News: July 12 -  July 18, 1999

Sunday, July 18, 1999

KCplus v.040 Beta Released - Mark @ 20:23 EST

Thanks goes out to Paul McKnight of Really Effective Software for letting us know that he has just released a new version of KCplus v0.40 (BETA) (subsequent to the release of the first beta last weekend).

This release includes hot keys for Mute, Winamp Next, Winamp Previous and Winamp Pause, Configurable Hot keys and a Context Sensitive Help file (including a list of default hot keys).

The general feature of KCPlus are:

Increase and decrease sound volume using hot keys;

Control Winamp's Next, Previous and Pause buttons via a series of hot keys;

Easily adjust the master volume if you have no corresponding control on your front/rear amplifier;

Easily adjust your volume settings if you have your amplifier in a difficult to reach position;

Context sensitive help;

No run-time files needed;

KCplus is free to use subject to conditions given in the license.

DVD Supplemental Material - The Art of Features - Mark @ 16:50 EST

Aureal's webzine "Wavetracings"has a new article by David Gasior, formerly of Aureal, entitled DVD Supplemental Material - The Art of Features. This article takes a look at the features added to the DVD, such as trailers, commentary, outtakes, and more and why its those features, and not the enhancments to sound and picture quality, that will be the main benefit of DVD to the average home user.

System Shock II Preview - Mark @ 15:03 EST

PC Paradox has posted a nice preview of System Shock II the highly anticipated sequel from Looking Glass Studios. While we are still awaiting details on the sound system we do have very high expectations given that System Shock II is using an enhanced Darkside engine. This is the same engine put to excellent aural use in Thief: The Dark Project. Here is a clip on sound from the preview:

As complexity and non-linearity are imperative for the modern role-playing game to have, music, graphics, and the interface must be strong to support this type of gameplay. After listening to several sound and music clips of System Shock 2, my foot began to tap, then my fingers on the mouse, and then I got into a groove. Even though, I did not play the game, I could imagine that these scores will be deftly used to create suspense, action, and horror at once. The sounds seems crisp, but the application of them have been not shown yet. In all, expect some great music that will convey suspense, fear, and solitude to the gamer.

Sunday Browsing - Mark @ 12:46 EST

A nice quiet Sunday give a perfect opportunity to head over to our flagship site to see what our Future Games Network affiliates are up to. If you are a first time visitor to the site, we have lots of materials for you to check out. Check click on one of the many categories in our menu.

Dolby Digital EX - Mark @ 12:09 EST

Nothing happening in the way of PC sound news so far today so I expand out to theater. Off the web there is an interesting three page article in the July/August issue of Sound and Vision called "Star Wars - The Phantom Surround" that talks about pushing the sound envelope even further through Dolby Digital Surround EX technology which is a system that carries 6.1 channels of audio instead of the 5.1 channels delivered by standard Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks. The extra channel is a matrix-encoded rear center channel. You can read all about Dolby Digital–Surround EX and the Dolby SA10 Surround Adapter which is targeted at theaters and not home users. I saw the Phantom Menace in an EX ready theater and must say that it makes a noticable difference. Dolby Labs was kind enough to offer an online Dolby Digital Surround EX theatre search to help you go and check it out for yourself.

Saturday, July 17, 1999

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Preview - Mark @ 23:07 EST

Beyond3D has posted a preview of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. While its not currently on anyones 3D sound game list I do recall reading that it would support 3D sound. Here is a snip on the sound:

You can also expect plenty of spectacular sound. John William's exhilarating classical music score shall make a triumphant return in Infernal Machine, so get ready to practice your humming skills. Also of special note is that the composer of LucasArt's Outlaws will be making a return to produce some impressive new tunes.

In the Mind of A Game Musician - Mark @ 22:42 EST

You enter a dark room.. the door shuts behind you. You hear ghoulish moaning in the distance as a low bass sound begins to grow louder. The music you hear grips you down to your very core... making you unsure of every move you make. Hold on to your seat, because our FGN affilate GameDev.net is all set to tell you exactly what goes into the mind of a musician when creating game music.

Benwin BW2000 Review - Mark @ 11:46 EST

Our FGN affiliate, Glide Underground has posted a review of Benwin's BW2000 Flatpanel speaker system. Nothing against Benwin or the BW2000s but these are simply not gaming speakers and yet reviews continue to frame them in that manner. If you are looking for a nice portable set of speakers to carry with your laptop then the BW2000s come into their own but even at $89 you can get better desktop performance from a number of other speakers. For more on what I think about the BW2000s please check out our own BW2000 review before you plunk down your hard earned money.

Forum Question: What speakers are you using on your system and what do you look for when buying a set of speakers?

New PC-DVD Encore Dxr2 Win 95/98/NT 4.0 Drivers - Mark @ 11:18 EST

Creative has released new DXr2 drivers. Here is the basic info on what you get:

This is a stand-alone upgrade package for the PC-DVD Encore Dxr2 for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0 (English Language), which also includes WDM (Windows Driver Model) drivers for Windows 98 SE only.

Note: The Windows 98 WDM driver only works with Windows 98 SE. You will only need to use the Windows 98 WDM driver if you intend to use Microsoft DVDPlayer or need DirectShow support.

Aside from the WDM drivers, there are no major changes or updates on the applications and drivers from the previous version (DVDE-WEB-4-US) to the current version (DVDE-WEB-5-US). The previous version (DVDE-WEB-4-US) added SMP support for Windows NT 4.0.

Please refer to the README.1ST file for further information. This package MUST be extracted with either WinZip or from a command prompt with the -d option for the package to install correctly!

Note: This package works ONLY with the PC-DVD Encore and PC-DVD Encore 5x kits with a Dxr2 Decoder, and the PC-DVD RAM drive with a Dxr2 Decoder card. This file does not support the Dxr3 Decoder.

Texas Instruments & QDesign: Enhanced Digital Audio - Mark @ 01:18 EST

HOUSTON, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments and QDesign Corporation today announced an agreement to pair TI's world-leading programmable digital signal processors (DSPs) with QDesign's advanced Music Codec. The design will give consumers the ability to create and store up to five times more music on portable audio players while maintaining high audio fidelity.

TI, the world leader in DSP and analog, will deliver a hardware design using the industry-leading programmable, low-power TMS320C5000 DSP, which QDesign will use to support the recording, storage and playback of QDesign Music files. QDesign's music application will allow users to encode their favorite music from audio CDs to both MP3 and QDesign Music files. Users also may convert MP3 audio files to smaller QDesign Music files for longer playback time on both desktop computers and TI DSP-based portable audio devices.

RioPort Partners with QDesign for MP3 - Mark @ 01:14 EST

QDesign Corporation, a leading developer of digital audio compression technologies for on-line music and new media announced today that RioPort Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamond Multimedia, has selected the Company's implementation of MP3 technology for integration into its portfolio of future RioPort software products.

Friday, July 16, 1999

Quadzilla Review - Mark @ 18:03 EST

RivaRave has posted a nice review of the Turtle Beach Montego II Quadzilla. You can also check out our own review of the Quadzilla.

Sinister Unleashed - Mark @ 08:10 EST


A demo of Sinister Unleashed is available over at GameSpot. The full version of the game will support A3D and DS3D with EAX but I have not had a chance to check out the demo. If anyone finds out you can let us know what you think in the forum.
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

Thursday, July 15, 1999

Soldier of Fortune Music - Mark @ 22:57 EST

According to Chia Chin Lee, Sound Designer/Composer on Soldier of Fortune, the final score for Soldier of Fortune will vary in style. Most levels will have music cues that punctuate the action, while some levels will have dynamically driven music segments that react to player actions.
News Source: VoodooExtreme

Audio Benchmarks - Mark @ 22:07 EST

Aureal A3D Central has posted some new 2 speaker and 4 speaker benchmarks of DirectSound and DirectSound3D CPU usage in Audio WinBench 99 with the Vortex 2 Windows 9x 2016/2030/2031 reference drivers. They also note that according to Aureal's Skip McIlvaine Vortex 2 Windows 9x 4.06.2035 reference drivers will be available in less than a month.

We also have a bunch of ZD Audio benchmarks done for the Vortex 2, Sound Blaster Live and a few other cards, all done on the same system. If you are looking for some in game benchmarks you can also check out our recent A3D 2.0 performance tests which focus on Heretic II but also look at Half-Life and Motorhead and finally we have in game benchmarks done using Half-Life with the MX300, SB Live, Yamaha Waveforce and a couple other cards.

MX300 Recoil Full/Multiplayer CD - Mark @ 21:45 EST

If you bought an MX300 in North America you can do one of two things to get the Recoil Full/Multiplayer CD:

1) Fax your original receipt of the MX300 to Diamond at 541-967-2401. Make sure that somewhere noticeable, you write ATTN: Gregg Hart

-or-

2) Mail your Recoil game CD that came with your MX300 to:
Diamond Multimedia Systems
ATTN: Gregg Hart
7101 Supra DR SW
Albany, OR 97321

Make sure that you include a note with your name and mailing address. Also, be aware that the CD you will receive will be a CDR burn of the original CD. This is what was supplied to us. It will not include the retail label of the game, but rather a hand written label. The game, however, will be the full retail/multiplayer enabled game that you would buy from the store.

3D Audio Primer - Mark @ 20:54 EST

3dimensional 128 has posted a 3D Audio Primer that offers a brief overview of what sound technologies are available for the consumer as well as a look at how we humans hear and interpet the sound around us.
News Source: VoodooExtreme

Sound Blaster PCI64 Win95/98 Drivers Update - Mark @ 20:45 EST

Creative Labs has released new Win 9x drivers for the Sound Blaster PCI64 This update includes:

* Latest drivers (v4.05)
* Sound Blaster PCI64 Mixer
* Creative Configurator

This release also:
* Improves 8-Bit recording quality
* Improves DirectSound Capture support
* Fixes audio problems in popular games such as FIFA99, Red Line Racer, Half Life

Gone Gold - Mark @ 20:34 EST

Gone Gold is a new Future Games Network affiliate that deals with games that JUST came out. Run full time by a retired NYPD officer who was injured in the line of duty, this is a great resource to learn about the newest games PLUS a resource to find the cheapest stores and deals online and offline to buy the games.

Mechwarrior III Patch - Mark @ 20:28 EST

Still no 3D sound for Mechwarrior III but with the 1.1 patch that was just released you will atleast not get the crackling and popping sounds heard on PCI sound cards. You can grab the 2.6 MB patch that fixes a whole bunch of issues and adds a few enhancements from 3Dfiles.
News Source: Gone Gold

Klipsch ProMedia V.2-400 THX Certified - Mark @ 13:21 EST

Thanks to UltimoN for pointing us in the direction of Klipsch, who is a leading manufacturer of loudspeakers for professional and home entertainment applications.

Klipsch has joined with Compaq to introduce the first THX® Certified speaker system for multimedia applications. The Klipsch ProMedia™ v.2-400™ Multimedia Speaker System includes four matched two-way satellites which utilize Klipsch MicroTractrix™ Horn technology for accurate, clear and powerful reproduction, as well as a dedicated subwoofer. The system is comprised of a high power five-channel built-in amplifier, offering 400 watts of total power!

This system was designed with 4 speaker sound cards in mind offering front and rear channel inputs and was designed by Klipsch and Compaq in accordance with Lucasfilm for THX® Certification with the goal of delivering state-of-the-art audio performance at a $249 MSRP. Mark Vena, Director of Desktop Product Marketing for Compaq's Consumer Products Group had the following to say about this system:

With the PC market being saturated with the just average speaker sounds, it was time to take the next leap in the evolution of PC sound. The PC sound systems in the market today were just that, PC speakers. With Klipsch and Lucasfilm THX® Certification and 400 watts of power, Compaq has stepped over the bar into the world of full theater surround sound. The gamers will love the surreal surround and three dimensionality of the sounds in a game.

Genesis 3D Audio - Mark @ 01:26 EST

We mentioned a GenEdit 2.0 Pre-Alpha Preview yesterday with a promise to followup with more info on the 3D sound component. Thanks to Mike Sandige from Eclipse we have the following short Q & A:

3DSS: By what API does the Genesis 3D engine support "3D sound positioning and attenuation"?

Mike: The Genesis3D engine supplies APIs to provide information about a sounds relative position and attenuation based on the sounds position, a camera's position, and the intervening geometry between them. It is also possible to create user volume areas in the world, and tag those areas with user audio properties - like areas that have lots of echo, for example. We also supply APIs for turning the 3D positional information into a stereo approximation. Genesis supplies built-in support for basic DirectX sound - this support is only supplemental to the engine and is designed to be extended or supplanted with whatever advanced 3D system that the client of Genesis3D would prefer. We don't assume that we are the experts in 3D sound, but we are using our expertise in 3D world management and rendering to supply the information that experts in 3D sound need.

3DSS: Does the GenEdit 2.0 pre-alpha incude support for 3D sound incorporation via the editor and if not will the final release offer that support?

Mike: GenEdit 2.0 pre-alpha (this is for the 2.0 version of Genesis3D) does not include sound support. Future releases and the final release will support real-time (while you are editing) 3D sound support. In the same spirit of Genesis3D 1.0, 2.0 will natively have some basic sound support, but will focus on supplying the needed information for arbitrary extensible 3D sound support.

There have been several discussions on our Open Source forum about projects to add A3D and EAX support to the main engine. I don't know of the status of these, but I presume they are not complete.

You can check out the Genesis 3D Engine at www.genesis3d.com. If this got your attention then you should also be interested in the info we posted in the news on the audio support for the Crystal Space 3D Engine.

Hoontech ST Digital Review - Mark @ 01:07 EST

3D Audio Immersion has posted their review of the 4DWave-NX based Hoontech ST Digital board. Here is a snip from the review

Never heard of Hoontech? Neither had I until I heard word of their Digital I/O boards for the Sound Blaster Live! cards. Then I found out that they have been around for a while in the soundcard industry, but mainly in the Asia markets. I also found out that they had a card based on the Trident 4DWave-NX (which I heard at Comdex '98) so I was interested to see how it stacked up to the rest.

Logitech SoundMan X2 Speaker Review - Mark @ 01:03 EST

Planethardware has posted a review of Logitech's SoundMan X2 speaker setup. This is Logitech's second generation speaker line, and sports an updated look, and nice price tag but according to Planethardware, quality doesn't seem to be up to par with other Logitech-based products.
News Source: Anandtech

Wednesday, July 14, 1999

Advent AV390PL Review - Mark @ 20:58 EST

3Dhardware has posted a review of Advent AV390PL speaker system and they really like them, stating that they give you more than any other speaker system below $200! There are some pretty good sounding speakers at under $200 so thats a pretty strong statement. Here's a snip from the review:

Possibly the most exciting feature about these speakers are their crossover frequency. Now that sentece might sound like a joke to you, but read on and you'll understand you have the same opinion. The crossover frqency is the frequency at which, for the first value, the subwoofer takes over from the mid-woofer and for the second, the mid-woofer takes over from the tweeter. The most important crossover value is the subwoofer to midwoofer one, which almost all companies have failed to set at a good frequency. Usually we see the frequency lying at around 180-250Hz, which makes the subwoofer steal a lot of signal from the satellites, signal that not only can be produced better by the satellites, but that could also be missed if the subwoofer is positioned under the desk (higher frequency tones don't penetrate wood and other hard materials as well as bass tones, and therefore get lost).

Aliens vs Predator Review - Mark @ 20:52 EST

Our FGN flagship site has posted a review of Aliens vs Predator. Note that EAX support will work on more than just the SB Live. Look for our own review in a few days that will cover all the bases plus have our usual extra emphasis on sound.

Golden Harmony Hi-Five Review - Mark @ 17:20 EST

3D Gaming has posted a review of the Golden Harmony Hi-Five sound card. This Canyon3D based board with a list price of around $85 is targeted below the more upscale Terratech DMX board that we are currently reviewing. We will try to get one of these boards to put through our own testing but right now you can head over to 3D Gaming and check out what they think.

Sinistar Unleashed: A3D & DS3D with EAX - Mark @ 13:13 EST

SharkyExtreme has posted a preview of Sinstar Unleashed which notes that the game will support A3D and DS3D with EAX.

GenEdit 2.0 Pre-Alpha Preview - Mark @ 11:17 EST

A few posts down we mention the 3D audio support in the Crysal3D game engine and we plan to follow-up with more information at a later date. Well today we offer some information on another engine called Genesis 3D that offers "3D sound positioning and attenuation". Today they have posted a sneak peek at the brand new rev of the Genesis2.0 editor. The version available for download is fully functional and according to the developers its "totally kick ass"! They indicate that at this pre-alpha of GenEdit is not feature complete by any means and they are looking for a lot of feedback from users. A brand new section has been dedicated to GenEdit 2 for suggestions and concerns in the Genesis3D forum. We have asked for more information on the 3D audio support and will follow up when we get it. If you are a game developer or want to try you hand at it you might want to check this out.
News Source: Blues News

Myth II: Soulblighter Patch - Mark @ 00:31 EST

Bungie has release a patch for the A3D 1.X and DS3D with EAX supporting Myth II: Soulbligher. The patch adds a new multiplayer game type: deathmatch, reduced chat lag, fixed a bug that would cause crashes when switching bungie.net rooms and about another dozen fixes, none of which involve sound. You can grab it from 3Dfiles.

Tuesday, July 13, 1999

Soldier of Fortune to Support EAX 2.0 - Mark @ 23:33 EST

A post on Ear on Games quoting Raven's Jake Simpson notes that Soldier of Fortune is having EAX 2.0 implemented by Creative Labs. Great news for all as we already knew the title was going to support A3D 2.0. The post also has an explanation from Jake Simpson on why the EAX in Heretic II does not work.

Spectrum Research uses SRS Surround Technolgy - Mark @ 22:29 EST

SRS Labs announced today that it has licensed its patented virtual surround technology, TruSurround(R), to Spectrum Research, an engineering and development firm specializing in advanced commercial and consumer electronics. With Spectrum Research's Theater 2000(TM), consumers worldwide can now enjoy a sensational, completely immersive virtual surround sound experience from their existing stereo or home theater system, including any television, VCR, CD player, DVD player or DSS satellite system. The Theater 2000 packages SRS Labs' patented TruSurround and SRS technologies in an easy-to-install product with simple plug and play operation. and is available through Spectrum Research at an MSRP of $169.95.

SDMI Open Standard for Portable Devices - Mark @ 21:56 EST

Speaking of the which, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (``SDMI'') today published its first specification, a voluntary, open standard that manufacturers can use to develop new portable devices, expected for the 1999 holiday season. With these new SDMI-compliant devices consumers will be able to play all ``legacy'' content, including copies of existing CDs and digital music files, as well as electronically distributed music in protected and unprotected formats. In the future, these devices will also play new music released in emerging, SDMI-compliant formats. The specification, adopted in draft by SDMI at its June 23-25 meeting, underwent a final technical review and was adopted at a meeting in Los Angeles on July 7-8. SDMI's members include more than 110 representatives of the music, consumer electronics and information technology industries.

You can get more details about the specification from todays press release.

Creative Supports SDMI Open Standard - Mark @ 20:58 EST

Creative announced today its intention to support the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) open standard in future versions of its Creative NOMAD line of portable digital audio players. The specification, adopted in draft by SDMI at its June 23 - 25 meeting, underwent a final editorial review and was adopted at a meeting in Los Angeles on July 7-8. SDMI's members include more than 110 representatives of the music, consumer electronics and information technology industries.

Gateway Offers Cambridge Soundworks Speakers - Mark @ 20:56 EST

Creative and Cambridge SoundWorks today announced that the GCS200 speakers will be included on Gateway Select, Gateway Essential, and GP-Series PC systems.

Hired Guns - Mark @ 19:36 EST

PC Paradox has posted four new screenshots and a short overview of Psygnosis' upcoming 4-in-1, Unreal-engine powered, action game, Hired Guns. By way of the Unreal engine, this title should sport A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX.

MDK 2 Preview - Mark @ 12:44 EST

Avault has posted a preview of Bioware's MDK 2 which has the following to say about sound:

Finally, unlike many recent releases, considerable attention is being given to 3D sound, which is fully implemented. "I love the sense of anticipation caused when a players hears a sound from an unknown source, and muffled sounds emanating from beyond a closed door can really give players the willies!" Zeschuk admits.

WinAmp Version 2.24 Released - Frank @ 11:57 EST

Not much to do with 3Dsound but just thought most of you would like to know that a New version of Winamp has been released. This is whats new or changed in the 2.24 release:

• WSZ (Winamp Skin Zip) handling (simply open a .WSZ file in explorer to have it installed)
  
• Two distributions (one with WMA and ASFS, one without)
  
• Better equalizer presets
  
• Better shuffle logic
  
• Better docking code
  
• Better support for invalid ID3v2 tags (for people putting invalid tags on)
  
• Minibrowser optimizations
  
• Fixed occasional random crashes from 2.23

Warzone 2100 Review - Mark @ 08:05 EST

Thresh's Firingsquad has kicked out a review of Eidos' 3D RTS game, Warzone 2100, which was released a couple of months ago. WZ2100 was one of the first of its kind (3D RTS) and sport support for 3D sound and EAX. Firing Squad has mixed impressions about the sound as illustrated by the following quote:

There is one sound for unit affirmations, one sound for selection, and a universal sound for all buildings. Combine this with the ever-present drone of the oil derricks going back and forth (with an attempt to be jazzy through a "zzzzzt" sound coming from the power plant) and I eventually just turned off the sound effects and gave up.

The voices are all monotone, and I found myself laughing during one of the videos where there's supposed to be this big, huge crisis and they're all calmly marching forward with their speeches. There is some redemption in the fact that battle noises (machine gun fire, cannons, mortars, rockets, etc.) are all new and realistic -but even these grated on my nerves after a while.

Monday, July 12, 1999

New Vortex 1 Drivers - Mark @ 22:27 EST

New Vortex 1 drivers are up on Aureal's FTP (ftp.aureal.com) and web sites (version 4.06.1187). Some minor fixes (Digital Orchestrator Pro crashes, etc.), improved SoundFont compatibility, and support for the Intel 810 chipset are included in these new drivers. Head over to Aureal's non-flash or flash download page.

Exist Programmer Interivew - Mark @ 21:40 EST

ShugaShack has posted an interview with Mike Fricker, who is developing the Exist game engine which supports DS3D. Here is a snip from the interview:

Q: You mention that audio is important to the emotion of a game. How do you plan to use audio to enhance Exist?

A: I'm really interested in dynamic music. However I certainly don't think it's appropriate for a multiplayer-only action game, where you'll have to rely on sounds to know what's going on around you.

I've done a fair bit of research on 3D sound, and although to get the most out of it you need some decent speakers or a headset, it's *absolutely* worthwhile. Just being able to discern a player or projectile's location accurately with only audio is an awesome thing, especially in a competitive multiplayer game.

BW2000 Reivew - Mark @ 21:27 EST

Voodoo3.net has posted a review of Benwin's BW2000 flat panel speakers. As I seem to be doing a lot with these speakers, I suggest you look at our own review of the BW2000s for a counter point before you buy. They have also posted a short review of the DS3D with EAX supporting Need For Speed High Stakes.

Windows 2000 Vortex 2 Drivers? - Mark @ 16:28 EST

Thanks to Aureal's Skip McIlvaine for letting us know that Microsoft should be making Windows 2000 drivers for Vortex and Vortex 2 available on their Windows Update web site as of today. Here is the URL: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Windows 2000 users will receive an updated CD, can update through the Device Manager or can download the update from the Microsoft Windows Update web site. The build number for Vortex driver support should be something after Build 2076.Update: As of 9:49 PM people (including me) are reporting that they cannot find the drivers at the MS site.

Week in Review - Mark @ 13:03 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering July 5th to July 11th. 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.

CrystalSpace 3D Engine - Mark @ 12:41 EST

Thanks to Nathaniel 'NooTe' Saint Martin who is working on the audio system of CrystalSpace we can offer you some information on its sound system. First off, Crystal Space is an OpenSource portable 3d engine. In terms of audio the CrystalSpace engine supports a 3d 'generic' software sound renderer (they use a sub-system layer for low level audio used for windows (waveOut), OSS (linux, freebsd...) and MacOs(and maybe BeOS too)). Nathaniel has also done some 'hardware' renderers for DirectSound3D (dx5), EAX (1.0) and Aureal3D (2.0 without geometry engine). These support 3d buffers, streaming and, for EAX only, there is support for setting the room enviroment.

You can learn more about the CyrstalSpace engine at their website.

Quadzilla Review - Mark @ 12:33 EST

It looks like just about everyone is reviewing the Turtle Beach Montego II Quadzilla. This time its BXBoards that have posted their review.

New Sound Utility - KCplus v0.35 (BETA) - Mark @ 09:15 EST

We just received the following note from Paul McKnight of Really Effective Software:

:I have just released a very early beta of KCplus v0.35 (BETA). The aim of KCplus is to provide hotkey support for adjusting the volume mixer controls of Windows 95/98. This is a very early beta and has limited functionality, however, you can fully control the master volume in small or large increments using four hot keys. Please report any problems or suggestions to:

kcplus@softwareengineer.demon.co.uk

A3D 2.0 and CPU Usage - Mark @ 04:08 EST

The A3D 2.0 engine and API has been undergoing progressive tweaking by Aureal. With the release of the latest drivers we decided to take a quick look at where performance was with the initial release of A3D 2.0 and where it is today using Heretic II as our prime benchmarking tool. Heretic II is the focus because it uses the latest A3D 2.0 engine that we have access to but we also looked at results from Motorhead and Half-Life to see what CPU usage of the original (in game) wavetracing engine was like. If the performance of Hertic II with the A3D 2.20 drivers is sign of things to come then Aureal will be hearing nothing in the way of compaints regarding unacceptable CPU usage for wavetracing.

For all the details please check out our look at the performance of the A3D 2.0 engine

News from July 5 - July 11

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