Dune 2 with Gravis Ultrasound in DOSBox

[MrFlibble]

Not long ago I've configured DOSBox for Gravis Ultrasound emulation (which allows for high-quality synthesized music), and while browsing for possibly useful files, I found a very old unofficial patch that added GUS support to Dune II. Unfortunately, that patch does not work well with DOSBox, but the principle behind it allowed me to make a suitable replacement. The simple trick behind the patch is that the setup programme tells Dune II which drivers and sound files to use, so replacing certain drivers with GUS drivers does the job. For the patch, I replaced the Sound Blaster driver with the GUS digital driver, and the MT-32 driver with the GUS MIDI driver. That way, you can use the Sound Blaster Pro for SB emulation if you want to, and you can still select Sound Canvas (which replaces the Tandy 3 voice option) too, although it is recommended that you use the original Dune II setup and sound files if you want Sound Canvas-synthesized music.

Download Dune 2 Gravis Ultrasound Patch

(Download link courtesy of Nyerguds)

To install the patch, simply extract the following files into your Dune II directory, overwriting the old files when necessary (it is advised that you make a back-up copy of the old files first):

DUNE2G.BAT

DUNE.CFG

SETUP.EXE

SETUPENG.DIP

SOUND.PAK

The DUNE.CFG file is already configured to use Gravis Ultrasound for sound effects, speech and synthesized music, so if you do not want to change this, simply run DUNE2G.BAT to play Dune II with GUS music and sounds. For more information, refer to the patch readme file supplied in the package.

NOTE: It is assumed that you already have DOSBox installed and configured to emulate Gravis Ultrasound. If that is not the case, please refer to the information concerning Gravis Ultrasound emulation in DOSBox Wiki:

http://dosbox.com/wiki/Sound#Gravis_Ultrasound

For general information about DOSBox, visit their home page:

http://dosbox.com/

[MrFlibble]

Also note that for the BAT file to work properly, you need to make sure that the path to your Ultrasound drivers and patch files (default is C:\ULTRASND) is included in the PATH variable in DOSBox's [autoexec] section.

[Nyerguds]

There's a way around that, simply by making the batch file run "%ultradir%\ultramid". I adapted the batch file, and uploaded the whole pack here:

nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/dune/dune2patch/d2_gus_patch.rar

For simplicity's sake I also uploaded the GUS driver files into the dune2patch/ folder :)

Anyway, this is definitely the way of playing Dune II... the music is stunning :D

[MrFlibble]

There's a way around that, simply by making the batch file run "%ultradir%\ultramid".

That didn't work for me for some reason... (DOSBox v0.74 official build) So I just copied a BAT file for running GUS that was supplied with Blackthorne demo :) (only changed it a bit to load 16-bit patches for highest quality

I adapted the batch file, and uploaded the whole pack here:

nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/dune/dune2patch/d2_gus_patch.rar

For simplicity's sake I also uploaded the GUS driver files into the dune2patch/ folder :)

Cool, thanks! I've updated the first post accordingly.

Anyway, this is definitely the way of playing Dune II... the music is stunning :D

Absolutely! :D

BTW, I've started to look for better alternatives to Windows MIDI emulation after I stumbled upon this site:

http://sc55.duke4.net/

It's a collection of high-quality music packs for various DOS games like Descent, Duke Nukem 3D and Rise of the Triad, recorded on a real Roland Sound Canvas. The quality is just amazing.

[Nyerguds]

I use DOSBox 0.73, and it worked perfectly...

[MrFlibble]

I've heard v0.74 introduced some minor bugs, but then again, I could've been doing something wrong too :)

[Nyerguds]

Wooah, that site has Shadow Warrior music in FLAC! Awesome :D

[MrFlibble]

Your batch file works perfectly, thanks a lot again! :D

Wooah, that site has Shadow Warrior music in FLAC! Awesome :D

Pity there seem to be no high-quality versions of the two extra MIDI tracks that were found in the leaked beta version (they're also included in the SWP source port).

[Nyerguds]

Small question... in the setup, what exactly should I choose for GUS music? I want to record them, so I want to disable everything besides the music itself. Your explanation on that wasn't exactly clear. What's the difference between Gravis Ultrasound and Ultrasound MIDI for the music?

[MrFlibble]

Small question... in the setup, what exactly should I choose for GUS music? I want to record them, so I want to disable everything besides the music itself.

Heh, I had the same idea, but haven't got enough free time for that ATM :)

What's the difference between Gravis Ultrasound and Ultrasound MIDI for the music?

Gravis Ultrasound is the digital sound driver, and selecting it for music will yield roughly the same result as Sound Blaster. Ultrasound (MIDI), as the name suggests, is the Ultrasound MIDI driver (both drivers can be found in the ULTRAMID folder BTW), which is responsible for sample-based synthesized music, so you should basically select that. Using Gravis Ultrasound for speech and SFX is purely optional.

[Nyerguds]

Ah, I see.

[Stranger Mr. Hand]

I've tried the GUS patch and it works great, except that I can't seem to turn it off to revert to the original MIDI music.

 

Here's my copy, exported from DBGL: <link snipped> ~MrFlibble

[MrFlibble]

Just replace the SOUND.PAK file with the original unmodified one.

Also please don't post links like this.