Problem controlling music volume

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [Science Fiction] >> Starships Unlimited v3 >> Problem controlling music volume

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Problem controlling music volume - 6/18/2003 3:19:51 AM

Ubbax

Posts: 13
Joined: 6/15/2003
Status: offline

The slider to controll the music volume in the game, the one accessed through the "Games Option Settings", seems to be unable to retain the value I set for it.

I realize you need to click "Make Defaults" after setting the sliders, however it is not being retained.

Upon first setting the slider and clicking "Make Defaults" button the volume is fine but as soon as it switches to the next music piece in the series it resets back to full volume.

I reset the slider as soon as this occurs and once again it's fine till the next new piece starts, then the volume again resets to full.

If I set the slider to Mute that value is retained.

All the other sliders and settings are fine only the Music Volume slider is a problem.

I've held off posting about this issue till the 2.1 patch was released in the hopes it would alleviate the problem. Unfortunately it hasn't resolved the issue for me.

It's really a shame, I love the music for the game but I've had to resort to the mute setting. Having to constantly tweak the setting everytime a new music piece starts is unbelievably irritating, not to mention hard on the ears ;)

What's odd is that I don't recall this being an issue with the Demo version. Of course the Demo version only played one piece and just looped it.

Is anyone else experiencing this ? Is this a known issue or might someone have a solution?

Windows is fully updated, as well as all drivers.

The game is played on the following machine:

System Information
------------------
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 1 (2600.xpsp2.030422-1633)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: n/a
System Model: n/a
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.0
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 146MB used, 336MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0a (4.09.0000.0901)
DxDiag Version: 5.03.0000.0901 32bit Unicode

Sound Devices
-------------
Description: SB Audigy Platinum Audio
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0253 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 8/12/2002 12:03:30, 837548 bytes

Display Devices
---------------
Card name: RADEON 9700 PRO
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: Radeon 9700 AGP (0x4E44)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (120Hz)
Monitor: ViewSonic P220fb-2

Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
Drive: C:
Free Space: 36.9 GB
Total Space: 41.0 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Promise 2+0 Stripe/RAID0 SCSI Disk Device

Drive: D:
Free Space: 128.1 GB
Total Space: 188.0 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Promise 2+0 Stripe/RAID0 SCSI Disk Device

Drive: F:
Model: PLEXTOR CD-R PX-W4824A
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 5.01.2600.1106 (English), 8/29/2002 04:27:56, 47488 bytes

Drive: G:
Model: YAMAHA CRW-F1E
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 5.01.2600.1106 (English), 8/29/2002 04:27:56, 47488 bytes

Post #: 1

- 6/18/2003 8:06:05 PM

Andrew Ewanchyna

Posts: 229
Joined: 8/24/2001
Status: offline

I've tried this and wasn't able to reproduce the problem. Have you tried switching between "Use hardware/software for music playback"? I think you'll have to change the setting, save it, then restart the app to test it out.

If that doesn't work, then you can mute the music in the game and play the mp3 versions of the music using your favorite mp3 player. Just make sure you run the mp3 player before the game.

I'll see if I can reproduce the problem on another machine and take another look at the sound code.

_____________________________

Developer of Starships Unlimited

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 2

- 6/19/2003 5:59:31 AM

Ubbax

Posts: 13
Joined: 6/15/2003
Status: offline

Thank you for the reply Andrew:)

Yes, one of the first things I tried was switching between Hardware/Software mode for playback. It didn't and still doesn't resolve the issue, I double checked again.

The machine listed is the only one I have running Win XP so I was unable to check on another XP machine. I do have a few other machines running Win 2000 & 98 used for QA work, however I never tried running the game on those.

Thanks for the mP3 player suggestion, I'm now happily enjoying the games music once again :D
I was actually unaware the mp3 versions of the music were included on the CD :o

By the way I've played the shareware version of the game for some time and I intend to keep supporting that effort :D

Thanks for a great game !

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 3

- 6/19/2003 8:22:47 PM

peaeri

Posts: 8
Joined: 9/27/2001
From: Montreal, Canada
Status: offline

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ubbax
Thanks for the mP3 player suggestion, I'm now happily enjoying the games music once again :D [/QUOTE]
Now I can sleep at night! :p

_____________________________

Eric Pearson
(composer STUN Divided Galaxies soundtrack)

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 4

- 6/19/2003 8:44:41 PM

Voidhawk

Posts: 120
Joined: 5/14/2003
Status: offline

I can't. The SUDG theme song sticks in my head and keeps me awake at all hours.

It's funny, the last time I got a serious SUDG jones it was because of one of those dang songs.

I flipped through my game collection, located SUDG, and listened to the music. While I was playing, of course. I couldn't resist.

I've actually entertained thoughts of burning those mp3's onto an audio CD so I can listen to them in my car. Kinda worried what my friends might think of me, though. :D

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Post #: 5

- 6/20/2003 11:30:53 PM

peaeri

Posts: 8
Joined: 9/27/2001
From: Montreal, Canada
Status: offline

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Voidhawk
[B]It's funny, the last time I got a serious SUDG jones it was because of one of those dang songs.[/B][/QUOTE]I'll take that as, er, a compliment.:eek:

_____________________________

Eric Pearson
(composer STUN Divided Galaxies soundtrack)

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 6

- 6/21/2003 1:21:51 AM

Frenchie

Posts: 4
Joined: 6/11/2003
Status: offline

I am also experiencing this problem running SUDG on Windows XP, DirectX 9 and a Soundblaster Live! Player 1024. Whether it's an XP problem or a Soundblaster problem I don't know, but the Soundblaster has caused problems in many other games.

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 7

- 6/21/2003 4:50:31 AM

Andrew Ewanchyna

Posts: 229
Joined: 8/24/2001
Status: offline

Actually, I've just located the problem in my software (he said sheepishly). I guess I never lowered the music volume enough to notice it. The fix is in.

_____________________________

Developer of Starships Unlimited

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 8

- 6/21/2003 6:31:22 PM

Voidhawk

Posts: 120
Joined: 5/14/2003
Status: offline

[QUOTE]Originally posted by peaeri
[B]I'll take that as, er, a compliment.:eek: [/B][/QUOTE]

Of course! The soundtrack is great, it meshes perfectly with the look and feel of the game. I really like how all the pieces feel like movements in an overarching orchestral score rather than just the patchwork ear-filler of most recent games. For me, it adds a tremendous amount of appeal to the game (and that's really saying something, as I usually disable in-game music by the third or fourth go-round with 99% of my games).

I'm a composing musician myself, but my experience is mainly limited to live studio recording, tracking guitars, and a dash of digital mixing/mastering. I've been trying to get into pure electronic composition lately, even invested in a couple of tools like Fruity Loops (which utterly bewilders me) and Propellerheads Reason.

If you don't mind me asking, what kind sampling/sequencing software and/or MIDI elements did you use to create the SUDG soundtrack?

Sorry if I've swerved this thread a little too off-topic. ;)

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Post #: 9

- 6/22/2003 3:31:42 AM

peaeri

Posts: 8
Joined: 9/27/2001
From: Montreal, Canada
Status: offline

Thanks for the kind words!

To answer your question, the main sequencing software for SUDG was Cakewalk. It's not necessarily the best sequencer out there but you get used to some software and that's the one I've known since before windows.

For drum/rhythm tracks I used an early version of FruityLoops. I tried a more recent version but found it less intuitive than this old one. I imported the MIDI into Cakewalk.

Most of the sounds were produced on an SC-88 Pro--the trusty Sound Canvas. Some were the product of a Yamaha P-200 (great piano sounds!). There's also Kuzweil MicroPiano (great strings), TX-7 (a DX-7 without the keyboard), and a kazoo (just kidding). All the audio was recorded straight to hard drive.

Actually, something that might interest people is that the second pressing of the SUDG CD was bundled with a re-mastered soundtrack. We'd found that the first version sounded a little on the thin-cheapy side. I had a friend of mine with great ears re-equalize the tunes on his PSB speakers. the result was a much richer and fuller soundtrack.

For Andrew's next project (the naval game), I'm probably going all-digital with internal sampling and synth software (katchink $, katchink $). Now that my PC can handle it (2.66GHz, 1GB RAM, Audigy), great synth sounds can be produced without any outboard equipement and no A/D conversion. That's if I can find a decent path through the format-compatibility maze. I've also upgraded to Sonar, which has a few annoyances but seems stable enough.

_____________________________

Eric Pearson
(composer STUN Divided Galaxies soundtrack)

(in reply to Ubbax)

Post #: 10

- 6/22/2003 12:21:47 PM

Voidhawk

Posts: 120
Joined: 5/14/2003
Status: offline

Great, thanks so much for the info, Eric! I've been feeling like I'm kind of stumbling around in the dark, and buying all this software that I'm not even sure I need or not was getting expensive. :eek:

I've been using Cakewalk since the good old glory days of DOS myself! Cakewalk Apprentice was my first, and as I recall it ran beautifully on a 386SX/33; long before the days of the dreaded "Dropout" that I'm all too familiar with now.

I'm reluctant to upgrade to Sonar just because I'm so comfortable working in Cakewalk Pro Audio 9. I probably will sooner or later, as Sonar allows a realtime interface with Reason, and I love my Reason like an only child. What I don't love is fiddling around with "new and improved features" trying to get a desired effect when all I'm really itching to do is just create some music. I'm sure you can relate. ;)

I bought SUDG shortly after release, so I'm pretty sure I have the "unpolished music" version. Still sounds great to me, though. Fantastic that you're doing the new ApeZone game, too! I seem to be running out of fingers to count the reasons why I'm going to buy it...

Thanks again for the reply, that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for!

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Post #: 11