The Longest Journey sound issue
Christian Landry
I've recently had the luck to acquire The Longest Journey. However
I've had a minor problem with the sound.
Sometimes, during the numerous speeches, the characters
will "stutter." As in, "This is the kin-kingdom of..." And it usually
happens in the middle of a sentence. Normally, I reboot and that
mostly fixes the problem. At best, they will stutter only every 5
minutes or so.
I was wondering if anyone else ran into this problem? And I already
tried the standard solutions, i.e. reading the README.TXT, checking for
updated drivers for the SoundBlaster Live! card, and so on.
Christian Landry
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
infoghost
What's your system?
iG
Christian Landry
igh...@maine.rr.com wrote:
> Anything running in the background? Virus scanners?
>
> What's your system?
>
I tend to have SETI@home running, but I disable that before playing any
games. Other than that, I have things regarding my SoundBlaster Live!
and Logitech Wingman in the system tray. No antivirus (yes, I know,
foolish).
My system is an AMD K6-2 350 with 64 Mb of RAM. It runs what I belive
is the first version of Win95 (definitely not OSR2). The 3D card is a
Voodoo3 2000.
Jenny100
news:92at2f$rf5$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Lots of people have reported minor stuttering problems with
The Longest Journey. What causes them is a mystery because
people with all different configurations have reported them.
Different things will apparently cause stuttering.
There is an online FAQ you might want to check at
http://www.longestjourney.com/faq/english/tlj_faq.html#_Toc501020029
This FAQ is also included with the North American version
of the game.
Good luck. Some people never do get rid of their stuttering completely.
Christian Landry
"Jenny100" <Jenn...@nospam.com> wrote:
>
> Lots of people have reported minor stuttering problems with
> The Longest Journey. What causes them is a mystery because
> people with all different configurations have reported them.
> Different things will apparently cause stuttering.
>
> There is an online FAQ you might want to check at
> http://www.longestjourney.com/faq/english/tlj_faq.html#_Toc501020029
> This FAQ is also included with the North American version
> of the game.
>
> Good luck. Some people never do get rid of their stuttering
completely.
>
>
Thanks! This FAQ contains a lot of useful information. Especially
those bits about DirectX 8.0 and USB support. :-)
Goldenpi
and only happens every few minutes so just ignore it.
Anyway, its a problem with memory allocation. Just run sysmon while its
happening and you will see the problem.
Christian Landry <christi...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:92at2f$rf5$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
>
>
Jenny100
news:92g3kl$c2s$1...@uranium.btinternet.com...
> I got it. Ignore them. It only lasts for a few hundred miliseconds at most
> and only happens every few minutes so just ignore it.
>
> Anyway, its a problem with memory allocation. Just run sysmon while its
> happening and you will see the problem.
When I installed the UK version of TLJ, it did not stutter,
except very rarely at the end of a video.
A few months later, when I installed the USA version, I got stutters.
Why would this be? These stutters occurred both in movies
and in conversations.
Maximum installs both times. The UK maximum install is not
as complete as the USA maximum install (which installed
everything so I didn't have to use the CD-ROM - no spinup
noise).
So why would I get memory allocation problems with one install
and not the other?
Goldenpi
doesn't.
Jenny100 <Jenn...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:92g6g5$3j2$1...@slb3.atl.mindspring.net...
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
Christian Landry <christi...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <92bsq0$339$1...@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>,
> "Jenny100" <Jenn...@nospam.com> wrote:
> >
> > Lots of people have reported minor stuttering problems with
> > The Longest Journey.
It was more than minor on my setup; every sentence had at least one "stutter"
(more like an echo), and it sounded terrible. After fiddling with the
'advanced' settings, installing DirectX8.0 and the latest sound-card drivers,
I figured it was too much effort, and returned it. Besides, it kept crashing
as well. It's too bad, because it looks like a good game otherwise.
BTW, Gabriel Knight 3 and Monkey Island 4 had no sound problems on the same
machine (K6/400, SB16, Voodoo3/1000).
Goldenpi
P12 <nom...@all.com> wrote in message
news:6q5v4tklmha3qqgto...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 30 Dec 2000 11:52:06 -0000, "Goldenpi" <car...@btinternet.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Slight differences in the game. Perhaps one preloads graphics and the
other
> >doesn't.
>
> The authors say the game is the same in both versions. Only the
> install is greater. Your answer speaks of ignorance of the problem.
> Someone with a quick answer but no solution. Many people have had
> this problem. And some have solved it. But the solutions are not
> the same. Some have replaced the graphics card. Others have messed
> with video drivers or cdroms. These solutions work with some people
> but not others. So why would replacing a sound card have anything to
> do with memory allocation? I only had it stutter once or twice the
> entire game yet people with machine twice the size of mine had
> stuttering.
>
>
Jay
Longestst Journeyney: USA. Full Install.
Hardware: Athlon 910Mhz
= K7 - 910Mhz on ASUS K7M and 128M Memory-> Latest Bios.
= 27 Gig IBM 34 GXP Deskstar-> VIA DMA Driver (tried disabling UDMA).
= 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 (170Mhz) Card-> Latest video Driver 1.07.00.
Latest Bios:"Voodoo3 3000 BIOS - Version 2.15.06-SD"
= SoundBlaster PCI128: Latest Driver Update.
= 2-3COM 3C905B-TX Network Cards (Tried removing them, no go).
Tried : Windows NT4 :Forgetaboutit!
Windows 95b - DirectX 8.
Blew away all running programs.
Tried every sound/video tweek in LJ: No effect.
Tried every thing in the FAQ for this problem.
Jay
Geoffrey Tobin
>
> It was more than minor on my setup; every sentence had at least one "stutter"
> (more like an echo), and it sounded terrible. After fiddling with the
> 'advanced' settings, installing DirectX8.0 and the latest sound-card drivers,
> I figured it was too much effort, and returned it. Besides, it kept crashing
You can fix the crashing by running TLJ in VMware.
But you need lots of RAM (probably 256 MB) and money (VMware Pro costs
about US$200).
--
Best wishes!
Geoffrey Tobin
Email: g...@ee.latrobe.edu.au
WWW: http://www.ee.latrobe.edu.au/~gt/gt.html
Geoffrey Tobin
>
> Stuttering every sentence (old lady sequence).
> Longestst Journeyney:
That's a stutter all right.
> USA. Full Install.
>
> Hardware: Athlon 910Mhz
> = K7 - 910Mhz on ASUS K7M and 128M Memory-> Latest Bios.
> = 27 Gig IBM 34 GXP Deskstar-> VIA DMA Driver (tried disabling UDMA).
> = 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 (170Mhz) Card-> Latest video Driver 1.07.00.
> Latest Bios:"Voodoo3 3000 BIOS - Version 2.15.06-SD"
> = SoundBlaster PCI128: Latest Driver Update.
> = 2-3COM 3C905B-TX Network Cards (Tried removing them, no go).
I have a 3C905B-TX too. :) Why have you two?
> Tried : Windows NT4 :Forgetaboutit!
Runs in Linux/Vmware/W98SE tho. Using so much RAM (out of only 128M)
causes even more stuttering but it completely cured the troublesome (*)
crashes i was having.
(*) Having to reinstal 1 GB multiple times.
Jay
> Stuttering every sentence (old lady sequence).
> Longestst Journeyney: USA. Complete Install.
> Hardware: Athlon 910Mhz
> = K7 - 910Mhz on ASUS K7M and 128M Memory-> Latest Bios.
> = 27 Gig IBM 34 GXP Deskstar-> VIA DMA Driver (tried disabling UDMA).
> = 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 (170Mhz) Card-> Latest video Driver 1.07.00.
> Latest Bios:"Voodoo3 3000 BIOS - Version 2.15.06-SD"
> = SoundBlaster PCI128: Latest Driver Update.
> = 2-3COM 3C905B-TX Network Cards (Tried removing them, no go).
> Tried : Windows NT4 :Forgetaboutit!
>Windows 95b - DirectX 8.
> Blew away all running programs.
> Tried every sound/video tweek in LJ: No effect.
> Tried every thing in the FAQ for this problem.
For me with Windows 95b (OSR 2.0), the solution
is to install usbsupp.exe (or usbsup.exe) Microsoft
"USB" upgrade which changes OSR 2.0 ---> "OSR 2.1".
This upgrade must have had other OS fixes because
I don't even have USB ports! (Well I actually
do have the hardware on the MB but they have
always been disabled via BIOS settings). You can
find this file by searching on the net or on maybe
on your OSR2 Windows 95 disk. Unfortunately,
the evil Microsoft Monopoly does not provide
this file at their site and look to
have been going after people who post the
upgrade on the net.
There are some previous messages in
dejanews speculating about this being somehow
linked with AGP video cards, but as I have a
PCI video card...
The fix made the game go from stuttering at
least once every sentence to no stuttering.
Even the sound volume adjust clip stuttered
all over the place. Also the video was stop and go and
now it is smooth.
BUT, as you can see I have a pretty beefy
system, so the fix may only relevant
to those in my situation (old win95 OSR 2.0)
and not stuttering because of lack of capacity.
When in doubt, blame Microsoft!
Jay
Jay
P12 wrote:
>
> On Fri, 05 Jan 2001 02:33:01 GMT, Jay <j...@jay.jay.org> wrote:
>
> >Windows 95b - DirectX 8.
> > Blew away all running programs.
> > Tried every sound/video tweek in LJ: No effect.
> > Tried every thing in the FAQ for this problem.
>
> Is you video card PSI? One of the possible causes brought up was too
> much load on the bus. I am not sure that is PCI or other buses. I
> haven't asked everyone with the problem to know if that might be an
> issue. I have an AGP video card and an ISA sound card. So there
> isn't really too much load on any of the buses. I had no stuttering
> on a much slower machine. Of course that info may not help you at
> all. But maybe someone else can give better analysis
I found upgrading Win95 OSR 2.0 ---> OSR 2.1 "the USB upgrade: usbsup.exe"
(even though I don't have USB ports or AGP Video (TLJ FAQ))
removed all my stuttering.
Jay
Chris Zakrewsky
http://www.longestjourney.com/faq/english/tlj_faq.html#_Toc501020029
or
http://tlj.adventuregamer.com/news/2000/april/18_00.shtml
should help.
HTH
--
Cheers,
/Chris Zakrewsky
"Jay" <j...@jay.jay.org> wrote in message news:3A5B3720...@jay.jay.org...
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
Jay <j...@jay.jay.org> wrote:
>
> For me with Windows 95b (OSR 2.0), the solution
> is to install usbsupp.exe (or usbsup.exe) Microsoft
> "USB" upgrade which changes OSR 2.0 ---> "OSR 2.1".
That was the one FAQ suggestion I didn't try, since I don't use USB, and I
couldn't see what AGP would have to do with sound. But I do have Win95b and
an AGP video card (Voodoo3/1000), so it sounds like this may be the thing to
do. Perhaps this would also clear up the random crashes that have been
occurring since I installed the card.
Still, fiddling with this stuff is too much work, especially after paying $40
for the game itself. I'd rather spend my spare time programming on my Linux
box:-)
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
Geoffrey Tobin <g...@ee.latrobe.edu.au> wrote:
>
> You can fix the crashing by running TLJ in VMware.
> But you need lots of RAM (probably 256 MB) and money (VMware Pro costs
> about US$200).
That's a lot of money to run a game! Also, I thought VMWare didn't support
DirectX and had limited sound support. Have recent versions added these
features?
Geoffrey Tobin
>
> Still, fiddling with this stuff is too much work, especially after paying $40
> for the game itself. I'd rather spend my spare time programming on my Linux
> box:-)
I wonder whether TLJ would run in Wine?
If i hadn't forgotten how to use Wine, i would have tried.
Geoffrey Tobin
>
> In article <3A5921FC...@ee.latrobe.edu.au>,
> Geoffrey Tobin <g...@ee.latrobe.edu.au> wrote:
>
> >
> > You can fix the crashing by running TLJ in VMware.
> > But you need lots of RAM (probably 256 MB) and money (VMware Pro costs
> > about US$200).
>
> That's a lot of money to run a game!
It's not just for one game. I also play Space Empires 4 in VMware.
Civ2 also runs, as does HoMM3 RoE, but not Alpha Centauri, Armageddon's
Blade, or (drat!) MOO2.
> Also, I thought VMWare didn't support DirectX
> and had limited sound support.
I think that's true of 2.0 which i have, but there's a 2.1 patch
which i haven't applied yet.
> Have recent versions added these features?
Well, they're working on improving sound. Eventually, Stanford
should be able to surpass Microsoft, methinks.
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
Geoffrey Tobin <g...@ee.latrobe.edu.au> wrote:
>
> It's not just for one game. I also play Space Empires 4 in VMware.
> Civ2 also runs, as does HoMM3 RoE, but not Alpha Centauri, Armageddon's
> Blade, or (drat!) MOO2.
I wonder why some work and not others? (But then, why did GK3 have perfect
sound on my machine, while TLJ sounded terrible?) What might push me to buy
Vmware would be if it could play, under DOS as a guest OS, some old favorites
like Privateer or Ultima7 that don't work in Windows.
Geoffrey Tobin
>
> I wonder why some work and not others? (But then, why did GK3 have perfect
> sound on my machine, while TLJ sounded terrible?)
That also puzzles me.
> What might push me to buy
> Vmware would be if it could play, under DOS as a guest OS, some old favorites
> like Privateer or Ultima7 that don't work in Windows.
Ah yes, indeed. I intend to purchase a copy of DOS 6.22 (i've never
owned
DOS because my first own computer was bought on 13 April 1996) make it a
guest OS in VMware, and see if Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure (LBA1)
will run (which it hasn't for me under Windows 95, 98SE, or DOS 7).
Wing Commander: Privateer and Wing Commander: Armada too.
Christian Landry
This is an old thread, but since I started it... Just wanted to say, I
also have Win95b. I tried to look for the USB upgrade, and indeed,
could not find it on the Microsoft web site.
I tried to ignore the stuttering in TLJ, but it got REALLY bad on the
second CD, to the point where I couldn't stand playing. I will attempt
to search for that damned upgrade....
Jenny100
>
> This is an old thread, but since I started it... Just wanted to say, I
> also have Win95b. I tried to look for the USB upgrade, and indeed,
> could not find it on the Microsoft web site.
>
> I tried to ignore the stuttering in TLJ, but it got REALLY bad on the
> second CD, to the point where I couldn't stand playing. I will attempt
> to search for that damned upgrade....
I believe someone posted that it was part of this service pack
Windows 95 Update for AMD-K6®-2/350
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows95/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WUServ
icePacks/AMDPatch/Default.asp
The description of this item says
Microsoft® Windows® 95 Update for AMD-K6®-2/350 fixes a
software timing loop that is sensitive to processor frequency
and is not a processor erratum.
The description says it's for a K6, but maybe the fix also works
for other processors if it fixes a software timing loop. There are
uninstallation instructions if it doesn't work.
MaryJ
I solved the problem with TLJ demo with usbsupp.exe when I had win 95(b)
before,
but by that time I had taken the TLJ game back that I had bought. This was
after two weeks of trying everything to solve the problem. I have an AGP ATI
Rage pro with 8 megs ram.
Usbsupp.exe activates the AGP card, which will only act as a PCI card with
win 95(b) if usbsupp.exe is not used.
The stuttering was so bad when I bought the game before as to make the game
unplayable. Probably if I had installed usbsupp.exe it would have worked.
You have to enable USB in your BIOS as well and I also had to install the
motherboard AGP drivers.
I just finished TLJ and now have win 98 SE -very little stuttering.
Certainly nothing like before and nothing to complain about. TLJ was a great
game. Well worth playing.
I have usbsupp.exe on my motherboard (VIA chipset CD) . I could upload it
to you if you want. Let me know. I don't know why MS couldn't just leave it
on their site.
I think I downloaded it from MS at the time, but found out later I had
usbsupp.exe on my motherboard CD - don't know if there are different
versions of it
I just looked at my motherboard Cd which has drivers for my VIA chipset and
one of the files is usbsupp.exe for windows 95. Its probably the same
usbsupp.exe that MS had on their site before. I could upload it to you if
you want. Let me know.
MaryJ
Christian Landry
"Jenny100" <Jenn...@nospam.com> wrote:
>
> I believe someone posted that it was part of this service pack
> Windows 95 Update for AMD-K6®-2/350
>
>
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows95/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WU
Serv
> icePacks/AMDPatch/Default.asp
>
> The description of this item says
>
> Microsoft® Windows® 95 Update for AMD-K6®-2/350 fixes a
> software timing loop that is sensitive to processor frequency
> and is not a processor erratum.
>
> The description says it's for a K6, but maybe the fix also works
> for other processors if it fixes a software timing loop. There are
> uninstallation instructions if it doesn't work.
>
>
Oops. I took a more careful look at my Windows 95, and I found out I
actually have Windows 95a! It sounds like it's time to upgrade.
I'd heard about the problem and the fix for the AMD K6-2 bug (I have an
AMD K6-2 350). In my case, it causes Windows 95 to declare "protection
error" or something to that effect when booting up, and forces me to do
a cold reboot. It happens at random. Seems it may also cause this TLJ
problem.
I'll get Win95 OSR2 or Win98 2nd Edition.
Christian Landry
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
>
> Microsoft® Windows® 95 Update for AMD-K6®-2/350 fixes a
> software timing loop that is sensitive to processor frequency
> and is not a processor erratum.
I have that one installed (couldn't boot without it!), but had really bad
stuttering and crashing in TLJ.
The funny thing about that update is that you need it to boot Windows, but
you need Windows to be up and running in order to install it:-)
jeff_f...@my-deja.com
"MaryJ" <rain...@attcanada.ca> wrote:
>
> I just looked at my motherboard Cd which has drivers for my VIA chipset and
> one of the files is usbsupp.exe for windows 95.
!! Thanks for the tip. I have a VIA motherboard, so the CD is probably lying
around somewhere. Does this patch also solve general stability problems?
Seems like my machine's been crashing more than usual since I replace the old
PCI video card with the Voodood3.
MaryJ
news:93vddr$our$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
I can send you the usbsupp.exe that I have in my Via chipset CD - My via
chipset is MP3 Appollo, but that shouldn't matter if we are just concerned
with usbsupp.exe. The usbsupp.exe is for any motherboard and chipset and is
for enabling any USB devices y ou may have and also used for activating AGP
video cards (UBS and AGP enabling are both bundled in usbsupp.exe which
causes a lot of confusion). MS should have done them separately I think.
When I was using win 95b and when I bought TLJ the first time, I had no
crashes, but I didn't go that far into the game because of the amount of
stuttering in the speech was too distracting. My only problem till that
point was the speech stuttering was so annoying and every two or three
words, that i couldn't continue. I didn't have any crashing problems, just
severe stuttering.After I enabled AGP, the stuttering stopped in the demo -
I had taken the game back by that time.
I now have win 98 SE which already has USB/AGP enabled, so this time I
played the game, the stuttering was minimal and not a problem.. Nothing even
close to what the stuttering was like before.
I have a 233 MMX AMD CPU so I didn't need a patch for the 350 AMD. The TLJ
game I just finished did not crash even once and as I said the stuttering
was minimal.
Is the Voodoo 3 an AGP card? I have an AGP card, and in win 95b without
installing usbsupp.exe it acted as a PCI card. An AGP card is supposed to be
faster than a PCI card, so after I ran usbsupp.exe and enabled USB in the
BIOS and ran the VIA AGP drivers from my motherboad, my video card showed up
in DirectX as AGP enabled. Before this, my video card showed up in DirectX
as being disabled meaning it was as if I had a PCI card.
If you have an AGP card and want to see if it is enabled, look in Direct
X/Display and see what it says.
MaryJ
MaryJ
> On Mon, 15 Jan 2001 17:53:04 GMT, jeff_f...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> >!! Thanks for the tip. I have a VIA motherboard, so the CD is probably
lying
> >around somewhere. Does this patch also solve general stability problems?
> >Seems like my machine's been crashing more than usual since I replace the
old
> >PCI video card with the Voodood3.
>
> Some drivers where better than others but all crashed sooner or later.
> That problem bugged me for about 8 months. Now since I bought a
> Savage card I haven't had one problem. Hope you didn't have the same
> problems I have.
I think it depends on which VIA chipset you have. I read that some of the
earlier VIA chipsets had some problems. I have VIA chipset (MVP3) and I have
ATI video card (Rage Pro AGP) and never had any problems at all.
> You might want to check the VIA sight. Their is an AGP VIAgart
> driver that you might need. As well as a possible patch or
> something. Most of the stuff is on their sight is not needed or
> doesn't work. But some is and can increase stability. Just in my
> case it was never enough. I just had to give up and get another
> video card
It might be an idea to check VIA site for your VIA chipset series. wouldn't
hurt.
MaryJ
MaryJ
> On Tue, 16 Jan 2001 22:40:19 -0500, "MaryJ" <rain...@attcanada.ca>
> wrote:
>
>
> >I think it depends on which VIA chipset you have. I read that some of the
> >earlier VIA chipsets had some problems. I have VIA chipset (MVP3) and I
have
> >ATI video card (Rage Pro AGP) and never had any problems at all.
>
I have a P1 generation board though, with a 233 AMD CPU, so that has to
figure into things too. What kind of board and CPU do you have?]
Have you had any problems with VIA chipset and ATI video card in games?
MaryJ