Re: Sound in Ultima V

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article archwiz@aol.com (Archwiz) writes...

>I have a ROM 3 ][GS and have been messing around with my software after a
>long hiatus from the Apple // world.  I noticed that Ultima V has sound if
>a Phasor, Mockingboard, etc. is available.

    Well first off, there is a bug in Ultima V that causes it to crash
if you try and activate the music option on an Apple IIgs (I know all
too well, having plugged in a Phasor board into both my ROM 01 and ROM 3
for testing purposes). Fortunately a IIgs patch exists, so you can fix
that problem. You will still need a Phasor, Mockingboard or MIDI setup
to hear music within the game (you can even use an Echo Plus, but to say
the music is distorted would be a major understatement ;). I've also
tried an Audio Animator since AE claimed it as Passort MIDI compatible,
but never had any luck (ditto with my serial Apple MIDI interface).

>I don't have any of these cards, as I figured that it would be silly
>to add a card to my GS that duplicates the function of the Esoniq DOC
>chip.  Can I get sound out of U5?  Or am I going to need a MIDI board?
>Thanks a bunch.

    It would be silly, but they do not duplicate the function of the
Ensoniq DOC, not by a long shot. Basically those 8-bit Apple II sound
cards create synthesis by simple waveforms (triangle-wave, square-wave,
attack, decay, etc); FM-synthesis is just a more advanced form of it.
The GS's Ensoniq works with wavetable synthesis, the current standard
in the PC world, with the ability to create very realistic sounding
music. The Phasor/Mockingboard to the IIGS, is like the Commodore 64
is to the PC's Gravis UltraSound. :)

    One or two programs exist that let the Ensoniq chip emulate a
General Instruments AY-8913 chipset (Phasor, Mockingboard, ALF,
Echo+, Cricket, etc) but it only works with song files. It could
conceivably be expanded to work with programs like Ultima V, but
no one has tried to my knowledge.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca