Dxx-Rebirth (1 And 2)


Azure, I'll let you know if this bug is shared when I've mapped decent keys and found my first. :D

Pickle, this is awesome and looks amazing on the Pandora so many thanks.

I didn't have a PC back when these surfaced so I'm just embarking on this nausea inducing ride with fresh eyes. Hence I have a couple of questions to follow.

Now, I just picked up the GOG.com version of these and without patching, Descent1 ran fine (but no music) with just the 2 files you listed on page 1 but Descent2, ran its intro movie with very stuttered sound at 500mhz (smoother but still jarred at 1ghz) before quitting out after the movie.

I then tried just the whole GOG folder of files for each and Descent2 now plays properly but again with jittery sound in the intro movie and zero music in-game.

I then fixed the music in Descent1 by using this file http://freepats.zenvoid.org/freepats-20060219.zip which was linked by Hopez (thanks) on the WIZ versions page of his port here http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/wiz.cgi?0,0,0,0,20,353

I placed that unzipped 'Freepats' folder (renamed 'timidity') in 'pandora/appdata/d1x' and within the folder is the 'freepats.cfg' file, which needs again renaming 'timidity.cfg' and cutting and pasting to the 'pandora/appdata/d1x' folder on its own, rather than within the folder it came from.

Then it also needs the top line of its contents editing from 'dir /mnt/sd/games/d1x/freepats' which is WIZ based, into 'dir media/<YOUR SD CARD NAME>/pandora/appdata/d1x/timidity' and now Descent 1 has very good music from the Pandora speakers to compliment its GFX.

It looks and sounds great and I am looking forward to getting into this once I map decent keys, as my left nub is now dead.

I have a few questions though if anyone has the time.

1) Does Descent2 need a separate 'timidity' type file? As the intro movies have music but not the menus or ingame. I've looked but not found anything.

2)Has anyone else experienced the jittery sound in D2, or is this a product of not patching it, a lack of timidity or just my Pandora?

3) I have only found a patch for D1 at the site listed earlier in the thread. Is this to be used on both D1 and D2, or is another more elusive patch required to fix D2?

4) Would anyone still like some video of these games running on the Pandora? As I will gladly make video of any game anyone wants to see. Yet may need a few pointers as to how to get them running at their best first.

thanks again to all
 
Chaser said:
4) Would anyone still like some video of these games running on the Pandora? As I will gladly make video of any game anyone wants to see. Yet may need a few pointers as to how to get them running at their best first.

thanks again to all
Click to expand...

Yes please, I always want videos. I should've bought Descent when it was on sale about 6 months ago on GOG, it is mighty cheap already though.
 
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4) Would anyone still like some video of these games running on the Pandora? As I will gladly make video of any game anyone wants to see. Yet may need a few pointers as to how to get them running at their best first.
Click to expand...
Hmm, for me D2X runs good, D1X not so (control lag).

Here some tips: Set the nubs to joystick mode (more precise than mousing) and configure one nub for aim, the other one for forward/backward/leftstrafe/rightstrafe and the DPAD for upstrafe/downstrafe/bankleft/bankright. Shoulders for shooting. Configure zero deadzone for the joysticks and slightly lower their sensitivity. This is how I play and it feels VERY good this way, i do not miss my traditional keyboard and mouse. Additionally hit F3 to cycle through the cockpit view modes and F2 while ingame for the setup dialog. Alt+F2 to save, Alt+F3 to load (tricky on pandora but doable). There is an ingame help screen in the options. Hope that you meant such things to "get them running at their best" ;)

Edit:
An anecdote about my Descent1 data files: 15 Years ago, a friend gave me his Descent1 CD because he thought the game was boring. I installed it on the 486-PC of my parents. Then some years later, I got a 486 34MB-Ram 72mhz IBM Thinkpad. I copied Descent from the PC to the laptop by swapping Floppies because the original D1-Disk was lost. 2 years later, that oldish Thinkpad died. Gave it to a friend who gladly could backup the HD onto a CD. Later, I copied Descent1 back from that CD (at that time already scratched like hell) to the new PC from my parents (Pentium3), then from that to my brand new Laptop, a Pentium M TabletPC. From that some years later to my first own desktop. That desktop died after 2 years. So, I ordered a new desktop (my current one, I'm typing on it right now), put the old HD in it. Descent was still there. And then "2 months" later, my Pandora came and D1x was ready. SD card into desktop, Descent-files onto SD, SD into Pandora and WHOOOSH, IT WORKED!
That game is now officially part of my very own personal computer history.
This is how bits survive? Who can beat that? ;) Does somebody has older files that survived more migrations?
 
Whynodd said:
That game is now officially part of my very own personal computer history.
This is how bits survive? Who can beat that? ;) Does somebody has older files that survived more migrations?
Click to expand...

No, I forget to back things up all the time. My friend gave me Secret of Monkey Island for my 10th birthday but I could never get it to work on my computer so it ended up being used as a coaster, or gathering dust somewhere. How I wish I'd kept it. Back then my computer was rubbish, but this guy and his brother had the best taste: Jagged Alliance 2, Baldur's Gate, Monkey Island, Planescape Torment and Dungeon Keeper to name a few.
 
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This is on top of my list to play when i receive my Pandora!
Does it support music though? If not could you please add this feature? I think it adds substantially to the atmosphere. And it shouldn't be more than a few lines of code to play some mp3s. On the other hand, i could just let the music play in an external player, but that would be a bit cumbersome and not as authentic.
EDIT: I think Descent I and II used CD music, right? So we could rip the tracks from the CD.
 
Sorry for the lack of video Dead1nside but I was sick as a dog for days and now ED has beat me to it!

D1x does support music (mine works via timidity) but I cant get music in D2x working. It does add to the atmosphere though I agree.

Thanks for the setup tips Whynodd, I will give that a go and your anecdote was awesome. Clearly a classic game to survive all the changes.

Infact as my left nub is now defunct I've got D1x running on an Xbox 360 pad using DarfGarf & Meandu229's script. Haven't fully got the best config yet but I'll do a quick video of this shortly so people can hear the music aswell.
 
Chaser said:
Sorry for the lack of video Dead1nside but I was sick as a dog for days and now ED has beat me to it!

D1x does support music (mine works via timidity) but I cant get music in D2x working. It does add to the atmosphere though I agree.

Thanks for the setup tips Whynodd, I will give that a go and your anecdote was awesome. Clearly a classic game to survive all the changes.

Infact as my left nub is now defunct I've got D1x running on an Xbox 360 pad using DarfGarf & Meandu229's script. Haven't fully got the best config yet but I'll do a quick video of this shortly so people can hear the music aswell.
Click to expand...

No worries, you're the one doing me the favour. I have to agree, playing Descent without the music is probably like playing Wipeout without the music: you lose a massive part of the fun and atmosphere.
 
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Dead1nside said:
Chaser said:
Sorry for the lack of video Dead1nside but I was sick as a dog for days and now ED has beat me to it!

D1x does support music (mine works via timidity) but I cant get music in D2x working. It does add to the atmosphere though I agree.

Thanks for the setup tips Whynodd, I will give that a go and your anecdote was awesome. Clearly a classic game to survive all the changes.

Infact as my left nub is now defunct I've got D1x running on an Xbox 360 pad using DarfGarf & Meandu229's script. Haven't fully got the best config yet but I'll do a quick video of this shortly so people can hear the music aswell.
Click to expand...

No worries, you're the one doing me the favour. I have to agree, playing Descent without the music is probably like playing Wipeout without the music: you lose a massive part of the fun and atmosphere.
Click to expand...

I thought both worked with music, sure you have the timidity.cfg in both folders?
 
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Azure said:
Is it a known bug that a blue box stays stuck on the screen (until you beat the level) whenever you pick up a key? Or is there something wrong on my end?

For example:

When I get a red key:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/djAZUL/DSC00730.jpg
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/djAZUL/DSC00731.jpg

When I get a blue key:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/djAZUL/DSC00734.jpg
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Is there just something wrong with my data files??
 
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Wipeout also agreed!

Descent music wise I've got no 1 working fine but I'll have to mess with D2 more. I cant get PrBoom timidity working either, despite trying all sorts but I'll get there in the end. Awesome work on them all regardless though.

Azure. I found my first red key earlier whilst messing with the 360 pad and I didnt experience the graphic glitch you've encountered.

Edit : Got the D2x sound figured now. Despite the .cfg in both games folders with the correct path to a shared timidity folder, it wanted a folder copy within each of the game folders and sorted itself. Thanks again!

Heres some video of both with the music. I used a 360pad for Descent 1 but still not ideally set up, so excuse the playing!

 
How do you set that up? I've never looked into it .. I did lose my original Descent 1/2/3 CDs somewhere, but I rebought D1 and D2 on GoG a coupl emonths aog, so am good to go :) but music would be pretty slick .. never looked into timidity :) Why isn't it just included in the pnd?

jeff
 
skeezix said:
How do you set that up? I've never looked into it .. I did lose my original Descent 1/2/3 CDs somewhere, but I rebought D1 and D2 on GoG a coupl emonths aog, so am good to go :) but music would be pretty slick .. never looked into timidity :) Why isn't it just included in the pnd?

jeff
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midi info should be in the normal data file, i didnt inlcude the timidity at the time cause there are multiple ways to do it. Personally I installed the instruments to the nand and my config is in /etc so I never have to change anything for any app. It just works.
Others though might put them on the card, which then each app has to have the cfg in the appdata folder. Once you setup timidty all you have to do from this point is copy the timidity.cfg into each appdata folder.
 
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Ah, I get it; so timidity is built into the apps, but it just starts up, looks for a config and bails out.

How big are the insturment files .. why not just bundle them into the pnd? (ie: you're using un-encumbered soundfonts or instruments, right?)

Where would I go to get the instrument files and all that? I did a bunch of timidity stuff in the zodiac days, but not touched since :) I'll have to go googling. (But I mean, since its non-obvious to me, its going to be really non-obvious to most people, no?)

If the files are too big to be included in the pnd, then perhaps we should make a timidity-installer.pnd that copies the files somewhere (ie: pop up a 3 item menu, so they can install to nand, sd1, or sd2, and then spit out an appropriate cfg file they could use.)

jeff
 
skeezix said:
Ah, I get it; so timidity is built into the apps, but it just starts up, looks for a config and bails out.

How big are the insturment files .. why not just bundle them into the pnd? (ie: you're using un-encumbered soundfonts or instruments, right?)

Where would I go to get the instrument files and all that? I did a bunch of timidity stuff in the zodiac days, but not touched since :) I'll have to go googling. (But I mean, since its non-obvious to me, its going to be really non-obvious to most people, no?)

If the files are too big to be included in the pnd, then perhaps we should make a timidity-installer.pnd that copies the files somewhere (ie: pop up a 3 item menu, so they can install to nand, sd1, or sd2, and then spit out an appropriate cfg file they could use.)

jeff
Click to expand...

too big for each pnd, you only need them once. Actually with the SD card name/path fixed the timidity.cfg could go in /etc and the user could forget about it. Just the path needs to be right in the cfg file.

SDL mixer uses it for midi support

Someone had a timidity pnd at one point that I think only did the nand, but a good idea.
 
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