Ultimas Done Right Pt.2

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.series (More info?)

In an post I made in February, 2004 on this newsgroup I reported on the
various attempts to emulate the special audio hardware that some
versions of the Ultima games use. Well, now I have come to update my
intial findings.

In the case of Ultimas III, IV and V for the Apple //e, they can utilize
one or two Mockingboard Sound Cards. (It may be possible to get 4 and 5
to work on an Apple //gs with Mockingboards installed with patches.)
Three Apple II emulators for the PC can emulate the Mockingboard Sound Card:

ApplePC
This emulator is DOS based and is ancient. Its last version, v2.52 was
released in 1996. It maps Mockingboard Sound Channels to Adlib Sound
Channels, which as the author states leads to inaccurate sounding tones.
It can only emulate three Mockingboards (three AY-8910 sound chips)
in total while Ultima V can support four. It is difficult to get
running at the proper speed because it doesn't have a built in frame
limiter. It requires the ROMS contained within AppleWin's distribution
to run. Not recommended.

AppleWin
This emulator has seen many variations from the original 1994 core.
Recently (2002) a version from T. Charlesworth has enabled Mockingboard
emulation, but the Mockingboard sounded horrible and the Apple Speaker
sound studdered. With version 1.12.4, the author is now using MAME's
AY-3-8910 core, which is very accurate and does the chip justice.
Additionally, a more cycle accurate core has eliminated the trademark
sound stuttering as well as improved compatibility across the board. On
the downside, this version still displays some roughness on certain
tunes. AppleWin has always had a simple interface and is highly
recommended.

Apple in PC (AiPC)
This emulator is a far more recent one, surfacing out of nowhere in
2003. It was the first to use MAME's AY-3-8910 emulation and was the
first to do the Ultima music justice. Its interface still could use
some work. It can be difficult to find and you should settle for
nothing less than the latest version, 0.1.25. (Contact me for it.) Its
video quality is excellent and "fuzzy" like NTSC artifacting should be.
This emulator is also highly recommended.

Also, the PC Versions of Ultima VI, VII, VII Pt.2, Underworld,
Underworld 2, Savage Empire and Martian Dreams used the Roland MT-32 LA
Synthesis midi module for the best quality versions of their tunes.
Ultima VIII did not really support it, it preferred the Roland Sound
Canvas. This was far superior to the music outputted by the Adlibs and
Sound Blasters of the day. Unfortunately, the Roland module is not made
anymore, is rare and expensive to buy used, and is difficult to properly
interface to a modern PC.

However, there is hope. There is a version of DOSBox that emulates the
Roland MT-32 for dos-based games. But it has three drawbacks:
1. While the sound coming from the emulator is very close to the real
MT-32, there are still some notes that are not quite true and the reverb
is not yet under user control as it should be.
2. The emulator requires a fast CPU to run the games at full speed
without sound stuttering.
3. It requires a copy of "Mt32_pcm.rom", the rom inside the MT-32
module to work at all. This is very difficult to find. Good luck!
Get it here: http://www.artworxinn.com/alex/

GH


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G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.series (More info?)

Nice ^_^ I'll definately be trying this out


"Great Hierophant" <great_hierophant@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:411d47e5_5@corp.newsgroups.com...
> In an post I made in February, 2004 on this newsgroup I reported on the
> various attempts to emulate the special audio hardware that some
> versions of the Ultima games use. Well, now I have come to update my
> intial findings.
>
> In the case of Ultimas III, IV and V for the Apple //e, they can utilize
> one or two Mockingboard Sound Cards. (It may be possible to get 4 and 5
> to work on an Apple //gs with Mockingboards installed with patches.)
> Three Apple II emulators for the PC can emulate the Mockingboard Sound
Card:
>
> ApplePC
> This emulator is DOS based and is ancient. Its last version, v2.52 was
> released in 1996. It maps Mockingboard Sound Channels to Adlib Sound
> Channels, which as the author states leads to inaccurate sounding tones.
> It can only emulate three Mockingboards (three AY-8910 sound chips)
> in total while Ultima V can support four. It is difficult to get
> running at the proper speed because it doesn't have a built in frame
> limiter. It requires the ROMS contained within AppleWin's distribution
> to run. Not recommended.
>
> AppleWin
> This emulator has seen many variations from the original 1994 core.
> Recently (2002) a version from T. Charlesworth has enabled Mockingboard
> emulation, but the Mockingboard sounded horrible and the Apple Speaker
> sound studdered. With version 1.12.4, the author is now using MAME's
> AY-3-8910 core, which is very accurate and does the chip justice.
> Additionally, a more cycle accurate core has eliminated the trademark
> sound stuttering as well as improved compatibility across the board. On
> the downside, this version still displays some roughness on certain
> tunes. AppleWin has always had a simple interface and is highly
> recommended.
>
> Apple in PC (AiPC)
> This emulator is a far more recent one, surfacing out of nowhere in
> 2003. It was the first to use MAME's AY-3-8910 emulation and was the
> first to do the Ultima music justice. Its interface still could use
> some work. It can be difficult to find and you should settle for
> nothing less than the latest version, 0.1.25. (Contact me for it.) Its
> video quality is excellent and "fuzzy" like NTSC artifacting should be.
> This emulator is also highly recommended.
>
> Also, the PC Versions of Ultima VI, VII, VII Pt.2, Underworld,
> Underworld 2, Savage Empire and Martian Dreams used the Roland MT-32 LA
> Synthesis midi module for the best quality versions of their tunes.
> Ultima VIII did not really support it, it preferred the Roland Sound
> Canvas. This was far superior to the music outputted by the Adlibs and
> Sound Blasters of the day. Unfortunately, the Roland module is not made
> anymore, is rare and expensive to buy used, and is difficult to properly
> interface to a modern PC.
>
> However, there is hope. There is a version of DOSBox that emulates the
> Roland MT-32 for dos-based games. But it has three drawbacks:
> 1. While the sound coming from the emulator is very close to the real
> MT-32, there are still some notes that are not quite true and the reverb
> is not yet under user control as it should be.
> 2. The emulator requires a fast CPU to run the games at full speed
> without sound stuttering.
> 3. It requires a copy of "Mt32_pcm.rom", the rom inside the MT-32
> module to work at all. This is very difficult to find. Good luck!
> Get it here: http://www.artworxinn.com/alex/
>
> GH
>
>
> -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
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G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.series (More info?)

> > Apple in PC (AiPC)
> > This emulator is a far more recent one, surfacing out of nowhere in
> > 2003. It was the first to use MAME's AY-3-8910 emulation and was the
> > first to do the Ultima music justice. Its interface still could use
> > some work. It can be difficult to find and you should settle for
> > nothing less than the latest version, 0.1.25. (Contact me for it.) Its
> > video quality is excellent and "fuzzy" like NTSC artifacting should be.
> > This emulator is also highly recommended.
> >
[snip]

Hello. I'm not a dragon, but I have played Ultimas 1-6. Could you give me
a URL for this version of AiPC? I could not find it anywhere!

old dude
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.series (More info?)

"old dude" <noworks@somewhere.net> wrote in message
news:412d47ef$1_2@127.0.0.1...
> > > Apple in PC (AiPC)
> > > This emulator is a far more recent one, surfacing out of nowhere in
> > > 2003. It was the first to use MAME's AY-3-8910 emulation and was the
> > > first to do the Ultima music justice. Its interface still could use
> > > some work. It can be difficult to find and you should settle for
> > > nothing less than the latest version, 0.1.25. (Contact me for it.)
Its
> > > video quality is excellent and "fuzzy" like NTSC artifacting should
be.
> > > This emulator is also highly recommended.
> > >
> [snip]
>
> Hello. I'm not a dragon, but I have played Ultimas 1-6. Could you give
me
> a URL for this version of AiPC? I could not find it anywhere!
>
> old dude
>
>

Oh, I should mention that I have VC6 SP5 and the DX9 SDK, so I can compile
the source. I only have source 0.1.22!! Where is 0.1.25?

old dude