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RealSound
RealSound is a patented (US US5054086 A) technology for the PC created by Steve Witzel of Access Software during the late 1980s. RealSound enables 6-bit digitized pulse-code modulation (PCM)-audio playback on the PC speaker by means of pulse-width modulation (PWM) drive, allowing software control of the loud speaker's amplitude of displacement. The first video games to use it were ''World Class Leader Board'' and ''Echelon'', both released in 1988. At the time of release, sound cards were very expensive and RealSound allowed players to hear lifelike sounds and speech with no additional sound hardware, just the standard PC speaker. RealSound was an impressive enough technology that a few other PC video game developers, like Legend Entertainment, licensed it for use in their own games. However, as the early 1990s progressed, sound card prices dropped to the point that they eventually became a baseline requirement for gaming PC-audio, leaving RealSound obsolete as it no longer fill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PC Speaker
A PC speaker is a loudspeaker built into some IBM PC compatible computers. The first IBM Personal Computer, model 5150, employed a standard 2.25 inch magnetic driven (dynamic) speaker. More recent computers use a tiny moving-iron or piezo speaker instead. The speaker allows software and firmware to provide auditory feedback to a user, such as to report a hardware fault. A PC speaker generates waveforms using the programmable interval timer, an Intel 8253 or 8254 chip. Use cases BIOS/UEFI error codes The PC speaker is used during the power-on self-test (POST) sequence to indicate errors during the boot process. Since it is active before the graphics card, it can be used to communicate "beep codes" related to problems that prevent the much more complex initialization of the graphics card to take place. For example, the Video BIOS usually cannot activate a graphics card unless working RAM is present in the system while beeping the speaker is possible with just R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mean Streets (video Game)
''Mean Streets'' is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Access Software for MS-DOS in 1989 exclusively in North America. It was ported to the Commodore 64, Atari ST, and Amiga in 1989 and 1990 by The Code Monkeys. Atari ST and Amiga ports were only released in Europe. The game, set in a dystopian cyberpunk neo-noir world, is the first in the series of ''Tex Murphy'' mysteries; its immediate sequel is ''Martian Memorandum''. In 1998, ''Mean Streets'' was remade as '' Tex Murphy: Overseer''. Plot The player plays the role of Tex Murphy, a down-and-out private investigator living in post-apocalyptic San Francisco. Tex is hired by a beautiful young woman named Sylvia Linsky to investigate the death of her father, Dr. Carl Linsky, a professor at the University of San Francisco. Prior to his death, Carl would not talk to his daughter about the secret project he was working on, and days later, he was seen falling off the Golden Gate Bridge. Sylvia suspects murder, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Card
A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications. Sound functionality can also be integrated onto the motherboard, using components similar to those found on plug-in cards. The integrated sound system is often still referred to as a ''sound card''. Sound processing hardware is also present on modern video cards with HDMI to output sound along with the video using that connector; previously they used a S/PDIF connection to the motherboard or sound card. Typical uses of sound cards or sound card functionality include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation, education and entertainment (games) and video projection. Sound cards are also used for comput ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echelon (Access Software)
''Echelon'' is a video game originally published in 1987 by Access Software. Gameplay ''Echelon'' is a game in which the player pilots a C-104 Combat Exploration Vehicle to find a base that has been used by pirates on the planet Isis in the year 2096. The PC version uses Access's RealSound technology. Reception Hosea Battles reviewed the Commodore 64 version for ''Computer Gaming World'', stating that "If you like arcade action, flight simulation, space combat, exploration, mystery, and adventure, this game is for you". Reviews *''Zzap!'' - Jun, 1988 *''Your Sinclair'' - Mar, 1989 *''The Games Machine'' - Jun, 1988 *''The Games Machine'' - Jun, 1989 *''ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)'' - Dec, 1988 *''Crash!'' - Feb, 1989 References {{reflist External linksReviewin ''Compute!''Reviewof Echelon with Realsound in ''Compute!''Reviewin ''Compute!'s Gazette''Reviewin ''Info''Articlein ''RUN Magazine''Reviewin ''Arcades'' (French)Reviewin ''Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Card
A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications. Sound functionality can also be integrated onto the motherboard, using components similar to those found on plug-in cards. The integrated sound system is often still referred to as a ''sound card''. Sound processing hardware is also present on modern video cards with HDMI to output sound along with the video using that connector; previously they used a S/PDIF connection to the motherboard or sound card. Typical uses of sound cards or sound card functionality include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation, education and entertainment (games) and video projection. Sound cards are also used for comput ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spellcasting 101
''Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls'' is a 1990 adventure game. It was the first installment of the ''Spellcasting'' series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, as he progresses through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, and meeting beautiful women. Story The games take place in a fictional world called Peloria, which appears like a modern society, however magic has the place of science. Peloria is mostly occupied by the Fizzbuttle Ocean with islands where the player travels throughout the game. The player character is Ernie Eaglebeak, a teenager just out of high school living in the town of Port Gecko, pining for his sexy neighbour Lola Tigerbelly and struggling in a seriously bad relationship with his stepfather, Joey Rottenwood. A break-through in his miserable life comes when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Links (video Game)
''Links'' is a series of golf simulation video games, first developed by Access Software, and then later by Microsoft after it acquired Access Software in 1999. Microsoft also produced its own series of golf games based on ''Links'', under the title ''Microsoft Golf''. The ''Links'' series was a flagship brand for Access, and was continued from 1990 to 2003. The first game in the series, '' Links: The Challenge of Golf'', won ''Computer Gaming Worlds 1991 Action Game of the Year award. Several versions of the game and expansion packs (containing new courses and golfers mainly) were created for the Mac and PC over the years. In 1996, Access Software introduced ''Links LS 1997'', the first of several ''Links'' games to use the ''LS'' (''Legends in Sports'') title. A version for the Xbox named '' Links 2004'' was released in November 2003. It would be the final game in the series. In March 2004, Microsoft announced the cancellation of its 2004 lineup of sports games, allowing the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covox Speech Thing
The Covox Speech Thing is an external audio device attached to the computer to output digital sound. It was composed of a primitive 8-bit DAC using a resistor ladder and an analogue signal output, and plugged into the printer port In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once (parallel ... of the IBM PC compatible, PC. The Speech Thing was introduced on December 18, 1987 by Covox, Inc of Eugene, Oregon, for about US$70 (US$79.95 as of 1989), but as its parts were much cheaper than the complete plug, and as its design was fairly simple, people soon started to build their own variants. The plug was used long into the 1990s, as sound cards were still very expensive at that time. The plug was also quite popular in the demoscene. An inherent problem of the design is that it requires very preci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Companions Of Xanth
''Companions of Xanth'' is an adventure game published in 1993 by Legend Entertainment. Gameplay The game is based on Piers Anthony's ''Xanth'' novels and loosely follows the plot of his 1993 novel '' Demons Don't Dream'', in which a young man uses a computer game to enter and explore the world of Xanth. Typical of Piers Anthony's novels, the game is filled with puns and visual gags, and some knowledge of the ''Xanth'' universe is helpful; for those players who haven't read any of the Xanth novels, an in-game 'Com-Pendium of Xanth' is provided to the player for the majority of the game. The game uses 2D graphics in 8-bit colour and was available on both floppy disk and CD-ROM. The game was re-released in July 1997 in a bundle with Legend Entertainment's '' Death Gate'' and ''Shannara''. Reception ''Computer Gaming World'' stated in February 1994 that ''Companions of Xanth'' was "a very funny game based on an interesting literary license", with "traditional adventure game puzzl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spellcasting 301
The text adventure game ''Spellcasting 301: Spring Break'' is the third and last installment of the ''Spellcasting'' series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, progressing through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, occasionally saving the world as he knows it, and having his way with any beautiful women he can get his hands on. Technical notes This is the first, and as it has turned out the only, Spellcasting game to use the 256-colour VGA version of the Legend interactive fiction interface, as well as capable of utilizing the sound card to play both sound effects and music. Unlike the previous two parts, whose title pages resembled their box covers, the title page of ''Spellcasting 301'' shows only the game's title on plain-blue background, whereas the box cover showed a girl in a bikini rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timequest
''Timequest'' is an interactive fiction game released by Legend Entertainment, and written by Bob Bates. The game can be played online at the Internet Archive. Plot In the year 2090 AD, the use of time machines (called interkrons) is regulated by officers of the Temporal Corps. There is a strict prohibition against travel into the past, because of its potentially disastrous effects on the timestream and the catastrophic consequences for current civilization. Zeke S. Vettenmyer, a Lieutenant in the Temporal Corps, has stolen an interkron, traveled back into the past, and subtly altered historical situations so that the outcomes of these events will be changed. The world as we know it will be destroyed as the effects of these changes ripple forward towards the present and cause massive disruptions in the timestream. You are a private in the Temporal Corps. You have been selected to travel into the past and untangle Vettenmyer's twisted plot. You must pursue Vettenmyer across 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spellcasting 201
The text adventure game ''Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance'' is the second instalment of the ''Spellcasting'' series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All the three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, as he progresses through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, occasionally saving the world as he knows it, and having his way with any beautiful women he can get his hands on. Story Following the events of '' Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls'', we find young Ernie Eaglebeak as a sorcerer's apprentice - which however quickly turns out to be a training simulation which our protagonist was taking part in during his first sophomore days at the Sorcerer University. Things have changed at the university since last year: the campus is being extended, Ernie's advisor Otto Tickingclock is now the university's president and Erni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
