OpenAL Crashing Torque
by Ero "Super Newbie" Sennin · in Torque Game Engine · 05/30/2004 (4:02 pm) · 23 replies
I downloaded the newest version of OpenaL from creative labs and now no torque apps will fun for me. It gets to the opening splash screen then crashes (which to me signifies the crash is happening during OpenAl init). ANyone got any ideas on how to fix this?
#2
05/30/2004 (8:04 pm)
I'm Such a newb I don't know how 
#4
05/31/2004 (2:58 am)
The newest version doesn't work for me either.
#5
05/31/2004 (5:30 am)
Where can I get a version that will work?
#6
05/31/2004 (6:08 am)
Use the one from the sdk or download the Torque demo and use that openAL. 
#7
06/02/2004 (3:03 pm)
Yes, the new OpenAL drivers seem to have problems. As soon as we have the time, we will investigate what is going on. I have heard that there are problems with non-Torque related games too.
#8
06/08/2004 (5:36 am)
Lots of people have been reporting this when playing produce panic. So its the new drivers?
#9
If some of you can test that, please check back here. If it is the new OpenAL drivers, then we'll have to see if it's something we can fix, or if we need to contact them and request a fix.
By the way, just to be certain: this is happening on all platforms, right? Not just Mac?
06/11/2004 (4:15 pm)
Yes, I think so. If you rever to the old OpenAL drivers things still work. (I think)If some of you can test that, please check back here. If it is the new OpenAL drivers, then we'll have to see if it's something we can fix, or if we need to contact them and request a fix.
By the way, just to be certain: this is happening on all platforms, right? Not just Mac?
#10
06/11/2004 (6:38 pm)
Thanks, just making sure.
#11
Its really not crashing i can see the openAl32 driver in options
but no sound what so ever .
I use 3 comps with xppro xphome and Me all have sblive cards.
06/12/2004 (9:36 am)
Josh Its really not crashing i can see the openAl32 driver in options
but no sound what so ever .
I use 3 comps with xppro xphome and Me all have sblive cards.
#12
Did any of you try uninstalling the drivers and reverting to older ones? I know we say to keep them updated, and generally you should, but there are obviously some problems with the new ones, and reverting may be a good stop-gap until we get a solution with the latest drivers.
06/12/2004 (4:44 pm)
Yeah, whether it crashes or just plain doesn't work right, I imagine all of these problems come from the newest OpenAL drivers. Did any of you try uninstalling the drivers and reverting to older ones? I know we say to keep them updated, and generally you should, but there are obviously some problems with the new ones, and reverting may be a good stop-gap until we get a solution with the latest drivers.
#13
I get all old ones work without no problems.
with the newone i get this in torque on OpenAL init
Missing OpenAL Extension function 'EAXSet' and 'EAXGet'
And this is on Head from june 10.
06/12/2004 (5:23 pm)
Its only the latest one Josh.I get all old ones work without no problems.
with the newone i get this in torque on OpenAL init
Missing OpenAL Extension function 'EAXSet' and 'EAXGet'
And this is on Head from june 10.
#14
06/12/2004 (5:53 pm)
Hmm i got openAl again (after format) and i had no sound. Assuming the driver problem i removed it and installed the old one again. Still no sound.
#15
Put the OpenAL32.dll in your game folder then it overrides the one installed.
If you use linux or mac then i dont know if this works.
06/12/2004 (6:03 pm)
WestyPut the OpenAL32.dll in your game folder then it overrides the one installed.
If you use linux or mac then i dont know if this works.
#17
08/03/2004 (10:11 pm)
Hey GG, don't mean to nag, but this is the main bug that people using Produce Panic complain to us about (rather harshly mind you). We've packaged up the old OAL with the game, and this seems to be a sturdy solution, but since there were talks of cleaning up the sound code for TSE, I was wondering if you were also planning on fixing it for TGE (in other words fix it for TGE then use that for TSE). Just wondering if we could get an update on this whole sound situation, and possibly some hints as to what we should expect in the future sound wise.
#18
08/04/2004 (9:43 pm)
That is excelent news! 
#19
The SBLIVE family of sound cards have an ENVIRONMENT SETTING (EAX) which basically applies an effect to the pre-existing sound. You can go in and change this setting to preset values that give you effects such as "Concert Hall", "Hallway", "Cave", etc. and other effects such as "Grunge Guitar", "Heavy Metal", so on and so forth. These basically apply the effect on top of the sound to make it sound as if you are in a Concert Hall and so on. There is also the "Default" EAX setting which basically sets your sound card to produce sound as it would normally with no effects.
OpenAL is an API that actually takes 3D data and produces true 3D sound. By the way, it rocks when you have 4 to 6 speakers and a subwoofer.
Long story short, I have noticed that if I have my enviromental audio setting set to anything different than "Default", I get NO sound in Torque, except OGG audio files. They play fine. Obviously because they use a different library.
I haven't fully investigated the relation between these settings and the different versions of OpenAL, but know for a fact that changing the EAX setting back to the default, and setting the sound card options to 2 Speakers instead of 4 speakers (you may not need to change the speaker setting), seems to make OpenAL function properly.
Now this seems to be a problem with the latest OpenAL and its ability to merge with EAX, because the two were built to work together and I have had them working flawlessly in the past. OpenAL will provide true 3D sound and EAX should apply effects to that sound without a hitch. But we all know that it isn't a perfect world. Also, I experience the same problem with UT2003 and OpenAL.
Hope this helps...
08/05/2004 (7:49 am)
For those of you who have NO SOUND and currently have a SBLIVE card in your system, you may want to check the following.The SBLIVE family of sound cards have an ENVIRONMENT SETTING (EAX) which basically applies an effect to the pre-existing sound. You can go in and change this setting to preset values that give you effects such as "Concert Hall", "Hallway", "Cave", etc. and other effects such as "Grunge Guitar", "Heavy Metal", so on and so forth. These basically apply the effect on top of the sound to make it sound as if you are in a Concert Hall and so on. There is also the "Default" EAX setting which basically sets your sound card to produce sound as it would normally with no effects.
OpenAL is an API that actually takes 3D data and produces true 3D sound. By the way, it rocks when you have 4 to 6 speakers and a subwoofer.
Long story short, I have noticed that if I have my enviromental audio setting set to anything different than "Default", I get NO sound in Torque, except OGG audio files. They play fine. Obviously because they use a different library.
I haven't fully investigated the relation between these settings and the different versions of OpenAL, but know for a fact that changing the EAX setting back to the default, and setting the sound card options to 2 Speakers instead of 4 speakers (you may not need to change the speaker setting), seems to make OpenAL function properly.
Now this seems to be a problem with the latest OpenAL and its ability to merge with EAX, because the two were built to work together and I have had them working flawlessly in the past. OpenAL will provide true 3D sound and EAX should apply effects to that sound without a hitch. But we all know that it isn't a perfect world. Also, I experience the same problem with UT2003 and OpenAL.
Hope this helps...
Associate Kyle Carter