

========================================================================
THE GRAVIS HELPER
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A Publication of Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.

Winter 1996 Edition
Issue 1

Please address comments or suggestions to helper@gravis.com


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TOPICS AT A GLANCE
________________________________________________________________________

In this issue, you will find:

- GRAVIS - A Little History

- FEATURE - GrIP Technology

- NO PROBLEM!  - Answers to 4 common PC GamePad questions

- NEWSLINE - New product info in a nutshell

- MYSTERIES OF MIDI - The nitty-gritty on patch conversion for 
UltraSound Plug & Play

- TALK BACK - 101 (well, almost) ways to reach a real person at Gravis


________________________________________________________________________
GRAVIS - A LITTLE HISTORY
________________________________________________________________________

Founded in 1985, with the introduction of the Apple Analog Joystick, 
Gravis (Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd.) has grown into a 
world leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of high-quality 
entertainment devices (peripherals) for the personal computer market. 
With a product range that includes joysticks, control pads, and sound 
products, Gravis has earned a reputation for introducing innovative 
products with award-winning design.

With its headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, Gravis 
markets its products throughout the world, generating over 90% of its 
sales from export markets (35% outside of North America), and was 
awarded the Canada Export Award in 1995. The Company distributes 
products from facilities in Canada, the USA, Belgium, and China. Gravis 
also maintains a European sales and technical support office in Almere, 
Netherlands.

The Company has a strong worldwide distribution network of close to 200 
dealers/distributors in more than 40 countries. The combination of 
leading edge products, brand equity, and strong distribution channels 
has resulted in a dramatic growth in sales revenues from $250,000 in the 
company's first year to Fiscal 1996 sales of over $42 million.

OUR MISSION
 
Advanced Gravis will design, develop, and market personal computer 
entertainment devices that embody both leading technology and superb 
quality. The Company will continue to be recognized as a worldwide 
market leader in game controllers_recognized for their innovative award-
winning design and functionality_and as a technological leader in the 
wavetable sound card market. Advanced Gravis' products will provide the 
best in functionality and performance at a wide variety of price points. 


________________________________________________________________________
GrIP TECHNOLOGY
________________________________________________________________________


GRAVIS GrIP TECHNOLOGY BRINGS MULTI-BUTTON, 4-PLAYER ARCADE 
GAME ACTION 
TO THE PC. Gravis GrIP digital game interface technology levels the game 
platform playing field, then blows the other players away! With the new 
GrIP Game System from Gravis, you get the four-player, multi-button 
support and blazing arcade speed that have become common on the newer 
game console platforms_but on your PC.

What is it exactly? The GrIP MULTIPORT is an adapter box that connects 
to your PC game port with a standard D-15 connector. On one side, the 
MultiPort has two D-15 pass-through connectors, so it is backward-
compatible with all your older joysticks. The MultiPort's other wing has 
four D-9 connectors for GrIP controllers. These GrIP ports are digital 
and allow two-way digital communication between your game port and 
attached controllers. What does that mean? First, it means SPEED. A 
standard game port uses 12 to 15% of the CPU's cycle time to read the 
position of a single joystick. The GrIP MultiPort uses less than 1% of 
the cycle time to read four controllers. That means faster game 
performance. The MultiPort's two-way communication also gives you auto-
calibration. 

Even more exciting for the future, the MultiPort supports "virtual 
reality" control features that you could be seeing in upcoming GrIP 
controllers_like 3-D and 6-D controls, tilt, tactile force-feedback, and 
velocity-sensitive buttons: for instance, one day you'll be able to kick 
hard, kick soft, kick anywhere-in-between in your PC soccer game by 
using a harder or softer touch on the buttons.

The GrIP Game System also includes two 8-button digital GrIP-Pad 
controllers (extra pairs of GrIP-Pads are available separately). In 
games that support GrIP, the MultiPort supports all eight buttons on 
each of up to four  GrIP-Pads at one time. In Windows 95, and in games 
that you can run from a Win 95 DOS box, the GrIP-Pads are programmable 
for keyboard controls, too. So in games that don't support GrIP 
directly, you can still use custom controls. Or you can choose to use 
the GrIP-Pads in GamePad Emulation mode, emulating a standard PC GamePad 
with a choice of control styles for arcade or driving games.

A Gravis GrIP MultiPort driver is built into Windows 95. GrIP works with 
every Win 95 DirectInput game automatically, and support for GrIP is 
also built into new titles from Electronic Arts, Virgin Interactive 
Entertainment, Acclaim Entertainment, and MINDSCAPE. Gravis provides 
active support for game developers, so you'll be seeing GrIP support in 
all the best new games.

The GrIP Game System is available now in two $99.95 software bundles: 
the ultimate Team Sports Set with a special GrIP edition of EA SPORTS 
NHL Hockey 96 and the ultimate Fighting Machine with the full version of 
Acclaim's WWF Wrestlemania. You can also pick up the GrIP Game System 
without bundled game software ($79.95) or an extra pair of GrIP-Pads 
($29.95) direct from the Gravis Mail Order System. 
To order yours, call 1-800-257-0061.


________________________________________________________________________
NO PROBLEM!

              Today's Topic: 4 Common PC GamePad Questions
________________________________________________________________________


1.  What's the GravUtil program for?

Your GamePad does not require DOS drivers or any other software. The 
Gravis Utilities (GravUtil) software on CD (or Disk) is for testing 
only. If your GamePad works, you don't need GravUtil.

2. 	Why do only two buttons work?

The game port you are using probably supports only two joystick buttons. 
This is a common limitation with the game ports on multi I/O cards. What 
do you do?

If you have a sound card in your computer:

- Try disabling the game port on the multi I/O card (see the hardware 
manual for instructions - there's usually a jumper for this).

- Next,  enable the sound card game port (see the sound card manual for 
instructions - there is often a software switch to enable/disable the 
game port). 

- Then plug your GamePad into the sound card's game port. These usually 
support four buttons and four axes.

If you don't have a sound card, you can purchase a dedicated game card 
like the Gravis Eliminator that supports four buttons and four axes.

3.  Why won't Windows 95 recognize my GamePad?

If you have a Joystick icon in your Win 95 Control Panel, all you have 
to do is select it and choose "Gravis PC GamePad" from the list. 

If there's no Joystick icon in the Control Panel, you have to install 
Microsoft's Gameport driver first:

- Choose Add New Hardware, and select NO at the "search for new 
hardware" prompt.

- Select Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.

- Select "Microsoft" as the Manufacturer and "Gameport Joystick" as the 
Model. 

- Click the Finish button. A Joystick icon should now be present in your 
Control Panel.

4.  Why do I get the message "Joystick is not connected properly" when I 
try to calibrate my GamePad in the Win 95 Control Panel?

- Check the game port connection.

- Make sure you've selected Gravis PC GamePad in the Joystick setup.

- Use GravTest to check that the game port is active.

- Use Device Manager to make sure the input range of the Microsoft 
gameport joystick driver is 0201-0201. If not, remove and reinstall the 
driver.

NEED MORE HELP?

If you have the new GravUtil on your system (the version with pictures 
of the GamePad and joysticks on the main screen), run it, and look in 
its Help file for the info you need. 

If you have the older GravUtil (the one with 3 text options on the main 
screen), download the file pcgphelp.txt (in the \FILES\PC\JOYSTICK\JOY-MISC 
directory on the FTP site. Or download the new GravUtil (grvutl4.zip, in the same 
directory).


________________________________________________________________________
NEWSLINE
________________________________________________________________________


Gravis GrIP ultimate Team Sports Set - Released January '96.
The ultimate Sports Team Set unlocks the door to multi-player PC game 
action! More buttons, More Players with the Gravis GrIP Game System. 
Includes the GrIP MultiPort 4-player digital game control system and 2 
GrIP-Pad 8-button controllers. Experience multi-player GrIP power with a 
special GrIP edition of EA SPORTS NHL Hockey 96!

Gravis GrIP ultimate Fighting Machine_ Released January '96.
The ultimate Fighting Machine brings full-speed arcade wrestling action 
to the PC! More buttons for MAYHEM MOVES. More Buttons, More FUN with 
the Gravis GrIP Game System. Includes the GrIP MultiPort 4-player 
digital game control system and 2 GrIP-Pad 8-button controllers. In-
your-face action with GrIP and the full edition of WWF WrestleMania by 
Acclaim!

Gravis Thunderbird Joystick_Released November '95.
Master flight and action games with the Gravis Thunderbird Flight & Game 
Controller for IBM PC. Dominate the battle with a fast-shooting trigger 
and 3 fire buttons. Take charge of the cockpit with Thunderbird's T-grip 
throttle, trim control, and contoured stick with hand support, custom 
tension control, and 4-way directional hat.

Gravis Firebird Programmable Flight & Game Controller-Macintosh Version_
Released December '95.
Take control! The Gravis Firebird Programmable Flight & Game Controller 
for Macintosh has 13 buttons and an 8-way hat switch to handle all 
your game commands. Drag-and-drop programming. Built-in throttle and 
trim controls for precision flying (PC rudder pedals also supported). 
Includes settings for most popular games.

Gravis UltraSound Plug & Play_Released December '95.
The wavetable sound card for the Internet! Full-duplex for Internet 
phone applications! Includes Internet Starter Kit. A value-priced 16-bit 
card with Windows 95 Plug & Play setup. Ships with ROM only; upgradeable 
to 8 MB of RAM for custom sounds and stunning effects processing. DAT-
quality playback, 32 digital channels, and IDE CD-ROM interface. 

Gravis UltraSound Plug & Play Pro_Released December '95.
The Gravis UltraSound Plug & Play Pro Version is ideal for gamers or 
musicians! 16-bit, 32-voice wavetable, automatic Windows 95 Plug & Play 
setup. Built-in 512K, upgradeable to 8 MB of RAM for custom sounds and 
stunning effects processing. DAT-quality playback, 32 digital channels, 
and IDE CD-ROM interface. Full-duplex for Internet phone applications! 
Includes Internet Starter Kit. 


________________________________________________________________________
MYSTERIES OF MIDI
- Curtis Patzer
________________________________________________________________________

The UltraSound Plug and Play (PnP) is Gravis' great new sound card. It 
does everything other UltraSound cards do*, and more: it supports multi-
layered patches with up to 16 envelopes and onboard effects; and it 
supports up to 8MB of external SIMM RAM which can be used to store 
custom patches (the small sound and instrument samples used to produce 
wavetable sound).

*Note: The UltraSound Plug & Play card requires at least 512K RAM to 
make it compatible with software written for the older UltraSound cards.

************************************************************************
There's some technical stuff here. If you're a novice, start with your 
UltraSound manual, play around with Cakewalk Express or another MIDI 
sequencer, and come back here later. If you're a MIDI whiz, dig in! -ed.
************************************************************************

A Tale of Two MIDIs...

The UltraSound PnP supports two completely different MIDI patch formats: 
the GF1 patch format (used by classic UltraSounds - meaning any Gravis 
card before the UltraSound PnP), and the new InterWave patch format. 
These two formats are not compatable with each other. This means the 
UltraSound PnP can play patches from only one format at a time.

How do you switch between patch formats?  If you want to use GF1-style 
patches, you need to load GF1 (classic UltraSound) drivers for Windows 
3.1 or Windows 95. If you want to use InterWave patches, you need to 
load InterWave drivers for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. Note that you 
cannot use both drivers at the same time with the same card. (It is 
possible to install and use both an UltraSound PnP and a classic 
UltraSound card in Windows 95, though, as long as the SoundBlaster 
device for the PnP card is disabled.)

When the UltraSound PnP is used with classic UltraSound drivers, it has 
all the same limitations as classic UltraSound cards: 1 MB of memory and 
up to 32 voices, depending on the sampling rate. To configure the 
UltraSound PnP this way, you must specify the same environment settings 
as you would for a classic UltraSound card, as well as the INTERWAVE 
environment variable. You must also run iwinit.exe before running 
Windows with the classic GF1 drivers, or running DOS mode games. In this 
configuration, you can use Patch Manager and Patch Maker Lite with GF1 
patches. Here's an example of what this configuration would look like in 
autoexec.bat:

     set INTERWAVE=c:\ultrapnp\iw.ini
     REM ===== Gravis initialization (4.10) =====
     SET ULTRASND=220,7,7,12,5
     SET ULTRADIR=C:\ultrasnd
     REM ===== Gravis initialization ends =====
     c:\ultrapnp\iwinit.exe

For this to work, the Plug and Play setup for the PnP card must set 
manually to the same settings as shown on the ULTRASND= line above. This 
can be done either in  the driver control panel, or in the InterWave 
initialization file named in the INTERWAVE environment string (iw.ini in 
the above example).

When the UltraSound PnP is used with the InterWave Windows drivers (the 
ones that ship with the card), then InterWave patches are used 
exclusively. These patches can be located either in the card's ROM, or 
loaded into the card's RAM (the Pro version of the card comes with 512K 
of RAM; both versions of the card have two SIMM slots for adding up to 
8M of RAM using 32-pin SIMMS). The InterWave initialization file 
(IW.INI) has a section for configuring which ROM and/or RAM patches are 
used for MIDI. (More on customizing the IW.INI file later.)  It is 
possible to load ROM patches, and custom RAM patches at the same time. 
Of course, to load RAM patches, you must have some RAM on your 
UltraSound PnP card. Also, be aware that it is possible to use a 
combination of patches with a combined size larger than the size of 
available RAM, since RAM patches are cached. (This is the same principle 
that allows a classic UltraSound card with only 1MB of onboard RAM to 
use a 6 MB patch set.) As always,  patch caching performance improves 
with more RAM. 

InterWave patch files (.FFF) may - and usually do - contain more than 
one patch. Also, sample data is often stored in separate .DAT files. 
Both types of files are necessary to successfully load InterWave 
patches. In fact, you can put an entire General MIDI patch set into just 
one (HUGE) InterWave patch file. 

Because the InterWave Windows drivers support multiple banks (using 
Control Change 0h and 20h), it is possible to access several banks of 
patches at the same time without a bank manager. To do this, you must 
configure the InterWave initialization file to use all the desired 
banks, and then use a sequencer or MIDI player which can send the 
required MIDI bank selection messages to load the desired patches. 

A special feature of the Windows 95 InterWave drivers is the ability to 
mimic a classic UltraSound in a DOS box. This makes it possible to play 
DOS games that support the classic UltraSound sound cards.

WHAT NOW?

Gravis recently released a utility called GIPC, which stands for Gravis 
to InterWave Patch Converter. GIPC converts groups of classic UltraSound 
patches to the new InterWave format. Once the InterWave initialization 
file is modified to use the new patches, they can be loaded and played. 
GIPC is not meant to be a patch editor - it is a converter only. As 
such, it cannot access the advanced features that the InterWave patch 
format offers, but it does provide a quick way to port existing GF1 
patches over to the new InterWave format. You can use Patch Maker Lite 
or another GF1 patch editor to create GF1 patches, and then convert them 
to InterWave patches using GIPC. Make sure you read the readme file 
before using it.

IN THE FUTURE...

Gravis is working on a professional, full-featured Windows 95 patch 
editor for InterWave (and possible GF1) patches. This application will 
make the full InterWave patch feature set available to the user. It will 
also support conversion from GF1 to InterWave patch format (and possibly 
from InterWave to GF1), and easy patch/bank configuration setup in the 
InterWave initialization file. Look for a first release in the first 
half of 1996.

MORE ABOUT THE INTERWAVE INITIALIZATION FILE

Even without an InterWave patch editor, you can specify patch and bank 
switching if you know how to edit the InterWave initialization file 
manually. Here's how:

The name of the InterWave initialization file is indicated by the 
INTERWAVE environment variable (e.g. INTERWAVE=c:\ultrapnp\iw\iw.ini). 
For this discussion, we'll assume the InterWave initialization file is 
called IW.INI (the default name). 

The format of the IW.INI file is similar to the format of the 
configuration files that Microsoft uses for its Windows products. The 
file is split up into sections. The beginning of each section is marked 
with a line with the format

     [text]

Each line in the configuration file that is not a section header is 
either a blank line, a comment line, or a line containing information 
needed by the InterWave software. Comment lines, which start with a 
semicolon, and blank lines are ignored by programs processing the 
configuration file. The configuration file contains sections for saving 
mixer options, patches, chip setup and sound card emulation (SBOS) 
options. We'll look only at the patch section.

The InterWave software does not have to assume a specific set of MIDI 
patches will ship with the UltraSound PnP card. The configuration file 
allows for mixing of different patches from different sources,
whether they be in ROM, RAM, or some in each. A description of a patch 
configuration starts by listing the patch files and assigning a name to 
the list. For example, assume the patches are in three files a.fff, 
b.fff and c.fff. An entry describing these patch files would be found in 
the [vendors] section.

     [vendors]
     favorite=a.fff, b.fff, c.fff

Some of the patches in the configuration files may be redundant. The 
InterWave software will choose the last patch it finds in the list. For 
example, if a music score is looking for a piano, and the piano patch is 
in both the c.fff file and the a.fff file, the software will choose the 
patch in c.fff.

The location of the patches is determined by checking the filename. If 
the first three characters are ROM, then the filename is used to search 
for the appropriate set. If the first three letters of the filename are 
not ROM, then the configuration file is searched for a section labelled 
[vendor tag] where tag is the same tag used to identify the patch files. 
For example, the section to locate the patches described above might be:

     [vendor favorite]
     a.fff=c:\patches\a_set
     b.fff=d:\patches\more\b_set
     c.fff=n:\public\sharwar\patches\c_set

Each patch file is listed on a separate line with the path to that file. 
The path is also used to locate any sample data associated with the 
patch file.

By default, the UltraSound PnP uses the 1MB ROM patch set. In that case, 
the patches section looks like this:

     [vendors]
     rom_amd_1m=ROMAMDGM_1_1_
     default = rom_amd_1m

Because the patches are in ROM, there is no file path, and thus no 
[vendor rom_amd_1m] section.

Now, say you wanted to add some patches that you converted using GIPC, 
and they are in a file called GIPC.FFF. If you wanted to use only the 
newly converted patches (and no others), you would setup the patches 
section as follows:

     [vendors]
     rom_amd_1m=ROMAMDGM_1_1_     ; this is the original ROM-only 
                                    configuration
     gipc=gipc.fff                ; add this line for the new 
                                    configuration
     default=gipc                 ; this line shows which configuration 
                                    is chosen

     [vendor gipc]
     gipc.fff=c:\gipc\destdir     ; where the new InterWave patch file 
                                    is located

If you wanted to combine the ROM patches and your patches, with your 
patches taking precedence over the ROM patches, you would setup the 
patches section as follows:

     [vendors]
     rom_amd_1m=ROMAMDGM_1_1_
     rom_and_gipc=ROMAMDGM_1_1_, gipc.fff
     default=rom_and_gipc

     [vendor rom_and_gipc]
     rom_and_gipc=c:\gipc\destdir

If you modify the InterWave initialization file, you must reboot for the 
settings to take effect.

Until next time, don't stop the music!

[More questions on patch conversion? Send them to sound@gravis.com]


________________________________________________________________________
TALK BACK
________________________________________________________________________


INTERNET

Web Site: http://www.gravis.com
File Server: ftp.gravis.com
Internet E-Mail:  
  Send us your comments or suggestions for this newsletter at 
  helper@gravis.com 

  Send your technical questions to one of these tech support addresses:

    pcstick@gravis.com - PC joystick and GamePad questions
    macstick@gravis.com - Mac joystick and GamePad questions
    sound@gravis.com - UltraSound questions


BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM

(604) 431-5927 - V32bis N81.

Commercial On-line Services

America Online: GO KEYWORD:  Gravis	Email to:  Gravistec

CompuServe:	GO PCVENB area #14	Email to:  71333,350
                     	GO MACDVEN area #10

AppleLink:	Email to:  CDA0312  (Mac Only)


PHONE, FAX, OR MAIL

Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.
101-3750 North Fraser Way
Burnaby, B.C., Canada
V5J 5E9 

Phone:   (604) 431-5020	
Fax: (604) 451-9358 
Technical Support:   (604) 431-1807

Advanced Gravis Europe, B.V.
Antennestraat 70, 1322 AS Almere
The Netherlands

Phone:  +31-36-536 4443
Fax: +31-36-536-6011

U.S. Distribution
1790 Midway Lane
Bellingham, WA, USA  98226

________________________________________________________________________

The GRAVIS HELPER is published quarterly by Advanced Gravis Computer 
Technology Ltd. The information in this publication is released to the 
public domain.

GRAVIS HELPER (helper@gravis.com)
...this issue brought to you by Jennifer Wiebe, Curtis Patzer, Sam 
Manji, and Shannon Dougan...and the supportive thoughts of all the 
others who offered to help but couldn't quite find the time....
