Making gamemusic. Any good synthplugins?

Mouth for war · Tue 28/07/2009 18:40:25

Hey! I'm working hard on my oneman project (Jimmy the troublemaker) and I'm going to do the music as well...I bought a M-audio keyrig.49 yesterday and started messing around with it a little and came up with a good tune...it's the first time i've ever done this kind of music. My question is...even though the sounds included on the cd's are good I wonder if anyone here knows of a good synthplugin to get the old sierra/lucasart sound?
Thanks!

Phemar · Sat 01/08/2009 10:27:49

I'm also looking for something like this. If anyone knows any good synth plugins to create the type of adlib sound in Monkey Island and Indiana Jones that would be awesome. I love those sounds

Mazoliin · Sat 01/08/2009 11:02:20

Didn't LucasArt use midi for the music?

Phemar · Sat 01/08/2009 16:49:55

Yea, but it didn't sound like the Microsoft midi patches. I'm looking for a synth that emulates the way the old soundcards used to play them.

Wyz · Tue 04/08/2009 12:55:01

What you need is a decent Roland MT-32 emulator. There are a few out there but I've had good results with Munt. I couldn't locate the project webpage real quick, but maybe you have more luck.

Enjoy.

AnalogGuy · Wed 12/08/2009 21:29:23

Ad-lib? Then you should try to get Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer or any 80's yamaha DX synth because I believe Ad-lib used this FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesis circuits for those classic metallic sounds.

Anyway, I have tried but all those synthplugins and software synthesizers are very uninspiring... That's why I always rely on hardware and have no problems with computers at all.

EDIT: Yes I was correct! "The AdLib used Yamaha's YM3812 sound chip which produces sound via FM synthesis."

AnalogGuy · Wed 12/08/2009 21:45:07

Quote from: Mazoliin on Sat 01/08/2009 11:02:20
Didn't LucasArt use midi for the music?

No. LucasArt games were one of the very first games that supported new adlib music and made it famous and added their popularity. Sierra On-Line's King's Quest IV was the first game to support the Adlib. Unlike sound blaster, Digital audio (PCM) was not supported in AdLib.

"The Sound Blaster was fully compatible with AdLib, meaning it would play any past, present, and future game written for Adlib's own card. And it added 2 key features: a PCM audio channel, and a game port. PCM audio could record and play digital-audio recordings, which included dialogue, sound effects, and short musical performances. PCM audio complemented the YM3812, allowing game developers to include digital-audio for realistic sound-effects and speech that could not be adequately reproduced by the Yamaha's FM synthesis. And the Sound Blaster's inclusion of a game-port made it a single-card gaming solution."

"With a superior product and better marketing, the Sound Blaster quickly displaced Adlib as the de-facto standard in PC-gaming audio. Adlib's slow response, the Adlib Gold, did not sell well enough to sustain the company."

Snarky · Wed 12/08/2009 22:48:28

But it was still MIDI music they were playing through the Adlib/SB card.

Wyz · Wed 12/08/2009 23:57:03

Yes, both were posibilities, and it is the question what kind of sound you are looking for. As I said, the MT-32 is the first midi module, which really sounded good but was unaffordable at that time (for most people I guess

). The adlib extension cards and also the earlier Creative cards feature yamaha's OPL2 chip (YM3812). These have a really 80ies kind of sound because of its use in the DX7 indeed. (Actually two of them where used for a more advanced sound) Only one is used in the pc extension and has limited capabilities (about 9 voices, each (modulated or addive) 2 oscillators). Though, I'm a real sucker for its sound. It is fairly well emulated by VDM which is also what DOSBox uses.
So summarized: for midi sound like roland brought it, use a MT-32 emulator. For the adlib (more crude) sound, use either DOSBox or VDM.

Good luck