EAX/A3D sound for EQ on Windows 10?

[Thulghor]

I've been messing around with various ways to restore the classic EAX sound effects for Everquest on Windows 10, but I feel like I can't really tell if it is working or not. It's just been too long, been 20 years or so since I last played EQ on my old Dell Dimension XPS T450 system with a Aureal A3D soundcard.

I do remember it sounding different though, especially in Neriak near the waterfall. I also worry that my Corsair Void Pro headset might be messing with my results, even with the Dolby Headphone stuff turned off.

I followed this guide using DSOAL and the A3D 1.0 wrapper.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...I-gVTpyhc/edit

I do get the following in my dsound.log:
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IndirectSound was loaded dynamically by a call to LoadLibrary()
The IndirectSound library being loaded is located at J:\P19992019\EverQuest\dsound.dll
Version -- 0.20
The process loading IndirectSound is located at J:\P19992019\EverQuest\eqgame.exe
File version info doesn't exist
IndirectSound is being unloaded because the process is terminating
-------------

Has anyone else tried something along these lines or had better luck?

P.S. On a loosely related note, I did do the process described here for MIDI stuff and sounds, and it is way better:

https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=81207

Also: https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...7&postcount=30

[Mblake81]

Originally Posted by Thulghor [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

EAX/A3D sound for EQ on Windows 10

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*Imo these things stopped being relevant when the hardware faded into near obscurity. Easier to make multi-platform titles for the console when they don't need discrete sound options. I usually get blown outta the water by tech guys telling me these things are not needed, you never really hear about sound or sound advancements anymore though. I do hear that things are "good enough". It's not as exciting. Creative sued their only real competition out of business then faded away post Xbox, final nail in the coffin with Windows Vista.

"Computer soundcards are just reverb, we have real sound integration now"

It's not wrong to like computer things, about computers, in the computer world. The 2010s were really boring when it came to computer tech excitement. I had one build for the whole decade and I am still using it. Edit: Using a Gigabyte Z97N ITX board with built in Soundblaster.

[Thulghor]

I actually played around with this some more and kinda figured it out.

There is a significant improvement playing EQ with the EAX and A3D effects enabled. It turns out it is somewhat hardware dependent, and my theory on my Corsair Void Pro headset messing things up was correct, as it isn't EAX and A3D compliant by itself. I plugged in my old Sound Blaster Live 24-bit USB External with some average stereo headphones and it was night and day. Additionally, with 3D Sound Back from Realtek (https://www.guru3d.com/files-details...ck-beta-1.html), Creative ALchemy, or the DSOAL above, you can have this effect on any Creative, ASUS, or Realtek audio hardware and hear EQ the way it was meant to be (or as close to it as we are going to get).

If you want to go further for other titles (as the Realtek solutions only go up to EAX2, which is fine for EQ), there are modded drivers that give Creative Soundblaster functions to most Realtek HD Audio chipsets, but that's a whole other beast to slay.

But yeah, so far it sounds pretty rad.

P.S. I even messed around with the BassMIDI fork Omni MIDI versus the solutions in the MIDI thread with some significant improvements:

https://github.com/KeppySoftware/OmniMIDI/releases

[Thulghor]

Using a combination of the steps outlined above, OMNI Midi, along with the MIDI files and synthfonts from here:

https://sites.google.com/site/everqu...est-midi-files

I am pretty happy with the results so far. It does get mixed up if you try to run it through a "upmixer" like Dolby Atmos headphones, windows sonic for headphones, or Creative CMSS, but even then it isn't bad.

EDIT: Be sure to follow the steps in Getting Started on here and remove the appropriate MP3 files for combat music, eqtheme, etc...

[Mblake81]

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[Mblake81]

In memory of EAX

Remember EAX? I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of it at all or only have a vague idea of what it was. There was a time when PC gamers upgraded their sound cards much in the same way as with graphics cards, resulting in a similar level of improvement in presentation aurally as graphics cards do visually.

Today, EAX is dead. With the increased emphasis on consoles and the dwindling sales of CreativeLabs cards it just didn’t make sense to use EAX over software sound anymore. In 2008 the last major EAX titles were released and after that all support from developers died.

EAX played an important role for ten years, but now that it’s gone I don’t think anyone will miss it. Being forced to buy extra sound cards from a specific manufacturer in order to make sure the audio experience isn’t compromised isn’t something anyone would want. Let’s not forget it though because when the day comes that you want to experience these older titles knowledge of EAX and having hardware that supports it becomes critical.

Thief is a series that relied on sound more than almost any other games as they discouraged combat. Fighting against the weakest enemies would end in death or severe injury, so hearing where the AI was and what it was thinking was of utmost importance. All the games in the series used EAX to great effect as it brought the old castles, streets and caves to life with appropriate echoes, and due to the slow pace of the games you had plenty of time to sit and listen to the effects.

Thief 2014 has better graphics, while the older games had better mission design, better sound design, better stories, more interesting tools, more interesting enemies, much more freedom and better atmosphere (among other things).

Blame developers, blame hardware or both for the decline. The fact is it happened.

*Note: But just because software sound has caught up to hardware accelerated doesn't mean the games will turn out well or utilize it. Thief 2014 relied on visual cues and skipped the audio. Maybe the developers didn't care, despite software being "superior and able to create things that are not bound to a specific hardware manufacturer" it wasn't there. Having the software ability is not a guarantee of anything.

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On March 5, 1998 Creative Labs sued Aureal for patent infringement. Aureal countersued because they believed Creative was guilty of patent infringement. After numerous lawsuits Aureal won a favorable ruling in December 1999, which vindicated Aureal from these patent infringement claims, but the legal costs were too high and Aureal filed for bankruptcy. On September 21, 2000, Creative acquired Aureal's assets from its bankruptcy trustee for US$32 million through the bankruptcy court.

2008

When Windows Vista inevitably becomes the mainstream OS for gamers and home users... will that spell the end for dedicated soundcards?

I'm thinking that the extra processing power of multi-core CPUs would be more than capable of handling the extra workload at the software level. On-board audio now feature multi-channel 7.1 output, as well as digital connectivity. And game developers would probably appreciate the uniformity of non-proprietary code that works across different platforms. When they start making games specifically for Vista/XBox360 platforms, I can't imagine them going out of their way to support EAX anymore. And once support for EAX dwindles, so will the market for Sound Blaster cards.

It's just driver issues. Creative is extremely bad with drivers. They never really update them and the ones that are out have problems as is. Soundcards aren't going anywhere...don't worry..once creative gets their tushes in line they'll release working versions. Onboard may have gotten better but it's still no substitute for a soundcard. Besides...onboard actually uses resources on your system to begin with. Having a sound card eliminates the need of processor work to run the onboard sound.

[Dithien]

Good stuff Thulghor.