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Lenny's MusicToons
Demo Version 1.3
Index to Topics :
* Getting Started
* Hardware & Software Requirements
* More on Sound : Volume, Windows Midi Mapper
* Trouble Shooting
* Acknowledgements & Trademarks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GETTING STARTED
Be sure to check your MIDI Mapper for "extended" MIDI FM or "All FM". Lenny
uses a lot of up to 10 channels. See the section on the MIDI Mapper below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
Platform:
- MPC Multimedia Computer
Computer:
- IBM 386, 486 or higher, and other 100% compatible
PC systems
- Minimum 20 MHz CPU, 33 MHz & higher recommended
Memory:
- 4 megs or more
Hard Disk Space:
- none required
Video:
- VGA 256 colors 640 x 480 !!! , fast video recommended
Operating System:
- Dos 3.3 or later
- Windows 3.1 or later
Sound:
Any MPC compatible sound card, MIDI & WAV file
capable, such as:
- Sound Blaster SB16 Sound Card.
(Use optional 'Midikit' for external synths.)
- Sound Blaster Pro Sound Card.
(Use optional 'Midikit' for external synths.)
- External synth such as the Roland Sound Canvas
synthesizer for better sound quality. All MIDI
files use General MIDI patching for instrument
selection.
Other:
- Stereo sound amplification or headphones
- Mouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE ON SOUND
Volumes: Wav & MIDI
The Windows Midi Mapper
VOLUMES: WAV & MIDI
Note: Volume between the 2 different types of sound sources
(i.e. MIDI & WAV) are controlled by a mixer utility that
comes with your sound card. Slider controls will adjust the
volumes. Check your manual for the mixer utility and how it
is used.
The Windows MIDI MAPPER
It will possibly be necessary to make a small change to the
setting in the MIDI Mapper utility.
This is true for any program that uses MIDI to play music
on your sound card - it is not unique to Lenny's MusicToons.
Simple instructions for changing the MIDI Mapper settings are
located in the Troubleshooting section of this document.
-The MIDI Sounds "Wrong" / "Silent" / "Out of tune"
MIDI is a worldwide communication standard that is used
in Multimedia computers to communicate Music between
programs such as Lenny's MusicToons and sound cards.
A lot of sound cards in use today use a synthesizer
on a microchip that generates the music using a
method commonly referred to as "FM".
Quite often the terms "FM" and "MIDI" are
used to represent music generated by your soundcard.
Almost all problems with MIDI are caused by an
incorrect setting in the Windows MIDI Mapper.
The purpose of the MIDI Mapper is to allow Windows
programs such as Lenny's MusicToons to communicate
with the synthesizer built into your sound card.
If the MIDI in Lenny's Sound Test sounds 'out of tune' or
the drummers in Lenny's Theatre don't sound like they are
playing drums then it is almost certainly caused by
an incorrect setting in the MIDI Mapper.
If you can hear wave sounds but cannot hear any MIDI
when you run Lenny's SoundTest AND you have already checked
the levels on the mixer utility provided by your sound card
then it is almost certainly a MIDI Mapper problem.
In the Troubleshooting section of this document there are
simple instructions for correcting these problems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLE SHOOTING
RAM MEMORY
Lenny's MusicToons requires a minimum of 4 megabytes of
random access memory (RAM) to operate. Check that available
memory is adequate. Although Windows allows you to run more
than one application simultaneously, it is highly
recommended that you close everything else to release all
available memory when you run Lenny.
VIDEO DISPLAY DRIVERS
Lenny requires 256 colors in a screen resolution of 640 x
480. When you install Lenny's MusicToons, Lenny will tell
you if you have the correct video driver or not. This mode
is available in VGA cards which have 512K video RAM or
higher. To install the required video driver use the
"Windows Setup" icon (setup.exe) and take the following
steps (note: setup.exe can also be accessed from DOS when in
the windows directory) :
1. Locate your video card manufacturer's display drivers disk.
2. Find your Windows disks.
3. Find the Windows Setup Icon (setup.exe).
4. Select Change Settings from the Options menu.
5. Tn the pop-up menu, locate the Other Drivers selection.
6. Specify the drive and/or directory of the video display
drivers disk.
7. Select the driver which supports 640 x 480 in 256 colors and
click OK.
8. You may need to insert some of the Windows disks for fonts,
etc.
9. To change to any other video mode, simply follow steps 1
through 8 for whatever mode required.
10. Once the above steps are completed, restart Windows.
Note that current drivers may be obtained directly from the
video card manufacturer or from bulletin boards that are
often setup by the video board manufacturers. Bulletin
boards are databases that are accessible via a modem.
SOUND DRIVERS for your sound card
Sound drivers are not people who deliver musical equipment
to you from your local music store. Hardware/sound drivers
are special pieces of software which allow Windows to
"communicate" and control specific pieces of hardware in
your computer. These specific pieces of hardware are the
cards in your computer which give the computer its sound
making & listening capabilities. There are a great number of
manufacturers of MPC sound cards of varying qualities. There
are 2 major sound drivers that must work i.e. FM/MIDI and
WAV. If Lenny reports that any of your FM/MIDI or WAV
drivers are not correct, then try the following:
Locate your manufacturer's Driver disk for whatever card
needs software installation. Also check your manual for
any information regarding installation. Usually there is a
set procedure for installation and most of the steps are
done for you. Follow the manufacturer's procedures for
installation which usually works.
However if the manufacturer's installation doesn't work
or is incomplete, the following describes a more "manual"
installation process:
1. Keep your Windows 3.1 disks handy. They're often
needed for hardware installations.
2. Find the Windows "Control Panel".
3. Find the Drivers Icon.
4. Find the Add button and click on it.
5. Find and select "Other".
6. Insert your manufacturer's Driver disk.
7. Click on OK and follow the prompts.
8. If necessary, Delete drivers to clear out any
unecessary drivers once the above steps are completed,
restart Windows.
9. Try installing Lenny's MusicToons again or try the
Sound Test to see if there is any improvement.
[MCI] SOUND DRIVER
The buffer size in Windows for .wav audio should be set as
large as possible for optimum performance :
1. Follow steps 2 thru 4 in the previous Sound Drivers section
to locate the Drivers Icon in Control Panel and double click.
A list of Installed drivers will appear.
2. In this list of drivers you will notice a driver called [MCI] Sound.
3. Select [MCI] Sound from the list , it should now be highlighted.
4. Click on Setup.
5. Make the buffer size 9 seconds by moving the slider
all the way to the right. Click on OK.
6. Click on Close.
7. Close the Control Panel.
THE MIDI MAPPER
The MIDI Mapper utility is used to ensure that MIDI
information is communicated correctly between programs
using MIDI and your soundcard. It is necessary to ensure
that the correct "map" has been selected.
When your soundcard was installed the MIDI Mapper
was automatically set to receive MIDI data on only
4 out of the possible 16 MIDI communication channels.
Lenny's MusicToons takes full advantage of the music
capabilities of your soundcard and to do this it is necessary
to ensure that the "map" you have selected in the MIDI Mapper
allows MIDI to be communicated on the first 10 MIDI channels.
This is a standard setting and it is easily achieved :
1. Make sure that there are no programs running that
use MIDI for example : Lenny's MusicToons,
Lenny's Sound Test, Windows Media Player.
The MIDI Mapper will not accept any changes you make
unless you exit any program that might be
using the Windows MIDI Mapper.
2. Go to the Control Panel.
3. Click on the Midi Mapper icon.
4. Look at the "Name" of the map currently selected.
5. If the "Name" does not resemble any of the following
read on and we will show you how to set up the MIDI
Mapper no matter what sound card you have.
Creative Labs : The "SoundBlaster" family of soundcards
should have a name similar to :
"SB___ Ext FM" selected.
For example, SBPro Ext FM ; SB16 Ext FM.
MediaVision : The "ProAudio" family of soundcards
should have a name similar to :
"MVI OPL3 FM" or "Extended FM" selected.
Microsoft : The Windows Sound System sound card
conforms to the Windows 3.1 MIDI standard
and will require no adjustment in the
MIDI Mapper if the sound card
installation has been successful.
6. You can look at the list of available "names" by clicking
on the arrow to the right of the "name" currently selected.
You can choose a different "name" from the list that appears
by clicking on it.
7. If you are unsure whether you have chosen the correct
"name" you can follow the steps 8,9 & 10 to check
if the "name" you have selected is the correct one
- no matter what soundcard you have :
8. Click on Edit. The 16 channel display of Source,
Destination, Port Name, and Patch Map Name will
appear.
9. Find Source Channel 10 (in the first column).
Alongside this in the 'Destination' column the value should be 16.
If this is not the case you can change it by
clicking on the value that is currently set and changing it to 16.
10. In the Port Name column the name that is seen will
depend on the soundcard.
Creative Labs and MediaVision soundcards often use
a port name that mentions "Voyetra","FM","Synth",
"OPL3" or "SuperSapi".
You should not choose a port name that refers to MIDI output.
11. After exiting the MIDI Mapper and control panel
restart Lenny's MusicToons or Lenny's Sound Test to
play different MIDI files.
"But What If I Don't Have a SoundBlaster or ProAudio
Sound Card ?"
If you want to ( or need to ) you can make your
own "MIDI Map".
Provided that your soundcard was
installed correctly it's quite easy to do :
1. Make sure that there are no programs
running that use MIDI for example :
Lenny's MusicToons, Lenny's Sound Test,
Windows Media Player.
The MIDI Mapper will not accept any changes
you make unless you exit any program that
might be using the MIDI Mapper.
2. Go to the Control Panel.
3. Click on the Midi Mapper icon.
4. Click on New.
5. Type in a name for your map (must be 8 letters or less)
for example : mysetup
Type in a description for your map
for example : my own midi mapper setup
Click on OK.
6. Now you are shown a table that only needs
1 or 2 settings changed, if at all :
7. In the column marked "Src Ch" you should see
a list of numbers from 1 to 16.
8. In the column marked "Dest Ch" you should see
a list of numbers from 1 to 16.
Change the "Dest Ch" from 10 to 16.
This now should show the "Src Ch" 10 in the first
column and a "Dest Ch" 16 in the second column.
9. In the column marked "Port Name" you need to
ensure that the correct port name is selected
for each one of the 16 channels.
Do this by clicking on the first Port Name.
Now click on the arrow.
From the list that appears a name that mentions
"Voyetra" or "OPL3" or "SuperSapi" should be chosen.
You should not, however, choose a port name that
refers to MIDI output or MIDI Port or "None".
10. The column marked "Patch Map Name" should have 'None'
listed for all 16 channels.
11. Click on 'OK' and then on 'Close'.
12. After exiting the control panel restart Lenny's MusicToons
or Lenny's Sound Test to play different MIDI files.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & TRADEMARKS
Windows 3.1, and DOS are products of Microsoft Corp.
Sound Blaster Pro, SB16 are products of Creative Labs Inc.
Roland Sound Canvas is a product of Roland Corp US.
Copyright 1993 Music Pen Inc.
Exclusive License to Paramount Interactive
Lenny's MusicToons and MusicToon are trademarks
of Music Pen Inc.