Sound Fix in DarkEngine games

[Digital Nightfall]

I can confirm that this DOES work. I just tried it on a PC with an SB Audigy, where the sound was fine for 1 - 3 seconds and then cut out. Hardware acceleration was unselectable. After using this fix, everything is the way it should be.

[ACatsPaw]

I do not know if this is caused by the Sound problem in the DarkEngine, but as another user also experienced, I'm having "positional" stereo problems, where the guards may sound very loud - IF I face the right direction, and when making a little spin on my feet, they suddenly sound very low. I can make a 360 degree spin at exactly same location with guard muttering volume going up and down.

Besides that, in the tutorial/training mission, there's a Keeper learning you how to be "ninja"^_^ He's very low too, and I can't make out what he's saying. Then when you've avoided the light in the first test, and come up to the instructor of the test, he says soemthing like "Good, I did not see you approach" - I hear that loud and clear - But I can't hear the Keeper guy so good - Only the instructors that there is at each test. I can hear jumps and footsteps etc. but when Garrett speaks it's really low.

I tried placing the A3D.dll file in the System32 folder & renaming the A3D.dll in dllcache to A3D.dll_ - I've tried to put the file into the game folder too. I've turned Hardware Acceleration and EAX on, but it doesn't work

Couldn't/can't find the EAX file on goggle -

Thx for taking time!

[sNeaksieGarrett]

This fix doesn't work for me either. My computer already had the exact version I am suppose to have, a3dx5, 80.0.0.3 - Same size and everything. I even tried putting it in my thief 2 folder, as well as trying another version. No such luck. Probably why it does not work is because I have a cheap card that doesn't have true EAX, from what I have heard. Though I would think it would work in newer games with EAX. I think it's just not compatible with thief.

[sNeaksieGarrett]

i can't find this "eax3.exe" - can you link me to it, or send it to me?

[EvaUnit02]

Second hit on google for "eax3.exe".

[sNeaksieGarrett]

Fix didn't work, but thanks.

[Malleus]

This is probably a noob question, but if I have an 5.1 speaker setup, and the game has harware acceleration off in the audio menu, it still uses all five (six) speakers, right?

[baeuchlein]

if I have an 5.1 speaker setup, and the game has harware acceleration off in the audio menu, it still uses all five (six) speakers, right?

I usually get sound only from the two stereo speakers in this case, and I have verified this with at least two different sound cards. Unless your sound card drivers are very different, you only get stereo sound from two speakers.

[dimbiaenpet]

Hello,
I have a question concerning this sound fix.
Just installed thief2 since a long time and the sounds are normal. But when, for examble, I go to my map and return to the game, the sounds are incredibly loud. Some moving around with mouse stops most of the loud noises, but I have to set the ambient noise back manually.

I have an audigy 2 ZS soundcard. Will this soundfix also fix my problem and will it have any consequences for other games/movies?

Thank you.
I'll be glad to give more info if asked for.

[DaNtAn]

Ok, firstly I would like to say thanks to "DaNtAn" for getting the sound to work perfectly for me (I can now hear footsteps, myself jumping/landing, voice acting, doors opening etc.)

But.....the game freezes for me now!! (and not in the same area/time either)
Sometimes, it happens directly when I move at the start of the first mission, other times I would get as far as a sewer, jump down and then it freezes, another time it froze when I got to the well area.

Anyone know how to fix this problem? I'm very close to giving up at this stage (first the videos didn't work, I fixed that. Then I got the blank screen, I fixed that problem eventually also. Then as you know, the sound wasn't working, and now, it freezes! I've never came across a more non XP-friendly game than this!)

First off, I'm glad that 3d sound works for you now ! I'm on Vista now and have a generic on board sound card, my in game Hardware Acceleration option is disabled (So is EAX), I will see if what I have posted works for Vista too .

I had the same problem with the Freezing issue. But it was because of another thing. Do you by any chance have a Wide screen monitor? If so, do the following :

NOTE 01: Install the update (1.07 > 1.18).
NOTE 02: MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR GAME'S EXE FILE ! ! ! ; Just make a copy of it.
NOTE 03: Download a "fix" (Use the Australian one, works great, don't blame me if it doesn't) and replace the game exe (Do NOTE 02 FIRST!), start following the instructions .

01) Download DDFix ;
02) Go to where you have installed the game (t1/t2 or SS2) (leave that folder open in the background) ;
03) Press the Start button and type in the "Start Search" field, notepad (notepad should open up, if your on XP just select the "Run" command) ;
04) Drag and Drop the file CAM.CFG (from your T2 directory) into the notepad window ;
05) Change the value of the following line to any wide screen resolution (1440 900 or 1680 1050 are nice resolutions ) : game_screen_size 1440 900
*If you do not have the following line, than add it*
06) Extract the contents of the file ddfix to your game directory;
07) Run ddfix and press the "Expert Mode" button (a new window should come up);
08) Inside the new window (ddfix.ini) specify the same width and height that you've set in the CAM.CFG file.
09) Save the changes and close the window ;
10) Run ddfix again, but this time around press the "Apply Patch" button ;
11) Download DarkWidescreen-v6r3 and extract it to your game dir ;
12) Read the readme file of DarkWidescreen-v6r3 it's pretty straight forward ;
13) After reading it, run DarkWidescreen-v6r3 and set the same resolution that you have set in CAM.CFG and ddfix.ini ;

This where the steps that I toke to make my Thief 2 run. I hope it will help you too

I have a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz,
should't that support the A3D correctly out of the box?

I sitll don't understand what's causing the issue with the audio levels.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...ews/santacruz/
It's not an A3D capable card. Sorry
Montego II Quadzilla is one of the few that has the 8830 chip on it

[cyclops1101]

The A3D.dll fix did not work for me, Im still experiencing very quite sounds when up close to them and I can barely hear footsteps. So im thinking of getting another sound card, my current is a c-media onboard.
My question will another sound card make the ingame sounds better or will it still use the A3D.dll?

[baeuchlein]

The A3D.dll fix did not work for me, Im still experiencing very quite sounds when up close to them and I can barely hear footsteps. So im thinking of getting another sound card, my current is a c-media onboard.
My question will another sound card make the ingame sounds better or will it still use the A3D.dll?

Everything is possible, unfortunately. If you really want to buy another sound card, make sure that

• the problem is not present when using your onboard sound chip and playing with hardware (sound) acceleration off - if it's still present then, it's not a problem with a3d.dll, as far as I know
• the onboard sound of your motherboard can be disabled
• the sound card you buy works flawlessly for another one playing Thief

The last one is a bit difficult. Ideally, you should find someone using the same operating system which you use and already using exactly the same sound card which you want to buy. If this other player has no problems with sound when playing Thief with hardware acceleration (sound, not graphics), then this would be a solution for your problem.

The more you deviate from this line, the more uncertain your results will be - I think.

I am using a C-Media onboard sound as well, but I don't know which one it is exactly, and I have not tried much concerning hardware accelerated positioning sounds in Thief. My sound chip is connected to the VIA VT8237 south bridge on my ASRock K7VT4A Pro motherboard. What can you tell us about your C-Media onboard sound? Maybe someone else knows more about your sound chip.

(EDIT) I have identified my C-Media sound chip as a VIA3059/CMI9761 sound chip by now.(/EDIT)

[cyclops1101]

I have no idea about my C-media or how to find out.

the problem is not present when using your onboard sound chip and playing with hardware (sound) acceleration off - if it's still present then, it's not a problem with a3d.dll, as far as I know

It works flawlessly with Acceleration off. So I tried Thief on a computer that is using a Toshiba Sound/usb hub and Thief works perfectly with Acceleration on. So I bought one (please note this hardware is not compatable with Vista, Well not without some major tweaking!) and everything sounds like it should except closing doors are mysteriously quiet, Im sure they used to be louder. but all other sounds are spot on. :-)

[DaNtAn]

Have you tried, installing different drivers for your C-Media chip? cyclops1101 are you running a Vista setup or an older setup (XP, 2000 or Win9x)?

[cyclops1101]

I may try different drivers in the future but for now my current setup works perfectly. I use a Win XP setup

[sNeaksieGarrett]

cyclops, where did you get this toshiba device from? do you have a weblink?

[cyclops1101]

I got mine from amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Mult...1908146&sr=8-1

but there are cheaper ones from here:

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/Sho...ProductID=3508

Unfortunatly Toshiba have discontinued manufacturing and support for it. Which is a shame since it really is a neat 5.1 sound card and has 4 self powered USB's. I recommend it for Windows XP or earlier. If you intend to use it on vista a guy tells you how in the comments section of the amazon link.

[sNeaksieGarrett]

Hah, funny, I did a quick search and found that exact same item on amazon.com

Strange, I don't understand how it could possibly work. The description says it's got EAX Advanced HD, and that almost like having a (modern) creative card. (Which is what I already have in this desktop - a Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit.)

Are you sure it "works perfectly" with acceleration on? If I run thief gold with EAX on it sounds really echoey (best way I can think of describing it) and quiet. I much prefer acceleration off. I think the only way to truly make thief sound the way it was meant to is to have a really old sound card. (Or so I thought...)

[mudi]

^^ A SB Live 24-bit was the only way I could get acceleration to work right in Thief 1... ever. All the other cards I've had have had the muffled echoey stupidness. I was thinking of buying a new SB card just to get that, but they don't make Live drivers for Vista/7 (ANNOYING ) and I don't know what cards people have had luck with...

[sNeaksieGarrett]

What? How is this possible? You must have a special SB Live 24-bit, cause mine sounds like shit with thief. I wonder if it's the drivers being used, and the settings in the sound blaster control panel thing that are making it work right (or not work right.)

(Note: I'm not saying that I can't turn acceleration on, just saying that there's just something about the way it sounds that doesn't seem right to me. Unless, EAX is supposed to sound that way. ?)

[cyclops1101]

Are you sure it "works perfectly" with acceleration on? If I run thief gold with EAX on it sounds really echoey (best way I can think of describing it) and quiet. I much prefer acceleration off. I think the only way to truly make thief sound the way it was meant to is to have a really old sound card. (Or so I thought...)

Yeah it appears to be working perfectly, infact the sounds are louder using the Hardware Acceleration and EAX 'ON' - There is a bit of an echo but isnt that what EAX is supposed to do? I.e the sounds of footsteps creating an echo or the echo of a door closing etc It is these sounds that make thief more enviromental to me. Its supposed to add an echo isnt it?

My sound card came with the drivers that are mentioned at the start of this thread - the ones that my C-media didnt like. So im inclined to believe that the sounds are as they are supposed to be, are they not??

[sNeaksieGarrett]

Yeah it appears to be working perfectly, infact the sounds are louder using the Hardware Acceleration and EAX 'ON' - There is a bit of an echo but isnt that what EAX is supposed to do?

Hmm, interesting. Yeah, it should be loud, not quiet. With mine it's the opposite.

Maybe I should post a video, it's too hard to explain..... All I know is, I CAN set it to on, but it sounds wrong on my computer. If yours isn't extremely echoey, I'm baffled as to why. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's a USB toshiba device and not an actual creative card.

As to your question about echo: Environmental sounds are vast. There's not just one setting of 'echo.' If you have a creative card and look in your EAX settings, you can change the environmental effects: Such as, emulating how it would sound in a bathroom, or a theater... (I could be wrong in my understanding though, someone correct me if I'm wrong here.)

EDIT: I did some searching for a3d drivers and found this: http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/Sound

This page shows you the rundown of how each room should sound with EAX enabled based on the room type. The room I've been comparing a3d dll versions with is bafford's basement - the room right before the two guards, and after going through the room where garrett says "inside at last." This room sounds incredibly echoey (guards are loud and sound like they are in a large echoey cave or something) with a3d.dll 80.0.0.3, a3dx5, hardware acceleration On, EAX On. (This is with my SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit.) Today I bought a USB sound device for experimentation to see if it would sound better, and it halfway does sound better. The device, using the same a3d drivers and settings in Thief Gold, has less echo. The room in question has almost no echo, but it's still present unfortunately. Other rooms appear to sound alright. I also found this link, but the file didn't work for me personally (EAX forced off, thief would crash, etc.), but maybe it would for someone else. It's intended for half-life, but I don't see why it couldn't work for thief as well.

What I would love is to be able to find or emulate EAX 2.0 for thief gold/2.

[PsymH]

Not sure if this will be helpful, but with a X-Fi soundcard (in my case the SB X-Fi Xtreme Gamer) you can change the intensity of EAX effects in the mixer.

[cyclops1101]

Well looks like this Toshiba audio/usb hub isnt brilliant afterall. Thief Gold and System shock 2 run perfectly with it but Thief 2 it does not like

Hmm, interesting. Yeah, it should be loud, not quiet. With mine it's the opposite.

This is whats happening with Thief 2. The sound is quieter with Hardware acceleration on but with it off its louder and a think better. Guess I wont be having enviromental effects with Thief 2, Dang it

[baeuchlein]

There is a bit of an echo but isnt that what EAX is supposed to do? I.e the sounds of footsteps creating an echo or the echo of a door closing etc It is these sounds that make thief more enviromental to me. Its supposed to add an echo isnt it?

Depends on the room you're in.

I have not experimented much with Thief 1, but with Thief 2, and my favourite test ground is the cellar in the Rumford mansion of the first mission. Sounds in the cellar room outside the kitchen, where a lot of crates and some guards are located, should have an echo with EAX, even if you're using only two speakers. Outside the mansion, there should be no echo.

With four speakers or more, you should even get positional audio (AKA "3D sound") everywhere. Sounds emanating from behind should be heard in the rear speakers only, and so on.

Unfortunately, there are many cases where you get a variety of distortions when turning on hardware accelerated sound, sometimes even if you leave it at that and do not enable EAX.

I mainly found three kinds of errors:

1. Muffled sounds.

2. Sounds which are too faint, while other sounds are playing at full volume.

3. Sounds coming out of speakers where they're not supposed to emanate from.

(You may notice as well that overall sound volume is lower with more than two speakers configured, but since you can just raise sound volume in Control panel or by turning the knob on your hifi amplifier, I do not consider it a serious bug.)

Sometimes, these problems occur every time you play Thief. In other cases, a setup works at times, while it fails at other times, without any kind of pattern.

I have found one case where I could get sound right with the latest drivers for a sound card (Sound Blaster 4.1 Digital with Windows XP), while in another case (same card and latest driver, but for Win98SE) it never went right. Two other sound cards (Realtek ALC650, VIA3059/CMI9761) work correctly sometimes, but may produce wrong sounds right after the next reboot.

In these cases, the sound fix mentioned here did not work, while other people reported some successes and some failures.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. Don't spend too much time trying to get it right!