Golden Days: Sound Blaster Pro Edition

# Golden Days: Sound Blaster Pro Edition *A resourcepack that transforms (https://modrinth.com/resourcepack/golden-days)’ Beta-style audio into an authentic MS-DOS Sound Blaster experience.* ## 🔉 **Why This Exists** **Golden Days** recaptures the magic of Minecraft Beta—both in look and sound. But why not push that nostalgia a step further? This pack applies a **Sound Blaster Pro–style** downsampling and noise process to Golden Days’ already classic SFX, delivering the gritty, warm buzz of early ‘90s PC audio. If you yearn for the tinny, “crunchy” timbre of DOS-era games, this is for you. ## 🎛️ **Technical Deep Dive** Compared to our previous Euphonium-based project (ambience-focused), this time we're processing **sound effects**. The essence is the same—Sound Blaster Pro–style 8-bit audio—but with some key differences in the effect chain: ### **22.05 kHz Sample Rate** - Matches the Sound Blaster Pro’s hardware limit for games (*half the 44.1 kHz CD standard*). - Reduces high-frequency aliasing, just like the original DAC’s analog low-pass filter. ### **8-Bit Depth + TPDF Dithering** - The SB Pro used 8-bit DACs for digital audio (e.g., VOC files). - **Dithering**: `TPDF` (Triangular Probability Density Function) with **Shibata noise shaping** mimics the card’s analog noise floor, avoiding "digital grit" while preserving dynamics. ### **Brown Noise Layer** - Mixes a louder `-45dB` brown noise track (rather than -50dB) specifically for SFX, to emulate: - The SB Pro’s analog output stage. - CRT monitor interference (iconic for DOS gaming). ### **Low-Pass Filter @ 7000 Hz** - Slightly lower cutoff than the ambient filter (7500 Hz), dampening high frequencies more aggressively. - Closer to how many early DOS games handled SFX channels for that *crunchy* vibe. ### **Overdrive + Gain Reduction** - **Overdrive 4**: A stronger distortion than the ambient version’s overdrive 2, channeling the SB Pro’s op-amp “bite” in sound effects. - **Gain -1**: Prevents clipping after dithering and noise injection, preserving dynamic range. ## ⛅ **Exception for Rain** - Rain is still *ambient* in spirit, so it uses the **original** chain from our Euphonium project (*-50dB noise*, *lowpass 7500 Hz*, *overdrive 2*). This keeps that subtle atmospheric quality consistent with the older approach. ## 📼 **Authenticity Notes** - Tested against recordings from *Duke Nukem 3D* (SB Pro) and *DOSBox-Staging*’s SB emulation. - The chain (`sox` effects + noise shaping) mirrors how games like *Doom* mixed PCM audio. ## ⚠️ **Limitation: Always-Binaural Audio in Minecraft** Minecraft **always** uses binaural mixing to position sounds in 3D space. Although there is a toggle for HRTF (head-related transfer function), it doesn’t actually disable the underlying binaural engine—only the specific HRTF algorithm. This means that any **noise** embedded in an SFX is perceived as coming from that sound’s in-world location, rather than being a constant, global “floor” like on real Sound Blaster hardware. Right now, there’s no known way to remove binaural processing entirely without forcing your entire system into mono output, which would be historically inaccurate (since Sound Blaster cards did support stereo). ## ⚙️ **Compatibility** - Designed for (https://modrinth.com/resourcepack/golden-days) **1.11.0** _(other versions untested!)_. ## 🖇️ **Credits** - **PoeticRainbow** for creating the original (https://modrinth.com/resourcepack/golden-days). - *This add-on is not managed by PoeticRainbow or affiliated with the Golden Days team.* - **Tools**: `sox` for DSP, `find`/`bash` for batch processing. - **Inspiration**: VOGONS community, SBEMU, and real SBPro hardware tests. *"It’s not a bug – it’s a feature (of 1992)."*