I haven't noticed this,played it on:
1. P4 cel 1,7ghz 400FSB 256 DDR
2.(current configuration) P4 3,0ghz 800FSB 512DDR WinXP SP2
as i see it, on my comp game_ticks really does stick to that 1 sec... I don't know for other configs. Sound length can be adjusted, but wouldn't make any...