WHY DO I HAVE NO BGM FOR OLDER RPG MAKE GAMES BUT NEWER ONES ARE FINE?

author=Sated
I imagine it's because older games tend to use MIDI files for their music (as opposed to using MP3 files) in order to keep the filesize down. This can cause problems in both older and newer versions of Windows for completely different reasons. My game, Sore Losers, largely uses MIDI files for its music; here is the advice I give in the FAQ about what to do if the music isn't playing properly:

author=Sated
Q) The sound isn't playing properly/there is no music.

A) If you're using Windows 7 (and probably newer versions of Windows) then sometimes the OS doesn't come with the codecs/drivers needed to play MIDI files. If you find appropriate codecs/drivers online then you should be good to go!

If you're using an earlier version of Windows then you probably need to open up Volume Control and turn "SW Synth" up. Some programs automatically turn this down whilst certain media tracks are playing, but this game runs using a mostly MIDI soundtrack so "SW Synth" needs to be on for the music to play. Sounds are controlled by the "Wave" volume switch, so if they aren't playing properly then turn "Wave" up (although there is no real reason it should ever get turned down).

I hope that helps. Thankfully, file-size isn't as much of a problem now as it used to be (download speeds are a lot faster) so people can use MP3 files without worrying too much.