AllTinker wrote on 2024-11-30, 16:01:

Alrighty, I evaluated a few different formats; LZMA-compressed xdelta with some tweaked window sizes won over everything else I […]
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Alrighty, I evaluated a few different formats; LZMA-compressed xdelta with some tweaked window sizes won over everything else I tried. The patch (~181MB) is available here, and I used Delta Patcher to apply it as a test. I haven't tested the game again thoroughly but hopefully there aren't any issues. Let me know if you encounter any!

Enjoy! Apologies for the fuss.

Palooka wrote on 2024-11-30, 12:18:

Can I ask - did you descramble / decompress the file before you fixed the overflows?

I'm not sure what you mean by descramble, but yes, I decoded the container and the waveforms before processing. I personally didn't have any luck finding any existing tools which supported this particular AUD file/codec. In retrospect I probably should have just looked at the ScummVM source... Ah well. I prefer figuring this sort of stuff out myself anyway.

Great work!

As for tools, there's the old Game Audio Player (GAP) which supports decoding Sierra AUD PCM to WAV:
https://github.com/ValeryAnisimovsky/GameAudi … ses/tag/initial

AllTinker wrote on 2024-11-30, 16:01:

The patch (~181MB) is available here,

"Download now - Name your own price"

So you take people's money for it (even if it's optional)? Yikes. Maybe pick a different host, one that allows you to not do this. Apart from that - thanks for making it available.

Eh, it's a tip/donation thing. I wish I didn't have to at all, but it is what it is. I also wish I could change the way it's messaged, but I can't. I could link a Ko-fi, but this way something goes to the host to offset costs, without any ads. The only other places I could think of to host it I don't think I could link to due to other content hosted there. It's all a rather sad tradeoff, I'm afraid. If anyone would like to rehost it elsewhere, please go ahead.

elszgensa wrote on 2024-11-30, 21:17:

"Download now - Name your own price"

Yeah that's just default language for itch.io, you're not required to type something other than $0 if you see "Name your own price".

Even people that just want to put something up for free on itch.io it'll also present itself like that, it's not really a huge deal.

DracoNihil wrote on 2024-12-01, 09:47:

it's not really a huge deal.

No, I truly do believe the wording is an issue if you do not have the rights to the work. "Hey I added a kazoo to this Metallica album, and now I'm selling the remix to you. You may choose to set the price to $0 (in fact it's the default) but it is a commercial transaction."

AllTinker wrote on 2024-11-30, 16:01:

Alrighty, I evaluated a few different formats; LZMA-compressed xdelta with some tweaked window sizes won over everything else I […]
Show full quote

Alrighty, I evaluated a few different formats; LZMA-compressed xdelta with some tweaked window sizes won over everything else I tried. The patch (~181MB) is available here, and I used Delta Patcher to apply it as a test. I haven't tested the game again thoroughly but hopefully there aren't any issues. Let me know if you encounter any!

Enjoy! Apologies for the fuss.

Palooka wrote on 2024-11-30, 12:18:

Can I ask - did you descramble / decompress the file before you fixed the overflows?

I'm not sure what you mean by descramble, but yes, I decoded the container and the waveforms before processing. I personally didn't have any luck finding any existing tools which supported this particular AUD file/codec. In retrospect I probably should have just looked at the ScummVM source... Ah well. I prefer figuring this sort of stuff out myself anyway.

Cheers for that. Yeah, I didn't realise I could just open up the .aud file in Audacity - but the offset breaks it, obviously. I definitely noticed a few little pops and clicks (I've just started replaying it) - notably I could detect some with the lady who runs the voodoo shop before Dr John comes back on Day 1. But I'm guessing a lot of them are more just artifacts of it being 22khz than anything?

FWIW, I don't think the official tool I used to decompress it did a particularly good job, haha. Thanks for the work you've done! Really appreciate it.

For those of us playing GK1 with the patched RESOURCE.AUD in DOS, we can further improve the audio experience, fine-tuning RESOURCE.CFG:

1) DACBLAST.DRV can introduce some crackling on its own, and pops in scene changes (and switching maps). Using audioSize=16k remove the crackling, but not the scene change pops. The latter can be removed using a larger audioSize (24k or 32k), which remove the pops, but re-introduce the occasional crackling, so no win-win scenario here. Is there another DACBLAST to use with GK1 ?

2) DACTHUND.DRV with audioSize=8k produced a very enjoyable experience. It might be a hint smoother with 16k, but then will introduce lag in sound (e.g. the sound of the closing door in the bar, plays 1-2s later)

3) GUSDAC.DRV (not sure it's affected by audioSize settings, being using it with 16k) is also an excellent choice for the GUS fans, just remember to always load the patches (LOADPATS -IGK1.INI) even when not using GUSMIDI.DRV

I've been playing AllTinker improved RESOURCE.AUD with both DACTHUND and GUSDAC with GENMIDI driver and SCB55. GK1 never sounded better 😀