GUS Daily Digest            Sat, 29 Jan 94  0:07         Volume 10: Issue  29 

Today's Topics:
							 Archon Ultra
						 Covox Voice Blaster
						 Dune II with Mega-Em
		Epic games, Patch conversion, Doom SFX, Indycar Racing
					   GUS Daily Digest V10 #27
					   GUS Daily Digest V10 #28
					  Howling Dog email address
						 Mod type players....
					   OCTAMED and .PP formats
						Octameds, mods and .pp
						  Opit Test Help....
					PatchMake-Lite Windows-Drivers
				 TB Maui & Orchid Gamewave 32 vs GUS
					Tremstr.pat problem revisited
					   windowdriver&patchmaker

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, 28 Jan 1994 09:25:32 -0700 (MST)
From: shannon@physics.Arizona.EDU (Shannon Miller)
Subject: Archon Ultra

I got the game, and it does support the GUS with OK music (actually,
very good music, just not as good as they could have done, I think).
Anyhow, they didn't support it correctly, however, for when you
access any menu in the game or otherwise occupy a large amount of the
task processor, the music hangs and becomes greatly slowed down.
Obviously they ran their music procedures on an availability-polled
theory (useless for music).

I've notice this happen with a lot of games and the GUS, and it's
beginning to disturb me. Why are so many game writers failing to
realize that music must be continuously run? Is the GUS hard to
support in this manner, or are they just lazy?

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 13:46:51 -0700 (MST)
From: Derek the Dweebosaurus <dng@med.ucalgary.ca>
Subject: Covox Voice Blaster

I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about or used the Covox 
Voice Blaster that has just come out at Radio Shack... it's supposed to 
be some sort of voice recognition software for sound blaster and 
compatibles and it says on the box that you can use it to work with games 
from Lucasarts, Microprose, Accolade, etc...

Does anyone know if it will work with GUS? The salesperson assured me 
that it will work with any SB compatible sound card but the GUS, as 
awesome a card as it is, has had some probs with total SB emulation in the 
past... it's just that they won't let me return it if I buy it because it 
is "opened software"...

MSL price is $199 Cdn, but they are selling it at present for $119
regular. I asked why the "discount" and they said "monetary fluctuations" 
which I can't quite believe considering the value of our Cdn dollar...
 
 -----------------------------------------------
Derek Ng
University of Calgary, Alberta
Home of the Awesomest Football and Hockey Teams
 -----------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:20:55 -0800 (PST)
From: haroldf@rcf.usc.edu (Jeff Lawson)
Subject: Re: Dune II with Mega-Em

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 19:54:59 +0100 (MET)
> From: richard ritsma <rr2@dds.hacktic.nl>
> Subject: DUNE2 and MEGAEM
> 
> Hi, there
> It take's a big time to test megaem 2.02 with DUNE2 but nothing works.
> I want to use megaem with DUNE2 and configure dune 2 to soundblaster AND 
> MT32 but it only accepts one soundcard to do two things.
> Is ther someone who knows the dune.cfg contents in hex? for soundblaster 
> and ROLAND-MT32??
> 
> Thanks...

Hey, I decided to try and get Dune II working on just the same day!
Amazing!  Anyways, this is the dump of the config file I came up with:
(it uses Sound Canvas and Sound Blaster for music/sound, EMS, and mouse)

B6 A8 A9 A0 A1 A6 A4 A5 00 B8

After some fooling with the config file, it seems that byte 1 and 2 (0
based, of course) are used for selecting the music and byte 3 is used
for selecting the digital output.  The last byte in the byte (byte 9)
is like a checksum and is there to make sure that the install program
really created the file.

If you set byte 1 and 2 to A2 and A3 (respectively) you'll get Adlib
music (what you get if you select SB, SBPro, or Adlib, and maybe Adlib
Gold--haven't tried it).  Setting 1 and 2 to A8 will get you the Sound
Canvas.  Setting them to A3 and A0 will get you no music.

If you set byte 3 to A1, you won't get any digital effects (what you
get if you select nothing, SC, Adlib, etc).  If you set it to A0,
you'll get Sound Blaster.  Setting it to A3 will get SBpro sound
effects.

I'm not exactly sure how the CRC in byte 9 is generated (didn't really
need to because I figured out the correct CRC on my first try once I
knew what that byte held).  It looks like it may be a run-over
addition sum (that is, add up each byte in the file, ignoring
overflows)


Jeff
-- 
 -------------------------------------------------------------.
|  Jeff Lawson of JL Enterprises      haroldf@rcf.usc.edu     |
|  University of Southern California  Phone:  (213) 258-5604  |
|  Course Assistant for Computer Use          (213) 258-4264  |
`-------------------------------------------------------------'

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 16:29:15 -0500 (EST)
From: gt7039a@prism.gatech.edu (An anonymous word of wisdom.)
Subject: Epic games, Patch conversion, Doom SFX, Indycar Racing

Aside from Zone 66, Epic Pinball/Silverball also supports GUS sound...
it would be very disappointing if their newer games don't support GUS...
can anyone confirm or deny this?

In terms of patch files... There is documentation on the patch format in
various places (The SDK perhaps)... You could try patchrip if you wish
to rip the .RAW files out of the patch, if that's what you are wanting
to do... Patchmaker Lite I think can also save various samples in .WAV
format... but you won't get all of the enveloping and looping and stuff
that you can get through a patch. 

Indy Car racing, in response to an old post, works with SBOS /o3...

I heard there was a program out there that allowed you to replace the FX
on Doom with other FX... but I'm not sure if there is one to extract the
FX or music files...

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:01:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Phat H Tran <ptran@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #27

> Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 01:46:00 GMT
> From: thomas@hammer.hacktic.nl (Thomas van Kuipers)
> Subject: about rev level
> 
> I heard that MIDI was changed since rev 2.4? Is this so? I also heard it 
> shouldn't work good at 2.4?

The MIDI interface was changed slightly in the 3.4 GUS, but the changes
don't seem to affect functionality.  I've heard that the new GUSes have
an MPU-401 compatible interface (presumably in UART mode only), but I
haven't heard of any confirmation of this, and the new SDK, although
hinting at the new changes in unreleased rev 3.7 GUSes, gave no indication 
of differences in the MIDI ports of 2.4 and 3.4 GUSes, not even in the MIDI 
port programming section.

> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 21:00:27 GMT
> From: Steve Andrews <stevea@hpbrb175.uksr.hp.com>
> Subject: Flight Simulator has its wings clipped
> 
> Please help,
>     I got my GUS a few weeks ago, together with the Gravis GamePad, one
>   of the reasons for getting it was to stop the kids beating the hell 
>   out of my keyboard etc. Everything works just fine with one exception
>   which is that the GamePad does not work with Microsofts Flight
>   Simulator Ver5.0, all the other games are fine.  If I can fix this
>   I can get back to programming my GUS, I am using Visual Basic, has
>   anybody else tries this ?

What do you mean by "does not work?"  The GamePad is not intended to be
used for flight simulators since they require proportional control whereas
the GamePad only provides digital control (i.e. fully centred, fully left,
fully right, etc., with no in-betweens).  As a result, you'll find it
virtually impossible to control any flight simulator using the game pad,
which is otherwise great for fast-action arcade games.

> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 15:34:00 +0000
> From: da930908@mcis.messiah.edu
> Subject: Greetings and Hello's and Problems that Are Fixed
> 
> Point 1:
> --------
> This may be just a tad bit late, but the DOOM music AND sound works just fine
> with my GUS... Change your Ultrinit lines to read the following:
> 
> device=ultrinint.sys 5,1,7,5
> 
> and
> 
> ultrinit.exe 5,1,7,5

This syntax is new to me!  Normally, reconfiguring the GUS requires a
modification of the ultrasnd environment variable and an execution of
ultrinit.exe.  For example,

	 set ultrasnd=220,7,7,5,7
	 ultrinit.exe

If ultrinit.exe does accept parameters for DMAs and IRQs, it must also
be smart enough to modify the ultrasnd variable accordingly as many games
look to this variable for the GUS settings.

> This looks like you'd get a conflict of IRQ's, but remember that the first
> two are DMA channels (not IRQ'S) and can't conflict.  5 and 7 I chose as the
> GUS and SB/MIDI IRQ's because in most computers, including mine, they are
> handled by the Default Handlers and probably will have little or no conflict
> with anything whatsoever.

It's better to place the GF1 IRQ on 5 than 7 as 7 is flaky on many computers.
Since the MIDI port IRQ isn't used by DOOM, it can be safely set to 7 if
you're tight on low IRQs.

Also, why am I seeing so many people with different DMA channels for the
playback (DRAM access) and recording on the GUS?  I have seen a version of
setgus which only updates the playback channel when you change the GUS'
DMA.  Is this version actually in wide release?  

(The DMA channels are the 2nd and 3rd values in the ultrasnd variable.  They
should be the same, unless you've intentionally set them up to be different
in the advanced diagnostics.)
 
> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 00:13:02 -0500
> From: David A Denis <denis@acsu.buffalo.edu>
> Subject: IndyCar
> 
> I jope this isn't a repeat question, but I can't get SBOS or MegaEm to work
> with IndyCar racing.  It asks for a music card and I have tried Roland 32
> and the Sound Canvas/MIDI option.  But it asks for te the port and the

Mega-Em won't work with Indycar as the game runs in protected mode.

> default is 330.  I tried switching it.  SBOS doesn't work either.  I load

SBOS is reported to work if you use the -o3 option.

> PS-I got Xwing working good, with Megaem, but why are there no noises for the
> exploding Tie Fighters?

Because Gravis released the GUS with a ringwhsl in place of the gunshot
patch, which is used by many GM games for sound effects (pitch shift a
gunshot to get thunder, for example).  You can replace the ringwhsl patch
with pistol2.pat (found in guns.zip on the Epas mirrors) to get these
sound effects.

> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 14:41:40 -0500 (EST)
> From: BR8878%ALBNYVMS.bitnet@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU
> Subject: SANYO 256x4 DIPS
> 
>      Oh, and tremstr.pat was on the 2.06L disks, should I upload it to epas
> again?

Tremstr.pat was not on the 2.06L disks.  It's on the 2.06a disks, and in the
gus0034.zip (I think) file.  Gus0034.zip should already be on the Epas
mirrors.

> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 11:44:03 GMT
> From: Jonathan Horden <jrh@Harston.CV.COM>
> Subject: SBOS & MEGAEM help wanted
> 
> I've just shelled out for an new 486, with a 1Mb GUS. While I'm very
> impressed with sounds produced through windows programs (midi-played etc),
> I'm having some problems using SBOS and MEGAEM.
> 
> In particular, using MEGAEM with Xwing works great with the music, but the
> digitised speech just gets garbled.
> 
> With SBOS and Serpent Isle, the music is, well, naff, and speech is again
> garbled (I've tried using all the -o & -x switches to no avail).

If you're using IRQ 7 for any of the GUS' IRQs, then change it to something
else.  Avoid IRQ 7 as it tends to be problematic on many machines.

Phat.

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:27:39 -0500 (EST)
From: Phat H Tran <ptran@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #28

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 01:05:01 -0700 (MST)
> From: "Shawn T. Rutledge" <rutledge@enuxsa.eas.asu.edu>
> Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #26
> 
> It's a standard patch (#44, Tremolo Strings) and is included on the installation
> disks.

Actually, it was missing from the 2.06 and 2.06L disks, and possibly earlier
disks as well.

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 17:19:44 -0500
> From: Dale Luther Bewley <dbewley@tech.iupui.edu>
> Subject: Joystick Port/Gravis Gamepad
> 
>  I had my Gravis Gamepad connected to my serial port and it worked fine
> w/ doom shareware ver. (most everything else for that matter) but when I
> play Doom reg. v1.1 it just goes in circles. 
>  So I decided to try the port on the GUS. Doom failed to find the joystick
> so I ran ultrajoy 1 then joycomp. Findcard would not work, and nothing would
> happen when I tried to calabrate. The red block would just flash around in
> the corner.

Ultrajoy 1?  The purpose of ultrajoy has changed with the 3.4 GUS, so I'm
not sure, but try ultrajoy 20 instead.  From what I gather, on 3.4 GUSes, 
ultrajoy 0 turns off the GUS' game port, while ultrajoy <1 to 31> enables and
calibrates the port.  One would use lower values for faster machines, with
31 being, effectively, no speed compensation.  Ultrajoy 22 calibrates the
port well for my 386-33, so for most machines, the ultrajoy parameter should
be in the 15 to 24 ballpark.

BTW, if DOOM still doesn't work, try Ultrajoy 31 to disable the speed
compensation (this has to be done for a few games).  Also, be sure to
disable the port on your serial card.

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 18:04:07
> From: T.Bolhuis@el.utwente.nl (Thijs Bolhuis)
> Subject: Multi-bank ultrasnd.ini and new drivers
> 
> Hi,
> I've just played around with the GUS (1mB, vs 3.4) for a few weeks and I
> think I get the hang of it. When I saw that there were new windows drivers 
> with which one can define multiple patch-banks ,I was delighted, because 
> that's just what I needed. When trying to write midi songs, I needed quite 

As you found out, the bank switching scheme hasn't been fully implemented
yet, so don't pull your hair out trying to get it to work.

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 10:31:02 +0100 (MET)
> From: Stefan Divijak <divi@sztma.tu-graz.ac.at>
> Subject: Problem with the PatchMaker-Lite Windows-Drivers
> 
> 'ultramix.ini' file located in my ULTRASND-directory, but whenever I
> restart windows these settings are just ignored and settings enabling the
> LINE- and MIC-IN connections are used. This is very nasty because it gives

This is a bug in the new Windows drivers and revision 2.x GUSes (and maybe
rev 3.x GUSes as well).  Should eventually get fixed.

> is? (seems to me as if the new drivers didn't bring any enhancements
> compared to the ones in GUS0035.ZIP...? -:( ). 

Larger samples for patches (up to 256kB instead of 64kB), and new support
for patch maker like.

> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 94 13:56:25 +0100
> From: rock@POOL.Informatik.RWTH-Aachen.DE
> Subject: Shadowcaster
> 
> Hi!
> Could someone please tell me if there is digital speech in the intro (when
> the father talks to his son ) ? I don't get any and wondered if that's
> alright. Especially with Origin...

Not sure about the missing speech (whether it's the game or the emulation), 
but you can try using the GUS Shadowcaster patch to add GUS support to the 
game.  This way, you can rule out any emulator quirks.

Phat.

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

Date: 28 Jan 94 09:14:34 EST
From: "Eric Bell, Howling Dog Systems" <71333.2166@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Howling Dog email address

Just so its crystal clear:

> Its an old offer, does anyone have an email address for Howling Dog Systems?

The GUS software offers are still in effect (with more stuff coming soon).

You can e-mail us at 71333.2166@compuserve.com.

Eric

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:49:28 +0100 (MET)
From: p7003ah@sunmail.lrz-muenchen.de (???)
Subject: Re: Mod type players....

Hi, i don't know, if there is any Gus-Player, which supports the formats
OKTAMED and OKTAMOD, but here is, what they are:

OKTAMOD is a 8 channeused by the PROTACKER-like OKTALIZER 
composer. As far as i know, the format defines no special effects that
are not defined in any other mod format, so it could be possible that
some GUS-PLAYER is able to play these kind of files.

OKTAMED is a 8 channel mod format, used by the shareware programm OKTAMED
(OKTALIZER IS NO SHAREWARE). I don't believe, that any GUS-PLAYER can handle
this format, because with OKTAMED you can define special instruments,
consitsting o sustain, release, and so on.
There is a special programming language for this kind of instruments, and 
the 'source code' of these instruments is saved into the OKTAMED files.

PP files are PowerPacked files, a common compressing software on the amiga.
I am not sure if there is a PC-Packer which can decompress this format.

I hope that helps.

Joerg Tuschek (p7003ah@sunmail.lrz-muenchen.de)

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

Date: 28 Jan 1994 20:29:37 +0700 (SST)
From: WildCat <SH7126146@NTUVAX.NTU.AC.SG>
Subject: OCTAMED and .PP formats

Brian,
 
> From: brian@ccnext.ucsf.edu (Brian Huddleston)
> Subject: Mod type players....
 
> contains OCTAMEDS, OKTAMODS, and files with an ext of .PP.  Does anyone
> know of any GUS players that support the formats?  What exactly  are
> these formats?
 
 PP are PowerPacked mods, you can use a program called PP2MOD to
uncrunch the mods so it can be played on a normal player.
 
As far as I know, only Multiplayer (non-GUS player), and WMP (Windows
MOD player) and gmod for Linux can play .MED (OCTAMED) file. This is a
multichannel digital format, which supports computer generated
synthsounds.
 
WildCat

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 94 14:24:53 FWT
From: tblanchot@vnet.IBM.COM
Subject: Re: Octameds, mods and .pp

Octameds is probably the directory for modules made with OKtamed, a
multi-channel tracker for the amiga (Version 5 supports up to 16
channels).
Oktamods is probably a directory for modules made with Oktalyzer, the
first 8 channel tracker for the amiga (old||).
 pp means the file has been crunched with Power Packer on the amiga. I
doubt there's a version of Power Packer on the PC, so you might have
to find a friend with an amiga to uncompress these....

Thierry BLANCHOT. A happy French GUS'er...

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

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 09:12:55 +1200
From: del_r@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Subject: Opit Test Help....

Hi.... I am about to be a proud owner of a GUS.... and also upgrade to a
486DX2-66 (Games...Yum... Yum...) I have been following the news digest 
and was wondering if anyone can mail me the step by step process of how
to test for a working 82C206 Opti Chipset. You all seem to just mention
it but I cannot find any mail actually describing it. Is it enough to 
run the DMA Test in the SETGUS program ???? Any help would be greatly
appreciated as I don't want any hassles when I fire up my PC.... Thanks.

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:49:58 GMT
From: Clarke Brunt <CLARKE@lsl.co.uk>
Subject: Re: PatchMake-Lite Windows-Drivers

>... another problem occured. This new mixer-applet's
>'SAVE'-button seems to be there just for fun! Pushing it does update the
>'ultramix.ini' file located in my ULTRASND-directory, but whenever I
>restart windows these settings are just ignored and settings enabling the
>LINE- and MIC-IN connections are used. This is very nasty because it gives
>me a lot of noise through my speakers. In previous versions of the
>windows-drivers there has been a possibility to disable the inputs through
>the control-panel, but in this newest version they have been removed ?!

Yes, a few of us have said before. The mixer saves the info, but the
driver does not pick it up when Windows is started. As I said, I have
looked at an ASCII dump of ultrasnd.drv, and it has the right text
strings in there as though it is looking for the correct information
in ultramix.ini, but as we observe, it just doesn't work.
Must be a bug! Its time we heard news of a fix.

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 11:37:11 MET-1
From: Gaute Mjoen <GAUTE3@kihdata.kih.no>

  Date: Thu, 27 Jan 94 02:26:44 -0800
  From: brian@ccnext.ucsf.edu (Brian Huddleston)
  Subject: Mod type players....

  Greetings all,I just got the Sound site CD-Rom (I highly recommend
  this cd to anyone interested in MOD music) and it contains a other
  directory, which contains OCTAMEDS, OKTAMODS, and files with an ext
  of .PP.  Does anyone know of any GUS players that support the
  formats?  What exactly  are these formats?

It's a format widly used on the amiga it's called POWERPACKER.
On the amiga the filenames ar usually MODNAME.mod.pp which means that
the module is POWERPACKER. When converting to PC-format which can
have only one extension...It gets .PP.
I don't think that that there are any players available for the GUS
which support POWERPACKEDFILES.
The solution must me to port them to the amiga and unpack them, then
move them back to the PC....(Much work! :-) )


+------- - -  -        +---------------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                                   |
	  Gaute Mjoen      |       Internet:  Gaute3@kihdata.kih.no            |
|     Norway           |     Snail-Mail:  Gaute Mjoen                      |
					   |                  Haavenga                         |
|                      |                  N-3600 Kongsberg                 |
	   -  - - -------------------------------------------------------------+

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 94 21:41:03 -0500
From: liaor@churchst.ccs.itd.umich.edu
Subject: TB Maui & Orchid Gamewave 32 vs GUS

My friend is thinking about getting a soundcard.  I have had the GUS for
over 15 months now, and after weighting the good&bad points of the GUS,
I decided NOT to recommend the GUS.

Anyway, I decided that the Orchid Gamewave 32 or TB Maui might be a good
choice.  Since he doesn't already have a soundcard, I think the GW32
would be better (since it can emulate SB + MT32/GM, right?)

However, the few first-hand reports I've heard about the Orchid GW32 said
basically, "the wave-table sucks, but at least it's better than FM."
I heard Orchid is planning to upgrade the ROM to 2MB (on their Soundwave32)
so I presume the GW32 will also undergo a similar enhancement sometime in
the future.

Anyway, I would like some comparisons (in GM quality, SB emulation, etc>)
between the Orchid GW32 and GUS.  I have a GUS, used Megaem202, SBOS,
UltraMID, latest Windows drivers (included in PMAK110), so you can directly
compare it to a certain aspect of the GUS.

Oh, how does a TB Maui compare to a GUS?  I was thinking of picking one
up myself, to complement my GUS.  That way, I could still listen to those
few games that natively support GUS, at the same time as not losing
compatibility for the newer 32-bit games (I don't think every new game is
going to use the AIL/Miles standard...)  Anyway, what about the 4MB ROM
upgrade for the TB Maui, how much does it improve sound quality?

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 94 20:10:00 +0000
From: da930908@mcis.messiah.edu
Subject: Tremstr.pat problem revisited

I noticed several people complaining that their "tremstr.pat" file is lost,
deleted, disappeared, etc...

Mine was there, it was fine, until I did something (what I did I don't know)
and now it's not there!  Hmph! I know it definitely USED to be there, because
I had played MID's that used it, but all of a sudden it just disappeared.

This is an interesting problem that I hope the folks at Advanced Gravis are
working on...

-- Dave Arcuri
-- aka Buzz the Punman

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

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 94 17:19:46 MET
From: Daniel Lehtihet <daniel-l@dsv.su.se>
Subject: windowdriver&patchmaker

Hi,

does anybody know where to find some kind of patcmaker for the gus ?

I've read about patchmaker lite, but i hav'nt been able to find it.

Are there any plans to release drivers for standard-mode windows?? I haven`t
had any problems with speed, running winjammer, but when using Cubase, things
get delayed (when playing > 3 notes simultaneously).Any help is much
appreciated

regards

Daniel-l@dsv.su.se

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

End of GUS Daily Digest V10 #29
*******************************
