Experimental BBS Explossion 3/Experimental BBS Explossion III.iso/gus/digestv9.zip/V9N6G.TXT

Text File | 1993-12-06 | 46KB | 1,099 lines

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GUS Daily Digest            Mon, 6 Dec 93   007          Volume 9: Issue   6

Today's Topics:
                       Blake Stone + ultrawlf?
                                CD-ROM
                  CyberRace and GUS - does it work??
                          GUS and Falcon 3.0
                        GUS Daily Digest V9 #4
                   GUS Daily Digest V9 #5 (4 msgs)
              GUS vs. SB16 - A user's report (LOOOOONG)
                               IndyCar
                            MIDI Software
                      Mitsumi CD-ROM Audio Cable
                 Music File Player needed for the GUS
                           On OS/2 DRivers
               Orchid card beats GUS in Review (2 msgs)
                      Orchid SoundWave/GameWave
                             OS/2 drivers
                     Problems with GUS and Window
                              QSound...
                            Returned mail

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: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 20:34:42 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mike Finkel <[e-mail]>
Subject: Blake Stone + ultrawlf?

Can the ultrawlf modifications be applied to Blake Stone?  It uses
virtually the same file naming scheme - I just don't know about the inner
workings of the files of BS compared to Wolf.

I cannot seem to get it to sound right with SBOS 2.08 - loses many sounds
intermittently.  Sometimes I will hear the guards scream, sometimes not
(usually not).  Most of the time I will not hear my gun fire.  The door
sounds are intermittent as well.  The music sounds nice though (along
with the other FM effects).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Michael
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 17:33:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Vincent Poy <[e-mail]>
Subject: CD-ROM

I was wondering if I had a Toshiba 3401 SCSI CD-ROM drive and a GUS,
besides saving a slot, what difference would it be if I hooked up the
CD-ROM to my Adaptec 1742A SCSI Controller, would I still be able to get
sound from the CD-ROM out of the Soundcard? Thanks.


Cheers,

Vince
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
System Administrator/Owner
Kingdom Communications Inc./California Unix Public Access Systems Inc.
San Francisco, California USA

                         \|/
                            (o o)
           _____________oOO__(_)__OOo_______________
          | No warranty for my actions of any kind  |

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 20:31:36 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mike Finkel <[e-mail]>
Subject: CyberRace and GUS - does it work??

Anyone been able to get CyberRace to work with sounds?  It uses Dos4GW
1.9 - making it incompatible with Megaem.  SBOS 2.08 seems to mess up the
 voc files the game uses for voice.  I cannot locate any drivers per se
to be able to replace them with the ultramid ones.

SBOS (with just about any -O? flags combinations) either makes the
dialogue echo or makes it disappear completely.  Any suggestions would be
appreciated.


Mike Finkel
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 93 00:23:17 -0500
From: Carl Pettypiece <[e-mail]>
Subject: GUS and Falcon 3.0

Hello, fellow GUSsers!

   I haven't seen this problem posted before so it's either easy to solve
or I have a peculiar problem.  Anyway....

   I can't for the life of me get Falcon 3.0 to work properly with my GUS,
either with SBOS or MegaEm (I'd prefer MegaEm, of course).  MegaEm has no
problems with the Roland emulation, the music sounds great.  However, the
digitized sounds are distorted and slow the system down horribly when they
play.  It sounds much better on my PC speaker (ack!).  The same symptoms
occur with both MegaEm and SBOS.  For example, during the intro you're
supposed to hear birds chirping cheerfully before being interrupted by
the two jets (I know this 'cause that's what my PC speaker plays -- without
slowdown, I might add).  Instead I get what sound like apes (quite amusing
at first) and the frame rate is terrible until the sound is done (which is
long before the MiG is splashed).  The frame rate is about 1 per sec with
SBOS and not much better with MegaEm.  During play, the game appears to halt
every time a digitized sound is played, which has lost me a fight more than
once.  With MegaEm, the game will crash when trying to play a Roland effect
and a SB effect simultaneously (I have to hit the big red switch).

   Ok, now for my set up.  Not much unusual here.  I'm using DOS 6.0 and
DoubleSpace (on a different drive, not where Falcon is).  I'm using either of
EMM386 (that which came with DOS 6.0) or QEMM 6.00, doesn't seem to make
any difference.  I'm not trying to use clever stealth or video ram stuff.
Oh and my motherboard is a C&T type with '89 AMI BIOS 386DX/25.  The only
unusual thing I have (but I can't see why it would have any effect) is an old
IBM mono video card I use for debugging Windows stuff.  Oh, and my COM2 modem
is set at IRQ5 but I'm not doing H2H yet, I'll burn that bridge when I get to
it.

   What I've tried:  I played about with MegaEm's settings, turning off
Roland emulation and even the -fgdt switch to see if it worked.  I increased
the DMA buffer for both EMM386 and QEMM.  I changed my GUS IRQ and DMA from
16 bit to 8 bit.  I got rid of SmartDrive.

   What I haven't tried:  I haven't lifted the hood yet, so I haven't disabled
my modem or the other video card.

   What I've noticed:  This game works perfectly with MegaEm for a friend of
mine.  He has a 486DX2/66 and uses DOS 5.0 and QEMM 6.0.  I also have many
games which work great, most relavent I guess is X-Wing.  No lock-ups, no
slow-downs with MegaEm, just perfect.

   Anyway, if this problem is familiar to someone or if you have a sugestion
I would appreciate any help.  Post to the digest or e-mail, I can post a
summary.  Thanks a lot.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl Pettypiece ([e-mail])        Disclaimer:  Hell, I don't
Department of Computer Science                   even know if these are MY
University of Western Ontario                    opinions!
London, Ontario, Canada
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Clever quote goes here
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1993 10:05:59 +1100 (EST)
From: Charlie Brady <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #4

On Sat, 4 Dec 1993, GUS Server wrote:

>
> Date: 3 Dec 93 18:43:44 +0100
> From: Tom Skoglund <[e-mail]>
> Subject: GUS<->OS/2 2.1
>
> I have a few questions about GUS <-> OS/2 2.1:
>
> - I have a GUS-card with CD-ROM interface (daugther-board) and a
>   Panasonic CR-562B CD-ROM. I wonder if there is support for this setup
>   for OS/2 2.1 ?
>
> - I would also like to know when and where I may get GUS-drivers for
>   OS/2.
>
>  Tom Skoglund
>  E-mail: [e-mail]

Tom,
I've been trying to find out about CD-ROM interface cards for GUS, without
getting definitive information. Is the daughter card from Gravis? How much?
Are there DOS/Windows drivers? If I can get one of these and there is no
Linux driver, I can work on one if I can get the technical information.

Charlie Brady * (W) [e-mail] * (H) [e-mail]
"Make it as simple as possible - | Tel: [phone] ____Telectronics__| /\__
  but no simpler"   Einstein, A  | Fax: [phone] Pacing Systems    \/

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 03:00:57 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (Frank Wang)
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #5

> From: EVIL GM <[e-mail]>

> 4) Mega-em in every box!
>     This is, of course, a droolware package, not a real expectation,
Why not?  doesn't anyone else think that Gravis is shooting themselves in the
foot big time by not including this program with their GUS's?

I think there are likely to be lots of people who are returning it - because
they don't have ftp or internet access.  Such an important utility to not be
included.  I expect this to change soon, though.


> The Orchid SoundWave 32SE got 88% in the November issue of PC Format,
> beating GUS (with 87%). The list price is 189.00 (umm, about $230.00)
[stuff deleted]
>  o 512k on-board ROM chips with samples.
     ^^^^
er, uh?  I assume this some sort of typo?  How can a soundcard with 512k
ROM samples beat anything?  even with some sort of compression - any
respective ROM card should have at least 4 megs of samples.


            - Frank Wang
              [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 93   007
From: GUS Server <[e-mail]>
Subject: GUS Daily Digest V9 #5
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

GUS Daily Digest            Sun, 5 Dec 93   007          Volume 9: Issue   5

Today's Topics:
                              3D sound.
                  Creative Labs Voice Assist & GUS?
                     European Registration Cards
                         GUS and Windows MIDI
                   GUS Daily Digest V9 #4 (2 msgs)
                      Minidiscs and missing info
                       More on X-Wing and QEMM
                          on OS/2 Drivers...
                   Orchid card beats GUS in Review

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: Fri, 3 Dec 1993 19:56:10 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: 3D sound.

My name is Mauricio Lumbreras. I am working in hypertexts for blind people.
2 weeks ago I was in EEUU (attending in Seattle at Hypertext 93) and there
I bought a GUS. When I arrived to Argentina I get disappointed because I
don't found the 3D sound.
Where o when I can get drivers, software, HRTF tables,etc. to get 3D
sound?
I will be very grateful if somebody could give me the answer.

Mauricio F. Lumbreras
LIFIA - Fac. Cs. Exactas - Universidad Nacional de La Plata
email: [e-mail]
ARGENTINA

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 19:16:55 +0100
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Creative Labs Voice Assist & GUS?

Anyone know if Creative Labs "Voice Assist" will work with the GUS ?
Sounds interesting enough, and I've looked for such a program for
some time now.

Erik
[e-mail]

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 19:15:42 +0100
From: [e-mail]
Subject: European Registration Cards

Mark Bullen <[e-mail]> wrote:

>Subject: European Registration
>
>European Customers:
>
>        Logitech SA, CH-1122 Romanel/Morges, Switzerland
>
>Being a `European Customer' I guess that I should send my card to Logitech
>in Switzerland, but I'm not sure that I'll get put on Gravis' distribution
>list for update disks :-(

Yes, I sent my card to that address (Logitech in Switzerland), and I got
my 2.06 disks fine, though I understand your worries. I hesitated myself
before sending it there. :) Though this was about a year ago, and things
could've changed? Better check with Gravis first. E-mail John Smith and
ask the nice fella'. ([e-mail])

Erik
[e-mail]

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 93 12:55:59 CST
From: [e-mail] (Erick Bergquist)
Subject: GUS and Windows MIDI

Hello,

  Recently I have installed the new GUS Drivers for Windows
(GUS0035.ZIP/ARJ),
and I can not get the MIDI to work, WAVE works fine. I have double-checked
my .INI files, and have checked my GUS Settings. And can't seem to figure
out why MIDI isn't working.

It may be in midi-map setup though, there are choices there with the new
drivers that weren't there before. IE: (Ultrasound, Ultra1024, Ultra256,
Ultra512, 1024Drums, and a few others). And I have a hunch that the
midimap.cfg isn't correct and thats what the problem is.

Anyone know how to fix this? I have a 1024k GUS btw.

I also have removed the drivers, and re-installed them, but only WAVE.

-- Via DLG Pro v0.995

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=//-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\\-=-=-=
 ITCnet: 85:872/203 -!- KENOnet: 10:11/0 //  The Project Team '93  \\ T 9
 [e-mail]    // CIS Major - Happy GUSing \\ P 3
 [------Insert Wise Saying Here------] // Programmer/Artist\Musician \\ T
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=//-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\\-=

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 16:04:42 -0600 (CST)
From: Antonio Guia <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #4

to the user with the recording problems ([e-mail]?)

your mail bounced back to me.   the problem you are having with recording
in windows, you described that it works fine on a fresh windows
installation but not in your present windows installation.

print out the contents of your system.ini file, and check the file dates
of all those files included in it (in your system directory), then check
the dates of the same files in your fresh installation, rename the ones in
your fresh installation and copy them to your present system directory,
then try renaming the drivers to the old ones one at a time until you find
out which one it is that prevents your recording.

many programs when they install themselves assume that their drivers will
be more recent than the windows drivers, however by overwriting the
windows drivers they end up disabling other programs, an example comes to
mind where i installed a recent program which replaced bwcc.dll with a
more recent copy, then later i installed another, older program, which
assumed its bwcc.dll was the most recent, and so replaced it, suddenly my
recent program would not work anymore, and the installation does not make
backups or ask before replacing files.   quite a messy state of affairs.

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 17:27:45 -0500
From: Greg Chung <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #4

Regarding the Minidisc idea (ATRAC).  Matt Voss suggests someone write an
algorithm that the GUS could use.  While I'm sure it could be done, if it
was easy, everyone would have it already.  8:1 compression of audio is
great, and I don't see how you can do it just by 'recording the sounds
we can actually hear'.  There's probably a much more complex (patented)
system... (any volunteers for corporate spy?)  Conceivably the same methods
could be applied to ANY soundcard, not just the GUS.

Also -- regarding the 16bit sampling that Jacque mentioned.  Okay, maybe you
WILL use it, but not everyone will.  It's better that the standard doesn't
come with 16bit recording to keep the base price down.

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 93 12:33 EDT
From: EVIL GM <[e-mail]>
Subject: Minidiscs and missing info

    To the person with minidisc mania:
    The reason that minidiscs, as you said, are so good at compressing data
is because they use a lossy compression algorithm. The minidisc doesn't
actually store all the info fed to it. Like JPEG compression, it gets rid of
some stuff to be able to squeeze the "important" stuff in. As you said, the
algorithm only strips the parts it doesn't expect you to be able to hear, but
first of all, it isn't always the most discriminating program, and second of
all, some musical effects aren't heard, they are felt.
    Bass effects (the thudding of the floor, the ominous feeling you get in
movie theatres) results from some audible and some subsonic effects. I want to
see what these things do to something with a lot of bass. See, a real
audiophile is going to _want_ those little extra bits that get dropped out,
just as when I stare at a JPEG, I can sometimes tell that something's missing.
While data compression is definitely going to make future headlines, _lossy_
compression is not the way to go.
    Many other soundboards incorporate onboard compression hardware. The SB
16 ASP has a processor devoted to it, and I think the PAS-16 does also, but
don't quote me. I just want to make the point that you can have your cake and
eat it too. Why accept lossy compression when you don't need to?
    I realize this is a digression, so I'll bring it back to the current
topic floating around on the list, which seems to be:
What I Want On My Gus Max
(A holiday shopping list for Garvis to look at)

1) A digital sound processor to aid in data compression.
2) Simms to increase the amount of memory availableinto the Megabyte range
    (And beyond? Drool, drool!)
3) Fiber-optic leads for digital-direct recording.
4) Mega-em in every box!

    This is, of course, a droolware package, not a real expectation,
but it never hurts to mention such things. All I _really_ want is a speedy
release! Good luck, Gravis! We appreciate your hard work!
                        -Chris Hedberg

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 04 Dec 93 17:31:04 -0500
From: "Momentary language, sexual situations" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: More on X-Wing and QEMM

>  Hmmm.  Have you upgraded your version of QEMM to 7.02?  You need to get
>  the 7.00 to 7.01 AND the 7.01 to 7.02 patches.  I got mine from the
>  QEMM bulletin board.  That's the only other thing I can think of...

And while you're there, get the 702to703.zip (or the 701to703.zip)...7.03
is the latest and (thanks to [e-mail]) Stealth is working fine on
my machine...

DDA

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1993 10:35:40 -0800
From: Shawn Talbert <[e-mail]>
Subject: on OS/2 Drivers...

First of all, I am an OS/2 user who owns a GUS... But I say rather than
push Gravis for os/2 drivers, get them to change their windows drivers
so that they will work under Win-OS/2..

Think about it... Even if drivers DID exist for os/2, you could only use
them with os/2 programs... so the neat software that comes bundled with the
ultrasound would still be unusable. And at the moment, os/2 is really
lacking in sound support (not including MMPM).

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 19:16:12 +0100
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Orchid card beats GUS in Review

Raeann Kneefe <[e-mail]> wrote:

>Subject: Dvorak & GUS thoughts

[snip snip]

>Oh, by the way, Orchid is supposedly coming out with a GameWave
>version of it's wavetable card... That will sell for the same
>if not lower price than the GUS. I think the GUS will have some
>stiff competion if it can't come out with an "Advanced" version
>soon.

The Orchid SoundWave 32SE got 88% in the November issue of PC Format,
beating GUS (with 87%). The list price is 189.00 (umm, about $230.00)
so it's somewhat more expensive than the GUS, but, as Raeann wrote,
their GameWave card is the same card as the SoundWave only without
Windows Sound System, and the list price for that one is 132.00
(that's about $150.00) where the GUS is sold for 149.00. So, what
does the Orchid SoundWave/GameWave card have?

 o SoundBlaster, Disney Sound Source, General MIDI, MPU-401, MT-32 and
   Microsoft Sound System compability through hardware.
 o Wavetable synthesis (no kidding.. :))
 o 512k on-board ROM chips with samples.
 o ADPCM compression chip for storing 16-bit samples to disk
 o 16-bit recording/playback
 o Built in 4 watt per channel amplifier

 and it comes with a pair of speakers and a bunch of software.

 They also say that they will _maybe_ release a daughtercard for 3D sound
 capabilities in the near future.

 Some quotes from the review ->

 "The Gravis UltraSound has one major flaw; its Sound Blaster compability,
  which it achieves using the SBOS software emulation, is decidedly dodgy."

   Gravis!  Please tell them about Mega-Em. But then again, who _really_
   -------  still want them Sound Blaster 'sounds' when we can have full-
            blown 16 bit wavetable synthesis?

 "The only thing that the Orchid Soundwave 32SE lacks is the revolutionary
  3D sound developed by Gravis, which is soon to feature in a number of
  major game releases - Jurassic Park from Ocean for example."

 "The UltraSound software only enables you to record in 8-bit, so the
  recording quality with the Soundwave is significantly better. That's
  sure to be great news for anyone who's serious about creating their
  own music."

 "The sound quality is exceptional, easily rivalling the Gravis UltraSound,
  and surpassing every other 16-bit soundcard..."

 and finally...

 "If the Soundwave 32SE had the 3D sound function, it would easily outclass
  the UltraSound."

 So it seems as if we're living off of the 3D sound. Only. Hell, who wants
 512k of ROM samples? Oh well, if you turn to page 105 though, PC Format
 have a competition where the prices are 1,000 worth of Gravis UltraSound
 cards (way to go Gravis!), though there are a couple of "facts" that aren't
 quite right like, that it (the card) normally costs 233.83 (!!) and
 that "this is the best soundcard we've ever reviewed". Probably is though. :)

Erik
[e-mail]

 -----------------------------

Date: Sat, 4 Dec 93 11:37 GMT
From: "Mark.Carline" <[e-mail]>

register "Mark.Carline"

 -----------------------------

End of GUS Daily Digest V9 #5
******************************

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FTP sites:           archive.epas.utoronto.ca              /pub/pc/ultrasound
                     wuarchive.wustl.edu            /systems/msdos/ultrasound
                     archive.orst.edu                    /pub/packages/gravis
                     theoris.rz.uni-konstanz.de                /pub/sound/gus
FTP mail server:     [e-mail]

Hints:
      - Get the FAQ from the FTP sites or the request server.
      - Mail to <[e-mail]> for info about other
    GUS related mailing lists (programmers, musicians, etc.).

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 93 15:51:17 -0500
From: Evan Champion <carbon![e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #5

> First of all, I am an OS/2 user who owns a GUS... But I say rather than
> push Gravis for os/2 drivers, get them to change their windows drivers
> so that they will work under Win-OS/2..

This has a few problems:

1) coming early next year, IBM will be releasing an update to OS/2 to
support Win32s, which I understand will allow support for the VxD's (correct
me if I'm wrong), so why bother fixing the drivers?

2) many OS/2 users, myself included, don't install Windows.  I have no
Windows.  I have no real DOS.  My system is OS/2 only, HPFS only.  So, you
can see why I want real OS/2 drivers.

> Think about it... Even if drivers DID exist for os/2, you could only use
> them with os/2 programs... so the neat software that comes bundled with the
> ultrasound would still be unusable. And at the moment, os/2 is really
> lacking in sound support (not including MMPM).

The idea is that MMPM/2 IS the sound support.  You write an application to
the MMPM standard and your application will work with any soundcard
supported by MMPM.  It is the same idea with Presentation Manager and other
APIs...  You write to the API and you get device independance.

You can run the stuff that comes bundled with the Ultrasound, just not the
Windows part.  Again, this should be fixed early next year with the Win32s
support (if my understanding of Win32s and VxDs is correct).

Gravis should:

1) write MMPM/2 support
2) write a virtual DOS driver for the GUS to allow for faster access by
games

And one idea:

3) write a virtual DOS driver for SoundBlaster emulation, Roland emulation,
etc. etc.  Supposedly this could be possible, as how would the DOS program
be able to tell if there is a sound blaster there or not if the driver says
'Oh yeah, I'm a SoundBlaster alright'.  Then just have background tasks
there to play the SoundBlaster/Roland/whatever emulations.

Evan

------------------------------

Date: 5 Dec 93 12:46:00 PST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V9 #5

I just got Creative Labs' "Voice Assist" and it works WONDERFULLY with the
GUS!!!  No special add on driver necessary to make it work with the GUS
except for the Voice Assist software itself and a microphone...which is
included with the software...although I used my own mike.  Kinda neat...I just
say the command, and my command is executed!  Wish that worked in my own
personal life....hehehehe...anyway, for those looking for a nice voice
recognition software for the GUS for Windows, I highly recomment "VOICE ASSIST"
by Creative Labs....at last...something from that company that's worth anything.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 18:28:07 -0600 (CST)
From: [e-mail] (Dave Read)
Subject: GUS vs. SB16 - A user's report (LOOOOONG)

GUS vs. SB16 -- A user's report.

I had an experience today which I thought might be worth sharing with
people who are considering buying a GUS or a SoundBlaster 16 or a
similar card.

It's near Christmas, and the gift I had in mind to give the parents
was a sound card of some kind.  I personally have a 1 MB GUS in my
system, and have had it there since June, so a GUS was one of the
cards I was considering.  However, having had the GUS that long, I am
well acquainted with the headaches that go with the GUS.  Since the
folks are all but computer illiterate, I thought perhaps the reputed
ease of use and installation of the SB16 would be worth the extra $$
and the possible drop in sound quality...But I wasn't sure.

However, we have a "Best Buy" just down the road which had a special
on a regular SB16 bundle (no 'ASP' chip, no SCSI; just the basic unit)
for $148.  Since the local Computer City carries the GUS for $134 (but
you have to figure in another $25 for 1-MB memory upgrade), it
actually put the SB bundle in at about $15 less than the fully-loaded
GUS.  I figured that since Best Buy has a generous return policy, it
would be easy enough to buy the SB, install it in my machine, and
check it out for a day before sending it home (or taking it back).
This is my account of the day's discoveries and proceedings.

First off, the SB16 has a much more professional and attractive
package (box, manuals, etc...), with much more documentation than the
GUS.  The package came with a bunch of software, including a "text-to-
speech" utility, all the MM player stuff, a voice-recognition package
for Windows, a small animation package, and a few other goodies.)
It also came with an output cable (stereo mini on one end, two RCA
plugs on the other) and a lightweight "karaoke" microphone, two
useful pieces of hardware which are conspicuously missing from the
GUS package.  Unpacking it was a fun experience, flipping through
all the manuals, imagining the novice users' "Oh, wow" quotient through
the whole thing.

Installing the SB was not nearly the pain-free experience I had
expected it to be, but that was not all SB's fault.  I basically gave
up on the idea of getting the SB and the GUS to coexist after about 10
minutes, but that was really no loss since I wanted only one of the
cards in place in the long run!  One minus on the SB is the single
output jack, which forces you to change a jumper if you use an
outboard amplifier (which I do).  I like the GUS's "Amp-out" / "Line
out" pair much better.

After doing the basic install of the SB, I tried to run X-wing with
it.  No sound at all, but no crash, either.  It turns out that you do
indeed have to load a small driver to make the SB work in 'FM' mode
under DOS.  No problem.  Load the driver, re-start X-Wing.  The first thing
I notice is that the sound levels are extremely low...reach over and
turn up the volume on the stereo amp on my desk.  The next thing I
notice is that the sound sucks.  Mind you, it's better than when I had
my GUS running under SBOS, but it's nowhere near as good as the GUS
with Mega-Em.  The instruments all sound very "computery" instead of
sounding very "natural" like they do with the GUS/MegaEm combo.  Then
I play with it a little.  Some things actually sound better with the
SB.  For instance, the doors make a sound when they open...But not with
the GUS/MegaEm combo.  I understand that it's because the sounds are
made as SB instructions so they are basically discarded by X-Wing when
it is running in GM mode, but they are still nice nonetheless.  Also,
the reverberating tones made when targeting during a mission are
better under the SB mode...But many of the other sounds are worse.
The musical score bites with the SB.

OK, enough X-Wing...The folks will be using it under Windows.  How
does it sound there?  I fire up Windows, and the entire machine locks
up.  Dead.  Won't even respond to the three-finger salute.  I restart,
make sure that all references to the GUS are gone from Windows' .ini
files, and go for it again.  Dead again.  This time I figure out that
the problem is that SB's normal IRQ is set to be IRQ 5, which my SCSI
adapter software wants while running windows...So I turn off the
power, change the jumper on the SB, restart, edit autoexec.bat and
config.sys, and reboot.  Go for Windows.  This time it works, and the
SB install program installs a bunch of stuff

I went straight for GoldWave to check out some .WAVs.  I checked out
several that I recorded with my GUS, and several which I grabbed off
the net.  In all cases, there was this really annoying hihg-frequency
hiss that was basically not present when the same files were played
through the GUS.  I also recorded a few through the SB, and the hiss
was there, too...I came to the conclusion that the SB output amplifier
sucks, or that the DAC has some noise in it.  Either way, the sound
quality was noticably worse than my GUS's.

Then I played some MIDI files.  This process is definitely easier than
doing it on the GUS...no patch-cacheing, no oddball programs and/or
setups to deal with, no fumbling around for 30 minutes before getting
the first note out of the system.  Also no great sound.  The
synthesized MIDI notes sounded uniformly 'electronic' to me, whereas
they sounded almost natural through the GUS.

Finally, I tried out the SB's 'Voice Assist' software.  Surprisingly,
it worked very well, recognizing the commands I had trained it to
catch on the first try almost every time.  It's a nice toy, but I
don't really see myself (or anyone else) using it for any serious
voice-control of their machine.

So decision time is here, and the decision is a remarkably tough one
to make.

The SB's good points are its compatibility with everything out there,
its great 'extra' features like the software, the microphone, etc...,
and its slightly cheaper price over the fully-configured GUS.  Its bad
points are the amazingly bad sound quality, regardless of application
and a few twiddly things like the single output jack.

The GUS's good qualities are its surprisingly realistic and rich sound
quality.  Its bass is remarkably good!  Under Windows, the GUS is a
champion .WAV player, with very little static or hiss.  Its down
points are the slightly higher price, the lack of a few 'nice' geegaws
like the 'Voice Assist' software and cables, the lack of easy
compatibility with the existing SB standard, and the somewhat
troublesome effort required to play MIDI files under Windows.

Presently I am undecided.  I initially expected to be pleased with the
SB, despite the constant bragging of GUS owners.  I also expected that
the extra software, goodies, and compatibility that come with the SB
would make enough of a difference that I would go with the SB for the
folks.  However, the sound quality of the SB is so bad when compared
to the GUS that I have great trouble giving it to them as a gift.  I
know that the SB will probably be more 'fun' for them in the short
term, but I have great reservations about giving them something which
I feel is technologically inferior, and I think that eventually
similar software will become availble for the GUS...Hell, the SB
software might work with my GUS when I re-install it! :)  The end of
this story is that I will probably return the SB, buy a GUS for them,
and steel myself for the upcoming year of phone calls to me when the
GUS doesn't *quite* work with software product XXX.


-Dave


--
Dave Read   ([e-mail])      "When in doubt, sheet it out."
UT-Austin Heavy Ion Physics Grad Student
PGP public key available by 'finger'              G O   B R A V E S ! !

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 93 14:26:03 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Brian Huddleston)
Subject: IndyCar

Has anyone gotten Indy car racing to work with Ultrasound?  I've tried Megaem,
Miles, and Sbos, and all i get is silence....please help.

[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 12:21:02 -0800 (PST)
From: Vincent Poy <[e-mail]>
Subject: MIDI Software

    I am looking for some software to play MIDI's under DOS and the
playmidi won't play some files since it says:

Error: Expecting MTrk, corrupt Midi file?

Does anyone know of any good Free/Shareware MIDI Players that will work
with the GUS?

Thanks.


Cheers,

Vince
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
System Administrator/Owner
Kingdom Communications Inc./California Unix Public Access Systems Inc.
San Francisco, California USA

                         \|/
                            (o o)
           _____________oOO__(_)__OOo_______________
          | No warranty for my actions of any kind  |

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 93 22:20:33 EST
From: Mark Pfeifer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mitsumi CD-ROM Audio Cable

Does anyone have a good source for a cable to connect a Mistumi CD-ROM
to the GUS?  The Mitsumi-PAS cable looks close, but merges the two
ground wires together.

                        Mark
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark Pfeifer                   [phone]   Internet: [e-mail]
Hewlett-Packard Little Falls Site               #include <disclaimer.h>
Wilmington, DE 19808                            #define OPINIONS mine

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 16:09:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Vincent Poy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Music File Player needed for the GUS

Does anyone know of any Music File Players to play the following types of
files on the GUS in DOS if possible and in Windows if not...

1) CMF
2) MID
3) MUS
4) ROL
5) VOC
6) WAV

I have tried both CDBOX300.ZIP and PLAY13.ZIP but have had no luck in those.
Thanks for any help in advance!


Cheers,

Vince
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
System Administrator/Owner
Kingdom Communications Inc./California Unix Public Access Systems Inc.
San Francisco, California USA

                         \|/
                            (o o)
           _____________oOO__(_)__OOo_______________
          | No warranty for my actions of any kind  |

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 02:22:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Brian Go <[e-mail]>
Subject: On OS/2 DRivers

> Subject: on OS/2 Drivers...
>
> First of all, I am an OS/2 user who owns a GUS... But I say rather than
> push Gravis for os/2 drivers, get them to change their windows drivers
> so that they will work under Win-OS/2..
>
> Think about it... Even if drivers DID exist for os/2, you could only use
> them with os/2 programs... so the neat software that comes bundled with the
> ultrasound would still be unusable. And at the moment, os/2 is really
> lacking in sound support (not including MMPM).

It is my understanding that it is Win-OS/2 which does not support Virtual
mode sound drivers.  The driver in Win-OS/2 accesses OS/2 before it goes
into hardware.  Maybe a future release of OS/2 will support Virtual
drivers.  All we need is an OS/2 driver which can interpret the info from
Win-OS/2...

And OS/2 is not lacking just in the sound support dept.....  Patience is
an asset all OS/2 users share.

Please hurry with the OS/2-GUS drivers.......  Please.

Brian Go                        | One thing to remember
[e-mail]        | Is that I have feelings too
2nd year Chem Geek!             | I surely would have closed my eyes
Displaced Montrealer              | If I had known the real you. <INFOSOC>

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 02:13:23 -0800 (PST)
From: John Armstrong <[e-mail]>
Subject: Orchid card beats GUS in Review

    I have a couple of questions.  First of all, what is this 88% for
the SoundWave and 87% for the GUS?  What is the basis for that comparison?
 What good is 512K of samples on ROM going to do?  Either it has just a
few MIDI Patches, or they were recorded at a REALLY low sampling rate
and/or are 8Bit.  Lastly, I dont want audio compression if it degrades
sound quality and I detest _loosy_ compression.

    There was also another sound card comparison in Computer Shopper
that compared 16Bit sound cards.  The GUS scored extremely low.  Ok, Ok.
It got dead last.  I felt that the basis of comparison was unfair.  The
GUS scored the best on signal-to-noise ratio and second to best on MIDI.
The rest of the tests were of the 16Bit sampling and playback quality.
Hello??  They compared 16Bit samples on all of the soundcards with 8Bit
samples on the GUS.  Only 8Bit on the GUS.  I think that they should have
played back 16Bit samples on all of the soundcards.  Then we would REALLY
see how it ranked.  Ohh well...  Such is life I suppose.

  John

BTW - It was November '93 issue of Computer Shopper.  So, pick up a copy
and laugh, for the editors knew it was unfair though criticized and
demoralized it all the same.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 18:25:15 -0400 (AST)
From: Jurassic Mark <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Orchid card beats GUS in Review

On Sat, 4 Dec 1993 [e-mail] wrote:

>  "The Gravis UltraSound has one major flaw; its Sound Blaster compability,
>   which it achieves using the SBOS software emulation, is decidedly dodgy."
>
>    Gravis!  Please tell them about Mega-Em. But then again, who _really_
>    -------  still want them Sound Blaster 'sounds' when we can have full-
>             blown 16 bit wavetable synthesis?

    Give 'em time.  MegaEM is only 2 weeks old and that review was
written a month or two ago I'm pretty sure. :)  But don't worry, it'll come.

>
>  "The only thing that the Orchid Soundwave 32SE lacks is the revolutionary
>   3D sound developed by Gravis, which is soon to feature in a number of
>   major game releases - Jurassic Park from Ocean for example."
>                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Now, I'd like to know the REAL story about that game.  I have it
and it does not support the GUS.  I have to use MegaEM (check on my list).
And Ocean denies everything about GUS 3D support and that they're not
planning on doing it.  But Gravis keeps on saying it will.  On their
list, it was supposed to come out in Novembre.  Well, my JP game doesn't
support the card.  What's up?  Why is Gravis keeping on saying it when
Ocean themselves say no no no?

>  So it seems as if we're living off of the 3D sound. Only. Hell, who wants
>  512k of ROM samples?

    That's what I was just about to ask...  What do they put in
512K?  8 bits samples for sure, but still...

         Marc Y. Paulin - Jurassic Mark (Usenet) - J-Mark (IRC)
   - [e-mail] (Talk 'n Mail) - [phone] -
               APICS Programming Contest Winner of 1993
            -=* GUS won over SB by a score of 32 to 11 *=-

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1993 15:24:24 +1030 (CST)
From: Gavin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Orchid SoundWave/GameWave

Here we go again, another card that hasn't half the versatility of the GUS

>o SoundBlaster, Disney Sound Source, General MIDI, MPU-401, MT-32 and
   Microsoft Sound System compability through hardware.

SB - who cares?, DSS = DAC = not well supported and high CPU req., GM (512k
samples?), MPU401 - only sequencers require this these days and all the good
ones run under windows anyway, MT32 - betcha it's not programmable in this mode
ie GUS can do that!, MSS - ever seen anything that supports it outside of
Windows?

>o 512k on-board ROM chips with samples.

Bwaa ha ha ha - 512k! what not 5.12MEG? they're kidding right?

>o 16-bit recording/playback

This is useful - so what are you going to do with the samples? You can't use
them for MIDI, perhaps MOD types?

>They also say that they will _maybe_ release a daughtercard for 3D sound
> capabilities in the near future.

And does it do D/A processing itself, or requires the CPU? From the above
statement I'd guess it doesn't.

Face it, there's always gonna be the pretenders, but they're gonna be at least
12 months behind the GUS in terms of quality software support ie. not FM
synthesis emulation -  unless they can emulate the GUS (blasphemy!)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 15:38:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: "K.S. Holly" <[e-mail]>
Subject: OS/2 drivers

Just a quick note on the idea of making the current Windoze drivers work
with OS/2. A good point was made in that all the sequencing software etc
is written for windows anyway but isn't everything under win/os2 filtered
through OS/2 anyway? The printer for Windows apps eventually goes through
the OS/2 print manager so even if you have a driver for Word for Windows,
it still won't work with OS/2 if you don;t have the driver for OS/2. I
assume the same would be true in dealing with the GUS. If you don't have
the OS/2 driver to accept the output from WIN/OS2, then it won't work.
We DESPERATELY need OS/2 drivers, not a quick fix.

Does anyone know if Gravis regularly reads this digest?

PLEASE GRAVIS, IF YOU'RE LISTENING, MAKE OS/2 DRIVERS SOON!!!!!
THE INSTALLED BASE OF OS/2 USERS IS GROWING FASTER THAN YOU THINK!

Kevin

------------------------------

Date: 05 Dec 93 11:12:08 PST
From: pil![e-mail] (rotaryman)
Subject: Problems with GUS and Window

Regarding: GUS Daily Digest V9 #5
I'm currently having some MAJOR problems loading the *.386 driver for
windows.  I keep getting the message "An error has occur in the *.386, and is
unenable to load Ultrasound drivers. Please check your User's Guide for
Troubleshooting".  I checked and checked, and everything is fine under DOS,
no conflicts in DMA or IRQ.  So, can someone please HELP me?  Thanks!!


 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Image Limited VBBS [phone] [ASV] Guest Account open
Home of VUUCP/2 USENet Interface! [VSP]  VBBS 6.10   [Primary Dist. Site]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1993 14:48:41 -0600 (CST)
From: Joerg Bashir <[e-mail]>
Subject: QSound...

In an article is Electronic Entertainment, they mention QSound as the next
great thing.  And that "This winter, Creative [Labs] will be shipping an
upgrade to its Sound Blaster ASP board that will include QSound, along
with kits for developers who want their games to support it."

Sierra, Virgin and Ocean are also mentioned as beign interested.

Can GUS do QSound, or do you need a DSP.  Supposedly, Ecco and some other
titles on Sega use it... so I imagine that no special harware would be
required.

????

------------------------------

Date: 5 Dec 93 04:18:48 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Returned mail

Your mail could not be delivered because of the following reason:


   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
Executing: /usr/lib/mail/surrcmd/smtpqer -C -u ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM!ncrhub1!dsd.es.com!gus-general msgate ulmer@msgate
smtpqer: Binary contents cannot be sent via SMTP
server "/usr/lib/mail/surrcmd/smtpqer" failed - unknown mailer error 1

   ----- Unsent message follows -----

------------------------------

End of GUS Daily Digest V9 #6
******************************

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