D1 Shareware AWE32 music recordings...

[xfsaw_nine]

Hello. I have been looking for AWE32 recordings of the shareware version of Descent 1 (main theme, levels 1-3). I found a few places that had them (including on this forum), but all of the links are dead. Does anybody still have these or know where I can find them? Thanks for your help.

[Krom]

https://forum.dxx-rebirth.com/showthread.php?tid=510
The add-on link in there is still alive and points to a DXA file, but its really just a zip file. Rename it to *.zip and it has the AWE32 version of the D1 MIDI files recorded to ogg format which most PC media players can handle.

[Alter-Fox]

Yeh, but the shareware midis were slightly different.
Personally I don't like them as much but others feel differently.

[xfsaw_nine]

https://forum.dxx-rebirth.com/showthread.php?tid=510
The add-on link in there is still alive and points to a DXA file, but its really just a zip file. Rename it to *.zip and it has the AWE32 version of the D1 MIDI files recorded to ogg format which most PC media players can handle.

I'm looking through these, but I don't think they include the shareware versions of the tracks. The only ones that were different (as far as I remember) was the main theme, level 1, level 2, and level 3. Either way, I didn't see this mediafire link before and there are a lot more soundcard recordings I didn't have, so thanks a lot for that!

Yeh, but the shareware midis were slightly different.
Personally I don't like them as much but others feel differently.

I really can't remember them, but my memory is that the opening synth in L3 was louder and had a fuller presence and that was the version I always preferred when I was a kid. It's all so foggy though I really just want to hear them again to see I'm even remembering it correctly.

[LightWolf]

If you can convert from HMP to midi and have access to a HOG editor and some good software, you can extract the .HMQ (not HMP) files from the HOG. Those are the FM versions, which I believe are also the shareware versions.

[Alter-Fox]

...no, the shareware had both versions, but most of the songs were unfinished.
The reason I didn't like some of them as much was that I felt as though they were missing something. The level 3 track had different instruments, and no drum track. But there's so much syncopation in the bass and other parts that without the percussion it feels like it has no "glue" to hold it together. Like if you tried to listen to "Here Comes the Rain Again" without the beat. That sense of forward movement is gone.

[xfsaw_nine]

If you can convert from HMP to midi and have access to a HOG editor and some good software, you can extract the .HMQ (not HMP) files from the HOG. Those are the FM versions, which I believe are also the shareware versions.

I will look into this, thanks.

...no, the shareware had both versions, but most of the songs were unfinished.
The reason I didn't like some of them as much was that I felt as though they were missing something. The level 3 track had different instruments, and no drum track. But there's so much syncopation in the bass and other parts that without the percussion it feels like it has no "glue" to hold it together. Like if you tried to listen to "Here Comes the Rain Again" without the beat. That sense of forward movement is gone.

I definitely remembered they were more sparse (which sometimes I liked)...but I didn't remember the lack of drum track in L3. Yeah, that would ruin it for me. I'll look into what LightWolf talked about. As long as I can get the files converted to MIDI format I can add the drums from the registered version to shareware version. The main problem is that I don't have the physical soundcards to record the result.

[Alter-Fox]

As long as I can get the files converted to MIDI format I can add the drums from the registered version to shareware version. The main problem is that I don't have the physical soundcards to record the result.

Now that's quite an idea. You could probably use soundfonts/emulators to get very very close to the original sound if that's what you want to do.

[LightWolf]

Come to think of it, you should just be able to use a HOG editor on the shareware HOG to make sure you have the right songs, since all HOGs are is a noncompressed file container

[xfsaw_nine]

Come to think of it, you should just be able to use a HOG editor on the shareware HOG to make sure you have the right songs, since all HOGs are is a noncompressed file container

That's an even better idea. I'll definitely try this.

One other question: from my understanding (and your earlier posts), I'm targeting an HMP rather than a MIDI to extract from the HOG. Is there a known HMP format spec somewhere or was the source code ever released for the MIDI->HMP program listed on descent-network? I'll make a converter if I have to but I'm not finding much helpful (technical) info on HMP. I found a dated HMI->MIDI converter, but I haven't been able to confirm that HMP and HMI are fully interchangeable.

[Alter-Fox]

...I haven't the first clue.
Once you've got the midi I can think of a couple ways you could mix it together with the drum track, assuming the tempos are the same, but I honestly don't know what makes hmp different from mid except for apparently being buggier.

[xfsaw_nine]

...I haven't the first clue.
Once you've got the midi I can think of a couple ways you could mix it together with the drum track, assuming the tempos are the same, but I honestly don't know what makes hmp different from mid except for apparently being buggier.

I got the .hmp files, now I just need to work on that HMP->MIDI conversion. I don't think the MIDI alterations should be difficult (famous last words) since I've worked with trackers and MIDI for quite some time. I'll run a test on the HMI->MIDI converter to see how it works.

Update: I got the HMI-MIDI converter to somewhat work in DOSBOX and attempted a conversion of a .hmp file but it failed citing "too many tracks." Certainly seems to indicate .hmp is not interchangeable with .hmi, but it's hard to say given I don't know the robustness of the converter. The author seemed unsure even for HMIs, saying that it might not convert perfectly to mid but it should be close enough.

Going forward, I'll keep looking to see if there's a spec somewhere for .hmp. I found a github issue in the project wildmidi that talked about issues re: .hmp and .hmi, but most of the links with helpful information are dead. I'll see if that might lead somewhere or if I can get in contact with someone from that project.

Update 2: I should have examined the HMI->MIDI author's website more carefully. He actually has the shareware midi files listed, which I now have downloaded. Apparently I must have been misusing the HMI-MIDI converter (or there's a strange DOSBOX issue), since it obviously worked for him years ago. The problem now, though, is that I don't have a converter that works and I'll need a midi version of the registered soundtrack so that I can splice the drums.

[LightWolf]

If you use an x32 OS such as Windows XP you can use DTX2. It has a converter built-in, though its MIDI->HMP converter doesn't work under a fairly significant edge case. You're going the other way though, so that shouldn't be a problem.

[akula65]

You might want to check out the bottom link on this page:

http://download.descent-network.com/goo ... nt1/music/

Also, what exactly are the dead links you referred to in the initial post? Thanks.

[Alter-Fox]

The registered midi tracks aren't as much of a problem -- even if you can't find a place to download them most of the folks around here probably have them lying around somewhere and could send them to you.
The only other thing you might need to get a authentic-as-possible Awe32 sound is some variety of midi player which supports both soundfonts, and reverb/chorus effects that are at least similar to what that soundcard had. The FX can make a huge difference in the quality of the recording -- most of the Descent midis were drowning in 'em, if you had a soundcard that would use them.

[xfsaw_nine]

Also, what exactly are the dead links you referred to in the initial post? Thanks.

I was referencing this post: viewtopic.php?t=15769 (specifically, the files listed by Pumo); Also I looked back at my original post and realized it was worded poorly and implied I found AWE32 shareware links here...Pumo's were actually OPL3 (emulated) shareware tracks...either way, one of the few places I encountered that claimed to have recordings of the shareware tracks.

I'll have to check the link you gave me later. It loaded for me earlier but now I'm not able to load the page. Might be a local problem on my end.

The only other thing you might need to get a authentic-as-possible Awe32 sound is some variety of midi player which supports both soundfonts, and reverb/chorus effects that are at least similar to what that soundcard had. The FX can make a huge difference in the quality of the recording -- most of the Descent midis were drowning in 'em, if you had a soundcard that would use them.

Exactly! This is why I was hoping to find recordings on the original hardware; I wasn't certain emulation would be up to the task. I'll have to look into it.

If you use an x32 OS such as Windows XP you can use DTX2. It has a converter built-in, though its MIDI->HMP converter doesn't work under a fairly significant edge case. You're going the other way though, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks, I will give this a try.

[akula65]

The problem now, though, is that I don't have a converter that works and I'll need a midi version of the registered soundtrack so that I can splice the drums.

See the middle link in the URL I posted above.

Just to throw another monkey wrench into the works, it's also possible that people's perception is colored by the particular version of the shareware they were using. In other words, is it a known fact that there is no variation in the music between shareware releases? At least four PC shareware releases existed:

http://download.descent-network.com/sha ... /playable/

So you might also want to compare the music between shareware releases as well.

[Alter-Fox]

...I don't remember saying that.

[xfsaw_nine]

See the middle link in the URL I posted above.

Just to throw another monkey wrench into the works, it's also possible that people's perception is colored by the particular version of the shareware they were using. In other words, is it a known fact that there is no variation in the music between shareware releases? At least four PC shareware releases existed:

http://download.descent-network.com/sha ... /playable/

So you might also want to compare the music between shareware releases as well.

The link worked for me now and I got the files. Thanks! An excellent point regarding the shareware versions. The shareware MIDIs I obtained did not mention their source shareware version. What I'm going to do is first work on the MIDI splicing to get that working, then see if emulation recording can get the results I need. After I've established a good workflow, I'll definitely want to check out the other versions to see if there's any appreciable difference.

Thanks for the help so far, everyone.

Quick update: I made a quick drum splice back on the 16th of June but haven't had time to look into rendering options. I'm attaching the midi in case anyone is curious. It was a coarse splicing where I just matched the timing by ear so this isn't necessarily how the final version will sound. First I want to find a good rendering method before I fine tune the midi.