mnrausch@immd4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Martin Rausche) (05/06/91)
ong@d.cs.okstate.edu (ONG ENG TENG) writes: >From article <jayh.673378215@s.ms.uky.edu>, by jayh@ms.uky.edu (Jay Hofacker): >> The Roland LAPC is the best sound card I've heard for the PC. It has eight >> synthesizers plus a percusion synthesizer. The sound quality is astounding. >> All new Sierra games support the LAPC. Of course, at $300-400, you get what >> you pay for. >First, Sierra games are somewhat boring (by TODAY's standards of >Wing Commander and Tycoon). That's your opinion. Space Quest IV uses the digital voice output and sounds great. Connect the SoundBlaster to your hifi-system and listen. Have you ever heard a spaceship flying through your office ? Really great game and you can play it on a 12 MHz 286. Try Wing Commander on this kind of computer; it's really slow and boring !!! SQ4 supports Roland card and uses the SB for Soundeffects. What about Wing Commander? (hahaha, do you hear me laughing) > Other game makers like Origin and >Microprose has improve themselves greatly while Sierra >kept beating the same dead horse. Other than that, there are many more >new (great) games supporting Sound Blaster than Roland. >(I bought KingQuest V and got tired after ONE DAY, gave it away. I also >checked out PoliceQuest 2 at my friend's place, yawn) Kings Quest 5 = really great pictures (talking about 320x200x256) Wing Commander = slow, boring flight simulation >Second, if the digital voice output (8-bit DAC) should become popular, >Roland users would be left out because it does not have >Sound Blaster-specification digital voice output channel (if it has any >DAC at all). >All in all, due to the popularity of Sound Blaster (about 100,000 in the US), >and its power in population growth (good hardware at cheap price, >a simple Adlib used to cost $400, now SB is only $150), game makers will >always has SB in their mind when designing game. >You can fight the crowd... if you writes your own games. >p.s. I heard that a few motherboard makers are considering building > Sound Blaster into their motherboards. I suggest to buy a Sound Blaster. I think it's the best card for a good price! (Remark: flames > /dev/null) --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Martin Rausche | | EMail: mnrausch@immd4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de | | Trust me, I know what I'm doing -- Sledge Hammer | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ong@d.cs.okstate.edu (ONG ENG TENG) (05/07/91)
From article <1991May6.131225.27156@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>, by mnrausch@immd4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Martin Rausche): > That's your opinion. Space Quest IV uses the digital voice output and sounds > great. Connect the SoundBlaster to your hifi-system and listen. > Have you ever heard a spaceship flying through your office ? > Really great game and you can play it on a 12 MHz 286. Try Wing Commander on > this kind of computer; it's really slow and boring !!! > SQ4 supports Roland card and uses the SB for Soundeffects. What about > Wing Commander? (hahaha, do you hear me laughing) Well, I have not have the chance to look at Space Quest IV. As for Wing Commander at 12MHz 286, that's the problem with YOUR computer. Be thankful that is is not rec.games.misc, else you would be bombarded with rebuttals (this is not a DARE, hee, hee). > Kings Quest 5 = really great pictures (talking about 320x200x256) > Wing Commander = slow, boring flight simulation KQ5 = boring (even though I was running it on a 386 25MHz); if I want great (comic) picture, I would buy the sunday paper or National Geographic Wing Commander = great action (you need more than 12MHz 286), great sound, and great ray-traced simulation > >>Second, if the digital voice output (8-bit DAC) should become popular, >>Roland users would be left out because it does not have >>Sound Blaster-specification digital voice output channel (if it has any >>DAC at all). > >>All in all, due to the popularity of Sound Blaster (about 100,000 in the US), >>and its power in population growth (good hardware at cheap price, >>a simple Adlib used to cost $400, now SB is only $150), game makers will >>always has SB in their mind when designing game. > >>You can fight the crowd... if you writes your own games. > >>p.s. I heard that a few motherboard makers are considering building >> Sound Blaster into their motherboards. > > I suggest to buy a Sound Blaster. I think it's the best card for a good price! No disagreement there.
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) (05/08/91)
>(Kevin Martin) >The SB card emulates it because the Adlib came first. Programming for the >Adlib is also easier and in some cases cheaper, since Creative Labs do >charge a fair bit for their developer's kit. To say the SB emulates the Adlib is like saying an AST 386 PC emulates a Compaq 386 PC. Both the Adlib and the SB use exactly the same FM modulation chip from Yamaha to produce their sound. Programming the chips is the same for both cards if you stick to just the music. The only difference is when you want to use the extra voice channel in the SB. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP NPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) (05/17/91)
>(Scott Mason) >The 4 Watt rating of the Soundblaster is the maximum electrical >power that it can supply to the speakers and still achieve >reasonable distortion levels. Normally this is an ``RMS'' value, >which indicates that the ``average'' output can reach this level. >It can be inflated by specifying it as a ``peak'' value instead, >in which case the loudest output can reach this level. Note that >this is at best a guideline unless the manufacturer specifies >what they consider reasonable distortion. The Federal Trade Commission requires that power ratings be specified using the RMS method based on test standards from the agency. The manufacturer is free to provide ADDITIONAL power ratings but the RMS rating must be specified. This rule has been in effect for well over 10 years and was made to end the various inflated power ratings that maker were using. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP NPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) (05/17/91)
>The major difference is, that the SOUNDBLASTER has stereo-sound, >and the AD-LIB only mono-sound. You can play sampled sounds with the >SOUNDBLASTER, too, which isnt possible with AD-LIB. >The SOUNDBLASTER has a possibility to advance to MIDI.(about 140 DM) This is not quite true. The original SB had Game Blaster emulation as well as Adlib emulation. The GB sound was stereo but otherwise inferior. The Adlib emulation on the SB is mono just like Adlib. GB support is basically dead. The current SB no longer has the GB emulation although you can buy add-on chips to put it in. But they are virtually no games today that support the GB. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP NPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com