DOS Days

The Games

4D Sports Boxing (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)
Uses Custom Patches: No

My findings: Works perfectly using just a game port MIDI cable between the MT-32 and the PC.

Be sure to check my 4D Sports Boxing game page to configure it properly, otherwise it will possibly default to Ad Lib music.

MT-32 "New" was used to compose the music for this game, so it may sound a little off when playing the game on an MT-32 "Old".

A-10 Tank Killer v1.5 (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Untested
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested. The first version of A-10 didn't even have Sound Blaster support. This was added in v1.5.

A-Train (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Worked on my MediaTrix AudioTrix Pro card, which fools the game into thinking it's talking to a real MPU-401 in Normal mode.

Aces Over Europe (1993)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Untested

My findings: This game requires an MT-32 "New" - when playing it using an MT-32 "Old" a lot of the instruments sound completely wrong. The opening music works just fine, but in-game it's really bad.

Adventures of Willy Beamish, The (Floppy version)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using MT-32 "Old".
This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

NewRisingSun created a patch for the CD version of the game (which got Red Book audio) to allow PCM digital sound effects to work alongside MT-32 music. Just write all files to your game directory, overwriting any that already exist.

Beneath a Steel Sky (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "new" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0). Only CM-series, e.g. CM-32L, play sound effects correctly, as the game makes use of the CM's additional sound effects that play on MIDI channel 10. An example of this is the door bashing at the start of the game.

The INSTALL.EXE program is misleading, as you can configure it for Roland music but in the Ports screen only the usual digital audio options are available (I/O addresses of 220h, 240h and 260h or 280h).

The Wikipedia page states that this game is compatible only with the Roland CM modules as it uses additional sound effects only found on these.

Be sure to check my BASS game page to configure it properly.

Betrayal at Krondor (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested. The game was designed to be played using a Roland SC-55. It is believed MT-32 support simply uses remapped GM instruments.

A patch from NewRisingSun allows both PCM digital effects and music to be configured at the same time. Just copy all files into the game directory (overwriting any that already exist). This is known to work on the 'free' v1.02 release of the game.

Budokan (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Untested
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

I believe the game only supports music via the sound card, not sound effects also (which always come out of the PC speaker). Pressing ESC at the logo screen brings up the game options. Selecting '4' allows you to choose your Music option - No Music, PC Speaker, Tandy 1000, CMS Card, ADLIB Card, or Roland MT-32.

Command-line options for BUDO.COM are: BUDO [HERCULES|CGA|EGA|VGA|MCGA] [CMS|ADLIB|MT32] [NOSOUND|NOMUSIC|QUIET] [JOY1|JOY2] [NOSHADOWS|SHADOWS]

Check out the main Budokan game page also.

Castle of Dr. Brain, The (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Worked on my MediaTrix AudioTrix Pro card, which fools the game into thinking it's talking to a real MPU-401 in Normal mode.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Cannon Fodder (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Be sure to check my Cannon Fodder game page to configure it properly.

Centurion: Defender of Rome (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Appears to default to Ad Lib for music. You can run it with 'centurio roland' to get it into Roland mode.

Be sure to check my Centurion: Defender of Rome game page to configure it properly.

Civilization (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine.

In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

It also works just fine with cards that send an ACK message.

Be sure to check my Civilization game page to configure it properly.

Codename: Iceman (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

There's also the MT32SB utility by Anders M Olsson which creates a new "MT-32 / Soundblaster MIDI" option called MT32SB.DRV file (you need to go back into INSTALL and select that driver from the bottom of the list to enable it).
This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.
It also works just fine with cards that send an ACK message.

Colonel's Bequest, The (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.
This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Also check out my main Colonel's Bequest game page.

Companions of Xanth (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Run the game with Xanth.exe MT32 (also append IRQ and address if needed)

Comanche 2 (1995)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works fine!

Conquests of Camelot (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great with SoftMPU! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Cruise for a Corpse (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Curse of Enchantia (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

Use Sound Blaster for sound effects. Music volume problems on MT-32. SC-55 seems ok.

David Wolf (199x)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No
My findings: Untested.

Day of the Tentacle (1993)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works fine! Make sure you have an EMS driver loaded, e.g. EMM386.EXE with ~2MB expanded memory available, and you are *not* running SoftMPU (which prevents it from outputting Roland sound!).

Also ensure you run it on an 80286 or 80386 system - something slow enough that it represents the era in which the game was created. Too fast and the game will hang shortly after startup. Use SETMUL or similar to disable the L1 cache if running on a faster, more modern PC.

Best played using a Roland CM-series module, as the game make use of the additional sound effects the CM-series have that play from MIDI channel 10. An example of this is a sputtering sound immediately after the birds tweeting during the intro sequence. Be aware that in order to hear these CM-series sound effects you need to either be playing the floppy disk version or the CD-ROM version with the digitized sound disabled, otherwise the sound effects you hear will be from the Sound Blaster (choosing Sound Blaster overrides the playing of effects from your external sound module). To hear voices in the CD-ROM version, however, you need to have digitized sound (Sound Blaster) enabled.

Be sure to check my DOTT game page to configure it properly.

Dune 2 (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested on SB or AWE32 MIDI port.
Best played using MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Tested later on my Mediatrix Audiotrix Pro (a card that sends an ACK[nowledge] response to every MIDI command it receives), and it worked just fine.

Be sure to check my Dune 2 game page to configure it properly.

Elvira II (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Eric the Unready (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No
My findings: Untested.

F-117A Nighthawk: Stealth Fighter 2.0 (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Pauses for a long time, then says "Seek error on C:" on install.exe setup after choosing Roland (possibly computer too fast causing this?).

Be sure to check my F-117A game page to configure it properly.

Flashback (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist (1993)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works fine as long as SoftMPU is *NOT* loaded.

Note that on game startup the hand icon (or the Freddy icon in a yellow star) stays on-screen for a good 10-15 seconds - it doesn't mean it's crashed. If after running INSTALL.EXE the game reports "Unable to initialize your audio hardware", this has nothing to do with the music setting. It's most likely caused by the fact you're running the game on a much faster PC than the game was designed for.

A lot of earlier Sierra SCI games have this problem where the machine can no longer correctly load the DOS drivers. Using their latest AUDBLAST.DRV file usually resolves the problem. Also be sure your SET BLASTER= environment variable is set correctly.

The game audio was originally written using a Roland SC-55.

Be sure to check my Freddy Pharkas game page to configure it properly.

Future Wars (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No
My findings: Untested.

Gateway (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No
My findings: Untested.

Apparently this game is notorious for being very speed-sensitive - it must be played on period-correct hardware, or with L1/L2 caches disabled, otherwise it will either fail to run or crash within a few minutes. All Legend Entertainment games are picky when it comes to using a Roland MT-32. Reports on Vogons suggest the game doesn't like the MidiMan MM-401, or at least some ROM versions of this MPU-401 card. Other suggestions include disabling your motherboard's ACPI support.

Gateway II (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Tested using my Mediatrix Audiotrix Pro card which sends an ACK[nowledge] response to every MIDI message it receives. This is not enough to fool the game into thinking there's an intelligent-mode MPU-401. The install utility asks for an IRQ for the MIDI port. Setting this using SETUPPRO (Mediatrix utility) still didn't work.

Gods (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Untested (not required)

My findings: Tested using my Yamaha Audician 32 Pro, which only works in UART mode. The game ran in its "Roland LAPC-1" mode without any problems (see the Gods game page for the Intro video running on this card).
Apparently requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0), but while I did receive this error on my MT-32 "Old", it sounded so much better than on an MT-32 "New", which played completely misplaced notes. It you have an MT-32 "Old" and your synth shows the "Exec. buffer overflow" message while the game is "Initializing Roland Sound Card", try to slow down your PC to something more like a fast 386 or slow 486.

The game seems to work fine with an ISA sound card, but will not playback MT-32 music if used with a Sound Blaster ViBRA (PCI) card.

Be sure to check my Gods game page to configure it properly.

Heart of China (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Hero Quest (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: ?
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Hired Guns (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Hoyle's Book of Games I (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.
This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Hoyle's Book of Games II (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.
This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Humans, The (1992)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Immortal, The (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works with SoftMPU: ?
Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)
My findings: Untested.

Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis (1992)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No
Uses Custom Patches: No

My findings: Game runs and correctly detects MT-32 in UART mode.

Be sure to check my Indy game page to configure it properly.

Best played using a Roland CM-series module.

Inferno (1994)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Innocent Until Caught (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

It Came from the Desert (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

Jones in the Fast Lane (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works with SoftMPU: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Uses Custom Patches: Yes

My findings: Only tested on Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO, which sends ACK messages. Running the internal 1 MB wavetable in MT-32 mode produced odd sounds, showing that this game loads custom sound samples over the top of the default MT-32 ones.

Be sure to check my Jones game page to configure it properly.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0). The game's audio was originally written on a Roland SC-55.

King's Quest I VGA (2001)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

This game works in UART mode with this fan-made patch, which also combines digital sound effects with the MT-32 music.

Be sure to check my KQ1 game page to configure it properly.

King's Quest IV AGI Version (1988)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

King's Quest IV does not use any custom patches, so if you don't have an MT-32 but do have a Sound Canvas, the music will sound just as good on a Roland SC-55 when put into MT-32 mode (hold Instrument < and press the Power button, then press "All").

Be sure to check my KQ4 AGI game page to configure it properly.

King's Quest V (1990)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Tested and works fine using just a game port MIDI cable between MT-32 and sound card. Note that the game assumes you have an MT-32 "old". If playing the game on an MT-32 "new" or MT-100, some of the sounds are off, like in the intro sequence when the evil wizard is stealing the castle.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Be sure to check my KQ5 game page to configure it properly.

King's Quest VI (1992)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Tested and works fine using just a game port MIDI cable between MT-32 and sound card.

The game's audio was originally written on a Roland SC-55.

Be sure to check my KQ6 game page to configure it properly.

Lakers v. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Laser Squad (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using a Roland CM-series module.

Legend of Kyrandia, The (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: On startup, no sound from game.

Be sure to check my Legend of Kyrandia game page to configure it properly.

Legend of Kyrandia 2: The Hate of Fate(1993)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Tested and works fine using just a game port MIDI cable between MT-32 and sound card.

The game's audio was originally written on a Roland SC-55.

Leisure Suit Larry 2 (1988)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Leisure Suit Larry 3 (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Leisure Suit Larry 5 (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Works fine but suffers from the "Unable to initialize your audio hardware" error, caused by running on a machine that's too fast for the game. Try switching off your Turbo button, running a TSR like Moslow or SETMUL to disable one of your system's caches.

Sierra also did a late General MIDI support patch for this game (and others) - you can download it here.

Best played using a Roland CM-series module.

Leisure Suit Larry 6 (1993)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Works OK - game is designed for MT-32 "old", so some instruments sound 'wrong' with MT-32 "new".

The game's audio was originally written on a Roland SC-55.

Lemmings 2: The Tribes (1993)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?
Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

My findings: Untested.

Lethal Weapon (1992)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?
Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

My findings: Untested.

LineWars II (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Loom (1990)

Works in UART Mode: Unknown
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: No sound - game is silent when it plays.

Loom apparently uses NO custom sounds, so it sounds just as good on an MT-32 "new" as it does on the original MT-32 "old". If you don't have an MT-32 but do have a Sound Canvas, put your SC-55 into MT-32 mode (hold Instrument < and press the Power button, then press "All"), or SC-88 into CM-64 mode (hold "Select" and press Instrument <, then press "All").

Lord of the Rings, Vol.2 (1992)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Lure of the Temptress (1992)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Sound configuration is auto-detected by the game.
Only CM-series, e.g. CM-32L, plays sound effects correctly, as the game makes use of the CM's additional sound effects that play on MIDI channel 10.

Slowdown/no cache may be needed on some PCs.

Might and Magic III (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

Soundtrack was composed for MT-32, but the game itself was optimized for CM-32L.

Mixed Up Mother Goose (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Not sure
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested. My version doesn't appear to have an INSTALL.EXE file, so couldn't setup sound correctly.

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works OK - game is designed for MT-32 "Old", so some instruments sound 'wrong' with MT-32 "New".

Be sure to check my Monkey Island 2 game page to configure it properly.

Mortal Kombat (1993)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

One Step Beyond (1993)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Operation Stealth (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Police Quest 2 (1988)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works great! Initially it didn't work, but then I realised I was running SoftMPU in SBMIDI mode - don't use this flag and the game will play MT-32 music just fine. In my case the SoftMPU command-line was

softmpu /MPU:330 /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /DELAYSYSEX

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Police Quest 2 does not use any custom MT-32 patches, so if you don't have an MT-32 but do have a Sound Canvas, aside from what I just said the music should still sound pretty good when run through an SC-55 put into MT-32 mode (hold Instrument < and press the Power button, then press "All").

Police Quest 3 (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: (not required)

My findings: Tested and works fine using just a game port MIDI cable between MT-32 and sound card.

Best played using an MT-32 "New".

Populous (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Prince of Persia v1.3 and up (1990)

Works in UART Mode:
Works with SoftMPU:

My findings: Roland MT-32 and LAPC-I support was added to Prince of Persia as of game version 1.3 (April 1992), along with support for the Disney Sound Source and Media Vision ProAudio Spectrum. (not yet tested)

Princess Maker (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Princess Maker 2 (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Prophecy 1: The Viking Child (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Quest for Glory I (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.
This game works in UART mode with this fan-made patch, which also combines digital audio sound effects with MT-32 music.

Quest for Glory II (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
This game works in UART mode with this fan-made patch, which also combines digital audio sound effects with MT-32 music.

Race Drivin' (1992)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Rex Nebular & the Cosmic Gender Bender (1992)

Works in UART Mode: Unknown.
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using a Roland CM-series module.

Sabre Team (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using a Roland CM-series module.

Screamer (1995)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Partially works - Setup music test works fine, but in-game you hear only digital sound (no music).

Secret of Monkey Island, The (Floppy Disk Version) (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested. The MT-32 instrument patches were not altered by this title, so if you have, say, a Roland SC-55, you can put it into MT-32 mode and the game will sound very similar to the MT-32 original.

Be sure to check my Secret of Monkey Island game page to configure it properly.

Sensible Soccer (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message.

Shadoworlds (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Silpheed (1989)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message. MT-32 music is superb! The sound effects come from the PC speaker (like Budokan) - I think it's just programmed this way.

This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Simon the Sorcerer (1993)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.
Be sure to check my Simon the Sorcerer game page to configure it properly.

Ski or Die (1990)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Launch with "mt32" parameter for Roland MT-32 music/sounds.

Sorcerian (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.
This game works with the Sound Blaster MIDI interface at 2x0h, with this fan-made patch.

Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (SCI VGA version) (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine!
Sierra also did a late General MIDI support patch for this game (and others) - you can download it here.

Best played using MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Be sure to check my SQ1 VGA game page to configure it properly.

Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (1989)

Works in UART Mode: See Below
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: It works on my AudioTrix Pro card that sends an ACK message.

Out of the box, this game only works in Intelligent mode. The game works in UART mode with this fan-made patch, which also combines digital audio sound effects with MT-32 music.

Best played using MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Be sure to check my SQ3 game page to configure it properly.

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (1991)

Works in UART Mode: Unknown
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No
Uses Custom Patches: Yes

My findings: This was the first SCI-based Space Quest. It works on my AudioTrix Pro card and Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO that sends an ACK message.

Sierra also did a late General MIDI support patch for this game (and others) - you can download it here.

I also have a dedicated SQIV game page here.

Spacewrecked: 14 Billion Light Years from Earth (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Spellcasting 101 (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Spellcasting 201 (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Spellcasting 301 (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: No
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994)

Works in UART Mode: Unknown
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: I tested this game on my MediaTrix AudioTrix Pro card, and whilst it worked, the music came out strange. I changed the card's config to use my MT-32 "Old" instead of its onboard wavetable, but the sound again was odd.

Be sure to check my Star Wars: TIE Fighter game page to configure it properly.

Star Wars: X-Wing (1993)

Works in UART Mode: Unknown
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: I tested this game on my MediaTrix AudioTrix Pro card, and whilst it worked, the music came out strange. I changed the card's config to use my MT-32 "Old" instead of its onboard wavetable, but the sound again was odd.

Be sure to check my Star Wars: X-Wing game page to configure it properly.

True MT-32 support on floppy only. Best played using MT-32 "New".

Super Space Invaders (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Superhero League of Hoboken (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Team Suzuki (1991)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Untested. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0).
Best played using either an MT-32 "New" or Roland CM-series module.

TFX Tactical Fighter Experiment (1993)

Works in UART Mode: ?
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: The CONFIG.EXE utility requires a mouse driver to be loaded. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

Best played using either an MT-32 "New" or Roland CM-series module.

Timequest (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Ultima VI (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message.

The original game audio was created for Ad Lib/OPL2.

Ultima VI does not use any custom MT-32 patches. If you don't have an MT-32 but do have a Sound Canvas, put your SC-55 into MT-32 mode (hold Instrument < and press the Power button, then press "All"), or SC-88 into CM-64 mode (hold "Select" and press Instrument <, then press "All").

Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message.

Ultima VII: Serpent Isle (1994)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message.

Utopia (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: ?

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message. Requires minimum of a rev.1 MT-32 "New" (buffer overflow if played on rev.0)

WaxWorks (1992)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Wing Commander (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Works perfectly if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message. I initially ran the game with my AudioTrix Pro's wave config pointing to its internal wavetable synth. The music had some oddities to it. I then changed the card's wave config (using the MediaTrix SETMPU utility) to point to my external MT-32 "old". Music and sound effects reproduction was then 100% perfect.

Best played using an MT-32 "Old". This game takes advantage of bugs in the MT-32 firmware to create sounds that do not sound the same on later Roland LA synthesis modules. ROM versions up to 1.07 will still make use of these bugs.

Do look at my dedicated Wing Commander game page as well!

Wing Commander II (1991)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: Yes

My findings: Untested.

Look at my dedicated Wing Commander II game page as well!

Wonderland (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Unknown
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Untested.

Zeliard v1.0 up to v1.208 (1990)

Works in UART Mode: No
Works on cards that send ACK: Yes
Works with SoftMPU: No

My findings: Works just fine if you have a sound card that sends an ACK message.







Test PC specifications: AMD K6-2 500 MHz (with external/internal cache disabled where appropriate), 128 MB RAM, SD card HDD, Mitsumi CD-ROM drive, Yamaha Audician 32 or Mediatrix AudioTrix Pro 16-bit ISA sound card, Roland MT-100 and MT-32 "old", game port MIDI cable. SoftMPU v1.91 was used for all the above tests. It requires an EMS (Expanded Memory Specification) memory manager to be loaded, so for any games that don't like EMM386 or equivalent running, SoftMPU is a non-starter.