day of the tentacle AGA - talented musician needed

[pbareges]

-->POSTED IN THE ZONE


NOTES
-----
None of it would have been possible without these great guys (special mention to nogfx)
SCUMMAGA 0.38.2 by nogfx
BLAZEWCP BY Rick Pratt (OS3.1 CHUNKY PIXELS PATCH)
SYSTEMPATCH BY Sante Nocciolino (http://web.tiscali.it/ziosante) (OS3.0 CHUNKY PIXELS PATCH)
PTREPLAY BY Andreas Pålsson (MOD PLAYER)
PTMID BY Andrew Scott
GMPLAY SAMPLE BANK BY Christian Sauer/ Alessandro de Luca and Christian Buchner.
INSTALL
-------
- you first need to copy libs/ptreplay.library file to your system LIBS: directory
- OS 3.1+ USERS need to have BlazeWCP installed. if not, copy c/blazewcp to your system C: directory and in your System S:startup-sequence file add the line "C:BlazeWcp" just after the "setpatch quiet" line. reboot.
- OS 3.0 USERS need to have SYSTEMPATCH installed. if not copy c/systempatch to your system C: directory, libs/quicklayers.library to your system LIBS: directory, and in your System S:startup-sequence file add the line "C:SystemPatch" just after the "setpatch quiet" line. reboot
WARNING : SYSTEMPATCH VERSION INCLUDED IS DESIGNED FOR OS 3.0, DO NOT USE IT ON OS3.1+ systems.
- Copy game files (TENTACLE.EXE, TENTACLE.000, TENTACLE.001, 1-102(ex. 2,15,26,40,41).MOD) to the game directory of your choice.
- Midi directory contains the original midi files extracted from tentacle.001
PLAY
----
-launch tentacle.exe from your game directory
-when playing adjust talk delay with +/- keys
HISTORY
-------
Built based on SCUMMAGA 0.38.2 sources left by nogfx, updated by P. Barèges:
- FORCED FAST MODE
- FORCED TENTACLE game name
- DISABLED SFX PLAYING
- CHANGED SOUNDENGINE TO MOD PLAYER
- CONVERTED DOTT GENERAL MIDI FILES TO MOD FILES USING PTMID and GMPLAY SAMPLE BANK.
TODO
----
- A TALENTED MUSICIAN IS REQUIRED TO IMPROVE MIDI FILES CONVERSION!
- CATCH RESTART MODULE SIGNAL in SCUMMVM MAIN LOOP TO AVOID ANNOYING MUSIC LOOPS.

[Marcuz]

that's very cool! thanks for sharing it! :)

[BlaCkAdDa]

Will check tihs out ... sounds sweet.

So is the only difference in terms of Gameplay to playing this say straight on a PC the lack of sfx and the converted music?

What specs do you need in a real amiga?

[pbareges]

Will check tihs out ... sounds sweet.

So is the only difference in terms of Gameplay to playing this say straight on a PC the lack of sfx and the converted music?

What specs do you need in a real amiga?

apart from a few rare gfx bugs (when using some objects, i'm thinking of a keyboard command to clean the inventory display), lack of sfx and music conversion limitations, you're right!

i'm using a1200 with 8mb fastmem...i would love to know how it works on a straight a1200 and if not how much fastram the game would need ?

thanks to give me your feedback.... i will probably post an update of the main program file (tentacle.exe) on monday fixing the music loop bug (i had to figure out how to handle signals), and with a keyboard command to clean up the inventory display.

[BlaCkAdDa]

Cheers, had a go through emu, as I'm still too lazy to get my box out, looked quite good... when selecting the screenmode it said to bick 320*200 (or something close) .. is that necessary?

Then the game ran at a hundred mph when I played ... so I stopped there, but will check it out further another time.

Good work on your part for sure!

[pbareges]

-->just posted a patch to avoid music loop in the zone (new executable tentacle.exe)

[ungi]

incredible work. seems to run fine on my a1200 with 030/50. i am amazed.

[hexaae]

...mmh, and why not an AGA optimized complete scummvm version? ;)

[pbareges]

because i'm more a patcher than a real coder...i asked the guy who handled the last scummvm release (which supports aga) why for the same game it was so much slower than the first scumm aga releases and he just replied that this was due to the much more complex code...+ you would not be able to emulate midi or adlib on paula at reasonable speed...and convert the whole scummvm music collection to mods would be hard work (too lazy to perform that)...maybe if i can catch scummvm 0.2.0 (from nogfx) sources i will work on a sam'n'max music version but that's all i'm really interested in...(because scummaga 0.38.2 can't handle sam'n'max to the end)

[dlfrsilver]

thank you very much, the game is running WILD on my machine, too fast to be playable ^^ hehe.

your work is very good ^^, and maybe why not trying to upgrade it ^^ ?

like doing a pure amiga version ?

[cooldude]

Great Work :great Runs in fast forward on my '060.
(Don't really need to use BlazeWCP for this one)

Cheers Mate! :bowdown

[pbareges]

for the ones having trouble with fast speed, i think the scummaga original key commands still work...ie Right Shift+G : normal mode (slower), Right Shift+F=back to fast mode, once again + or - on the numpad to adjust text speed.

let me know....still no one interested in improving midi to mod conversion ?

about a pure amiga version, sorry but i don't have enough time or competence to achieve this...but this version is already fun and playable to the end....if anyone interested, i can provide the source code

[Frog]

Thanks for the job !

i wish too that someone with enough knowledge ported an optimized AGA version.
The real problem as mentionned seems to be the emulation of the sound. we can still dreams...

[pbareges]

final release posted in the zone ... it patches the gfx bug with object cursors. still hoping a musician will show up to improve midi conversion!! now the amiga has its dott release!

drfsilver : what do you mean by a pure amiga version...? what kind of improvement would you expect from such a version as the last one posted is totally playable on non expanded AGA machines and you get the musics playing ok......

[dlfrsilver]

You have accomplished a great job, the only thing to add is the intro
sound support ^^, french and english versions have a spoken intro,
would be could to convert it and have support for it inside the program.
a mod convertion why not ? ^^

[pbareges]

You have accomplished a great job, the only thing to add is the intro
sound support ^^, french and english versions have a spoken intro,
would be could to convert it and have support for it inside the program.
a mod convertion why not ? ^^

the sources i started from supported sfx based upon AHI library...you can still find scummaga 0.38.2 version on mountmonkey website that handles sfx and gives you the ability to play dott to the end...

the only trouble is that as the only dott version working with it is cd-rom (protection free) version, you need the big monster.sou file (about 200Mb i think)...i was never able to find it and the game always crashed in the time tunnel at the end of the intro as my monster.sou file was the floppy one, and the game may have tried to acces portions of the file after the end-of-file.

also due to 4-channels limitation you have to make a choice, reserving a channel for sfx means only 3 left for music so your mods conversion will become really tricky...

anyway, i don't have enough time to perform this but if someone is willing to, i can send him the source code... all the original sfx related code is still there i just forced the nosound option in the main code....

[dlfrsilver]

i have day of the tentacle french talkie ^^.

I can process the monster.sou file if you want, or send it to you.

[pbareges]

i would love to check this out!! how can you provide me with it ?

i thought of an easy implementation maybe... i could just check if music is playing and if not play the sample... your monster.sou 200mb file would be much appreciated to check this out!!

[dlfrsilver]

as wav file or MP3 ? "make your choice" lol

I use rapidshare, you'll be able to get it very quickly.

[pbareges]

i would like the original file please (so i guess wav)... thanks again!

[DamienD]

I can upload the English DOTT that I have for you if you want?

... though MONSTER.SOU is compressed to MP3.

[pbareges]

sorry guys i tried hard but it seems difficult to make both the mod player and the samples player coexists peacefully. it seems that both of them are putting kind of lock on audio.device....not competent enough for this!

[CFOU!]

sorry guys i tried hard but it seems difficult to make both the mod player and the samples player coexists peacefully. it seems that both of them are putting kind of lock on audio.device....not competent enough for this!


i have a problem, game is more speed on 030 & 060 so musics are cut....

HAve other gyus same problem?

[pbareges]

hi bertrand,

did you get the last version with gfx bug patch and music loops fixed ?

as explained earlier, i forced fast mode by default but please try the following :

Right Shift+G : normal mode (slower),
Right Shift+F=back to fast mode,
+ or - on the numpad to adjust text speed.

let me know if it solves the problem.

thanks for your great job.

philippe

PS: does anyone has scummvm68k 0.2.0 from nogfx sources ?

[CFOU!]

hi bertrand,

did you get the last version with gfx bug patch and music loops fixed ?

as explained earlier, i forced fast mode by default but please try the following :

Right Shift+G : normal mode (slower),
Right Shift+F=back to fast mode,
+ or - on the numpad to adjust text speed.

let me know if it solves the problem.

thanks for your great job.

philippe

PS: does anyone has scummvm68k 0.2.0 from nogfx sources ?

ok i will try

ps: no sources here :(

[pTah]

wow im impressed.
i haven't browsed this board for a long time and no i see this. amazing!
any chance to repost it in the zone? :>
i really want to play this one as music-playback is not fast enough on my 030-machine with scummvm...

[pbareges]

sorry dude, it may take some time for me to put my hand on the package (my amiga/pc/web connectivity is not that great)...but i'm sure someone has a trace of it somewhere, RIGHT?:D ....

you need the first whole package with game files + modules conversion PLUS the last published executable (with music loops and pointer gfx bug fixed) to make it work.....

anyone willing to update the package with last exec and put it somewhere on the web to avoid this (maybe mountmonkey.com as they already have a collection of amiga scumm ports or killergorilla within his upcoming new site..)...? you may substract original game files from the package to avoid copyright issues with lucasarts... thx.

[pTah]

yep, would be great if someone could up this baby somewhere. will be a shame if this version disappears.
the gamefiles are the original pc-ones, right ? i allready have them. maybe somebody can send me the mods and the exe !?

[pbareges]

the only original game working is the pc cd-rom one because of a protection bug with other release due to the early scumm engine involved

[pTah]

so i need the cdrom. should be no big problem.
furthermore i need the mods and the exe, right?

could somebody please upload the mods an the exe again into the zone please? :)

[pbareges]

whole package uploaded in the zone ( i found it on my pc)..i think the exe included is the last one...please check and let me know (ie if you've got music loops or gfx bugs related to mouse cursor, it means i'm obviously wrong!)

[pTah]

whole package uploaded in the zone ( i found it on my pc)..i think the exe included is the last one...please check and let me know (ie if you've got music loops or gfx bugs related to mouse cursor, it means i'm obviously wrong!)

thanks a lot!!! :bowdown
i'll test it soon.

update:
works fine!!! thanks again. :)

[pTah]

sorry guys i tried hard but it seems difficult to make both the mod player and the samples player coexists peacefully. it seems that both of them are putting kind of lock on audio.device....not competent enough for this!

it's a great pity that you're not able to make both the modplayer and sfx(+speech) work together. no i can choose between DotT with music or DotT with speech+sfx... :(

nevertheless it's great work!!! :)
maybe sometime something come into your mind about the sfx-problem... :>

[pbareges]

i extracted the 204 sfx/talks from the floppy monster.sou and managed to convert them in 8svx iff form. i try to find out how i could automate the conversion of samples to protracker modules to make them play in my sound engine....any suggestion ? i'd like to avoid creating modules 1 after another by hand to add 1 one play note at the natural sampling rate at the beginning of the module

[pTah]

i extracted the 204 sfx/talks from the floppy monster.sou and managed to convert them in 8svx iff form. i try to find out how i could automate the conversion of samples to protracker modules to make them play in my sound engine....any suggestion ? i'd like to avoid creating modules 1 after another by hand to add 1 one play note at the natural sampling rate at the beginning of the module

i'm not into these things but isnt there something like a batchmode or similar. you have to proceed file by file by hand ??? thats :banghead ...
do you do that on amiga? dunno if it's possible, maybe with the help of some arexx-scripts it can be automated???

[pbareges]

so i finally got it working...i converted 204 sfx files to modules and the rules applying of the soundengine are the following :

-music is always played even if it interrupts another music or sfx.
-sfx is played only if no music is played at the time. sfx can be interrupted by another sfx or music.

this is good but unfortunately because of music playing during the intro most of the talkings are not played (which makes half of my conversion job worthless:crying )..still you can enjoy sfx sounds now!!

this time i did not check the game until the end...is anyone willing to complete it to check that it works fine until the end?

also from there i cannot post package in the zone (don't know why:confused )..who can i send it to via e-mail to make him post it in the zone (around 2.5mb zipped)...?

[pbareges]

WELL I GUESS NOBODY IS INTERESTED ...SO I'LL KEEP IT FOR MYSELF!!:evilgrin

HAVE A NICE DAY!

[ungi]

rerad the post too late. mail it to me, i will post it.

[kriz]

i will try this also pbarges, but im working so much lately.. havent had time for much gaming..

Please keep it up.

[pbareges]

thanks to both of you ...posted to ungi

[pbareges]

thanks to give me some feedback;)

[pTah]

:great nice one!!! thanks!!!!
but wouldn't it be better when the sfx is prioritized so that the music is interrupted when sfx is about to be played ???

[dlfrsilver]

I think i have found a solution for the midi files of day of the tentacle.

If i convert the music files with the quality you want, will you try to support
8svx amiga IFF to load files ?

if yes, we have a deal ^^ !

http://download.abime.net/zone/1.zip

[pbareges]

did you sample it on your pc ? it may be interesting giving it a try....but i cannot use direct samples (i tried to implement a sample player in c, it was really a pain...)...but if you will to segment your sample in 13/14 samples of 64k then make a module out of them playing them in sequence, you just need to rename it to 1.mod and substitute game file 1.mod by yours...the only trouble i see is that it will consume a lot more chip memory than regular modules..if you have the patience, check it for first module and if you're successfull i may help you segment the samples to make modules out of them...good luck!

[dlfrsilver]

plain 8svx files are standard to use on amiga..... must try to find a 8svx
replayer to add to Day of the tentacle.... MOD is shitty, and did you see
that it only use 1 channel ?? you'll have then the possibility to have FX ^^.

[pbareges]

yes i know that..but as i explained earlier i'm not really good at amiga programming, i'm just able to patch some c existing code...

once again i tried to reuse the original sfx engine available in the scummaga code i started from but it was conflicting with the mod player library i used regarding audio.device (of which i do not know anything)...

to be honest i'm quite happy with playing my last release on my 1200 and don't think wife and 2 young kids (3rd coming) would allow me to spend some more time on amiga dev (i have been quite busy doing it last summer and it cost me a lot of brownie points;) )...

but as said earlier, if someone is interested in this project, i would be more than happy to share source code....and yes i think you idea is good and the project realistic, if you can get all musics into one sample then you can play other samples on the 3 other available channels...i'm sure someone mastering SDL libraries and 8svx format in amiga C could perform that easily....but unfortunately i'm not one of them.... :sad

[frikilokooo]

That fantastic which this one great game to the Amiga has converted, where I can obtain it please?:help