PCEngine-FX.com

I have Googled like crazy for this and I'm surprised I can't find any info on this.

Is it normal for a US Super Star Soldier HuCard to have low volume? I have to crank my TV up quite high to hear the game.


I have two TurboGrafx's base consoles and a CD unit. No matter how I hook either of the TGs up -- by themselves or through the CD system -- SSS's volume is quite low. In all cases I'm using AV (I made a poor man's AV cable that hooks directly into the expansion port), I don't have an RF adapter.

I then downloaded a SSS ROM and another HuCard ROM and ran them in an emulator and dare I say even in the emulator SSS had lower volume. But the difference in volume between the two games was not nearly as bad as on the real hardware.

I played mine a little bit and did notice the volume seemed a little lower then the other 2 hu card games I was playing but I probably wouldn't have noticed if you didn't say something. In fact, maybe I'm just expecting to hear it lower since I read this and my mind is playing games on me.
Any case, Final Soldier and Soldier Blade are better so I'll be playing those instead  :lol:

For me it's way lower, like holy cow.

I guess I don't need to worry about it. I'll just have to get final soldier and soldier blade :)

may be someone can look into the code and check on which volume the channels are set, and compare them to other huey games, or even compare them to the JPN version :)

I played the PCE version of SSS back to back with Final Soldier not too long ago and didn't notice any low sound issues or output differences.

I own SSS too and even used it as my test case after fixing my TurboExpress (https://youtu.be/yGH_eDS8Re8?t=4m11s), but I never really noticed a difference. Your TG-16 hardware is running on 19-20 year old capacitors at this point, including the ones for sound, so I would think the weakening is due to that. Some of the repair guys around here showed how you could use slightly larger valued sound capacitors during a cap replacement for a TurboExpress to get even louder than normal output, but I personally chose to use the original values (just figuring Hudson/NEC likely chose the best values given the speaker).

YES! The game has always had noticeably low volume levels compared to other hucards. I noticed this even when I was 12, and it bothered the hell out of me.

Not to say that anyone who didn't notice this is retarded or anything, but anyone who didn't notice this is retarded.  :mrgreen:

I have the PCE version of SSS and never noticed any difference in volume.  I had the US version bitd and don't recall any particular differences in the volume, though that was ages ago.

My experience is exactly the same as KazeKiriFX.  Noticed it back then, especially with worse signal/noise ratio of RF back in the day.

SSS was very quiet.

Conversely, Somer Assault is the loudest Turbo music ever.

I've also noticed this and a few other games. Not a huge deal. Just remember to lower the volume again when watching TV lol.

It also sucks because of the increased background noise.
Background noise on PCE is already pretty bad compared to most systems, but when you have a game with low volume levels...

i got Super Star Solider and Final Solider jap, sound seems normal on both but gunhed/blazing lazers is noticeable lower.

huh, blazing lazers has totally normal volume for me. Weird.

And btw, SSS friggin rocks. Level 6 and 7 are killer (haven't made it to 8 yet)

Quote from: city41 on 05/31/2012, 09:15 AMhuh, blazing lazers has totally normal volume for me. Weird.

Even the title screen? I've always noticed that the boot up screen tune on BL is sofe. I fugured it was due to some sound programming due to the awesomeness of it. The in-game music is normal to me.

I haven't paid much attention to the title screen. I will next time I play it.

I typically play Turbo games with my TV set at a volume of 12. For equivalent sound in SSS, I set it to 34.

oh, and I hate this guy

SuperStarSoldierBoss.png

Quote from: city41 on 06/01/2012, 02:45 PMoh, and I hate this guy
(https://i.imgur.com/9CA66.png)

He is the bane of my existence.  I want to scream at my computer just looking at that picture.  The game really isn't very hard until he shows up.  And it's not too bad for at least a few levels after getting past him.  But man he's tough!

Thanks for posting that picture.  Now I feel like kicking a kitten or something. :)

This is why I use sound receivers for everything. I cannot go back to TV speakers ever again. LOL at 15-25 watts with 3.5" speakers at best. Got me a $400 on sale for $250 2008 model Yamaha 5.1 DDS/DTS receiver with 600 watts that gets the job done.

It is even loud enough to fully enjoy surround sound movies and current generation systems. You really don't need anything bigger (moar power) for even a medium-large sized living room. I will eventually put it in my bedroom with my 27" Sony Trinitron and buy a HD Surround Sound receiver when I get a HD Sony 46" LCD soon. I have been putting off a dedicated current HD setup. I have been using a 36" Toshiba HD CRT in my living room for the past 3 years, lol. It doesn't do Blu-Ray and 720p/1080p HD consoles justice, but it is a good CRT for 480i/p DVD/consoles and 1080i (HD Cable) though.

Quote from: city41 on 06/01/2012, 02:45 PM(https://i.imgur.com/9CA66.png)

He's a pretty cool challenge. Sometimes I can handle him perfectly, other times I choke and it all goes to hell, the mark of a good shooter! ;)

Quote from: NightWolve on 06/01/2012, 09:04 PMHe's a pretty cool challenge. Sometimes I can handle him perfectly, other times I choke and it all goes to hell, the mark of a good shooter! ;)

Yeah my hatred for him is a bit tongue in cheek. I don't breath at all when fighting him :) That edge of the seat "holy shit" feeling is why shmups are so awesome.

haven't finished the game for years got it back now and just looking at that is scaring me

Another game I noticed with audio being low, is Tale Spin..  I thought my system was acting up, but other games sound fine.

strange maybe there is more of them.

i always found the music on the cd games a bit low could just be me wanting to here the music more than the sound effects.

In general, it's a quiet system - that's why the CD audio in most turbo CD games is at a lower volume level than most audio CDs, so that the music doesn't drown out the sound effects.

Some games like Super Star Soldier and Talespin are especially quiet though.