News:  August 28 - September 3, 2000

Sunday, September 03, 2000

Warrior Kings to Support 3D Sound - Mark @ 18:40 EST

Warrior Kings, an upcoming medieval fantasy real time strategy game from Black Cactus and Sierra will support 3D sound. Here's a snip from the press release coming out of ECTS:

Warrior Kings is a true 3D RTS with unique features: exploit the realistic 3D terrain, lay siege to your opponents castle, dynamically evolving game path, highly advanced GUI, Advanced Synthetic Personalities for realistic opponents who will change and adapt their strategies in response to your actions. Moreover the game features stunning 3D visual effects and 3D sound, a massive single player campaign, giving hours of play as well as 50 maps of active/passive LAN/Internet play with up to sixteen players per game!

C-Media Electronics license Sensaura 3D Positional Audio technology - Mark @ 18:00 EST

Sensaura, the 3D audio company have announced that they have signed a licensing agreement with C-Media, the leading Taiwanese PC chip designer and manufacturer. In 1997, C-Media was one of the first organisations that licensed CRL3D audio as developed by Central Research Laboratories, the company from which Sensaura eventually evolved. The new licensing agreement will give C-Media access to the many exclusive Sensaura innovations that have occurred since the initial agreement, giving greater competitive strength to their specialised product range. For more details you can check out the full press release. We had mentioned this earlier but this is the official announcement. In terms of retail presence for C-Media I can add the Guillemot will be offer a low cost four channel sound card called the MUSE that will use C-Media's technology.

MidiLand MLi-490 review - Mikael @ 04:08 EST

GamingEra has posted a review of MidiLand's MLi-490. It's MidiLand's $99 4.1 system that includes 4 3"/10W satellites and one 6.5"/30W subwoofer. The reviewer complains about difficult set-up and that the system has all the controls on the subwoofer but other than that he thinks it's an excellent system, especially for games. Unlike the reviewer I wouldn't take for granted that the MLi-490 is louder than Cambridge SoundWorks' FPS1000 and Altec Lansing's ACS54 just because the specs boost more Watts. Speaking of specs I would also say the claimed frequency response by MidiLand can't possible be measured frequency response. The reviewer also notes the system can't "quite hit the lows & highs of a slightly more expensive setup". He correctly concludes this is less of an issue with games than music. It's also worth noting the SRP of FPS1000 and ACS54 is $75 and not $100. Finally I should point out that according to Mark the system will, just like the S4-7100, lack bass from explosions that are behind you.
News Source: Blue's News

Santa Cruz / Sonic Fury Driver Update - Mark @ 02:46 EST

A few days ago we posted news of a beta release of Win2K drivers from Voyetra Turtle Beach for use with the Santa Cruz / Sonic Fury sound cards. On closer inspection of the files available on their server it appears that the Win9x and likely the WinNT drivers are newer than what's on the bundled CD so if you are having any problems you may want to check them out. I have not checked the readme info for the NT drivers but for the Win9X drivers indicates that the Santa Cruz Control Panel is update to version 1.1.4035.64 and the SoundCheck to version 1.1.4035.25. Note that these are listed as beta drivers and Voyetra Turtle Beach wants any bugs to be reported in detail to QADept@voyetra.com. You can find all three driver versions at this link.

No One Lives Forever Tech Demo Report - Mark @ 02:34 EST

I installed the tech demo last night and while it looks very promising, there is no 3D sound support. However, the core Miles Sound System files all appear to be present so we can hopefully expect full support in the final release or a later demo. It may also be possible to enable 3D sound support via editing in a string in the autoexec.cfg or via a command line function but I don't know what the string would be and while I tried a few guesses, none worked. We are checking for more details and will update if and when we get them.

Saturday, September 02, 2000

No One Lives Forever news - Mikael @ 11:26 EST

Monolith has now posted a feedback/bug report page for the No One Lives Forever demo/beta test. In addition to report any bug you encounter they want feedback on several aspects of the game including the sound effects.

If you think the game is too slow you should check out Jason Hall's .plan file where he gives "Tips on upping NOLF's performance".

Finally you can check out DailyRadar's article about the AI in No One Lives Forever
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

S4 8200 review - Mikael @ 11:07 EST

HardwareZone has also posted a review of MidiLand's Dolby Digital 5.1 system, S4 8200. They had a mixed impression of the audio quality of the system saying movies, pop-music, jazz and vocals are good but if you play classical music the instruments sound cluttered. They didn't test the AC3 mode. When it comes to gaming they correctly note it's not designed to work with 4-speaker soundcards. About their question that it may be compatible with Live's digital DIN the answer is that it's irrelevant since the input on the S4 8200 are analog inputs and the Live's Digital DIN output of course sends digital audio. Once again thanks to 703 for the pointer.

S4 3050M review - Mikael @ 10:44 EST

HardwareZone has posted a review of MidiLand's S4 3050M speaker system. It's a S$98 (~US$56) 2.1 system using 2.5"/10Watts satellites and a 6.5"/30 Watts subwoofer. It's according to the review very new system and isn't mentioned on MidiLand's website. They found the system to offer decent sound quality but a bit too harsh and the bass was lacking even when increasing the subwoofer level to max. They think you can find a better sounding system for the same cash but not one that looks as nice. Thanks to 703 for the pointer.

Icewind Dale review - Mikael @ 10:27 EST

XL-Gaming had a busy day yesterday, posting a review of Icewind Dale in addition to the 2 reviews mentioned below. They fund it to be a pretty good game but not as good as Baldur's Gate. They found it to be more difficult in the way your characters get killed easily. Seen a couple other reviews complaining about that as well but some RPG fans has said Icewind Dale is much easier to get started with than Baldur's Gate. Here's XL-Gaming's very positive impression of the sound effects other than the voice acting which they found annoying:

The sound to IWD is definitely worthy of note. The music consists of old north-western European folk fare with the obligatory guitar, flutes and occasional fiddle. It is atmospheric to the point where the music will change depending on what’s occurring in the game to great effect. Thankfully the quality of the music has been successfully transferred from BG.

The same cannot be said however for the character's voices! All the characters the player controls have their own voices in the game. They usually comment when being told to move or when in the midst of battle. Unfortunately they repeat the same phrase over and over again, which can get incredibly annoying.

Thankfully, like BG before it, IWD is fully customisable with players being able to record their own WAV samples for characters to ‘say’ during play as well as place their own pictures to represent their characters. This alleviates the annoyance factor somewhat.

Grand Prix 3 reviews - Mikael @ 10:18 EST

XL-Gaming has posted a review of Grand Prix 3. They found most parts of the game to be excellent, especially the graphics, sound effects and force feedback support. Their only major complaint is the multiplayer mode with no internet option for people without broadband connections. Here's the sound bit:

As to the sound it would appear Geoff has actually taken recordings of car engines and sampled them directly into the game. You can actually feel the engine change down as you drop the gears to get into a tight corner. Put it this way, the sound is of equal quality to the graphics.

Actiontrip has also posted a review of the game. They had a very different impression of the graphics which they think is crap. They also think the game is a too difficult for newbies, unlike XL-Gaming that thinks it fits both beginners and experienced racers well. Other than that Actiontrip thinks it was pretty good and gave it an overall rating of 82%. Here's the usual sound bit:

The audio segment is one of the better parts of the game starting with the audio menu (with the picture of Mika Hakkinen in the background, and his fingers in his ears because of the noise level). The 3D sound is supported, the engine sound is pretty realistic, but unfortunately the radio communication with the team is missing.

X-Tension review - Mikael @ 10:05 EST

XL-gaming has posted a detailed review of X-Tension, the expansion pack to the DS3D supporting space combat X:Beyond the Frontier. Here's their short and negative impression of sound effects:

Sonically there’s nothing to write home about. The in game music is pleasantly atmospheric granted but the effects leave a little to be desired with the lasers sounding decidedly wimpy.

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 review - Mikael @ 09:56 EST

Neoseeker has posted a positive review of Heavy Metal FAKK2 with the following sound bit:

Beautiful graphics are matched with beautiful sounds. The sound effects are great, and the 3D positional audio is a nice feature. Each environment has its own unique set of sounds, as does each character, creature, and weapon.

4x4 Evolution demo/ Public beta updated - Mikael @ 05:06 EST

Terminal Reality has released an updated demo/public beta test. Fixes to the public beta test include: scroll Bar in multiplayer, AI improvements, better indication of late-joining, and which games are in progress and a series of other minor fixes. You can either download the 22MB updated demo or just a 440kb patch .

An Interview with Game Audio Guru Will Davis - Mark @ 02:44 EST

Will Davis has devoted more than half of his life to game audio, and counts astounding music and sound effects for titles such as Driver, Aliens vs. Predator, Nightmare Creatures 2 and Battlemorph among his 140 credits. Gamasutra has posted the results of interview with Will Davis that gets into his background, current and favourite projects, his studio, music composition, the creation of sound effects, and a number of other areas. Here's a taste:

Q: Which effect libraries do you use?

A: Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge are often good starting points but I have built up a huge custom library over the years. Most of the time it's much better to create new custom sounds for each project. Every project, even similar ones are different anyway. Although a games sound requirement might be almost identical to another game, the mood or feel of the game might be different, so the sound effects need to reflect that.

New Technologies Could be Key for Napster Resolution - Mark @ 02:31 EST

That's the title of an article over at C/Net Investor. A few companies have suggested that watermarks--individual, unique identifiers placed within songs--could help solve this problem. Napster could be given a list of watermarks and could block files that contain them, according to this reasoning. But analysts and attorneys note that this solution has a flaw. Watermarks will work only for new songs, and many if not most of the songs traded through Napster are older releases. This plan would do nothing to stop music that has already been recorded without the marks. That's where the fingerprinting comes in. It's possible to create unique identifiers for songs based on the music's audio properties. The technology has been used for years by companies that count how many times a song is played on the radio, for example. Several companies, such as Tuneprint and Xift, are advocating that Napster and similar services apply their versions of the technology. Several of the big record companies and some of the file-swapping services are talking to these companies, although details on those negotiations aren't yet public. This technology would get around tricky issues such as songs with the same names or the same song performed by different groups, the technology's backers say. For the whole story head over to C/Net Investor.

New File-swapping Program Nears 1 Million Users - Mark @ 02:26 EST

A Reuters story over at C/Net reports that representative from Aimster, a Napster-like program that piggybacks on America Online's Instant Messenger (AIM) service, say they have held initial talks with Intel to forge ties and also plan to announce that Aimster has attracted 1 million AOL users, among an estimated 60 million people who use AOL Instant Messenger, since the program's launch Aug. 8. Intel had no comment, but last week it announced it has formed an industry working group to foster standards and protocols for peer-to-peer computing for use in businesses. It said its venture capital arm is preparing to invest in peer-to-peer start-ups. Unlike Napster, which uses servers to link people swapping songs, Aimster and Gnutella require no server. This decentralized file-sharing method makes it harder to crack down on potential piracy. For lots more on this story head over to C/Net.

Friday, September 01, 2000

No One Lives Forever Demo - Mark @ 23:02 EST

Players assume the role of Agent Cate Archer, a beautiful but deadly operative working for UNITY-a super secret international organization dedicated to protecting humanity from megalomaniacs bent upon world domination. As matters of such delicacy aren't the sort of thing UNITY usually entrusts to a woman, Archer has thus far been relegated to menial busywork out of harm's way...I'm not certain that the game will support 3D sound but some time ago they said it would use Miles Sound System and offer support for A3D, DS3D and EAX. The last time we asked (mid August) the pr guy said he would try to find out and we have not heard back yet. It goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that I am not sure what support is in the demo and its 107 MB if you want to find out. Its also worth noting that this is a Technology beta designed to check things like compatibility, drivers, etc. and Monolith reports that they are well aware that there are some open issues. I will download it sometime tonight and report back but if you can't wait then you can grab it from 3Dfiles.

Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice reviews - Mikael @ 15:48 EST

Gamecenter has posted a review of Microsoft's SideWinder Game Voice. They found the voice recognition to be excellent and also liked the headphones and the easy programming for voice commands. They also had several complaints including lack of input for rear speakers, doesn't work with USB speakers, can't use the included microphone without wearing the headphones and that the software failed to work with several games. In the end of the review they also have a rather unfair comparison where they say it's more expensive than several software only solutions. Worth noting that you can download the Game Voice software for free, I think it's a limited version though.

Dailyradar has also posted a review of the SideWinder Game Voice and they are even less impressed. Their major complaint is that the voice recognition software is simply too slow to be used with several games. They also noted, just like Gamecenter, that it doesn't work well with a 4-speaker set-up but they didn't mention any compatibility issues with games.
News Source: Blue's News

Santa Cruz review - Mikael @ 15:29 EST

Ga-Hardware has posted a review of TB's new Santa Cruz. They found the card to be excellent and didn't have any complaints. I'm not quite as impressed with the card as Ga-Hardware. A couple things worth noting is that there is no 5.1 speaker support with games, not with current drivers anyway. The A3D support is just A3D 1.0 just like other cards using Sensaura. Using A2D files most titles using A3D 2/3 will also give 3D sound but it won't support reflections. The EAX support is 2.0 which is the latest version of EAX. Will have plenty of more comments about this card next week.

Turtle Beach Ships Santa Cruz Audio Accelerator - Mikael @ 15:16 EST

Voyetra Turtle Beach has now officially announced that they have begun shipping the successor to the successful Montego series of sound cards, the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz(TM). We mentioned a couple weeks ago that they started to ship it but the press release was released today announcing it's available immediately from major computer and electronics retailers, as well as directly from Voyetra Turtle Beach, with a US$99 MSRP. You can find more details about this card in the press release. Mark expects to finish his review of the card next week.

Interview with Rune's Audio Director - Mikael @ 14:54 EST

Human Head and Gathering of Developers have opened the official RUNE site where you will find info about their upcoming Unreal engine powered third-person action game including several MP3s. To celebrate the launch of the site they have posted an interview with the Audio Director, Mike Larson. Here's a taste

RuneGame: What about the sounds we'll hear in the game?

Mike Larson: Music seems to get considerably more attention than sound effects because songs are instantly gratifying. However, significantly MORE time has been spent on the creation of the sound effects for Rune. The game covers a diverse range of creatures and environments that all require sounds. So far, Rune has more than 2400 original sound effects!!!

All of the creature sounds in Rune were created from scratch. The challenge was to create a distinct language for each of the main character types that speak. These include Goblins, Dwarfs, Zombies and Vikings. NO sound effect libraries were used in the creation of these sounds.

The idea for the Goblin language was largely inspired, and recorded by a friend Nick Skrowaczewski. We decided that the small green creatures should speak quickly with a hyperactive nasally sound. So we went into the studio and recorded ~3 hours of 'goblin-like' conversations and gibberish. With no room for embarrassment, we recorded some of the craziest vocal sounds I've ever heard. After more than 20 hours of editing, the results are impressive.

The process of creating the Dwarf and Zombie sounds was similar except that the voices sound considerably different. The Dwarves have surprisingly deep voices for their size and stress the vowel (o) a lot. Jim Sumwalt (Rune's art director) and I recorded the Zombies which sound dead and dry. The Viking dialog and combat sounds were created by professional Voice-Over talent and Ted Halsted (the art manager and a level designer on Rune).

Sacrifice Beta Signup and Giveaway - Mikael @ 13:19 EST

If you want to beta test Shiny's upcoming strategy/RPG game, Sacrifice, you should head over to Gamespy. Shiny and Gamespy will offer prizes to the top beta testers. The prizes you can win includes Creative Annihilator 2, Creative Nomad II mp3 player, Creative Sound Blaster Live X-Gamer + speakers, Creative Sound Blaster Live Platinum + speakers and some art work from Sacrifice.

News Source: Voodoo Extreme

FCC Okays Five-Fold Increase in HomeRF Bandwidth - Mikael @ 04:35 EST

In a pivotal ruling, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today cleared the way for the HomeRF(TM) Working Group to increase the transmission speed capabilities of the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) to 10 Mbps. With this development, HomeRF WG member companies are now free to deliver a variety of new products to the consumer supporting data speeds comparable to those of corporate wireless networks. Additionally, this change will add new support for audio and video streaming and will expand the voice capabilities to allow for support of up to eight cordless handsets. Dolby's director of technology strategy, Bob Brummer, offered the following comment:

Dolby Labs is pleased to see FCC approval of HomeRF's petition for Rule Change. With 10 Mbps bandwidth, consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits of streaming all the popular downloadable Internet audio formats including MP3 and AAC without interrupting other network activity. In addition, consumers can now stream real-time Dolby Digital 5.1 multi-channel audio from DVD-Video/Audio, Satellite, Cable, and Advanced Television Broadcasts wirelessly through the home. We believe that these data rates will open up a new class of audio products including wireless surround speakers, high-quality networked digital jukeboxes, and Internet radios

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 news, reviews and an interview - Mikael @ 04:20 EST

FAKK You reports that Ritual Entertainment will release FAKK2 Arena late this month or early next month. FAKK2 Arena is a multiplayer addition for the currently single-player only third-person action game, Heavy Metal FAKK 2. FAKK2 Arena will feature clan and rocket arena styles of gameplay using a mix a mix of completely new and modified single player levels. It will be released as a free patch. In case you don't know Heavy Metal FAKK2 uses the Quake III engine so the new patch should offer good multiplaying.

In other Heavy Metal FAKK2 news 3 reviews with vastly different opinions on the game and especially the sound effects have appeared on the net. First up Alloygaming review that thought the game is a must buy and only complaint was the lack of replay value to the current lack of multiplayer mode. Here's their impression of the sound and music:

The sound effects in FAKK2 are unmatched by any PC game. Not only does every action has a discernable sound, each one of those sounds are executed to perfection. From the sound of the flamethrower incinerating everything in it’s path to the chainsaw sword tearing your enemy into pieces, it’s all there and you’ll love every second of it.
[snip]
FAKK2’s musical score is once again, top-notch. I believe that most of the music was taken from or inspired by the movie. Though, that’s not to say that only fans of Heavy Metal would enjoy the music. I, having never seen a HM movie or read one of the comics, found that the music was captivating, and I even downloaded a few tracks into my music folder.

For even more Heavy Metal FAKK 2 news you can read an interview with the group that made the soundtrack for the game. It's one of the more uninteresting musicians reviews I've read.
News Source: Blue's News

Terminus review - Mikael @ 03:44 EST

3DGamingdaily has posted a 4-page long review of the 3D sound supporting space sim Terminus. Here's the usual sound snip:

The sound in Terminus is not breathtaking, but it is good. The sound effects are decent, and the voice acting is fine. One thing that I noticed was that many of the sound effects seem very similar during the in-flight missions. Many of the weapons, explosions, collisions, jump gates etc. are very staccato, that is, they seem very "bangy". They vaguely remind me of the sound effects in the original Privateer. The music quite enjoyable and actually adds some nice background ambiance without becoming to distracting. The entire musical score is packaged on a separate CD with the game, so if you really enjoy the music then you can listen to it outside of the game on any CD player. The music reminded me somewhat of the soundtrack from The Rock, although not quite as fast paced. Overall the sound and music should not be a disappointment for most players.

SoF review - Mikael @ 03:36 EST

Deadalfs has posted a massive 6 page long review of Soldier of Fortune. They found the game to be good but falls short off excellent game like Half-Life and is more like a more realistic Doom clone. They had the following short but nice bit on the sound design:

In concluding this review it must be mentioned that throughout the whole game Raven's attention to sound remains incredible (especially in the slaughterhouse). Without it I really don't think SOF would have stood a chance, the music really does add that much to the game. It is a shame many other companies do not pay such attention to this.

Allegiance review - Mikael @ 03:16 EST

Zugabuga.com has posted a short and positive review of Allegiance. They did point out that a joystick and fast internet connection to be fun and suggest you pick another game if you don’t have either. One major complaint about the game they had was the sound effects:

I was a little disappointed by the sound in allegiance. Everything in the game is great except for the sound. I mean the graphics are almost perfect the game play is good. And here are the sounds in the game that sound like any other space flight game. The multiplayer sounds like taunts and stuff are cool. The music in the game is not that impressive and the mission briefings are too loud and too detailed, but overall Microsoft could have done a better job on the sound in Allegiance. This is the only thing I found that was a major problem.

Deus-Ex review - Mikael @ 03:03 EST

Gamerspress has posted a short review of Deus-Ex. They had mixed impression of the game, complaining about some frustrating aspects of the gameplay while they were impressed with the graphics and sound effects. Here's what they had to say about the sound and music:

Remember what we just said about the graphics? Apply that to the sound. Detail, detail, detail. Guns sound nice and big, if something blows up, it makes a defeaning noise, and those hissing grates things sound like they, um, hiss. I think the only downside on the sound was listening to some of the people or robots talk - the giant robots with their "scanning area" piece sound like those big, dumb guys in an animated show.

Then there's the music, which was largely forgettable. Mainly a chunk of techno-sounding dribble, it just didn't move me. At least they had the sense to make the music change when you were being attacked (which comes in handy - you'll know if that guard you hit with a tranquilizer dart is dead when the fighting music fades out). Overall, I didn't notice the music too much, which was fine.

RCA Lyra Review - Mikael @ 02:54 EST

Neoseeker has posted a review of RCA's portable Digital audio player, Lyra. Features includes parallel port interface, 4 equalizer presets, can customize the equalizer setting, 8 play modes (normal, repeat, shuffle, programmable list and more), adjust the LCD contrast, uses CompactFlash media and includes a pair of headphones. The review mentions a SRP of $220 but unless I'm blind they don't mention if that price includes 32 or 64 MB memory. Here's an interesting bit from the review:

The RCA CF reader differs slightly in its software operation though: because the Lyra does NOT actually read MP3 files, you are pretty much forced to install and use the included Real Jukebox software in order to move files into CF cards. The irony here is that with other similar CF drives, the drive is as easy to use as a large capacity floppy. With the Lyra, you are limited in that you must do all music transfers from with the Real Jukebox application in order for the music format to be recognizable to the Lyra player.

4x4 Evolution demo/ Public beta - Mikael @ 01:56 EST

Terminal Reality presents 4x4 Evolution, a new and dynamic simulation racer featuring rugged, customizable 4X4 vehicles. 4x4 Evolution is first third-party development game with online capabilities that will support connections between players using Sega Dreamcast™, Mac, or PC versions, allowing players to compete head-to-head with one another regardless of platform. According to a preview the 4x4 Evolution that was posted last month the game will support all major 3D sound APIs. At the time for the preview they were 50% done with that aspect. You can download the public beta/demo from 3dfiles

Making a Silent PC - Mikael @ 01:38 EST

GamePC has posted a 4-page long guide on how to make a silent PC. Here's a taste:

Let's put it this way, Apple can make a 500 MHz computer without a single fan, and have it be completely reliable (hardware wise, software is another issue). Is it too much to ask for to have a reliable, high-performance, yet quiet PC? Thus, my quest began for the perfect components to assemble this system.

American Technology Corp. Announces New PureBass Sub-Woofer Technology - Mikael @ 01:33 EST

American Technology Corp. has announced PureBass, a new, patent-pending, extended range sub-woofer technology that improves performance while reducing the cost of subwoofer/satellite systems. They claim the new technology minimizes distortion, produces greater output capability, and reduces system costs when compared to conventional woofer systems. It also provides a unique interface with any upper range satellite speaker system, and is ideally suited for seamless integration with the company's high performance, SFT and Planar Magnetic thin-film speaker technologies.

The company is marketing PureBass to OEM manufacturers and prospective licensees for a wide variety of consumer applications where superior low frequency performance and seamless compatibility is desired for use with high quality home audio systems including Home Theater and Hi-Fi subwoofer/satellite speaker applications. For more details read the press release

BattleZone 2 patch 1.2 released - Mikael @ 01:29 EST

A new patch (v1.2) for BattleZone 2 has been released. 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.

KISS: Psycho Circus Patch - Mikael @ 01:24 EST

A new (v1.1) patch for KISS has been released. The patch addresses a huge number of issues including "Fixed "DirectSound 3D Hardware" option not setting correctly in the Audio menu" and "Added Aureal3D and DirectSound 3D software settings for audio". You can find the full list of fixes at 3dfiles where you will also find several download links

Strike Force Beta 1.40 - Mikael @ 01:18 EST

Xtreme Gaming is proud to announce the release of Strike Force Beta 1.40, a team-based tactical total conversion for Unreal Tournament.
News Source: 3Dfiles

New Class D Amplifier Evaluation Kit - Mikael @ 01:17 EST

Microsemi Corporation has announced that its new LXE1710 AudioMAX Evaluation Kit has become the first product available from the company's expanded Web site. ``This kit will allow audio designers to quickly and easily evaluate the 1710 control IC. It also can be instrumental in system-level decision-making, comparing Class D with traditional linear topologies,'' said Roger Holliday, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for power management products. ``We provide everything they need, except for their choice of a power source and speakers.'' In case you are interested you can find more details in the press release

Thursday, August 31, 2000

Hard Truck 2 Review - Mikael @ 16:47 EST

NFS Xtreme has posted a review of Valusoft's Hard Truck 2! This is a very short and negative review of the game. Here's the bit about sound effects:

Now the sound, the engine sound is pretty good I guess. They recorded the sound of a hammer bounding a pan, that's what you hear when a truck slams into you...

Dogs of War Review - Mikael @ 16:39 EST

Neoseeker has posted a detailed review of Dogs of War, a RTS game. They had a rather mixed impression of the game, great visual effects but poor gameplayer. They were not that impressed with the audio either:

Audio special effects are at once gratifying and disappointing. While explosions sound quite appropriate, tank and machine gun fire are definitely on the weak side. Part of the problem is the way in which sound decreases as the camera is zoomed out. Unfortunately, most of your time will be spent in the overhead view, meaning that you won’t hear a great deal other than the soundtrack. Maybe it’s not very realistic, but volume should never have to be adjusted according to camera movements. The quick solution is to turn the music and unit responses off, so that battle sounds can be heard more clearly. Overall, the sound quality in Dogs of War is acceptable without really adding anything to the game.

Sensory Science rave:mp 2300 review - Mikael @ 03:52 EST

Gamecenter has posted a short review of Sensory Science rave:mp 2300. This is the first MP3 player to use the 40MB Iomega Clik disks for storage. Other features includes 5 equalization settings, 90 dB signal-to-noise ratio, rechargeable lithium-ion battery (10-12 hours), USB interface, voice recording, PC-syncing address and phone books. Gamecenter found it to be a pretty good player and had no skip issues despite the use of moving parts for storage. They did have some complaints though, including that it's bigger than any flash based MP3 player they've seen and that the Zip disc sometimes failed to work. The solution every time was to eject the disc and then insert it again.

NadaPC to Give Away All-In-One TV/CD/DVD/Internet Appliance - Mikael @ 03:40 EST

NadaPC has announced a partnership with CMi Worldwide and Samsung Electronics Co. to distribute the unique iCEBOX (Interactive Communication Entertainment Box) as a no-cost bonus to consumers. To qualify to receive an iCEBOX, customers need only sign up for a no-fee checking account with online banking partner CompuBank® and for three years of ISP service at $21.95 per month with NadaPC.

The iCEBOX is an all-in-one device that allows people to surf the web, send email, shop and bank online, watch television, play audio CDs, and enjoy DVD movies. NadaPC will begin shipping the iCEBOX to customers in mid-October. You can find more details in the press release

Submarine Titans Review - Mikael @ 03:33 EST

Checkout.com has posted a short but very positive review of the 3D sound supporting RTS, Submarine Titans. Only major complaint was about the multiplayer mode which failed to work other than LAN. Here's the usual sound snip:

Even though the graphics are two dimensional, the sound is in full 3D. While more of a gimmick than anything else in an RTS, it does give the game a realistic feel. And it actually can serve a purpose; if for some reason you can't see where you're being attacked you can hear where it's happening.

The background music helps to complete the underwater theme by offering soft, soothing and mellow tunes that for some reason make me think about the ocean. Of course, when you're under attack you'll get the hurried and frantic buildup that inspires and also helps to warn you of impending battle.

Toshiba SD-M1401 review - Mikael @ 03:28 EST

Storagereview has posted a positive review of Toshiba's latest SCSI DVD-ROM, SD-M1401. The drive offers spec of 40x (CD)/10x (DVD) and has a SRP of $150. The detailed review includes CPU utilization tests, DAE speed, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-ROM read tests. For those who are concerned with noise, they point out that the drive "is by far the quietest 40X drive we've yet tested".
News Source: Anandtech

Wizardry 8 Interview - Mikael @ 03:17 EST

RPGVault has posted their interview with Linda Currie, the lead developer of Wizardry 8 by Sir-Tech. Here's the only audio related question in the 3 page long interview:

TruthSword: How important a role will music and sound play in the game? Will music be dynamic? Is there support for A3D and EAX?

Linda Currie: Music is one of the tools that contributes to atmosphere and mood and so is of course going to play an important role in the game. Music will be dynamic insomuch as the music played will be reacting to the situation the player is in, not necessarily just the location. However, all the music is pre-composed; it is the selection of the music that will be dynamic. Both A3D and EAX are supported.

X-Tension 1.5 patch - Mikael @ 03:10 EST

Egosoft has released a new patch for the English version of the expansion for the DS3D supporting space combat X:Beyond the Frontier.

Windows 2000 Compatibility Update - Mikael @ 02:58 EST

MS has released another compatibility update for Windows 2000. You can download it and check the list of fixes on the Windows 2000 Compatibility Updates page
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Labtec LCS-2514 review - Mikael @ 02:50 EST

Xtremenetwork has posted a short review of Labtec's 4.1 system, LCS-2514. This is a low cost system that is up against the $100 and less offerings from MidiLand, Altec Lansing, Cambridge SoundWorks, etc. and like the other reviews I have seen of the system this one is positive
News Source: Blue's News

Subwoofer round-up - Mikael @ 02:35 EST

Cnet.com has posted a rather short 10" subwoofer round-up. The tested subwoofers are Klipsch KSW 10 ($400), Cambridge SoundWorks BassCube 10 ($250) and JBL PB10 ($350).

Diablo II MP3 of the Week - Mikael @ 01:46 EST

Blizzard has released another MP3 of the week from the Diablo II soundtrack. Included with the MP3 is as usual a rather long description of it by the composer.

Titanium Q3A Released - Mikael @ 01:43 EST

Reactive Software has released Titanium, a new mod for Quake III Arena. The mod put the players in customizable armored battlesuits.
News Source: Blue's News

Wednesday, August 30, 2000

Judge Rejects MP3.com Claim Universal Wants It Dead - Mark @ 19:59 EST

That's the title of a Reuters article over at Yahoo. The article reports that a judge on rejected an accusation by MP3.com Inc. that Seagram Co.'s Universal Music Group was using its copyright infringement claim to put the online music company out of business. MP3.com's attorney Michael Carlinski called Seagram President and Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. as a hostile witness as he sought to portray Universal Music as a fierce competitor that was trying to ``put this company (MP3.com) out of business or publicly vilify'' it. The presiding U.S. District Court judge, Jed Rakoff, also ruled as irrelevant MP3.com's allegation that Universal, the world's largest record company, was unwilling to settle the suit out of court because of its own online strategy. For details check out the full article. You can also find more in a C/Net News story titled MP3.com legal strategy faces skeptical judge.

Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice Review - Mark @ 18:46 EST

Firing Squad has posted a lengthy review of the Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice. There is lots of detail in the nicely done write-up, so if you are considering the device do check it out. In the end they come to a mostly positive conclusion, but were not impressed with the sound quality of the headset. One thing that's not clear to me is if it's possible to completely replace the stock headset with a better quality unit (that also has an integrated microphone).
News Source: Anandtech

New Win-Jam Digital Audio Player to Include PocketZip - Mikael @ 16:02 EST

Iomega Corporation and I-Jam® Multimedia have announced a strategic alliance to introduce a new line of digital audio players from I-Jam, marketed under the Win-Jam and I-Jam brands. The new Win-Jam II player unites Iomega's PocketZip(TM) (what used to be called Click!) removable storage and the Microsoft Windows Media Format. The press release includes quite a bit about why the PocketZip is great but almost no details about the Win-Jam II. Iomega also released a separate press release about the re-branding of the company's Clik!(TM) line of removable storage products to PocketZip(TM), as mentioned above.

LG Electronics Selects Texas Instruments Programmable DSP - Mikael @ 15:39 EST

Texas Instruments has announced that LG Electronics has chosen TI's DSP for its new Internet Audio player, the LG MPFree PD-370, which will be shipping toward the end of the year. The LG MPFree features two SD memory card slots, each allowing up to two hours of music to be stored onto 64MB of SD memory cards. The player enables consumers to download music content directly via the 'integrated USB port . The SD memory card's advanced copyright-protection technology will allow the LG MPFree to be SDMI compliant. The LG MPFree will begin shipping to major consumer electronics outlets worldwide in December 2000 for an estimated U.S. retail price of $249 for one SD memory card and $299 for the two-card package. You can as usual find more details in the press release

Gartner Reports Napster Banned at 34 Percent of Colleges and Universities - Mikael @ 15:37 EST

According to a report released by Gartner Group, 34 percent of U.S. colleges and universities have banned Napster to Internet users surfing over campus servers. Gartner polled 50 of the nation's public and private higher education administrations (see Table 1) and found that Napster on campus networks is raising several moral and legal issues that will be at the forefront as students return to campus this fall. In the press release you can see where Napster is banned and where it's allowed.

Xeenon MP Shuttle II review - Mikael @ 15:32 EST

Tech-report has posted a review of Xeenon's new $405 car based MP3 player, MP Shuttle II. The MP3 player uses a standard hard drive to store the files and allows sizes up to 27GB. You have to buy the hard drive separately but the MP3 player includes a drive bay for both the computer and the MP3 player. Xeenon also offers an external drive bay that uses the USB port for very easy transfers of files between your computer and the MP3 player. Tech-report found the MP3 player to be excellent and the review offers a rather detailed description of how you install the MP3 player. They also cover how it differs from the MP Shuttle I (it uses a CD-ROM drive) which tech-report did a review of sometime ago.
News Source: Anandtech

Court Sets October Trial Date for Napster Case - Mikael @ 14:46 EST

Reuters reports that the federal appeals court set the week of Oct. 2 for opening arguments in the trial between Napster and the recording industry.

Media Jukebox Offers Users DFX Sound Enhancement System - Mark @ 12:21 EST

J. River, a Digital Rights Management solution provider and developer of Media Jukebox have announced a strategic relationship with Power Technology to promote the DFX™ (patent-pending) sound enhancement plug-in to Media Jukebox users. According to the announcement, DFX processing presets quickly find the optimum settings for a Media Jukebox user's audio system and listening preferences. With DFX, users can manage the sound of music files by changing levels of fidelity, ambience, 3D surround and dynamic boost. Custom presets can be created and saved in DFX settings. Media Jukebox 5.0 is available for free download from www.musicex.com. Power Technology's DFX demo is available at www.musicex.com/mediajukebox/plugins.html. A registered version of DFX can be purchased for $19.95. For some additional details you can check out the full press release.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption - Mark @ 07:40 EST

The Entertainment Depot has posted a review of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. They had mixed impressions but still came to the conclusion that the game was worth 7.5/10 and gameplay got an 8/10. When it comes to sound they had the following to say on route to an 8/10:

The sound does the job, although it isn’t particularly memorable. At times it feels weak, but other instances, for example in the Tower of London during a violent thunderstorm, it is extremely effective. The music is better overall, especially in the club scene in modern London. The medieval tracks blend in with the atmosphere enough so that they are neither offensive nor enthralling. They are mostly just there. The voice acting stands out, though. It is obvious that the designers made a conscious effort to make the characters have distinct personalities, and this work comes through both in the delivery and in the dialogue. The writing is probably better than the acting, but either way, you do get caught up in the vampiric power play. Particularly memorable is Eric, a feral Scottish vampire, and Dev Null, a human hacker who speaks in amusing gibberish. They probably could have pared the dialogue scenes down in some parts, although if the characters “acted” the in-engine cut-scenes would drag less.

Hitachi GD-5000 DVD-ROM review - Mikael @ 07:05 EST

Tech Gods has posted a review of Hitachi's $150 8x (DVD)/40x (CD) DVD-ROM drive, GD-5000. According to the review it doesn't live up to the specs, offering performance similar to a 3x/24x drive. The review also includes CD-audio ripping results and tests playing Matrix using WinDVD and PowerDVD. As you may guess the reviewer wasn't impressed with this drive.
News Source: Anandtech

Digital Licenses AAC Audio Compression - Mikael @ 06:57 EST

e.Digital Corp has announced that it has licensed AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) technology for use in e.Digital's portable, multi-codec Internet music player and digital jukebox designs. e.Digital's MicroOS(TM)-based portable platform including AAC support can be incorporated into a variety of products including portable digital music players or jukeboxes, home and automotive stereos, and functionally-enhanced wireless phones. You can find more details about AAC in the press release

Sonicbox will bring Internet Radio and MP3 To Stereo Systems - Mikael @ 06:54 EST

Acer NeWeb Corporation and Sonicbox have announced a distribution partnership in which Acer NeWeb will brand and distribute the iRhythm(TM), incorporating Sonicbox' iM Tuning(TM) Service. The iRhythm enables consumers to wirelessly control and transmit Internet radio and MP3 files from their PC to their home stereo system. Through the Sonicbox iM Tuning Service, iRhythm listeners can tune into stations on the broadband-optimized iM Band(TM) or to any station on the Web, as well as develop and run personal MP3, Windows Media, and Real Audio playlists. Acer NeWeb plans to release iRhythm at selected retail locations by the end of Q3 2000. The MSRP is $119.99 with an expected street price of $99.99. You can find a lot more details in the press release

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 reviews - Mikael @ 06:48 EST

3 more reviews of Heavy Metal FAKK2 have popped up. All 3 reviewers had mixed impressions of the game. PC Paradox complained about the bugs but other than that was very positive while 3Dgaming.net and MPOG complained about the lack of replay value and that the game is very short. All 3 reviews were very impressed with the graphics. Here's what they thought about the sound effects and music:

MPGOG:

Of course, it would not be Heavy Metal without killer music. From techno metal to grunge type tracks, Heavy Metal has some of the best music to be heard in a computer game. Although a Sound Blaster Live is recommended on the box, the game sounded great with my Aureal based card.

3DGaming.net:

Voice acting aside, FAKK 2 has above average sound. Playing the game in A3D rocks; when darts are fired at you, you can hear the sound travel from ear to ear or whiz past you front to back. The big, powerful weapons are appropriately big and powerful sounding, and while stealth isn't really an issue in FAKK 2, you'll always have small audio cues that certain enemies are about to pound on you. The music mostly blends into the game. Sometimes I'm not sure there is music while I'm playing. Hell, now that I think about it, I don't know if there is any music other than the opening song when you first start the game.

PC Paradox:

A gamer's eyes when playing F.A.K.K. 2 will quickly be entranced in the
beauty of the Heavy Metal without a doubt. In addition, Heavy Metal busts out one spectacular soundtrack that can make anyone do the rock-'n-roll jig dance in the middle of their computer room. With some crisp, subtle, and non-repetitive music, Julie's adventure is much more fun.

Didn't find anything else including checking prs. I will have to help my father confirming that he is he (lost the wallet and neeed new id) so not sure when I get time to post again, sometime before you get home for lunch though.

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

Mushroom Technology's Siren Audio I Review - Mark @ 23:29 EST

The Guru 3D has posted a review of Mushroom Technology's Siren Audio I. This is 5.1 analog output optical/coax SPDIF I/O sound card that uses Fortemedia's latest chip, the FM801AU (the Best Data Theatrix and Skywell Magic Sound Live (which was produced by Mushroom Technology for Skywell) use the older FM801-AS. The FM801-AS, unlike the new FM801AU, does not support SPDIF passthru for Dolby Digital. A few comments - QSound Q3D 2.0 is not an API, its a 3D audio technology, and there is nothing special about the API support offered by Q3D 2.0. In fact, it's currently missing EAX 2.0 support, contrary to what you will read in this review. Furthermore, EAX 3.0 is not out, the reviewer is mixng up LiveWare 3.0 with the EAX 2.0 SDK in the review. The MIDI on the card is software based (from Yamaha as they note), with the actual card having a FM synth. The reviewer says that the "most controversial" aspect of the card is its ability to decode Dolby Digital. The only thing controversial about that is the statement is technically incorrect. The decoding is done by supporting software MPEG decoders such as WinDVD (bundled with the version of the Siren Audio that I have) and PowerDVD which take advantage of the cards various output modes. Overall they were impressed with the card and awarded it a 79/100, but complain about lack of bass and treble controls (which is fairly common) and its inability to play multiple wave streams. Both Mikael and I have the version of this card that comes with the coax and optical SPDIF I/O (not on the reviewed version) so look for our review in the not too distant future.
News Source: Blue's News

X-Tension 1.4B English - Mark @ 22:54 EST

This is 1.4b vs 1.4 from yesterday. If you downloaded it yesterday, you will want to delete it and use this one. All the Egosoft website said was that 1.4 was "broken". X-Tension supports DS3D. Grab the 1.1 MB patch from 3Dfiles.

Grand Prix 3 Review - Mark @ 22:49 EST

Gamespot has posted an overall positive review of Grand Prix 3. Here is our usual snip on sound:

Just as the graphics quality varies widely, so too does the sound. The music is effective, particularly the intro movie theme that starts in a minor key and builds to a crescendo when the lights go green. The game's sound effects are generally varied and colorful. Your engine's whine is forceful instead of weak as in many other F1 sims. Shifting gears, locking wheels, skidding into the gravel pits, and crashing into barriers sound realistic and weighty. But oddly enough, when I hit a nearby car, it was silent as it flipped up off the track and tumbled into the wall, spraying wheels and wings as it went. What's worse is that you don't hear cars approaching during passing attempts. Another flaw is the lack of radio traffic between drivers and their pit crews. Unlike in F1 2000, you won't hear your team updating you on the race situation; instead, you'll just get blocky typed messages at the top of the screen.

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 Reviews - Mark @ 22:42 EST

First up is a review at The Entertainment Depot where they had mixed impressions, including the usual "too short" on route to a 7.5 out of 10. Sound was a strong point with a 9/10 and the following comment:

Sound: 9/10
Staying true to the roots of its source material, Heavy Metal’s hard rock sound track helps establish the edgy mood immediately. The feel of the game is that of a lush, unexplored environment with mystical, sexed-up overtones. The music and sound effects successfully convey this sensation. In addition, the weapons have the requisite punch and the voice acting is great.

Venom Interview - Mark @ 22:29 EST

Game Surge has posted the results of an interview with Sergey Zabaryansky of The Nephilims about their upcoming sci-fi FPS, Venom. Here's our usual sound snip:

Please explain the highlights of your new AI and animation technology.

The AI utilizes algorithms of virtual hearing and vision. These algorithms guide the enemies during the game. The algorithm of virtual hearing allows a computer rival to react to sounds propagating through a level. Thus, for instance, in case a patrol hears a skirmish or explosion sounds, it will search for the sound origin; if a player tries to slip behind a patrol's back, an enemy may hear his footsteps and open fire. The algorithm of virtual vision implements, firstly, an angle of aspect of computer rivals, so they cannot see behind their backs, and secondly, worse illumination and/or longer distance causes a computer enemy to discern objects worse. So, a player can outflank the enemies, hide from patrols in dark parts of rooms, or conduct diverting maneuvers.

TRIBES 2 Universe Interview with Blake Hutchins - Mark @ 20:56 EST

Tribes2Players has posted an interview with Blake Hutchins, the story writer for Tribes 2 and it's what I would call an above average quality interview, well worth checking out. As a writer you would think there is nothing on audio but that not quite the case. Here's the snip:

T2P: What has been the greatest challenge in your work with TRIBES 2?

Blake: [snip]...On the other hand, I'm also responsible for spearheading creation of the sound effects and the pre-recorded voice files in the game, as well as writing all the lines for the voice binds and the single player game. That's a lot of work, and it all brings its own challenges. For example, we went with a studio in Los Angeles to do sound effects. Great folks who've done a fantastic job. They did the SFX work on Blade, Total Recall, and Robocop, to name a few, so the audio environment of T2 will be vastly more immersive than in T1. Still, with all the crunch on our end, communicating to the studio took a lot of time and effort. The result has been totally worth it, though. [snip]

Aureal Rumors... - Mark @ 20:34 EST

Just a quick note to thank everyone for the emails passing on the news bits they have seen on Aureal's fate. We are not ignoring the emails but as best as we can tell, the outcome of the Chapter 21 auction has not yet been determined. As soon as we have something more concrete we will be sure to post. Keep those news pointer coming!

Win2K Drivers Released for Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - Mark @ 20:00 EST

Voyetra Turtle Beach have released beta Win2K drivers for their new Santa Cruz sound card. You can grab the drivers from their driver page. The Win9x and WinNT drivers at that page appear to be the same version that shipped with the card. According to Turtle Beach the Windows ME drivers will be available at the same time as the official release of that OS. I checked the VideoLogic site and they don't have the Win2K drivers up on their server yet so if you have a SonicFury you can also grab them from Turtle Beach.

Submarine Titans Developer Interview - Mark @ 07:42 EST

Tweak3D recently had the opportunity to chat with Ellipse Studios' Lead Developer, Raaj, about their 3D sound supporting title, Submarine Titans. The brief interview covers a range of topics including the following:

Tweak3D: Does Submarine Titans support voice-over-gaming software? If not, do you plan to have support for this ever-growing feature?

Raaj: Yes, currently we have tested Gamevoice and it seems to work well with Sub Titans.

Polk AMR90 Review - Mark @ 07:37 EST

TargetPC has posted a review of Polk Audio's AMR 90 speaker system and are very unimpressed. I have not heard this system so can't comment directly. However, I feel that it's worth pointing out that I have had vastly different opinions on at least a couple of other products (e.g. products from Diamond Audio Technology) reviewed by the same TargetPC author so I would recommend that wait until some more AMR90 reviews show up to see if others also share the same opinion (I can't find any so if you do please let me know). I did find mostly positive reviews of Polk's AMR5 system but that's mostly irrelevant as the AMR5 was a $200 2.1 system (on clearance for $99 direct from Polk if you are interested) as opposed to a (approx) $100 4.1 system.
News Source: Anandtech

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 Demo Patch and Updated Demo - Mark @ 00:26 EST

Ritual has released a 2.08 meg patch for the demo of the A3D 1.x and DS3D with EAX 1.0 and 2.0 supporting FAKK2 Heavy Metal, bringing it up to version 1.02. The patch fixes various crash and slow-down bugs that have also been fixed in the full game by its recent 1.02 patch. They have also released a updated demo for those who did not download the earlier version. You can grab the 72.4 MB demo from 3Dfiles.

X-Tension 1.4 English Patch - Mark @ 00:18 EST

Egosoft has released a new patch for the English version of the expansion for the DS3D supporting space combat X:Beyond the Frontier. You can grab the 1.1 MB patch from 3Dfiles. Nothing audio related and you can check out the details on what it does at Egosoft.

Interview with Pertti Husu - Mark @ 00:11 EST

Live Center has posted an interview with Pertti Husu. Husu is a 16 year old musician from Finland who has been composing music for 1.5 years and has studied piano in a musical academy for 7 years. There are links to samples of his music and of course one aspect of the interview on the Sound Blaster Live that he is using to work on his music compositions.

Monday, August 28, 2000

New XLerate Pro, Xlerate and DMX XFire 1024 drivers released - Mikael @ 14:42 EST

Terratec has released new Windows 2000 drivers (beta) for their XLerate (vortex1) and XLerate Pro (Vortex2). I would guess it's the same as what Aureal released sometime ago. Terratec has also released drivers (Windows 9x/2000/NT4) for their new DMX XFire 1024 soundcard. You can grab the drivers from Terratec's site. Thanks to Michael Gruberbauer for the pointer.

AAC Audio Format Selected by BMG and Universal - Mikael @ 14:36 EST

Dolby Laboratories has announced that Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and Universal Music Group are using the AAC audio compression standard in their respective programs for legitimate digital music delivery. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the latest audio codec standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as part of the MPEG specification. Compared to MPEG Layer-3, popularly known as MP3, AAC provides, according to Dolby, higher-quality audio yet requires approximately 30 percent less storage space and bandwidth. For more details check out the press release

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force Goes Gold - Mikael @ 14:11 EST

Activision has announced that the highly anticipated Star Trek® first-person shooter, Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force, has gone gold. Developed by Raven Software, Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force puts the player in the role of Ensign Munro, second in command of Voyager's elite Hazard Team security force. Through the game's ten single-player campaigns and over 30 missions, players will battle against both new and familiar enemies, including the Borg, Klingon, Hirogen and more. The title, which has been sent into manufacturing, is expected to be available on September 20, 2000 for a suggested retail price of $49.99. You can find more details in the press release

When it comes to audio the demo supported A3D 3.0. Not sure if the full game will offer anything beyond that but let's hope they at least fixed some of the issues with the 3D sound that was present in the demo. Just like with Quake 3 the A3D 3.0 support (A3D 2.0 in Quake3) should work (sort of) with A2D files for all DS3D cards. For some impression of it check out this thread in our forum.
News Source: Blue's News

Icewind Dale review - Mikael @ 13:57 EST

Gamerankings has posted a short and very positive review of the DS3D with EAX supporting Icewind Dale. Here's the sound bit:

The sounds are all dead-on, making the illusion of the fantastic world even more absorbing. The music is simply some of the best I've ever heard in any computer game I've played.

Submarine Titans Review - Mikael @ 13:52 EST

3dgame forces has posted an one page review of Ellipse Studios RTS game, Submarine Titans. They found the game to be pretty good but other than being underwater it's not breaking new ground. They don't think it's quite of the same high quality as classic RTS games like StarCraft or Age of Empires either. They still think RTS fans should check it out though. Here's the usual sound snip:

The audio in Submarine Titans has full support for 3D sound and helps to immerse a player in the game. There are plenty of underwater sound effects that are done pretty well but can get repetitive at times. One audio feature that gets a thumbs up is the way an event triggers changes in the music. Attacking or being attacked will change the whole mood of the music being played so players can get involved in the game.

Interview with Indrema's CEO - Mikael @ 13:25 EST

Hardware-Unlimited has interviewed Indrema's CEO, John Gildred, asking him 18 questions about Indrema's upcoming (next year) Linux based console. Here's an interesting bit:

What can you tell us about the controller for the Indrema?

[JG] It will be a new controller and use USB 2.0 specs. Standard electrical interfaces very easy design to make alternate peripherals for the system. We will be released an enhanced controller that will feature a microphone in it, that will allow you to talk to players in a game and with 3D sound will be able to hear them from where they are in the game. For example, you are playing a game and the person talking to you is behind you, the sound will come from behind you. The enhanced controller won’t be released till later in 2001.

Submarine Titans Map - Mikael @ 12:44 EST

Ellipse Studios has released a new multiplayer map (Still Waters) for their 3D sound supporting RTS, Submarine Titans.
News Source: Blue's News

Grand Prix 3 Review - Mark @ 07:32 EST

The Game Den has posted a review of Grand Prix 3. Don't confuse F1 World Grand Prix (published by Eidos) which Avault said didn't support 3D sound) with Grand Prix 3 (published by Hasbro) which Game Den say does support 3D sound. Here's the sound snip:

The 3D sound fully captures the essence of the Grand Prix atmosphere. From the screeching of the tires to the shifting of the gears, the realism provided is close to one can get other than sitting by trackside. Its too bad Ferrari doesn’t use the V-12 engine anymore, its high pitch sound brought music to my ears. Anyways, the roar of the engines sounded perfect under acceleration and stopping conditions. I do wish that multiple engine sounds were available for each car, so their differences can be apparent.

Rally Masters review - Mikael @ 04:20 EST

Avault has reviewed Rally Masters: Michelin Race of Champions. It's developed by Digital Illusions, the developers behind Motorhead that was one of the first EAX and A3D 2.0 games with wavetracing (neither EAX or wavetracing works with current drivers for any card). The Avault review doesn't mention if this game supports wavetracing but it offers the following positive impression of the sound effects and 3D sound:

While there is nothing revolutionary about the audio here, it is more than adequate. Rally Masters sports sample tiling, randomly combining sounds to give a greater feeling of realism; real-time reverb in tunnels and narrow passages; changing car noises depending on the view selected; special crash and crowd sound effects; and 3D Doppler effects that change the nature of sounds depending on an object's speed and distance from the listener. The co-driver commentary is helpful if sometimes belated or a bit inaccurate. There is an excellent implementation of both EAX and A3D 3D sound; for example, when a helicopter flies overhead, you can distinctly track its movement without looking at it.

News from August 21-27, 2000

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