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[WildZeppelin]

I've gotten the game to run in dosbox with music, which should probably make most grateful... however I want the whole tamale. Has anyone had the problem where they can get everything to work but the sound of the churchbells in the intro and the girl saying "welcome to darklands"? I'm guessing it's another audio setting that I can't get to work. Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by WildZeppelin@Jan 23 2005, 11:33 PM
I've gotten the game to run in dosbox with music, which should probably make most grateful... however I want the whole tamale.* Has anyone had the problem where they can get everything to work but the sound of the churchbells in the intro and the girl saying "welcome to darklands"?* I'm guessing it's another audio setting that I can't get to work.* Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

:blink: I reviewed the game when it initially appeared for a magazine, and I don't recall ever hearing that! That holds true as well for my subsequent loading the game years later into Win95 and Win98. Needless to add, I don't get that under WinXP, either. And this is among my favorite games.

When did you hear this? I'm really curious.

[WildZeppelin]

I first played the game back in 1992 I believe on a 486 computer, and it required a 3 1/2 boot disk with a special autoexec and config file to get the memory settings right for sound. Later, I put it on a Pentium 100mhz system in 1998, and the same was required with a different disk but same modifications. Both these times meant there was no sound at all when ran unless ran off the boot disk.
Now, using dosbox I can get it to run fine. Only problem is that certain sounds aren't working, and those being the ones I described at post. When you run it in dosbox, can you hear the girl talk?
Many games in the early to mid `90s had two audio settings if I remember right... You set your sound-source twice in those old dos-based games, but this one only gives me one in setup. Not sure how to change that in dosbox if it's possible,...but maybe that's all I'm needing. Which brings me to here; hoping someone has done this and knows what I'm talking about...

[Eagle of Fire]

DOSBox emulate Soundblaster even if you don't actually have a Soundblaster card installed in your computer. Make sure all your sound configurations are set for Soundblaster or compatible.

[WildZeppelin]

set this under dosbox or under the setup of the game? If it's the game, I've tried this and it doesn't make any difference. All the options that I can choose work with the music, but none of them fix the sounds that are missing...

[Borodin]

Now, using dosbox I can get it to run fine. Only problem is that certain sounds aren't working, and those being the ones I described at post. When you run it in dosbox, can you hear the girl talk?

Never have, as I mentioned in my earlier post. I actually reviewed the game when it first appeared--PC Games, or possibly Computer Shopper. (I'd have to look for it, and I've got all my reviews in hard copy, but no order.) I never heard any voice introducing the game, or any bells at startup, at least, not that I can recall. I do remember that once my characters were rolled up and went out into the street, various city and map locations would trigger melodies: the overland map, for example, would trigger "These Men of War," as the translation of the old Renaissance tune is called. It was a brillant score adapted from genuine sources, by the then-resident Microprose composer who's now CEO for Gathering of Developers. (The tune that starts off Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri was another of his old ones, and one he first used in Microprose's Hyperspeed.)

Sorry, getting off track. Point is, even though I was running fully a compatible late SoundBlaster card on DOS at the time and using the right configuration, I never heard the introductory sounds you're describing. And as I wrote, I'm amazed to find out about 'em. I dearly love the game, so it's quite a surprise.

[WildZeppelin]

okay, then I misunderstood what you meant. reading short forums is a little difficult to read clearly at times.
but yes, the game starts with the pigeons on the gargoyles, where one comes to life and flies away. Then it flies through a graveyard...next it shows church spires in a blue evening setting. You can hear the churchbells ring at least twice that I know of. The sound is really chilling. Then it flys by, and the screen changes again to a psycadellic scene where it zooms past. Finally, it lands on a ledge near a window and looks in, turns its head and smiles, then looks back. Next scene is the redhead with nice cleavage who spreads her hands open and says "welcome to Darklands......welcome...."
so as I take it, you never heard her speak?

[Borodin]

Originally posted by WildZeppelin@Jan 24 2005, 06:00 AM
okay, then I misunderstood what you meant. reading short forums is a little difficult to read clearly at times.
but yes, the game starts with the pigeons on the gargoyles, where one comes to life and flies away. Then it flies through a graveyard...next it shows church spires in a blue evening setting. You can hear the churchbells ring at least twice that I know of. The sound is really chilling. Then it flys by, and the screen changes again to a psycadellic scene where it zooms past. Finally, it lands on a ledge near a window and looks in, turns its head and smiles, then looks back. Next scene is the redhead with nice cleavage who spreads her hands open and says "welcome to Darklands......welcome...."
so as I take it, you never heard her speak?

Never. I remember the animated opening with the pigeons and the gargoyles--nicely drawn, too--but never heard a voice in all the times I've played the game. If I knew where Arnold Hendrick was these days, I'd write and ask him about it, since this comes out of left field--but he more or less vanished from my radar after Microprose was cheaped to death.

[WildZeppelin]

That's terrible...

I'm sure your copy has to have it on it somewhere.... I mean, I didn't download it off the internet because I bought it in a rereleased package many years back...
You're really missing out if this is true. There are lots of neat sounds and stuff you're not getting. I just wish I was a bit more software savvy and know how to get it going right.

[WildZeppelin]

Does anyone know where I can find an instruction manual? There's a few things I can't recall how to do, like change leader of party. Changing the marching order is easy, so please don't feel I mean this. Grazzi