Music Inspired says this!

[Redxplatinum]

"So some notes on the ROTT Ludicrous Edition music implementation:

- It has emulated OPL music (not digital recordings) but they sound nothing like the original OPL sounds in DOS. I wonder if they had to use an inferior emulator due to conflicting licenses with the better ones or something?
- Music is replaceable but only the contents of the "music\midi" folder are worth replacing because it alone has all 34 music tracks while the ROTT 2013 Hulshult music ("music\rott2013" folder) only has 28 tracks.
- FLAC music files aren't supported.
- OGG music is supported and metadata loop tags are recognized and function correctly.
- You can't make new subfolders for a collection of new alternate music packs. The game won't recognize it. You have to replace its own files with the exact same filenames.
- If a music file is not recognized the game will fallback to the built-in OPL emulation.
- I have updated my SC-55 music packs to V2.1 for ROTT with the new filenames and subfolders so you just have to extract the ZIP in the root of the game's folder. It will overwrite the default "1994 Original (MIDI)" soundtrack files. So if you want to keep the default music, back it up first.
- I also renumbered my tracklist order to match that of LE's tracklist in the metadata so things don't get confusing.

Download ROTT SC-55 V2.1 music pack here:
https://sc55.duke4.net/games.php#rott"

[Envy]

Awesome! Thanks for this!

[Sneakernets [QC25]]

Gotta remember that this is a demo, so a lot of content is not here yet.

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally posted by Sneakernets:

Gotta remember that this is a demo, so a lot of content is not here yet.

I'd love to see FLAC compatibility and multiple custom music pack support be added but features like that usually aren't what's missing from a demo. It's moreso game content. Doesn't mean they can't/won't add it regardless, though. And I hope they do.

[Envy]

Originally posted by MusicallyInspired:

Originally posted by Sneakernets:

Gotta remember that this is a demo, so a lot of content is not here yet.

I'd love to see FLAC compatibility and multiple custom music pack support be added but features like that usually aren't what's missing from a demo. It's moreso game content. Doesn't mean they can't/won't add it regardless, though. And I hope they do.

As it is I'm happy that the port exists and is solid overall even if the original midi soundtrack is not as well represented as it should be with the opl and classic options as they are.

Hopefully they Implement some of these suggestions or add native MIDI support but even if not at least there's a way to import your own.

Appreciate your efforts with the sc55 pack, sounds great.

[Simna ibn Sind]

Just listening to the options I'm pretty sure "OPL" is actually OPL3 and "MIDI" is SC-88.

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally posted by Simna ibn Sind:

Just listening to the options I'm pretty sure "OPL" is actually OPL3 and "MIDI" is SC-88.

Yes, that's what OPL is. But that's not what we're hearing. The instrument definitions are no where near the same as the DOS original. When it comes to FM synth it's not just about the device itself, but also the instrument definitions. These recordings aren't using the same OPL instrument definitions from the original DOS game.

And "MIDI" is not recorded from an SC-88. It's recorded from the Windows GS MIDI driver.

[Simna ibn Sind]

Originally posted by MusicallyInspired:

Originally posted by Simna ibn Sind:

Just listening to the options I'm pretty sure "OPL" is actually OPL3 and "MIDI" is SC-88.

Yes, that's what OPL is. But that's not what we're hearing. The instrument definitions are no where near the same as the DOS original. When it comes to FM synth it's not just about the device itself, but also the instrument definitions. These recordings aren't using the same OPL instrument definitions from the original DOS game.

And "MIDI" is not recorded from an SC-88. It's recorded from the Windows GS MIDI driver.

Its really the ms gs? I wonder why that one was picked.

For OPL tho i was just distinguishing between OPL/2/3

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally posted by Simna ibn Sind:

For OPL tho i was just distinguishing between OPL/2/3

The only real meaningful difference between OPL2 and OPL3 is that the former is mono with 9 max voices whereas the latter is stereo with 18 max voices. They sound pretty much the same otherwise.

[Fungi66]

The OPL3 does have a 4 operator mode. Unfortunately, hardly any game took advantage of this and instead used the standard 2 operator mode. The AdLib Gold sound card has built in demo songs that uses the 4 operator mode.
https://youtu.be/ATb8zhdINpg

[Sneakernets [QC25]]

Originally posted by MusicallyInspired:

Originally posted by Simna ibn Sind:

Just listening to the options I'm pretty sure "OPL" is actually OPL3 and "MIDI" is SC-88.

Yes, that's what OPL is. But that's not what we're hearing. The instrument definitions are no where near the same as the DOS original. When it comes to FM synth it's not just about the device itself, but also the instrument definitions. These recordings aren't using the same OPL instrument definitions from the original DOS game.

And "MIDI" is not recorded from an SC-88. It's recorded from the Windows GS MIDI driver.

the OPL isn't a recording, it's actual digital output. the sound bank is in Wohlstand-OPL (WOPL) format. it is possible to convert the Apogee Sound System patches to that format and it should work fine.

Originally posted by Fungi66:

The OPL3 does have a 4 operator mode. Unfortunately, hardly any game took advantage of this and instead used the standard 2 operator mode. The AdLib Gold sound card has built in demo songs that uses the 4 operator mode.
https://youtu.be/ATb8zhdINpg

Yes, the "default" patches in this demo are "4-op". In reality it's a little more complicated, due to how the OPL3 chip was designed, but to any other sane FM implementation out there, it's 4-op.

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally posted by Sneakernets:

the OPL isn't a recording, it's actual digital output. the sound bank is in Wohlstand-OPL (WOPL) format. it is possible to convert the Apogee Sound System patches to that format and it should work fine.

I never said the OPL was a recording. If you'll notice in the OP in which I am quoted, you'll find I said exactly the opposite.

As for the Apogee Sound System/Wohlstand-OPL sound bank differences, that begs the question why this wasn't done by the team in the first place. I'm not sure I understand the logic in offering an OPL mode that isn't authentic to the original game.

EDIT: Ah, I see in my post you quoted I spoke out of turn by referring to the OPL tracks as "recordings." My apologies, I know they are not. I must have been tired when I typed that. I meant to say something like "the OPL output isn't using the same instrument definitions" but probably just rushed through the phrasing. My bad.

[Sneakernets [QC25]]

Honestly, I think the reason the new OPL3-based 4-op patches were chosen for the remaster demo, was due to it sounding considerably better than the (in retrospect) rushed 2-op patches that Apogee Sound System originally shipped with. No it's not historically accurate, but it's more of the aesthetic for new players (that's my guess anyway.)

As far as I can tell, the OPL3 emulator in ROTT has ~36 channels.

[MusicallyInspired]

I don't think it sounds particularly good personally. But nostalgia is seeped so deep into me with this game that I can admit I am no where near unbiased. Still, you'd think they'd offer more options.

[AN BIFFED ELF!!!!]

Originally posted by Sneakernets:

Honestly, I think the reason the new OPL3-based 4-op patches were chosen for the remaster demo, was due to it sounding considerably better than the (in retrospect) rushed 2-op patches that Apogee Sound System originally shipped with.

OG ROTT's bad patches are a v1.3 regression that's looooooong overdue to be fixed. put leetimbr back in the rott canon please