Re: [Bug-freedink] Bug: no music when Timidity is set to use a soundfont

[Sylvain Beucler]

Hey,

I see in the SDL_mixer source code (native_midi_gpl/README):

  External MIDI port can be set with env.
  SDL_NATIVE_MUSIC_EXT (SDL_NATIVE_MUSIC_EXT="1").

The 'native_midi_gpl' driver is optional and may not be activated
under Fedora.  From what I remember it is enabled in Debian.  You
might need to rename /etc/timidity/ as well, so that SDL_mixer don't
pick the timidity-light driver first.  Apparently you can prioritize
it over timidity using SDL_NATIVE_MUSIC=1.

So running something like:
  sudo mv /etc/timidity /etc/timidity.disabled
  SDL_NATIVE_MUSIC='EXT' SDL_NATIVE_MUSIC_EXT=1 freedink -w -g cloudcastle
might work.

Btw this all reminds me of a certain thread at
http://www.dinknetwork.com/forum.cgi?MID=94587
I know some more MIDI now so hopefully we can work something out :)

- Sylvain

On Tue, Aug 09, 2011 at 12:00:15AM +0200, Vincent Beers wrote:
> You are completely right - FreeDoom seems to have the exact same problem.
> When I switch to the soundfont, music stops working, but with the Fluid
> patchset it's fine. This is really annoying, because there are some songs in
> Cloud Castle that just sound unbearable with some of the samples in Fluid.
> :(
> 
> I get no error messages. I suspect it's just this "lite" version of Timidity
> not supporting soundfonts. Which is, for me, a pretty big issue, as there's
> not that many patchsets out there that I know of (nor do I know how to
> configure it).
> 
> Is there any chance that the MIDI library ever gets replaced by something
> more functional? Or, more easily, is there, perhaps, a commandline flag that
> lets the system handle the MIDI instead (through a defined port,
> preferably), so I can offload the music to any other software synth instead?
> 
> - DaVince
> 
> PS. Thanks for suggesting GNUjump as the test app. It's hilarious.
> 
> On 8 August 2011 21:50, Sylvain Beucler <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> > Hi DaVince,
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 08, 2011 at 09:25:05PM +0200, Vincent Beers wrote:
> > > When I change /etc/timidity.cfg to use a soundfont instead of the
> > standard
> > > Fluid patch set, FreeDink will no longer play music.
> > >
> > > My config file looks like this:
> > >
> > > dir /home/vincent/sf
> > > soundfont "The Ultimate Megadrive Soundfont.SF2" order=0
> > >
> > > Testing it with command-line timidity works fine. Same goes when I try
> > other
> > > soundfonts. I'm on 64-bit Fedora 15, with FreeDink version 1.08.20101114.
> >
> > FreeDink relies on SDL_mixer for the sound, which itself uses a light,
> > built-in version of timidity, which may explain the difference between
> > command-line timidity and FreeDink.
> >
> > - Do you experience the same issue with other games that also rely on
> >  SDL_mixer for MIDI playing?  A quick search shows that gnujump does,
> >  check if you can find other ones.
> >
> > - Do you get any error message if you run it from a terminal?