Hello all! :-)

[MarcV]

Hi guys and girls! I'm new to these forums
My name is Marc and am a fan of the old Sierra games ever since I first heard of (the agi version of) Leisure Suit Larry 1.
Even though I have played multiple games, Larry was always my most favourite game series. It was very sad to hear that Al Lowe got fired back then... . I'm very curious to see what his new game Sam Suede will be like!
It's been quite a while since I played any of my games. One of the reasons is that I don't know how to use my old hardware (MPU-IPC-T, MT-32 and SCC-1) on a modern computer that has no ISA slots. And the games that should run under Windows often require that you set the video to 256 colors, which WinXP won't allow...
So I decided to find me an old computer with ISA slots and install Win98SE on it so I can revive my old stuff

[shad0wfax]

Welcome, Marc!

A "retro-PC" is probably the best solution in order to play Sierra's classics, although emulation is working very good to (and everyday it's improving). Today a modern PC with DosBox can play nearly all those old classics with no problems.

[Tom]

Greetings, Marc, and welcome!

I, too, use an old Pentium II (with ISA slots) along with Win98SE, to play most old Sierra games.  I sometimes also use "moslo.exe" to slow down the system even more.  Works good for me.

[Rhizome]

Hello there!

I also have an old Pentium 2 that contains 2 ISA slots with Windows 95b installed for DOS games and so my 2 legacy sound cards will work correctly  

[MarcV]

Welcome, Marc!

A "retro-PC" is probably the best solution in order to play Sierra's classics, although emulation is working very good to (and everyday it's improving). Today a modern PC with DosBox can play nearly all those old classics with no problems.

I first learned about this "DosBox" program a couple of days ago, when I started to browse these forums for the first time  :oops: (even though I have a self made program under SIERRA & MIDI UTILITIES, I made The Sierra MT-32 Sound Library several years ago :wink: ).
How can one make the MT-32 communicate with a modern PC using DosBox? I guess you still need some kind of midi interface?

[Tom]

DOSBox worked with my MT-32 when ported through my Sound Blaster Audigy's MIDI port.  I didn't have to setup anything -- MIDI signals were simply routed through the port, to the MT-32.  However, DOSBox is very limited in MIDI support; other than for playing games, it's not a solution to running other MIDI-based DOS software in a simulated DOS environment.  But, that's not what it's designed for...

[MarcV]

DOSBox worked with my MT-32 when ported through my Sound Blaster Audigy's MIDI port.  I didn't have to setup anything -- MIDI signals were simply routed through the port, to the MT-32.  However, DOSBox is very limited in MIDI support; other than for playing games, it's not a solution to running other MIDI-based DOS software in a simulated DOS environment.  But, that's not what it's designed for...

I see. Maybe I can connect the MT-32 to the midi port of my SoundBlaster Live! Player 5.1 card that I have in my PC. It looks like I have to build a midi interface to connect it to the 15p SUB-D connector then, but that's no problem for me. Can this DosBox app slow down the midi stream enough to avoid overflowing the MT-32?

[Great Hierophant]

I see. Maybe I can connect the MT-32 to the midi port of my SoundBlaster Live! Player 5.1 card that I have in my PC. It looks like I have to build a midi interface to connect it to the 15p SUB-D connector then, but that's no problem for me. Can this DosBox app slow down the midi stream enough to avoid overflowing the MT-32?

You could simply buy the appropriate cable from Creative.  DOSBox can slow down the game and system so MT-32 buffer underrun errors are avoided.  Finally, you only need one ISA slot, as the SCC-1 and MPU-IPC-T do the same thing unless you wish to use each in a separate computer.

[MarcV]

You could simply buy the appropriate cable from Creative.  DOSBox can slow down the game and system so MT-32 buffer underrun errors are avoided.  Finally, you only need one ISA slot, as the SCC-1 and MPU-IPC-T do the same thing unless you wish to use each in a separate computer.

I know that the SCC-1 can be used as a midi port; I already used it that way and then indeed I only need one ISA slot. But I have no ISA slot available right now  :?

[glendower]

You could simply buy the appropriate cable from Creative.  DOSBox can slow down the game and system so MT-32 buffer underrun errors are avoided.  Finally, you only need one ISA slot, as the SCC-1 and MPU-IPC-T do the same thing unless you wish to use each in a separate computer.

I know that the SCC-1 can be used as a midi port; I already used it that way and then indeed I only need one ISA slot. But I have no ISA slot available right now  :?

Then you should send ME your SCC-1!

[MarcV]

You could simply buy the appropriate cable from Creative.  DOSBox can slow down the game and system so MT-32 buffer underrun errors are avoided.  Finally, you only need one ISA slot, as the SCC-1 and MPU-IPC-T do the same thing unless you wish to use each in a separate computer.

I know that the SCC-1 can be used as a midi port; I already used it that way and then indeed I only need one ISA slot. But I have no ISA slot available right now  :?

Then you should send ME your SCC-1!

 :lol:
That card sounds too good to give up  :wink:
...except maybe in exchange for a SC-88 or so? :wink:  :wink:

[Galahad]

Welcome to the forum MarcV!     As with several of the posters on this thread, I also keep an older Pentium II 266 MHz PC with ISA slots for retro gaming and the Sierra clasics, with dual-boot between Windows 95C/MS-DOS 7.0 and Windows ME for maximum compatibility purposes with older games.  If interested in running everything natively without hadware emulation, you might want to consider purchasing an older Pentium I/II PC with at least 2 ISA slots on e-bay, which can be found relatively easily for reasonable prices these days.