This is my own program review list. I have listed the name of the distribution zip file, the author, a brief description, and whether or not I was impressed with it. There are a couple of files that I don't remember the actual zip file name or the author's name.
I have classified the programs under the version of my board that gives the best results (stereo). However, most programs that have a stereo mode also support mono and possibly even the PC speaker.
If you're up for a little torture, try listening to these programs through the PC speaker for any length of time. (Especially if your computer has a piezo speaker)
Most of these programs I obtained from Exec-PC BBS at (414) 789-4210, located in Elm Grove, WI. (Same as Milwaukee) I found them either in the Mahoney Collection or one of the shareware CD roms.
Currently, I have about 30 to 40 Mb (zipped) of sound for my sound card. Most of the files I have are MOD files with some SND (.VOC, .SND, etc.) of famous Sci-Fi movie quotes. I am always on the lookout for more sound files and programs (especially games and demos).
Most of what I currently have for sound files, I downloaded off of Exec-PC before they banned sound files and deleted almost all of them. (This really pissed me off.) I have Emailed Bob Mahoney (The Sysop) expressing my opinions on this subject. According to him, as soon as they obtain a bigger capacity system, they will allow sound files back on. (Supposedly, they are going to be adding some dedicated sound file CD-ROMs soon.) I keep reminding him of my interest in a sound file collection every time I renew my subscription with Exec-PC. There are still about 50 to 100 MOD files on Exec-PC in the CD-ROM file collections. It is almost guaranteed that these will be available for at least a few years, since it is impossible to delete files from a CD-ROM. (Actually, you can still find a lot of MODs in the Amiga Section as they get uploaded. They seem to be getting a little more lenient about allowing MODs there.)
The main place to obtain sound files is from the Music Channel BBS. In fact most of the files that were on Exec-PC came from this BBS. This BBS is entirely devoted to sound files. At last count they had over 900 Mb of sound related files with about 1/3 being MOD files. They're located in Hartford, CT. and their number is (203) 646-3058. You can get DL credit by actually shelling out some money for a subscription or you can upload sound related files. It's a rare occurrence if you can find a sound file to upload that they don't already have, though.
Another place to find some sound files is the Apogee BBS. (I believe their actual name is Software Creations, Apogee's home BBS.) Their collection isn't as extensive but for the most part it is easier to get download credit on their board. Apogee allows you to either purchase a subscription or upload files to get download credit. Their number is (508) 365-2359, located in Massachusetts. Some of the demos listed below, I downloaded from this BBS, although I'm sure the Music Channel BBS has them too.
I've found a BBS located in Chicago, IL called Digital Overdrive. Their number is: (708) 464-0120. This is the first bulletin board I've found close to my area that is dedicated to sound files. They had about 600 MOD files the last time I was able to get on. From what I've heard they just started up in December '92. I was ready to give this BBS a glowing review, however, the last time I tried to log on I found that they had deleted my account with them, with no explanation. Behavior like this, on the part of the sysop, is just simply unprofessional. (I have a feeling I was kicked off because the only file I uploaded was this one. As far as I know, I didn't break any of their rules.) Their subscription fee is only $5 for two months ($20 for a year). Of course you can always get DL credit for uploading files, their rate is 10K for every 1K (or 10 files for every 1) you upload (whichever rate gets in your way first). I'm pretty sure that you can find all of what they have currently on Music Channel BBS. Based on experience with this BBS, if you want any sort of permanent account with them, you'll have to pay for it, because following their UL/DL credit rules apparently isn't enough to keep you in good standing with them. (I may actually get back on and pay for a subscription. I don't know, yet. I'm still a little pissed at them. There ought to be a code of ethics for sysops to follow.)
If anyone finds any good BBS's to get sound files, let me know. I'm also interested in finding someone that would want to and knows how to write device driver files for Microsoft's Windows 3.x. I have seen a third party sound driver for the DSS floating around, so I imagine that it can't be too much hassle for someone to write or adapt a driver file for my sound board. My address is in the README.1ST file or just Email Dave Boyd on Exec-PC.
I'm also interested in finding a stereo 669 player for my sound board. (I just found a mono WOW player.) Currently I'm only aware of a player that exists for the SB Pro. A 669 or WOW file is an 8-channel MOD file as opposed to the usual 4-channel MOD files (MOD, STM, etc.). They also support files that are larger than base memory.
It'd also be nice to find a stereo VOC or WAV sound file player. I haven't seen any newer releases of SPUTTER than version 1.15. If there was ever a program to have that capability, this one would be it.
V1.00 STEREO COMPATIBILITY:
CHAMP.ZIP by Tom Gardner
This is another MOD player. This player doesn't offer much. It asks you to input a mixing frequency, but it doesn't check to see if the frequency that you specify is a resonable value.
COOL_93.ZIP from Mystery BBS
This is a VGA/sound demo. Although, this has to be the dullest demo I've found yet. It's one redeeming quality is that the MOD file is separate from the demo, thus making it possible to substitute a better MOD in for the one it comes with. In other words you can use it as another MOD player. This is also the first program (other than MODPLAY PRO and MODEDIT) I've found that supports the V1.00 stereo mode.
CRYSTAL.ARJ by Triton
This VGA/sound demo is a must. It has some of the best vector graphics that I've seen yet. It also utilizes that little known VGA mode: 320x480x256. (If you have at least 256K video ram, your computer should support it.) Basically, this means that the vectors have somewhat smoother edges compared to most other demos that use the standard 320x200x256 mode. It will also support up to a 44 KHz mixing speed. It also has an interesting remix of the Axel F MOD. I uploaded it to Exec-PC in ZIP format under a similar name. (Some file on Exec-PC already had the name CRYSTAL.ZIP)
MFED152.ZIP by James Holderness
This is another MOD player and editor. It is the first player (for IBMs) that I've seen that indicates on a keyboard what pitch it is playing the instrument. The maximum mixing frequency for this program is 22 KHz. Almost everything about the program can be configured. This program also has its own built in screen saver. All in all, I give this MOD player a thumb's up.
MODED215.ZIP by Norman Lin
This program allows you to edit or create your own MOD files. It is accompanied by a number of instrument samples and also allows you to extract samples from existing MODs. It has bug in the program associated with playing files in stereo. I've seen a newer version (3.00) of this program floating around, but it doesn't seem to work on my system.
MODED301.ZIP by Norman Lin
It's basically the same as the previous version. This one doesn't have the bug in the stereo mode like its predecessor. The main difference is that the author made it easier to compose MODs on this version. If you actually resister the program, you get a feature that allows you to use the keys on your keyboard as and instrument keyboard which allows you to compose the song in real time. If you don't register, you can still test your song ideas in real time, it just doesn't save the keys that you have pressed.
MODRES.??? or MODOBJ.??? by Mark Cox
This program can be found accompanying MODED215.ZIP. It's the actual MOD playing software, similar to that used in MPLAY210 but without the front end. It is intended for programmers who want their programs to be able to play MODs, but don't want to write the software for it themselves. MODOBJ.??? is built into MODED301.ZIP.
MPLAY210.ZIP by Mark Cox
This is an earlier version of the MODPLAY PRO. It doesn't have all the glitzy features that the one V2.19b does, but there seem to be a few MODs that don't sound right on the newer version that play fine on this one.
MPLAY219.ZIP by Mark Cox
This is the latest version of this program that I am aware of. It is capable of playing MOD files through just about anything, including SoundBlaster, the PC speaker, DSS, a quadraphonic DAC (bus card). This program features: a spectrum analyzer, scope overlayed on a 320x200x256 picture of your choice, volume control keys, ability to access MODs in zip files, the ability to shell to dos while playing MOD files, etc. This MOD player will auto-detect the sound board and default to the stereo mode if it finds it. This is still my favorite MOD player.
SD11.ZIP by Shareable Software International
This is the first (VGA) game that I've found that supports the V1.00 stereo mode. The game is version 1.1, I think I'll wait for version 4.0 or greater before I take a serious stab at solving it. Most of the challenge of the game comes from the blockiness of the graphics and the keyboard being unresponsive. It's nice that the someone is actually trying to write a game that is somewhat equivalent to what you could find on the Amiga. Amiga games typically have MOD files playing in the background, like this one does. (I'd keep this game out of the sight of any Amiga fanatics, though, or you'll never hear the end of it.)
V1.50 STEREO COMPATIBILITY:
BUTTMAN.ZIP by Twilight Zone
This is another awesome VGA/sound demo. It's a good one to test whether the sound card is functioning correctly. The first part of the demo starts out in mono and then it abruptly switches to stereo. If the card is working properly, the auto-detect circuitry will automatically switch between mono and stereo at the appropriate time. Supposedly, there are two versions of this file floating around (according to the DOC file with TZJUNGLY). I don't know what the difference between them is. As far as I know this is version 1.
HP00A.ZIP by Zak McCracken
This program is another MOD player that I found more recently. It doesn't have much of a front end, but it actually delivers better sound quality than MPLAY219. For example, MPLAY219 will deliver a mixing speed up to 24 KHz with my computer, but HP00A will deliver up to 36 KHz. Another comparison might be that the maximum mixing frequency on MPLAY219 is 32 KHz while HP00A's maximum mixing frequency is 63 KHz.
JUMPD.ZIP by NMI
This is another VGA/sound demo. In the doc file included with it, the authors claim that this demo is their first and worst. I think that about sums it up. (Well, it's not that bad.) It has an interesting little practical joke type file built into it. The kind of file you can stick into one of your friend's computer's autoexec.bat file. If their computer illiterate enough, they won't have any idea how to correct it, except maybe to turn the monitor upside down.
TECHDEM1.ZIP by Twilight Zone
This is the program that motivated me to make my sound board compatible with this version of Stereo-on-1, this soon. It is actually just a demo. It'll show you what's actually possible on an IBM with VGA and this sound board. There are 2 parts to it, each with it's own stereo song. As far as the demos that I've come across thus far, the graphics are nothing complex, but I'm still impressed. This file also goes by the name TZTECHNO.ZIP.
TZJUNGLY.ZIP by Twilight Zone
This is another VGA/sound demo. It was actually released at the end of January '93. It is TZ's latest demo. According to its DOC file, about 750K of the file is just music. This demo doesn't really have all that much substance. It has five parts: the intro (very little animation), the greets (a spinning globe with the best song of the demo), the story (a guy banging on some bongos and a wacky duck running around with a dull song), augmented palettes (the most interesting graphics part), and the credits (bouncing scrolly). Overall, I was a little disappointed by this demo. I actually prefer TZTECHNO or BUTTMAN to this demo. I did like three out of the five songs, however. The quality of music output is some of the best that I've heard (from a demo) which has been typical of TZ's demos.
WHACK101.ZIP by Stein Norheim of TCB
This program is intended as a MOD player and editor. For some reason, this program crashes on my system. (It has been tested on a friend's computer and it does work.) I do know that the core of Whacker Tracker works because, if I remember correctly, one of the demos utilizes it.
MONOPHONIC COMPATIBILITY:
!FANTA1.ZIP by Jan Ole Suhr
This VGA/soun demo was made by Jan Ole Suhr to show off his sound routines. It is an advertisement for a BBS.
BPT100.ZIP by Kim Heino
This program is another MOD editor and player, with a twist. This not only supports the MOD format but also BPM, BPS, STM, STS, MTM, and MTS. I'm not sure what all these other song/module formats are, but I'm sure they have some use. STMs are another popular form of the MOD file and can be easily converted to the MOD format by using STMTOMOD and then you can play the STMs in stereo on MPLAY219.
CDAXMAS.ARJ by Cascada
This is a one of Cascada's earlier VGA/sound demos. They released it as their Christmas '91 demo. This is the first music disk I've come across for the IBM. A music disk is basically a MOD player that has been released with a number of MODS that were produced by the group that released the music disk. By the way, the MOD player included is set up only to play the MODs included with it. This music disk contains eight different songs. It also has two scollys, a shaking scrolly, and two simulated VU type meters.
CRONOLOG.ZIP by Cascada
This is the BEST really really kick-ass demo that I've found so far. It requires VGA and all of your base memory. You have see it to believe it. It's not only just good graphics combined with good sound, it's choreographed and everything. (the screens change in sync with the bass beats)
DENTAL.ZIP by Jan Ole Suhr
This VGA/sound demo was made by Jan Ole Suhr to show off his sound routines. The demo has one song, some sort of spectrum analyzer, stars flying by, and a scrolly.
JJDEMO.ZIP by Sourcer of TCB
This is another VGA/sound demo. It was apparently made as an advertisement for some foreign computer store. It has an interesting screen melt.
MMOD1014.ZIP by Adrian Danieli
This is a demo of MULTIMOD.EXE's capabilities (a file included in the ZIP file). This particular file plays WANTON.MOD through the sound board while playing WARNING.FLI to the screen. This particular demo loads itself entirely into base memory.
MULTIMOD.EXE by Adrian Danieli
In general, MULTIMOD.EXE is a program which plays Autodesk's Animator FLI files simultaneously with a MOD file. The program auto-detects whether or not you have a DAC on the parallel port. (I assume it does this by sending out a legitimate printer code and seeing whether or not a legitimate printer echoes it back.) It'll handle up to about a 400K MOD file (which it uses base memory for) and a 2M FLI (which it uses extended memory or disk access to a RAM drive). From the command line you can also specify how fast you want to play the FLI file. (The FLI speed seems to be dependent on how fast your computer is. ie. people who set up a demo on their 486-50 might bore people who run it on their 286-12) The mixing frequency of the MOD seems to be fixed (I don't know if having a faster computer allows for a better mixing frequency or not). As it stands though, most of the MODs I've tried sound a bit wicked with no high frequency response. Overall, it is nice that such a MOD/FLI player is available, since I've already seen a few such primitive demos of this type that only support the SB (all you need to do is strip the MOD and FLI files from their original player and try this one).
OVERLOAD.ZIP by HYSTERiA
This is another VGA/sound demo. It is a bit short compared to the other demos, but it's got its own little twist on vector graphics. This demo introduces the concept of rubber transformation.
OXYD_V34.ZIP by DongleWare Publishing, Inc.
This is a game. (Yes, I said GAME!) This is the first game that I have found that supports the sound card. It is basically a puzzle game with 100 unique levels. The basic idea is that you have to select consecutive pairs of "hidden" symbols, and to complete the level you have match all of the pairs of symbols. This is complicated by gaps in the playing field, lasers, bombs, dynamite, doors, and a lot of other stuff. The sounds for this game are extensive. Every time you bump into something you hear a sound (which varies depending on what you bump into), it has an explosion sound for the bombs, when you fall off the playing field you hear a crunch when you die (after a delay), it has a sound for picking items from the main menu, it has a little tune it plays when you successfully complete a level, and lots of other sounds for other actions. The game only has one drawback, it requires a lot of RAM. To get the program to run in the VGA mode with the sound it requires 1.5 meg of extended/expanded ram. To get the program to run in the EGA mode with the sound it only requires 0.5 meg of extended/expanded ram. I have only enough ram in my system to run it in the EGA mode. (A friend of mine tested the VGA version and confirmed that it does work.)
PLAYBWC.ZIP by Kim Heino & Arttu Kontkanen
This program is a sound player. It only supports RAW, IFF, and VOC file formats.
PLAYER.EXE by The Untouchables
This program is another MOD player. It requires VGA and that the MOD files be unzipped. The VGA screen is setup to look like a rack CD stereo system. It features: a spectrum analyzer, a scope for each channel, pause, fast forward, really fast forward, program, repeat, shuffle selections, and mouse control.
PP12.ZIP by Tomi Aarnio, Teemu Valtonen, Petri Suni
This is a MOD player with no front end. You specify the name of the MOD file you want to play as a command line option. It loads the player and the MOD into the memory and then immediately shells back to DOS. This MOD player is the first that I have found that supports the 8-channel WOW format. Its maximum mixing frequency is 22 KHz. It claims to play MODs in their correct form. They may be playing at the proper pitch, but I've heard better sound quality (from other mono MOD players). (If you've read my README.1ST file then you (probably) know that in order to maintain the sound resolution you need 11 bits to fully describe the sum of eight 8-bit sounds.) It claims to support the following MOD formats: SoundTracker [.MOD], NoiseTracker [.MOD], StarTrekker, ProTracker (including those composed on MODEDIT) [.MOD], OctaComposer, ScreamTracker [.STM], and WOW modules.
SCREAM.ZIP by Sami Tammilehto
This program is another MOD player and editor. It supports MOD, STM, and STS formats. It could also go by the name of ST224.ZIP.
SF2187.ZIP by Jung Young Dug
This program is a vga "arcade" game. It is supposedly based on Nintendo's Street Fighter II. It requires about 3.8 Mb of hard drive space. It has a few fight sounds that it outputs through the sound card. Unfortunately, there are several major problems in the program. The graphics are really flickery. The instructions are all in a foreign language and it isn't entirely clear what the objective is. As far as I can tell it really requires two players. (I found someone to test it on their computer (486-33). The game seemed to play a lot better, however there was still a lot of flicker. Also found out that it has a human vs. computer mode.)
SHDEMO2.LZH by The SkyHawks
Compared to their Christmas '91 demo this one had to be an earlier release. The sound is typical, but the graphics are a bit lame. It has three different songs; one for each of its parts.
SPDEMO3.ZIP by The SpacePigs (TSP)
This is another VGA/sound demo. This one's colorful.
SPEAKTXT.ZIP by Stephen T. Neely
This program will actually read an ASCII text file. Yes, it speaks every word out through the sound card. After listening to it, I think it could use a little work. Interesting concept, though.
SPMEGA1.ZIP by The SpacePigs (TSP)
This is the SpacePigs' first and last mega demo. It has several different screens with several different songs. Unfortunately, it's only in EGA with some of the music playing through the PC speaker.
SPUTTER??? by Adrienne Cousins
I don't know where my archived copy of SPUTTER wound up. If you download this file from Exec-PC, all you have to do is Hyperscan for the phrase SPUT. It should come up with a list of all the versions of SPUTTER that have been uploaded by Adrienne Cousins. This is the play-all of sound players. So far I haven't found a sound file that it won't play, though you may have to specify a sound file type if the program can't find it in the sound file itself. The last I heard, Adrienne also offers a sound digitizing service, in case you have a sound on tape that you think your computer needs to make.
TSHX-MAS.ZIP by The SkyHawks
This is the first demo that I downloaded, and I only downloaded it because the file description said the graphics were a must see. You can imagine my surprise when the program suddenly asked me which parallel port my sound board was on. After I found this one, I started downloading every demo that mentioned anything about sound and didn't specifically mention SoundBlaster. This demo requires VGA and has three parts. This one will always be one of my favorites.
VICKY.ZIP by The SpacePigs (TSP)
This the SpacePigs most impressive VGA/sound demo. It's basically a vector demo with a surprise at the beginning. You won't want to miss this one.
This VGA/sound demo is interesting to watch, however, the sound gets a bit annoying after a while.
CDA-XM92.LZH by Cascada
This is another VGA/sound demo with a game. As far as demos go, this ones not great. The music is ok, but the graphics aren't all that complex. The game is nothing complex either (although I keep dying), but it is another good demonstration of what's actually possible if software programmers really wanted to produce software that was compatible with this sound board. The idea of the game is that you have to drop presents down the chimneys of houses that don't have fires in their fireplaces. Successfully doing this or shooting obstacles in your path earns you points. Dropping presents down smoking chimneys or running into obstacles gets you killed. There is something curious about this demo; it has a Stereo-on-1 mode. However, I have tried both the V1.00 and V1.50 modes and it doesn't work with either. Hmmm, does this mean that there is another version of Stereo-on-1? Well, I'll just have to look into it. (I already have and idea how this one works, just haven't had time to try it. I have a feeling that it requires the inverse of the V1.00 mode.)
JAMP15.ZIP by Luis Crespo
This is another MOD player.
VP10.ZIP by Luis Crespo
This a little more than just another MOD player. It has five scopes (1 for each channel and 1 for the composite signal), spectrum analyzer with several bars (about twice as many as MODPLAY PRO), and the four standard volume bars. This is the first MOD player that I've come across that allows you to change the mixing speed and the output device while it is playing a MOD. This program will also allow you to shell to DOS as the MOD continues to play (like MODPLAY PRO). According to the DOC file the author intends to add Stereo-on-1 capability to his next version.
WOW201S.ZIP by Jan Ole Suhr
This is another MOD player. It requires VGA. It has a scope and the usual volume bars.
DSS COMPATIBILITY:
#1WOLF3D.ZIP by Id/Apogee Software
This program is one of the best VGA graphics games around. With sound, it is all that much better. Basically with sound, the guards yell at you in German, the gunshots sound real, and you can here the doors open and close.
SOUNDSRC.ZIP by John Ridges
This is a driver file for Microsoft Windows 3.1 which allows sound files to played out through the DSS.
This program converts 669 8-channel MODs to WOW 8-channel MODs. You can find it in a file called GRAVE103.ZIP. The rest of the contents of GRAVE103.ZIP is only compatible with SB and SB Pro.
BMSTR50.ZIP by Gary Maddox
This program allows you modify sound files. It supports: VOC, WAV, and SND file formats. It features: loop, mute, reverse, pitch, echo, volume, insert, mix, fade, pack/unpack, and copy. At this time, I don't think the author has any intention of making this program compatible with my sound board or anything other than SoundBlaster/Pro. Let's see if we can persuade him to.
MSHELL10.ZIP by Obsidian Software
This program has a nice concept, however it has a few major bugs which make it a nuisance. The program was designed so that you set it up to run your MOD player from within it. You select the MODs you would like to play from a MOD file list of one of your file directories. Then it creates a temporary directory where it copies and/or unzips each of the MOD files that you selected (one at a time) and then it jumps to your MOD player. I found it sort of works with MODPLAY PRO V2.19b. It incorrectly transfers the name of the MOD file to the player, so MODPLAY PRO defaults to interactive mode, in other words you have to select the MOD file again once you enter the program. You can set the program up to retrieve MOD files from the floppy drives, however the MODs have to be in a directory on that drive. It is impossible to tell the program that the MODs are in the root directory, it just won't take your word for it. All in all, if you don't mind putting your MOD files into a directory on each disk and you don't mind having to select the same MOD file twice (once in each program), this way seems to be somewhat easier than unzipping selected files off disks manually. Even though the program says MOD Shell you could also use it to play sound files through a sound file player.
SND2VOC.ZIP by Bailey Brown
This program just converts SND files to the VOC format.
STMTOMOD.ZIP by Mark Cox
This program converts STM files to MOD files. The only major limitation is that it requires that the converted MOD be played on MPLAY219 so that it will sound right. It cautions that playing the MOD file on other MOD players might result in the MOD sounding a little off pitch. Also, some STM specific commands seem to get lost in the translation.
PCSTGIF.ZIP, PCSTSKD.ZIP, PCSTDXF.ZIP by Dave Boyd (Me)
If anyone should happen to know anyone that helped to distribute this earlier version, it would be much appreciated if you could get them to delete it from where ever they uploaded it. Those files contains some claims that I now know aren't true (like DSS compatibility) and I would rather that these older versions be obliterated and this new version be put in their place.
PCSTGIF1.ZIP by Dave Boyd
This release contains one minor bug in the schematic, and it would be appreciated if people that have distributed this file would upload/pass along PCSTGIF2.ZIP in its place.
PCSTGIF2.ZIP by Dave Boyd
As far as the hardware goes this is the same as the current release. Only the DOC files have been updated.
Well, this is it for now. Even though this list is short, remember two things: (A) it'll most likely take you several years to acquire all of the MOD and sound files out there already, and (B) hopefully as this sound board type catches on more software programmers will try to market their programs toward us.
