IndirectSound

What Is It?

IndirectSound emulates audio hardware acceleration on modern Windows operating systems. This enables older games to have 3D positional audio (i.e. surround sound played out of rear and side speakers) like they were intended to when they were originally released.

Where Do I Get It?

Download the latest IndirectSound: Version 0.20, released 2019-09-21. All currently-known issues are listed here and previous versions are available to download here.

Why Would I Want It?

You should consider using IndirectSound if the following apply:

• You have more than two computer speakers (e.g. rear/surround, 5.1, 7.1, etc.)
• You have a Windows operating system newer than XP (i.e. Vista or later)
• You still play older computer games
  • A list of games whose 3D positional surround sound has been reported to be restored by IndirectSound are listed here
  • For examples of games that might benefit from using IndirectSound see this list (towards the bottom of the page) of games that are officially supported by Creative ALchemy and this unofficial list of games which users say ALchemy works with (look for "DirectSound3D" in the API column)
• You don't already have an existing solution that re-enables audio hardware acceleration for your sound card
  • For example, if you have a Sound Blaster and use Creative ALchemy then you do not need IndirectSound

If you meet the above criteria then IndirectSound can restore 3D positional surround sound that is otherwise missing in some games when played on modern versions of Windows.

How Do I Use It?

1. If you are using Windows 8 or later:
   • You will need the Visual Studio 2010 (x86) Redistributable installed
     • You may already have it on your system (Windows will tell you if you check your installed programs)
     • The English version can currently be downloaded here
       • Microsoft often makes breaking changes to their links; if that provided link doesn't work an internet search for "Visual Studio 2010 (x86) Redistributable" should help you find the new location. I advise only downloading it from Microsoft.
   • You will need the version of XAudio2 that shipped with the last version of DirectX installed
     • You may already have it on your system if you have installed a DirectX runtime
     • The English version can currently be downloaded here
       • Microsoft often makes breaking changes to their links; if that provided link doesn't work an internet search for "DirectX Runtime" should help you find the new location (you need version 9.0c). I advise only downloading it from Microsoft.
2. Download an IndirectSound zip file from here
3. Extract the contents of the IndirectSound zip file to a known location
   • Right-click the zip file and choose "Extract All..." (or similar, depending on your version of Windows)
   • Select a destination to extract the files to that you will be able to find again
4. You will have to perform the following steps for each game that you want to use IndirectSound with:
   • Find the location of the executable file that runs the game
     • This executable will be called something like game.exe, and will usually be in the main directory of the game
     • In some cases the file that looks like the executable will actually be a launcher program, in which case the real game executable may be in a subdirectory
   • Copy the file dsound.dll that you extracted from the IndirectSound zip file to the same directory that the game's executable is in
   • Run the game!
     • You may have to enable audio hardware acceleration in the game. Look for an audio options/settings menu (this may also be in the launcher program). Instructions can be found here for some games that have been found to work with IndirectSound.
5. If you are using Windows 8 or later some games won't use IndirectSound without changes to the registry. Information about what changes are required can be found here.

The readme.txt file found in the IndirectSound zip file has additional troubleshooting tips. If you still can't get IndirectSound to work after trying those suggestions email me and provide as much information as you can (make sure to include the dsound.log file that IndirectSound generates as an attachment to your email).

How Does It Work?

IndirectSound is a "wrapper". In order to use Microsoft's DirectSound a game must load a "library" named dsound.dll. When a game asks Windows to load "dsound.dll" it expects to use the official DirectX library created by Microsoft, but before Windows loads the official version it first looks in the same directory as the running application to see if a library named dsound.dll exists there (although you may need to change the registry in some cases for Windows to do this). If Windows finds dsound.dll in the application's directory then it will load that version instead of the official one. IndirectSound, then, is pretending to be the real DirectSound library, and the game doesn't know the difference.

When the game asks if audio hardware acceleration is available IndirectSound claims that it is (even though it really isn't) and then emulates the behavior of audio hardware. This allows you to experience 3D positional audio in older games the way that it was intended to be heard.

Is It Safe To Use?

I do my best to make IndirectSound reliable and safe, and I use it myself on my main gaming machine. With that being said, it is released "as is": There is no warranty and I am not liable for any damage it may cause, unintentional or otherwise. Please see the license here.

The method that IndirectSound uses to pretend to be an official library is also used by programs that allow people to cheat in games as well as by malicious software that monitors user activity on compromised computers. If you were to play a game with internet connectivity it is not impossible that the fake dsound.dll could be detected and the assumption made that you were using it to cheat or pose a risk to other players. I believe that this hypothetical situation will never happen: Creative ALchemy uses the same technique that IndirectSound does (placing a fake dsound.dll in the game's directory; see the "Location" section in this document) and it is a well-known product that is widely used. I use IndirectSound with my personal Steam account and have not experienced any problems. Again, though, I emphasize that IndirectSound is offered as is, and that by using it you accept any and all associated risks.

Mhook

IndirectSound uses the Mhook API hooking library to ensure that its own COM interfaces are used instead of what the Windows registry specifies. The license to use it can be found here.

Lua

IndirectSound uses the Lua scripting language to easily configure settings. The license to use it can be found here.

Custom-built speakers by Salk Sound.