Roland MT-32

[Tristan_C]

Is anyone able to get Civ1 running with its Roland MT-32 music? If you are, I'm curious about how you managed to pull it off. This is my progress so far:

1. I googled MT32 emulator and got an emulator that simulates the MT-32 within DosBox. (In case you didn't read the sticky, DosBox is also an emulator. It creates a full DOS environment in a window)

2. I got the MT32_PCM.ROM file. I believe it holds the Roland's sound board. Regardless, it's required when you try to install the Roland device emulator.

3. I seem to get snagged when DosBox attempts to launch an application that uses the roland device. Dosbox crashes coimpletely.

Just wondering if anyone has made progress with Roland along this or a different vein entirely.

 

[Whelkman]

I've never actually seen genuine MT-32 hardware, but I can emulate it with my AWE32. The music is certainly improved over the buggy Sound Blaster driver, though, likely due to emulation shortcomings, sound effects are limited to humorous instrument substitutions. Overall General MIDI is the best sounding option for music without procuring ancient and obscure equipment.

 

[Tristan_C]

Somehow I ended up with my father's Roland MT-32 board, so I plugged it in and man, you've never heard a Civ game sound so cool. The analogue sound board notes have a kind of crystalline, ethereal quality that digital devices cannot to this day reproduce. Although you're right about the "humorous instrument substitutions;" when melee units clash, the resulting sword fight sounds like sleigh bells ringing in outer space

Just noting for posterity's sake, DOSBOX recognizes midi cards, which can be plugged into the machine if they have a midi port. Midis will also plug into the USB as well (no verification DOSBOX detecting them through USB but intuitively, it should), so modern machines with no midi port are not out of luck.