QFG4 and QFG1 Sound Problems Need Help Please!

[raziel7fallen]

Hello again,

I installed both Quest For Glory 1 VGA and Quest For Glory 4 DOS from the Collection Series CD (it's the only one I own) and I used the Collection Series installer and Doxbox v0.74.

I keep running into these two weird problems and after spending hours of research and fiddling around with the DOSBox settings, I'm still unable to fix them.

1.) At the very end of QFG1 VGA, you enter the ceremony in the Baron's Hall full of people and easter egg cameos, but there's no music! I remember for a fact, when I played this game some 20 years ago, the QFG theme was playing throughout the ceremony. I've even seen this in a YouTube video, which I ironically can't find again. Does anyone have a clue about how to fix the music during this sequence? I believe it has something to do with the MIDI device that DoxBox is emulating.

2.) The speech, sound effects, and music work fine in QFG4 DOS version (the one with the animated icons). I can hear John Rhys-Davies's voice. I can hear the wolves howling on the menu screen. I can hear the torches burning and the Fighter, Mage, and Thief opening their doors in the class selection screen. My problem is this: I can't hear any sounds in combat. When I swing my sword, there's no sound. When the enemy hits me, there's no sound. Even when I jump, there's no sound. And I know there's supposed to be sound here! I've seen it in Let's Play Youtube videos. I believe that the installer isn't copying certain sound files over or DOSBox isn't emulating the soundcard properly. Can someone help me with this, too?

[Collector]

Off hand I am not finding anything. I'll look into when I get some time, but I cannot promise when.

[raziel7fallen]

Thanks Collector, I really appreciate your help.

I managed to find that YouTube video where the music plays at the end of QFG1 (I knew I wasn't crazy those 20 years ago ;P). Starts at 5:10. The MIDI device he uses is playing inferior quality music, yes, but it's playing the right track at the end ceremony scene. My game doesn't play any music at all after Baba Yaga's hut flies away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtzoS9b6Ozk

[Collector]

Have you tried using AdLib? Do you have a save from a little before the end?

[raziel7fallen]

No, how would I go about using an AdLib? I do have a savefile before the end.

Update: I fixed problem #2 in QFG4 and I feel like an idiot for not noticing this! Apparently, combat sounds are a DETAIL of the game. QFG4 defaults the Detail slider to medium when you start a new game and this disables combat sounds. If you raise the Detail level to max, combat sounds are enabled again. I've played the game dozens of times over the years and I've never realized that this was a feature.

[Collector]

Thanks for reporting it. It is probably something I would have eventually tried, but do not have the time to explore all of the possibilities that it can sometimes take to track down issues like this.

[raziel7fallen]

Okay, I narrowed down the problem a little bit.

If you run INSTALL.EXE using DOSBox, the QFG1 VGA game gives you the option of selecting which device will play back music and sound effects. This results in different quality music and sound depending on the device. When I select Soundblaster/AdLib as the music device, I hear lower-quality music and the endgame track cues in correctly. When I select General MIDI, I get higher-quality music but the endgame track doesn't play at all. I think that the problem lies in the GENMIDI.DRV file that shipped with the game.

[Collector]

That is quite possible. I was suspecting that might be the case. Someone else had reported the same thing with another game, but that was with an aftermarket driver. My QfG1VGA installer just copies the GM driver from the original disks

[micartu]

Hi guys! I was reading with a lot of interest the part about general midi and better quality. I never paid attention to this detail, usually i set DOSBox on soundblaster and then i play, it's the same for all the Sierra Games? Generalmidi are always the best quality music choice?

[Collector]

Usually, but the earlier games did not have GM available. There are after market GM drivers that Sierra had on its FTP, but these were game specific. There is also some fame made drivers of varying quality. The earlier SCI games usually sound best with Roland MT-32, but you need the physical unit or the Munt emulator to hear it properly. Without it the MT-32 track will sound horrible.