Post by: UncleBob on December 26, 2004, 07:35:20 AM
Well, while looking through my GameCube games, I noticed that very few of them feature surround sound... So - what games should I look for? Anything in particular?
Post by: Renny on December 26, 2004, 08:28:19 AM
Rogue Squadron 2/3
Burnout 2
Metal Gear Solid
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 26, 2004, 11:14:35 AM
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
1080: Avalanche
Conflict: Desert Storm II
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Mario Power Tennis
Super Mario Sunshine
StarFox Adventures
Beyond Good & Evil
P.N.03
Soul Calibur II
Tales of Symphonia
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Pikmin 2
I haven't confirmed F-Zero GX yet. I'll have to fire that up...
Tales of Symphonia supports DPLII, tho I've heard no practical/significant use of it. Some spells sounds do "surround" you. HOWEVER, the music seems to make use of the surround channels (could be just the natural effects of DPLII), making it sound "cooler", "nicer", and "grander" to my ears.
Post by: Berto2K on December 27, 2004, 01:00:08 AM
Post by: kennyb27 on December 27, 2004, 04:19:15 AM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 27, 2004, 05:24:01 AM
Mario Power Tennis uses the surround channels at weird times. It's hard to tell what's meant to be frame of reference for the listener. Still sounds nice.
Mario Sunshine's audio can have that soothing ocean feel, like Wind Waker.
Capcom's often-bashed P.N.03 also uses DPLII surround well. Very helpful for locating enemies and dodging lasers you can't see.
~~~~~
Wave Race: Blue Storm, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and the ports of Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask utilize the old Dolby Pro Logic surround method.
Post by: Gullcatcher on December 27, 2004, 10:21:21 AM
Post by: MaleficentOgre on December 27, 2004, 11:24:14 AM
woops, didn't see those up there. I don't have it so I never know which games use it.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 27, 2004, 12:19:20 PM
~~~~~
Gullcatcher: If the receiver has multiple Red/White (RCA) stereo inputs, both the PS2 and GameCube can be hooked up with the regular cables. If there is only (1) RCA stereo input available (common with "home theater in a box" packages) you need to buy an A/V switchbox so the PS2 and GameCube can share that stereo input.
Surround sound on earlier PS2 games is iffy. Some games only had surround support via Dolby Digital format, and required the Toslink/optical cable connection to the receiver. Metal Gear Solid 2 required Dolby Digital for surround, BUT, surround sound was ONLY available during cutscenes (weak!). Later on, PS2 games began to ditch Dolby Digital in favor of Dolby Pro Logic II. I don't know what's the earliest PS2 game to use DPLII, but I know for sure that Final Fantasy X-2, SOCOM II, and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence support DPLII. Btw, "Dolby Digital support" does not necessarily mean "surround sound support". Dolby Digital is an audio format, like MP3, and could be plain old high-quality 2-channel stereo sound. It could be high-quality 1-channel mono sound if some [audio technician] wishes. Surround sound is supported when things like "Dolby Digital Surround" or "Dolby Digital 5.1" are specified. On the other hand, DPLII support IS surround sound support.
GameCube has had DPLII games since the beginning, tho the first 2 games were Rogue Leader and Eternal Darkness -- a 7 month gap.
~~~~~
Dolby's official Pro Logic II page, with surround setup diagram
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 27, 2004, 12:40:30 PM
It's incomplete and questionable:
"Dolby Pro Logic II
2002 FIFA World Cup
Backyard Baseball
Backyard Football
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Catwoman
Crash Nitro Kart
Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally
Def Jam Vendetta
Def Jam: Fight for NY
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
Drome Racers
Enter the Matrix
Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem
FIFA Soccer 2004
Freedom Fighters
Freekstyle
Gladius
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Hunter: The Reckoning
I-Ninja
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: NightFire
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Madden NFL 2005
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Metroid Prime
Minority Report
MVP Baseball 2004
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup
NBA Live 2005
NBA Street Vol. 2
NCAA Football 2005
Need for Speed Underground
Need for Speed Underground 2
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
NFL Street
NHL 2004
NHL 2005
Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II
Pikmin 2
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Reign of Fire
Shrek 2
Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut
Soul Calibur 2
Spawn: Armageddon
Spider-Man 2
SSX 3
Star Fox Adventures
Star Wars: Rebel Strike Rogue Squadron III
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Street Hoops
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Monkey Ball 2
The Haunted Mansion
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Urbz: Sims in the City
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
True Crime: Streets of LA
Turok: Evolution
Vexx
Wario World
XIII
Total number of Dolby Pro Logic II: 84
Dolby Surround
2002 FIFA World Cup
All-Star Baseball 2002
All-Star Baseball 2003
Backyard Football
Batman: Vengeance
Big Air Freestyle
Blood Omen 2
Burnout
Casper: Spirit Dimensions
Driven
Hitman 2
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms II
Luigi's Mansion
Madden NFL 2003
Madden NFL 2004
Mario Party 4
Medal of Honor: Frontline
NBA Live 2003
NCAA Football 2003
NCAA Football 2004
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
NHL 2003
Spider-Man: The Movie
SSX Tricky
Street Racing Syndicate
Super Monkey Ball
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
Virtua Striker 2002
Wave Race: Blue Storm
X-Men: Next Dimension
Total number of Dolby Surround: 34"
Some strange things I want to point out are Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 are listed to have surround support here, but have no indication of it on the game packages, manuals, or in-game options. I'll have to test those as well. If only I wasn't in my room all-day capturing Resi video.
Post by: UncleBob on December 27, 2004, 07:32:23 PM
I haven't had much chance to play with my new setup gaming-wise (between movies - still gotta watch T2 - and Simpsons Season 5 - there's just so little time). Soul Caliber II sounds *awesome* in surround sound. I need one of those new fangled TVs with that glowing ambient light stuff (heh, yeah, right...) - SCII would really be quite cool then...
Anywhoo, Strangly enough, my Super Monkey Ball box totes a "Dolby Surround" logo on the back... Although, as you said, the SMB2 box does not. Weird...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 27, 2004, 07:43:54 PM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 27, 2004, 11:14:11 PM
Super Monkey Ball 2 and F-Zero GX do "have" surround sound.
SMB2 -- Some musical instruments are extended to the rear channels. Some sound effects fill all the channels ("come from all sides") and others are given added echoes and a sense of space. In the little river-racing game, the running water can be hear from all around you. Overall, not extensive use, but a nice surprise.
Fzero -- Similar to SMB2. Music is extended to the rear channels (great for listening!). Sound effects aren't very clear in the sense that everone's moving so @!&^$# fast that they reduce to "i can hear things in front of me" or "i can hear things behind me". Part of this is practically all the craft sound the same, and there's so many of them. Additionally, the engines are hardly loud in default 3rd person camera views. But in the cockpit/first person view, your craft's engine does provide a nice roar, and can be heard from the rear channels. But I think it drowns out the sounds of your opponents engines. Surround sound effects are present, but their impacts are subdued thanks to the high-speed nature of the game.
Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero, and the US and JPN Resident Evil 4 demos DON'T use surround effects.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 01, 2005, 12:33:51 AM
*oh the joy*
Post by: Myxtika1 Azn on January 01, 2005, 05:37:01 AM
Post by: kirby_killer_dedede on January 01, 2005, 05:44:08 AM
Post by: SgtShiversBen on January 01, 2005, 09:16:32 AM
Post by: Renny on January 01, 2005, 10:02:38 AM
IRT Myxtica: What is your approximate budget? If you're thinking about an all-in-one, you couldn't really label any of those cheap things as good. The best ones could be called acceptable.
And for the time being, get a simple AV switch so you aren't putting needless strain on your RCA posts. Best Buy link.
Edit: Some of you are anal pricks so I had to change something.
Post by: SgtShiversBen on January 01, 2005, 10:34:01 AM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 02, 2005, 04:47:57 AM
Hearing about that one hatchet example isn't enough to satisfy me. I'm inclined to say it was a lucky case where DPLII decided to use rear output (just like I was pleasantly surprised to find out that "A Link to the Past" and "Seiken Densetsu 3" had 5-channel output when using the ZSNES 'surround sound' feature). I was looking for, umm, "true" DPLII support in the Resi4 demos, expecting to hear practically everything in the rear channels, relative to the proper camera angles. I'd run up to villagers, turn my back to them, and walk away a bit, listening for their phrases, footsteps, etc. I'd also approach the river/cliff in the start of the demo, turn my back to it, and walk away to hear the water fade-out. In both cases, the sounds came from my front channels. Thus, I concluded DPLII wasn't supported.
~~~~~
Yes, Metroid Prime 2 = Home Theater Happiness *_*
Post by: Renny on January 02, 2005, 05:54:05 AM
I'd recommend getting seperate pieces, saving if you have to. For ~$800 I got:
Onkyo TX-SR500 receiver
JBL N26IIs for mains
JBL N24IIs for surrounds
Philips DVD795SA for a quite low-end SACD player, good DVD/CD
Dayton 300-632 subwoofer (aka the Tiny Mighty MkII)
Plus mostly Acoustic Research cables; cheaper than Monster but good build quality
Some of it is refurbed/barely used, none of it was full MSRP. Obviously not audiophile stuff, but for my budget it's pretty damn good.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 10, 2005, 07:43:37 PM
Just ask Reggie.
Post by: Myxtika1 Azn on February 09, 2005, 12:36:35 AM
Anybody know anything about it? It was on sale for $119 and I couldn't pass up the chance.
Post by: Uglydot on February 09, 2005, 07:55:33 AM
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002472IM/qid=1107975505/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-8416971-9799159?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846
For Christmas, works fantastically with al my GCN games. Metroid Prime 2 is a totally new game to me now.
Post by: Myxtika1 Azn on February 09, 2005, 06:30:54 PM
Somebody please help.
Post by: insert_coin on February 10, 2005, 01:17:47 PM
http://gear.ign.com/articles/375/375816p2.html
(http://reviews.designtechnica.com/images/reviews/38/20030318_2357351.gif)
Starfox Adventures have a very nice 5.1 sound, too, one of my favorites, and Resident Evil 4 is god!!!
Post by: SgtShiversBen on February 10, 2005, 02:09:00 PM
Clicky
It has an amazing 600 watts (including the sub) and does prologic II REALLY well. RE4 sounds terrific, but nothing compared to Rouge Leader II. It's not a bad buy, and you can get the whole system for under 300$ for some places.
Post by: KnowsNothing on February 10, 2005, 02:44:13 PM
I've got the Logitech(lol) X-620 6.1 thing. For those not in the know, the X series are meant for people like me who want to be able to say they have a surround sound "system", but aren't a real stickler for sound quality and don't have the funds to afford something real. I'm pretty happy with it, actually. The speakers are simple to mount to a wall; just hammer a nail in some place and hang them up. I'm personally not coordinated/responsible enough to handle a hammer, so I just have them set up around me in a circle. For the most part, these speakers just make things sound better and more. I really don't notice too much directionally (although I have, so I know they work =p), but that could be because I rarely even listen to my games or that the hearing in my left ear isn't as hot as my right, so I'm not good at directional hearing period. I watch tv while playing most games, but there are some that I will not play without sound, those being ones with great music. My addiction for TV therefore prohibits me from playing these games. It's sad.
There are 6 speakers and a subwoofer. A loud subwoofer. I mean, even with the bass at it's lowest, in certain games or movies it's still really loud. It's a decent quality sub, it's just a bit uneven. The rest of the speakers are "meh" quality. Definitley not BAD, but not spectacular either. On the front-right speaker there's a volume knob, a headphone jack, and a switch that lets you bump a 4.1 or 5.1 to utilize all 6 spekers. Obviously it won't sound as good as something built for 6.1, but it does a pretty good job. It's got a total of a WHOPPING 70 watts (owait, that's RMS power, whatever that means. "Total peak" power is 140 watts. I guess. *shrugs*). Oh, and the cords are, like, really long.
So that's my personal review. Have fun, be safe, phone numbers.
Post by: Myxtika1 Azn on February 10, 2005, 06:05:37 PM
Post by: Switchblade Cross on February 10, 2005, 08:03:26 PM
Well, as long as we're showing off our setups...
Yeah, I have a Sony STR-DE897 Home Theatre Reciver with these Yamaha speakers. Its a 7.1 system that outputs a jucy 770watts. That number dosent account for the subwoofer, which is self powered. With my current sub I am hitting a thick 890W. It supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, dts, dts ES, dts:Neo6, Dolby Pro Logic II Decoding. I'll tell ya, moives, music and games kick some serious arse on this setup. It is actually helpful to the gaming experience. If enemy is making sounds or shooting or something and is not in your visual area, you can actually tell where they are (to the front, left or behind) depending on sounds spatial placement.
My Big Screen is coming this Tuesday!
Post by: SgtShiversBen on February 10, 2005, 09:29:24 PM
This picture isn't much, but showes what I had at the beginning of last year. Now though, add like 2 more DVD players, my 64, Super Nintendo, Genesis and my laptop
Bling Bling Baby
Post by: Uglydot on February 11, 2005, 09:40:46 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Switchblade Cross
You guys need some upgrading...
Well, as long as we're showing off our setups...
Yeah, I have a Sony STR-DE897 Home Theatre Reciver with these Yamaha speakers. Its a 7.1 system that outputs a jucy 770watts. That number dosent account for the subwoofer, which is self powered. With my current sub I am hitting a thick 890W. It supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, dts, dts ES, dts:Neo6, Dolby Pro Logic II Decoding. I'll tell ya, moives, music and games kick some serious arse on this setup. It is actually helpful to the gaming experience. If enemy is making sounds or shooting or something and is not in your visual area, you can actually tell where they are (to the front, left or behind) depending on sounds spatial placement.
My Big Screen is coming this Tuesday!
I have that DVD player. I like the nice clean setup there. I would definatly imagin you'd hear every little bit with that system. I'm not big on bass, so mine suits me nicely. Rattles my windows at the right moments and the speakers treat position very nicely, so I am happy. Makes a huge difference in a game when it sounds(in the case of bass, feels) like you are there. I would never go back to the TV speaker or a 2/2.1 setup. I am hoping for digital surround sound for the revolution.
Post by: Myxtika1 Azn on February 15, 2005, 08:15:20 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Myxtika1 Azn
So when playing a game, what mode should the receiver be in? Movie, Music, Matrix, or Custom?
It seems like there are quite a few of you who have enjoyed your DPL II games, so PLEASE won't anybody answer my question?
Post by: Renny on February 15, 2005, 10:08:42 AM
Sherwood Amp • 100 watts per channel
Kinyo Speakers • 2.5 watts
No, you can't use them. Unless you want to destroy your speakers and ultimately buy new ones anyway.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on February 15, 2005, 12:26:54 PM
If your receiver also has SEPARATE settings that cycle thru things like "Hall, Stage, Movie, Concert, Auditorium," that should be set to NONE or DEFAULT, unless you want weird effects that might ruin the impacts of DPLII.
