Ok I've been doing a bit more research and found this.
In Windows Vista, Microsoft has decided to remove the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for DirectSound and DirectSound3D. The HAL is the software layer that in previous Windows operating systems enabled an audio accelerator such as the Sound Blaster X-Fi to provide DirectSound3D applications with hardware accelerated audio. This enabled soundcards to perform tasks such as sample-rate conversion, mixing, 3D spatialization using HRTFs, filtering, and effects processing. Without the HAL, DirectSound on Windows Vista will be rendered in software with no advanced functionality such as EAX.
Although OpenAL has arguably replaced DirectSound3D, particularly in many modern PC Games (e.g. Battlefield 2142, Doom3, Quake 4, Prey, etc.), there are hundreds of older PC games that support DirectSound3D and EAX technology. All of these games will sound empty and lifeless on Vista. As most DS3D games only enable 3D Audio and EAX if a hardware accelerator is present, most of these games will be reduced to a stereo output.
The good news is that the Creative ALchemy Project allows you to run your favorite DirectSound3D games on Windows Vista as the developers intended - with full hardware accelerated 3D Audio and EAX support! This is done by translating the legacy DirectSound calls into OpenAL. In order for this to happen, a couple of files need to be installed into each game directory. This is handled automatically by the ALchemy installer - but can also be performed manually by advanced users.
The Creative ALchemy Project is still in development and the ALchemy installer only supports a limited number of PC games. However, with your help, we would like to add more titles to the DirectSound3D Games list so please download the ALchemy installer, run it, and enjoy 3D Audio with EAX effects in your favorite games. Please share your experiences with ALchemy in our discussion board.
Unfortuantly Alchemy is only available for Vista systems using Audigy or X-fi sound.
OpenAL on Windows Vista
As already stated above, Microsoft® will be removing DirectSound 3D Hardware support from Direct X with the launch of Windows Vista. DirectSound and DirectSound3D will still function; however, they will no longer use hardware acceleration.
The native OpenAL devices on Sound Blaster Audigy and Sound Blaster X-Fi™ soundcards do not use DirectSound or DirectSound 3D and so they will be completely unaffected. For games that use these devices, nothing will change. The game will continue to enjoy hardware based 3D audio and effects.
The Generic Hardware device will no longer be available, as it requires the use of hardware DirectSound 3D Buffers. Instead, this device will gracefully, and automatically, fallback to using the Generic Software device, which will continue to work as before.
The Future Is OpenAL
The good news for owners of advanced audio cards like SoundBlaster X-Fi is that the developer community has been preparing for this for over 3 years. Hardware audio will not be disappearing with the launch of Windows Vista. Games that support OpenAL today will continue to provide full hardware-enhanced 3D audio under Windows Vista. This includes games such as Battlefield 2, Doom3, Unreal Tournament2k4, Dungeon and Dragons Online, Prey, Quake 4, and many others (a full list can be found at
http://www.openal.org/titles.html). These games have complete hardware-based HRTF support for multiple speaker and headphone setups as well as full support for all the different versions of EAX. Also, these games will be able to take advantage of the hardware-accelerated path on supporting hardware for performance and quality increases.
OpenAL support will also be incorporated into the Unreal 3 engine from Epic Games®, the new Doom 3 engine from Id Software® and the new Torque Gaming Engine from Garage Games®. These engines represent literally hundreds of upcoming titles for PC and will provide the majority of upcoming major PC title releases. All of these titles will have OpenAL support at the core and will sound as good as they look in Windows Vista. Other top tier developers including D.I.C.E.®, Turbine®, Bioware® and others are working to ensure their home-grown audio engines fully support OpenAL hardware. For game developers that are serious about the PC platform, OpenAL is presently the only viable option for delivering the 3D audio experience that gamers have come to expect.
OpenAL has an extremely strong future. The OpenAL community has been able to expand its API with new features, and these were delivered in the recent release of OpenAL version 1.1. With the flexible extension mechanism in OpenAL, more and more extensions are being created to handle tasks such as effects processing, multi-channel buffer playback, and support for features like X-RAM™.
Also, OpenAL is working across more platforms than just Windows -- support exists for multiple varieties of Unix®, OS X (from Apple), and Xbox® / Xbox360™ (from Creative Labs).
Windows Vista will be ushering in a new age for PC gaming, with great new graphics, physics and CPU support. When combined with OpenAL and the widespread developer support it is receiving, gamers will also be hearing some of the best audio ever on Windows Vista.
So I guess if Conitec don't pull thier finger out and start intergrating the OpenAL SDK into the engine they maybe might loose quite a lot of sales.
Also as a pro user myself I reckon we deserve it as well because I can't see any games we develop selling as well as they should with Vista becomming more and more popular, Not to mention the money that's already been outlayed for the purchase.
That's my 5 cents worth anyways.
I've tried myself to use the SDK for a plugin but it's just way beyond me. For instance, You need to know how to access the snd_buffers to load them into OpenAL SDK. Than manipulate the sound buffer for the output, Setup the Listner
for correct x,y,z values and the list goes on. It's a pity we can't force Conitec's hand to do this.
Also I would just like to appoligize to MMike for not having my facts right. Although the older OpenAL SDK I had was not fullly Vista comapatible and the newer summer 09' one is.
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