QFG4CD/MT-32/MS-DOS

[Scythifuge]

Greetings!

It has been awhile since I last posted. I was having the SCC-1 issues. Well I solved that by keeping the SCC-1 in a box for dedicated Sound Canvas games, and I acquired an MPU-IPC-T to connect the MT-32 to my 486 box.

I've been playing games in both MS-DOS 6.22 and WFW 3.11. Everything has been running great. I decided to go through the Quest For Glory games, since I never played V and I lost my original characters (plus the anticipation of the QFG2 remake is killing me). Everything was going great, I ran through the first 3 games rather quickly. Feeling very excited about replaying my favorite QFG game, I load up IV to import my character and...

No music. Sound effects play, speech (from CD) plays, but no music. The midi message light comes on, and the little screen reads Sierra On-Line, but the music doesn't play. This happens only in dos, as the music plays in WFW 3.11. I actually do not like the Windows version, so I've been trying to track down why this occurs. Also, I have to reboot the machine to get MIDI again, as whatever is happening in QFG4 starts happening to all MT-32 games, once I exit QFG4.

If anyone has any insight, please let me know!

Scythifuge

[Ari]

It sounds to me like your sound card's line-in (I assume the MT-32 is connected to it) is disabled in DOS. You may need a DOS program to enable it. What kind of sound card do you use for digital audio?

[Scythifuge]

Thank you for your reply!

The line-in is working on my sound card. All other games are working with the MT-32. QFG4 is the only game that is having this issue. The sound card is an AudioDrive, ESS1688.

[Cloudschatze]

Not to ask the dumb question, but have you tried the MT-32's volume knob? The game (for whatever reason) might be setting the Master Volume to 0, which would also account for other games "not working" afterward (assuming they're not setting the MV).

[Scythifuge]

I tried turning the knob all the way, each way. I also tried switching MT-32s, and the issue happens with both.

I noticed that I forgot to list my system specs:

486DX2/66
ALR Evolution "X" mobo
64MB Ram
256k System Cache
ATI Mach64/Rage II+ 4MB PCI Video Card
ESS AudioDrive 1688
Roland MPU-IPC-T
2GB hard drive (cannot recall the make/model)
Goldstar 4x CD-Rom

[Great Hierophant]

What are the settings for the MPU-IPC-T?  There could be a possible conflict between its midi interface and the ess1688's midi interface.  The MPU-IPC-T should always be at I/O 330, IRQ2, and the ess should be at something else.  Try disabling the audio in the install menu or remove the sound card and see whether that helps. 

[Scythifuge]

My MPU-IPC-T is set to I/O 330, IRQ 2. The ESS1688 is set to I/O 300, IRQ off. Tomorrow evening, I'll have a chance to remove the ESS1688 and see if it changes anything. I also thought about removing the Etherlink III (which I forgot to mention I had in there), and anything else that may be causing some sort of weird conflict. I'll be off and on the board in the meantime, but will report anything that I can discover.

Also, I'm interested in recommendations from anyone for a classic, but excellent FM sound card that can take a midi daughterboard. It cannot be a Sound Blaster 16, as that causes major sound problems with Solar Winds and Privateer. This ESS1688 seems to function well (if it isn't causing the MT-32 problem), but I am interested in knowing of something better. Many thanks, especially to those who have been trying to help me both with my past SCC-1 problem, and with this current issue.

[Great Hierophant]

Also, I'm interested in recommendations from anyone for a classic, but excellent FM sound card that can take a midi daughterboard. It cannot be a Sound Blaster 16, as that causes major sound problems with Solar Winds and Privateer. This ESS1688 seems to function well (if it isn't causing the MT-32 problem), but I am interested in knowing of something better.

Unfortunately, the choices out there are somewhat limited.  If you want an excellent FM sound card, you have to have a Sound Card with a true FM chipset.  This is limited to the early Sound Blaster 16s, the last Pro Audio Spectrums, and the Azetch Sound Galaxy 16.  What are the problems caused by the Sound Blaster 16?

[Scythifuge]

The sound in some games is very screechy. Solar Winds does it right off of the bat. Privateer does it unless I limit EMS to 16mb of ram. Even then, the sound will work for only a short while before getting screechy. I have 4 or 5 SB 16s (I drive around with a screwdriver during spring cleanup, to harvest parts!), maybe I should check out the model numbers and try each one, to see if there is a difference between the models. Or I might just keep using the ESS1688. One of the goals is to make this machine be the best that could be had between 1991-1994.

About spring cleanup...

I highly recommend that if anyone lives in an area that has a spring cleanup program, that they go parts hunting. Sometimes, people don't realize what they've got, and they may throw out computers with Roland cards, or 80GB hard drives. Last year, I acquired a 21" monitor that I promptly connected to my 486 Nostalgia Box! It is also a great way to find the now uncommon AT power supplies. If you have an old box, it is only a matter of time before the power supply goes (though one could always buy an ATX to AT adapter).

[Scythifuge]

I did a test last night, but I had to leave the 1688 in there, since the cdrom runs off of it (there is only one IDE port on this mobo). The 486 has two hard drives (master and slave). Today I'm going to slave the cdrom to the master drive and take the 1688 out for further testing. I'll probably move the MPU-IPC-T to each slot as well, testing the game each time. After that, unless someone has experienced this issue with QFG4CD and was able to fix it, I'm going to give up and use dosbox (which takes away all of the feeling!), since I'm itching to play QFG V. I've surfed the net, and I cannot find any other instance where an otherwise working MT-32 setup, fails to work with this game in DOS.

It appears that all of my SB 16s are CT2230s, I thought I had an older one around here somewhere. I have an SCSI version, but no use for it since I need to run my cdrom drive off of a card (until I get an ISA controller card). I may mess around with one of the 16s to try an solve the screeching problem with some of the games.

[Cloudschatze]

Why aren't you playing this on the "Sound Canvas" box, out of curiosity?

[Scythifuge]

No, I gave up on using the MT-32 with the SCC-1. Its in a Pentium-200 machine for Sound Canvas games. The 486 has just the ESS1688 and the MPU-IPC-T.

[Cloudschatze]

Its in a Pentium-200 machine for Sound Canvas games.

Right, and you aren't playing QFGIV on this box because...?

[Scythifuge]

It is because I have a thing about using the MT-32 with Sierra games. Also, I have read many things about how QFG4 has trouble with anything beyond the early pentiums.

I'm a little eccentric, and since I have systems from each era (early, mid, late 90s), I usually play 386/486 games on the 486, games that ran slow on a 486 or early 3d games on the Pentium 1, AvP and Jedi Knight II games on the P3, etc.

[Great Hierophant]

Here is a test: Does the music play if you connect the MPU-IPC-T with the SCC-1?  Set the music option in the install to General Midi and connect the output of the MPU-IPC-T to the input of the SCC-1, make sure both machines are on and try it.  Also, try switching cards and running the game off your Pentium box or the MT-32 through the SCC-1. 

[Scythifuge]

Lo! I think I've got it! I went into the "try each ISA slot with the MPU" phase. I moved the MPU to the first slot and got sound right away, so it looks like I may not have to try the experiment that Great Hierophant suggested (but thank you for the suggestion!). So I am assuming that it was an obscure QFG4/IRQ conflict. Now I just have to hope that I can get the rest of my cards back in there without any more conflicts...

Another thing that I did while doing all of this is to connect the MT-32 to Input 2 on my Roland CS-10 speakers. Before, I had it connected to the Line-In, and sometimes I couldn't adjust the sound effects/midi to a suitable level, with one drowning the other one out. There is no volume control on Input 2 like there is on Input 1 (where my sound card gets connected), so now I will be using the volume knob on the MT-32 much more often. Which brings me to another question...

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement volume knob that will fit on an MT-32? I can still adjust the volume, but it looks bad without it. It doesn't have to be MT-32 knob if its black colored and fits in there! Also, does anyone know if there is a driver to allow a Goldstar R542B cdrom drive to operate while connected to a Sound Blaster 16? The connectors read Mitsumi, Creative/Panasonic, and Sony, so I'm unsure about other drives. Anyway, thank you everyone for your help thus far! This Nostalgia box is nearly complete!

[Great Hierophant]

That CDROM drive is reported to be a ATAPI drive, so it will not work with the proprietary connectors on the Sound Blaster 16. 

However, as you have a Sound Canvas, you should really listen to the music of QG4 on it.  It was the device used, and it sounds much better than the emulated General Midi of the MT-32. 

[Scythifuge]

Thanks for the information on the cdrom issue.

I'm doing an experiment with a SB16 and the AudioDrive. The AudioDrive has 8 jumpers, so I can change the hardware settings to avoid conflicts with the SB16, but still use it's IDE interface for my cdrom. Its trial and error, since I don't have a manual, nor can I find one online to show me what each jumper is for. I've also been experimenting with Solar Winds. I must have had a conflict the first time around (was using a Packard Bell 486 at the time), since I'm getting sound. Solar Winds has one of the best sound tracks I have ever heard in a game. However, the game locks up soon after I start playing. According to the helpme.doc, I should use a boot disk with minimal TSRs in the event of crahses or lockups.

I'll take your word for it and load up QFG4 in the Pentium-200/SCC-1 box to check out the music on the SCC-1. I'm worried about speed issues, but I'll see what happens. This is also the box that I'll be playing Dragon Fire on.