TheGreatGodPan on 22/11/2004 at 21:15
My computer has a NVIDIA Riva TNT2; always has and always will. The only possible reason for me to upgrade it would be for DX:IW, but that's not supposed to so good anyway. As it is, I'll just play what I've already got and all the old games I missed out on. Feels good to be cheap and have low standards.
Rogue Keeper on 24/11/2004 at 10:46
Years back I loved how was DX running on my Voodoo Banshee, through Glide, It was jerkong in open areas, but it was quite playable. Then I swapped it for Geforce 2 MX400 and - how naive I was when I was expecting performance improvement! Under Direct 3D the game was running just as fast/slow as with Banshee. The DX patch contains an improved OpenGL supoport, but it really isn't recommended to play the game under OpenGL, with the exception - as they recomend in the readme - of GeForce cards which can theoretically run DXC better this way.
No no, on GeForce the game runned even WORSE than under Direct 3D. The FPS was in the same range and I've had problem with transparent textures. Especially the transparent detailed textures didn't overlay properly, they've had a green tint, creating a visible border on objects in the distance.
These old Unreal Engine games just aren't well optimized for anything else than Glide.
ZylonBane on 24/11/2004 at 16:29
Quote Posted by TheGreatGodPan
My computer has a NVIDIA Riva TNT2
You do realize you can get a ludicrously better card for about the cost of a pizza, yes?
TheGreatGodPan on 24/11/2004 at 17:19
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
You do realize you can get a ludicrously better card for about the cost of a pizza, yes?
Yeah, but if I get a pizza I know I'm goint to eat it. The only motivation I would have right now to get a new card would be for DX:IW which I don't plan on getting. Besides, all the old games I want to play might not be compatible with new cards.
Rogue Keeper on 25/11/2004 at 08:09
What do you man "not compatible with new graphics cards".
And if you are gonna play 2d games you shouldn't worry about incompatibility in 90% of cases. I wouldn't worry about it much. If your game runs well on nVidia TNT2, it should normally run on Geforce4 as well. DRIVERS are the issue - some games can be incompatible with some versions of g.card drivers. Sometimes it happens, but not really often and the manufacturer usually corrects it in the next driver version. Or you can go back to your original drivers provided by the retailer. Many gamers love to be up-to-date with drivers for their graphics card. Those are the ones tend play the freshest pieces on the market. But if you aren't a hardcore gamer who must play every new 3d graphics bomb, there is no need to update your drivers every month. Golden rule: If it runs well on your drivers, let it be.
Hardware incompatibility and software incompatibility are usually two diferent things. But if you can't launch an oldie on your computer, there is a bigger chance it doesn't run because of your WinXP (if you are using it).
Do you have any examples of an obvious incompatibility of this kind?
Adam_Black on 26/11/2004 at 21:24
Just this minute completed Deus Ex (all three endings, glad to see Page gets stuffed in all of them). I have no idea how or what I did, but the transparency problem disappeared, and I've been having a whale of time playing non-stop the past week.
And I'm not 'shooting one because I like the other's suggestion better'; I know my graphics card is crap, I know it could potentially be the problem; I just wanted people to offer potential solutions that weren't in the money-spending vein. If they were exhausted then yes, my graphics card would be the problem. No harm in trying, though, is there?
The reason I haven't upgraded my graphics card is because:
a) I have no steady source of income; what money I do have should really be going towards tuition fees in later years
b) I can't really be bothered; there are loads of good games made in the nineties that today's generation seem to overlook in favour of such uninnotative games as UT2004 (how I shudder when I think of it; when a series needs a year after it's title you know no thought is being put into it). I think being forced to use a crap computer has made me a retro addict. No wonder I'm such a fan of LG with such classic games as Thief and Deus Ex.
c) I've had my eye on the Radeon 9800 Pro for some time now, and as soon as I get the chance I'm buying it. Cheap and supports HL2, apparently.
So anyway, thanks for the replies, and you can now call me JC.
Jonesy on 27/11/2004 at 16:37
If you are going to be dishing out the $100 for a Radeon 9800 Pro sometime in the next year, just save an extra hundred and get a 6600GT. 50% more perforance.
voodoo47 on 27/11/2004 at 17:46
..g6800 for an athlon 850? what a waste.anything faster than rad9600 is too much..
Oskar Cruo on 30/11/2004 at 10:22
Quote Posted by voodoo47
..g6800 for an athlon 850? what a waste.anything faster than rad9600 is too much..
Yup, but you can pull it out for your possible future computer.
SJamieson on 30/11/2004 at 12:53
Quote Posted by Adam_Black
I can't really be bothered; there are loads of good games made in the nineties that today's generation seem to overlook in favour of such uninnotative games as UT2004 (how I shudder when I think of it; when a series needs a year after it's title you know no thought is being put into it). I think being forced to use a crap computer has made me a retro addict. No wonder I'm such a fan of LG with such classic games as Thief and Deus Ex.
As a former Rage user I can say that there's a good few games from the nineties that have these same problems and for the cost of a old Voodoo on Ebay £1-10 could easily be sorted. Hidden and Dangerous and Tomb Raider are obvious examples that come to mind, Early Matrox cards have simmilar problems in direct3D the only fix is to run these games in software mode.
