News:  October 16-22, 2000

Sunday, October 22, 2000

Nike PSA Play 120 and Philips Rush SA101 reviews - Mikael @ 14:28 EST

Cnet has posted a couple MP3 reviews. First up the Nike PSA Play 120. It's a relatively basic player lacking features like voice recording FM tuner that instead try to sell on its thoughtful design which includes a remote control with LCD display it's supposed to make it perfect for athletes. According to the reviewer Nike succeeded so well that they gave it an editor's choice. You can check out the short review for the details. Could also add when I say basic I refer to other third generation players, since the Nike player use the USB port for transfering and offers playback of both MP3 and WMA files.

Next up is a review of Philips Rush SA101. It uses the parallel port, offers only 32MB of memory, have some equalizer presets and a poor LCD display for $200. Doesn't sound that good but on the positive note it's small ("A 0.5-inch deep square measuring less than 3.0 by 3.0 inches"). The short review offers a bit more.

Blair Witch 1: Rustin Parr Review - Mikael @ 14:13 EST

FiringSquad has done a review of the DS3D with EAX supporting horror game, Blair Witch 1:Rustin Parr. They think most aspect of the game is excellent, espeically the aural one, but complains about the game being to difficult and not exactly excellent interface. Common complaints from what I've read. Here's a bit on how important role the sound plays:

Why indeed would we want to put our sound and gameplay descriptions on the same page? Well, after being brought to the edge of my nerves in Thief and Thief II, scared witless in System Shock II and subjected to Blair Witch 1, I've come to the conclusion that sound and gameplay are inseparable in horror games. It's just not possible to be scared when you take the headphones off and play - sure, you actually die and get hurt a lot more often, but you don't jump in your seat and try to swallow your own heart back down.

Metal Gear Solid review - Mikael @ 14:07 EST

As one of probably 100 sites GamersPulse has posted a review of the 3D sound supporting Metal Gear Solid. Except for the graphics they think it's a great game, here's the sound bit:

On the other hand, sound proved to be another strong point of MGS. The voice acting was pretty superb overall; I found myself believing the characters. I know I recognize one of the voices, too, I just cannot for the life of me figure out where (I'm thinking Robotech for some reason). The effects are well done too. A body hitting the ground makes a nice little thump, various guns sound pretty much like they should, and vehicle sounds are also well done. I found the music good when it would come up, as it didn't necessarily stay in the background, but it didn't distract me either

realMYST 1.2 Demo Patch - Mark @ 02:33 EST

This update patch (realMyst Test v1.2) adds DirectSound3D support along with improved mouse responsiveness, configurable mouse interface (deadzone, speeds, sensitivity) , improved Direct3D and Glide compatibility, support, strafing, screenshots, and some other stuff to the realMyst Test. You can grab the 1 MB update from 3Dfiles and if you are like me and originally ignored on on the basis that it was something to do with MYST then you might want to grab the realMYST Demo. You can also read a bit more about the concept in an article at Avault. Thanks to Jeff "wumpus" Atwood of Gamebasement for the pointer.

Free Shipping on Klipsch ProMedia - Mark @ 02:22 EST

Just got word that Klipsch is offering free shipping on their ProMedia v2-400 speaker system. For details follow this link and use coupon code V2P. For our impressions of the system you can check out our full review as well as our ProMedia/Crossfire comparison article.

Saturday, October 21, 2000

Nomad II review - Mikael @ 08:28 EST

SharkyExtreme has posted a review of Creative Labs new MP3 player, Nomad II. The Nomad II features upgradable firmware (allows it to support more than MP3s), USB interface, LCD display, FM tuner, voice recording, equalizer presets, bass and treble control, wired remote control and a $200 price tag if you buy it with 32 MB memory according to the review. Sharky Extreme thinks it's a well featured player that's a great bang for the buck if you consider FM tuner and voice recording important features.

DVD-CD-RW roundup - Mikael @ 08:14 EST

Digital-Life has posted a DVD-CDRW roundup featuring MP9060A-DP, AOpen DRW4624, Samsung SM-304 and Toshiba SD-R1002. Tests includes DAE speed and quality, Disc Recognition Time, DVD/CD Spindown Time, DVD/CD Spinup Time, DVD/CD CPU usage 1X, DVD/CD seek times, CD-R/CD-RW speed and erros. They also mention the region code and where you can get region free firmware.

News Source: Blue's News

New GameVoice profiles released - Mikael @ 08:03 EST

Microsoft has released new GameVoice profiles for Asheron's Call, Earth 2125, Fly2k, Homeworld, No One Lives Forever and Starlancer. Of the mentioned games I think only Starlancer supports 3D sound.
News Source: Blue's News

Metal Gear Solid review - Mikael @ 07:59 EST

GoneGold has posted an overall positive review of the 3D sound supporting Metal Gear Solid where sound&music got the best rating with 95 out of 100 while graphics got the lowest, 70. Here's the sound effects bit:

The sound effects are also well done. Gun shots sound authentic, as do explosions and the echo of footsteps. Another nice feature about the sound effects is that they actually serve a function besides being there for aesthetic purposes. Enemies can hear you walking on some surfaces, such as metal grates or through puddles, and they will react accordingly by turning in the direction of the sound and going to investigate. In fact, you can even make noises to lure enemies to your position. This is definitely a nice touch.

SWAT 3 patch - Mikael @ 07:52 EST

Sierra has released yet another patch (1.6.6.0) for the 3D sound supporting Swat 3. You can grab it from 3dfiles

Friday, October 20, 2000

Baldur's Gate II Reviews - Mark @ 22:47 EST

A couple new reviews of Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. The first one is from GameBansheewhere they think it's an amazing game. When it comes to sound they had the following to offer:

Probably the most overlooked elements of the game, the sound effects and music in Shadows of Amn contribute to almost every aspect of the game. With a good sound card and surround speakers, dungeon excursions really come to life. For instance, while traveling through the caverns of the Underdark, the music will create an ominous feeling to the place, giving you the sense that you are not alone. The enhancements to gameplay are simply fantastic. The sound effects are of equal quality. The only drawback that can be found are that some of them have been used in Black Isle RPGs previously. For instance, some of the character speech, such as inn and tavern patrons, has been reused. This is hardly a complaint, however, since I would much rather see them work on other aspects of the game than to have spent time refining some of the unimportant dialogue.

Rune: First Impressions - Mark @ 22:37 EST

Firing Squad has posted their first impressions of Rune including the following bit on audio:

The sound people in Rune made very few mistakes with the in-game noises and music. The levels we played had very good directional sound and great ambient music. Hearing the chattering of goblins in the distance, and the random banging of a few of the dumb ones really added to the experience of being in hell. Are there any complaints so far? Just one. The narrator lacks a certain quality. Maybe it's because I went into this game expecting something out of Conan, but I truly wanted to hear a big booming voice, or some sort of awe-inspiring Optimus Prime. Instead, your narrator has the voice of a kindly old man. That voice didn't seem well placed, considering most of this game consists of decapitating, limb smacking and bone crunching fun.

SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 DE Review - Mark @ 18:50 EST

T-Break has posted a review of the SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 DE. A couple of things that are worth clarifying. One is Dolby Digital decoding offered by the Live 5.1 series is done by the card's drivers using the host CPU and not the EMU10K1. Where the card itself comes into the picture is on the output of that decoded stream. The second is that the 5.1 gaming output of the card does not depend on Dolby Digital support. The only way to get 5.1 output for games with a home theater receiver or other 5.1 ready multimedia speaker system is via using 6 analog outputs (3 stereo mini-jacks) (the DTT3500 can connect via the 6 channel DIN) and the games simply have to support DS3D or A3D 1.x. There is no way to get interactive 5.1 gaming support via Dolby Digital to the SPDIF input of a Dolby Digital decoder. In the end they conclude that the Live 5.1 DE is an impressive package. You can get more details on how the 5.1 output for games and Dolby Digital decoding works from our own early impressions of the Live 5.1 card.

Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater Reviewed - Mark @ 07:35 EST

Avault has posted a review of Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater. Overall they think it's quite a good game worthy of 4/5, the same score given to sound effects. They also had the following detail to offer:

There was obviously a generous amount of attention paid to the sound system in Combat Flight Sim 2. The evidence of this can be found in the fact that Japanese radio messages are actually spoken in Japanese with English subtitles. As with some of my favorite animes, the amount of emotion spoken into each phrase is almost undistinguishable, as the entire Japanese language is full of emotion, fortunately everything said still sounds appropriate somehow. The American voice-overs are recorded with similar quality, though I doubt anyone will accuse Microsoft of breaking any ground here, as was done with Crimson Skies, but instead the character voices during the campaign mode serve to convey the general level of emotion and attach the player to the game with more than just beautiful artwork. Engine noises, machine gun fire, and the passing of other planes are just a few examples of the good work done in developing the audio engine for this offering.

Deus-Ex review - Mikael @ 01:53 EST

T-Break has posted a mixed review of Deus-Ex where they complain quite a bit on the D3D performance on a TNT and GeForce based cards but have much more positive things to say about other aspects of the game including the sound:

What can I say? When you inherit the Unreal engine, you inherit all of its abilities and since the unreal engine was one of the first to use EAX extensions and surround sound, it has just been used to a greater extent in Deus Ex. Surround sound is especially used to it’s fullest, warning you at those critical times when someone is right around the corner or ready to whack you from the back. The musical score also adds to the dark, ambient nature of the game, moving from a slow tempo to a crescendo when things get hectic.

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force review - Mikael @ 01:49 EST

ElectricGames has posted what may be the most positive review of Elite Force I've read. Here's the sound bit:

The sound engine is also highly detailed, and you're missing out if you don't have 3D sound turned on. While the directional sound was originally meant to determine where enemies were in multiplayer, here it gives the game a rich experience in single player mode. Voice acting is very well performed with little exception.

National Semiconductor Announces Next Generation DVD-on-a-Chip - Mikael @ 01:47 EST

National Semiconductor Corporation has announced the second generation of its DVD-on-a-chip product family for the rapidly growing DVD player market. National has taken the high level of integration achieved in the first generation to the next step by providing the first solution on the market with progressive scan video support and DVD-Audio capability in one chip. You can find more details in the press release if you are interested.

Boston Acoustics Announces Second Quarter Results - Mikael @ 01:44 EST

Boston Acoustics has announced financial results for its FY2001 second quarter ended September 30, 2000. Net sales for the quarter increased 21%, to $34.6 million from $28.7 million for the same period a year ago. Net income increased 34% to $2.2 million compared to $1.7 million. Diluted earnings per share increased 45% to $.45 per share compared to $.31 per share for the same period a year ago. CEO Andy Kotsatos stated,

The double digit increases we are experiencing in our Core home entertainment products are being driven by explosive growth of DVD player sales. We expect that trend to continue, but closer to the rate indicated by our six-month performance to date, since the second quarter results had the benefit of a beginning $1.2 million back order and a 14-week quarter. Our margins suffered in this quarter because of the higher personnel and operational costs associated with catching up. We expect our margins to remain about the same in the third quarter.

ESS Technology Reports Record Third Quarter Results - Mikael @ 01:42 EST

ESS Technology has announced record third quarter results. Earnings per diluted share (excluding investment gains) were $0.28, up 56 percent compared to the $0.18 per diluted share reported a year ago and also in the second quarter of 2000. Earnings including investment gains were $0.71 per diluted share. The company attributed its record performance to strong sales of its DVD, VCD and softmodem chipsets. In the press release you will find the following interesting quote from Robert Blair, president and CEO of ESS:

ESS's strong results were achieved despite the slowdown in PC sales. This is due to our success in transforming ESS from a PC audio company to a digital video and communications company

Tribes 2 chat log - Mikael @ 01:38 EST

Gameplay has posted a log of chat with Dave Georgeson, Senior Producer/Director at Dynamix. Here's the only sound related bit I saw:

Cerberus: I was wondering if Dynamix were planning on including any sort of Voice Comms in T2, like TF2 will have?
QIX: Cerberus...well.. .we'll be out WAY before TF2, so I think they're copying us. And yes, we'll have built-in voice comm support.

Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock Demo - Mark @ 00:55 EST

A demo has been released for Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock. Given that the first game (Rustin Par) has 3D sound and EAX support I would hexpect that the new game has the same level of support. In this second installment episode, a Civil War soldier, stricken by amnesia, is rescued in Burkittsville by a strange girl named Robin Weaver and soon dubbed ‘Lazarus’ by her equally strange grandmother. After Robin mysteriously disappears into the forest of the Black Hills, Lazarus is drawn into a nightmare world of human sacrifice and supernatural terror. You can grab the 93.1 MB demo from 3Dfiles.

Clusterball Updated Demo - Mark @ 00:51 EST

An updated demo/base version of the A3D supporting Clusterball has released (v1.03). Clusterball 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, Clusterball is unlike anything you've ever seen before. The base version of Clusterball and membership are free! Mark has played the game and found to be quite a blast and A3D support is working well. You can grab the updated 14.3 MB base game from 3Dfiles or if you already have the base, you can download the 1.2-1.3 patch from the same size.

Gunlok Updated Demo - Mark @ 00:48 EST

Gunlok is a ‘3D team based action strategy’ game, from Rebellion, the developers of the number one world-wide hit Aliens vs. Predator. As the game starts the player sets out on a quest to destroy The Corporation, along the way solving puzzles and battling robots as he strives to free mankind. During the game Gunlok picks up companions and together, through team co-operation and using each other’s unique abilities, they battle their way to a final confrontation with the evil at the heart of The Corporation. You can find more details about the game and download links for the updated 102 MB demo at 3dfiles. I don't know if the demo supports 3D sound but according to an interview in February the game will support 3D sound and EAX.

Swat 3: City of Angels Hospital Mission - Mark @ 00:37 EST

Yet another mission for the 3D sound supporting Swat 3. In this mission terrorists have taken the City of Angels hospital and it's your job to rescue the hostages and doctors using whatever force necessary. You can grab the mission from File Planet.
News Source: Blue's News

New Diablo II MP3 - Hell - Mark @ 00:34 EST

The official Diablo II site has released another MP3 from the game. This one is called Hell. Along with the download link you will also find some background information on the song.
News Source: Blue's News

Thursday, October 19, 2000

Altec Lansing ATP3 Review - Mark @ 13:01 EST

PC Hardware has posted a very positive review of the Altec Lansing ATP3. This 2.1 system uses a unique design for the satellites with a down firing mid-range driver and a 2 forward firing "micro-drivers" in each unit. A couple minor comments. Bass goes well below several hundred Hz, what the review should have said is below 20 Hz. The other is that that most modern sound cards don't have amplifiers so you are acually better off running the sound card output at higher, rather than lower levels.

CMI-8738 Updated Drivers - Mark @ 12:49 EST

C-Media has released updated drivers for their CMI-8738 design that is found in sound cards such as the Maxi Sound MUSE. The updates are for Win9x,ME,NT, and 2K and at least with respect to the Win9x, the drivers are more recent that what shipped with the MUSE that I have for review. They also have a number of other program updates and 3D audio demos listed in their index but I am not sure exactly what they are. You can download the driver and files as well as get more information from their download page.
News Source: 3D Audio Immersion

Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice Review - Mikael @ 07:05 EST

Avault has posted what has to be the most detailed review and evalution of Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice ever. Here's where they come to the following conclusion:

Game Voice appears on the surface to be a novel solution to those in search of voice recognition and voice chat during games. But after extensive comparisons and evaluations, we found that other solutions were more practical and cost effective overall. The number and type of issues introduced by the Game Voice system far outweigh any benefit we could find that it offered.

Superbike 2001 review (updated) - Mikael @ 06:56 EST

Gamespot has posted a review of Superbike 2001 which the reviewer think is a great game with excellent graphics and great gameplay that fits both experts and beginners. Here's the sound bit that got a rating of 7 out of 10:

Unlike the graphics, the sound and music didn't receive the same lavish treatment, although they're still good. Each bike has its own distinctive whine, yet the engines are muted compared to their real-world counterparts. On the other hand, skidding, sliding into gravel traps, and crashing into other bikes all sound appropriate. However, the techno-style music in the menu screens and intro movie doesn't add much to the mood, and the optional TV announcer commentary during races is also disappointing. You can't fault the announcer's enthusiasm, but his comments are mostly limited to calling out that a particular brand of bike has crashed.

Baldur's Gate II reviews (updated) - Mikael @ 06:27 EST

Time for 2 new Baldur's Gate reviews, both very fairly detailed reviews with nice sound comments. First up PC GameWorld:

The sound in this game is more immersive than any previous Infinity-based game. There is support for EAX extensions, and if you have a SoundBlaster Live! card, activating this option will deliver you an aural treat. Character's voices rise and fade depending on how far away they are; there are echoes in large caverns, and a superb musical score that reacts to the situations in the game. Spell casting sounds particularly creepy at times as well. Also, the voice-overs are done superbly, adding an extra sense of realism to the game. Some of them are so good, I hear them in my head when I am not playing. Sick, I know, but true nonetheless. Again, RPGs really don't rely heavily on sound. Actually some of the classic RPGs had horrible sound. This game doesn't, further adding to its appeal.

SWAT 3 1.64 Beta Patch and a new mission - Mikael @ 06:15 EST

Sierra Studios has released a new (1.64) beta patch for the 3D sound supporting SWAT 3: Elite Edition that you can grab from 3dfiles. Sierra has also released Airport, one of the five new multiplayer levels from SWAT 3: Elite Edition. You can download it from Gamecenter

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy Demo - Mark @ 18:58 EST

Starship Troopers is squad based action game, based on the award winning film and novel. The game places you in charge of a platoon of Mobile Infantry soldiers as they wage war against an implacable alien foe. The war is fought across the expanse of Terran space and features over twenty unique environments. The full game has officially gone gold as of yesterday. The latest official release dates from Hasbro Asia Pacific are US: October 23 2000, UK: November 10 2000 and AUS: November 16 2000. What's noteworthy from our perspective is the demo lists support for 3d sound! Here's the goods sent in by Jeff "wumpus" Atwood of Gamebasement:

6. SOUND: Starship Troopers uses extensive use of 3D sound, and as such will try to find a sound card which has at least 24 hardware channels. If it can't it will fallback to using the software sound driver. Software is still VERY fast, and in some cases is faster than hardware. It is recommended, though, for the ultimate listening experience, a sound card with the following chipsets be used:

- Creative SBLive! family of sound cards, which have EAX 3D hardware support
- Vortex 2 chipsets

Starship Troopers uses full 3D 4 speaker surround sound with completed 3d position of all sounds, so it is recommended that you set up all four speaks when playing and set your sound card options to 4 speaker mode.

S4 MidiLand 4060M Introduced - Mark @ 18:44 EST

MidiLand has announced the S4 MidiLand 4060M. The 60-watt system consists of 4 components: a 30-watt 6.5" subwoofer, two 15-watt full-range 2.5" satellites, and a control module with a special design feature that allows it to be mounted into the drive bay of a computer tower. The system also has what MidiLand calls 3D RSS [Real Surround Sound]. Note that this is a stereo expansion technology and nothing to do with 3D gaming. For those of you looking for something different in terms of looks, the system is featured in a sleek metallic finish. The estimated street price of the S4 MidiLand 4060M is $99.95 (MSRP $149.95). For additional details you can check out the full press release.

FrontX Multimedia Ports Review - Mark @ 12:56 EST

project1GHZ.com has posted a review of FrontX Multimedia Ports, a system to relocate your sound card inputs such as gameport, microphone and line-in to the front of the PC. They conclude that although this is not a must-have product it's a nice luxury to add to your case.
News Source: PC Monkey

Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice Review - Mark @ 12:46 EST

Gamer's Pulse has posted a review of the Microsoft Sidewinder Game Voice Somewhat mixed impressions of the unit but it still ends up getting a 79/100. One thing I don't see mentioned in the review is the fact that there are different setting for voice communicaton and if you have a cable modem or other high bandwidth connection then according to some other reviews I have read you can get better quality audio than described in this review.
News Source: Blue's News

New Altec Lansing Products - Mark @ 07:33 EST

Altec Lansing has two new speaker systems and one previously limited access system listed on their site.

The ATP5 is the newest in the line of slim profile speakers from Altec Lansing and uses their advanced technology microdrivers with 80 watts RMS of 4-channel plus subwoofer output.

The ADA890 is a 4-channel plus subwoofer, Dolby Digital THX-certified (multimedia certification) speaker system 120 watts RMS of power.

The ADA885 is the system that has been available from Dell and Dell Gigabuys and is also a 4-channel plus subwoofer Dolby Digital THX-certified system.

Creative Introduces New Multi-Channel Speaker Lineup - Mikael @ 03:30 EST

Creative Technology and its wholly-owned subsidiary Cambridge SoundWorks have announced the shipment of its three new multi-channel speaker systems, the DeskTop Theater(TM) 5.1 DTT2200, FourPointSurround(TM) FPS1800, and FourPointSurround(TM) FPS1500. The DTT2200 is a 5.1 system without decoder intended to be used with the new Live 5.1 cards. The other 2 are just as the name suggests enhanced versions of the FPS1000 system. The DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 is available at a suggested retail price of US$129.99. The FourPointSurround FPS1800 is available at a suggested retail price of US$99.99. The FourPointSurround FPS1500 is available at a suggested retail price of US$79.99. You can find a bit more details in the press release and for even more you can check out Cambridge SoundWorks site.

Sampo America Introduces New Line of DVD Players - Mikael @ 03:23 EST

Sampo America is launching a new line of DVD players in time for the gift giving season. The DVE line features three models - the DVE-620 with component video output, the DVE-660 with Dolby Digital Decoder and the DVE-625, which comes equipped with Karaoke. All three models in the DVE line support MP3 audio playback. Suggested retail prices are $169, $199 and $279 respectively. You can find more details in the press release

NOMAD Jukebox firmware update from Asia - Mikael @ 03:13 EST

Creative's Singapore site has released another firmware update for the Nomad Jukebox. The release includes "Additional Fast Charge Icon feature" and "Improved downloading of multiple files". It should only be downloaded if you use Windows 95/98, Windows Millennium or Windows 2000.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn review - Mikael @ 03:10 EST

Baldur's Gate II continues to get nothing but excellent reviews, this time it's the RPG experts at GA-RPG that give the game a perfect 100% in 4 out of 5 categories, only multiplayer get a bit less with a score of 80%. Here' the rather short sound bit in an otherwise detailed review:

The overall sound quality of Baldur's Gate II is superb. The sound effects and background music both hit their respective marks, and only add to the gaming experience. The character voiceovers for the narrator and many of the major NPCs were nicely done, and the voices available for your main character are decent. BG2 also features three-dimensional sound quality support for those who own sound cards that support EAX, which includes a really nice echo effect in dungeons as well.

SWAT 3 Elite Edition, Toolkit and new mission - Mikael @ 03:05 EST

Sierra has released yet another level (DR-Hollywoodmap) for SWAT 3 Elite Edition. You can download it from Daily Radar This Hollywood level puts you into the realm of the stars with glamorous task of issuing an arrest warrent for a dead-beat dad. Grab this new scenario and give that punk a dose of your own due process. From the same page you can also patch if you haven't already done so and the Swat 3 Developer Tools.
News Source: Blue's News

Sacrifice Preview - Mikael @ 02:57 EST

PCMonkey has posted a preview of the RTS Sacrifice with the following interesting bit on the aural aspects of the game:

What I noticed first about Sacrifice's sound was the voices! Each voice used really fits the god or character. I really think Shiny put a lot of effort into this and it was well worth it! It really adds to the game experience when you hear a briefing for the mission while the map is loading. How about the sound effects? They are just as nice. Every sound is appropriate for what you see on the screen and the game audio supports various 3D Sound APIs, such as Creative Labs' EAX 2 and Aureal's A3D. I didn't notice a big difference between the standard sound system and EAX using my SB Live but I really have to say that with the speakers I have (low-quality ones), it's probably more my fault. What really immerses you in the Sacrifice universe is the music. It suits the atmosphere of the game very well. You can get some samples of it on the Sacrifice web site (http://www.sacrifice.net).

Interview about Republic: The Revolution - Mikael @ 02:53 EST

Nextgame.it has posted an interview (in English) with Demis Hassabis, founder of Elixir Studios. They talk about his life, how his new company was born and more interesting their first game Republic: The Revolution. Here's the only sound related Q&A:

Nextgame.it: Talking about the audio, what are you doing to make it as spectacular as the graphics? We know you will use "adaptive music", but there will be support for 3d positional audio too? What could you tell us about the "sound track"? Who is working on it?

Demis Hassabis: We've got James Hannigan and Richard Joseph doing the audio for the game. James was an internal musician for EA working on some massive games, and Richard did all the music for the Sensible Software games. The music will be operatic and will, I hope, give the game a dramatic feel.

Rainbow Six: Covert Operation Essentials review - Mikael @ 02:46 EST

IGNPC has posted a review of Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials. This is a stand alone extension which combines a disk of reference materials and a disk with new training missions. The training missions use the Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear engine which makes good use of DS3D with EAX 2.0. The review have some nice things to say about the game but in the end they give it a fairly low rating of 6.5 or less in each category except presentation. Here's the sound bit that was awarded a score of 6:

Voices are up to the usual R6 standards, but the ambient noises of screams, gunshots, and footsteps in the underbrush have lost their sense of urgency.

Rune MP3 - Mikael @ 02:41 EST

Runecenter offers a new bit from the official music track for Rune, this one titled Dwarven Machinery. On Rune soundtrack page you will also find the 4 previous released tracks, all available in the MP3 format.
News Source: Blue's News

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 review - Mikael @ 02:36 EST

Gameaddicts has posted a review of Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 where they offer the following positive comment on the sound design:

The sound effects always accompany music, and the ones used in this game are just beautiful too. Get close to a fountain, and hear the water clearly, birds will chirp, wood will crack and so on. They put some details in the sound effects and it shows. One of my favorite parts where the sound effects are related is when you're fighting against the monster called the Harvester. He has a weird, high-pitched scream that really makes you afraid of him which also echoes in your ears. Even if the Harvester is a hard monster to kill, I always looked forward to hearing his screech.

Midtown Madness 2 review - Mikael @ 02:33 EST

Another positive review of Midtown Madness 2 has popped up, this time on Intelligamer which think it's the best arcade racer this year. As many others they complain that the graphics look a bit outdated but they have a more positive impression of the sound than most (but not all) reviews:

You get your choice of music or city sounds in the game, but you can't have both active at once. The music is entirely forgettable... so it's a good thing that the city sounds are pretty good. These include traffic noise, the honk of horns or the yell of an annoyed driver as you cut him off, etc. They do a good job of adding to the overall ambiance of the game though they seem rather on the quiet side. On the other hand, the racing sound effects like tire squeal, running into things and so forth are no better than the at best adequate sounds from the original Midtown Madness.

Deus-Ex review - Mikael @ 02:22 EST

Wargamer has posted a very detailed and positive review of the Unreal engine powered Deux-ex. The review is a bit more mixed when it comes to the aural aspects of the game:

The sounds of Deus Ex, however, are a bit of a mix. While the voice acting is uniformly superb (I love the way J.C. says, “I guess you’ll have to be a hero”), the music is fairly forgettable. The music is adequate in terms of techno-ambience, but a more distinctive soundtrack could have made an already fantastic experience all the more memorable. The sound effects in the game are all very well done, from the “chub” sound of the silenced pistol to the “sss-BOOM” of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) grenade. The future never sounded better.

Half Life: Opposing Force patch - Mikael @ 02:18 EST

A new patch (v1.1.0.3) for Half-Life: Opposing Force has been released.

Tuesday, October 17, 2000

Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock Goes Gold - Mark @ 21:11 EST

Game developer Human Head Studios has announced that Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock, its upcoming third-person action/adventure game, has gone gold. Utilizing an enhanced version of Terminal Reality's Nocturne game engine, Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock will be the second of three PC games in the Blair Witch collection. Published by developer-driven computer and video game publisher Gathering of Developers and distributed by Take Two Interactive's Jack of All Games, Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock will begin shipping to stores nationwide on October 30th. Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr has received good reviews with lots positive about audio so lets hope we get more of the same quality from volume 2. You can get lots more details from the full press release over at Blue's News.

SWAT 3: Elite Edition 1.62 Patch and Mods - Mark @ 21:07 EST

The 1.62 patch fixes a few little things with the 3d sound supporting SWAT 3: Elite Edition and is just a beta until the real patch is released in a few days. Grab the 3.5 MB patch from 3Dfiles. The official mods can be found at Sierra's site where they have a character modes for Female Officers, Female Tangos, Male Officers and Male Tangos as well as a mod called Hysteria where all guns fire faster, have larger clips, are less accurate and do less damage per hit, resulting in fast-paced battles with bullets flying everywhere. The next one is called Tracers. This mod makes it so that every round fired is a tracer round. Tracer-round ballistics mirror the ballistics of the selected caliber (for example, .223, 9mm). All tracer rounds are lethal. The last one is a weapons pack that adds three new weapons with multiple variations. You can find all the mods at the offical SWAT 3 site.

Star Trek: Klingon Academy 1.02 Patch - Mark @ 12:45 EST

Star Trek: Klingon Academy was on Aureal's list for A3D 1.x and I also have reports from readers noting that it has a menu option for DS3D. However, so far I haven't seen any review make a comment about the 3D sound. Regardless, you can grab the 6.4 MB 1.02 patch from 3Dfiles where they also have a full list of changes. Bascially the patch fixes a few bugs and adds some new functionality.

SWAT 3: Elite Edition Mission - Mark @ 12:31 EST

PCIGN has a new downloadable mission for the 3D sound supporting SWAT 3: Elite Edition.
News Source: Blue's News

Winthorp's Mansion demo - Mikael @ 06:26 EST

ViperByte byte has released a demo of Winthorp's Mansion which supports 3D sound according to the official Winthorp's Mansion page. The page also mentions "environmental sound effects" which may refer to EAX support. Here's a bit about the game:

The player starts with a 38 caliber and finds stronger weapons along the journey. As a detective the player will have to find clues, solve puzzles, sword fight knights, pirates, duke it out with zombies, gargoyles, and more monsters lurking in the dark. Items will be collected in the inventory and puzzles will be solved in 3D and 2D.

Monday, October 16, 2000

Updated Terratec m3po Firmware - V2.11 - Mark @ 14:46 EST

Terratec has released updated firmware (V2.11) for their m3po rack MP3 player. You can get the update from the various Terratec sites. In terms of what's new the following is listed:

party lock - eject cds while lock complete

pitch and speed of playback was wrong

minor shuffle bug fixed

more files on one CD supported

Boston Acoustics BA7500 Speaker System Review - Mark @ 14:12 EST

Hardware Unlimited has posted a review of the Boston Acoustics BA7500 Dolby Digital speaker system. A very positive and nicely written review that compares the BA7500 primarily to the BA4800. The one thing I would add is with respect to the Boston Acoustics BA4800 and other 4 channel systems without a Dolby Digital decoder. That is, it is possible to get good quality 4 speaker downmixing in software and with the latest versions of WinDVD and PowerDVD the performance gap to hardware is narrowing. I plan to offer some early impressions of the BA7500 early next week.
News Source: Blue's News

Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE Review - Mark @ 13:57 EST

PCRodding has posted a brief postive review of the Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE.
News Source: Blue's News

Creative DTT3500 Review - Mark @ 11:33 EST

Gamer's Depot has posted a review of the Creative DTT3500. As is typical of their speaker reviews, the Klipsch ProMedia is used as their benchmark and IMO they make far too much of Watts RMS (there are several other factors that drive how loud speakers can play) and the sound quality of the ProMedia. Suffice to say that while I don't disagree that it would have been nice to see higher end satellites with the DTT3500 I more or less have different impression of the DTT3500. For more details you can check out my early impressions of the DTT3500 that we posted last week.
News Source: Blue's News

Metal Gear Solid Review - Mark @ 11:18 EST

MPOG has posted a review of the 3D sound supporting Metal Gear Solid and are not nearly as impressed as some other reviewers have been. When it comes to sound effects they do have a more positive outlook, but not the same for the voice acting. Here's a snip:

Sound wise, MGS is much more impressive. The sound effects and ambient music are just as high quality as those from most recent PC games, so that's one area where MGS shines. However, the voice acting is pathetic at times. The characters sound fake when they converse. Their expressions sound so forced and unrealistic, it's tough to take the game seriously. And since the game has so many cutscenes and so many radio conversations, you have to hear it often. It's not a real serious problem, but it does decrease the realism a tad.

Creative CDRW Blaster 121032 Review - Mark @ 11:13 EST

T-Break has posted a review of the Creative CDRW Blaster 121032. The drive supports the new burn proof technolgy for more reliable burning (less chance of buffer under run). For full details check out the review where they conclude it's a great drive and award a perfect score.

Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 Review - Mark @ 10:57 EST

Gamer's Depot has posted a review of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 including some pictures of the new LiveDrive IR that I know some readers have been looking for. Some comments follow, the first two being minor. The first SB Live was intruduced in 1998 and not 1999 as noted in the review. Getting to the review there are several major points of confusion pertaining to Dolby Digital and 5.1 output. Some other points worth noting here to be clear. All of the Live cards other than the original Value had the ability to send a Dolby Digital stream from the SPDIF output. What the new Live 5.1 offers that the original cards do not is the ability to take the SPDIF out from any supported software DVD player and decode the AC3 stream (via a software AC3 decoder that is part of the cards drivers) to 4.0 or 5.1 analog output (or 5.1 DIN to the DTT3500). Maybe that's what they are trying to say in the review but it does not come across very clearly if it is. To follow on the Dolby Digital comments, there is no technical reason that the AC3 stream via SPDIF out from the Live 5.1 to the DTT3500 would sound any better than the AC3 stream via the SPDIF out from any other decent quality card to the DTT3500 and based on my own testing that proves to be be the case -- that is there is no difference. With respect to games and 5.1 its worth noting that games don't need to support 5.1 output. How a game that supports 3D sound is handled is dependent on the outputing device (sound card). That is if you set the card to 2 speakers you get the card's 2D 3D support, 4 speakers you get 4 speaker 3D sound and in the case of the Live, if you set it to 6 speakers you get 6 speaker 3D sound. You can get a lot more details on the 5.1 output of Dolby Digital and the standard SPDIF out and on gaming in 5.1 mode from the early impressions of the Live 5.1 that we posted last week. In the end the Gamer's Depot review concludes it's a great all round package and regardless of how they came to that conclusion it's an end result I agree with.

News from October 9-15, 2000

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