Dual-OPL2 Supremacy

[Cloudschatze]

For an interesting example of dual-OPL2 playback besting that of the OPL3, one need look no further than MicroProse's DragonSphere...

♫ Dragonsphere - Title - Pro AudioSpectrum - 2xOPL2
♫ Dragonsphere - Castle Callahach - DOSBox 0.74 - 2xOPL2
♫ Dragonsphere - Brynn-Fann - DOSBox 0.74 - 2xOPL2
♫ Dragonsphere - Mountains of Tyre nak Branwe - Pro AudioSpectrum - 2xOPL2

Those aren't added effects you're hearing - the 2xOPL2 playback makes liberal use of "programmed" reverb, and pretty decent 2-OP instrument voicings, resulting in one of the more atmospheric and exceptional FM soundtracks I've yet heard.

Selecting an OPL3-based card for music playback, on the other hand, results in a vastly inferior experience, in my opinion. While some of the spaciousness is present, the effect is completely ruined by terrible FM voicings, and in some cases, shorter pieces (like the title theme)...

♫ Dragonsphere - Title - DOSBox 0.74 - OPL3
♫ Dragonsphere - Castle Callahach - DOSBox 0.74 - OPL3
♫ Dragonsphere - Brynn-Fann - DOSBox 0.74 - OPL3
♫ Dragonsphere - Mountains of Tyre nak Branwe - DOSBox 0.74 - OPL3

What a disaster, and yet, since the both options are presented, I'm pretty sure that the OPL3 is the most-selected. If you're both a DragonSphere and FM fan, do yourself a favor and experience it with dual-OPL2 music playback - whether by Pro AudioSpectrum, Sound Blaster Pro, or even DOSBox - it's simply that much better.

[endre1952]

Yes, that's quite a difference! I have a Sound Blaster Pro 1.0 in my collection - unfortunately, it already has speed issues in my 386 SX-40 machine, unless the turbo switch is turned off.

[pilgrim]

Woa, that's really something. So DOSBox supports 2xOPL2 as well? If it sounds as good as what you're getting with the Pro Audio then it's vastly superior to OPL3! Thanks for the find.

[Mau1wurf1977]

Woa, that's really something. So DOSBox supports 2xOPL2 as well? If it sounds as good as what you're getting with the Pro Audio then it's vastly superior to OPL3! Thanks for the find.

DOSBox supports the dual OPL2 Sound Blaster Pro. But not the original Mediavision Pro Audio Spectrum.

I asked the developers if they might implement such a feature and even found a development kit / files. But you know how it goes in life, time is very rare these days. Maybe one day though!

[Great Hierophant]

Woa, that's really something. So DOSBox supports 2xOPL2 as well? If it sounds as good as what you're getting with the Pro Audio then it's vastly superior to OPL3! Thanks for the find.

DOSBox supports the dual OPL2 Sound Blaster Pro. But not the original Mediavision Pro Audio Spectrum.

I asked the developers if they might implement such a feature and even found a development kit / files. But you know how it goes in life, time is very rare these days. Maybe one day though!

The tricky bit is emulating enough of the card's interface and DAC for the TSR driver MVSOUND.SYS to work.  Even the original card seems to have lots of registers and addresses sprinkled about the I/O address space. 

I wonder if there is any benefit to emulating a Pro Audio Spectrum 16.  The card certainly has advantages over the SB16 in the form of better shielding, leading to better quality sound output, but in emulation that is not an issue.  I would suggest that the only benefit would be for a game that supported a higher quality digital sound output in the PAS16 but did not support the SB16. 

[endre1952]

PAS8 support would be nice to get stereo FM music in some Sierra adventure games.

[Mau1wurf1977]

PAS8 support would be nice to get stereo FM music in some Sierra adventure games.

That's pretty much it.

For example Space Quest 4 support the PAS16 and this will give you really nice Stereo OPL3 music. Police Quest 3 however only supports the PAS (the PAS16 isn't compatible to the PAS).

Having said that it's not a big deal because all of these games support the MT-32.

[endre1952]

Some people actually prefer FM synthesis. I don't, I'm a big fan of the MT-32, but some do.

[Great Hierophant]

Sierra's Dual OPL2 support merely provides a stereo enhancement.  The same six channels are used, just assigned to the left or right channel.  (Its support for the Game Blaster is the same.)  No extra sound will be heard. 

[Mau1wurf1977]

Amazes me what difference Stereo can make. It just sounds so much richer.

If it's "just" an enhancement, is there maybe a way to modify the FM driver to output Stereo on OPL3? E.g. for Police Quest 3 and Space Quest 4.

EDIT: Tried the latest version of ScummVM and it plays Stereo FM for games such as Space Quest 3. Space Quest 2 also got an overhaul in therms of sound. Not sure though what exactly they did..

[MusicallyInspired]

Thanks for this. I'll keep it in mind.

EDIT: Tried the latest version of ScummVM and it plays Stereo FM for games such as Space Quest 3. Space Quest 2 also got an overhaul in therms of sound. Not sure though what exactly they did..

Space Quest 2 is an AGI game. ScummVM uses the Sarien interpreter for AGI games which tends to want to default to this strange Amiga looking/sounding atmosphere. The default was set to EGA and PCjr sound a long time ago but it's since been regressed again to default to the horrible Amiga-like sounds.

[Cloudschatze]

Because resurrecting old threads is so much fun, here are a few additional MicroProse titles that support both dual-OPL2 and OPL3, where, as with DragonSphere, the former provides a significantly (albeit, subjectively) better listening experience:

Return of the Phantom
Pirates! Gold
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon Deluxe

On an interesting and unexpected note, the following MicroProse titles provide exclusive 2xOPL2 stereo playback - via use of either the original Pro AudioSpectrum, Sound Blaster Pro 1, or comparable DOSBox configuration - while mysteriously lacking any mention of this support:

F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0
David Leadbetter's Greens
Sid Meier's Civilization
Gunship 2000
Formula One Grand Prix
B-17 Flying Fortress
Special Forces
Harrier Jump Jet

♫ Formula One Grand Prix - Intro - DOSBox 0.74 - 2xOPL2
♫ Harrier Jump Jet - Mission Summary - DOSBox 0.74 - 2xOPL2
♫ Special Forces - Intro - DOSBox 0.74 - 2xOPL2

[Ari]

You're always welcome to resurrect old threads like this with new recordings of old game tunes.