Audio problems with latest release

nikavelli

Just to make this clear before I start - I did not have any sound issues at all with my previous installation of Doomsday (v 1.7.14)

After installing Doomsday 1.9.0 Beta 6.4, I've ran into several bugs.

1) After enabling "3D Sound" in the control panel, I basically have no sound. The only sound effects that play are from picking up weapons/ammo/items. I really miss having the reverb and other cool EAX effects.

2) There is no music playback when using the "DirectSound" setting. I do get music playback from using "SDL_mixer" but the sound quality is tiny and lower quality and in some situations, I get audio distortion (crackling and popping noises).

3) Music playback is bugged. The only music I hear is the intro music, which sometimes will loop over and over once you start a new game. Other than that, no music will play, even if you change levels. You must specify a track using the "IDMUS XX" cheat code command.

4) The console command "game-fastmonsters 1" seems to have no affect anymore. This proves to be game breaking for me, I enjoyed the challenge of fast monsters without having to play the ridiculously hard "Nightmare" difficulty mode.

5) Error message in console that repeats over and over:

"P_MaterialNumForName: "WOODSKUL" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "LITEBLU2" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "TEKWALL5" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "TEKWALL2" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "COMPUTE1" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "COMP2" in namespace 0 not found!"

6) Occasional game crash upon exiting, "Memory cannot be read" instruction errors.

Not sure what was changed in the audio department between releases (OpenAL support?) but from what I've learned, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." I would appreciate any input on these matters.

skyjake

As to 1), 2), and 3), we are aware of the issues. I personally care about fixing the audio problems, but I've been basically resting on my laurels for a few years and in the meantime the audio support has deteriorated a bit. I intend to have the audio issues fixed in upcoming releases.

nikavelli wrote:

4) The console command "game-fastmonsters 1" seems to have no affect anymore. This proves to be game breaking for me, I enjoyed the challenge of fast monsters without having to play the ridiculously hard "Nightmare" difficulty mode.

What about the -fast command line option? Does that work?

nikavelli wrote:

5) Error message in console that repeats over and over:
"P_MaterialNumForName: "WOODSKUL" in namespace 0 not found!

That's DaniJ's territory, maybe he can help.

nikavelli wrote:

6) Occasional game crash upon exiting, "Memory cannot be read" instruction errors.

Likely will be fixed in upcoming releases, as I'm currently revising the basic application init and shutdown code.

nikavelli

It's unfortunate that the audio support had dwindled. The "DooM SounD" has always been a big part of the experience for me, as with many other users. As I stated before, the sound seemed to be working perfectly fine in previous releases.. full EAX support, exceptional sound quality, flawless music.

The -fast command DOES work! Thank you for reminding me about that.

A small update about the "P_MaterialNumForName: "X" in namespace 0 not found!" message in console: it only happens in Doom 2 and the Final Doom episodes.

DaniJ

nikavelli wrote:

1) After enabling "3D Sound" in the control panel, I basically have no sound. The only sound effects that play are from picking up weapons/ammo/items. I really miss having the reverb and other cool EAX effects.

The 3D sound option only works in conjunction with DirectSound.

2) There is no music playback when using the "DirectSound" setting. I do get music playback from using "SDL_mixer" but the sound quality is tiny and lower quality and in some situations, I get audio distortion (crackling and popping noises).

This is a known issue and will addressed in a future release.

3) Music playback is bugged. The only music I hear is the intro music, which sometimes will loop over and over once you start a new game. Other than that, no music will play, even if you change levels. You must specify a track using the "IDMUS XX" cheat code command.

This is not a bug. Typically the cause of which is the addon called "jDEP" which has incomplete Map Info definitions (i.e., its missing music track names). Disable the offending addon(s) and music playback should work.

5) Error message in console that repeats over and over:

"P_MaterialNumForName: "WOODSKUL" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "LITEBLU2" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "TEKWALL5" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "TEKWALL2" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "COMPUTE1" in namespace 0 not found!
P_MaterialNumForName: "COMP2" in namespace 0 not found!"

Those messages are simply status messages that were added during the implementation of the materials system. A message such as that is output whenever a material is searched for but not found. You can safely ignore them

nikavelli

DaniJ wrote:

The 3D sound option only works in conjunction with DirectSound.

I am using DirectSound and it is not working.

skyjake

DaniJ wrote:

Those messages are simply status messages that were added during the implementation of the materials system. A message such as that is output whenever a material is searched for but not found. You can safely ignore them

If they can be ignored, I would assume they should only be printed in verbose mode?

DaniJ

Those messages can be removed entirely now. They were only added for debug purposes.

There are similar messages produced by the control/event binding system which should be removed also.

skyjake

DaniJ wrote:

There are similar messages produced by the control/event binding system which should be removed also.

Yeah, I'll take care of those.