Video strain on older video cards...?

INFERNO2K · August 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">Older video hardware</div>Will Natural Selection be any more detailed than any other mod out there, that will place a harder method of time on an older video card (Voodoo 3). I get 60-99 frames per/sec in Counter-Strike and 20-70 in Day of Defeat.

What will the scenario be in Natural Selection?

Thanks in advance.

Unknown · August 2002

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (INFERNO2K @ Aug. 22 2002,17:28)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Will Natural Selection be any more detailed than any other mod out there, that will place a harder method of time on an older video card (Voodoo 3). I get 60-99 frames per/sec in Counter-Strike and 20-70 in Day of Defeat.

What will the scenario be in Natural Selection?

Thanks in advance.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
How do you get so many fps with a voodoo3? I have a Voodoo3 3000 16mb, 400mhz AMD, 328mb of ram and I get 25fps if im lucky. I can't remember what I was gonna say to answer your question, so I'll let someone else do it. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

QUAD · August 2002

rule of thumb: if your computer runs CS, DOD and HL fine then you wont have a problem with Natural Selection, even if it is more beautiful <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

Bill · August 2002

I am kind of depressed, things look better with my Geforce 4 but I have actually got decreased frame rates since I've installed it, I think I need a more powerful powersupply. At any rate I got really good framerates with my Voodoo 3 and it is a Half-Life game, so you'll have no problem(they are trying to get it to run smooth in software after all)

INFERNO2K · August 2002

Im running XP with Amigamerlin 2.1 drivers (www.voodoofiles.com) with <a href="http://www.wicked3d.com" target="_blank">WickedGL</a> drivers for Halflife.

While running those, I seriously edit my config files for whichever mod I am running.

For example in CStrike, by taking away the radar it increases my fps. I hardly use the radar anyways. Also by taking off minor details such as smokepuffs from bullets deflecting off wall varietys, I turn that off.

Hope that helps.

Relic25 · August 2002

Voodoo3 cards are notoriously bad at handling transparency effects, hence the lower framerates due to radars, smokepuffs, etc. I am not writing out of ignorance either. I had one for a few years and did extensive testing with it while mapping. Although the wickedgl drivers certainly helped, I was 1000% happier once I bumped up to a GeForce 256. Considering that a GeForce2 is now cheaper than most games out there and runs just about anything HL-related beautifully, I would seriously recommend upgrading to those with older cards. I know how hard that can be sometimes though.

To answer your question more directly, while NS is a HL mod and has the same requirements goal as CS, the reality is that there are much more transparency elements in NS, whether they are HUD elements, map features, or particle effects. So that really should be taken into consideration when thinking about what you'll need. You will however, be able to improves things at least marginally by turning off detail particle effects, but the particles that will be affected are up to the mapper (STC).

INFERNO2K · August 2002

Yes transparency outside of games is also bad. I had run Glass2K (A transparency effect applet for windows xp), my system was choking to a halt.

Im in a serious budget right now in life (house, car, bills etc). I think upgrading to a newer video card would make no difference on my trusty old P2 350.

XyberBob · August 2002

As the NS team hasn't bought the HL engine, they aren't allowed to edit any of the things that would make the game run a lot slower on a computer. NS will run on the minimum requirments for HL, even though slow, it still will (this may change as there are compatibility issues with Direct3d and Software mode)

Res1 · August 2002

Unknown your processor speed is your bottle neck. If you get a faster processor you will notice higher framerates with your voodoo 3.

Edit: Also make sure to get wickedgl drivers for your voodoo, they help increase performance a lot too.

SmokeMasta · August 2002

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (XyberBob @ Aug. 23 2002,03:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">As the NS team hasn't bought the HL engine, they aren't allowed to edit any of the things that would make the game run a lot slower on a computer. NS will run on the minimum requirments for HL, even though slow, it still will (this may change as there are compatibility issues with Direct3d and Software mode)</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
they don't need the engine sourhe for that just high R_speeds, paricles ect.

the goal of the dev's is to have NS running well on about the same specs as CS..maybe a little higher.

Kadreal · August 2002

Bill was your GF 4 an MX? because the GeForce 4 MX is really just a beefed up GeForce 2. also i knew this was with the GeForce 3 but i think the GeForce 4 is better. Geforce 3 uses double data rate set up, however it has an overall slower clock cycle then the tradianal single data rate because DDR just came around, anyways the GeForce 3 does less clock cycles in the same amount of time compared to a GeForce 2 but handles more stuff with each. Thus with game with simple graphics the GeForce 2 will actually have a higher frame rate, due to fast clock cycle, while with games with heavy graphics that can make use of double data per cycle will run higher FPS on the GeForce 3.

Unknown · August 2002

Well actually I don't use OpenGL for my HL settings. I use Direct3D. It does cause my max fps to only be 25 but it really reduces the lag I get and the lag fps. When I use OpenGL, I get a max of 40fps but as soon as I get close to spam (or looking at it, even if its behind a wall) I get about 5fps.

EDIT: I just installed the Whickedgl demo drivers and my fps has boosted to 68 at most and no spam lag! Ty very much <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

Rico1 · August 2002

Which drivers are you using Unknown?

I myself havent been able to get over 20 fps in acton spots, and they even sometimes drop to around 8 when theres too much shooting and large areas rendered in maps.

For example, i get a LARGE fps drop in de_aztec in CS when im on the CT A bombsite overlooking to the other side (over the river) And i believe its around 8 fps which makes it rather difficult to aim at anything.

Im running a Celeron 400mhz with 128 MB ram and a voodoo3 3000 running on omega 1.03 drivers.

Cant seem to get any decent fps with any drivers so far.

Legionnaired · August 2002

Hey RICO, 400 MHZ= bad, and I'm guessing you have a bigfoot (5.25 inch) HD.

Bigfoots are very, very, veeeery inefficient, I have one in a 900 Mhz machine, and it's still slow as heck, maybe, 20 FPS constantly.

Rico1 · August 2002

Yeah, i have a pretty old HD, so old that it only holds 6 GB but im changing that soon. I got a 30 GB one but its broken so im gonna have it exchanged for a good one this month.

I was asking him because he said hes running a 250 mhz P2 and he gets more fps than i do on the same card, so i was wondering which drivers he was using.

ICha0sI · August 2002

as far as i know u can run day of defeat u can run ns but i cant run day of defeat gots to get me a vid card <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

Legionnaired · August 2002

Nukem. Punctuation. Now.

HaZy · August 2002

heh yeah i get the around the same fps with almost the same rig as u inferno:

p3 600mhz
voodoo 3 8mb
128 mb ram

ah well, we can only see for sure how well ns will run once its released.

Video strain on older video cards...?

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