RejZoR’s OpenAL Generic Fixer

RejZoR, the mighty Guru, has provided all of us Creative victims with a handly little tool. The tool solves a number of OpenAL issues that Creative never bothered to address (probably never noticed). Respect most high to the sheep-like one. You might want to add RejZor’s blog to your favourites too…

OpenAL Generic Fixer 1.0 released!

Sunday, 29. June 2008, 14:01:58

Oh and don’t forget to update your audio drivers if you haven’t already!

Situations where this tool might help:
- no sound in games
- sound is skipping or has bad delay
- cannot enable Hardware Acceleration in games
- cannot enable EAX audio effects
- when games crash with error “OpenAL32.dll cannot be found” or something similar

Super Smash Bros. Brawl! European Release Tomorrow!

In the goatshed, we’ve been waiting for a couple of years for Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. The goatherd are very Nintendo orientated - but Super Smash Bros has always provided first class gameplay. Firstly on the N64 and then on the GameCube -now we can play on the Wii. Finally, possibly the best Smash Brothers release to date is going to be released!

All the years of built up aggression can be released -it’s here. I hope all my fellow Europeans have their pre-orders, because early indications point to mass sell out tomorrow.

While your waiting for midnight, feel free to drool over my son’s Limited Edition Super Smash Bros Brawl Collectors Edition.

 

X-Fi Crystalizer for SB Audigy Series

Warning: This software is unofficial, not supported by Creative Technology Ltd.

Use it at your own risk. 

 

This utility was written from scratch and does not contain any copyrighted code. Creative’s director of developer relations, George Thorn told me, in a chat session, that is OK to provide mods as patches.

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X-Fi Crystalizer for Creative SB Audigy series 1.2.0.0 - by Daniel Kawakami

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WARNING: Use this utility at your own risk, without any guaranties.

This small utility will unlock X-Fi Crystalizer on any Audigy card, except the Audigy SE/Value/LS.

 It requires Windows running in Safe Mode.

 

 
How to use:

 1) Install the unofficial “SB Audigy Series Installation Disc for Windows XP/Vista” (new version, unreleased) or “SB Audigy series Vista Support Pack” from Daniel Kawakami (daniel_k).

 Restart Windows to complete the driver installation.

 2) Restart Windows in Safe Mode.

Install the X-Fi Console, then run CrystalizerUnlocker.

Restart Windows in Normal Mode.

 3) Open the X-Fi Console and enjoy!

 IMPORTANT NOTES:

 This is a software (host-based) implementation of Crystalizer

 CMSS in Audio Console/EAX Settings only works with OpenAL/ALchemy

These utilities configure CMSS in hardware mode, that requires OpenAL or ALchemy. Disable CMSS to avoid conflicts with X-Fi CMSS-3D.

 In software mode, used by Windows Vista, use the X-Fi Console to enable X-Fi CMSS-3D.

X-Fi Console

Provides the following audio enhancements:

- EAX effects
- X-Fi CMSS-3D
- X-Fi Crystalizer

These enhancements only work with the Windows Vista audio system, that uses software processing and don’t work with OpenAL and ALchemy.

When using X-Fi CMSS-3D, disable CMSS in Audio Console/EAX Settings to avoid conflicts.

 *** There were some bugs in the previous version.

*** To install this new version, you must remove everything, including the driver, applications, “Creative” folders in “Program Files” and all registry entries.

 The X-Fi Console is just the “X-Fi Audio Console” renamed to co-exist with the Audigy Audio Console and the unnecessary tabs were removed.

Without the CrystalizerUnlocker, it does nothing, so it was not “cracked”.

X-Fi Console and its files are property of Creative Technology Ltd.

Download: Crystalizer Unlocker (19.4 Kb)

                 X-Fi Console 2.50.11 (5.78 Mb)

 

“Beefy Bass Has Returned”

In practice, the Crystalizer is a dedicated, dynamic equalizer (Exciter). Its main function is to enhance the high and low frequencies of the input audio. Other functions include modifying a certain range of frequencies in order to achieve better perceived sound quality on a wider array of equipment such as headphones and speakers, and also to digitally increase the volume by about 3db. The Crystalizer emphasis can be adjusted between 0-100% when enabled, however even at 0% the audio is still processed partially. As a consequence of enabling the Crystalizer, the original signal is altered, and whether the result improves upon the original audio is purely a matter of perception and can depend on the type of audio being played.

Creative “Offer” ALchemy Refunds For Audigy Owners!

I really couldn’t believe this post on the Creative user forums. It looks as if Audigy owners may finally be getting heard. It’s called an “offer”. It’s as close to an apology as we are going to get I’m afraid.

Hello Soundblaster forum users,

I have an update for ALchemy for Audigy users. The same rules Cat mentioned apply, keep the discussion constructive and in the Feedback Thread please.

_______________

Creative has reviewed the discussions concerning ALchemy for Audigy on this forum and others. A new free version of the ALchemy application for Audigy owners will be released in the week of May 19th. Audigy owners that have already purchased ALchemy are being offered a refund of the purchase price of $9.99. To request a refund, please visit here. Complete the email form specifying the email address you used to purchase ALchemy For Audigy. The refund will be made to the credit card that was used for the original purchase. Please allow 30 days for the refund to take place. This offer is valid until 30th June.

The ALchemy application is being provided independent of the drivers, as it is not a driver. The new version of the application works with both X-Fi and Audigy products, and we have added additional updates relating to some popular games that behave differently on the X-Fi chipset as compared to the Audigy chipset. We would suggest you download the latest version from CREATIVE.COM when it becomes available.

Thank You.
The Soundblaster Team.

Forum Moderator
Creative Labs

So there we have it. If you purchased Alchemy from the Creative online store you are entitled to a full refund. You need to do it fast, because the “offer” ends 30th June 2008.

I personally welcome this move. Customers shouldn’t have to buy their features back simply because a new operating system arrives. I refuse to be persuaded in to buying an X-Fi until I see a company worth buying from. I don’t understand why the “offer” can’t last longer either.

I was sold my Audigy cards based on their high end features and luxurious glossy advertisements. Maybe they should have government health style warnings that state “the support is only valid for 90 days and is usually automated”.

Yes, I welcome the move -it’s a step in the right direction.
Shame they can’t “offer” working official drivers yet.

 

“Most people downloaded ALchemy Universal anyway”.

Xpert Vision ATi HD 3850 PCI-E Graphics Card Review

Official Product Website:  http://www.xpertvision.com/

My old graphics card just wasn’t coming up with the frame rates it used to. I’m becoming increasingly more addicted to games such as Team Fortress 2. My battle-hardened Geforce 6800 was pretty good in most games surprisingly - but there were signs of trouble. In some certain games (my son’s Marvell Ultimate Alliance particularly) the GPU just couldn’t handle the extra shadows, geometry and particles.

So I browsed my local e-tailers for something to put a smile back on my gaming family’s face. I was torn between ATi HD 2900Pro or the mighty new ATi HD 3850. I found a nice cheap 3850 (with 256mb) on Overclockers.co.uk for less than £100 with tax and delivery!

Click the pictures to see higher resolution images.

The Xpert Vision HD3850 box. It’s kind of Terminator-like to say the least.

The contents of the box include PCI-E Graphics card, multi-language quick-start guide, 2 molex –> PCI-E power lead, Tomb Raider Anniversary game disc and driver disc.

The actual PCB looks quite dated, in fairness. This image reveals a standard heat-sink and fan, 6 pin power input. Nothing unusual there. I have to admit I was quite gutted when I didn’t see a lovely red plastic flame exhaust thing. Oh well it was really cheap and it might be quite good. Though if you look closely you’ll see a VGA output, a Dual-Link DVI output and what’s this? A HDMI socket, not a DVI to HDMI adapter - a real proper HDMI socket!

Ok fancy some technical guff? Here’s the specifications while I plug it in and test it.

• Bus interface: PCI Express® 2.0
• Memory Support: 256MB GDDR3
• Memory Interface: 256 bit
• Memory Clock: 1656 MHz (828 MHz x 2)
• Core Clock: 668 MHz
• RAMDACs: 400 MHz
• Full Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1 Shader Model 4.1 support
• Dual-link DVI output supports 2560×1600 resolution display
• Superscalar unified shader architecture
• 320 stream processing units
• 128-bit floating point precision for all operations
• Dynamic Geometry Acceleration
• ATI CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology
• ATI Avivo™ HD video and display technology
• HD audio controller with multi-channel (5.1) AC3 support
• Native HDMI
• Built for Microsoft® Windows Vista™

After playing a couple of games I can comfortably say that this card is probably more than enough power for most gamers. I’ve not had a single gaming, driver, hardware issue with it. It may not have enough video memory to play Crysis at 2560×1600 with full details and Anti-aliasing, but for under £100 it is an amazing buy.

I suspect you could probably run Team Fortress 2 in high definition though -with 4x Anti-aliasing and full 16x Anisotropic filtering. I can’t remember the last time I bought a graphics card for under £100 that was any good. It does actually run Crysis fine with medium and high settings mixed. You can forget Anti-aliasing sadly though. Still looks great though and plays smooth so no real problem in reality.

We also tried NFS: Pro-Street, Unreal Tournament 3, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4, Guild Wars, Counter Strike:Source, Disney Pixar’s Cars, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Assassin’s Creed, Sonic Riders, Half Life 2 series and they all worked flawlessly. Fast frame rates and Superior image quality. Some game engines really allowed me apply insane amounts of detail with no performance loss at all.

The video power was far superior to my previous Purevideo offering. ATi offer motion picture acceleration on most video files unlike my old nVidia’s Purevideo’s WMV and DVD support. AVI formats like DivX and Xvid through hardware acceleration is noticeably better. No scaling bugs either (nVidia please note this).

The fan is not loud, even under stress. The card only fills one expansion slot, yet the bracket is a double. A little strange - but I suppose it prevents overheating. Just think of it as bit of surplus metal for free!

It drains very little power too. There’s not much heat coming from it either. I guess you can figure it has good overclocking possibilities, right?

I just cannot stress how happy we are with our purchase. We love it here, and it’s getting plenty of use! I just had to share the gossip, otherwise I wouldn’t sleep tonight. Welcome to the goat herd, ATi and Xpert Vision!

Performance:

Price Rating:

Features:

Pros
Xpert Vision HD3850 is a really Über-great value and well built graphic’s card.
You get a top title game (Yes, even if it’s Tomb Raider and not Orange Box).
You get native HDMI support which is quite nice to see.
It’s great for home theater. Quiet cooling.
 

Cons
It’s not really very pretty. Maybe think twice if you have a chassis with a window.
People might think you own a Radeon 9800Pro.
256mb of GDDR3 is fast, but may not be enough for future games. 512mb versions are available though.

“It’s cheap & very cheerful.”

GG Xpert Vision for a good budget product.
GG Overclockers.co.uk for the excellent service, as always.

I Have Team Fortress 2 Wooohooo!!

Some years ago, Valve Software kindly gave me a STEAM account to review the legendary game Half-Life 2. What a treat - I can tell you. I was given a press account and persued to review one of the best games ever. I’d reviewed a few games (for the site in question), but HL2 really defined the pinnacle of high end gaming at that time. I was chuffed.

Today’s gamers however, are spoilt for choice. With games such as BIOSHOCK, Crysis and stuff like Gears of War on the market -there’s a lot at stake. One game which I have been really looking forward to is Team Fortress 2.

I’ve been busy with real life commitments lately and haven’t had a chance to do much gaming. I thought it was about time to fire up the STEAM again. I had wondered a few times if it would be available on my account, so I was really quite ecstatic that Valve Software had added the game for me to sample. I’m installing it immediately and will post a little review as soon as I’ve been owned (so much that I have to turn it off)…

In the meantime, here’s what I’m drooling over.

Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector XP/Vista Driver Version 1.06 (10/22/07)

Finally I can dispose of my Windows XP partition.

Recently, I decided to try one of the many work arounds to try and get our Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector working in Vista. I’d tried before, but had very little success to say the least.

As a last resort, I visited the Nintendo download section. I say visited, what I really mean is trawled through millions of pages trying to find the actual download page. I am quite amazed that Google didn’t find it with terms such as “WiFi Vista Nintendo” and “Nintendo WiFi Driver”. Anyway I eventually found the page I was looking for….. and it had been updated!

Wow. Nintendo have finally updated the software to work on Windows Vista. I knew the software wasn’t going to be too great, but I had nothing to lose so gave it a shot. I have to say -it works much better now.

This version features the following upgrades/corrections from version 1.05:

• Reduction of CPU load when the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector is not connected.
• Changes to certain registration tool message displays.
• Added Windows Vista compatibility.
• Change to specification that requires the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector to be attached when uninstalling.

Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector version 1.06 - Install Instructions

! You MUST uninstall any previous versions of the software.
! You MUST have the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector plugged in during the uninstall.

1. The uninstall can be found in your Programs list in the “Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector” folder.

2. Run the “Uninstall Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector Registration Tool” click OK.

3. If the software prompts you to insert the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector, please ensure the connector is inserted into the USB port it was inserted into during the installation process.

4. The software will ask you to restart your PC, click “Restart.”

5. Remove the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector.

6. Open the NintendoWiFiUSB106 folder where you found these
Instructions, and open the NintendoWFCReg folder. Run the Setup.exe file found there.
For complete setup instructions:
Wii: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/connectingOnline.jsp?entryId=usbInstall
DS: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/wfc/en_na/ds/connect.jsp?entryId=usbInstall

For troubleshooting, go to:
http://support.nintendo.com

Download:
Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector
XP/Vista Driver Version 1.06
FROM HERE.
Having problems? Try This Download Link instead.

Guild Wars: Eye Of The North Sneak Peek

Well I’ve been away a while playing the Guild Wars: Eye Of The North Sneak Peek Weekend. Existing Guild Wars players had the opportunity to pay a small amount of money and get access to the new content early. The event is 72 hours long, and all the loot you get to keep!

The game adds new tournament types, new heroes, new charcter races and of course new armour, weapons and skills. I did notice there weren’t any new elite skills though, which kind of sucks.

So far I’ve enjoyed the new features, although I have found many unfinished quests and things. I’m assured it will be completed by the time the game goes live on the 31st August.

I’m not going to rant and rave on about it too much. If you want further details check out the Official Guild Website. I will however post some postcards from my journey. I guess I’m like Uncle Travelling Matt from Fraggle Rock.

    

Anyway all this image uploading is taking up valuable questing time. TTFN!

Only 2 Weeks Until Guild Wars: Eye of the North Worldwide Release

The first thing I looked at this morning was my calendar. There’s only 2 weeks left until the worldwide launch of Guild Wars: Eye of the North or GWEN as it is known. GWEN is the 4th game released in the Guild Wars trilogy, and promises to be the most revolutionary episode to date.

The game looks like it’s going to be the best looking of the series too, the graphics have been given a major overhaul. Anyone who says “Guild Wars is a poor man’s WoW“ needs their head examined. In my opinion, Guild Wars offers more for a player and best of all it has no monthly subscription charges.  Guild wars offers “Player versus player” or “Player versus enemy” environments, so there’s something for everyone.

There’s also a sneak preview weekend starting on August 24, 2007 at 08:01 AM BST. Maybe I’ll see you there. Either way, I might not get much blogging done come August 31st. Check out these videos to see why.