Test this map please

[Enjay]

[edit]Attached file has been removed - it looks as if the problem has been identified. -Enjay [/edit]

I wonder if some of you would be so kind as to test the attached map to see if you can replicate a problem that I have been emailed about.

The map is from "No End in Sight" but has been converted to MAP01 of Doom2 (the original ran on E4M4 of U Doom), the missing textures have been replaced with DeePsea defaults (purely to suppress error messages) and the monsters have been removed.

Why the test? Some people have said that there is a problem with teleport sounds when running this map. At the start of the map, if you move forward and to your right you will find a pair of teleports. There are similar setups around the map. If you could just enter a few of the teleports and report back with whether the sounds worked properly or not, it would be much appreciated.

For me, everything seems to work properly and quite why this would be map specific I don't know. However, there have been reports of the teleport sounds being cut off, missing or delayed. There has even been a suggestion that entering a number of teleports rapidly and in short succession on the map can even cause a crash.

So, if people wouldn't mind, please run the file, enter a few teleports and report back whether things worked or not. It might also be useful to get information such as which OS and what sound hardware you have.

Any suggestions as to what might be causing the problems (user settings etc) would also be welcome.

Thank you.

[Ed the Bat]

If I walk back and forth into the same teleport, the sounds seem to be functioning normally. If I'm able to strafe to the side and hit another teleport, the sound of the previous teleport kinda sounds like it gets cut off when I enter it. But, this is probably just because I'm going to a different destination, and not reappearing as close to the old fog, so the sound is not as local to my body.

Other than that, I'm not seeing any glaring issues or discrepancies.

[Enjay]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've just heard that it looks likely that the problem may be due to an ini setting. Seeing as how the map is not one of mine, has been altered for the purposes of the test and it looks as if the culprit may have been identified, I'll take the map down. However, if there is anything noteworthy to report or if further tests are needed, I'll post more.

[T_Silverwolf]

Hey there,

I tried out your map using GZDOOM and ZDOOM, both functioned fine despite my trying several different times to teleport and retrigger them from different angles to produce the error. I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 (LTS) with ALSA sound and an Intel sound chipset. (It's a laptop)

By the way, neat map, I totally got vibes of O of Destruction and Catacombs.

Hope that helps!

[Enjay]

Thanks for the feedback. Is anyone who tested the map using:

snd_speakermode=Surround

[Ed the Bat]

I have snd_speakermode set to Auto.

[T_Silverwolf]

Mine is set to Auto. I can only assume it defaults to 2 speakers or headphones, but I could see how surround sound may cause an issue if it's trying to figure out where the sound originated from.

[Enjay]

Mine is set to 7.1 (which reflects my hardware) but I tried all the other settings too and didn't notice any problems like the ones that were reported. However, on the machine where the problem was initially reported, the "surround" setting (which I think corresponds to the 5 speakers menu option) does seem to be responsible.

[edit] I probably should have linked to the project thread for No End in sight on Doomworld:

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/6 ... 0-release/

For some reason, the episode 4 maps (including the one in question) are not in the beta linked to in that thread though. [/edit]

[edward850]

Mine is set to Auto. I can only assume it defaults to 2 speakers or headphone

It defaults to however many speakers FMOD detects are configured on the current sound device. Which can be anything from mono to 7.1.

[Enjay]

I can't check MENUDEF right now. Does the menu system have the number of speakers choices defined in MENUDEF of are they only listed if they are available on the system (like graphics modes are)?

[edward850]

All speaker modes are listed, however FMOD doesn't appear to use anything it can't detect (at least on my system). They actual speaker mode it is successfully using is reported by snd_status.

[Xaser]

Some people have said that there is a problem with teleport sounds when running this map.

Who and where? I've never seen this particular piece of feedback.

Granted, the map in question isn't mine, but it's worth passing the word along if there's some sort of map-related cause. That and I sometimes end up debugging NT's maps a bit in case of vanilla insanity, so I might be relevant anyway.

As a for-the-record, E4's not in the linked thread because it's not complete just yet. Sorta surprised to hear there's a version with E4 floating around somewhere.

[Enjay]

It seems as if the problem is not related to the map as such. It's just that the opportuity to teleport frequently exposed the problem. It seems as if the problem is related to a driver/hardware problem and possibly how the sound setup is being handled by ZDoom.

The system where the problem was reported is a WinXP one using a Creative X-Fi sound card. The creative control panel lists these options:

2/2.1 Speakers
4/4.1 Speakers
Headphones
5.1 Speakers
7.1 Speakers

However, ZDoom allows setting 5 speakers as an option in the sound setup (5 speakers not being something available in the creative control panel - though 5.1 is)

When ZDoom is set to 5 speakers, apparently the problems mentioned occur. Here is the snd_status output when the option is set to 5 speakers:

Code: Select all

LOADED FMOD VERSION: 4.26.36
OUTPUT TYPE: DIRECT SOUND
SPEAKER MODE: SURROUND
DRIVER: 0 (SB X-FI AUDIO [EC00])
        MIN FREQUENCY: 1
        MAX FREQUENCY: 192000
    FEATURES
        HARDWARE MIXING
        MULTICHANNEL
        PCM-8   PCM-16  PCM-24  PCM-32  PCM-FLOAT
SOFTWARE MIXER SAMPLE RATE: 44100
SOFTWARE MIXER FORMAT: PCM-32
SOFTWARE MIXER CHANNELS: 5
SOFTWARE MIXER RESAMPLES: LINEAR
DSP BUFFERS: 1024 SAMPLES x 4

(this was apparently typed by hand because the user didn't know about the logfile function)

On changing the ZDoom option to 5.1, the chanels entry changes to:

Code: Select all

SOFTWARE MIXER CHANNELS 6

And apparently the problem goes away.

So there is something odd going on, but it seems as if it is nothing to do with the map. for whatever reason, the creative setup does not have a 5 speakers option. Setting ZDoom to use a 5 speakers option thereby seems to confuse the teleport sound in this map (possibly because the 3D positional stuff going on in ZDoom is trying to send stuff to the soundcard in a mode that it doesn't support) and eventually, a crash results.

I suspect that this is hardware/driver specific but it would be interesting to get some ideas on it anyway.

That's all I have. The user concerned is not someone who visits these boards. I don't have a crash report file and the user mentioned having to use Ctrl-Alt-Del to get control of their machine back so perhaps one isn't being generated.

As for where the E4 map came from... I have no idea. Was a version with E4 maps in it ever released, even temporarily as a public beta or something?

[edward850]

It's an FMOD issue, and by FMOD, I mean a Creative issue. Their drivers have a habit of misreporting what the card is capable of doing, and FMOD can only do what it's told. This has been a long standing problem with Creative sound cards.
Basically, the sound is being outputted with an absent or misplaced speaker as a result, so while the sound is playing back at a specific angle, it comes out an incorrect channel.

[Enjay]

Well, that certainly makes sense. Thank you.