Experimental BBS Explossion 3/Experimental BBS Explossion III.iso/gus/digestva.zip/V10N2G.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-02 | 23KB | 544 lines

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GUS Daily Digest            Sun, 2 Jan 94   007          Volume 10: Issue   2

Today's Topics:
                    Daughtercards, FS5, Doom cheat
           DOOM & GUS & set ultrasnd-enviroment variable...
                          Gravis Ultrasound
                         GUS-DIGEST SHITTINGS
                   GUS Daily Digest V10 #1 (3 msgs)
                 GUS RAM not comparable to synth ROM
                        Iron Helix on the GUS
                   Not really a GUS problem, BUT...
                  Problems With New Windows Drivers
                       Strange Hardware Problem

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,  2 Jan 94 05:23:00 BST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Daughtercards, FS5, Doom cheat

I got the faq back in September, has it been updated lately?

To whoever asked about FS5 sounds a few days back,
        I don't have FS5 anymore, but with sbos 2.08 or 2.10b I had to
select "synthesized" sounds, or it would hang. I think the FS5 readme
mentioned some problems with the sound for some cards. Also the new sbos
3.7b2 claims to address the FS5 sound.

Since some keep asking about CD-Roms and the legendary daughtercards, I'm
posting these messages from the very active Gravis rep on Genie:

 --- (snip, snip) ---------
 Category 1,  Topic 6
 Message 151       Wed Dec 15, 1993
 GRAVIS [Adv Gravis]          at 01:46 EST

With regards to CD Roms, it is very simple....

The GUS card can be hooked up to any CD ROM drive as long as  there is an
 interface card.  Most CD ROMS come with an interface card so it is unlikely
 there will be a problem. The only connection you have to make is an audio
 cable connection from the interface card to the GUS card. Thats it!

Now, if for some reason there is no interface card, then there might be a
 problem.  Because the current GUS card does not have an interface built onto
 the card itself, you do need some sort of interface card to connect the CD
ROM drive. Gravis makes daughterboards (they fit piggyback on top of the GUS
card and DO NOT take an additional slot). These daughter cards serve the
same functions as the interface cards except they do not take up a slot in
your system.  We make daughter cards for the SONY, MITSUMI and LMSI CD ROM
drives. SCSI is coming at the end of this month.

If you have a current drive that came bundled with another sound card you
may have a problem getting it hooked up because most likely the CD ROM drive
you have originally hooked directly onto the other sound card (called a
 proprietary interface). In these cases, you would have to find an  interface
 card to hook up the GUS card correctly.

The current GUS card has been designed to work with any CD ROM drive as long
 as there is some sort of interface card to connect it.

Future cards will have proprietary interfaces built in as well.
 Hope this helps!
 Bryan
 ------------
 Category 1,  Topic 6
 Message 159       Fri Dec 17, 1993
 GRAVIS [Adv Gravis]          at 12:40 EST

We have daughtercards for the SONY, MITSUMI and LMSI drives. We will be
 shipping the SCSI daughterboard and the 16 bit recording cards in January
 1994.

Bryan
 -------------
 Category 1,  Topic 6
 Message 195       Sat Jan 01, 1994
 GRAVIS [Adv Gravis]          at 22:53 EST

We will be incorporating SB FM into MegaEm early this year. I think what we
 will see is one program to do it all, which should autodetect what you want
to use (ie. SB, SBDAC, MT-32, SC).

Also, I will be at CES in Las Vegas starting Jan 03/94. I will return on Jan
 11/94. We are announcing new products and some other news. Once I  return, I
 will answer the mail and give ya'all a CES update.

Bryan
 --- (snip, snip) ---------

Finally, I know this isn't the Doom Digest, but here's a couple useful lines
of bandwidth (hey, it's better than a cool sig <g>...);

 ID Software was nice enough to build cheats right into the game.
 During the game, type the following: (don't worry about case)
 IDDQD   gives you God mode.
 IDKFA   gives you ammo and armor.
 IDSPISPOPD    no clipping mode (walk through walls)
 IDBEHOLD (followed by S,V,I,R,A, or L) does neat stuff.
 IDCLEV (followed by episode# and level#)   warps to that episode and level.
 IDMYPOS   gives your coordinates.
 IDCHOPPERS    displays a cryptic message.
 IDDT -- type once while in map mode for full map (same as typing
         IDBEHOLDA), but type it again to show all the items in the area.
 ------------


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

Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1993 23:47:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Thomas van Kuipers)
Subject: DOOM & GUS & set ultrasnd-enviroment variable...

Why must i do this, to get gus & doom to work ... (together with
dmxgus.ini):

@echo off
set ultrasnd=220,7,7,7,5
doom.exe
set ultrasnd=220,7,7,11,5
@echo on



<-------------------------------------------------------------------->
 Thomas van Kuipers    Email: [e-mail]
 De Wadden 49          Examenyear of HighSchool (6 VWO)
 3524 AG Utrecht       Important: Computers, Math, Women and Music!
 Telephone: [phone]         Netherlands (in Europe)
<-------------------------------------------------------------------->

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

Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 14:13:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Thomas van Kuipers)
Subject: Re: Gravis Ultrasound

 ----------------------------- forwarded message -----------------------------

Hi,
  I just bought a Gravis UltraSound (sound) board for my PC, It is supposed
to do SoundBlaster emulation, but I cannot get it configured correctly.

At one point during installation, I got the following error message

  "SBOS vector not functional"


I have two games "Castle Wolfenstein 3d" and "prince of persia" both of
which should have SoundBlaster style sounds, but neither make any
sound through the card.  I tried running the "sbos" program using some
of the options like "-o1" and "-o2" but neither made any difference.

Anyone have any experience with this card, and specifically the SoundBlaster
emulation stuff?

Thanks,
  Brett

P.S. Could you email the answer, this is for a Christmas present?
([e-mail])



----------------------------- end forwarded message --------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 31 Dec 93 21:19:00 -0000
From: [e-mail] (Dick Verweij)
Subject: GUS-DIGEST SHITTINGS

Hi bozos,

Ceveral posts I have now seen with a negative attitude towards Forte, or
Gravis in general.

Bitchers, moaners, lamers, I do not see the reason for this on the DIGEST.
I know you are upset about some problems BUT PLEASE be so kind to do your
SHITTINGS elsewhere..

WHY?

- You can not act normal if something goes wrong. (Having a computer means
things CAN GO WRONG, there is NO such thing as a PERFECT MACHINE)
No, bitch about the smallets problem, a little thingy whats wrong in
the setup.. and blame everything on the soundcard or GRAVIS or FORTE.
WAKE UP, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY MAN ON EARTH! People make mistakes, and
YOU are one of them. People also do not read manuals, documents..

I am so very sick of this constant NON constructive criticisme, so if
you want to say something BAD about a company, who has IMHO done EVERYTHING
and will do EVERTHING to please their customers. You constantly FORGET it
is a SOUNDCARD for nearly 129 dollars or LESS. Or you WANT to forget,
only to post on the DIGEST to bash the card.

- MANY MANY PEOPLE ARE REALLY PLEASED WITH THE GUS, BECAUSE IT IS A D*** GOOD
CARD.

- You are NOT COOL if you have a BIG MOUTH! Look at me, I am the most UN-
COOLEST person in the world because of my LARGE SPEAKINGDEVICE. :)

AGUS!

---
  DickyDick . ONLY A DICK MAKES IT POSSIBLE

----
HACOM BBS, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. -31-33-803610/801882/806321.
Gateway to Internet, Fidonet, Compuserve, AT&T, MCI, America Online, Bitnet,
Delphi, GEnie and Prodigy.
Support site for many software authors.

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

Date: Sat, 01 Jan 1994 12:44:06 -0600 (CST)
From: "WILL HATCHER, AKA SILIKON" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #1


>I've had my GUS since about March, but only recently got some memory to
>upgrade to 1Mb (for Xmas).  The problem is, I think I either got some
>wonky memory, or I'm doing something wrong.  The memory came from an old
>286 motherboard, and seems to be the right kind:

I had an interesting problem when I upgraded the RAM on my GUS.  I already had
512K on it, but then I discovered that you could fill the banks one at a time,
so I added an extra 256K to bank 3.  The weird thing was, it suddenly wouldn't
let me use IRQ 3 anymore for MIDI & SB.  It would not work with that setting,
but I changed it to IRQ 2 and it works fine now.  Is it supposed to do this?
Really weird.  I do have a coexistent ATI SB compatible, but I don't see how
the addition of 256K of RAM could make any difference.

Will

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 11:42:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Vincent Poy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #1

On Sat, 1 Jan 1994, GUS Server wrote:

> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 31 Dec 93 23:06:05 EST
> From: [e-mail] (John Collins)
> Subject: Static caused by DRAM?
>
> Hi:
>
> I've had my GUS since about March, but only recently got some memory to
> upgrade to 1Mb (for Xmas).  The problem is, I think I either got some
> wonky memory, or I'm doing something wrong.  The memory came from an old
> 286 motherboard, and seems to be the right kind:
>
> AAAIM304P-08
> NMBS    9051
>
> But, here's the problem.  When I put all six chips in, some of it reported
> as "bad" when I ran GUSDRAM.  But, I could load 1Mb worth of patches in
> Windows, and when I ran EMUSET, 1Mb loaded up. However, to be safe, I
> tested the chips two at a time.  So, I found the faulty chip, and thought
> everything was okay.
>
> But, I just got XWing, and noticed a *lot* of static when I ran EMUSET
> with GMIDI emulation with the 1MB in.  With 256k it was fine (but only
> running at 8 bit :( ).  With 512k, it was still okay, no static, but still
> 8 bit.  With 768k (with GUSDRAM reporting all DRAM good), I got the static
> back.  So, I'm confused.  I thought the static was owing to the bad chip,
> but even with the bad chip not installed, I'm still getting static (loud
> enought to preclude enjoying the game).
>
> I look upon this digest as the source of all GUS wisdom, and am sure there
> are some wise and all-knowing sages out there who can tell me if the
> static is, in fact, related to bad DRAM.  (Oh, by the way, I get the same
> kind of static in Return to Zork, so I don't think it's just the game.)
>
> Please respond to me directly at [e-mail] (John Collins).
> Thanks.
>

The problem is really the NMBS brand itself, it is incompatible with the
GUS because I have bought the same chips before of a quantity of 6 and
they always failed the GUSDRAM test so I tested them in pairs and they
were fine until I go pass the 768K bank and I switched the last bank, It
always would have a error there so I exchanged all 6 of them and the same
thing happened so then I exchanged and tried out the new ones and the same
thing still happens so then later I just got other brands, Samsung,
Hyundai all mixed together with the original NEC 80ns chips and everything
was fine.  The NMBS I had were the same part number as yours rated at
80ns.  My dealer where I later turned to for the Samsung and Hyundai chips
said the NMBS are not rated at the correct speed because 80ns maybe 120ns
compared to other brands.  I hope this helps.  Have a Happy New Year!


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, 2 Jan 1994 00:41:14 -0500 (EST)
From: Phat H Tran <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #1

> Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1993 19:38:04 PST
> From: "Khong Win Leong" <[e-mail]>
> Subject: HELP: Function of 36 pin connector and daughterboard
>
> Hi fellow Gussers,
>
>         This is just a matter of interest, what is the use of the 36 pin
> connector (labelled JP2) located next to ....surprisingly, JP1 the address
> jumpers?

The large jumper strips are for daughtercard expansion.

>         Also, is it possible to connect a CDI daughterboard and the 16 bit
> recording daughterboard at the same time? Would it be possible to rig your
> own CD interface daughterboard?

First question: No.
Second question: Yes, it's possible.

> Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1993 13:39:30 -0500
> From: SHEMAVONIAN  DEREK MICHAEL <[e-mail]>
> Subject: MOD4WIN Problems
>
> I recently ftp'ed MOD4WIN.ZIP from the epas submit directory, and am quite
> impressed by its looks and ease of use.
> However, I cannot get it to play the mods in stereo.  As soon as I go into

For stereo, make sure that you're using playback rates of exactly
11025, 22050, or 44100 Hz.  I haven't tried MOD4WIN, but those are
the only rates at which the GUS driver does stereo WAV output.

> Date: Fri, 31 Dec 93 23:06:05 EST
> From: [e-mail] (John Collins)
> Subject: Static caused by DRAM?
>
> Hi:
>
> I've had my GUS since about March, but only recently got some memory to
> upgrade to 1Mb (for Xmas).  The problem is, I think I either got some
> wonky memory, or I'm doing something wrong.  The memory came from an old
> 286 motherboard, and seems to be the right kind:
>
> AAAIM304P-08
> NMBS    9051

These don't look like they are the correct type of chips.  You should
use 256k by 4 bit DRAMs.  They have the sequence 4256 on them.

Phat.

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

Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1993 01:36:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Thomas van Kuipers)
Subject: Re: GUS RAM not comparable to synth ROM

 ----------------------------- forwarded message -----------------------------
Thanks to Phat for his description of the GUS and sysex.  But on that basis
it seems to me the discussion of the GUS versus alternatives that use samples
in ROM has generally been based on false comparisons.   The reason for this
is that as I understand it, the GUS requires an uncompressed sample for each
midi program number.  But ROM based synths do not require this.  It is
difficult to know what the exact difference is because manufacturers do not,
so far as I know, release this information.  But a reasonable guesstimate is
the following: ROM based synths use at least 2:1 compression.  Since sound is
very redundant, there may be better compression schemes available that have
been implemented without sacrificing quality.  Second, ROM based
_synthesizers_ do not need a distinct sample for each midi instrument number.
For example, they might get all 8 midi pianos out of two piano samples, only
one of which is large.  And they typically (judging from Roland and Korg
listening) get all double reeds from a single sample.  Same for solo strings.
The difference between the instruments as heard is created by the synthesizer
-- filters, modulation, amp envelopes.  So how little sample do they use?  My
guess, based upon my Korgs (M1 and M3r) is that the General Midi set can be
produced by under 50 samples.  My M3r has about 90 samples, but many of those
are single cycle or percussion.  The samples used for the acoustic pitched
instruments characteristic of the GM set are pretty few.
Bottom line: a straight sample playback device would need 4 to 5 times as
much RAM as the synth needs ROM to produce the same instrument set.  This
figure will be much higher if more effective compression schemes are used, or
if you include effects.  This is not a criticism, just a consideration needed
for comparisons (after all, RAM is pretty cheap).  Of course, ROM is pretty
cheap too, and mamy ROM based synths have card slots for sticking in new
samples.  RAM is not the only way to get custom samples.

Dave
----------------------------- end forwarded message --------------------------

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 17:55:36 -0800 (PST)
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Lawson)
Subject: Iron Helix on the GUS

> Hi all,
>  I am just about to run my little body out to the software store and
> spend some of that money I got for Christmas. I have heard rave reviews
> on the game Iron Helix, but before I buy it I would like to hear from
> anyone who has had some experience with this game. The burning question
> is ---> Does it suport patch caching? (did I spell that right) <---
> Every Windows game I have purchased up to now does not. Anybody know?
>
I've played it with my GUS, and although it doesn't have any mention
of GUS in the documentation, or on the label, I haven't had any
problems with it.  I didn't even have to preload anything into the
GUS's memory.  I think that reason for this is that it doesn't even
touch the MIDI part of the GUS and outputs everything as digital data
through a DAC channel.  (I'm playing off CD-ROM, and I assume that's
the only version available).  Although the graphics aren't too
spectacular because the game play window is small, the transitions are
really smooth.  It is essentially played like one of those SSI D&D
games, except when you move from one location, the screen scrolls in
first person perspective to the new location.  All of these
transitions are pre-rendered using something like 3D-Studio or POV-ray
(I forget what they said they used; It's in the manual).  Since all of
these image frames must be stored on the CD, and since they were
designing the game for good play time on the slower CD readers, they
decided to shrink the game play window so not as much data would have
to be read.  Overall, the game play is quite simple and I think that
once you've played it, all of the challenge is gone since it doesn't
change much (if at all) during different instances of the game.


Jeff
--
 -------------------------------------------------------------.
|  Jeff Lawson of JL Enterprises      [e-mail]     |
|  University of Southern California  Phone:  [phone]  |
|  Course Assistant for Computer Use          [phone]  |
`-------------------------------------------------------------'

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 21:42:37 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Bart Adam Larrenaga)
Subject: Not really a GUS problem, BUT...

Yes, I know this is not really a GUS problem, but I hope that maybe someone
has shared my problem.  For Xmas, I got a Panasonic 562 CDROM.  I've got it all
hooked up, power, interface, everything.  The driver and MSCDEX both load OK.
I can switch to the drive.  BUT, as soon as I try to do anything, i.e. take a
directory listing, try to run a program, it says CDR101:Drive not ready, or
something like that.  From Windows, it says that it can't find the file.  I can
still play audio CD's on it, though.  What gives?  Any suggestions welcome.

And now a GUS question...where can I get a cable to connect the drive to the CD
line in on the GUS?

--Bart Larrenaga

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 94 12:25 GMT0
From: Christopher Heapy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Problems With New Windows Drivers

I tried installing the new GUS Windows drivers supplied with
PMAK110.ZIP. I had no problem installing and using them, but I find
that, by default, the line-in and mic inputs are enabled and I want
them disabled. The setup dialog box for the driver no longer appears to
offer the ability to change this (the old one did). Although the new
Mixer app does have a save option this appears to have no effect (I
checked in Ultramix.ini and the save option does write MUTE on the end
of the relevant lines). The only alternative seems to be to load Mixer
on starting Windows to turn off the inputs manually - which is a pain.
Am I missing something?

Chris.  <Sigs Suck!>

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 94 18:09:49 GMT
From: David Chapman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Strange Hardware Problem

I have a problem with my GUS and 486 66MHz VL computer.  Some games
work perfectly (Epic Pinball, F1GP (SBOS 1.20)), but some games crash
after about 5 minutes (Doom, X-Wing, Terminator: Rampage demo).  When
they crash, the games freeze, the screen gets corrupted, and the
soundcard just continuously dumps it's memory to the DAC.

A friend has an identical computer (we bought them at the same time,
only difference is in HD size) and everything worked perfectly in his
machine when he borrowed my GUS.  After swapping bits of hardware
about, we finally diagnosed the problem as being the motherboard -
swapping motherboards solved the problem.  As far as I can tell, all
jumpers on the two motherboards are identical.

I also have problems accessing the FDD from linux - about 50% of the
time it crashes the machine - it works fine in DOS.

I am about to send my computer back for repair :-(, and would like to
know if anyone has any idea what the problem with the motherboard
could be.


- David.

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

End of GUS Daily Digest V10 #2
******************************

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                     wuarchive.wustl.edu            /systems/ibmpc/ultrasound
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                     theoris.rz.uni-konstanz.de                /pub/sound/gus
                     nctuccca.edu.tw                           /PC/ultrasound
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Hints:
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      - Mail to <[e-mail]> for info about other
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