D performance which the patch released today may fix. Gamepro was slightly less impressed especially about the graphics. Here's the sound snips from each review.
Gamersdepot:

The sound in Deus Ex was perfect. The ambient sound was impressive and allowed the game to take over all your senses. The background music was also great with a mixing of different cultural beats combined with a techno feel to it. Since you do lots of detective work the music helps to keep the game exciting while you travel from place to place.

Deus Ex Beta Direct3D Patch - Mikael @ 21:07 EST

Ion Storm has released a Direct3D beta patch for Deus-Ex which should improve D3D performance significantly. The only major flaw in the games according to most reviews.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Review of Diamond Audio Pro Media Speaker Systems - Mikael @ 20:06 EST

Techno Yard has posted a review of Diamond Audio's ProMedia 2010, 2012 and 3025 speaker systems. They're all rather inexpensive 2-speaker systems with SRPs of $30, $40 and $80 respectively. Techno Yard found all 3 speakers to be best they've heard in its price range. I know Mark have the same impression of these systems and if you missed it you should read his review of the ProMedia 3025. I think he will post a rather short review of the two others this or next month.

Post from ex-Aureal employee - Mikael @ 13:14 EST

The following post was posted in Vortex of Sound's Forum by an ex-Aureal employee:

Hello all:

Having been at Aureal for a long time, I can tell you many companies approached Aureal and its investors to buy out the technology in pieces or as a whole. Unfortunately, none moved fast enough or had good intentions. Nvidia, proceeded to hire 9 key people from Aureal after they indicated they did not want to get into Audio and after Aureal disclosed all personel and organizations under NDAs. Pretty cut throat and ruthless. It is very hard for a young company like Aureal to survive in a contentious environment like the valley: lawsuits, employee steeling, tight margins ..etc.

But like I say, for me, it was a goodride.

Thanks for being loyal fans to the technology we created. It is the best reward for those of us who put any many a hard year into the place.

Thanks.

Might and Magic VIII review - Mikael @ 13:13 EST

Gamerankings has posted a review of Might and Magic VIII. It's very short but how many words do you really need to use if you think the game sucks. They did like the sound and music though:

The game's music and sound may be nice at times, but everything else in the game barely has any life in it. The gameplay is stale and repetitive. Basically, this is every other RPG put together without a thought to what might be innovative. Overall, the entire movement and combat system is too worn and old to be anything but boring

Vampire review - Mikael @ 13:12 EST

Womengamers has posted their review of Vampire. A rather detailed review that like so many other reviews of this game gives a very mixed impression of the game. Some parts simply perfect (e.g. Story and graphics) while others (e.g AI) is really terrible. Here's the usual sound snip:

If I have not said it before, the dialogue in Vampire is sterling. Given that all of the 'thy's and 'thou's may be a little much at first, the voice-acting, monster sounds and ambient music (medieval and modern day) are simply marvelous.

More about ads will pay for music downloads - Mikael @ 12:36 EST

We mentioned last week that Soundom (see pr) and Radiate ((see pr) both announced solutions for using ads to pay for music. This week MP3.com announced a partnership with AdAce that will make it easier for the content owners to include ads with their content. For more details read the press release. For some analysis to this trend check out this News.com story

S3's Rio Digital Audio Receiver Wins Award - Mikael @ 12:35 EST

S3r's Rio Division(TM) announced yesterday that its Rio Digital Audio Receiver(TM) was awarded ZDNet's first-ever ``Tech Trendsetter'' award, which honors new and innovative technology products. ZDNet says the reason S3's receiver get this award is "for its innovation in moving digital audio beyond the PC". I guess they never heard of CD players :-). I really don't get why Digital Audio doesn't include CD-audio or MiniDiscs. The receiver will be available later this summer for an estimated retail price of $299 with an internal PCI card or without for $249.

Thursday, July 06, 2000

Rio 500 review - Mikael @ 23:59 EST

SystemLogic has posted a review of S3's Rio 500 MP3 player. It's includes the features you expect from a second generation MP3 player including USB port, 64 MB memory (expandable to 128MB), upgradeable firmware (allows it to support other formats than MP3s in the future), back lit LCD display, supports the audible format, equalizer presets, custom bass and treble. They found most aspects of the Rio 500 to be great including the sound quality even using the bundled earphones/headphones. They had some complaints about the software, choice of memory cards (SmartMedia) and the relatively high price tag (about $250, can be found for only $200).
News Source: Anandtech

CDs and MiniDiscs still outsell MP3s - Mikael @ 23:57 EST

According to an article on News.com a new study of retail sales by market research firm NPD Intelect shows that digital players increase their market share rapidly but this is still mostly thanks to MiniDiscs and CD-players not MP3 players. The study showed that analog cassette players dropped with 30% and analog radio players with 7% while portable CD players were up with 44% and MiniDiscs were up with 37%. In the end this means two-thirds of the portable player market is digital products now. The article has no numbers on how many MP3s players that were sold only that it was a fraction compared to MiniDiscs and CD players.

StarLancer review - Mikael @ 20:53 EST

Wargamer has posted the most detailed review of StarLancer I've read. They found most aspects of the game to be really great but had some complaints about the story which brought it down to a good but not great game. Like several other reviews of this game they also point out that it doesn't really break any new ground in the Combat space genre when it comes to gameplay. One the aural front the only complaint was the voice acting. Here's a bit about the sound effects and CD tracks:

There are no ifs ands or buts, StarLancer's audio is hands-down the best I've heard in any space combat game (maybe even any game) period. The music is highly atmospheric and changes according to the situation. Since the music is in the form of CD tracks, it can be listened to separately using a CD player. This is one of the few games where I actually found myself loading up the game CD in my Discman, if only to listen to the "Warrior's Dance" track, with its fantastic mood-setting.

In terms of the sound effects, the surround sound is excellently done, and every effect is clearly distinguishable. From the awesome bass rumblings of the explosions to the deep "dum-dum-dum" of the gatling guns, from the scream of a dying pilot to the whine of the jump drive, everything is just perfect.

Diablo II review - Mikael @ 20:51 EST

GamePro has posted a rather short review of Diablo II. It pretty much mirrors other reviews in complaining a bit about the bugs, outdated graphics but praise the gameplay. The sound impression so far has been a bit mixed with at least one review said it was rather average. Most others reviews that covered it has found it to be excellent just like GamePro:

Great voice samples, atmospheric music, and the gruesome sounds of combat all contribute to Diablo II's overall sonic perfection.

Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 review - Mikael @ 20:17 EST

GameCenter has posted a review of Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 system. They found the system to excellent saying it's the best computer speakers period and "it's light-years ahead of its competitors". The ProMedia is probably the best $250 4-speaker system you can buy for games but it's not light-years ahead and some may even prefer the BA4800 for games. In case of music I know Mark would pick the less expensive BA4800 before the ProMedia. I also know Mark consider the midrange the weak part of the ProMedia not the best as this review. Well opinions differs for more about Mark's you can check out his Crossfire vs ProMedia comparison.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Dark Reign 2 review - Mikael @ 20:16 EST

GamesDomain has posted the first review of Dark Reign 2 that mentions it supports DS3D. Aureal announced last year it would support A3D 2.0 but there is no mention of that DS3D or EAX on Activision or Pandemic sites and as mentioned no other review mentioned it so I thought they dropped. GamesDomain doesn't say anything about how well the 3D sound works and actually the only mention of sound in the review beyond that it supports DirectSound and Directsound3D is in the footnotes. They liked the sound and most other aspects of the game especially the graphics but found the single player experience to be just average.
News Source: AGN

Deus Ex tweak guide - Mikael @ 13:50 EST

3Dspotlight has posted a 12 page tweak guide for Deus-Ex. It gives an explanation to all the settings you can enable in the Deus-Ex menus. I'm not sure if the console commands that exists in Unreal Tournament is still present but if they are you could check out our UT Demo benchmark page.

MDK 2 review - Mikael @ 12:05 EST

Avault has finished their review of MDK2. We have seen quite a few reviews that have found the game to be simply excellent but Avault didn't found it to be quite that good giving it an overall score of 3.5 out of 5 and no aspect of the game got more than 4 stars. The sound got the lost rating with 3 stars:

MDK 2 attempts to use its sound effects as a conduit for humor. Much of the spoken character dialogue is filled with adolescent humor, similar to the content seen on the "Simpsons" or "South Park". With average voice acting, though, the potentially funny dialogue comes across as a little crass and devoid of the wittiness that it's striving for. The high number of ambient noises, which include such musical wonders as alien farting rituals, is initially funny, but quickly loses its impact after the third or fourth time. As for the other in-game sounds such as weapons and explosions, they are actually pretty good. They have a lot of variety and are easily distinguishable from each other.

Monsoon MM-1000 review - Mikael @ 12:05 EST

If you are really into car audio, then there is a good chance you will know the name Monsoon. The company has established a reputation for high quality factory installations. You can find their systems, which typically feature at least eight speakers and in excess of 200 watts continuous power in select vehicles including AM Generals Hummer! Monsoon multimedia speakers are built with proprietary planar magnetic speaker technology developed by Sonigistix and all makes use of just two satellites. The planar magnetic technology gives them some unique characteristics, the end result of wish is some very good quality sound and the best 3D audio that you are going to find using two speakers. For all the details on why, check out the full review.

Diablo II review - Mikael @ 12:04 EST

RPOV has posted a 4-page long review of Diablo II. They gave it a score of 88% which means they found it to be an excellent game overall but some aspects of the game could have been better. As most other reviews they found the game play to have addictive gameplay and complained about the performance of Battle.net and that the resolution is limited to 640x480. They also had issues with crashes. Our usual sound snip:

For better or worse some of the sounds in Diablo have been carried over to the sequel, but overall the sound and music is quite good. If you have a sound card that supports 3d audio as I do (MX400), the sound effects are powerful. Whether it's footsteps of a nearby monster, dungeon mood music, or the chant of a zombie, the sound adds a lot to the Diablo II experience.

Music in Games Day Four - Mikael @ 12:03 EST

Gamespy continues their musician interview week, today chatting with Bill Brown, music director for Soundelux. H has composed and produced music for Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton and companies including Disney, Miramax, Universal and Columbia / Tri Star. When it comes to games he thinks his best work was sound track Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. Here's a bit on what he is currently working on:

Gamespy: What projects are you're currently doing music for?
Bill Brown: Michael Crichton's Timeline, Clive Barker's Undying, and several other scores that are in the works, including a new Red Storm project called Freedom, First Resistance and Anachronox from Ion Storm. I'm looking forward to more feature work as well in the near future as well. (:

Labtec LCS-2514 review - Mikael @ 10:25 EST

Sysreview has put Labtec's inexpensive ($80) 4.1 system to the test. They found it to be an excellent system but no mention of how it compares to the similar priced ACS54 and FPS1000 systems. One thing in this review I don't get is what their surround sound test in Unreal Tournament was supposed to show. If it's the option surround sound it will of course not be very useful with this system since it lacks a Dolby Prologic decoder. If it was using the DS3D or A3D mode they shouldn't call it Surround sound.
News Source: Anandtech

Interview with Timothy Gerritsen about Rune - Mikael @ 10:12 EST

RuneNews.com got the chance to interview Human Head's Biz Guy, Timothy Gerritsen, asking him a few questions about the Unreal engine powered Rune. Here's a bit on the soundtrack:

How would you describe to a friend the atmosphere created by the game's soundtrack?

Tim: It's very moody and atmospheric. The music is there to establish and then reinforce the epic feel we are going for with the game. Mike Larson, our sound director, is doing a fantastic job. Lately we've been getting pressure to present a more modern musical spin on the game from our publisher, but we feel that would needlessly date the game, and we've stuck to our guns. The music of the game absolutely fits the setting, and we feel that a huge guitar riff would just cheapen the game and not make any logical sense. Besides, if you want to play the game with a huge guitar riff in the background, you can put in your own music CD. We chose music that we felt was right for a game dealing with legends over a thousand years old.

New NOMAD II MG Firmware and Manager - Mikael @ 10:12 EST

The NOMAD II MG Firmware 1.01.5 that we mentioned a few days ago has now popped up on Creative Labs US servers. It's for users running Windows 98 or Windows 2000. On the same page you can also find the new Nomad Manager for MacOS.

Cambridge SoundWorks Digital 2.1 review - Mikael @ 10:11 EST

3Dhardware.net has posted a review of Cambridge Soundworks new 2.1 speaker system, the SoundWorks Digital. They found the sound quality, especially the subwoofer, to be really good for a $100 system. They had some complaints about the lower midrange and lack of treble and bass control though. One error in this review is that they say the drivers are 3", the size is really just 2.5". For more about this system/second opinion check out our review
News Source: Anandtech

Wednesday, July 05, 2000

iObjects Licenses AAC - Mikael @ 23:15 EST

Dolby Laboratories has announced that Interactive Objects has licensed AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) and plans to integrate support for the technology in iObjects' Dadio(TM) digital audio operating system. It's OS for portable digital music players that allows digital music file formats to be played interchangeably. You can find more info about iObject's OS and the AAC format in the press release

Sony Establishes Double Density CD-ROM/-R/-RW Formats - Mikael @ 23:13 EST

Sony Corporation today announced plans to develop a ``Double Density CD-ROM/-R/-RW (tentative name)'' with 1.3GB data capacity. The Double Density CD formats are designed to provide a natural migration path for both consumers and manufacturers alike, as the new formats offer a low-cost solution to high capacity discs that inherit the basic specifications of the CD formats. You can find more details in the press release

Napster's Rebuttal to the Record Industry - Mikael @ 22:37 EST

We mentioned a News.com article earlier this week that gave details on how Napster plans to defend itself in court. If you want even more info about this you should check out Napster's press release. It's very long and includes many interesting bits.

Casio announces its first MP3 Player - Mikael @ 22:37 EST

Casio Communications today announced the PZ-5000, a full-featured MP3 personal CD player, that will be available at retail this holiday season at a price of $160. The unit plays MP3 files recorded on a CD-R as well as conventional audio CDs. The PZ-5000's extended play function plays up to 160 MP3 music files -- without the expense or space limitations of a CD changer. Users also receive a handy car kit, making the unit ideal for travel. A 40-second Digital Shock Guard ensures smooth performance even through bumps and jostles.

High Heat 2001 Patch - Mikael @ 19:40 EST

3DO has released a patch for High Heat Baseball 2001. You can download it from Avault where you will also find a list of fixes. The game isn't on Aureal's or Creative's list but seen post in the newsgroup saying it has an option to enable EAX, it doesn't work with Vortex2 boards though.

Motocross Madness 2 Review - Mikael @ 19:25 EST

In the Trenches has posted a review of Motocross Madness 2, which they found to be a simple excellent game with the exception of the aurals:

I was expecting futuristic rock music following the whole game to boost up the adrenaline or maybe some advance effects, but found out that the game's sound is basicly nothing more then the annouying bizzzzzzz engine sound and the rider's screams. One more thing that just might turn you down is the game's variety, or actually... lack of it.

More about gaming music @ Gamespy - Mikael @ 19:22 EST

Gamespy continues their focus on music in games by interviewing Jon Holland. Here's an interesting Q&A:

GameSpy:How does one try to capture the feel of the game/map it will be played in?

Jon Holland: I want to create a synergy between the visual motion and the music score. By the same token, I want the music to stand on it's own. I want you to be humming my music themes while you are in the shower, after you've turned off the game box.

Melody and atmosphere are everything to me. Usually I try to get the game producer to give me film references. Something similar to the mood they are aiming for.

Diablo II review - Mikael @ 18:58 EST

GamesXtreme has posted their impressions of Diablo II. Like pretty much every other review they found it to be a great game and "addictive gameplay" seems to be word of choice for almost everyone that reviewed the game so far. When it comes to graphics and sound the reviews are more mixed with this one not being very impressed with either, especially not the sound:

Not too much emphasis was put into sound in this game. The sound effects are well made, and are crucial to distinguish what is happening and what items certain characters drop. The music is not such a big deal, but then again what music would be fit for such a game?

Week in Review - Mikael @ 09:05 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering June 26 - July 2.

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.

Sony MDS-PC2 review - Mikael @ 05:33 EST

3DAI has posted a review of Sony's MDS-PC2. It's a MiniDisc player that comes with some software and hardware that makes it more convenient to use it with a PC. Here's a snip from the review:

The Sony MDS-PC2 is the virtual utopia of MiniDisc control. Not only does it allow you a digital copy of your CDs, MP3s and other formats, it will title your MDs, which proves to come in handy.

Installation of the PC2 was simple. Plug the unit into the wall, choose between the analog connector or the digital connector from your computer (or any source) and then plug in the MD Link connector into the serial port of your computer. Install the software. Done. Simple.

Pirate Proof MP3s - Mikael @ 05:33 EST

Tech-Extreme has posted an article about a new encryption technology developed by mathematicians at Brown University that may stop music piracy. As long as their exist networks like Napster or Gnutella I don't think new encryption technologies will help much. The recording industry can't stop producing CDs so people can still create their own MP3s that they can share with others. Here's an interesting bit on how it works:

The user will be forced to download a specific player for the technology, which would be the only computer or player the music can play on based on the encryption key. Giving the music to someone else simply won't work. It has to be played on your computer and/or on your player only.

FPS1000 review - Mikael @ 03:26 EST

Long time since I last saw a FPS1000 review but yesterday Hardavenue post their 1 page impression of this inexpensive 4.1 speaker system. I'm not sure what currency this reviewer are located in but in US dollars the price for the FPS1000 should be below $100. I don't agree with his opinion about the bass of these speakers. I guess it depends on what you compare but it's far behind even reasonably inexpensive systems such as the FPS2000.
News Source: AGN Hardware

MIDI is NOT Dead - Mikael @ 03:17 EST

Brian Coburn, Audio Director of AndNow LLC, has posted a rebuttal to GA-Hardware's editorial "PC Gaming Music, or a Funeral Oration over MIDI". Here's an interesting bit:

I talked with Rob Hubbard at the conference. He is the Audio Director for EA. He's also pretty cynical about the state of game music and said he doesn't compose it anymore. EA is more interested in licensing pop tunes.

But there are other developers who either can't pay for pop tunes or have their own vision and want that vision supported. Where I work, AndNow, is the latter kind of company. Ed has a vision, and he isn't about to pay for licenses when he can have me recreate the mood if not the sound of almost anything out there -using midi gear. Then the tune is uniquely ours, it's something that we've made as part of a wholistic vision of how our game should look and feel and sound- not something we heard on the radio and said, oh cool, we want to be associated with that sort of hype. If there's something I really can't pull off, or if there's someone who really can do it better, we'll hire them, but usually that's not the case. I think there are a lot of developers in this situation, but probably mainly smaller ones. The EAs are too corporate, and music has no value to them except marketing.

NOMAD II manager for MacOS - Mikael @ 03:03 EST

Creative's Singapore site has released a new Nomad II manager for MacOS

Tuesday, July 04, 2000

Submarine Titans Interview - Mikael @ 19:39 EST

Checkout has posted an interview with Craig Thomler, designer of Submarine Titans. Checkout describe the game as a mix of StarCraft and Abyss. Here's an interesting bit from the interview:

Most RTS games are not known for their quality sound design, yet Submarine Titans features very effective 3D audio. How important was this aspect to the overall game design and how do you think it influences the atmosphere?

3D sound is one of those features that is very subtle but adds enormously to the gameplay. While it was not particularly critical to the game's playability the feature adds so much atmosphere that it will significantly improve the experience.

Another Gaming Music Interview @ Gamespy - Mikael @ 19:39 EST

Gamespy has posted an interview with game musician Bjorn Lynne about his contribution to game music over the last decade. Titles he produced music for includes Worms, Alien Breed 3D, Addiction Pinball, Nightlong and the upcoming Stunt GP. Here's an interesting bit:

GameSpy: What's your overall goal when you start a project? How do you try to capture the feel of the game/map it will be played in?
Bjorn: I try to have a look at the conceptual and half-finished artwork, because I have learned over the years that it's first about the visuals, *then* about the audio - and the audio should complement the visuals, not the other way around. So I look at game sketches, early mock-up screenshots, the various elements that the environment is made up of, and just try to get a feel for the "look" of the game first--and then I take it from there.

Diablo 2 review - Mikael @ 01:37 EST

Exxtreme is the next in line to post a review of Diablo II. They thinks it's an excellent game, especially the gameplay. The review also mentions that there is 3D sound in the game but nothing about how well it works beyond complaining that it's not A3D. It's really not much of a difference as an end user between DS3D and A3D 2.0 if the game doesn't use wavetracing. In addition to DS3D the game also supports EAX 2.0 that so far fails to work on EAX 1.0 cards. Here's what they had to say about the soundtrack:

The sound track that plays during the menu screen and while on Battle.net is very dramatic, and evil! It includes music form Diablo 1 and new music from which you will later hear in the game. Blizzard really did a great job with the music to Diablo, it really fits its style and overall feel of the game. Without the sound track Blizzard has created for Diablo, it wouldn't be much of a game.

New soundcard from Hoontech - Mikael @ 01:28 EST

Just saw that Hoontech posted about a new soundcard on their site named SoundTrack I-Phone Digital-XG. It seems to be very similar to the Digital-XG we posted a review of earlier this year. The only major difference seems to be the bundled hands free MIC, it uses a different chip (Yamaha's YMF754) and they say it has optimized circuit design for the MIC in and stable output of the Hands-free connector. As I recall this chip isn't any major improvement from the YMF744 but it's still quite interesting that Hoontech announce a new card with this chip from Yamaha. It's an indication that Yamaha may still be a player in the PC audio chips market. When it comes to 3D audio they only mention DS3D support but most likely it also supports EAX 1.0, 2.0, I3DL2 and A3D 1.0 just like the YMF744. The 3D sound engine should be Sensaura.

AOpen AW744 Pro Soundcard Review - Mikael @ 00:55 EST

CPU-burn has posted a review of AOpen's YMF744 based soundcard, AW744 Pro. The review mostly focus on the music oriented software bundle but this card works very well for gaming just like the Fortissimo and Digital-XG that both uses the same chip. The major doubt about this card is future driver support. This is especially important for those that wants to play games under Windows 2000. It's possible we will see full featured Windows 2000 drivers but the ones available now offers just basic functionality. We have tried to ask Yamaha for a comment on the reports that they will leave the PC audio chip market and what that would mean for future drivers but with no replies from Yamaha Japan. Yamaha US only says they have no plans for any more soundcards and when it comes to chips and drivers we need to ask Yamaha Japan. Having said that new drivers have been released since the reports about Yamaha leaving the PC audio chip market so still a decent chance we will see full featured Windows2000 drivers. Another good sign is that Hoontech just released a new card using the new YMF754 chip. This indicates Yamaha plans to stay in the PC audio chip market, at least for the time being.

Napster: Downloading music for free is legal - Mikael @ 00:37 EST

Napster has released a legal response to the record industry's attempt to shut them down. One of the key points is that downloading copyrighted songs for free is protected by law as long as Napster members themselves aren't making money from the recordings. One other interesting bit is that Boies (Napster's lawyer) claimed internal documents show that the labels have abused their market power to block alternative channels of music distribution. According to Boies this means that the labels have lost the legal ability to enforce their copyrights. You can find more details in this CNet story.

Courtney Love gives away her music - Mikael @ 00:35 EST

Love and the rest of Hole have posted more than 50 free, downloadable MP3 files at their official Web site (www.holemusic.com). Most of the offerings are live recordings taken from radio sessions or concerts. According to an article on Yahoo Courtney Love gave the following explanation why they posted the MP3s:

Recording artists have essentially been giving their music away for free under the old system, so new technology that exposes our music to a larger audience can only be a good thing

Creative NOMAD II MG Firmware - Mikael @ 00:02 EST

Creative's Singapore site has released new firmware for NOMAD II MG. New features are:

1. Allows Smartmedia cards from other MP3 players to be reformatted.
   
2. Improved EAX Time Scaling feature

Monday, July 03, 2000

Clusterball Demo Released - Mikael @ 23:44 EST

We mentioned this last week but it was just a preview not it's time for the demo. ClusterballT is an online sport, designed to invoke the same adrenaline rush as Quake and Unreal, but replacing the spatter and gore with pure gameplay. By combining the feel and gaming experience from ball, flight and racing games, ClusterballT is totally unlike anything you've ever seen before. The base version of ClusterballT and your membership are free! Here's a bit on the sound from the official site:

The A3D sound API is fully utilized to create a stunning audio environment. The engine sounds from the aircraft are modeled with 3D positional sound including Doppler effects. Many sounds are physically modeled and directly linked to the dynamics engine to create, for example, collision sounds as realistic as possible.

Deus-Ex review and tweak guide - Mikael @ 19:20 EST

Another review of Deus-Ex popped up today at Avault. They think it's an excellent game giving it an overall score of 5 out of 5. The only aspect of the game that didn't get a good rating was music that was considered relative average earning a 3.5 score. Sound effects got a perfect 5:

Deus Ex definitely contains some of the best character dialogue I've ever heard. All of the conversations are extremely well written and nearly as well delivered. Accents are generally good and the dynamic nature of the character interaction will blow you away. I especially like the voice of JC Denton: it's deep and easily recognizable. I loved how the player's actions directly influenced the outcome of conversations. The sound effects themselves are also top notch. This is surely an experience that's only fully realized with headphones, but once properly equipped, the sound effects and the impact and role they provide in gameplay is as significant as any title that's come before.

Vampire review - Mikael @ 19:19 EST

If you still haven't decided if you want to buy Vampire 3DRage.com has written a 6 page review to help you out. They god about the same impression as most reviews, that is excellent graphics, great sound effects, great story but gameplay have some flaws. Here's a snip from the sound section:

The sound effects are no exception to the brilliant sound found in Vampire, as the developers have taken every measure to ensure that the player feels a sense of immersion when playing Vampire: The Masquerade. Everything from the screams of frightened villagers to the swaying of the village inn's sign gives the player chills as he guards the town. The musical score is also well done. The tracks are mainly composed of gothic music that fits the overall atmosphere of the game well.

Diablo 2 review - Mikael @ 19:19 EST

3DGameforces has posted a review of DiabloII answering the question if it lives up to all the hype. Their answer is basically yes with gameplay being the strongest aspect of the game and graphics less impressive, not bad though earning a rating of 8 out of 10. When it comes to audio they offered the following:

Imagine yourself in a theater watching a scary movie, hear the drum beats, the horrific piano and keyboards? It intensifies when your in battle. It really gets the blood flowing. A+ all the way.

Evolva review - Mikael @ 19:18 EST

PC Gameworld has posted a review of Evolva. Like pretty much everyone else they think the graphics is fantastic, the best so far in RTS game. As most other reviews they found gameplay to be far less impressive but in the end they still thinks it's fun to play. When it comes to audio some other reviews found it to be pretty good but PC Gameworld found it rather average:

Sound isn't nearly as big a factor in the game as the graphics. The only control over the sound you have is the ability to change the volume of the effects and the music. The sound effects don't seem to possess much emphasis. They don't have a powerful feel to them. They fit the action and that's about it. The music, on the other hand, has a great futuristic, techno feel, which will get your head bobbing while exploring the landscape, but, at the same time, keep you uneasy and guessing when the next wave of creatures will emerge. Once a battle ensues, the music starts picking up in intensity, accurately reflecting the current action of the game, and then dies back down when there are no more enemies to destroy.

Submarine Titans goes gold - Mikael @ 17:42 EST

Stephane Brault from Strategy First dropped us a line letting us know that Submarine Titans by Ellipse Studio, the only RTS set in the depth of the sea, has gone gold and should hit the shelves early this month. The game is produced and distributed by Strategy First through Infogrames in North America. The game supports 3D sound and it works quite well according to a preview at Gamesdomain:

The in-game music is professionally scored and fits the submerged setting incredibly well. Each faction has its own set of musical sequences and these are context sensitive to the situation. Developers seem to be using this type of device more often, recognising that a change of tempo or mood can really influence the gaming experience for the better. The 3D positional audio effects, ranging from sonar pings to escaping air bubbles, are all well done, giving you the impression of being in the deep ocean. A number of sound options are available, including hardware accelerated 3D, DirectSound and Submarine Titans own emulated 3D sound support.

Gaming Music Interview - Mikael @ 17:16 EST

Gamespy has posted a 5 page long interview with Jeremy Soule about his career, and the mysticism behind creating a good gaming soundtrack. Here's an interesting bit:

GameSpy: Where do you see yourself and the game music industry in 5 years? Where would you like to see it?
Jeremy: I see an industry that is more consolidated and more high-stakes than ever. Games are very much a hit-driven business. My advice to any designer entering the field as well as those established is to never underestimate the power of music. It is the Universal Language and can help bring success or scare it away. Focus group tests in films and games have shown dramatic differences in the perception of a product just by changing the music.

I've heard of a recent focus group product evaluation done with a game that revealed the focus group participants registered different opinions about art, animation, gameplay and story when two versions of the game were presented to them. The versions were NO different except for the music.

One version had a cheap-sounding typical video game score and the other had lifted tracks from a John Williams soundtrack CD. Participants made remarks like "the animation felt smoother" or "the gameplay was better" on the version that contained the music by Mr. Williams.

New JDoom / JHeretic - Mikael @ 14:18 EST

Jaakko Ker„nen has released build 2 of his Doomsday Client / Server Test port. This test build supports JDoom and JHeretic (OpenGL and D3D ports of Doom and Hexen). The JDoom engine also supports "3D sounds and reverb effects with DirectSound3D and EAX 2.0 or A3D 3.0"
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

News from June 26 - July 2, 2000

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