Better sound for Descent 1 and 2!

A forum just for you old time Descent and Descent2 players.
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

These midi to mp3 converters can produce strange results. I say just one word: quack... :wink:

Listen, for example, to the mp3 conversion of game12.mid of Descent1. :lol:
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Post by Diedel »

You're right, that song's mp3 conversion sounds significantly different from the midi version. :shock:

But that converter can also do OGG, and that sounds very close to the original. :)
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

Version 1.4 of my soundfont has been finished. I managed to reduce the file size dramatically by removing of all unused instruments and audio samples. This has no influence on sound quality. On the contrary: I improved it to a level that is better than ever before. :)

The RAR file has now a size of only 16 MB. Unpacked, the soundfont is 25 MB large. This should be good news especially for all SB Live! owners who weren't able to load my soundfont, because of its big size. :)

@KoolBear:

Thanks again for providing me with the necessary webspace for the downloads.
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Post by holbred »

Version 1.4a has been finished and is ready for download. :) This is merely a bugfix release, since I discovered that two instruments (Saw Wave and Synth Bass 2) did not sound as they were supposed to do. Because of the fact that they are very important for the music of Descent 1, I strongly recommend to download the new version. These two instruments appear, for example, in the following Midis: briefing.mid, descent.mid, game02.mid, game04.mid, game12.mid, game15.mid, game19.mid, game21.mid.

For a precise description of how to use it, please visit my soundfont page:

http://home.arcor.de/hbredel/Soundfonts ... glish.html
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

Version 1.5 is ready for download. :) It offers improved basses (they sound stronger than before) and a \"new\" instrument (harpsichord). This new instrument can be heard at the beginning of level 1 of Descent 2.

Just one word about the difference between version 1.3 and 1.5: you may have noticed that version 1.4 and above are much smaller in size than 1.3. This has nothing to do with sound quality. In version 1.3 there were a lot of unused samples. These samples were accumulated when I replaced an instrument with that of another soundfont. The old samples stayed in my soundfont and made it bigger and bigger. But they didn't have any more function. Therefore, I decided to use another soundfont editor. It's called \"Viena\" and has the big advantage that you can remove \"junk\" samples with one mouse click. I did that and the size of my soundfont shrinked immensely. But the sound quality is the same as before - and even better now, because I improved it from version to version! :)

Any comments?
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

Version 1.6 is finished. It can be downloaded from the following website:

http://holbred.koolbear.com/8mbgm_enhanced16.rar

If you like to hear sound samples, here are some mp3s of Descent und Descent 2:

Descent:

title music: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... cc2caeea5f
level 1: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... a327aefa2a
level 2: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... 4455275eaa
level 12: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... e90c33fe53

Descent 2:

title music: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... d1785d197a
level 1: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... 9cbfb46724
level 2: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... 318e305b42
level 4: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... ccf58f8ce1

You find a comparison between my soundfont and the standard soundfont of Creative on my website:

http://www.bredel.homepage.t-online.de/ ... glish.html

Maybe the one or another may be willing to exchange his cheap sound card against a better one. ;-)

Edit:

Just added two OGG sound samples.

Descent Level 12: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... c261bbf575

Descent 2 Level 4: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... 691098c878
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Post by Wishmaster »

I'll dig out my SB Live! CD so I can check out the SoundFonts; your sample MP3 I listened to sounded great.

If anyone still wants an MP3 conversion of the D1 midis, I have a high-quality rendering I did using Cakewalk + Edirol VSC Synth. I should be able to get you a total package size of less than 100 MB at a good bitrate.
C:\\>cd games\\descent
C:\\GAMES\\DESCENT>descent
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

Wishmaster wrote:If anyone still wants an MP3 conversion of the D1 midis, I have a high-quality rendering I did using Cakewalk + Edirol VSC Synth. I should be able to get you a total package size of less than 100 MB at a good bitrate.
I assume you are using a software synthesizer for creating the MP3s. I don't think that these files sound as good as those MP3s which were created with the hardware synthesizer of the sound card. The above MP3s were produced by using my soundfont and the synthesizer of my Creative Audigy 2. I did not use a software synthesizer.

The differences between software and hardware synthesizers can be heard in almost every Midi file of Descent. They are especially audible in game12.mid. If you wish, you can post a download link for a MP3 of this Midi file. It could be interesting to compare this MP3 with my MP3 of the Midi music of level 12. :wink:
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Post by MD-2389 »

Wishmaster wrote:If anyone still wants an MP3 conversion of the D1 midis, I have a high-quality rendering I did using Cakewalk + Edirol VSC Synth. I should be able to get you a total package size of less than 100 MB at a good bitrate.
Hate to break it to you, but you were beat to that by three or four years by Vlindicator. ;) Now if a certain slacker will upload them to PD like he said he would over a month ago.... :P
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Post by Wishmaster »

Ah, shoot. Too bad.
holbred wrote:I assume you are using a software synthesizer for creating the MP3s. I don't think that these files sound as good as those MP3s which were created with the hardware synthesizer of the sound card. The above MP3s were produced by using my soundfont and the synthesizer of my Creative Audigy 2. I did not use a software synthesizer.
Yes, I was. I guess it's all a matter of personal opinion, though there's a distinct filesize advantage to the SoundFonts, I know. Here's my level 12 sample:

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... b69fabc965
C:\\>cd games\\descent
C:\\GAMES\\DESCENT>descent
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

For comparison: here's a new version of my level 12 sample. I made it with Beta 1.7 of my soundfont. Listen to the piano.

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f= ... 39f7449afa
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Wishmaster
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Post by Wishmaster »

Nice. I do like the \"MIDI piano\" sound to it.
C:\\>cd games\\descent
C:\\GAMES\\DESCENT>descent
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Post by holbred »

Version 1.7 has just been finished and is ready for download:

http://holbred.koolbear.com/8mbgm_enhanced17.rar

Nothing dramatically has changed. I tried to add more deepness in it. You can probably hear the most difference in level 12 and level 21.
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Post by holbred »

I released a new version of my soundfont a few days ago. In version 1.8, I fixed only a small bug. The \"Sweep Pad\" was a bit too loud. You can hear the differences most likely in the music of level 3 (game03.mid or game03.hmp).

Here's the download link:

http://holbred.koolbear.com/8mbgm_enhanced18.rar

Let's come to the second news: I recorded the whole music of Descent 1 and Descent 2 with Winamp as WAV files and converted it into the OGG format. The results are excellent! All files were recorded of the original hmp files of Descent 1 and 2 in 48 khz using the hardware synthesizer of my Audigy 2. Then I used oggdropXP to convert the WAV files into OGG. The OGGs are of high quality. Each of them has a bitrate of 192 kbps.
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Post by WillyP »

I'm dl'ing now... If you'd like I can host them on Prepare For Descent.
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holbred
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Post by holbred »

No, that's not necessary. But thanks!
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Post by WillyP »

They sound great!
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Post by holbred »

Since some users reported that DXX-Rebirth has some troubles with 48 khz OGGS, I recorded the whole music of Descent 1 and Descent 2 again with a sample rate of 44.1 khz. This time, I made OGGs and MP3s. :-) Again, all files are of high quality. Each of them has a bitrate of approximately 192 kbps.

Here are the download links for the MP3 and OGG files:

D1-MP3s.zip - 105 MB
D1-OGGs.zip - 115 MB
D2-MP3s.zip - 31 MB
D2-OGGs.zip - 30,5 MB
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