Topic on Engine talk:Source

This is a permanent link to a single version of this post. This version is from 05:46, 6 April 2023. You can see the differences from the previous version, or view other versions on the post history page.

Is 7.1 surround known to actually work in any Source game that uses Miles Sound System? I read it's still just 5.1 surround with the front channels repeated onto an extra pair located farther away from the center for a "wide" 7.1 channel configuration that isn't the standard 7.1 we use nowadays and it doesn't exist after Windows XP. https://i.imgur.com/VbjDcdN.gif

So now it still just sets 5.1, but without changing the Windows speaker configuration since that was also broken/restricted after Windows XP. https://i.imgur.com/rNQcBc0.png

Another thing I've noticed is that judging by API calls, Source "supports" DirectSound3D, but apparently only uses objects/buffers for speakers/channels. https://i.imgur.com/hyhJkJ3.png

On newer builds, there's the snd_legacy_surround command, which can be set to 1 if using ALchemy/DSOAL. But it reports 1 channel and there have been reports of missing channels/incorrect mapping. But to be honest, I think it's better to keep it set to 0 since DSOAL can virtualize DirectSound (no 3D) channels and simple surround speaker output won't be messed up: https://i.imgur.com/8DpU9BS.jpeg

so anyway, I don't know if there are any benefits from using DSOAL/ALchemy with snd_legacy_surround 1 compared to 0, so here's my general rule of thumb: - In-game/main menu, execute the following command: soundinfo - If it doesn't report 6 channels, run in order: snd_legacy_surround 0 snd_surround_speakers 5 soundinfo