One cool thing about ScummVM is that the music is MIDI, so it can be reproduced on different types of audio hardware, and some games have special music for devices like the famous Roland MT-32. RetroX makes it easy to switch between the supported audio systems in the Game Details screen.
Audio options for ScummVM
There are four kinds of devices that you can select with the emulator:
- Adlib for basic FM-based (OPL2/OPL3) synthesis.
- Embedded Audio Synthesis, which uses the built-in MIDI player from Android (EAS).
- FluidSynth, a synthesizer with support for SoundFonts.
- MT-32 emulation.
All games will work fine with Adlib, which is the common audio system for PCs. Some games sound just incredible with this device, even though it’s the most basic one, so this is the default option. Also, for Adlib, you can choose between two types of OPL emulation: the one from MAME (older) and the one from DOSBox (newer).
EAS sounds good, but it may crash on some systems. If you select it and the emulator crashes, just choose another one.
FluidSynth sounds really great, although it will require a fast device. The emulator allows you to select a soundfont, but for now we included the one recommended by the RetroArch guys (Roland SC-55).
MT-32 is the holy grail of MIDI audio for PCs. It’s still one of the most sought-after devices if you want to have great sound. Fortunately, for poor people like us, one can use emulation of this device just by selecting this option… although again you need a fast device to enjoy it.
For more information about ScummVM and the audio options, check the ScummVM for libretro docs.