iNTeractivity

Windows NT does multimedia, too!

Okay, don't lie. You play games onyour office computer, whether your boss likes it or not. In fact, you probablyset up your Windows NT system to dual-boot with DOS so that you could play WingCommander or Hexen. Even though your computer is a serious piece of hardware,you can still have fun with it.

For the most part, multimedia games started out as DOS-based programs thatsucked up every bit of memory and processor power on your machine to deliverreasonable graphics at reasonable speeds. When Windows came along, a number ofgames developers made the jump to the Windows environment, which lured them withthe promise of standardized graphics and multimedia interfaces. But then WindowsNT arrived, and suddenly many of the games you relied on to relieve the stressof your job wouldn't work because they make direct calls to hardware adapters--aviolation of NT's C2 security--or they use DOS memory in a way that conflictswith how NT maps memory for Virtual DOS Machines (VDMs). You may feel that yourgame-playing prospects are dwindling rapidly.

Well, stop worrying! The Windows NT Magazine Lab staffslaved and toiled to find you games, music, and other interactive titles thatrun properly on Windows NT Workstation 3.51.

Testing
Originally, Microsoft required any 32-bit product that sought Windows 95logo-certification to also run on NT. This was a great policy from theperspective of the Windows NT market because it opened the door for everythingthat had been designed for the consumer Windows 95 market. Unfortunately,Microsoft has relaxed that requirement: This was undoubtedly a marketingdecision, but it is easier to program only for Windows 95.

Because of this change in policy, software products released for Windows95--even if they are implemented as 32-bit applications--won't necessarily workunder NT, although some companies still follow the original requirements. Tomake matters even more interesting, some Windows 95 programs work on NT, eventhough they weren't specifically developed for it.

The following guide provides a sampling of the multimedia titles availablefor Windows 95. I tried them out on an Intel-based Windows NT system configuredwith a 90-MHz Pentium, 32MB of RAM, a SoundBlaster AWE32 adapter, and SVGAgraphics.

Interactive CDs
If you look at the history of computer programming during the last 15 years,you'll see that the computer game industry wouldn't have gotten where it istoday if you or people like you hadn't been playing Adventure, Maze, and Hack ondumb terminals. I know that you still use your computer for entertainment--evenat work. Your secret is out, exposed by the success of titles such as networkDoom. Times have certainly changed, and the games have become much moresophisticated.

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time
As the title implies, this product is a complete waste of time (see screen1)--but that's a good thing, so be careful when you're using it! If you're aMonty Python fan, you'll be sucked into their deranged sense of humor fasterthan you can say "spam."

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time
This title from 7^th Level is more than 650MB worth of audio, video clips,screen savers, and odd games that can provide hours upon hours of distraction.It is fully NT-compatible, provided you have a double-speed (or better) CD-ROMdrive and a SoundBlaster-compatible card that supports the Windows Sound Systemstandard. 7^th Level is one of the few games developers that adheresto the NT-operability for Windows 95 titles.

The Python CD is an excellent adaptation of the original Monty Python'sFlying Circus television program from England, and I have nothing but thehighest compliments for it. This product is a must-have for any diehard MontyPython fan who has a Windows NT Workstation!

Al Unser, Jr. Arcade Racing
Even if it isn't exactly the same as strapping yourself into the driver'sseat of an Indy race car, this program will leave tread marks on your desktop.Al Unser. Jr. Arcade Racing seems to be the only product in Mindscape's currentcrop of titles that is NT-compatible. The others are DOS-based, and as such,they are not NT-aware.

To run the program, all you need is a CD-ROM drive and a compatible soundcard--although it works fine without the sound card if you just want to driveand don't care about the audio. The program installs from CD but runs from yourhard drive. There is an additional audio track on the CD for music during gameplay if you want to leave the CD in the drive while you play.

Al Unser, Jr. Arcade Racing is a good game: It features a number ofdifferent tracks and cars and has options for keyboard or joystick input andsound setup. The graphics, although not quite on the level you could expect froma Sony PlayStation or other similarly accelerated videogame systems, areadequate and include plenty of texture mapping for added realism. A big plus tothis game is that it runs just as well on a 75-MHz 486 portable as it does on a90-MHz Pentium desktop.

Look for titles in the future from Mindscape that use advanced graphicstechniques that greatly enhance realism during game play. (Mindscapedemonstrated a new driving game at Comdex that was quite impressive). Futuretitles that the company develops for Windows 95 should, like Al Unser, run underNT.

Frankenstein--Through the Eyes of the Monster
Cinematic CD games are getting better and better (see screen 2). They arealso attracting bigger and bigger stars: Frankenstein features actor Tim Curryas Dr. Frankenstein.

Frankenstein -- Through the Eyes of the Monster
This story, based on the timeless tale by Mary Shelley, is told from an interestingperspective: You are the creature. You awake with only dim memories andno sense of purpose. Your objective is to find out who you are and why you arehere. To do this, you navigate Frankenstein's lab and castle, and while youwon't have a real idea of your purpose at first (just as the monster doesn't),you will discover it.

Frankenstein--Through the Eyes of the Monster is a well put-together game.It has excellent full-color graphics, smooth animation, and high-quality sound.Curry pops up periodically as an appropriately evil visage of Dr. Frankenstein,and he's joined by several incidental characters.

Battle Beast
It's hard to tell exactly who the audience is for this game. On one hand,Battle Beast features Mortal Kombat-type action. But on the other, theanimation is decidedly cartoon-like with cute little fish and lizards who doncombat gear for a battle to the death.

Game play is straightforward, although there is an enormous number of keycommands. You have multiple beasts and arenas to choose from. Battle Beast alsosupports game play over a network or modem connection.

The action is smooth and the sound is good, but anyone older than 10 mightfind the game a little difficult to get used to. You might consider this one foryour kids when they visit your office.

Treasure Quest
Soon to be released for Windows 95 and NT (slated for March 22, at 12:14a.m. in your time zone--note the date and time because it could be a clue!),Treasure Quest stars Terry Farrell (see the sidebar "Computers andHollywood: An Interview with Terry Farrell" on page 64) of Star Trek:Deep Space Nine fame. Farrell is the only actress in the game, and she playsmore than 10 characters, including the guide.

Treasure Quest is based on the popular mystery novel Masquerade.The story is about fortune hunters who scour the countryside in search of buriedtreasure. Play fast and pay attention because there's a $1,000,000 prize for thefirst person who wins the game. You can play alone or go on-line and team upwith others around the country to search for clues.

Music
Music software can be useful to both developers and hobbyists alike. If youplan to include non-sampled music in your business presentations and multimediaprograms or if you just play and record your own music on the weekends, MusicalInstrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is the way to do it.

The MIDI standard, developed by Yamaha and Roland (among others) during theearly 1980s, is a serial communications protocol that allows you to record music"events" (such as the timing, duration, and pitch of a note played) ina digital format that you can replay and edit later. MIDI is also used forcontrolling multiple electronic instruments, effects processors, or otherequipment from a master source, such as a MIDI keyboard or computer. Furtherextensions to this protocol include file transfers and universal formats forsound sample data.

Sound cards that adhere to these standards, such as SoundBlaster AWE32 fromCreative Labs, use what is called a "general MIDI" setup to ensurethat a standard MIDI file will play with the proper sounds in the right pitches.Sound cards in this category have a standard built-in instrument set, so whenyou load software (such as games), the music will come across as it should.

Studio4
Studio4 is a new package that can play MIDI files through the built-insounds on your card, as well as function as a sequencer for external MIDIdevices (see screen 3).

Studio4
The Studio4 installer lets youselect either the 16-bit or the 32-bit version of the program: This is one ofthe first music programs specifically aimed at NT multimedia. The user interfacefeatures a "mixing board" metaphor with sliders, bar-graph LEDs,knobs, lights, and a scrolling music window that shows exactly where you are inthe score. The product worked well for the most part, although I did find acouple of bugs where the mixer or the scrolling music would stop displaying evenwhen the music continued to play.

All MIDI parameters, such as channel and port, are fully configurable, andthe package supports notation with lyrics, multiple parts, and real-time scoringfrom direct input. Although it's not as full-featured and versatile as someother available packages, such as Master Tracks Pro from Passport and Mark ofthe Unicorn (which are strictly 16-bit), Studio4 is inexpensive and offers you astraightforward music program.

MIDIScan
Version 2.5 of MIDIScan for Windows is actually a 16-bit application(although a true 32-bit NT native version is on the way), but it does run on NTwithout a problem--well, sort of.

MIDIScan performs optical character recognition (OCR) on scored music andallows you to input sheet-music images (either directly from a scanner or from astored TIFF file) and output MIDI files. The difficulty in using MIDIScan liesin finding a scanner to use with it. Hewlett-Packard doesn't currently providesupport on NT for any of its scanners--from the Scanjet through the 4C. Theremight be other scanners on the market that work, but I'm not aware of any. Youwould have to investigate each one separately.

MIDIScan's interface is clean and straightforward, but I was unable to testhow accurate the program is because of the scanner problem. If you are a gamesdeveloper and want to use standard music without entering it note by note, thispackage is not only your best choice, it's your only choice. You'll just need todo some research to find a viable scanner first.

Sound Cards

SoundBlaster AWE32
Creative Labs is one of the leaders in the sound-card market, which youcould guess by the "SoundBlaster Compatible" logo you'll find on othervendors' games, CDs, and sound cards.

The SoundBlaster AWE32, released in August 95, is the latest in CreativeLabs' lineup. This version features Windows NT drivers, which are available fromthe company's bulletin board and the FTP site ftp.creatie.com. There is a catch,however: If you have an older version of the board that's notplug-and-play but does have the jumpers for selecting the base I/Oaddress and interrupt vector, you won't have any problem loading the drivers andrunning your card. On the other hand, if you have the new board, it won't workbecause NT doesn't support the plug-and-play interface. You can't configure thenew board without support for plug-and-play, and you will most likely haveconflicts over the default interrupts and addresses. The only way around thisproblem is to boot DOS, run Creative Lab's configuration program to set theboard values and load the drivers, and warm boot NT. You must do this every timeyou start your machine; otherwise, NT won't find the card.

That aside, the SoundBlaster AWE32 is still a nice card. It featuresheadphone-, line-, and microphone-level inputs (for sampling at up to 44.1kHz at16 bits) and outputs, and a game/MIDI port. The SoundBlaster AWE32 uses a newchipset from E-mu Systems, which provides the basic wave table and synthesistechnology. You can add up to 28MB of memory to the card for loading new soundsas "Sound Fonts," which can then be used by the card to build newpatches for MIDI playback. The card supports 32-note polyphony, is 16-voicemulti-timbral, and features 128 general MIDI-compatible instruments (1MBof ROM), 10 drum kits, and hundreds of unique sounds. The package comes with avariety of software, from speech recognition to song playing.

Audiotrix Pro
The Audiotrix Pro, which uses digital signal processor (DSP) chip technologyfrom Yamaha, offers high-end audio capabilities to users of both Intel andRISC-based systems, specifically the Alpha. I was unable to test it on MIPS orPowerPC systems.

The Audiotrix Pro's capabilities include 24-voice polyphony (via wave-tableand FM synthesis), 16-bit stereo sound at 48kHz, and 4:1 sound compression. Itis fully compatible with all existing sound standards, such as Ad Lib,SoundBlaster, and MPC 2. The card comes with a wealth of software for utilizingits power, and MediaTrix maintains a Web site from which you can download MIDImusic files, sound files, and other related software.

One nice feature of the Audiotrix is its upgradability: The upgrades giveyou sound ROM expansion, a CD-ROM controller, and additional DSP effects.Although the drivers for the add-on cards are not yet ready for NT, they will bereleased in the near future.

The best feature I found on this card was that I could drop it into anAlpha-based workstation, and by simply loading the Windows Sound System driversfor NT, it powered up and worked fine for playing audio files. The catch is thatits MIDI does not work on NT because NT lacks support for plug-and-play devices.As in the case of the SoundBlaster AWE32, you can load drivers and configure thecard from DOS and then warm boot NT to get everything to work. Unfortunately,this approach doesn't work on an Alpha workstation (no DOS!). MediaTrix saysit's continuing to work on the problems and will have a NT solution ready soon.