ALchemy FAQ (DirectSound3D games in Vis

Creative ALchemy Project FAQ
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN lang=EN-US>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Q: Why is Creative ALchemy necessary?</B>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>A: As part of a major re-architecture of the audio subsystem in Windows Vista, Microsoft made the radical decision to remove the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for DirectSound and DirectSound3D. The HAL is the layer that on previous Windows Operating Systems enabled an audio accelerator such as the Sound Blaster X-Fi to provide DirectSound3D applications with hardware-accelerated audio.
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Creative ALchemy allows SB X-Fi owners to run their favorite DirectSound3D games on Windows Vista and experience them as the developers intended - with full hardware accelerated 3D Audio and EAX support.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> This is achieved by translating DirectSound3D calls into OpenAL calls.
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Q: Is this caused by a driver issue?</B>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>A: This is not a driver issue, and cannot be fixed with a simple driver update.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The DirectSound Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) has been removed from the Windows Vista OS.
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Q: I have Windows XP, 9x, ME or 2000.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Do I need Creative ALchemy?</B>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>A: No, Creative ALchemy is not necessary on these operating systems as the DirectSound HAL is present.
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Q: I have a game that supports OpenAL.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Do I need to use Creative ALchemy?</B>
class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>A: No, OpenAL has direct access to our hardware and does not require the ALchemy wrapper.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> For a complete list of OpenAL titles, go to http://us.creative.com/support/downloads
Message Edited by Jason-CL on 07-09-2007 06:28 PM

dm550 wrote:
There are no sound cards on the market that fully support Vista or work like they did in XP due to the changes that Microsoft made to Windows' sound. You're better off waiting till at least the release of SP for Vista to see if any significant sound changes are made or wait till an OpenAL compatible sound card is offered.
Would an OpenAL compatible card work the way I was thinking, any game may have a chance of working or would they still need to be individually worked to work with an OpenAL card?How far away from OpenAL cards are we? I don't mind upgrading, I just planned todo it when I could afford a whole system and update everything, not just an intermediate soundcard upgrade. Also what is this Auzentech Xi-Fi? I might hav eto look it up, any first hand experience?

Similar Messages

Good morning.i have problem. i can't buy any things from games by visa card

good morning.i have problem. i can't buy any things from games by visa card

bu_mesheel84 wrote:
... i can't buy any things from games by visa card
Contact iTunes Customer Service and request assistance
Use this Link > Apple Support iTunes Store Contact

Creative ALchemy & Windows 7 Games

Hi,
I have Windows 7 Ultimate 32-Bit and I can't seem to get ALchemy to do anything, I added a game and nothing changes. Help?

Which game are you trying to add? If you are adding a game to it, the game has to be made to use EAX in its setup options. Not all older games used it. Post the title and the others and I will surely suggest how you can fix it.

Why I can't buy things for my games from visa credit card

Why can't I buy thing for my games from my visa credit card

You can ... providing your visa credit card is backing your iTunes account. I think what is behind your question is a wish NOT to have an iTunes store account. In that case you could buy (with your Visa card, if you like) gift cards.

I'm having trouble buying points in the game by visa

Game was loaded is name clash of clans and i want to buy chest of gems by visa but did not accept me
For information,in almost al 50 try accepts only once

Hi jonijo,
You probably also got a message to contact iTunes Support, which is what you need to do:
https://expresslane.apple.com/Issues.action
Select the options that best apply to your situation. You will also have an opportunity to fill out a description of your problem. iTunes Support will contact your via email, usually within 24 hours.
Cheers,
GB

How is it for games using Visa 64?

I am thinking of getting a MBP 15" and the GPU (9600) is less than some windows only laptops (9800 nVidia 1gig)
Fallout 3, Medal of Honor, ect..
Thanks

Heya, I'm currently gaming on the MBP (Late 2008) with the 256mb of GFX memory model (but with 4gb of memory.)
It runs Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Age of Empires 3 and other games beautifully. You should get at least 30 fps for all games (that being high settings for most games.) The only bad part about gaming with the MBP is the fan, which is facing up, instead of being on the bottom. This causes the fan to reach insane speeds with any game. If you don't mind the sound then by any means get it. But if you want to get a dedicated gaming machine, stay away. If you want a cheap and really good (I mean better than "alienware"; alienware is a piece of carp), get a Sager notebook

Creative ALchemy Guide and FAQ

Hi everyone,?
I have decided to include this for the benefit of those who are new.
Creative ALchemy
al-che-my [al-kuh-mee] ~ any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value. - Dictionary.com
In Windows Vista, Microsoft has decided to remove the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for DirectSound and DirectSound3D. The HAL is the software layer that on previous Windows Operating Systems enabled an audio accelerator such as the SB X-Fi, to provide DirectSound3D applications with hardware accelerated audio. This enabled soundcards to perform tasks such as sample-rate conversion, mixing, 3D spatialization using HRTFs, filtering, and effects processing. Without the HAL, DirectSound on Windows Vista will be rendered in software on all sound cards with no advanced functionality such as EAX.
The good news is that Creative ALchemy allows you to run your favorite DirectSound3D games on Windows Vista as the developers intended - with advanced 3D Audio processing and EAX support!
NOTE: All Sound Blaster X-Fi and most Sound Blaster Audigy series of cards include ?nati've? OpenAL support. This means that most games that use the OpenAL Audio library will not be affected by the changes in Windows Vista. OpenAL support is available in many modern PC games including Battlefield 242, Doom3, Quake 4, and Prey.
Some useful links:
Creative ALchemy Project FAQ
Alchemy @ Creative Labs: Connect
Detailed gamelist
Download:
Creative ALchemy .25.0
Filesize : 8.2 MB
Release date : 20 Mar 09
Previous announcement:
Starting from 6 May 2008, the Creative Alchemy (for Audigy products) is available for FREE. No purchase is necessary to use this software. Original post.
Operation
When launched, the Creative ALchemy application will search the system for supported DirectSound3D enabled games. All the games found will be listed in the left pane (titled "Installed Games"). The right pane (titled "ALchemy-enabled Games?) will show any games which have already been converted to use ALchemy.
To enable ALchemy support for a particular game, select it from the left panel, and press the >> button. To undo ALchemy support, select the game from the right panel and press the << button. You can select multiple games at once and then use the directional arrow buttons to update them all.
Adding / Editing Games
The following sections contain information about how you can upgrade games to use Creative ALchemy technology. This is intended for users who are comfortable navigating the Windows File System or using the Windows Registry to retrieve information.
If you want to test out a favourite game that is not currently supported, then please read the following information.
NOTE: Games can use the DirectSound3D library in radically different ways, so not all of them will work with Creative ALchemy. A list of officially and unofficially supported games, including the appropriate settings (see below) can be found on http://connect.creativelabs.com/alchemy/default.aspx. Users are encouraged to share their experiences (and ALchemy settings) by contributing to the Games list.
Pressing the ?Add? button brings up the Game Settings dialogue box requesting information about the title you wish to add. Pressing the Edit button with a game selected brings up the same dialogue box filled with the current settings so they can be altered.
Game Title
Type in the name of the game you wish to add, as you want it to appear in the ALchemy application.
Location
The ALchemy application needs to know where to find the installed game. This can be done by providing the full directory path to the installation folder, or, by looking up the installation folder in the Windows Registry. As most games add a key to the Windows Registry indicating where the game has been installed, this option enables ALchemy to find games on any user?s machine. The alternati've, a hard-coded directory path, is specific to each user because most games allow the user to specify a custom directory into which the game is installed. Finding a Registry Key can be tricky and is only recommend for advanced users familiar with tools such as regedit.
To enter a registry key select the ?Use Registry Path? button. Enter the full path and registry key name that stores the string containing the game?s installation folder. E.g. Call Of Duty stores this information in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Activision\Call Of Duty\InstallPath
To provide a game?s installation folder select the ?Use Game Path? button. Enter the full path (including dri've letter) to the game?s installation folder. E.g. If Call Of Duty was installed in a Games directory on dri've C, you should enter c:\Games\Call of Duty
The purpose of providing this information is so that the Creative ALchemy application can copy a couple of files to the game?s installation folder. These two files must be copied to the same folder as the game?s executable. In some cases the game?s main executable is not stored in the game installation folder, but one of its sub-directories. If this is the situation then enter the sub-directory name in the ?Install into Sub Folder? edit box. E.g. Serious Sam Second Encounter stores the game executable in a sub-directory called ?bin? so this should be entered here.
In some even rarer cases, a game may require that the two ALchemy files are copied into two locations ? the game installation folder, and a sub-directory. (This can happen if the game has a configuration application in one folder and the game in another). To copy the files to both locations, tick the ?Install into both Root and Sub Folder? check box.
When you close the dialogue box, the application will verify the location settings and display an error message if a registry path is not found or a directory path doesn?t exist.
Settings
To upgrade a legacy DirectSound3D based game to use Creative ALchemy involves copying a couple of files to the same directory as the game's executable. The first file is called dsound.dll and does the work necessary to re-enable 3D audio and EAX, the other file, dsound.ini, contains configuration options that affect how the audio will be rendered. The variables in the dsound.ini are controlled by the following options in the dialogue box: -
'Buffers' is used to set the number of audio buffers used internally. The default value of 4 should be fine for most applications.
'Duration' is used to set the length in milliseconds of each of the audio buffers. The default value is 25ms.
The total duration of the audio queue used internally is equal to Buffers * Duration (i.e. 00ms by default). Experimenting with Duration values may be necessary in order to find the best performance vs. quality trade-off for each game. In addition, some games require smaller values than the default of 25ms because they use very small DirectSound Buffers for streaming, or they require faster playback position updates. Reducing the ?Duration? value can prevent audio glitches, pops and clicks.
However, lower values mean that there is more chance of the audio breaking up during CPU intensi've moments (e.g. lots of disc access during level loading). The recommended approach is to try the default settings, and if audio artifacts are regularly heard then try lowering Duration by 5ms and trying again. If the problem still occurs try dropping the value by another 5ms and so on (minimum allowed value is 5ms).
'Maximum Voice Count' is used to set the maximum number of hardware voices that will be used by ALchemy. The number of voices used will be the lesser of, the hardware voice count limit and this setting. The default is 28 which is the highest number of voices available on SB X-Fi cards. By lowering this value, hardware voices can be reserved for another application to use, or, to improve performance by streaming less audio channels.
'Disable Direct Music' is used to disable DirectMusic support. The default is false (unchecked), meaning DirectMusic support is enabled. At this time no known problems have been caused by combining ALchemy with games, such as TRON 2.0, that use DirectMusic.

Originally Posted by namal
Hello,
can you please reupload the file again? The link doesn't work. I really need this driver pack for the Audigy 2 NX. I had Windows 7 and i don't want to buy a new external Sound Card for my notebook. Much thanks for the great work.
In case you still require your driver and Alchemy, here are the links for the Audigy 2 NX
Downloads Page
http://support.creative.com/Products...05&prodID=9103
Driver
http://support.creative.com/download...wnloadId=11994
Alchemy
http://support.creative.com/download...wnloadId=12579

ALchemy won't copy to game files fold

aWhen I try to add games to ALchemy, using the game path as i'm not sure what to use for the registry path.... I get the error below when I hit the right arrows to move it over Unable to copy files to folder ******* Games are Gears of War and Crysis. Only game that works is NWN2...which is supported on the list on the FAQ. Is there any way to use this or is it basically a waste of time unless you play a supported game Thanks,Doc

What happens when you try? Do you get a message? If so what is it exactly?
How is the external hard drive formatted? Control (right) - click on the drive's icon and select Get Info from the contextual menu. In the Info window will be the formatting information.

New ALchemy settings for some major games for Win7 (64-bit)...

[color="#ff0000"]Update 2/0/0 - Added Sid Meier's Civilization V: Ok this game is so hard to find in the registry because it uses a completely radically new type of installer that basically is a hybrid installer based on pulling the steam client game updates for Civ V and the data from the actual Civ V install DVD. The definiti've install location is similar to other steam apps are installed @ location C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v. (The blue part is common for the majority of all steam installed games locations. Finding this for Civ V was not so easy, however.
Here is the actual entry you should add to your ALchemy.ini file and is the ONLY location that points to the aforementioned correct install path in the entire HKLM tree that is valid. This is truly a very very unique and bizarre and radically new way to find and detect correct install path strings without resorting to using the GAMEUX path (which is different on everyones computer). This path is indentical for all Civ V installs and therefore the most valid. The ALchemy team needs to address these new radical ways that game companies are injecting the install string into the registry in the future or ALchemy will start to break big time. Notice its the Uninstall path that actually functions as the only correct static install path for the game. Its a dual use path. Very clever!
[Sid Meier's Civilization V]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Mi crosoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Steam App 8930\InstallLocation
SubDir=
Duration=5
Preset=
GamePath=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
[color="#ff0000"]Update 2/0/0 - Added Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: A nice game if you have SWG that uses gorgeous sound while playing. Here is the ALchemy.ini addition.
[Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wind ows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\SWGTCGGame.exe\Path
Preset=
GamePath=
SubDir=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
Duration=25
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
[color="#ff0000"]Update 2/0/0 - Added Star Trek Online: The only correct and static install path for this wonderful game.
[Star Trek Online]
RegPath=HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\Star Trek Online\InstallLocation
Preset=
GamePath=
SubDir=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
Duration=25
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
[color="#ff0000"]Update 2/0/0 - Added A few oldies but goodies: Some older games I have managed to get to work with ALchemy. The sound in these older games is UNREAL in how good they sound now!
[Fallout Tactics]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\4 Degrees East\Fallout Tactics\ProgramFolder
Preset=
GamePath=
SubDir=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
Duration=25
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
[UFO Afterlight]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\AL TAR\UFO Afterlight\Path
Preset=
GamePath=
SubDir=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
Duration=25
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
[UFO Extraterrestrials]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tr i Synergy\UFO Extraterrestrials\installed to
Preset=
GamePath=
SubDir=
RootDirInstallOption=FALSE
Buffers=4
Duration=25
MaxVoiceCount=28
DisableDirectMusic=FALSE
The original post:
I was playing around with the D:\Program Files (x86)\Creative\ALchemy\ALchemy.ini file to force ALchemy to run with all the games on my computer. After I changed the reg paths in this .ini file all the games I had on my computer started working with ALchemy running in Windows 7 64-bit. Windows 7 registry paths for some major game titles I play are NOT in the standard location that the ALchemy.ini file has them as which is why they never get registered. I run a 64-bit version of Windows 7 so the path is slightly different then the default ones in the .ini file. Here is what I added/changed and all these games now register with ALchemy and work! Game heading bolds are my addition in this post and not how they look like in the .ini file to help see the game titles better.
I tend to shy away from any GAMEUX registry strings (for example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\GameUX\S--5-2-837354825-494596859-745999896-00\{AFF227C-B0BB-49A5-8DFF-E87FDB864D}\ConfigApplicationPath) as they may be different for one computer to the next as they look identical to a SID string which changes radically as it is created when the game is installed. The strings should be static so they would appear identical on my computer as they would on yours. Having a string in the install path that looks like above just gives me the creeps that it is not valid. Since I only have my computer to compare this against I am not positi've of this. Just to be sure stay away from GameUX strings that are alphanumeric in nature as they can change from computer to computer or reinstall to reinstall making ALchemy fail. More on this at the bottom of this post.
[Cabal]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Mi crosoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\CABAL Online_is\InstallLocation
Preset=
[Dragon Age Origins]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Bi oWare\Dragon Age\Path
Preset=
[Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tu rbine\DDO\InstallLocation
Preset=
[Sid Meier's Civilization IV]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Fi raxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\INSTALLDIR
Duration=5
Preset=
[Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Fi raxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 - Beyond the Sword\INSTALLDIR
Duration=5
Preset=
[Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Fi raxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 - Warlords\INSTALLDIR
Duration=5
Preset=
[Sid Meier's Pirates!]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\At ari\Sid Meier's Pirates!\INSTALL_PATH
Preset=
[Star Wars Galaxies]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wind ows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\SwgClient_r.exe\Path
Preset=
[Wizard0]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Ki ngsIsle Entertainment, Inc.\Wizard0\InstallPath
Preset=
[World of Warcraft]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Bl izzard Entertainment\World of Warcraft\InstallPath
Duration=0
Preset=
I left the Preset= in all of them to have default settings. You can change or add the additional options to your pleasure but I find the defaults to work just fine. Here are all the settings for the options from the top of the .ini file.
;Creative ALchemy titles
;Format/Options:
;? [TITLE]
;? RegPath <-- registry path containing string to executable or executable's directory (use this when available; alternati've is GamePath)
;? GamePath <-- Directory to look for app (use if RegPath can't be used)
;? Buffers <-- #buffers to use (default is 4)
;? Duration <-- buffer duration (default is 25)
;? DisableDirectMusic <-- disable DirectMusic support (default is False)
;? MaxVoiceCount <-- maximum number of voices to support (default is 28)
;? SubDir <-- subdirectory offset off of path pointed to by RegPath for library support (default is empty string)
;? RootDirInstallOption <-- option to install translator support in both RegPath and SubDir directories (default is False)
Notice if you do a clean reinstall of your games in Windows 7 the game paths are in actuality in the reg path of \Wow6432Node and not just the raw HKLM\Software location due to the way the 64-bit architecture restructures its registry keys to work with 32-bit games (as many of these still are in fact).
The duration and such you can play with but I just left the settings as they were and changed the executable path location that ALchemy needs to find and work with the game is all. If you reinstall Star Wars Galaxies the new Station Launcher will put the game folder under its location and therefore it may be different in your registry. SWG (and Cabal to some extent) is the only game in this list that specifically points to an abnormal location in the registry for the install path due to the way it is launched from a voicechat type of application (The Station Launcher). But at least it works this way, so I don't care too much. I even got my classic game Sid Meier's Pirates! to work with ALchemy, yay! For Cabal I used the uninstall location for the true install path. I assume as long as the path is valid, it will work and it shows up in the ALchemy window, yay!
[color="#ff0000"]Please verify these paths in your registry do in fact have these valid regitry entries using regedit or regedt32 and not just modify the .ini file as I have shown above.
GameUX strings
There is one game I can not find any verifiable path for in the registry and that's Sid Meier's Colonization =(? If anyone has a clue where this path is stored or how to edit the .ini file to reflect the correct location and work with ALchemy please let me know! I have tried this location:
[Sid Meier's Colonization]
RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wind ows\CurrentVersion\GameUX\S--5-2-837354825-494596859-745999896-00\{AFF227C-B0BB-49A5-8DFF-E87FDB864D}\ConfigApplicationPath
Preset=
...but it does not seem to like the GameUX registry path at all and won't detect it. Probably because its a specialized SID (in other words, the SID will be different on my computer then it is on yours) and ALchemy does not know how to transpose SID registry entries for it to work. GameUX is basically the registry location for all your Games as they are stored under the Start > Game location of your desktop. So if anyone can figure out how to include Direct3D games that are older but do not have a valid installation registry entry please let us know! Of course I could just use the full true path in this .ini file but I am not sure how that would look like and I don't want to break ALchemy for the games it does work with. So I stuck with just valid registry entries.
I own an X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card with version .4.02 of ALchemy running on Windows 7 64-bit as of this post.

?pmc64 wrote:
Why are you adding new games to alchemy No new games use eax and surround sound should work properly without it. The alchemy team doesnt need to do anything for the future of the program because it's for legacy games. You really don't? need to add wow6432node because it should read it anyways on 64 bit systems. At least it does with the 6 games i have installed. That steam regpath will work on any steam game. you just need to change the app number. About the only games that I have that need it are the old gold source games and far cry because for some reason the original reg path isnt on there. You really should update your alchemy version to 43.06 because the previous versions have problems with windows 7 and some games wont work right unless you change a .dll file to a older one.
A few things about your post.
) Alchemy does not automatically detect the registry path settings as you have been misled for a lot of games you have to manually tell it where it goes. Hence this post.
2) You are completely missing the point of ALchemy, which is to add the depth of audio in games (yes even new ones) which is lacking without them using just EAX.
3) ALchemy is for new games not just legacy ones. hence why I have added the keys for both.
4) I have had numerous ppl tell thank me for posting this thread and their games now are read by ALchemy. If you choose to not follow this thread its you choice. No worries =)
5) My updater does not show any version besides 4.02 and I dont look for something even newer in some obscure forum post or whatnot. Official beta drivers from Creative tend to be less then stellar in performace (if any indicitation is by how their li've drivers are its even worse in their beta flavors). When I do the auto update it returns:
Status: No updates are necessary for your Creative product.
Your system already has the latest versions installed.

Windows 7 (x64) + ALchemy + Some Games.... No Hardware Mixing and/or No EAX

ENV:
Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)
X-Fi Platinum Fatalty Champion Series
ALchemy .3
OpenAL (Summer 2009)
Daniel_K's "XFI_AuzenWDM__0.exe" (it got 5. + THX working!)
PROB:
A number of DirectSound games (F.E.A.R. series, Hitman series, etc) are failing to allow Hardware Mixing/Rendering and/or EAX to be enabled in game.
STEPS:
ALchemy detects the games as currently installed however enabling ALchemy for the games in the ALchemy interface does not solve the problem (though ALchemy does put the DLL and INI files into the game directories).
Running the games in compatibility mode (2K,XP,Vista) doesn't fix the problem either.
I've read here and there and elsewhere of other people having these problems as well and yet no definiteve solution has been found... Is anything being done to resolve this problem? Can anything be done to resolve this problem?
k you and much respect to you. still remember the drama with Creative in early 2008, nice to see your driver mods/pkgs & forum posts aren't being removed/deleted anymore, lol.... but why the hell are you having to make drivers packages to begin with (rhetorical question)... **bleep** they should be paying you, or, you should send them an invoice...

Hi,
First, please be ensured that you have installed the latest drivers and all the updates.
Then check whether this issue will not in
Safe Mode. If it didn’t occurred, I suggest you narrow down the cause in
Clean Boot mode.
In addition, try to create a new profile to see how it works.
Hope this helps.
Vincent Wang
TechNet Community Support

Creative ALchemy 1.20.04 (Release date: 1 Aug

<div class="DownloadDetailDesc"><div class="DownloadFileName"><div class="DownloadNameBox">[url="http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=&CatName=Sound+Blaster&s ubCatID=208&subCatName=X-Fi&prodID=4066&prodName=X-Fi+XtremeMusic#">Creative ALchemy .20.04[/url]
<span class="DownloadSizeBox">Filesize: <span class="DownloadSizeText">8.69MB<img alt="" width="6" src="http://support.creative.com/images/icon_download.gif" height="6"> Download
<div class="DownloadDetailDesc"><div class="DownloadFileName">Filename: ALMY_PCVTAPP_LB__20_04.exe<div class="DownloadText">This download?is an?application for use with Creative audio products. It restores 3D audio and EAX? effects for certain DirectSound?3D games in Microsoft? Windows Vista?. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.
This download supports the following audio?products only:
Creative?Sound Blaster? X-Fi? Titanium Fatalty? Champion Series<
Creative?Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatalty?Professional Series<
Creative?Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Series<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi?XtremeGamer Fatalty?Pro<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatalty<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatalty Champion Series<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go!<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Play!<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy? 4<
Creative Sound Blaster?Audigy?2 ZS Platinum Pro?<
Creative Sound Blaster?Audigy 2 ZS Platinum?<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Video Editor<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS SE<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2<
Creative USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy LS<
Creative HS-200 Headset<
Creative USB Gaming Headset<
Creative USB Speaker<
Added Features or Enhancements:
Added support for the following games:
Beyond Good & Evil<
City of Heroes<
City of Villains<
Peter Jackson's King Kong<
Rayman Raving Rabbids<
Star Wars? Empire at War: Forces of Corruption<
The Witcher<
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne<
Uni'verse at War: Earth Assault<
Warhammer?: Mark of Chaos<
<
Fixes:
Enables the DirectSound3D game audio to be processed by your Sound Blaster?audio device?to deli'ver EAX effects, 3D audio spatialization, sample rate conversion and hardware audio mixing. Without this, most DirectSound3D games will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.<
Improves 3D audio processing for host-based Sound Blaster audio devices.<
Requirements:
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit or Windows Vista 32-bit<
Creative audio?product listed above<
Notes:
Do not install this application if you do not play DirectSound3D games in Windows Vista.<
To find out more about Creative ALchemy or view the list of DirectSound3D games supported, click here.<
To install the?application
Download the ALMY_PCVTAPP_LB__20_04.exe?file onto your local hard disk.<
Close all other Windows applications.<
Double-click the downloaded file.<
Follow the instructions on the screen.<
<

good job creative. downloading now...

Creative ALchemy 1.25.10 released!

"Creative ALchemy .25.0 released!(Hi everyone,
The Creative ALchemy .25.0 is available for download now.
Creative ALchemy .25.0
Filesize : 8.2MB
Release date : 20 Mar 09
File Name : ALMY_PCVTAPP_LB__25_0.exe
Creative ALchemy restores 3D audio and EAX® effects for certain DirectSound®3D games in Windows Vista. With Creative ALchemy, you can:
* enable the DirectSound3D game audio to be processed by your Sound Blaster audio device to deli'ver EAX effects, 3D audio spatialization, sample rate conversion and hardware audio mixing. Without this, most DirectSound3D games will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.
* improve 3D audio processing for host-based Sound Blaster audio devices.
Requirements:
* Microsoft® Windows Vista with Service Pack
Notes:
* Do not install this application if you do not play DirectSound3D games in Windows Vista.
* To find out more about Creative ALchemy or view the list of DirectSound3D games supported, click here.
* To install this software
. Download the file onto your local hard disk.
2. Close all other Windows applications.
3. Double-click the downloaded file.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Why no changelog?Message Edited by RaduznyKuDeSnik on 03-20-2009 04:4 [email protected]

New Alchemy 1.41.00 with Win 7 support is out!

<div class="DownloadText">This download?is an?application for use with Creative audio products. It restores 3D audio and EAX? effects for certain DirectSound?3D games in Microsoft? Windows? 7 and Windows Vista?. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.
This download supports the following audio?products only:
Creative Sound Blaster? World of Warcraft? Headset Series<
Creative Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes?<
Creative?Sound Blaster X-Fi? Titanium Fatalty? Champion Series<
Creative?Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatalty?Professional Series<
Creative?Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Series<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatalty<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatalty Champion Series<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi?XtremeGamer Fatalty?Pro<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Karaoke<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go!<
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Play!<
Creative Sound Blaster Arena Surround<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy? 4<
Creative Sound Blaster?Audigy?2 ZS Platinum Pro?<
Creative Sound Blaster?Audigy 2 ZS Platinum?<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Video Editor<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS SE<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2<
Creative USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy<
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy LS<
Creative HS-200 Headset<
Creative USB Gaming Headset<
Creative USB Speaker<
Fixes:
Enables the DirectSound3D game audio to be processed by your Sound Blaster?audio device?to deli'ver EAX effects, 3D audio spatialization, sample rate conversion and hardware audio mixing. Without this, most DirectSound3D games will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.<
Improves 3D audio processing for host-based Sound Blaster audio devices.<
Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit with Service Pack?2 (SP2) or Windows Vista 32-bit with SP2<
Creative audio?product listed above<
Notes:
Do not install this application if you do not play DirectSound3D games in Windows 7 or Windows Vista.<
To find out more about Creative ALchemy or view the list of DirectSound3D games supported, click [url="http://www.soundblaster.com/alchemy" rel="nofollow">here[/url].<
To install the?application
Download the ALMY_PCVTAPP_LB__4_00.exe?file onto your local hard disk.<
Close all other Windows applications.<
Double-click the downloaded file.<
Follow the instructions on the screen.<
DOWNLOAD LINK[/b]<

I've had the latest version crashed on me since yesterday. But today I decided to give it another go and try something different: installing it selecting english as language and it worked. Previously I've tried installing it using "Spanish" language. so:
Installing Alchemy .4 and selecting "Spanish" as language = Crash!
Installing Alchemy .4 and selecting "English" as language = YES!!
I can add and remove games now.... HOWEVER... as dri'vetheory said... I'm experiencing the same issue with EQ2: sounds like footsteps are less crisp, muffled, etc.

Alchemy and error 0xc0000142, Error 101 in Creative Labs SC in

<p class="MsoNormal">I have a dual boot machine, XP & Vista. If I enable Alchemy for a game in Vista, when I boot into XP and try and run the game I get the following error:
<p class="MsoNormal">?
<p class="MsoNormal">The application failed to initialize properly (0xc000042). Click on OK to terminate the application.
<p class="MsoNormal">?
<p class="MsoNormal">The only option is to click OK and the game doesn?t run.
<p class="MsoNormal">?
<p class="MsoNormal">The system log shows an error 0 from Creative Labs SC..
<p class="MsoNormal">?
<p class="MsoNormal">Someone who upgrades to Vista, then goes back to XP may run into this problem and not be able to find out what is happening, or run Alchemy to solve it.
<p class="MsoNormal">?
<p class="MsoNormal">The solution is to remove the dsound.dll from the folder where the games .exe is stored, thus allowing XP to run the correct dsound.dll (which is in windows\system32).

Try to syncronize DC dependencies (in Development Configuration perspective: "Sync Used DCs")... after, rebuild your project.
regards,
Angelo

Light popping during certain games with cmss 3d virtual

i have an x-fi extreme music and i can't seem to get rid of some light popping when certain frenquencies are played during games that don't seem to support the cmss 3d virtual feature. I don't get the popping in games like bf2 or call of duty 2 demo, but i get it in games like gta:sa. It stops if i turn this feature off. Is there any way to work around this?Message Edited by soulreaver2662 on 0-02-2005 07:39 AM

Thanks for your answer.
Originally Posted by lagonauta
Have you tried setting you power config to high performance mode, and disabling the processor power management?
Yes. In windows power mang. turn on high performance mode. I tried to switch off EIST and С1Е in BIOS.
Originally Posted by lagonauta
Are you using Daniel_K support pack?
Yes, now installed sp 3,3. Before were installed official last driver (SBXF_PCDRV_L11_2_30_0004.exe). I tried also installed suppack 2.0. The problem is on all drivers.
Originally Posted by lagonauta
Does that happen when you disable Alchemy?
No, i do not hear the popping noises, when i don't use ALchemy - but if game audio engine not based OpenAL API.
Originally Posted by lagonauta
Try setting your sound card to entertainment mode with alchemy enabled, this forces software mode. Still hearing those noises?
In entertainment mode i don't hear popping noises (and in OpenAL games too). But SW sound and positional...

ALchemy FAQ (DirectSound3D games in Vis

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for