LOOM sound not working

[eriktorbjorn]

So I named the tracks 01-18, but now I wonder if this is correct and when track01 will actually be played.

That should be correct: ScummVM expects the audio tracks to be numbered 1 and upwards, even though I guess technically track 1 on the CD is the data track.

With the caveat that I've never played the game on a real FM Towns, nor in an FM Towns emulator, I don't think track 1 (and its alternative form, track 9) are played at all in the FM Towns version. In the EGA version, that tune is used for the Roland MT-32 overture but the FM Towns doesn't seem to have that. (It's no big loss, since it's pretty much just a black screen with the word "OVERTURE".) The tune is also used in the TurboGrafx-16 version, but as a replacement for another tune. It's strange.

The second audio track is what's used for the intro, and sounds similar to what the EGA and VGA versions use.

The table in the Loom wiki page "accidentally" documents what the FM Towns audio tracks are used for. Well, almost. It turns out that some short musical stings that the EGA version uses for certain dramatic scenes (and that are essentially lifted from longer tracks) aren't played in the FM Towns version.

[TheQL]

Thanks for the info! That's soothing

I saw that table but was still unsure, as it only lists 11 tracks, but there are 18 available. Yeah, that Ouverture got lost, but I assumed so did the audio, why include a track that's never played? Too bad there isn't a "perfect" version of Loom, with all content, all dialogue (with speech/audio), CD-audio music and all...

[eriktorbjorn]

I saw that table but was still unsure, as it only lists 11 tracks, but there are 18 available. Yeah, that Ouverture got lost, but I assumed so did the audio, why include a track that's never played? Too bad there isn't a "perfect" version of Loom, with all content, all dialogue (with speech/audio), CD-audio music and all...

The table covers track 1-16 of the FM Towns version. What it calls track 10 and 11 of the EGA version aren't played by the FM Towns version, but as you can see they refer to excerpts of tracks that are played elsewhere. Each piece of music exists in two different arrangements. I haven't checked exactly how they're used, but I think it will first play the version from track 1-8 once, and then loop the (in my opinion inferior) version from track 9-16 indefinitely.

If you'll listen to tracks 17 and 18, you'll quickly realize they're not from Loom at all. Instead, they're for the non-interactive "demo" in the indyzak folder on the game CD. (There's also some music on the audio drama CD, but that isn't used in the game either of course.)

[eriktorbjorn]

Too bad there isn't a "perfect" version of Loom, with all content, all dialogue (with speech/audio), CD-audio music and all...

I like Brian Moriarty's idea for what a remastered version of Loom would look like:

If I was asked to “remaster” Loom, I would leave the original 16-color art and animation untouched, using hard-edged upscaling (with aspect-ratio correction) to fit HD monitors. The big upgrade would be the sound design, which I would re-imagine from scratch, using fully-voiced characters, ambient surround and Tchaikovsky’s score played by a real orchestra, presented in Dolby Atmos.

A few lines of dialog might be trimmed. I was a bit verbose in a couple of scenes (DO IT – Ed).

If I could actually RE-DESIGN Loom for modern PCs, the result would bear little resemblance to the original game. It would look like Kubo and the Two Strings, and play like conducting a symphony.

But I doubt we'll ever see that happen.

In the meantime, I guess the EGA version of Loom is as close to "perfect" as we'll get, though I know there are those who prefer other versions. That interview was probably partly what prompted me to make it possible for ScummVM to replace the music in it with recorded music as described in the wiki article. It's still subject to the same limitations as the original i.e. any sound effect will immediately stop the music which isn't always ideal. On the other hand, as the FM Towns and TurboGrafx-16 versions clearly demonstrate not stopping the music isn't always ideal either.

I'm in the process of straightening out a few remaining bugs in the replacement music feature, though.

[TheQL]

Thanks for your explanation and work!

EDIT: I think for starters I'd be happy with looping music for the VGA-version, I like voice over but otherwise it's so silent most of the time... Wouldn't care much if MIDI or recorded audio, both appreciated... But I can imagine this is not as simple as it sounds...

EDIT2: Originally I have only ever played the EGA-version as a kid. Playing the FMTOWNS-version for a few minutes already made me fed up with the looping music blasting in my ears though

[eriktorbjorn]

EDIT2: Originally I have only ever played the EGA-version as a kid. Playing the FMTOWNS-version for a few minutes already made me fed up with the looping music blasting in my ears though

That's one of the main reasons I don't enjoy the FM Towns version as much as the EGA music. There just isn't enough music in the game to support playing it non-stop, I think. Maybe if they picked out a couple of more pieces from the ballet, and had better-sounding recordings of it...

The TurboGrafx-16 version is better in that respect, I guess, though it can get a bit grating too. Particularly around the blacksmiths. You can check for yourself in either of these two playthroughs I found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKoVLIxcHI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tUJVGprr0

Unfortunately, even this version (at least in English) has gotten a lot more expensive on eBay since I bought mine. I remember thinking of it as the cheaper option if you couldn't find an affordable copy of the FM Towns version. (I still like the EGA version better, though.)