News: April 12 - April 18, 1999

Sunday, April 18, 1999

WHQL Certified Vortex 2 Drivers? - Mark @ 22:24 EST

Thanks to the Silly One (honest) for pointing out that if you go to Microsofts list of WHQL Certified drivers and search under Audio and Aureal you will find a certified Vortex 2 driver with version 4.06.2020. The latest version on Aureal's web site or FTP is 4.06.2015. I doubt that these (2.06.2020) do any more than show up as certified, but if you worry about that stuff then you may want to give them a try. The Silly One indicated in his email that they have been very stable for him. He also suggests that if you do try them, you should unzip the A3DDemos from the 2.06.2015 drivers into the same directory that you unzip the 2.06.2020 into so they are there to be installed when you upgrade.

Update: Thanks to Aureal's David Gasior for letting us know that the 2020 drivers were custom drivers done for Sony, based on the 2015 driver set. The changes made were pretty much OEM stuff Sony requested, and most people will not get any benefit to going to them from 2015.

X-Wing Alliance Review - Mark @ 19:03 EST

Firing Squad has posted a review of Lucas Arts' X-Wing Alliance. Here is just a small bit on the audio:

The sound effects in X-Wing Alliance were some of the best I've heard in a long time. The audio in the game is so good that I'd put it up there on a par with Thief and Half-Life. If you don't have a modern generation sound card like a SB Live or MX300 you may want to consider getting one.

EAR Updates - Mark @ 13:03 EST

Extreme Audio Reality has updated their news page with some information on the upcoming release of an IAS version of WinDoom in the next couple of weeks. They also posted some info indicating that recent announcements from 3dfx and LogiTech regarding their plans to create hardware drivers that will control their products under Linux will help support their desire to create an IAS solution that will work under the Linux OS.

Raven Sound Directors Interviewed - Mark @ 10:58 EST

Ear on Games has posted an excellent interview with Raven sound directors Chia Chin Lee and Kevin Schilder. Kevin and Chia Chin talk about audio in Heretic 2 and their up coming title Soldier of Fortune. For more good stuff from Chia Chin Lee you can also check out his essay titled Sound and Immersion

Saturday, April 17, 1999

Simon Says... - Mark @ 09:01 EST

Yes thats right, our sometimes controversial soap box specialist is back at it again. This time he's on the API war path and wants to know where are we going?

Frank Lives! - Frank @ 01:00 EST

Frank is now back! I have been quite busy over the past few weeks... ok months. Had several important stuff come up ... not to say 3dsoundsurge wasn't important but it really took me off the work for this site for quite some time. I just wanted everyone to know I am back and posting news. I also have several reviews that have been piling up which are almost done (platinum, aura aspects, ultraQ, etc...)

If you would like to email me about questions or comments please email me at frankie@3dss.com

Friday, April 16, 1999

Hardwar Upgrade Patch News - Mark @ 22:56 EST

Ear on Games dug up some 3D sound news on the upcoming patch for Hardwar. According to the developers (The Software Refinery) "Hardwar is a futuristic arcade flight simulation which will give PC gamers a huge virtual world to explore, conquer and ultimately escape from".

LATEST UPGRADE NEWS - The long awaited upgrade patch for Hardwar is still in development but will be released as soon as possible. We apologies for the delay in releasing it, and thank you all for your patience, but please bear in mind we're doing these upgrades for free! Inlcuded in the upgrade will be:

* Enhanced native support for Voodoo Banshee cards
* DirectSound3D support
* Creative Labs EAX support (environmental audio)
* Completely new gameplay features
* Enhancements to the user interface
* In-game graphical enhancements (e.g. new cloudscape)
* Improved performance and smaller save-game files

Further news will appear here, and on the Hardwar mailing list.

Trident 4D WAVE NX Based Sound Card - Mark @ 22:39 EST

Mikael spotted the following interesting post in the news group:

We have a shipment on it's way of a new low cost series from Hoontech. The 4D WAVE NX is not overburdened with complexities but has all the features and is based on a new chip from Trident. By a special arrangement with Trident, largely due to the support of Hoontech's new peripherals, the price is very low... very, very low....! This is brand new so I'm posting this in advance of our pages being updated. (We did just do some upgrades but Hoontech just posted these new products today !) Take a look at Hoontech.com and find 4D WAVE NX at the upper left side of the home page. Also check out the PA 2000 and DI 2000 and you'll see the expandability. There is also a digital I/O bracket for the card that'll cost you a whopping extra $9 ! Card itself in full retail box is just $39. For the person with wants and needs way beyond their budget, there is hope ! Finally, coax or optical (or AES/EBU) digital I/O under $50. Plus great upgradability. The S/PDIF out can carry a full AC-3 signal. These will arrive this next week. We'll drop 10% off to the first 10 or 12 who want to try
one with some up to date games and systems and report results and comparisons with your current cards. E-mail to exchange details and have us reserve one.


Pete Larson
Audience Digital Products
http://www.audiencedp.com

PowerColor Dreamcode Motherboard Review - Mark @ 22:19 EST

Fresh 3D has posted a review of PowerColor's Dreamcode Motherboard. So why do we care? This 440BX based motherboard sports, in the words of the reviewer, a "Yamaha 3D Sensaura chip". The motherboard spec sheet indicated that they are referring to Yamaha's 724/740 chip which is the same chip in the Waveforce soundcards. The Sensaura API they refer to is not really an API but a 3D technology based on DS3D. The next drivers for the 724/740 based chips are supposed to support EAX. Thanks to Blue's News for the pointer.

Giants Interview - Mark @ 10:30 EST

GA-Source has posted an interview with Tim Williams, Creative Director of Planet Moon Studios, where they talk about the upcoming title, Giants. Here is a quote that includes reference to audio:

What are the expected requirements in way of computing power for example, do you expect Giants to make use of AMD's 3DNow! technology, what APIs do you plan to support, do you intend to allow for the software rendering mode which so many developers appear to be opting out of? What about 3D audio technology?

Supports 3DNow & PIII
Supports D3D and Glide (maybe OpenGL)
Supports DirectSound3D,EAX,A3D
No software rendering
Minimum spec is Pentium 166 & Voodoo 1 equivalent

I am not sure what versions of A3D or EAX are in the works, but we will follow-up on it.

Interplay Audio Interview - Mark @ 07:40 EST

Redchurch is hard at it interviewing audio guys. This time its Charles Deenen, audio director of Interplay Productions. Topics discussed are his work on Fallout, Fallout 2, and Baldur's Gate as well as some general audio questions.

Thursday, April 15, 1999

Starsiege Demo Audio Review - Mark @ 22:18 EST

Ear on Games has posted a review of the Starsiege Demo. Pascal is not too impressed with the sound quality in the demo, but I can offer that that quality in the full version is excellent.

Aureality Updates - Mark @ 21:33 EST

Thank to Bface over at Aureality for letting us know that he has two new updates posted. One is a Q & A with Aureal's David Gasior on Vortex 2 S/PDIF Variations and the other updates is a short interview with Ben Davis of Xitel. Topics include the Storm Platinum and A3D 2.0

Daikatana Sound - Mark @ 17:12 EST

Daikatana Headquarters (via Voodoo Extreme) points out that Ion Storm's Mike Montague updated his .plan with the following info on A3D support in Daikatana.

First, I have a new interview up at PlanetDaikatana.

In this article I failed to mention anything about A3D which caused a flood of email. We currently do support A3D 1.0. Soon we will have support for A3D 2.0 as well. Anyone with a card that supports A3D, D3D, or EAX and has a set of 4.1 or 5.1 speakers will have an awesome sound experience! At the time of the interview I was working strictly with the EAX features of the SoundBlaster Live! I now have a test computer with a Live! and one with an MX-300 so I can test equally and they both sound great! My tasks lately have been: Fixing sound problems in the engine, working on the save and load routines, and tweaking monster behaviors and weapons.

Further to that comment, here is what he said about audio in the interview:

Explain how the sound code is working?
At the minimal level the audio engine is just like Quake 2. What I've added to that is support for just about every 3D sound card out there and the ability to easily add support for other 3D cards often without recompiling the main game. Currently I am testing with Microsoft Direct3D and Creative Labs EAX and it sounds excellent. Rockets actually wizz by your head and behind you, your footsteps actually echo in the hallways, and the gibs bounce all around your head! For the ultimate gaming experience I definitely recommend that you pick up a SoundBlaster Live! as soon as possible.

Ruffly how many sounds are there in Daikatana?
Well, there are over 1200 waves currently in our sound directories. Granted a few of those might now make it in the game, so take it with a grain of salt. :)

Starsiege Demo - Mark @ 16:55 EST

A 52 MB Demo of Starsiege has been released. The demo, like the full version, sports 3D audio via DS3D and A3D 1.x. If you have a fast enough connection or a lot of patience you can grab a copy of the demo from 3Dfiles

For more on the sound in Starsiege check out our interview with lead Starsiege lead programmer, Rick Overman

Wednesday, April 14, 1999

Requiem Review - Mark @ 06:37 EST

Thresh's Firing Squad has posted a review of Requiem: Avenging Angel. Here is our customary snip on the sound.

After being spoiled by 3D sound support in many new games, it's a disappointment to go back to regular stereo in Requiem. For those of you with a Sound Blaster Live!, the game does support reverb via EAX, but I couldn't test that feature.

Lee Jackson Interview - Mark @ 06:21 EST

Red Church has posted their interview with Lee Jackson who is the Music and Sound Director for Apogee Software, Ltd. & 3D Realms Entertainment. Lee has worked the computer games Rise Of The Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Balls Of Steel.

Red Church is a site focussed on sound design and they have some excellent tutorials to go along with two other interviews (one with Stan Neuvo who is the sound engineer for Ion Storm and the other with Zak Belica who is the sound engineer for Ritual Entertainment).

Tuesday, April 13, 1999

Myth II Review - Mark @ 13:46 EST

Ear on Games has posted their review of the audio in Bungie's Myth II. This excellent title supports A3D 1.x, DS3D and DS3D with EAX.

Shogo Review - Mark @ 07:57 EST

As you may have already noted from the top of our page we have posted our in-depth review of Shogo:MAD. Aside from the detailed look at sound, its also tested with five soundcards! The Sound Blaster Live, Diamond Monster Sound MX300, Yamaha WaveForce (or Yamaha 724 chip), Monster Sound (original) and a card using the Trident 4DWave-DX chip are all put through their paces.

Monday, April 12, 1999

Xitel Storm Platinum Review @ iXBT Hardware - Mark @ 09:55 EST

Thanks to Pavel of Russia’s leading hardware site,iXBT Hardware, for the tip on their new review. For the most part their site features information in the Russian language. However, today they have posted their first English language review and its of Xitel’s Vortex 2 based Storm Platinum.

New Layout Launched - Mark @ 00:23 EST

At the risk of stating the obvious, you will notice a big change in our layout today. We hope that the change over would be seemless as we have tested as much as is possible without going live. If you detect any other problems we would like to hear from you and would also appreciate your patience over the next couple of days as we completly test and tweak the changeover

News from April 11th

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