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The Week in
Review: July 1-7, 2002
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
UT2003 EAX and A3D Update
Got some request from people wanting to know if A3D 2.0 and/or EAX 1.0/2.0 was still
present in the UT2003 engine. In case of A3D 2.0 the answer from Daniel Vogel from Epic
Games is no ("A3D support is long gone."). However for owners of EAX
2.0 capable cards (the Live, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, several of Hercules, Philips Edge
Series to name some) the answer is more positive, UT 2003 will unlike some of the other
recent EAX Advanced HD/EAX 3.0 games (e.g. JKII) still take full advantage of EAX 2.0 HW.
That is some of the features only present in EAX Advanced HD will only be available for
Audigy users but users with EAX 2.0 HW will still be able to hear reverb effects and other
features of EAX 2.0.
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
- Live and Audigy driver news
David Hamilton the moderator on Creative Labs Europe support forum has made
a post with some news on when we will see the next Live and Audigy drivers. In short
they expect the Live drivers to be out in a week or so and the Audigy drivers out late
August. However if you don't want to wait until then you can order the drivers on a CD now
(direct
link for UK users from other European countries select your country on the main site). Worth noting the
post, in particular the bit relating to the fees for ordering the CDs are directed to
European customers. I would expect US to offer something similar though. Can also be
interesting to note the driver version mentioned here (5.12.01.0244) are the same as what
Compaq offered for download back in May. Here's the entire post
Hi guys,
We have been working for some time now on a unified driver
architecture base to allow us to better support our customers needs on a more timely
basis. The unified driver architecture drivers will be know as the Creative MDP
(Multi-Driver Pack) and will eradicate future issues that occur between drivers and
applications running on different OS's and will also support both Live! and Audigy series
cards under the one driver. The key benefit of the MDP approach is that there is now only
one driver and app codebase as opposed to the multiple codebases that existed previously
and had to be maintained separately. This will free up development time from a majority of
maintenance to a much fairer balance of more enhancement development.
As you can appreciate this meant starting from the ground up and
building the drivers and apps all over again from scratch. This work has taken a great
deal of time, but we have recently completed the stand-alone driver and apps that are now
used on our new installation CDs, which some OEMs now have and our newer products will
also use.
We are very aware of some outstanding issues with the Live! and
Audigy based cards that have been highlighted by many users and we very much appreciate
your patience while waiting for the fixes to these issues. We had a very tough choice to
make. Did we work on a fix using the old codebases, but in doing so delay the release of
the MDP which has so many other benefits, or build the fixes into the MDP and release the
two together a little later? We decided the best approach was to forge ahead with the new
architecture which will provide better long-term advantages.
The great news is that these issues are indeed resolved using
the new MDP approach and all that remains to be done is release a web download.
Unfortunately as in all things in life this is not a simple process. Due to the vast
difference in code between the old system and the new and also between the Live! codebase
and the Audigy there is a further great deal of work to be done. Why? Well it's simple.
The full install is over 300MB, clearly too big for anyone but T1 users to download in a
reasonable timeframe, therefore we have to create update packs which are much smaller
because they update only the parts that require changing. However due to the previous
different codebases we have to create two different upgrade streams, one for Live! and one
for Audigy. Once installed they will both then be 100% MDP compliant. We took the decision
a little while ago to release the Live! update first. This work is now 99% complete and
the download (only 50MB if you want all components, 25MB for the core components) will be
available in the next week or so on our site. The work has already begun on the Audigy
download and barring any major issues this should be ready around late August time.
In the meantime if you are a Live! user on a modem that doesn't
want to download 50MB, or if you are an Audigy user that does not want to wait for the
download, we have made the full CD available for order. The CD is free of charge, but
there is a very small fee of €1.50 to cover postage. Once both downloads are
available we will implement a small handling charge for the CD shipment, so if you want it
- get it now.
One final point is that in the past when we have released large
downloads our servers have become jammed and many users have complained about dropped
downloads or simply just incredibly slow download speeds. Due to the size of this download
we anticipated the same flurry of activity. We have therefore listened to our users and we
are investigating many options. from the simple one of adding more bandwidth, to server
bandwidth sharing between our WW servers (i.e. when the U.S. is asleep Europe can use some
of their bandwidth to supplement ours and vice-versa) etc, etc. However one enhancement
that has already been implemented and will be used going forwards will be our
implementation of a new download queuing system that allows us to provide maximum service
fairly across our user base. During busy periods you may have a few minutes wait before
your download begins, but once it does you will be given guaranteed bandwidth at a minimum
56K modem speed. Should your connection be dropped, no problem. Log back in within 5 mins
and you go straight back into the download without queuing. Our servers also support
resume download apps, so if you have these you will even be able to continue the download
from the point it left off.
We are very pleased with the performance and stability of our
new driver set and we are sure you will be too. I hope you like the plans we have put in
place and have a better understanding of the implementation issues encountered.
Regards,
Dave
Notes - Driver V 5.12. 01.0038
FIXES
Cakewalk SONAR 1.3.1 (Trial Version) detection of Sound Blaster
Extigy as monaural device
Wave Volume level changing to the default level after forwarding, rewinding or muting the
track in Audio Mixer while playing back AC3 files.
EAX On/Off button in PlayCenter responds correctly to remote control
Fader and Center speaker volume in Audio Mixer is accessible after headphones are
disconnected.
Updating drivers in Windows XP no longer requires a system restart.
Speaker configuration setting is saved after the restart.
Improved 3D audio processing.
Added Features
Enabled compressed AC3 pass-through for output to an external decoder.
Added Bass Management Configuration
Sample Rate Conversion engine has been improved to allow playback of 24bit/96KHz files
through the 16bit/48KHz engine.
Added Firmware version information in the Audio Control.
Added DirectSound Voice Management in WinXP.
Firmware V 1.1.020507
Added AC3 pass-through
Added Bass Management Configuration
Improved CMSS playback quality.
Improved device recognition on system startup.
The update appears to be only available from the Asian server at the
time of this post.
- Internal DLS Synth removed to improve gaming performance (Win
2000 / XP only)
- fixed squealing issue which happened in 4 speakers in some games.
- fixed various memory leaks.
- fixed the disappearing icon issue.
- software 3D takes over when hardware 3D fails.
- Improved installation process
Installation:
- Download the new driver package to your hard drive.
- Run the executable to remove any previously installed driver version. You will be asked
to reboot.
- After reboot, Windows will detect the sound card. Press "Cancel"
- Run the executable again and follow the installation instruction.
Semi related I noticed Hercules offers a 6.36 release for its Gamesurround Muse DVD 5.1. No mention what's new
or when it was released. The drivers for the original Gamesurround Muse XL is still 6.33
but perhaps these new drivers will work with that card as well.
- Creative Disc Maker Module Update
Creative Labs has released an
update for the Creative Disc Maker Module that is included with the versions of
PlayCenter 3 that are shipped with the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy or the Creative Sound
Blaster Extigy. It was released June 3 but don't think we mentioned it before. It supports
Windows 98/NT4/ME/2000/XP and offers the following.
Support for additional CDRW Drive Models.
- The latest NTI CD Burning Engine (build 40
New games, demos, patches and bugs
- America's Army: Operations features 3D sound
America's Army: Operations(TM), a first-person action game for the PC platform that allows
players to enter into "virtual service" with the US Army will feature great use
of sound including 3D sound with the help of Dolby. Here's a bit from the press release:
"What makes America's Army: Operations unique is the
incredible amount of relevant military detail rendered throughout the game, and that each
animated action requires an appropriate auditory response," said Lieutenant Commander
Russell Shilling, Ph.D., Sound Designer for America's Army. "This realism is achieved
not just through accurate recordings, but by creating an illusion for the listener that
the auditory representation is accurate."
A special Recon version of America's Army: Operations can be
downloaded free at www.americasarmy.com
on the Fourth of July. Players can also register on the website for the free full version
of the game on disc, which will be available later this summer on the Windows® PC
platform. Both the disk and downloadable versions will be Dolby® Digital 5.1 certified.
As I've said before I don't think the Dolby Digital 5.1 certification really means
anything more than that it use 3D sound which will when used with nForce result in DD 5.1
(or DD 4.0 with the current drivers since it still use the MultiDrive 4-speaker version)
just like other games supporting 3D sound.
- Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Demo
3D Realms has released the demo of its 3D sound supporting 3D platform action game, Duke
Nukem: Manhattan Project. You can grab it from the official site or
find a bunch of mirrors on 3D
Realm's main site where you will also find a description of the demo.
- Panzer Elite Special Edition Demo
Wings Simulations / JoWood has released the playable demo of their World War II tank
simulation Panzer Elite Special Edition. The original that was released in 1999 offered
support for 3D sound so I expect the special edition does as well. You can grab the demo
from Avault.
- America's Army Operations Recon Demo
As promised a demo of America's Army: Operations Recon Demo is released. You can grab your
copy from nVidia,
FilePlanet, 3D Gamers or the official site. The game uses the Unreal engine and is a first-person action game that allows
players to enter into "virtual service" with the US Army will feature great use
of sound including 3D sound with the help of Dolby. You can find more details in the
press release.
- New free Unreal Tournament Thievery Mod
A new "Thievery" mod for
Unreal Tournament has finally arrived. Thievery is a mod which take the setting from
Looking Glass Studios excellent Thief games and transforms it into a "thieves versus
guards" multiplayer game using the UT engine. Regarding the use of 3D sound there's
interesting information in the "Features" section:
Improved sound system:
- By default UT will play sounds right through walls, Thievery checks
the flow of the sound through the level to decide if you can hear it or not.
- Thievery features a large collection of sound effects:
- Per surface sounds for footsteps, projectiles and other objects:
Stone, metal, tile, wood, dirt, carpet, gravel, snow.
- Ambient sounds and music
- AI speech and player taunts
Thanks to Anders Albrechtsen for the pointer.
- Neocron Offline Demo
Reakktor Media has released an English offline tutorial demo of its upcoming 3D sound
supporting futuristic MMORPG Neocron. You can grab it from
FilePlanet.
- UT Mods: Operation Na Pali released and Thievery
Mod updated
Anders Albrechtsen sent us news about a new Unreal Tournament Mod,
Operation Na Pali has been released and that the recently mentioned UT mod Thievery has been updated.
Here's his short descriptions of the two:
A single player add-on "Operation Na Pali", not to be
contused with the official Unreal add-on pack Return to Na Pali, has recently been
released as a free download. It is a fairly large download (158 mb), but aside from
questionable voice acting it is well worth it. There are several interesting additions to
the gameplay, such as sidekicks, and the story is actually better than the official Unreal
add-on pack. The game requires the full version of UT with the 4.36 patch, which means
that certain A3D 2.0 wavetracing effects are broken (own weapons), but EAX 2.0 works fine.
An update for the recently mentioned "Thievery" UT multiplayer mod is available
for download. It corrects some sound and gameplay related bugs and adds new gameplay
features.
Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3
players.
- Logitech Z560
HardwareDK.com has posted an overall very positive review of
Logitech's Z-560 speaker system. A couple of comments follow - first, with respect to
wall mounting of the satellites there are in fact mounting holes on the stands for this
purpose. The other is I don't share their view that "there's a lack of spatial
sound" from these speakers. Perhaps they had the M3D feature enabled when
playing 3D audio games, something that would indeed not allow the Z-560 to utilize the
rear channel output from a 4 channel sound card.
- CyberDrive DM166D 16x DVD-ROM
Mikhailtech has posted a review of CyberDrive DM166D 16x DVD-ROM Drive. They come to a
bit mixed conclusion where "long Long disk recognition time" and
"Pause/freeze issue with DVDs" where two of the major complaints while price,
being quiet and DVD read speeds where positive aspects of the drive.
Other sound news
- 1394 Developers' Conference Showcases Latest
1394-Equipped Products
The sixth annual 1394 Developers' Conference last week featured a full slate of new
1394-equipped consumer electronics and computer peripheral products and capabilities.
Highlights included Microsoft's introduction of the first PC speakers running 1394-based
audio as part of its Hybrid Home Network. You can find some limited details about other
products show cased during the event in the press release.
- Console War
Bloomberg has posted a news story on the sales of the Xbox, PS2 and GameCube in May,
that is after the recent price cuts on the PS2 and Xbox. In short the PS2 outsold the
others with 520,000 of the machines in the U.S. and Canada, an increase of 315,200 from
April, Sales of Microsoft's Xbox rose about 151,800 to 230,000. Nintendo sold 112,300
GameCube consoles, a gain of 30,300. The report includes a lot more details including the
lasting effects of the price cuts and estimates on construction costs of the consoles. Not
surprisingly MS is the company that spends a lot of money to become a major player in this
market. If history is any indication the Xbox will likely fail but the Xbox 2 or 3 will be
more successful.
- Spatializer N-2-2 in Toshiba's New DVD Recorder
With Hard Drive
Spatializer Audio Laboratories has announced that Spatializer N-2-2(TM) has been
incorporated into the RD-X2 DVD recorder from Toshiba, which is now shipping in commercial
quantities. Toshiba's new RD-X2 recorder allows consumers to
record one, two, four, or six hours of content on a single DVD-R/-RAM disc. The recorder
can create DVD-Video format on DVD-R media, as well as DVD-VR format on DVD-RAM media.
Data files stored in DVD-Video format can be played back on most DVD players on the
market. You can find more
details in the press release.
- Babel launches Europe's first sound studio for
games
Ambitious outsourcing games specialist Babel has announced the launching of a London sound
studio aimed specifically at the games industry. Based in the heart of Clerkenwell, the
studio caters purely for games companies and will not serve other sectors such as
advertising and broadcast. Consequently, games producers can keep their costs down while
using specialist gaming whose credits include PlayStation Formula One, Unreal Tournament,
Jimmy Neutron and many more. You can find more details in the press release.
For more news from last week check out our news archive.
Upcoming features at 3DsoundSurge
- Reviews that we are currently working on:
Updated Santa Cruz/Sonic Fury and GameTheaterXP reviews
Hercules Fortissimo II
Terratec DMX Xfire 1024
CMedia CM8738 Reference Review
Full Audigy Review
Full Philips MMS305 Review
- There are several other hardware reviews in the pipeline
including, but not limited to the following:
Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE
Terratec m3po
DigMedia MusicStore
Philips Seismic Edge
Lots of other stuff on the go in including several guides and major site revisions that we
will soon be releasing more details on.
As always if you have any ideas for products we should review or
features we should do, please let us know.
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