Removing CD Music from engine interface

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Eidolon

Eidolon

Developer
Sonic Team Junior
Kart Krew™️
Hey guys. I'm working on porting the existing SDL code to SDL2 as a new build target. SDL2 will help make it easier to port the game to newer platforms (Android and iOS!), and will make the main desktop versions more accessible and supporting modern OSs like Windows 8(.1). If it turns out to be more effective and less prone to bugginess than the DirectDraw/GDI/DirectInput/FMOD conglomeration that is srb2win, SDL2 would probably replace it.

SDL2 dropped support for cd music playback because most developers were not making use of the feature and it was rather difficult to maintain across platforms.

I want to know, does anyone happen to use the CD playback feature? We're considering dropping it entirely from the interfaces to help clean up the codebase. With or without CD playback, it would not be supported under SDL2 and simply be dummied out.
 
I don't

If I want custom music or some other track playing, I turn off the games music and play something from my mp3 library or make a music wad.
 
This is a particular feature that plays CD tracks based on MUSIC entry. It is a DOOM Legacy holdover. Not really related to an in game CD player. Nor is it used by SRB2 anyway.
 
CD music in a game made sense in the days of Quake, but not really anymore. I say remove it.
 
Support for modern operating systems is infinitely more important than CD playback.

Nix it. Absolutely.
 
Audio CD would be useful only for very old machines or OS where SDL or FMOD is not fully supported, but... Who would like to run SRB2, for example, on DOS now? We don't need support for Audio CD for modern OS.

BTW, I think using music.dta which is stored in other folder/partition/device (external SD-card or USB-flash storage in Android for example) would be a nice idea for people who does not have enough space in a fast device, but has on the slower one, though it can be currently done with 'addfile'.
 
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The one time I used that "feature" was by accident and completely undesirable. I had accidentally left my Sonic R disc in the computer and for some ungodly reason SRB2 automatically selected that for music tracks. Until I was able to recollect leaving the Sonic R disc there I had to endure the malevolent horrors of "Can You Feel The Sunshine?" and the demonic cries of "Living In The City" every time I opened SRB2. Please, please, remove this feature so that no one else must suffer this kind of misfortune again.
 
My launcher includes the option, but I can easily change that.
Totally, get rid of it. Who even uses CD's to listen to music anymore?
 
TheHappyNihilist said:
My launcher includes the option, but I can easily change that.
Totally, get rid of it. Who even uses CD's to listen to music anymore?
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I do, sometimes.

And that feature in SRB2 is something I never knew about, so I won't be sad if it gets away. Also, while adding support for new and modern OS, make sure to not drop support for older ones (I'm using Windows XP and will probably be using it for eternity)
 
Yeah, if SRB2 isn't even using it why keep the old garbage? most people download music nowadays anyway, porting the game to other systems is way more important than a useless feature.
 
Rob said:
Support for modern operating systems is infinitely more important than CD playback.

Nix it. Absolutely.
Click to expand...

My mother's laptop runs Windows 8.1 - and once you give it Classic Shell to fix the nasty interface, it is a beast of an OS, front end and back, security and usability. Especially if it's 64 bit. And multitasking a separate player to run a music CD (or any other removable device, such as a simple USB thumbstick, or getting all fancy like a show-off, and streaming from elsewhere on a LAN with FTP, double points if the server is a Wii (U) running homebrew.)

The native ability to play SRB2-compatible music files from a CD, and only a CD, is pretty much useless except as a sheer novelty.

~Confusion~ said:
I'm using Windows XP and will probably be using it for eternity)
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Or until you get slaughtered by a security vulnerability in a decade-old OS, compromising your entire home network. If you're attached to the XP interface, Classic Shell is your friend. (^) If it's money problems, you can get a Linux distro. for free - but Wine isn't compatible with every game out there, and I'm clueless on it and can't answer any questions about it for that fact alone. (I would use Linux if Windows wasn't the best gaming platform around, after all)
 
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~Confusion~ said:
Also, while adding support for new and modern OS, make sure to not drop support for older ones (I'm using Windows XP and will probably be using it for eternity)
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I am of the opinion that we should drop support for XP at the first opportunity and real technical reason as a message to the people who use this software to get them to move to a better operating system, Windows or otherwise. However, I recognize that the percentage of people using XP to play SRB2 is remarkably high (we have no data but there are many players in countries on the MS where computers and computer software tend to be very expensive) and there isn't much we can do to change that. I would implore them to move to Linux if they aren't going to use Windows 7 or 8 but I recognize that's not an easy decision for most.

That being said, SDL2 mode will not allow for CD music playback on any platform and the feature will probably be removed from the codebase in a future release.
 
Given I wasn't even aware of its existence up until now, I'm sure getting rid of it wouldn't pose much issue.
 
furyhunter, even though I'm not personally still on XP anymore, XP support is absolutely required. It is STILL the "default" OS to support, and SRB2 still runs better on it than it does on 7 and 8 =P
 
So, if the game gets ported on SDL2, it will work bettter on windows 7 and will be buggy on xp? Because I see no other reason why would you drop windows xp support. And when it will be done, it will be released on a small update like 2.1.X or in a major update like 2.2?
 
Furyhunter said:
I am of the opinion that we should drop support for XP at the first opportunity and real technical reason as a message to the people who use this software to get them to move to a better operating system
Click to expand...

I think they'd drop SRB2 before they drop XP. What kind of clout do you think we have, here? :P

XP support is absolutely required. It is STILL the "default" OS to support, and SRB2 still runs better on it than it does on 7 and 8 =P
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It's kinda cool that SRB2 still works on Windows NT 3.51. :)
 
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