News: May 31 -  June 6, 1999

Sunday, June 06, 1999

Creative DTT 5.1 Review - Mark @ 23:52 EST

We have just posted Mikael's excellent review of the Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater 5.1 system. In the review Mikael takes a look at how good it is for gaming, music and DVD movies. He also tested how true DD 5.1 (AC-3) compares with Dolby Surround, Live's Movie Mode and AC-3 downmixing to 4 speakers which is something several software DVD players, including the one shipping with the MX300, can do.

Mechwarrior III Review - Mark @ 10:41 EST

FGN affiliate, U-Games has posted a review of Mechwarrior III which includes the following clip on sound:

The textures of the worlds serve as an immersive backdrop against the thunderous footfalls and jostling of the Mech cockpit and add a great sense of realism.

During combat it again becomes clear that the sound and graphics capabilities of the game are exceptional. Each weapon has its own clearly distinct sound effect. Machine guns hum in a deep baritone and lasers singe the air.

Private Wars - Mark @ 10:37 EST

I thought that with the attention that Private Wars is starting to get, on sites like Tactical Planet the time was right to dust off an interview we did last year with Sergey Titov. Sergey is the CEO of TS Group Inc in Moscow and developer of Private Wars.

Search 3DsoundSurge News Archives! - Mark @ 01:43 EST

Well maybe its not that exciting but we have implimented a script that will search our news archives going back to our launch of this current layout. You will be able to access it from the the bottom of our news page and from the news archives page as well as from the menu. Go ahead and take it for a test drive :)

Saturday, June 05, 1999

Reverb Article and 3DAI v2.0 Online - Mark @ 23:38 EST

First off, the newly redesigned 3D Audio Immersion is online at a new URL which is www.3dai.net. Secondly, while checking out their new layout I came across a pointer to an article called Classroom Speech Intelligibility posted on a site for M^c Squared System Design Group, Inc. The company is an independent consulting firm providing sound system design, audio/video presentation system design and acoustical design services. The article identifies control of excess of reverberation time as a critical factor in providing speech intelligibility in classrooms.

Aliens vs Predator Review - Mark @ 23:10 EST

FGN affilate Escape Magazine has posted a review of the A3D 1.x, DS3D with EAX supporting Aliens vs Predator.

Messiah Interview - Mark @ 16:59 EST

Our Future Games Network affiliate, PC Paradox has posted an interview with Shiny's Scott Herrington where they talk about Shiny's upcoming title Messiah. The interview includes the following segment on music and audio:

PC Paradox: What is the music like? What does it convey to the gamer?

Scott Herrington: Sonically, the game is probably the most diverse that I've ever been associated with. We've got 4 different people/groups working on the title. [Side Effekt:] is working on most of the low level ambient stuff you hear in the game. It's very minimalistic, almost a wash of sound. The band Fear Factory have given us a bunch of tunes to use, and if you've ever heard their music, you know that they make Metallica sound like Julie Andrews. These guys put out a ferocious sound. Jesper Kyd is doing some techno tracks and remixing some of the FF stuff as well, so you've got that going on in parts too. Lastly, Tommy Tallarico Studios are providing the sound effects for the game. Tommy's won just about every award imaginable for his work on other games in the last several years, so you can rest assured that the soundtrack to the game is going to be unbelievable.

The audio should really bring the visuals and gameplay together into a cohesive unit that flows. It'll be rocking when the action is in high gear, and take a back seat in some of the more 'relaxed' areas of the game. I think people will be quite impressed once they hear it.

A vs P and SB Live - Mark @ 16:49 EST

I snagged this from AGN3D. The bottom line is if you have Aliens vs Predator and a SB Live and are having problems grab the LiveWare 2.0 drivers. Here is the original question with the answer provided by David Walker, Producer of A vs P.

Q:The game is stable for anywhere from five seconds to five minutes of actual play, then WHAMMO! Bluescreen. Hardlock. Reboot. Throw the cat at the wall instead of the computer. Any help you can provide, my girlfriend's cat would greatly appreciate it. System: P2-400, 128 MB pc100, Viper 550 AGP 16mb, Voodoo2 12x2 SLI, Creative SBLive. Please reply here, as I won't check this e-mail account 'til Monday morning. Thanx. Oh, and I'm running it at 1024x768 on the V2's.

A:Sounds like a recurring problem we had till Creative updated their SBLive! drivers. I think the latest ones are available at their website now. We stopped seeing this when we got them.

Fly 3D Engine 0.65 - Mark @ 09:09 EST

Foy you coders out there version 0.65 of the Fly 3D engine has been released. Fly3D is a game engine all written in C++. It supports Direct3D 6.1 or OpenGL 1.1 as the 3D API, DirectInput for mouse and keyboard input, DirectSound for 3D sounds and DirectPlay for multiplayer. Fly3D is full plugin directed. All you need to do to create a new game is build new plugins. A plugin wizard is available for Visual C++ that makes all the code required for a Fly3D plugin in a few mouse clicks. Included in this version is the main front-end exe, the editor for .fly files, one same sample scene, five plugin game demos and some utilities (3dsMax BSP export plugin, 3dsMax BSP import plugin, 3dsMax texture map editor, 3dsMax landscape plugin, BSP lighting tool, PVS computation tool and Visual C++ plugin wizard). Also included are all lib/h required files for you to develop your own Fly3D plugins. The source code for the demo plugins are included and are a good reference on how to develop new plugins. For more info on the engine features, utilities, demos and licensing, please refer to the Paralelo web site for online html help. You can download the files from 3Dfiles.

Tribes Patch - Mark @ 09:05 EST

Dynamix has released a patch for the A3D 1.x, DS3D supporting Tribes. You can grab it from 3Dfiles. Its mostly server related fixes and is considered a beta patch but I see it adds a timedemo function so you benchmarkers out there can add Tribes to your tool bag.

Friday, June 04, 1999

Yamaha's Advanced YST Speaker Technology - Mark @ 22:13 EST

Yamaha announced a leap forward in greatly improving bass performance in small-format computer and multimedia speakers with the introduction of Advanced YST, Yamaha's exclusive new patented technology. Yamaha's new MS50 and MS55D powered multimedia speaker systems are the first to feature this groundbreaking technology.

Warzone 2100 Patch - Mark @ 19:43 EST

Nothing audio related but lots of other fixes/features. You can grab it from 3DFiles.

Anachronox Chat Tonight! - Mark @ 19:27 EST

This from the ION Storm Web Site:

Feeling chatty? Well then, come on down to the ION Chat Lobby tonight at 8 PM (Central) for the June 99 AnachroChat. This is your opportunity to comment on and ask questions about Tom Hall’s much-anticipated RPG Anachronox.

Yes, all your favorites will be there: Tom "Waxy Pants" Hall, Jake "Ambassador of Funk" Hughes, Ralph "Badabagayo" Barbagallo, Richard "Drunk as a Poet on Payday" Gaubert, Lee "The Dancing Machine" Dotson, and Squirrel "I Am Not On Bagels…I Am Bagels" Eiserloh. They’ll all be tanked up from Happy Hour and ready for action!

To join in the Big Fun™, simply enter the Chat Lobby. Or connect via IRC to www.ionstorm.com, #ion. See you there.

A vs. P Review - Mark @ 08:01 EST

Our Future Games Network affiliate, MGON, has posted a review of the A3D 1.x, DS3D with EAX supporting Aliens vs Predator.

Powerslide Patch - Mark @ 07:58 EST

I see on 3Dfiles that Ratbag has released a patch for the DS3D with EAX, A3D 1.x supporting Powerslide. Looks like nothing to do with audio.

Thursday, June 03, 1999

3DAI on the Move - Mark @ 22:18 EST

Steven over at 3D Audio Immersion just dropped us a line to let us know they have had some provider problems and had to make an unplanned move to www.3dai.net. Note the change from .com to .net so be sure to update your bookmarks and be patient as they tweak the site to the new domain (its not ready yet and we will post here when they tell us its ready).

Sennheiser MX5 Review - Mark @ 20:37 EST

3DGaming takes a look at the top of the line earbuds from Sennheiser. According to the reviewer, these are perfect for your laptop or mp3 player as they maintain the Sennheiser quality with the convenience of a small package.

QSound Gains Momentum in China - Frank @ 15:52 EST

QSound has Announced that Sanrupid Electronic Co. Ltd. and ChangHong Electronics Group Corp. have begun shipping QSound-enhanced products in China.

These products feature QSound's QMSS(tm) (QSound Multi-Speaker System) and QMDV(tm) (QSound Matrix Surround Decoder/Virtualizer) which are part of the QSurround(tm) family of technologies.

Sanrupid has incorporated these technologies comprehensively in their entry level, mid and high-end speaker models. One of China's largest manufacturers of high quality speakers, Sanrupid holds a significant portion of the speaker market domestically. It also exports its products to the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and SE Asia.

Live!Ware 2.0 Review - Mark @ 02:34 EST

On May 13th with great fanfare Creative Labs launched Live!Ware 2.0. We sort though the Live!Ware 2.0 feature list to get at just whats really new and then we work through, feauture by feature to give an overview with comments on the value added of Live!Ware 2.0. For the gaming features and in particular for the subjective 3D audio tests I tag team with Mikael Hagén to offer a broader perspective. So with no further adieu, we present the new features of Live!Ware 2.0. These features are broken into 3 groups. Features for everyone, features for musicians and for us the all important features for gamers. When we look at 3D audio we also offer our thoughts on how it compares to Aureal's highly rated 3D positioning. So what are you waiting for? Check it out!

Vortex of Sound Poll - Mark @ 01:41 EST

Just got a note from Vortex of Sound asking us to let you know they have implimented a new poll feature the current poll is regarding the Unreal screeching/crashing issue. They are trying to collect some data to send to Aureal.

Sound Sensation - Mark @ 00:36 EST

That's the title of big article at Games.net looking at A3D and EAX, the SB Live and the MX3000 and a number of speaker sets. There is also a review of the Xitel Storm Platinum over at Action Xtreme. Thanks to A3D Central for the pointers.

MaximumPC Interview - Mark @ 00:25 EST

Our friends over at Tech-Junkie have posted an interview with MaximumPC's chief editor Brad Dosland. Its quite a nice read with coverage on industry expectation of a PC magazine.

Wednesday, June 02, 1999

Aureal Announces Name Change - Frank @ 14:24 EST

Aureal today announced that the record date for its previously announced 1-for-15 reverse stock split will be effective as of the close of business on June 10, 1999. Aureal's stockholders approved the reverse stock split at their annual meeting on May 19, 1999. In addition, the company announced it will change it name to Aureal, Inc. to more accurately reflect the company's transition to a broadly focused company in digital audio imaging hardware and software.

EX-4 Flat Panel Image - Mark @ 08:11 EST

We have added an image of the prototype of Benwin's EX-4 Flat Panel speaker system to the end of our BW-2000 review. You can of course also chose to read the review from the start.

Tuesday, June 01, 1999

Requiem 1.2 patch Released! - Frank @ 23:41 EST

The Requiem 1.2 patch has the following features and is inclusive of the previous 1.1 patch. That is, this patch will correctly upgrade Requiem owners who have either the original game (1.0) or the previous patch (1.1). The enclosed 1_2readme.txt gives further details.*

Support for 3D sound has been expanded and enhanced. Sound cards equipped with Aureal(tm)'s A3D technology are now supported (positional only, not reverb). Any sound cards supporting DirectSound 3D are now supported. More accurate 3D sound emulation in software is now possible if you choose to use DirectSound 3D Software from Microsoft or RSX from RAD GameTools.

Creative Optical I/O Card? - Mark @ 21:46 EST

We were following up on some news group posting we had seen on the lack of availability of Creative's Optical I/O card in preparation for our LiveWare 2.0 review (which will be posted tomorrow) and got the following information from Creative's Brand Manager, Audio - Micah Stroud:

Due to customer feedback, Creative has decided that the Optical I/O card demand was met after the first shipment of cards was sold. Initial sales feedback confirmed this, as sales have gone down significantly since we first offered the Optical I/O card. Thus, in lieu of further demand, the Optical I/O card is only available on a first come, first serve basis from the regions that still have them left - currently that leaves only the US.

If demand is sufficient, there is no reason why Creative couldn't offer this product again. But looking at the sell through for the first offering, it appears this item is not all that desirable to the general Sound Blaster Live! population. I would encourage your readers to inform their local Creative representative, via the respective web sites listed below, that they still want such a card. The contacts are as follows:

For Europe and Russia:
www.europe.soundblaster.com/wwwnew/credits.asp

For Asia and Australia
www.creative-asia.com/feedback/

For the US, Canada and Latin America
www.soundblaster.com/feedback-products.html

MS

Labtec Speaker Reviews - Mark @ 15:53 EST

3DHardware.net has posted their review of Labtec’s APX 4620 speaker system and seem to like them as much as I did when 3DsoundSurge reviewed them back in January. 3DHardware.net has also posted a review of Labtec’s lower priced APX 2632 speaker system.

The Future of PC Audio - Mark @ 15:37 EST

That's the title of an article posted another of our FGN affiliates, FPS3D. The article takes a look at ISA, PCI, USB as well as Dolby standards vs. A3D and EAX and looks ahead to see where PC audio is headed in the future.

VideoLogic Ships AC-3 Decoder And Speakers - Frank @ 14:13 EST

VideoLogic today Announced the shipping of its DigiTheatre 5.1 Dolby Digital / AC-3 decoder and speaker system.

DigiTheatre specifically targets the growing market for stand-alone DVD players, as well as PC users with DVD-ROM, and provides a high-quality cinema-style sound for just £249.99 inc. VAT.

Glide to the Music - Mark @ 08:00 EST

I was doing a bit of what I recommend all of our readers take some time to do...check out our FGN Affiliate sites. You can find a full list at www.fgnetwork.com. Anyway, I see that Glide Underground has done a number of sound related reviews. The most recent one is of the SonicVortex2 but they also have reviews of the Platinum Sound SWX-1200 Sub Woofer System, the Platinum Sound PS-490 Speakers, the Xlerate Pro and a number of others that you will find from their Reviews Page.

Unreal Tournament Preview - Mark @ 07:51 EST

Firing Squad has posted a huge preview of the Unreal Tournament which will support A3D 2.0 and EAX (3.0?) out of the box.

Monday, May 31, 1999

TB Quadzilla Review - Mark @ 10:15 EST

AGNHardware has posted what is probably the first review of the Quadzilla, which the Voyetra Turtle Beach entry into the four speaker Vortex 2 market. We are expecting a review board very shortly so look for our own review to be posted in June.

3D Audio Week in Review - Mark @ 07:58 EST

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

News from May 24-30

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