The Week in Review: February 11-17, 2002

Last week's features at 3DsoundSurge

Drivers and bugs

• New Terratec DMX Xfire 1024/SixPack 5.1
  Terratec site list new Windows 98SE/ME drivers for its CS4624 based DMX Xfire 1024 and CS4630 based SixPack 5.1 drivers. The version number is 3057, that is the same as they released last month but then for Windows 2000/XP. That is the only new appears to be that the WDM drivers now officially support 98SE/ME.

  In related news Terratec has also posted Windows XP/2000/ME/98SE drivers for its DMX 6fire 24/96 a few days ago. They are of version 5.0.2000.115 and the same that shipped with the soundcard. According to Naka Keiso who owns the card they are crappy when used with WindowsXP but Terratec promise new much improved drivers within a month.

  Thanks to Thomas McGuire from 3DSpotlight for the pointer

• New FM801 WindowsXP drivers (v2.01) from Atrend
  Kris De GRoof spotted a new FM801 driver release on Atrend's FTP site for WindowsXP/2000. It was released late last year and of version 2.01 according to Kris which would mean it's the most recent FM801 driver we have seen. It will most likely work just fine on any other FM801 based card.

• Dolby Digital Surround EX PowerDVD patch for GameTheater XP
  We mentioned it in the DVD articles and GameTheaterXP review update but in case you missed it Cyberlink now offers a $12 Dolby Digital Surround EX patch for the PowerDVD 3.0 version bundled with GameTheater XP. Not sure it's really worth it considering the upgrade to PowerDVD XP 4.0 standard edition cost only another $8 (that is $20). I also have some doubts if a rear center channel really makes that much of a difference in the typical computer set-up.

  In related news I noticed that Cyberlink now offers several audio packs separately if your edition of PowerDVD XP 4.0 lacks some of the more advanced audio features (e.g. DTS support).

New games, demos, patches and bugs

• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season Demo Released
  Sierra/Papyrus has released a playable demo of the 3D sound supporting NASCAR Racing 2002 Season. If you experience any sound issues check the readme for some possible fixes. Among other things the readme file mentions some Vortex 2 issues including crackling and popping if 3D sound is enabled. Not sure if this refers to only the WDM Drivers or also the usually (in case of the Vortex2) more stable VXD drivers.

• Civilization III Patch
  A new patch (v1.17f) has been released. You can grab it from Avault

   

Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3 players.

• Philips Acoustic Edge Sound Card
  Digit-Life has done a review of Philips Acoustic Edge Sound Card. As usual it's more tecnology and sound quality focused than most other reviews of soundcards. They come to an overall positive conclusion. One minor correction, the now discontinued PSC702 and PSC704 didn't use the Thunderbird Avenger chip.

• Sound Blaster Extigy
  Gamespot has done a review of Creative Labs Sound Blaster Extigy. They found it to perform about the same as the Audigy except they experienced "small occasional sound drop-offs and hiccups" during heavy hard drive access or graphics processing. Gamespot suspect it's due to the limitation of the USB bus. Thanks to Pat D. for the pointer.

• Hercules GameSurround MuseXL
  Guru3D has done a review of Hercules inexpensive ($30) CMI8738 based sound, the GameSurround MuseXL. It uses Sensaura as the 3D sound engine so game performance should be similar to Hercules other cards. The review mostly focus on sound quality when listening to music rather than gaming. They come to an overall very positive conclusion considering the price.

• Logitech Z-560
  The TechZone has done a review of Logitec's Z-560 system. As every other review I've seen it's overall very positive.

• Logitech Z-560
  Another review of Logitech's Z-560 has appeared. This time it's Templintech that has checked out the system. They mostly compare it to Altec Lansing's 421 and found the Z-560 to be the clear winner. They also briefly state the Z-560 perform similar to Altec Lansing's 641 and Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 which means the Z-560 is the clear winner in price/performance (based on online prices. For all the details check out the review.

• SP60 5.1 Home Theater System
  Digit-Life has done a review of SP60 5.1 Home Theater System. They come to a rather mixed conclusion but overall a decent choice for gaming considering the $200 price.

• Spatializer e-Store Now Open on Yahoo! Shopping
  Spatializer Audio Laboratories has announced the opening of Spatializer® e- Store at Yahoo!® Shopping.

  Spatializer e-Store will initially offer three audio enhancement products for downloadable purchase by consumers; Spatializer VSP-11(TM), Spatializer StreamFX(TM) for Winamp and Spatializer StreamFX(TM) for Linux XMMS. For details read the press release

• IGDA has announced the nominees for the Game Developers Choice Awards
  The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has announced the nominees for the annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The winners will be announced at the ceremony on March 21, during the Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 19 - 23 in San Jose, Calif. Here's the audio related category:

  Excellence in Audio
  Erik Kraber & Jack Grillo for sound design in CLIVE BARKER'S UNDYING
  Harry Gregson-Williams for composition in METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY
  Josh Randall for sound design in FREQUENCY
  Marty O'Donnell & team for sound effects in HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED
  Thomas Engel for sound engineering in STAR WARS ROGUE SQUADRON II: ROGUE LEADER

  You can find the nominees in the other categories in the full press release. Can also be interesting to compare with the Finalists For The 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

• Interesting Job listing on Nvidia
  Fred Mah spotted the following interesting job post on Nvidia's site:

  Location Santa Clara, Ca
  Department Marketing
  Status Open
  Title Sr. Product Manager - Audio
  Job Description
  The successful candidate will be able to define world-class audio products, drive them to market, and position them to win. You will take ownership of product management and marketing for integrating state-of-the art audio technologies into the world's most powerful platform processors. Communication skills are essential, as you must work proactively across all major internal functional areas (engineering, operations, sales, marketing and finance) and with external constituencies (press, analysts, partners, customers, etc.). Specific responsibilities include: product definition, positioning, pricing, forecasting, promotion/branding, project scheduling, field training, competitive analysis, business development and managing cross-functional teams. Familiarity with audio technologies and standards as well as the audio industry a must. An understanding of the semiconductor & PC industry dynamics is a big advantage. The successful candidate will also have strong analytical, business, marketing and project management skills.

  Not a huge surprise, just another indication nVidia is serious about audio as an integrated part of future products and perhaps the next Xbox will only feature chip(s) from nVidia. Integration being the key here since they several times both in public and private stated they have no intention to enter the PC soundcard market (including supplying chips for dedicated soundcards).

• Soldier of Fortune 2 Sound Designer Interview
  PlanetSoldier has posted an interview with Zachary Quarles, the sound designer for Soldier of Fortune. Here's some of the more interesting Q&A:

  Are there any special technologies being implemented for sound delivery? (3d, environmental, etc...)
  Yes, we are implementing Creative's EAX technology into SOF2 which will take full advantage of their new flagship product: "Audigy". It will be backwards compatible with Live! cards as well, so don't worry!
  [snip]
  What sort of sound can we expect from MP?
  typically the same as SP minus EAX.
  [snip]
  What are the qualities you shoot for (pun intended) when creating a weapon sound?
  Well there are a few factors that must be taken into account. Where is the weapon located? Is it something the player is holding or in the distance somewhere? It must be very percussive, but it must also hold true to the actual gun that is firing...for example it might be ver pecussive but also very ratchety. Perhaps the bolt doesn't move back in this particular weapon...so that must be a factor to look into. At any rate you also need a be of "space" at the end of the file, meaning you can hear the reverberation of the firing mechanism after it intially shoots. You want this to be fairly subtle because the environment in which you are firing the gun has great impact on how this sounds...does any of this make sense?
  [snip]
  Have you decided to use any of the sounds from the original Soldier of Fortune?
  No, I wanted everything on SOF2 to be my work (which I guess is a bit pigheaded, since the sound in SOF1 was so good) so I tried to stay away from that. I would occaisonally look/listen to a sound file that Chia did for the first one to listen to the quality that he was going for and see if I could gain anything from that...but I believe all of the sounds in SOF2 are completely original.

• Hitman 2 Soundtrack Interview
  GameSpy has conducted an interview with Nano Studios' owner - Jesper Kyd - about his latest musical accomplishment for Hitman 2. Other games he has done the soundtrack for includes MDK2 and Messiah. Here's a couple snips of interest:

  GameSpyDaily: What kind of musical ambiance are you shooting for Hitman 2?

  Jesper: The Hitman2 score is a mix of orchestral and ambient music
  [snip]
  GameSpyDaily: What's the most difficult part of composing game music?

  Jesper: This aspect changes constantly, but in general once you are inspired to the max, the music writes itself. There are difficult aspects in each score you write. I try to push myself a little further and experiment with many different elements, based on what type of score and atmosphere is needed.

  I am a firm believer that music has to be original and turn heads. I try to include elements in my music that have not been heard much before. The Hitman2 score includes orchestral music mixed with synths and drum machines.
  [snip]
  GameSpyDaily: You've done some independent film work. Tell us what it was like to work with film as opposed to games. Was the experience more or less enjoyable?

  Jesper: I love working on films & games. Film music is very different though. In films, you are a slave to the image and you can immediately tell if the music is going to work or not. It's also great fun having the picture dominate the music and shaping the music around each scene. Suddenly you are doing music you never thought you would be writing. Film music teaches you to be very diverse as a composer, and writing music for films has taught me many things I am now able to use in my game music. [snip]

• Reviews that we are currently working on:
  Updated Santa Cruz/Sonic Fury and GameTheaterXP reviews
  Hercules Fortissimo II
  Terratec DMX Xfire 1024
  CMedia CM8738 Reference Review
  Full Audigy Review
  Full Philips MMS305 Review
  
• There are several other hardware reviews in the pipeline including, but not limited to the following:
  Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE
  Terratec m3po
  DigMedia MusicStore
  Philips Seismic Edge
  Lots of other stuff on the go in including several guides and major site revisions that we will soon be releasing more details on.
  

As always if you have any ideas for products we should review or features we should do, please let us know.

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