Windows 10 - Sound Problems

[oreganor]

Hello there. I have installed winSPWW2 extended in my Windows 10 rig and the game works normally without doing any special but the sound.

Nothing I have tried nor any of the solutions the nice fellows at customer support have recommended so far seems to work. So I thought on posting here to see if some other user had any luck at making sounds work with W10.

Things I have tried:
- All compatibility options in the winSPWW2.exe.
- Reinstalled multiple times in different paths.
- Activated DIRECTPLAY legacy option on W10.
- Activating/Deactivating sound options in preferences.

Things I have observed:
- .wav files reproduced directly work normally.
- The game is not appearing in windows' sound mixer while the main windows is active.

[oreganor]

Forgot to add that the game is pure vanilla directly installed from the digital version download at the shop (Version 17).

[DRG]

The only time we have ever had sound issues reported was 2 decades+ ago when we changed the WAV sounds to MP3 but a lot of people complained their systems at the time would not play MP3 so we changed them all back to Wav's

Until now.

I hope someone has an idea for you as what you already received from customer support came from us.

EDIT 1..... Do you have a separate sound card?

EDIT 2..... Have you previously made adjustments to the sound on your machine for any reason?

EDIT 3..... Some suggestions found on line

Run the Windows 10 audio troubleshooter. It can diagnose and fix a variety of common sound problems. To use it, right-click the sound icon by the clock, select Troubleshoot sound problems, and then follow the onscreen prompts.

Disable the sound card in Device Manager, and then re-enable it. This will force the operating system to reestablish its connection with the hardware, which could restore audio to Windows 10

EDIT 4........ I'VE GOT NOTHING ELSE.

EDIT 5...... if all else fails you can play the game the way the lead programer always does........ with sound off. That said, IDK of anyone else who has reported the sound does not play on their copy of the game. Have you tried running SPMBT?

[DRG]

This is a 2012 link to a sound problem I had forgotten about. IDK if there is anything that might help but.. ya never know

https://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=49266

[Mobhack]

Basically what Don says - nothing like that has been reported in the life of the Windows version of the game.

Try dowloading the free version of MBT - see if your computer plays that one's sound. Its the exact same system. If it does - then it would be weird and likely related to someting in your PC?. If it does not - then we are back to the original problem, which again, is likely to be your local setup I'd say.

Same goes if you have a spare computer - try on that and see what happens.

[oreganor]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, tried them all, including the most promising one that was disabling all sound devices but my headphones in the Device Manager, but no change . I'm starting to think the engine doesn't like my USB SoundBlaster Headphones.

Later I till download and try the free version of MBT to see how it goes.

Regarding playing without sounds... It's what I'm doing the nostalgic "hex" experience makes the game too much fun to play even without them

[Mobhack]

When Steel Panthers was released on a demo CD stuck on the front of some computer gaming magazine way back in the later 90's, about the first thing I did was to turn off the sound. I've never used it since, once I bought the game based on the demo since unlike say a flight simulator, the sound isnt vital to the gameplay.

It also meant that I didnt have to worry about blowing the neighbours out of bed in the wee small hours - plus I've never really liked wearing headphones and in-ear buds make my inner ears itch

[DRG]

Originally Posted by oreganor

(. I'm starting to think the engine doesn't like my USB SoundBlaster Headphones.

Have you tried running the game without using the USB SoundBlaster Headphones?

Google No sound in certain games while using USB headset

The results suggest you are not alone and it's an issue with other games as well

[oreganor]

I have a builtin realtek-based sound card in my mobo... So it's something I will be able to test at some point, once I get a good analogic headphone. So far I have tested winspMBT and as expected, same problem.

I did borrow today a logitech headset (also USB) and the same problem. And yes, that's why the suggestion about removing non used devices remind me of some past woes trying to replay old games:

- Beware of the default sound device selection and...
- Old software didn't have a clue about USB so watch out those (Miece particularly).

It also meant that I didnt have to worry about blowing the neighbours out of bed in the wee small hours

Mwhahahah... Good point, that's what I try to solve with headphones... Except they do not help with my swearing after the 3rd shot failed in a row at point blank

[DRG]

Did you ever get the game to work through a pair of speakers instead of these headphones?

QUESTION for everyone else successfully use USB SoundBlaster headphones with the game?