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-
- Ultrasound Daily Digest Tue, 12 Oct 93 0:48 MDT Volume 7: Issue 11
-
- Today's Topics:
- 16-bit samples
- 7th guest and GUS
- Correction only SSG mail bounced
- DIGEST ADMIN: TRUNCATED DIGESTS (yesterday, in particular)
- Doom and GUS support...
- GUS Assault - Again.
- GUS Assault - Disappointing Responses.
- Gus Assault; Access reply
- GUS Support
- GUS Support cont.. (2 msgs)
- Help with Sierra Drivers
- JPIERSON - ID
- Missing notes under windo
- My Letter for the Blizzard
- Nice Job Gravis
- Obscene language not acceptable!
- ositive Post: Better Patches
- People complaining...
- Second Reality (3 msgs)
- Second Reality!!!
- Some good responses from game companies
- Subscribe
- The future of sound (2 msgs)
- Weird GUS problem/games question
- WinJammer Questions
- WSD2SND - where can I find it ?
-
- Standard Info:
- - Meta-info about the GUS can be found at the end of the Digest.
- - Before you ask a question, please READ THE FAQ.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: MPA108@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
- Subject: 16-bit samples
-
- Has anyone put up 16 bit samples for the ultratracker on epas? Does any
- one have any samples of that nature that they would be willing to send me or po
- st on the FTP. I'm at mpa108@psuvm.psu.edu. Thanx for any and all responses.
- Mark
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 20:38:36 +1000
- From: Peter William Sureda <peter@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU>
- Subject: 7th guest and GUS
- Message-ID: <9310111038.AA00946@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU>
-
- I'm trying to get 7th guest to work with my Gus , I have t7gfix3 and have installed it , but there is no option for Gravis..
- What do I have to do ?
-
- peter@ariel.its.unimelb.edu.au
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: PWRJAM01@Uctvax.UCT.AC.ZA
- Subject: Correction only SSG mail bounced
-
- I had previosly said most my mail bounced to the
- games companies - I was wrong only SSG bounced
- anyone know the correct address, I had
- 72040.340@compuserve.com ?
-
- James
- Internet: pwrjam01@uctvax.uct.ac.za
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 13:25:39 -0600 (CDT)
- From: ddebry@grue.dsd.ES.COM (Dave DeBry)
- Subject: DIGEST ADMIN: TRUNCATED DIGESTS (yesterday, in particular)
- Message-ID: <9310111925.AA00347@grue.dsd.ES.COM>
-
- Heya, folks.
-
- As most of you know, the digest yesterday got truncated. I
- said it once, I'll say it again: NEVER, EVER, ON ANY PIECE OF MAIL ON
- THE INTERNET, SHOULD YOU PUT A PERIOD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LINE.
-
- Ok, I've said my peace. Now I'll go fix the code to handle it
- the next time some @#%&* goes and enters a message exactly like I just
- told them not to.
-
- (We here at the Digest DO NOT believe in "Garbage In, Garbage
- Out", thank you very much. :)
-
- Also, here is the rest of yesterday's digest.
-
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 15:27:01 EDT
- > From: Michael Sabia <sabia@eden.rutgers.edu>
- > Subject: my mistake
- > Message-ID: <CMM-RU.1.3.750281221.sabia@eden.rutgers.edu>
- >
- > yesterday, i sent in a message about the origin address OSI@aol.com
- > not working; my mistake, it does seem to work. must have been one
- > of the other addresses that bounced me.
- >
- > mike
- > .
-
- [ Ed.: Look! There it is! The offending period! ]
-
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 10:18:18 CDT
- > From: umcoyne0@CC.UManitoba.CA
- > Subject: Re: Origin & Crappy Coding
- > Message-ID: <9310101518.AA01743@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
- >
- > I'd just like to take a time-out on the Origin bashing going on here to
- > say that YES, most of their games are written poorly, and even when
- > they're written with some kind of standard in mind, they're full of bugs.
- >
- > However, they have written one game that I was quite happy with, and still
- > have not sold, in case I ever want to replay it. That game is Ultima
- > Underworld II. Using the Miles Drivers, and setup for Roland & SB-combo,
- > this game requires only 575K free. A definite improvement over the 620K
- > they usually demand. And the music is quite good as well.
- >
- > However, I believe UUWII was not an entirely in-house effort at Origin.
- >
- > Michael
- > umcoyne0@cc.umanitoba.ca
- > University of Manitoba
- > Department of Computer Engineering
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 18:31:38
- > From: jason.lin@support.com
- > Subject: Origin address
- > Message-ID: <9310101831.A7401wk@support.com>
- >
- > To: ultrasound@dsd.es.com
- > Subject: Origin Address
- >
- > >Date: Sat, 9 Oct 93 11:58:02 EDT
- > >From: Michael Sabia <sabia@eden.rutgers.edu>
- > >Subject: origin email address
- > >Message-ID: <CMM-RU.1.3.750182282.sabia@eden.rutgers.edu>
- >
- > >i am not having much luck with the address osi@aol.com;
- >
- > >any ideas?
- >
- > Hm.. Try 76004.2612@compuserve.com
- >
- > ---
- > ______ __
- > (__ __) ~CG~ / / | Internet: jason.lin@support.com
- > _ / / / / | izzyvu9@mvs.oac.ucla.edu
- > ( \/ / / /__ |
- > \__/ASON (_____)IN | Fidonet: 1:102/837
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 11:17:23 -0500
- > From: tarjan@iastate.edu
- > Subject: Second Reality
- > Message-ID: <9310101617.AA10393@iastate.edu>
- >
- > GET SECOND REALITY. I have a 386/40 and an ATI Graphics Ultra Pro..
- > It is incredible.. the sound is amazing. it is in DOLBY PRO LOGIC with
- > FULL SURROUND SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- >
- > And only on the gus!! :> (with 512k)
- >
- >
- > And to the person who had the slowdown, I have a slowdown only in the screen
- > with the 2 many faceted balls are bouncing around.. and even then it is
- > VERY minor..
- >
- > (if you only have 256k on your gus.. UPGRADE NOW! you will love
- > Second Reality)
- >
- > Future Crew is awesome.
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 10:32:12 -0600 (MDT)
- > From: jknepley@nyx.cs.du.edu (Jim Knepley)
- > Subject: Shelling Origin with Email
- > Message-ID: <9310101632.AA05055@nyx.cs.du.edu>
- >
- > Just a quick note to those of you who are thinking about overrunning
- > Origin's mailbox with letters of GUS advocacy.
- >
- > It's been done, don't bother. Back in the days of the v1.21 install disks,
- > a whole bunch of GUS affectionados sent out email to all of the major
- > players in PC games. The responses ranged from "I'll pass your suggestion
- > on" to "Sierra will never, ever, ever, support the GUS" to "You stinking
- > SOB, why are you flooding our mailbox?" to "The GUS in a good card, but
- > wait until you see _our_ proprietary card."
- >
- > Sierra now has GUS support, but I doubt it was from our efforts. Remember
- > folks, the people on the 'net are TECH SUPPORT. They're not PR, they're
- > not programmers. They could CARE LESS if a product from their company
- > supports just one more soundcard. They'd probably prefer to not support
- > the GUS because installation can be kinda' tricky if you're not good with
- > a PC.
- >
- > Do what you want, I don't presume to be a moderator, but just know that
- > your efforts will not have the effect that you want. Snailmail is a lot
- > better, that way you can address it to a PR person. At best, email will
- > get you a canned response.
- >
- > Jim
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 10:10:16 +1000
- > From: David Vu <ccdvu@cc.uq.oz.au>
- > Subject: Re: Still hanging in there, but for how long?
- > Message-ID: <9310110010.AA16776@orca.es.com>
- >
- > > Of the things you've mentioned, only Star Control II supports the GUS in
- > > native mode. And it doesn't work properly with anything but 256K on the
- > > GUS. Everything else is either a hack (AIL with a 56K TSR) or shareware
- > > third-party (MegaEm) that has it's own set of problems.
- >
- > I don't think AIL is a hack. It is a standard AIL device driver used by most
- > games. The problem with AIL is it takes up a bit of memory (I've got no
- > problem). Second, it doesn't come standard with all AIL software, simply
- > because the games have been shipped before it was available (now it's
- > on almost every sound BBS). And lastly, some comparies like Origin hack
- > their own version of AIL driver so that the standard wouldn't work on
- > their games.
- >
- > > By "native support", people mean that it supports the GUS right out of the
- > > box without the user running ANYTHING EXTRA. A game that takes 600K of
- > > conventional memory doesn't leave me with 56K for UltraMID.
- >
- > I 'd say the games are to be blamed for taking up too much of conventional
- > memory. There are tons of XMS/EMS memory there, why don't game
- > companies make use of it. Sidekick ver 1.5x only took up about 100K when
- > the world of PC only had DOS 3.x and 512/640K RAM. I hear people say,
- > 'But games need all the conventional memory to process 3D and all the
- > graphics!'
- >
- > > Adaptec SCSI card (hardly uncommon), Mega 'Em is a risk (it's not Jason's
- > > fault, but it's still true). In other words, if it doesn't list Gravis
- > > UltraSound on the box, it doesn't support the GUS, at least as far as the
- > > game-buying public is concerned.
- >
- > I think that situation is changing now that Sierra, Virgin, and Maxim have
- > begun to include support and free patches.
- >
- > > And Gravis had better get support into some new games quickly or it won't
- > > matter anymore...
- >
- > Like I said, it doesn't take a month or two to write games nowadays. It
- > used to take that long for things like Space Invaders and the occasional
- > shareware and public domain offerings. Given the success of the Roland
- > and that big Sierra have committed themselves to support the GUS, soon
- > games from Origin, Lucas Arts, and other companies are sure to follow.
- > Especially companies that already have General MIDI music support in
- > their current games.
- >
- > Also, look at the hosts of new wave-table-synthesis me-too sound
- > boards that are starting to pop up now. The only thing they have over
- > the GUS is hardware SB compatibility. People are beginning to want
- > to buy these, and they aren't out yet :-)
- >
- > .David.
-
- [ Ed.: Look! Another person doing the same thing! Quick, flog him! ]
-
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 22:32:20 -0700 (PDT)
- > From: Ouch! Quit pokin' me! <yaga@u.washington.edu>
- > Subject: Tony LaRussa II
- > Message-ID: <Pine.3.05z.9310102220.A104-b100000@carson.u.washington.edu>
- >
- > OK, I just re-installed the game (I took it off my HD before I bought my GUS).
- > It has an option during setup specifically for the GUS, so, naturally, I
- > selected it. At first I tried it with different sounds/music combos, heck,
- > I even tried it w/ SB chosen for everything. The problem is, I can't play
- > a game. The sound loads with the intro screen, but then disappears. I
- > can do everything except play a game. I can manage, do drafts, run
- > seasons statistically, etc. but I can't play a friggin game! Every time
- > I try, it puts the message "Loading...Please Wait" on the screen, the HD
- > spins for a while, then... nothing. Quite eerie actually.
- >
- > I tried it with options -x(-3), -o(-3). Hell, I even tried it
- > with EMM disabled (well, it worked with Syndicate! ;) ). The only time
- > I can play a game now is if I disable the sbos.
- >
- > Everything is installed at the defaults, I have a 486/25, 4MB RAM,
- > blonde hair, blue eyes, etc.etc. Please help!!! This is driving me buggy!
- >
- > I'm not being a whiner, I love this card. I hate games that don't
- > work like they are supposed to.
- >
- > Thank you very much in advance!
- >
- > chris
- > yaga@u.washington.edu
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1993 23:17:00 -0400
- > From: colin.buckley@canrem.com (Colin Buckley)
- > Subject: Ultramid programming info
- > Message-ID: <60.287804.104.0C185D2E@canrem.com>
- >
- > Where do I find programming information for Ultramid? I've glanced over
- > alot of GUS source, and while it wouldn't be a problem to play sound effects
- > or voice over the GUS, playing midi files would look to be a huge problem
- > at the moment, and I need to add this very quickly with minimal problems, or
- > it's no support at all.
- >
- > Normally I would laugh at a TSR, but if the AIL and Sierra drivers use it,
- > then it's good enough for now.
- >
- > Is it just a low level interface with commands like NoteOn and NoteOff (like
- > the Adlib's TSR), or does one just pass a MIDI file (like Creative Lab's TSR)
- > and ULTRAMID does everything?
- >
- > As a last resort though, I could do the sound effect driver, and let the
- > user choose FM music and use SBOS, but then I suspect SBOS will clash with
- > my GUS driver and we'll overwrite each other's RAM, voices, etc.
- > .------------------------------------------------------.
- > | Colin Buckley |
- > | Toronto, Ontario, Canada (colin.buckley@canrem.com) |
- > `------------------------------------------------------'
-
- [ Ed.: The error here is left as an exercise to the reader. ]
-
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 10:35:40 -0400
- > From: Bill Norton <wbn@merit.edu>
- > Subject: Re: Ultrasound Daily Digest V7 #9
- > Message-ID: <9310101435.AA13482@fox.merit.edu>
- >
- > Do any of you know how to make the GUS come up automatically with Line
- > and Mic input enabled? I currently have to invoke the UltraSound Mixer
- > and turn on Line input to play CDs on my system and it is a pain!
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 21:01:00 BST
- > From: f.graham@genie.geis.com
- > Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V7 #9
- > Message-ID: <9310102017.AA25357@relay2.geis.com>
- >
- > Alright you guys: I _love_ my GUS! I've had it 1 year now, yes I
- > want more native, but its happening. I have not had problems with any games
- > except FPSports Football, F-15III digital (now fixed) and Privateer (who
- > dumped out on us anyway, so PHOOEY!) I have not had conflicts, windows
- > crashes, etc. And this is my first clone, and first soundcard, I defected
- > from the Amiga camp, and tsr's etc. are new to me! I have plenty of local
- > friends I get to visit and hear their measly SB Pros.
- >
- > I recently got EA's Seal Team and MAN! Even tho its miles drivers,
- > it sounds friggin' _fabulous_! And it's a great game, so ta hell with Origin
- > and their 20th century mentality. Look for Seawolf by EA to also have
- > Ultrasound support. Thanks Electronics Arts!
- >
- > John.Smith@gravis.com:
- > Thanx for keeping us posted, man it was getting almost depressing
- > here for a day or two <G>. (Are Gravis and Jayeson still friendly?)
- >
- > Shan Yap:
- > Great work on the list, I have emailed all companies on that list
- > for GUS support. Hehe, I kept on hearing in my mind Led Zeppelin singing "If
- > it keep own rainin', levee's gownna braaaake..." I also emailed you the
- > short note so you can keep count. COME ON everyone; what 30 minutes to do
- > this flood thing, let's _do it_! Do it _now_, while you're thinking about
- > it, and so we hit 'em about the same time-span.
- >
- > How 'bout everyone who loves their GUS posting a quick one-liner
- > here on the digest? Lurkers included <G>...Go GUS GO!
- > -----------------------------
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 16:23:52 EDT
- > From: snowdog@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca (Rodney CHANG)
- > Subject: undocumented parameters in playmidi?
- > Message-ID: <9310102023.AA16595@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca>
- >
- > Greetings! I know for awhile now that using the -x(n) parameter in
- > playmidi lets you set the number of active voices, but I couldn't find
- > anything about it in either the readme file or the manual that were
- > mailed w/ the v2.06 disks. I also remember reading about some other switches
- > that I don't think were documented either. Are there many of these
- > undocumented switches?
- >
- > On to other things:
- > Someone mentioned about dropped voices while playing midi files in
- > Windows. I have my drivers set up for 32 voices, and conserve
- > memory. However, I'm in the process of transcribing a song right
- > now. This song has steady 8th note hi-hats. Whenever I play it with
- > Cakewalk 2.0 thefirst hi-hat beat of some measures are mute. Same
- > thing with WinJammer. Using media player and playmidi in dos would give me
- > only an occasional hi-hat, and other voices are not articulated
- > correctly (slurred when they're not suppose to). What seems to be the
- > problem? Too slow a computer?
- >
- > I remembered reading about a new cakewalk mailing list just starting
- > to circulate, but I lost the address to subscribe. Any kind GUSers
- > can tell me?
- >
- > Merci mucho for help.
- >
- >
- > --
- > Rodney Chang
- > RushFan(tm)
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 18:31:33
- > From: jason.lin@support.com
- > Subject: Unreal ii
- > Message-ID: <9310101831.A7398wk@support.com>
- >
- > To: ultrasound@dsd.es.com
- > Subject: Unreal II
- >
- > >Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 13:05:22 +1000
- > >From: adriano ennio raiola <adrianr@mullian.ee.mu.OZ.AU>
- > >Subject: SECOND REALITY - Sounds great, runs BADLY (386/40)
- > >Message-ID: <199310100305.AA01986@mullian.ee.mu.OZ.AU>
- >
- > >Well can I say, on my humble 386/40Mhz with Cirrus Logic VGA, I had to
- > >wait like nearly eternity even for the title screen to come up! The
- > >music is GREAT (considering its only a demo with shitty 4 channel MOD
- > >music), but something tells me somethings wrong with the demo, because
- > >it runs SOOOOOO SLOOOOWLY on my 386/40. Even the music slows down to
- > >try keep pace.
- >
- > Hmm.. The demo runs quite well on my 486DX-25. Isn't 386DX-40's speed
- > comparable to that of a 25mhz 486DX?
- > Try to run the demo under a clean booted DOS, though the demo should run
- > fine with or without the presence of an EMM manager.
- >
- > ---
- > ______ __
- > (__ __) ~CG~ / / | Internet: jason.lin@support.com
- > _ / / / / | izzyvu9@mvs.oac.ucla.edu
- > ( \/ / / /__ |
- > \__/ASON (_____)IN | Fidonet: 1:102/837
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 15:02:18 +0930 (CST)
- > From: Gavin <SCARMAN@hfrd.dsto.gov.au>
- > Subject: Whinge, whine -go away!
- > Message-ID: <931011150219.119a3@hfrd.dsto.gov.au>
- >
- > Gunnar Swanson <gunnar@gibbs.oit.unc.edu> writes...
- > > Get an SB Pro or a PAS16 it works now, that's what I tell people.
- >
- > Well, I helped setup a friends SBPRO on the weekend and found the
- > card to be DIFFICULT to install under windows,it had buggy windows
- > drivers that had to be replaced which Creative Labs did not, rather
- > Microsoft did. The sound quality is shit and the polyphony a joke. Why
- > they included a MIDI interface is obvious - you don't use this card
- > for music. The drums are on channel 16! Is is not GM MIDI compatible,
- > and I can't see any use for this card except games which after my MT32
- > and GUS I wouldn't take the card if it was free. So stop slanging the
- > GUS for not being SB compatible, who needs it! And when I got my MT32
- > Roland had stopped making them a couple of years before and they still
- > hadn't got support in noticable numbers of games. It's only been the
- > last 2 years that most games supported it. I used to get sick of
- > people on the net saying " when's the GUS gonna be released?", what'd
- > you expect, instant games support? A year in the software industry is
- > a very short time, just look how long Doom's been in the making and
- > that's one of the games that will support the GUS. There may be more
- > GUSs out there that MT32/LAPC1, support for quality will come. Also
- > how many games support the SBPRO in Stereo? Damn few! The squeaky
- > wheel may get fixed, but you shouldn't flog a dead horse.
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 07:22:02 -0400 (EDT)
- > From: JPIERSON@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU
- > Subject: Zork DEMO
- > Message-ID: <01H3XTM0G2HU99FGVG@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU>
- >
- > Anybody know of any FTP sites I can get The Zork demo off of?
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1993 17:51:33 -0400
- > From: gt7985c@prism.gatech.edu
- > Message-ID: <199310102151.AA19528@prism>
- >
- > I changed my DMA from 1 to 5, and the GUS seems to work a little
- > better but it could all be in my imagination. What effect would it do
- > for me to change from an 8 bit DMA to a 16 bit DMA.
- >
- > Also, I hardly ever have problems with my Ultrasound except with a
- > few games that don't work too well with SBOS. I couldn't even use
- > half of my games before a friend in my dorm gave me the update to
- > SBOS. I was using version 1.2ary to September!
- >
- > ------------------------------
- >
- > End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V7 #10
- > *************************************
-
- --
- Dave ddebry@ debry@ \
- DeBry dsd. peruvian. | "A jar of eyes can be a tasty treat."
- es. cs.utah. |
- com edu /
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: law00057@leonis.nus.sg (law00057)
- Subject: Doom and GUS support...
-
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: int341m@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Shan Yap)
- Subject: GUS Assault - Again.
-
- Greetings,
- Due to my untimely lecture (yes, I do have a life beside organising
- Assaults :-) ), my previous message was unable to make it to the
- yesterday's Digest, just ignore it now.
- Anyway, the Assault will be over by the time you see this message and I
- sure hope that a lot more of you have choosed to participate, at this time
- of writing there are only 25 participants.
- I would also like to acknowledge here that the list of addresses of
- software publishers which I posted on Sunday, is in fact done by Sir
- Launcelot du Lac (swkgohw@leonis.nus.sg), all credits should go to him.
- Guess I should have acknowledged that in the first place .... \:-)
- I will post the result of our assault on tomorrow's digest. Stay tune.
-
- To Jim Knepley:
- I know that this Assault may not accomplish anything, but still someone
- has got to do the "dirty" work, right? And who knows, our act may just
- make it to a higher management level!
-
- Shan.
- int341m@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au
-
- Unite and Prosper.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 17:28:22 +1000 (EST)
- From: int341m@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Mr K.S. Yap)
- Subject: GUS Assault - Disappointing Responses.
- Message-ID: <9310110728.AA11554@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au>
-
- Greetings,
- As of the time when I write this, I had only received e-mails from 20
- people telling me that they are in the Assault. 20 people ! Come on! I am
- sure we can do better than THAT! Don't your guys want GUS to be a sucess?
- All I ask is just a few lines of text! If this is the best we can do, then
- maybe Origin is right in not supporting the GUS - which indeed has a small
- user base.
- I could almost hear the represntative from Origin laughing away,
- saying, "Look Dave<-fictitious character, those pathetic GUSers try to
- "flood" our mailbox, but the best they can do is to come up with twenty
- people, ha ha, support GUS? It's my A** that you want me to support!"<-
- fictitious dialogue, no offence intended. :-)
- Anyway, we'll still carry out our Assault as planned - Tomorrow when
- the Digest arrives. I hope that more people will decide to participate in
- this event by then. Hope to hear from you soon !
-
- Shan.
- int341m@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au
-
- Unite and Prosper.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: f.graham@genie.geis.com
- Subject: Gus Assault; Access reply
-
- Mark Werner, Access Software tech support (linkspro1@aol.com)
- quickly replied to my GUS assault mail as follows "We will probably be
- supporting the GUS on all future releases." Yay! (Hmm, anyone know what
- "future releases" they've got in the works?...)
-
- BTW y'all, do keep those assault emails short, civil and sweet,
- these guys may actually be getting a lot of our emails soon if we all,
- lurkers included, follow up on this mailing.
-
- (Down with overly long quotes and signatures!)
-
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 07:42:00 BST
- From: b.williams44@genie.geis.com
- Subject: GUS Support
- Message-ID: <9310110659.AA26554@relay2.geis.com>
-
- 1> It's Me again and sending a letter captured from Origin topic on
- Genie.
-
- As follows.....
-
- <Category 16, Topic 7
- Message 151 Sun Oct 03, 1993
- CHANTECLER [Bruce.F] at 22:34 EDT
-
- Rebecca,
-
-
- I don't own an Ultrasound but I'll throw in my request for native mode
- support for it and any other forthcoming lower cost wave table boards. We
- need better sound. Music in computer games is better than ever but
- listening to it with an FM board is like listening to an orchestra through a
- tin can phone. We're on the brink of a revolution in game sound and it's
- stalling because of poor support! Game developers won't support the GUS
- because few people own one. And people won't buy a GUS because there is
- poor game support. It's a vicious circle.
-
- You're too young to remember this but color TV stayed in this kind of limbo
- for ten long years. The networks wouldn't provide support (i.e. color
- programs) because the number of color TVs in use was small. In turn,
- consumers wouldn't buy color TVs because there were no color programs to
- watch. The logjam was finally broken when the networks started supporting
- color and that induced people to buy color TVs. The rest is history.
-
- This isn't a perfect analogy but I hope you see my point. It's going to take
- developer support to get out of the FM logjam we're in. Few people will buy a
- wave table card for games unless the hot new titles support it. And without
- wave table boards the great sounds and music your company worked so hard to
- create are largely wasted.
-
- Please consider this and tell me what you think. Thanks!>
- ******************************************************************
- This is all they had to say.
- ******************************************************************
- Category 16, Topic 7
- Message 152 Tue Oct 05, 1993
- ORIGIN at 19:16 EDT
-
- Bruce F.
- Thanks for your input.
-
- Rebecca The Strange
- Origin Product Support
-
- Cont. in next letter.
-
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 07:50:00 BST
- From: b.williams44@genie.geis.com
- Subject: GUS Support cont..
- Message-ID: <9310110659.AA26559@relay2.geis.com>
-
- 1>Cont..
- Everytime I mention Ultrasound support, I get the Cold shoulder act too.
- Mostly they refer me to answers given months ago, makes me wonder
- if the staff at Origin can think for themselves, if it's not a technical question.
- I guess they need their EA lawyers for that!
- Gravis if you're reading this, send Origin a package showing the drivers(Mega-em
- and Ultramid) so that at least (If it doesn't get lost) they can't claim that you don't
- have Drivers for Roland and Miles sound source.Give them SDK pakage as well,
- then maybe they can test for themselves, if they will take the time.
-
- P.S. I am one of those users , who hasn't had any terrible troubles using the
- Ultrasound for DOS or Windows.SBOS aside, The GUS is a Great card.
- Gunnar if you don'twant a GUS , don't keep complaining about it, SELL IT!
- This Digest is for airing our views and asking questions ,Yes, but don't keep
- on harping about how SB is greatest thing since White bread. Some of us
- LOVE our GUS's and wouldn't trade them for a SB16 for anything! I have given
- freely of my time to fellow GUS users in helping them to get their cards working
- right. And usually it wasn't some great hardware problem,but a missing file here
- or there. Which doesn't make the GUS a bad choice as a sound card, just a
- solvable problem.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 07:53:00 BST
- From: b.williams44@genie.geis.com
- Subject: GUS Support cont..
- Message-ID: <9310110659.AA26562@relay2.geis.com>
-
- 1>Cont...
- In my opinion, the trouble is software companies like Origin, who don't seem to
- care about their customers beyond selling software and supporting FM Synthisis,
- which in my Humble opinion again will very soon go the way of the Dinosaur, not
- the GUS. Wavetable is the future mark my words well, and the GUS supports more
- channels to be played at once, than any card on the market that I've seen advertised.
- Not to mention not using any CPU time to do it.
- Granted I think that Gravis should be seriously thinking about making a new card,
- using proven GUS ideas and adding more memory on the card, as well as the next
- GF chip to come out.Some time within the next 2 yrs. A card offering more memory,
- 16bit recording and playback,SCSI CD interface built in and more is the future for the
- GUS card.
- For now tho we as Loyal GUS owners need to do as we are trying to do, by pressuring
- Software companies like Origin to really take this advancement in sound card technology
- seriously. Lets make this year the YEAR OF THE GUS.
- Soon tho as Companys like ID , start releasing games using Native Ultrasound Drivers,
- we will see a greater ground swell of support.To hear a GUS playing Native Sound next
- to a SB16's FM synthisis, which would you choose as the better sounding card???
- Hopefully Software companies will make the Right Logical decisions SOON!.
- MAY THE GUS BE WITH YOU!!!
- ***StarHawk***
- " Wielder of the GUS "
- " Slayer of the SB "
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 13:23:52 CDT
- From: Fitzgerald Jr Steele <fjsteele@icaen.uiowa.edu>
- Subject: Help with Sierra Drivers
- Message-ID: <199310111823.NAA24564.4828F@icaen.uiowa.edu>
-
- I downloaded the new Sierra Drivers and tried to install them into King's
- Quest 6. I tried to install ultramid, it told me that all my midi patches
- were old and needed to be updated. It also told me that it might not work
- if I have changed any of the original midi patches, which I haven't. So
- anyway, when I try to load ultramid (using the command line lh ultramid -c
- -m100) the computer stalls, and I have to reboot. Was there an update to
- the midi patches that Gravis didn't send me? Where can I get the new
- patches? Also, how much memory does ultramid take -- I know I only have
- like 40k UMB free, maybe that had something to do with it...)
-
- Thanks for your help,
-
- Jerry Steele
- fjsteele@icaen.uiowa.edu
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 10:40:12
- From: john.smith@gravis.com
- Subject: JPIERSON - ID
- Message-ID: <9310111040.A1156wk@gravis.com>
-
- Read what JPierson of ID had to say and I'd just like to clear up a few things.
-
- 1) Why UltraMID? To make it easier for programmers to program for the card.
- With UltraMID you can load and play a MIDI file in as little as 5
- functions! This includes the patch loading and handling the MIDI data.
- This can save the programmer A LOT of time trying to figure out how to
- do this themselves. Yes ULTRAMID is not the smallest thing in the world
- but it is meant to be an alternative not a perfect solution.
-
- 2) The idea of asking Origin for sources was simple. We wanted to help
- them write the drivers. I didn't expect this to work myself but we have
- to make every attempt. Also it wasn't the source code to the game but
- just the sound engine.
-
- 3) As for emailing us over the Internet and not getting a response, I'd
- like to know who you were trying to email? I'm sure everyone here on
- the list can vouch that I do keep on top of this. Heck its a long
- weekend here in Canada and how did I spend part of my Sat and Mon? Reading
- the digest and responding to questions? (I know, sounds like fun <grin>)
- But if you had problems reaching us I'd really like to try and fix
- it. I know I'm getting my mail ok, who were you trying to address the
- msg too?
-
- 4) Release of Low Level Code - The SDK we released last May is actually
- really good. For 130 pages it better be. If you have any suggestions
- on the areas you thought it was weak in (from a programmers point of
- view) I'd be more than happy to fix it up. We are working on the next
- version of the SDK and any suggestions would be appreciated.
-
- 5) How big was your sound engine, 270K did you say? Wow, that is huge.
- Is there a reason why it is that big? Does that include the size of the
- 3D sound samples? As a typical engine (according to other developers
- I talked to is about 10K for digital audio and 20-30K for MIDI). I've
- even seen some brave souls manage to make a digital audio player
- (MOD/Protracker type) fit into as little as 3K of memory.
-
- I'm looking forward to hearing back from you, either through the digest or
- directly to my email address, john.smith@gravis.com. C'ya and take care.
-
- John
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 07:26:20 -0300 (ADT)
- From: Gravis Ultrasound Lover <markus@Info.UMoncton.ca>
- Subject: Re: Missing notes under windo
- Message-ID: <Pine.3.02.9310110718.A2685-a100000@clement>
-
- On Sun, 10 Oct 1993, it was written:
-
- >
- > If you're using slower machines you'd notice missing notes frequently.
- > On the faster machines, notes may be dropped if you're running multiple
- > applications. On my machine(486DX-25), missing notes may occur even if
- > I run only the MIDI player in the foreground. It is not due to the
- > setting of the number of active voices. It's weird to hear drum, bass,
- > or even a couple string notes being skipped.. BTW, 28 is the active
- > voices I set under Windows.
- >
-
- My computer is a 486-66 and I'm still missing some notes on random
- occasions. Even if I only have MIDISoft running. Since I'm using the
- PCTools for Windows desktop, I tried shutting every desktops off and the
- problem still occurs. Hmmmm.....
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 12:32:43 PDT
- From: mikebat@qdeck.com (Mike Batchelor)
- Subject: My Letter for the Blizzard
- Message-ID: <9310111932.AA07786@cebu.qdeck.com>
-
- Remember - Tuesday October 12 is the day to deluge all the game publishers
- with requests for Ultrasound support! Here is a copy of the letter I sent
- (will send):
-
- #Subject: Support for Advanced Gravis Ultrasound
- #To: 76004.2132@compuserve.com (Access Software),
- Sierras@aol.com (Sierra, Dynamix, et. al.),
- 76004.2143@compuserv.com (Sierra, Dynamix, et. al.),
- SierDan@aol.com (Sierra, Dynamix, et. al.),
- Linkspro_1@aol.com (Accolade), apogee@delphi.com (Apogee Software),
- joe.siegler@crs.com (Apogee Software),
- 76004.237@compuserve.com (Electronic Arts),
- LucasArts@aol.com (Lucas Arts), 75300.454@compuserve.com (Lucas Arts),
- ea@cix.compulink.co.uk (Electronic Arts),
- EpicGames@aol.com (Epic MegaGames),
- GlenEpic@delphi.com (Epic MegaGames),
- romero@idsoftware.com (Id), jay@idsoftware.com (Id),
- help@idsoftware.com (Id), 76702.1342@compuserve.com (Interplay),
- interpla@orion.oac.uci.edu (Interplay),
- zoinks@netcom.com (Maxis), Maxis@aol.com (Maxis),
- 71435.276@compuserve.com (Maxis), 71333.1470@compuserve.com (Maxis),
- MicroProse@aol.com (MicroProse),
- 76004.2223@compuserve.com (MicroProse),
- OSI@aol.com (Origin Systems), Origin_CS@aol.com (Origin Systems),
- 76004.2612@compuserve.com (Origin Systems),
- origin@world.std.com (Origin Systems),
- 76004.2144@compuserve.com (Spectrum Holobyte),
- S_Holobyte@aol.com (Spectrum Holobyte),
- 76711.250@compuserve.com (Strategic Simulations),
- StratSim@aol.com (Strategic Simulations), WizardScot@aol.com (Wizard),
- Fitzgerald@delphi.com (Wizard), 71764.3137@compuserve.com (Wizard),
- threesixty@aol.com (Three-Sixty),
- 76711.240@compuserve.com (Three-Sixty),
- 76711.33@compuserve.com (Sir-Tech), 72040.340@compuserve.com (SSG)
-
-
- Attention All Game Publishers!
-
- Support for the Advanced Gravis Ultrasound card in your products is needed!
- I am the happy owner of an Ultrasound card, and I am very encouraged by the
- recent developments in the area of sound support for this excellent card.
-
- To Sierra: Thanks VERY much for your recent driver update that allows
- previously-released General MIDI games to use the Ultrasound. Keep them
- coming, I am a happy Sierra customer. Please encourage and assist your
- subsidiaries to also adopt Ultrasound support in their products.
-
- To Id Software: I am anxiously awaiting the releases of DOOM!, which has
- already been promised Ultrasound support. It ought to be fantastic fun!
-
- To Maxis: Thank you very much for your recent driver updates for Sim City
- Classic and Sim Farm. They never sounded better! Keep the updates coming,
- and please incorporate Ultrasound support in future releases.
-
- To Accolade: Star Control 2 is still a classic space strategy game, made
- all the more enjoyable by native Ultrasound support, the first major release
- to have it. I look forward to other Ultrasound efforts from your company.
-
- To all other publishers:
-
- If you don't support Ultrasound now, please start work on it right away! I
- hope that this letter writing campaign from the readers of the Ultrasound
- Internet mailing list helps the representatives who read e-mail to convince
- management and the game developers that the market for Ultrasound is not
- insignificant. The card is worthy of support for the same reason Roland MIDI
- cards are worthy of support: both Roland and Ultrasound produce great hifi
- music. Great sound is an important part of a great game package. Don't
- remain stuck in the FM past. Take a step into the Wavetable future, and
- start supporting Ultrasound!
-
- Thanks for your attention to this letter. I hope it makes an impression on
- those persons who make the decisions in these matters.
-
- Regards,
-
- Mike Batchelor
- Ultrasound owner, Game purchaser
-
- --
- -- Mike Batchelor, Technical Support Specialist, Sales
- -- Quarterdeck Office Systems, Santa Monica, California
- -- mikebat@qdeck.com <work> mike@batpad.org <play>
- -- Windows : DESQview/X :: Solitaire : Network BlaqJaq
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 14:10:31 EST
- From: jmorris@ace.com (Cuthalion)
- Subject: Nice Job Gravis
- Message-ID: <9310111410.0.UUL1.3#25274@ace.com>
-
- I just thought i'd say that I've had my GUS since last november.. and
- the only problem i had with was with windows, and it's really not
- gravis's fault. I have a really screwey setup with like 4 windows
- configurations, so it didn't know which copy of the driver to overwrite.
- (EVERYTHING has this problem! :) But anyways, i'm really happy with my
- GUS... NICE piece of hardware! and man, those sierra drivers are NICE!
- SBOS is sufficient..
-
- Just my stomp of approval! :)
- -jmorris@ace.com
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 15:05:32 +0501 (EDT)
- From: Gunnar Swanson <gunnar@gibbs.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: Obscene language not acceptable!
- Message-ID: <Pine.3.05.9310111532.A1600-a100000@gibbs.oit.unc.edu>
-
- To all of my fellow GUSers,
-
- Recently I have expressed some opinions that some of you have very
- strongly disagreed with. That is fine, however, I do not appreciate
- obscene, rude, insulting, or hate type mail. Writing someone an obscene
- note is unacceptable behavior. I would never speak to any of you in that
- way, much less write you an obscene note. No more obscene flames, thank
- you.
-
- Please if you disagree, do it with some dignity and restraint.
-
-
-
- Respectfully
-
-
- Gunnar Swanson
-
-
- gunnar@gibbs.oit.unc.edu
-
-
-
- end.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 08:52:12 +0200
- From: PWRJAM01@Uctvax.UCT.AC.ZA
- Subject: ositive Post: Better Patches
- Message-ID: <01H3ZAOJ4ZEQ8WWAG7@Uctvax.UCT.AC.ZA>
-
- The 2.06 patch set is not bad, but some of the patches could
- be improved or made to sound like GM ( some of them are completely
- different ! ). Its great to be able to make patches and
- some people have been making some really good ones - you know
- who there are, the problem is that these normally take up
- more or less memory and certain programs calcalute which
- patches to use so as to fit them in memory.
- I can see(hear) that gravis is quite busy right now with
- the whole support business, so instead of recreating patches
- why don't they just make a new standard patch set with the
- ones made by others ( not the patches that are 5 times the size )
- just the ones that sound much better eg Gunshot - Accordeon etc
- Someone posted a list of good and bad patches about 2-3 digests
- ago - I agree with his findings. I am sure that gravis can com
- to an aggrement with Francious (sorry don't no the spelling) Dion
- about using his patches.
- On FTP.REED.EDU /EPS/SAMPLES - there are lots of good sounding
- intruments that can be made into patches
-
- So what do you think ?
-
- ******************************************
- * *
- * James Power *
- * University of Cape Town *
- * South Africa *
- * Internet: pwrjam01@uctvax.uct.ac.za *
- * *
- ******************************************
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 10:53:28 -0600 (MDT)
- From: "Keith J. Ball" <BALLK@ZENO.MSCD.EDU>
- Subject: People complaining...
- Message-ID: <01H3ZEXUAJS28WVYQK@ZENO.MSCD.EDU>
-
- Hey guys those of you that keep complaining about the GUS don't really know
- what your talking about. As well as I can tell the guys at Gravis at least
- care. Unlike some other companies that I have dealt with. I gave up on the
- GUS with my kid and got him an SB Pro...only because the software took so
- long to get issued that had the fixes in it. That was a mistake...as near
- as I can tell there is just as many problems with all the rest of the sound
- cards out there. At least there is a lot better support out there from the
- GUS people.
-
- So can we put and end to the "Bitching" and get back to the real things
- that matter... like writing good software etc. that supports the GUS.
-
- BTW the kid has asked for the GUS back out of my machine.
-
- Keith
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 05:07:34 -0500 (EST)
- From: STU_JABIRCHE@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU
- Subject: Second Reality
- Message-ID: <01H3Z31GBD5E90Q6RZ@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU>
-
- ...is definitely VERY COOL. I had to run it in flat mode with just my GUS
- environment variables, but it was worth the hassle (plus I have Mboot). I
- recommend watching this. The flight sequence is the best IMHO. Music is great
- and sounds great on the GUS. This card is making its place known in the world
- and if there are those who want to start up a divergent list to whine about
- support, have at it, but I'd rather not read it on this list.
-
- Watch the kudos
- at the end and tell me John Smith isn't doing his gods-be best.
- (Thanks from me, too, btw, Mr. Smith :))
- Of course, you can ignore this if you want.
- stu_jabirche@vax.acs.jmu.edu
- John Birchett
- Marc - Igormud
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 19:46:57 -1000 (GMT-10:00)
- From: Paul Murgatroyd <s1114@kowande.Bond.edu.au>
- Subject: Second Reality
- Message-ID: <Pine.3.05.9310111957.A11647-b100000@sand.kowande.Bond.edu.au>
-
- Well,
- I must say that I am impressed with Second Reality. It actually makes
- me quite envious of Future Crew, since I am 20, and only just starting to
- learn assembly langauage (MIPS R2000). I noticed that the eldest member of
- FC is 21, so I have a lot of catching up to do :-)
-
- I haven't tried it with the GUS yet, since I just put in a PAS16, and
- didn't want to attempt to get the GUS and PAS16 living side by side just
- yet (Has anyone managed to do it...ie: should I even bother trying??)
-
- Anyway, I'll check out the demo with the GUS in a couple of days. My
- flatmate is buying a 486DX-50 tomorrow, and he has no sound board, so I'll
- try it there.
-
- Also, has anyone given the Dolby Surround Sound a try??? Another of my
- friends has has a Dolby Pro Logic Amplifier, and I can hardly wait to try
- it out :-)
-
- NB: Don't think for a second that because I have bought a PAS16 that I am
- abandonning the GUS. Quite the opposite. I'll be keeping close watch on
- the GUS GUS scene, and I look forward to instaling my GUS once again.
-
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- "Arguments for margins are always in inches,
- regrdless of your cuntry setting."
-
- - MS Excel 4.0 Function Reference Manual, p.312
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 11:51:12 -0700 (PDT)
- From: David Hoang <dhoang@eis.calstate.edu>
- Subject: Second Reality
- Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9310111112.A11648-a100000@eis.calstate.edu>
-
- Okay, I just heard the 2nd reality and it was hella fresh! Anyone with a
- Gravis with 512k or above should get this. I didn't know how long it was
- when I ran it, but the 15+ mins. was worth it! In the beginning when a
- ship was flying above the screen and other ships followed, I actually
- heard 3d sound! Or was it just stereo sound? Anyways, the sound was hella
- good! Sterreo sound all the way! Even on my cheap $30 speakers it sounded
- great! I wonder how it would sound on a crappy SB? See you all!
-
- |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
- \* David Hoang : dhoang@cal.state.edu */
- \* !I LOVE! Student at San Jose State University */
- \* !MY GUS! 386sx-25,4megRAM,SpeedStarPro1Meg */
- \* 80MegHD,GUS1Meg */
- |=================================================================|
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 07:33:09 -0300 (ADT)
- From: Gravis Ultrasound Lover <markus@Info.UMoncton.ca>
- Subject: Second Reality!!!
- Message-ID: <Pine.3.02.9310110709.A2696-a100000@clement>
-
- Get second reality now!!!!
-
- The GUS support is like anything heard yet. My roomate has a
- 386-40 with a SoundBlaster (beep?) and I tried Second Reality on his
- computer too. Bahhh! You can't compare.
- Future Crew did an excellent job. I love the intro with the
- stereo effects. It rocked the apartment all morning. :)
-
- Marc Y. Paulin
- /-----------------------------------------------------------------\
- | Fidonet: 1:255/200 Internet: markus@info.umoncton.ca |
- | <to come> Talk: markus@clement.info.umoncton.ca |
- \--------------+------------------------------+-------------------/
- | Gravis Ultrasound forever!!! |
- +------------------------------+
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: PWRJAM01@Uctvax.UCT.AC.ZA
- Subject: Some good responses from game companies
-
- I did my homework - I sent letters to all companies that
- were at the end of mondays digest - most of them
- bounced unfortunately - but I am happy to say that
- the replies that I have were very positive ! yes
- about 3/7 of them will/ or are currently adding
- support in NATIVE mode !!! - well done GRAVIS
- others are going to use AIL - I would post the reply's
- but I am sure someone else will and we don't need
- to read them over and over !
-
- James
- internet: pwrjam01@uctvax.uct.ac.za
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: chan@skorpio.usask.ca
- Subject: Subscribe
-
- Subscribe me to the Ultrasounds Daily Digest.
-
- Thanks.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 93 13:16:00 PDT
- From: n4zfd!@emsr0.emsr.att.com:frodo
- Subject: The future of sound
- Message-ID: <2CB8DB96@kodan.n2idf.ampr.org>
-
- I've been watching for awhile now as people keep making noises about games.
- Folks, although many of you may have bought your GUS to play games with, DOS
- based games are not where the future of sound cards lie.
-
- First off, DOS itself has a limited lifetime. This time next year, there
- will be basically four personal computer operating systems, two intended for
- desktop use, and two intended for server use.
-
- The server operating systems are Windows NT and UNIX. Sound support on
- machines using these operating systems is not critical, as it would mostly
- be used by programmers waiting for compiles to complete.
-
- The desktop operating systems will be OS/2, and Windows 4.0, (currently
- known as "Chicago"). These operating systems provide a wide range of
- services to programs, including the standard multimedia API. In common, both
- OS/2 and Chicago support the Windows Multimedia API, and this is the common
- platform where future sound cards will be used.
-
- Sound cards have many uses, besides games. For those of you who aren't old
- enough to remember, at one point in time GRAPHICS was a luxury that people
- got on their home computers so that they could play games. Eventually,
- someone figured out a business use for GRAPHICS, and the technology took off
- - now, virtually every computer that's sold has graphic capabilities far
- exceeding those of the earlier home computers, and for a hundredth of the
- cost.
-
- This is the same way the sound card market is developing. Sound now has a
- business use - for presentations, as embedded sound annotations to documents
- that are sent via email in workgroups, etc. All of this development is being
- done under Windows, where the GUS performs as well or better, than other
- cards. (The only lacking point here is the GUS's interpretation of MIDI
- velocity).
-
- At the same time, the market for multimedia reference software (ie.,
- Encarta, Cinemania, Mammals, etc.) is rapidly developing. Being multimedia,
- the Windows Multimedia API is a given, also.
-
- Folks, the only place Soundblaster compatibility matters is in DOS-based
- games. Even Sierra releases its games with a Windows version that uses the
- Multimedia API - they just need to support patch-caching. As has been
- pointed out, noone cares that the Roland cards don't have Soundblaster
- compatibility (because they were designed for musicians), that the Microsoft
- Sound System doesn't have it (because it was designed for business), and,
- eventually, noone will care whether or not the GUS does, either.
-
- Forget sending hundreds of letters to game manufacturers to add native
- support to games. What needs doing is for drivers to be written to support
- the multimedia operating systems, and for the game manufacturers to "get
- with it", and start writing multimedia, before *they* are left in the dust.
-
- p.s. For what its worth, Gravis needs to come out with/contract for:
-
- a) Windows drivers that properly interpret the velocity in a MIDI sequence.
-
- b) Port the Windows drivers to OS/2 MM2, again, with proper velocity
- interpretation.
-
- c) Port the Windows drivers to Windows NT, again, with proper velocity
- interpretation.
-
- The Windows NT drivers will be portable to Chicago either as-is, or with
- minimal changes. The API and driver structure for both are the same.
-
- Jim Blakely, VP
- Blakely-Signature Associates
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: rylos.jazz.att.com:frodo@emsr0.emsr.att.com
- Subject: The future of sound
-
- I've been watching for awhile now as people keep making noises about games.
- Folks, although many of you may have bought your GUS to play games with, DOS
- based games are not where the future of sound cards lie.
-
- First off, DOS itself has a limited lifetime. This time next year, there
- will be basically four personal computer operating systems, two intended for
- desktop use, and two intended for server use.
-
- The server operating systems are Windows NT and UNIX. Sound support on
- machines using these operating systems is not critical, as it would mostly
- be used by programmers waiting for compiles to complete.
-
- The desktop operating systems will be OS/2, and Windows 4.0, (currently
- known as "Chicago"). These operating systems provide a wide range of
- services to programs, including the standard multimedia API. In common, both
- OS/2 and Chicago support the Windows Multimedia API, and this is the common
- platform where future sound cards will be used.
-
- Sound cards have many uses, besides games. For those of you who aren't old
- enough to remember, at one point in time GRAPHICS was a luxury that people
- got on their home computers so that they could play games. Eventually,
- someone figured out a business use for GRAPHICS, and the technology took off
- - now, virtually every computer that's sold has graphic capabilities far
- exceeding those of the earlier home computers, and for a hundredth of the
- cost.
-
- This is the same way the sound card market is developing. Sound now has a
- business use - for presentations, as embedded sound annotations to documents
- that are sent via email in workgroups, etc. All of this development is being
- done under Windows, where the GUS performs as well or better, than other
- cards. (The only lacking point here is the GUS's interpretation of MIDI
- velocity).
-
- At the same time, the market for multimedia reference software (ie.,
- Encarta, Cinemania, Mammals, etc.) is rapidly developing. Being multimedia,
- the Windows Multimedia API is a given, also.
-
- Folks, the only place Soundblaster compatibility matters is in DOS-based
- games. Even Sierra releases its games with a Windows version that uses the
- Multimedia API - they just need to support patch-caching. As has been
- pointed out, noone cares that the Roland cards don't have Soundblaster
- compatibility (because they were designed for musicians), that the Microsoft
- Sound System doesn't have it (because it was designed for business), and,
- eventually, noone will care whether or not the GUS does, either.
-
- Forget sending hundreds of letters to game manufacturers to add native
- support to games. What needs doing is for drivers to be written to support
- the multimedia operating systems, and for the game manufacturers to "get
- with it", and start writing multimedia, before *they* are left in the dust.
-
- p.s. For what its worth, Gravis needs to come out with/contract for:
-
- a) Windows drivers that properly interpret the velocity in a MIDI sequence.
-
- b) Port the Windows drivers to OS/2 MM/2, again, with proper velocity
- interpretation.
-
- c) Port the Windows drivers to Windows NT, again, with proper velocity
- interpretation.
-
- The Windows NT drivers will be portable to Chicago either as-is, or with
- minimal changes. The API and driver structure for both are the same.
-
- Jim Blakely, VP
- Blakely-Signature Associates
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1993 10:05:11 -0500
- From: ken@austin.ibm.com (Ken Goach IBM)
- Subject: Weird GUS problem/games question
- Message-ID: <9310111505.AA19457@quarlvis.austin.ibm.com>
-
- HI all,
-
- Well, it's time for my quarterly plea for help.
-
- I am still having problems with MIDI in Windows. If I play
- a MID that uses any of the flute sounds (flute, piccolo,
- pan flute, ocarina, etc) Windows crashes. Sometimes it
- returns an EMM386 error (exception error #06), other
- times it just hangs. It goes to a black screen immediately
- after the flute sound begins playing and holds the last
- notes played. I don't have this problem with playmidi.
- Everything else works great (except I may have gotten
- the same crash with the clarinet patch once).
-
- Any clues?
-
- On the subject of games, I was wondering:
-
- 1) Is there a list of all the games that currently support
- the GUS, including the Sierra games that now work with
- the added driver?
-
- 2) Can someone recommend a football or golf game that works
- well with SBOS?
-
- 3) Has Gravis ever thought about starting a games division,
- or hiring a second party (like they did with Forte) to
- code games with *real* GUS support?
-
- Thanks,
-
- Ken
- ken@austin.ibm.com
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: "(O) (O) c ?" <uwtl@sunyit.edu>
- Subject: WinJammer Questions
-
- Any of you guys use WinJammer?? For some reason I always get a
- 'Can't Load Track 1'.
- Actually, it seems Winjammer can't load the first
- track it tries to load period . If i'm using patch 4,19,20, it will then say
- 'can't load track 4'. It will load the rest fine, and I can go to the
- Ultrasound Patch Manager and manually load the patch that wouldn't load.
- It's just a pain because everytime I stop/play, replay the song it wipes that
- patch out of memory, and I have to manually load the patch all over again.
-
- Also, for some reason I can't get WJ to interface with the Patch
- change on the Miracle keybourd. I'm using the Ultrasound Midi Box/Driver.
- It only plays on Channel 10.
-
- Any help muchly appreciated. Thanks.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: PWRJAM01@Uctvax.UCT.AC.ZA
- Subject: WSD2SND - where can I find it ?
-
- I need a bit a help - I got an EPS disk off ftp.reed.edu
- and EPS_Utils - now how do you extract the files. Must
- you write the files to a disk ? HOW ? If I choose
- eXtract then it asks me for the volume - fine then it
- wants the directory BLOCK number and it defaults to 3.
- Dunno what this means. Then it asks for the patch names
- Isn't there a way to select all the patches/instruments ?
- Then where do I get WSD2SND - I have got INSTEDIT but I
- can not seem to find WSD2SND ?
-
- Thanks for the help
- ****************************************
- * ________ _____ *
- * !___ ___! / O ! *
- * / / / __/ *
- * ___/ / ames / / ower *
- * !____/ /__/ *
- * University of Cape Town *
- * South Africa *
- * Internet: pwrjam01@uctvax.uct.ac.za *
- ****************************************
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: (null)
- From: (null)
-
- Forwarded message:
- > From johnr@idcube.idsoftware.com Tue Oct 12 00:48:17 1993
- > From: John Romero <johnr@idcube.idsoftware.com>
- > Date: Mon, 11 Oct 93 11:45:20 -0500
- >
- > There's a very small chance that GUS support may be dropped, but
- > we're not worried about it yet. Sadly, though, our GUS support will
- > not take total advantage of the card. We won't be having any 44khz
- > samples, just 11khz. DOOM is a shareware game, and it needs to be a
- > shareware size. 44khz samples will blow-up a project's size
- > considerably. The GUS does have a mixer chip so you can have
- > simultaneous sound effects -- but we're doing that in software, so
- > the SB and compatibles will have composited sound effects as well.
- > ---
- > John Romero (romero@idsoftware.com) id Software
- > Send questions about id software to help@idsoftware.com
- > (NeXTmail OK).
-
- ------------------------------
-
- End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V7 #11
- *************************************
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-
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-
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