[NOT-FIXED]Sound Issues - Vista (Category: Audio)

[burf90]

Hi all.  I am having trouble getting the sound on this game.  I've read through the Resolved & TSL Tech Support forums, but have not found any answers.  Here's a summary of what I've done so far (sorry it's so long)...

Initially, I had both graphic & sound issues (no intro, choppy graphics, no sound at all.)  I tried uninstalling, rebooting, then reinstalling with my Panda Security turned off.  No change.  I tried to update all my drivers, both automatically & manually.  All were already up to date.  I then tried using the Windows 7 patch available on the game download page, even though I'm running Vista.  I've found in the past that Windows 7 patches often work for Vista, as well, and this time it worked, too - mostly.  After running the patch (as Administrator), I now get the intro cutscene, less choppy graphics & sound for nearly everything.  The thing I still cannot hear, though, is the narrator and the characters' voices.  It's intermittent; sometimes I hear part of a sentence, but not the rest and sometimes I don't hear anything.  I can hear all the music and background noises.  The graphics are pretty smooth, but there is an occasional stop or flash on the screen before it continues.  I read Ken's Troubleshooting guide, but none of the issues seems to relate to me except updating OpenAL, which I did with the Windows 7 patch.  Any ideas on how to get the voices working correctly??

The game's console.log shows the following under OpenAL Driver Init.:
Missing OpenAL Extension function 'EAXSet'
Missing OpenAL Extension function 'EAXGet'

and further down: Missing file: game/keymap.cs!

My PC info:  HP Compaq laptop with Vista Home Basic SP2, Intel Celeron 1.86 GHz Processor, 2GB RAM, Video - Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset (onboard) & Audio - Conexant High Def. SmartAudio HD2 (onboard).  Thanks!

[wilco64256]

Try uninstalling and updating OpenAL all by itself, completely apart from the Win7 TSL update.  You may need to uninstall and reinstall the game as well.  Try this link for the OpenAL standalone install:

http://connect.creativelabs.com/developer/Wiki/OpenAL%20Installer%20for%20Windows.aspx

[burf90]

Well...  Sadly, I decided to do that before I even read your reply, but now the game doesn't run at all.  I can get as far as the episode selection screen and can select Episode 1, but when I try to play it the game quits working with a "TSL.exe has stopped working - Windows is searching for a solution..." error.  Unfortunately, all my attempts to get back to where I was before have failed.  I'm not sure what has changed - maybe something in the registry?  But whatever it is, I can't play at all now.     I think I'll try a system restore and see what happens.

[wilco64256]

You still have the game itself set to run as an administrator right?  I'd run the config tool and set everything as low as possible and then run the game with minimal settings to get in, then adjust the setting from within the game itself.  An uninstall and reinstall of the game would forget that you'd made the compatibility adjustment to run the config tool and the game as an administrator previously.

[Japster83]

if your sound is provided by realtek.. as my was... update the driver by going to the realtek site: http://www.realtek.com/downloads/RedirectFTPSite.aspx?SiteID=1&DownTypeID=3&DownID=868&PFid=24&Conn=3

I had the same problem... after I updated my hd sound drivers (on board drivers on toshiba satellite laptop) I was able to see not just the intro to the game but could also hear the narrator for the entire 1st episode.

As wilco says you MUST set your graphics to the minimum setting (800X600)... but also uncheck from full screen  and have nothing checked when you see options on the right.. after updating realtek (if that is what you have for on board sound drivers it should work.


Please let me know if this works...


I apologize also if this is unlcear... Happy gaming if it works!

[burf90]

You still have the game itself set to run as an administrator right?  I'd run the config tool and set everything as low as possible and then run the game with minimal settings to get in, then adjust the setting from within the game itself.  An uninstall and reinstall of the game would forget that you'd made the compatibility adjustment to run the config tool and the game as an administrator previously.

Yeah, I'm still running both as administrator.  Right now, after another uninstall/reinstall and running the OpenAL Windows 7 patch for the game, I still can't play - the game still quits, though not always on the same screen.  I no longer get the intro cutscene or the Phoenix Online logo, but I do get sound until the I try to do something from the main menu screen.  The game always quits when I try to go anywhere from the main menu, including Options. 

I just ran the config tool and turned everything to low and chose windowed mode.  It still quits when I try to start from the beginning, but I managed to get my saved game to load - I saved one right at the beginning when the game was working.  I'll see if I can keep playing from that game.  Thanks.

(Posted on: July 12, 2010, 04:44:46 PM)

if your sound is provided by realtek.. as my was... update the driver by going to the realtek site: http://www.realtek.com/downloads/RedirectFTPSite.aspx?SiteID=1&DownTypeID=3&DownID=868&PFid=24&Conn=3

I had the same problem... after I updated my hd sound drivers (on board drivers on toshiba satellite laptop) I was able to see not just the intro to the game but could also hear the narrator for the entire 1st episode.

As wilco says you MUST set your graphics to the minimum setting (800X600)... but also uncheck from full screen  and have nothing checked when you see options on the right.. after updating realtek (if that is what you have for on board sound drivers it should work.


Please let me know if this works...


I apologize also if this is unlcear... Happy gaming if it works!

I have Conexant audio and I have the most recent drivers for it.  I was able to get my saved game to load, so I'll see if I can keep playing from that.  I did change the resolution, lowered the settings, and am playing in a window.  I have sound, but only intermittent voices.  I still can't play with anything except the saved game, though.  The game always quits if I try anything else, including going to options.  Thanks.

[wilco64256]

It seems like maybe the game itself didn't fully install as one of the files you mentioned as missing is part of the standard game install package.  If you still have the installer file can you verify that it is 356 MB?

If you're able to get through the game based on that save, that's great.  If not I'd recommend deleting the entire Phoenix Online game folder as the Uninstall/Reinstall you did may have left some traces of game data (including the savegame you're now trying to play from) in subfolders.  I'd even go so far as to completely re-download the installer and run that as an administrator from scratch, installing to just c:\phoenix online rather than the Program Files folder itself.

[Petter Holmberg]

It is known that different OpenAL versions can be very hit-and-miss with some sound cards, so you might actually have better luck with older drivers than the latest ones (which the patch installs). From a fresh installation of TSL (before running the patch) you will have two files called OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll in your TSL installation directory. These are older versions and you might want to try moving them to C:\Windows\System32 (overwriting the newer version files that you should have there right now) and see if that makes the sound work better for you. Don't worry about those EAX error messages in the console.log, everyone gets them and they can be ignored.

[burf90]

It seems like maybe the game itself didn't fully install as one of the files you mentioned as missing is part of the standard game install package.  If you still have the installer file can you verify that it is 356 MB?

If you're able to get through the game based on that save, that's great.  If not I'd recommend deleting the entire Phoenix Online game folder as the Uninstall/Reinstall you did may have left some traces of game data (including the savegame you're now trying to play from) in subfolders.  I'd even go so far as to completely re-download the installer and run that as an administrator from scratch, installing to just c:\phoenix online rather than the Program Files folder itself.

I checked the install file and it is 356 MB, but it did take forever to download, when it usually just takes a few seconds for a file that size.  I just figured that it was a bandwidth problem because all of us crazed KQ fans were downloading at the same time (and it likely was).  I appreciate the suggestions.  I think I'll save my saved game to a new folder somewhere (just in case) and then follow your advice and see what happens.  Thanks.

(Posted on: July 13, 2010, 05:34:22 PM)

It is known that different OpenAL versions can be very hit-and-miss with some sound cards, so you might actually have better luck with older drivers than the latest ones (which the patch installs). From a fresh installation of TSL (before running the patch) you will have two files called OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll in your TSL installation directory. These are older versions and you might want to try moving them to C:\Windows\System32 (overwriting the newer version files that you should have there right now) and see if that makes the sound work better for you. Don't worry about those EAX error messages in the console.log, everyone gets them and they can be ignored.

Thanks, Petter.  I'll try that when I do the fresh download and reinstall that Wilco suggested.  I can always patch it again later if it doesn't work.  And thanks for the info about the missing EAX files.  I was trying to find info about that online and only found other people with questions about those files and no answers.  I can stop worrying about it now.   

(Posted on: July 13, 2010, 05:41:21 PM)

OK, I tried Wilco's suggestions first - no change.  Then I tried Petter's suggestion, but still no change. 

I finally ran the Windows 7 patch again and got back to where I could play again if I uncheck all the boxes on the right (shadows, etc.), use 800x600 resolution and play in a window.  I still don't ever get the intro cutscene or Phoenix Online logo and the voices are still intermittent, but mostly absent.  When I start the game I do get the Torque logo with sound, then it goes straight to the main menu with no sound.  I started a new game with no problem and can enter Graham's room, but when I go into the main hall, the graphics now turn everything into black "blocks" and I can't see where Graham is going.  I had no trouble with the main hall before. 

I think I'm just destined to not play this game...  But I'm going to keep trying - I've been a fan of this series since it first was released and I'm not giving up!  One thought, does anyone think it would help to uninstall the game using the Windows Install Clean Up utility, then reinstall in safe mode or something like that?  I keep wondering if there might be leftover registry entries from the previous installations causing issues.

BTW, I did find out one thing that might help others get a clean install the first time around if they have Vista: before you install, check the properties of the downloaded install file and see if it says it has been "Blocked" because it came from another computer.  Mine did on both downloads and I had to "unblock" it before I ran the file.

[wilco64256]

Shot in the dark - try running dxdiag and see if any of your video or sound drivers are being provided by Microsoft instead of the manufacturers.

[burf90]

I already did that (suggested in the resolved threads).  My drivers are all from Intel, made for the chipset I'm using and the most recent available.  Thanks, though.  (I checked the audio drivers, too.  Same thing.)

[k3n]

if the openal file wrap_oal.dll is implemented in directsound, then updating directx may help in addition to updating your audio driver and openal runtime.

DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3b170b25-abab-4bc3-ae91-50ceb6d8fa8d&displaylang=en

-ken

[burf90]

Hi Ken.  I just ran the DirectX update and I see a few new files in my System32 folder, but no change in performance.  Then I tried to update everything else I could think of (Windows, BIOS, Java, Adobe, you name it) and did another uninstall/reinstall of TSL, but still no change.  It actually seems to run better with everything on high, 1024x768 resolution, but in windowed mode.  I was able to get to the main hall and go outside with no problems.  It crashed as I came back in, but at at least I could get around the room, get descriptions, etc.  I just tried lowering the settings to medium and was able to load the main hall save I had.  So, I can probably limp my way through the game with frequent saves and playing around with the options.  Sound is still intermittent, but I can live with it.  Unless someone else has an idea I haven't tried yet, I think I'm just going to keep playing as it is.  At least when the game stops, it just stops - no BSOD or anything else dire.    Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

[oberonqa]

Wow that is an interesting issue you've got going here.  It is interesting that you were able to make it out of the main hall with the detail settings set to medium however.  Have you tried setting the detail settings to low to see how that works?  It shouldn't be impacting the audio performance (as the audio and video are two different issues), but given the fact that you can play the game without hard resets after changing the settings implies there is something going on with the video. 

I'm stumped as to the audio issue, but it almost sounds like the main hall was putting too much of a strain on your system (which isn't all that surprising... the main hall is the most detailed section of the episode) when it comes to video.

Like I said, it really does seem like your suffering from two different issues here, one causing crashes and resets (which is probably the video) and one causing intermittant audio.  I don't think the two are connected, especially since you were able to get the game to work at some point by lowering detail settings. 

The audio problem.... that one stumps me.  I won't lie to you.  After updating all drivers, you are still getting this.  I really am unsure what is causing it.  The only thing that might be able to fix this is to somehow turn of EAX, which is hardware-based environmental effects for Creative Sound Cards, which you are not using.  I need to do some research on how to disable EAX in TSL.  But my gut is telling me that your intermittant audio may very well be due to your audio driver receiving EAX-specific instructions from TSL that the driver is unable to understand/interpret.  Yea I know thats a semi-uber technical explanation there. 

But yea... let me do some research on disabiling EAX and setting TSL to software-based audio rendering instead of hardware-based audio rendering.

[k3n]

does your game still crash if you set:
game/settings.cs
$pref::Audio::driver = "none";

[burf90]

Wow that is an interesting issue you've got going here.  It is interesting that you were able to make it out of the main hall with the detail settings set to medium however.  Have you tried setting the detail settings to low to see how that works?  It shouldn't be impacting the audio performance (as the audio and video are two different issues), but given the fact that you can play the game without hard resets after changing the settings implies there is something going on with the video. 

*snip*

But yea... let me do some research on disabiling EAX and setting TSL to software-based audio rendering instead of hardware-based audio rendering.

I have tried playing around with all the settings.  When I had them on low, I couldn't see the main hall at all - it was black, with occasional flashes of background as I tried to move.  When I turned the settings up to high & reset the resolution to 1024x768 (from 800x600) I was able to get to and move around in the main hall with no issues, as long as I played in windowed mode.  I've found that the game will crash if I leave and then try to reenter the hall with the settings on high, so I set them to medium to renter the hall.  Once I'm in there, I can reset them to high and have no problem.

The really strange thing is that originally I didn't have any crashing or major graphic issues after the first install and using the Windows 7 patch - even though I'm using Vista.  If you read my original post I only had sound issues and occasional flashes on the screen, but all the rooms loaded fine visually and I was able to navigate with no problems.  The crashing and black screen problems only came after I tried to solve the sound problem with all the uninstalling and reinstalling and attempts at updating.

(Posted on: July 16, 2010, 12:34:01 AM)

does your game still crash if you set:
game/settings.cs
$pref::Audio::driver = "none";

Yes, and I get no sound at all with that change (which I guess should have been obvious to me, since I was inserting the word "none").  I tried it with both "none" and "OpenAL" with various options settings and the game reacts the same way with either line, so I don't think the audio drivers are causing the crashing, just the choppy sound.  So, I changed it back to the original line.  I'm guessing the crashing is caused by something that changed when I was trying to update everything, but I don't know what it could be.  Everything I tried to update said I was already using the most current version, except DirectX and the game was already crashing before I did that one.

[oberonqa]

Closed due to inactivity.