/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9424351
I remember most of the DOS games I played in their day was powered by OPL2 via the SoundBlaster (2) I had. My hearing is fading with age and I have difficulty distinguishing the difference between OPL2 and OPL3, but I think 2 is a bit more harsh sounding. Most of the cards I still have and newer ones tend to have at best an OPL3 chip or emulate OPL3, but I'd rather the harsher sounds that I remember and love of OPL2 which many others don't seem to have appreciation for.

>>7890092
I am curious to the answer as well since I have no idea, nor have I attempted two sound cards in one system.

>>7894343
I remember I had a retail Live! which came with a front bay panel and it sounded great in the early 2000s feeding into a Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 system via digital s/pdif. The problem is I forgot which model number the card was. Is there some listing of which explains the differences or recommended ones? For instance, OP's AWE32 is a CT3990, while I have a CT3980 and they look so different from one another, so I am curious to the improvements that one has.

>>7337401
I am still fond of the music made through the original OPL2 SoundBlaster as that is what I had in my youth.

I more clearly remember the music and sounds in Ultima 7 via the OPL2 and it is a shame even in DOSbox and Exult they go with OPL3 or Roland sounds. However, I do find the MT32 amazing sounding in old DOS games, it is just that the nostalgia is greater with the harsher Yamaha audio; even in your examples, Doom in my memories is more like the SB16. I wish I had a SC-88 though, some of the Ys Eternal games I have uses that, even got some exclusive Evangelion and Ys soundtrack CDs that are for SC-88.

>>7210347
It is used to allow for Midi to communicate via an ISA slot.

>>7210359
There are the two wavetable boards on the left.

>>6872127
I also like the Yamaha sounds more too. From Genesis games to DOS games, I think a lot of memorable soundtracks I loved utilized the Yamaha chips. They don't seem to be for everyone, but they have a unique sound that I associate with videogames. I am more fond of OPL2, since the original SoundBlaster was what I had, so all the interpretations everyone has as standard for the old games are from the Roland chips are just off to me. I am really excited about the new Orpheus sound cards with OPL3; I am pretty happy with their MPU-401 interface alternative so this new sound card should be great as well.

This has been pretty educational for me, thanks everyone. I can't wait until I save up enough and can continue once this COVID thing is in the past. I see the Dreamblaster X2 + S2 bundle is back up for sale to torture me, never had a wavetable board, so I have no idea what those will do, but I am looking to experiment with those too.

>>6668650
Gotcha. For that era, I tend to prefer the ones with the copper slug with the aid of aluminum fins, but I just had a few cheap pure aluminum ones lying around. I am just wanting to probably replace the fan with a more modern one for noise reasons. Unfortunately the brown owl brand does not make theirs in a size between 60mm and 80mm which most of my pure aluminum ones use.

>>6668825
Yep, got the Gotek for the increased reliability over floppies. I hope that K6-III+ bios doesn't interfere with the possibility of using the MMX133 and MMX233 as well.

Thanks for all the info everyone, more than what I got from /g/ in preparing my J-Win98SE build. I am getting a better direction in how to proceed.

>>6602887
It could just be the placebo effect, but I do think there is a slight difference in sound between OPL2 and OPL3.

Winworld is exactly where I intend on getting my J-Win98SE from hopefully in conjunction with 98lite like >>6600665 did for the more streamlined 95 explorer since I don't intend for the machine to go online. The last pic were the parts I were deciding for the J-Win98SE machine.

As for the DOS machine, you are right, I took a better look and it is a MMX233 not 266. The K6-III+ is a mobile processor, but it is compatible with that motherboard. I would like some slow speeds since I have very fond memories playing Wing Commander 2 on my 286-12.

>>6603375
They say that about all capacities and what ends out happening all the time: it gets filled. Still I guess it is good news that I only need one 120GB SSD as that's all the OS could handle and they are only $20USD from China. Still have to figure out how to identify if they have DRAM or not and how to align 98SE to the SSD.

>>6601484
Wait. When was this? What is the cutoff point?

>>6555238
https://youtu.be/zRyPjvbDkvg
Emulation is pretty good. It is a great cheap alternative. I am thinking of saving up for a thin client powerful enough to do this.

>>6229164
I started with the original SoundBlaster in the 286-12 of my youth, so that is the sound I am most nostalgic for, such that I think the samples distinguished it above AdLib. The left motherboard has a single ISA slot which I figure could be used with 98's DOS mode. I have a couple of CT1600s which I think is OPL2, and a CT3980 which I am unsure is OPL3 or emulated Yamaha. I got in my tax return, so I can now get a couple of 16MB SIMMs for the AWE32.

>>6229195
That is the concept behind that brand of heatsink which I am also undecided about. The manufacturer C&C-ed the aluminum pins such that they have more surface area than regular fins, with the concept that they are heated into a large copper slab for more cooling. They advertised that aspect of those coolers back then, but what I find more advantageous to choosing that one is the fan looks like it can be replaced with a modern Noctua NF-A6x25 which may be quieter. However it's downside is massive: that is a real copper block, which makes it out of AMD specs in weight. It is the heaviest CPU heat sink I have ever encountered (more than any modern Noctua, Scythe, or Arctic Cooling by far) which can be used to beat someone to death with. It may restrict the case to be horizontal rather than vertical tower as its weight can tear motherboards in half. Another positive is that its retention can engage all 3 hooks of the socket. The increased height of the P3 and difficulty of finding any suitable socket370 coolers is difficult.

Included wiwth Ys 2 Eternal amongst all the soundtracks and OVA DVDs, was a CD-ROM soundtrack only for the SC-88. I have yet to listen to it, but since I can't afford the 88, I will probably convert a thin client to emulate the SC-88.

>>6016669
I've always wanted a Gravis Ultrasound because it was advertised on Zone 66 which had an amazing soundtrack on the basic SoundBlaster Pro I had. They mentioned in in the readme and had a discount code in the instructions section of the game.

I do prefer the Soundblaster intro song better but I like "Hell" in the GUS version better.

https://youtu.be/JnbrosPkq_M..

https://youtu.be/JnbrosPkq_M

What is the best ATI graphics card that is most compatible with games on a Windows 2000 build?

I was thinking of a X1950, but maybe a 9800XT would be better.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Reminds me to get some RAM for the AWE32 to load some cool sounds.

>>5802329
I think it all depends on the game. Some I like the harsh Yamaha FM sounds, while others are great with Roland sounds. Perhaps some of it is nostalgia, as I only had a Sound Blaster in those days, but some midi is amazing sounding.

>>5404067
>>5404952
I am more interested in that keyboard in the background. It looks exactly like the one I had for my 286/386DX/486DX4 down to the num_lock light and fonts. I had to give it up because the "t" key kept doubling up. I miss its metallic sounds.

As for sound cards, I am only familiar with Sound Blaster. The sound I remember the most was from the original 8-bit one which got transplanted from the 286-12 to 386DX-40. Which models are best?

I always wanted a Gravis Ultrasound because Zone 66 recommended it on its help pages. I loved the music from the game, and I thought it was call that the game was made by those of the demoscene. Aside from the crack .nfo and executables which typically had cool music too, Zone 66 introduced me to whatever was a demoscene.


https://youtu.be/2a6I0FBo0O4

>>5368179
You can always emulate. Dosbox, Munt, Wine, nGlide, etc. are pretty good alternatives now. Do something because you want to do it.

I have been wanting to build a J-Win98SE machine for over a year now, but have run out of funds to do so (last year's tax return). I also want to upgrade/remake my 486DX4 machine and start on my retro Windows 7 build too. Be aware with real parts it can cost a lot.


>>5368184
I am so jealous. I have 0 of those and I only want one. In the meantime, I am going to use an old 6800GT and using nGlide for my J-Win98SE machine. I noticed it has a S-video out port, and was considering what emulation possibilities are available using that output to old CRT TVs.