EAX OpenAL Extension

Contents

1. Overview
2. Minimum requirements
3. Patches
4. Supported drivers
5. Driver file name convention
6. Missing features
   6.1 Bypassed
7. Known issues
8. Usage
9. Log file
10. Compiling requirements
11. FAQ
12. Third party use
13. Disclaimer

1 - Overview

The project enables EAX OpenAL Extension for systems without appropriate hardware.

OpenAL wrapper implements EAX calls with Effects Extension by using underlying OpenAL driver.

2 - Minimum requirements

Operating system:

• Windows XP with Service Pack 3

3 - Patches

Several runtime patches are embeded into the wrapper to fix EAX issues.

Separate application eaxefx_app_patcher.exe is available for offline patching.

Resolved issues:

• Doom 3 (2004) visual twitch bug.
• Quake 4 (2005) source occlusion out of range.
• Prey (2006) source occlusion out of range.
  Only runtime patching is supported for Steam version.

4 - Supported drivers

• OpenAL Soft

Notes:

• Driver is not included into release package.

5 - Driver file name convention

The driver should be named with one of the following names:

• eaxefx_driver.dll
• dsoal-aldrv.dll
• soft_oal.dll

The wrapper tries to load a driver in the order specified above.

6 - Missing features

6.1 - Bypassed features

Context:

• HF Reference (EAX 4.0/5.0)
• Macro FX Factor (EAX 5.0)
• Speaker configuration (EAX 5.0)
• X-RAM

Source:

• Speaker levels (EAX 5.0)

7 - Known issues

• OpenAL Soft official binaries v1.20.x may cause a crash upon exiting the application.

8 - Usage

Terminology:

• DIR - the directory with application's main executable.

Steps:

1. Backup (if necessary) OpenAL32.dll in the DIR.
2. Extract the release package into some directory.
3. Copy extracted OpenAL32.dll into the DIR.
4. Put properly named driver into the DIR.
5. Enable appropriate EAX options in the application and restart it if necessary.

9 - Log file

The wrapper creates a log file (eaxefx_log.txt) in the working directory, set by the application. Usually it's identical to the directory where the wrapper is placed.

If the working directory or the log file itself is write-protected the logger tries to create the log in the default application data directory.

On Windows it's %APPDATA%\bibendovsky\eaxefx (e.g., C:\users\john\AppData\Roaming\bibendovsky\eaxefx).

10 - Compiling requirements

Common:

• Windows 32/64-bit build target.

Minimum:

• CMake v3.8.2
• C++17 compatible compiler.

11 - FAQ

Q: There is a subtle difference in audio when using the wrapper.

A: Search driver's documentation about amplifying EAX properties.
In case of OpenAL Soft it's boost option in reverb section.
Example of alsoft.ini:

[reverb]
boost = 8

12 - Third party use

• OpenAL Soft
  See file eaxefx_openal_soft_license.txt for license information.

13 - Disclaimer

Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Boris I. Bendovsky ([email protected]) and Contributors.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.