Alchemy is down

[Mirh 103]

so, i was editing medal of honor: allied assault page, when it happened i went to the http://connect.creativelabs.com to extend my knowledge about alchemy

but.. the site is now down! (read this if you don't know what alchemy was)

 

all the alchemy stuff, the games recommended settings and so on.. aren't on this planet anymore

 

thanks to these guys i found out some links on the wayback machine (last update 2 june 2013) and on archive.is (last update 8 July 2012)

here's latest official alchemy version too, thanks to a dump of newer creative drivers

 

in short i think we should make a page for alchemy.

there would be lot of stuff to write, for example we could include how to install x-fi. on. realtek too (so that not only soundblaster owners enjoy this)

 

or write down some note about asus's GSDX eax emulation feature, available on their soundcard

 

with modded realtek driver i can obtain EAX up to version 4, while with this last thing i have EAX 5 too :P

and all without buying a single creative product

 

this other user instead claims you only need to download the universal alchemy version to achieve EAX effects up to version 4, but i haven't tried yet

 

for today i will be busy with RAGE (thanks to steam free weekend)

so if you want to start rough out a draft.. your work will be appreciatied

thanks everybody for the reading

[Mirh 103]

It's always funny to read yourself after years and years.
Anyway, I'll post here some changelogs of OpenAL during the years.
 

First Creative's said:

Released on 10th April 2003

1.2.3 said:

Released on 23th April 2004

1.2.8 said:

Released on 9th February 2005

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.7 and wrap_oal.dll version 1.0.6.0.

• bugfixes in the software mixer sample-rate-conversion code for streaming sources
• ADPCM support (IMA 4-bit 65-sample/block -- the same as used by NVIDIA and on the Xbox)
• support for per-source rolloff in the DS3D backend
• MIN and MAX_GAIN support in the DS3D backend
• inverse distance model support in the DS3D backend

Unknown April 2005 release said:

• DS3D device -- sources are not marked as finished until all audio has been played (instead of just committed to the sound card)
• DS3D device -- fixed bug that occurred when removing looping from a source with queued buffers which had iterated through more than one loop
• DS device -- fixed doppler bug with mach 1+ speeds
• removed air absorption by default for EAX 2 and 3
• code clean-up

Unknown May 2005 release said:

• Sources will now resume playback from the correct position after being paused.
• The AL_INVERSE_DISTANCE attenuation calculation has been corrected.
• Immediately queueing a buffer on a source which has just started playing will now work correctly.

1.8.0 said:

Released on 19th October 2005

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.11 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.0.0.0.
The wrapper has been updated to support OpenAL 1.1 functionality.
The router has been updated to fix a bug where instability or a crash could result from installing a native Creative OpenAL library and then removing the device without removing the driver.

1.9.1 said:

Released on 3rd April 2006

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.13 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.0.8.0.
The installer can install both 32bit and 64bit OpenAL run-time components. 32bit components are installed on all WIndows OS's, and if the installer is run on a 64bit Windows OS, the 64bit components are also installed.
The wrapper (wrap_oal.dll) has been updated to support the new Effects Extension (EFX) to OpenAL.

1.9.3 said:

Released on 14th July 2006

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.13 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.1.2.0.
The installer can install both 32bit and 64bit OpenAL run-time components. 32bit components are installed on all WIndows OS's, and if the installer is run on a 64bit Windows OS, the 64bit components are also installed.
The wrapper (wrap_oal.dll) has been updated to support the new Effects Extension (EFX) to OpenAL.
Added Multi-Channel Buffer playback
Added and improved support for EFX properties on Stereo and Multi-Channel buffers
Fixed problems with setting and getting Context Attributes
Fixed divide-by-zero crash bug in "Generic Software" device

1.9.9 said:

Released on Winter 2006

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.19 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.1.4.0.
Fixed Windows 98 crash bug
Fixed floating-point related slow-down in "Generic Software" device
Fixed Source Gain problem on Stereo Buffers.
OpenAL Router search path now includes Router's directory.
Windows Vista Default Device and Device Enumeration fixes.
ALC Capture Extension can now be used independent of playback.

2.0.3 said:

Released on Summer 2007

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.22 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.1.8.1.
Added new enumeration extension (ALC_ENUMERATE_ALL_EXT) to use AL on any soundcard / audio endpoint
"Generic Hardware" device only appears in the enumeration string if it can be used
Fixed alcGetIntegerv's requirement for an active context
Fixed alcCaptureOpenDevice so that it returns 'NULL' if the capture device fails to open
Fixed software reverb bugs (Reflection Delay and Air Absorption HF)

2.0.7.0 said:

Released on Summer 2009

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.24 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.2.0.5.
Fixed bugs and improved performance of the Capture extension
"Generic Hardware" device returns more accurate 'Buffers Processed' count
Various performance improvements in "Generic Hardware" and "Generic Software" devices
Miscellanous bug fixes

2.1.0.0 said:

Released.. somewhere before February 2010

Installs OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.25 and wrap_oal.dll version 2.2.0.7.

EVERY game using a version older than any given one is going to present all the bugs fixed afterwards.. and possibly many more given the lots of undocumented releases.
 

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20030803230016/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20040626163218/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20050309154422/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
https://web.archive.org/web/20050628234625/http://www.openal.org/
http://web.archive.org/web/20051215211816/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20060429104627/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20060721135422/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20070120050413/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20070823074107/http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
http://web.archive.org/web/20090615122327/http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx
http://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/10-openal/

And if you have last until here, I recommend reading this good story

 

Edited May 19, 2025 by Mirh
added more detailed changelog from openal.org