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Sound Blaster Digest 04
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST
Number 4
March 1991 Edition.
A newsletter for Sound Blaster Enthusiasts.
Edited and Published by Brad Barclay.
Made possible by the contributions of Sound Blaster users.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
From the Editor......................1
Letters for the Editor...............2
Commercial Review....................3
What is C/MS?........................4
Shareware Review.....................5
Sound Blaster in the BBS World #2....6
Writing for the SBD..................7
Included File........................8
Wrapping it up.......................8
SBD Advertisement form...............9
SBD BBS Registration form...........10
SBD Subscription form...............11
This month's included file: HALLOW.CMS
Page 1
FROM THE EDITOR
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, here it is, SOUND BLASTER DIGEST #4. Thanks to the support of our
readers, we have actually lasted longer then 1 issue: beating out the old Sound
Blaster News (remember them from SBD #1???).
First, some news from the editor. If you have problems un-ZIPping last
month's issue, it's probably because your version of PKUNZIP isn't new enough.
Use either PAK ver 2.50 from NoGate Consulting, or PKUNZIP ver 1.10 from PkWare.
Both are excellent programs, and will un-ZIP anything under the sun (or moon as
the case may be...).
Also, from now on to maintain compatibility, I'm going to ZIP my SBD files
together making sure that the resulting file is compatible with older versions of
PKUNZIP.
Next off, if you decide to call THE MUSICAL CHAIR (see advertisement below),
make sure that you leave a message to myself, Brad Barclay. Some people have
been getting myself mixed up as being the sysop of this system: I am not. Jeff
Woods is the sysop of the TMC. If you have accidentally sent a message to him
that was intended for myself earlier, don't worry: he has been good enough to
re-route the mail to myself.
Next on my list of news: an apology to all readers of the last issue of the
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST. It seems that in this column last month I mentioned
something about an article on how to write your own article for the SOUND BLASTER
DIGEST, but the article never made it to print. I apologise for this: a few
things have been lost in the shuffle the past little while, and this was one of
them. It's contained in this edition to make up for this fact.
More apologies go out to all those people who sent mail this month. Due to
some problems here, I have not yet been able to reply. Rest assured, although it
is late, a reply will be sent as soon as I get some spare time to sit down and
type them all out again, and get some more stamps. An editors work is never
done...
This month, the SBD is taking on a bit of a theme. This month, our main
theme is C/MS: The Creative Music Stereo Standard. Two articles and an included
file will hopefully help explain this mystery standard to those of you with newer
Sound Blasters (the 12 voice ones). One person who wrote me this month told me
that he attempted to get help with the C/MS from Creative Labs, and they fed him
with mis-information. I hope to set a few things straight.
Anyways, enjoy the new issue, and be sure to contact me if you have any
questions or comments on either the SOUND BLASTER DIGEST, or the Sound Blaster
itself...I aim to please. Later!
Page 2
LETTERS FOR THE EDITOR:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This month in this column, I would like to thanks the following people for
writing letters to me. I am sorry that I have been unable to reply: the volume
of letters has been much more then expected. Rest assured, I have received your
letters, and I am doing my best to process them. Many are already finished,
awaiting a stamp of proper postage. Sadly, last time I went out to buy stamps, I
only bought stamps for mailing within Canada, and the greatest volume of letters
was from outside of Canada. My error, may I learn from it. Anyways, thanks to
the following: expect a reply soon:
Ray Cramer of Baytown, Texas USA.
Vicki Crawford of Christies Beach, Australia.
Michael Davis of Wixom, Michigan USA.
Jim Dolan of Bellaire, Texas USA.
Steve Fichtner of Bloomington, Indiana USA.
John Ormsbee of Providence, Rhode Island USA.
David Steward of San Antonio, Texas USA.
Diana Windsor of Van Nuys, California USA.
Also many thanks to those who phoned this last month with their support. We
can't forget them, now can we?
Due to my many time constraints, I fear that I may have to place certain
restrictions on replying to letters sent to myself. Right now it looks like all
mail collected in the month will be replied to by the end of the month, and
mailed off with the subscriptions. If no reply is necessary, I may only
acknowledge that i have received your letter here in this column. I'm not sure.
I do enjoy receiving your letters, but time has been tight lately.
If you're writing from inside Canada, to ensure a faster reply it would be a
good idea to mail a self-addressed stamped envelope along with your letter: this
would save me a lot of time.
As for the rest, all that i can do is apologise, and attempt to let you know
that you haven't been forgotten or lost anywhere! I feel really bad that i
haven't been able to reply to those letters, and I'll try to get them ready very
very soon.
Keep on writing!
Page 3
COMMERCIAL REVIEW:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Silpheed, by Sierra
-------------------
Written by Brad Barclay.
Because this months SBD focuses on C/MS in many of it's articles this month,
I thought it would only be right to include an article on one of the greatest
C/MS games available. The game has been out for a number of years now: in fact,
I have had Silpheed since before I bought my Sound Blaster. But it has the best
C/MS musical score of any game I have ever heard: if you've never heard C/MS,
then this will blow you away.
The year is 3032, and the newly-built battleship GLOIRE has been stolen by a
gang of interplanetary terrorists, in an attempt to destroy the Milky Way Union.
The YGGDRASSIL supercomputer has chosen YOU to attack Gloire alone in a new
prototype Super Air Fighter SA-08 Silpheed.
This game is fast paced, with decent graphics in CGA mode. In EGA and VGA
modes, it is slightly lacking, with only 16 colour graphics. None the less, they
are satisfactory, and fit the game very well.
Of course, the main interest of Sound Blaster owners is the musical score.
The game supports both Adlib and C/MS, so those of you without C/MS won't be left
out. But the FM music is nowhere even close to being of the calibre of the C/MS
music. This game supports the 12-voice stereo to the maximum, with 9 original
compositions. The music can't be explained much better then to say it's
incredible. The stereo component has been supported to it's fullest, and the
music is a whole lot better then you'd think, especially for C/MS.
The game is fun, challenging, with amazing C/MS support. If you like C/MS,
get this game, if only to listen to the music.
RATINGS:
-------
Playability: 8
Complexity: 5
C/MS support: 10
FM support: 6
Graphics: 5
Overall SBD rating: 8
Page 4
WHAT IS C/MS?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
By Brad Barclay.
Many people out there who buy Sound Blasters today are missing out on a
feature that Creative Labs decided to take out of the original Sound Blasters:
the 12 voice stereo support know as Creative Music Systems (C/MS). This was done
in an attempt to lower the price of the Sound Blaster, and make it more
competitive with the Adlib card. Sadly, in the process the Sound Blaster became
nothing more then an Ad Lib clone with some fancy features. See SBD #1 for more
details on the differences between the new and original Sound Blasters.
Happily, Creative Labs did allow for people to make up their own minds about
C/MS. Included in the boxes of the new Sound Blasters is a card with which you
may send away for the two required chips from Creative Labs to play the stereo
sounds, just like the original SBs.
C/MS is simply put, 12 voices capable of full stereo, using AM (Amplitude
Modulation) technology for tone generation. This does allow for a wide range of
sounds, but it doesn't have the same tone generation as the FM voice set. This
in no way means that the C/MS isn't worth the bother, and that it's redundant:
used properly, and it too can be of great use.
The main music filetype for playing stereo on the Sound Blaster is the .CMS
file. You will require PLAYER.*EXE, the C/MS player, along with CMSDRV, the C/MS
driver to play this filetype.
There isn't much more to explain about the basic use of the C/MS stereo
music. Game companies are beginning to stop supporting the C/MS, as it is no
longer as widely used as it was back in the days of the Game Blaster. In fact,
there isn't too much software at all for the C/MS standard. Creative Labs has
numerous programs to use C/MS in presentations, and to write your own C/MS music,
but besides this there isn't anything. The C/MS can be used with the MIDI
functions on the Sound Blaster very well, as the C/MS ORGAN demonstrates very
well.
Once again, it all comes down to the one small problem I have with Creative
Lab's software design strategy. They keep on writing software for the separate
voicesets, but nowhere have they written anything that allows the combination of
all the possible voices. The stereo capabilities of the C/MS chips, along with
the tone generation capabilities of the FM voices, and that added touch of
recorded material all at once could make for some excellent audio. Perhaps in
the future Creative labs will figure out that this is a good idea to explore.
Page 5
SHAREWARE REVIEW:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Blaster Master version 2.8
--------------------------
By Brad Barclay.
This is just an update on the review of Blaster Master written two months
ago. Gary Maddox has been working hard rewriting his Blaster Master to
incorporate many new functions, such as a 64-band graphic equalizer for .VOC
files, along with many other minor changes. As always, it is an excellent piece
of work: if you haven't tried any of the past versions of Blaster Master, be
sure to try this version.
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\ /
___\/___ Live and on the Now in stereo!
|| air from Toronto!
/||\ Node 2 is now up!
|| The Musical Chair
==== at Experience the difference of:
====== 438-1686 & 438-3009
==== 1000's of Adlib and SB music files
|| _______ 1200-14,400 50 gaming doors online
|| | | baud & v.32 3 mail networks
|| | | _____ 1 crazy and caring sysop
______|| | | | |
||\ | |___| | Around the clock.....
Sky || \ | | | | Around the world.....
Dome || \| | | | Around the bend.....
|||| | | | |
|||||| | | | | The M sical Chai ...438-3009
||||||||| | | |
|||||||||| | | | What's missing? U R!
Comming soon! All new modems! Nodes 4 and 5 to serve you better!
More files! We're the home of THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST too!
Page 6
SOUND BLASTER IN THE BBS WORLD #2
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Okay, here's the second version of the Sound Blaster BBS list. Due to
monetary constraints, I have not been able to call any of these BBS's outside of
the Toronto area: I have only taken the word of those people who sent in the
phone numbers of their BBS's. So if you find that one or more of these BBS's no
longer exist, let me know and I'll remove then from my list.
Secondly, as to serve the Sysop's better, I am going to carry this feature
every month: it seems that the list is growing faster then I expected, and so is
the number of readers of the SBD!
So here it is: I hope that this is of help to those of you who wish to find
other Sound Blaster users like yourselves in your area.
SYSTEM NAME PHONE NUMBER CITY/PROVINCE/STATE SYSOP'S NAME
=========== ============ =================== ============
Arkon BBS (416)593-7460 Toronto, Ontario. Jacky Lee
Beltway Bandits (703)764-9297 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
Computer Connection (08)384-7316 Christies Beach, Australia
Vicki Crawford
Data Dimension (404)921-1186 Atlanta Georgia -- Unknown --
Dead End BBS (703)821-7544 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
Electronic Age (703)620-0851 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
Friends & Family (214)960-3189 Dallas, Texas Jim Neargarder
House of Ichthys (305)360-2991 Deerfield Beach, FL Leonzo E. Miller
Jim's Dream (202)581-1422 -- Unknown -- Jim Walls
Lynzie's Motherboard (808)989-3875 California -- Unknown --
Musical Chair (416)438-3009 Toronto, Ontario Jeff Woods
Running Board (301)229-5342 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
Satellite TV BBS (713)623-4899 Bellaire, TX Jim Dolan
Snarf's Music Studio (708)351-0288 Roselle, IL Colin Crisanti
Stages Remote Access (416)468-2046 Niagra, Ontario Mathew Gordon
The Doghouse BBS (713)422-3146 Baytown, TX Ray Cramer
The Double AAce (214)606-0703 Grand Praire, Texas Mike Hutchkins
The HUB (703)685-0019 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
The Picture Express (512)666-4842 San Antonio, TX David Steward
Trolls &
Tribulations (703)263-0827 -- Unknown -- -- Unknown --
Page 7
WRITING FOR THE SBD
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Okay all you Sound Blaster users and aspiring writers! Here's your chance
to write for the Sound Blaster Digest! If you have a favorite program for the
Sound Blaster, or you know of a certain trick or tip that could help other Sound
Blaster users, or perhaps you have some other special, or even not-so-special
piece of information that could be of use to other Sound Blaster users, write an
article for the SBD! It's easy: just type out your article in regular ASCII
text format (no imbedded word processor codes), save it onto a 5.25" 360k or
lower diskette, and mail it to the editor! If your article is chosen, you will
be sent back your disk containing the edition of the SBD that your article is in!
It's that easy!
Why am I offering this? There is a slight problem here with the SBD, and
that is that it's fairly one sided: for example, I am the only one writing
anything for this edition of the SBD. I am in no way an absolute expert on the
Sound Blaster: there are many things that I don't know about it, like MIDI for
example. I can only write so much, and it would seem that I'm beginning to run
out of things to write about. Like ti says on the cover page, this magazine is
for the users, by the users. But if it goes at this rate, I may not be able to
last for the rest of the year.
One of my other problems with writing this is that many of the programs that
people have phoned or wrote me, requesting me to review, will not run on my
system. I am running on an 8Mhz XT with CGA, so many programs that require EGA
graphics or higher to run, or other programs that are very CPU intensive (like
TrakBlaster and ScreamTracker) don't run on my system very well (and many times
not at all).
So get writing, and support the SBD! I want to keep it up, but I need help
to do so. I thank all of those people who sent a small donation, but more then
money is needed: I need articles also. So get typing!
Page 8
INCLUDED FILE:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of the people who wrote me last month was nice enough to mail me a 3.5"
disk containing some .CMS songs that he had transcribed. I send out my many many
thank s to Dr. John Musgrave of Waterloo, Iowa for mailing them to me. To share
these great pieces with all of the SBD's readers, I have included HALLOW.CMS this
month as our 'Included File'. It is one of the best .CMS pieces I have heard,
and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. Thanks John!
-------------------------
WRAPPING IT UP:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, that's about it for another edition of the Sound Blaster Digest. Just
another general all around thanks to all those who wrote to me or called me:
your support is appreciated very much!
Special thanks extended to Jeff Woods, the Sysop of The Musical Chair BBS:
you're a very large part of this publication, and your help is appreciated.
Also a very, very special thanks to my loved one, Karen: it is your support
that keeps the man behind the magazine going: you make my life worth living
every single day.
Remember, that if you need any information on anything printed here in the
Sound Blaster Digest, current or past, please feel free to call/write me.
Donations are not necessary, but are gladly accepted, as are articles for the
SBD, and your comments on how you feel about the Sound Blaster and my magazine.
Included at the end of this text are 3 forms which first appeared as
separate files: a subscription form, an advertisement form, and a BBS
registration form. I have received many letters about BBS registration, and I
gladly include your BBS's, but if you could take the time and fill out the form
and include it with your letter, it would be muchly appreciated. The form is
much easier for me to file and handle for quick information about a BBS listed in
our BBS registration.
Anyways, keep on playing those sound files!
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST ADVERTISEMENT ORDER FORM
=============================================
Please fill out this form, and mail it, along with a cheque for
$5 (in US funds for American orders, and in Canadian funds for
Canadian orders), along with an ASCII only, typed copy of your
ad, and mail it to the address below.
NAME:_____________________________
MAILING ADDRESS: Street address:_____________________________
City, Province/State:_______________________
Country, Postal/ZIP Code:___________________
PHONE NUMBER (don't forget the area code!):___________________
BEST TIMES AVAILABLE:_________________________________________
Please mail this form, along with your cheque and a copy of the
ad as described above, along with any other comments to:
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST
c/o Brad Barclay
36 Sutter ave.
Brampton, Ontario
CANADA. L6Z 1G7
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST BBS REGISTRATION
=====================================
This is a free service of THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST, intended to
allow greater access to Sound Blaster files. Please fill out all
blanks (except where marked optional), and send to the address
below:
LIST INFORMATION:
Name of BBS:____________________________________________
Sysop's Name:___________________________________________
City, Province/State:___________________________________
Phone Number (remember the area code!):_________________
Min/Max Transmission speed:_____________________________
OTHER INFORMATION:
Although not included in the BBS listing, this information is
important for our records.
How long has the BBS been running:_________________________
Do you have a Music/Sound Card conference, message area, or
file area set aside?:______________________________________
Does your BBS support and Sound Blaster files?:____________
Anything else you can think of to say that would show off your
BBS, please write it down here:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Mail this form, along with any extra comments to:
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST
c/o Brad Barclay
36 Sutter Ave.
Brampton, Ontario
CANADA. L6Z 1G7
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST SUBSCRIPTION FORM
======================================
Please enclose a cheque or money order (sorry, I don't accept
any major or minor credit cards) for $25 CDN for Canadian orders,
or $25 US for American orders. Overseas enclose $30 Canadian
funds, payable on a Canadian bank. Please fill out all the
spaces provided (except where marked optional), and mail it to
the address below.
NAME:_____________________________
MAILING ADDRESS: Street address:_____________________________
City, Province/State:_______________________
Country, Postal/ZIP Code:___________________
PHONE NUMBER (don't forget the area code!):___________________
DISKETTE TYPE: (check one):
_ _
<_> 5.25" <_> 3.5"
OPTIONAL: Please fill this out if possible.
Age:____________ Sound Blaster version:_______________
Occupation:________________
Most frequently called BBS (name only):__________________
COMMENTS: Please fill this out also!
How would you rate THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST (circle one):
POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Please mail this form, along with any additional comments to:
SOUND BLASTER DIGEST
c/o Brad Barclay
36 Sutter ave.
Brampton, Ontario
CANADA. L6Z 1G7
