MesaFX

[dborca]

Originally posted by secretfj

(the only thing that will fade in under the GL Excess Logo can only be the credit of producer...they just look the same for 6.1.0.9 or pre-release..)

my, that's odd... perhaps it's time to plug back teh X24, then

[secretfj]

Daniel,
Thanks for your work and i'm looking forward to ur result..
P.S. is X24 the one which have a lot of V2 Chips in it and it can use 4X AA?

[dborca]

Originally posted by secretfj

Daniel,
Thanks for your work and i'm looking forward to ur result..

damn, that texture is really big for V2, blurry, too... ok, i need some sleep before i start mixing things again... like nitrite and glycerin (yeah, whatever)! sorry for the unnecessary hassle. anyways, the new extension is there, on the latest RC at my situ.

P.S. is X24 the one which have a lot of V2 Chips in it and it can use 4X AA?

eheh, close, but no! X24 is simply a V2 SLI in one board. you are talking about the Mercury system, composed of 4(four) X24 boards, coupled with an external moniker to obtain the FSAA effect. in fact i think it was composed of 4(four) X24 derivatives, called 200SBi
http://www.quantum3d.com/press/HTMLarchive/12-4-98b.html
http://digilander.libero.it/F1Land/3dfxarchive/download/media/gallery/quantum3D-mercury-16x3dfxvoodoo2pci-96mb-3.jpg
8-way SLI looks awesome for goold-old voodoo2, eh?

[perer]

Yup it does, to bad it doesn't give you more speed.

[dborca]

Originally posted by perer

Yup it does, to bad it doesn't give you more speed.

it suffers from the same defficiency of all SLI-ed Voodoos: TCL.
but in theory, should be more scalable, although i wouldn't know...

[secretfj]

8-way SLI looks awesome for goold-old voodoo2, eh?

what i can say is : Awesome~~

P.S. i think the picture quality of V2 is not very good compared with many modern cards (you can see some tiny grid-like squares in the fire inside Crypt scene, it's quite obvious), i think it's how V2 render pictures.

[perer]

Well the voodoo2 quality is dreadfull sometimes, thank god I have a monitor wich had the ability brighten up the screen. This really helps.

[dborca]

Originally posted by perer

Well the voodoo2 quality is dreadfull sometimes, thank god I have a monitor wich had the ability brighten up the screen. This really helps.

i doubt it.  methinks the voodoo2 lacks the post-dithering circuitry that was available in voodoo3.  dunno why, as this technique is used in some other ancient cards (like the venerable Matrox Millennium I).

now, onto business... i tested voodoo2 glide3x that is available at sourceforge.  under the same conditions of SWAPPENDINGCOUNT and SWAPINTERVAL it does not perform that bad at all (about 98% of Glide3x 667 in GLExcess).  however, it seems to be buggy, at least in SeriousSam2 (technology test, hi-q mode): the sun's flares are missing or blinking, some of the torches are visible through temple inner walls, etc.

so, perer, since you were so eager-beaver to start voodoo2 development, try and have a look at that.  the most advanced glide3x that i (we) have is in sourceforge now.  i know it would be better to start tweaking 667, but look at napalm d3d section: it started with an older version and now is better than latest official release.  here's your chance to show us what you're made of.

hint: i'd disassemble the 667 dll, isolate the triangle rendering routines and compare them against assembler sources we have in sourceforge. that might or might not be of any help

[perer]

Did you use the standard Voodoo3 setting in Serious Sam 2? Or did you use your own MesaFX. Because I got blinking wrong sun flares etc, with the Voodoo2 compatibility but with MesaFX there was no problem, and the game ran smooth.

[ps47]

..and what about warcraft3? the game runs way more stable with mesafx and looks better as well,but there are still some small texture problems..

[dborca]

Originally posted by perer

Did you use the standard Voodoo3 setting in Serious Sam 2? Or did you use your own MesaFX. Because I got blinking wrong sun flares etc, with the Voodoo2 compatibility but with MesaFX there was no problem, and the game ran smooth.

this has little to no relevance. first rule of testing: never change two things at the same time. so basically i changed only one thing: glide3x. the 667 works ok, while the other (sf) doesn't.

and, yes, i was using mesafx, of course. i also tried deleting the entire voodoo section from glsettings and ran in "unknown mode".

[dborca]

Originally posted by ps47

..and what about warcraft3? the game runs way more stable with mesafx and looks better as well,but there are still some small texture problems..

yes, i know... i still have to determine if this is driver-related or application-related.

unfortunately, many games provide dual d3d and opengl paths, and the gl path is usually poorly written, or not tested enough. ohwell... this is an old issue:
1) users tend to think d3d is trendy
2) and god forbid game developers create non-trendy applications
3) then, driver developers have to invest more in d3d than in opengl, because it's needed by game developers
4) so, because d3d is usually better, average user thinks d3d is trendy. now we're back to step 1!

quod erat demonstrandum the vicious circle is compete now!

ps: i love carmack for having the balls of doing opengl! carmack rules. and he was "criticized" at beyond3d for being stubborn. oh, and btw, in opengl area, nVidia rulez!

pps: i remember i found this a long time ago...
http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/windoze/OpenGLvsDirect3D.html

[secretfj]

Originally posted by dborca
unfortunately, many games provide dual d3d and opengl drivers, and the gl driver is usually poorly written, or not tested enough. ohwell... this is an old issue:
1) users tend to think d3d is trendy
2) and god forbid game developers create non-trendy applications
3) then, driver developers have to invest more in d3d than in opengl, because it's needed by game developers
4) so, because d3d is usually better, average user thinks d3d is trendy. now we're back to step 1!

hope the release of DOOM3 and its engine can change the situation a bit

[ps47]

Originally posted by dborca

pps: i remember i found this a long time ago...
http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/windoze/OpenGLvsDirect3D.html

..d3d sux even now.I hadnt had a single problem with opengl games from the day one (1998).and d3d? even now I can see old "friends" from time to time-missing or corrupted textures,wrong effects,flickering etc.always waiting for a newer driver..bah.

btw,any ideas why this little baby doesnt like mesafx (and all 3dfx opengl drivers as well-and its supposed to have only basic opengl requirements)? you will need this as well..

[dborca]

@ps47
amen! (you know what i mean )

now 'bout good ol' duke: i'll try to find a niche and look at it (i'm pretty busy these days). btw, do i need to get duke datafiles from elsewhere?