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since Jan 5, 1998
The purpose of this page is to help all those Quake-players out there who are lucky enough to own Rendition Vérité-based cards. I hope that this place will be a great resource for beginner and intermediate level information about how to get the most out of playing Quake- and Quake II-related games on a Rendition V1000 or V2x00 video card.
March 26, 1998 -- Part II |
NiNe3D is Up!
Please go to my new site and bookmark it. It turns out that InterNIC registered my new domain in record time. Less than 48 hours and http://www.nine3d.com/ is up and running. If for some reason your DNS has not yet been updated, you can use the actual IP, which is 151.196.194.246. And if you really want to save letters, you can access my site through http://nine3d.com/.
As I stated before, this page will continue to be available for some time, but my new site will receive preferential treatment...
March 26, 1998 |
NiNe is Moving
I just registered my own domain name. I'll be moving this site to a professional web hosting service as well. What does this mean for you? It means I'll have more space and you'll get much quicker and more reliable file transfers. I find that too often, file transfers from GeoCities just inexplicably time out. I'll also be able to make full use of CGI scripts, etc. Not that I know how, but I'm sure I'll learn...
Don't worry, I'll post the new URL as soon as it's available. I'll also continue to update this location for another month or so, after which I'll put most of my energies into the new site.
PGL Competition
Teamplay registration (for teams of 4) is closing at midnight tommorrow. Quake II registration closes April 10. Hop on over to the PGL (Profession Gamers' League) to check it out. BTW, the Jazz Outlaw 3D is the official video card of the PGL.
March 25, 1998 |
HexenWorld
A beta of HexenWorld (the game) is out at HexenWorld (the site). What is HexenWorld (the game)? HexenWorld does for Hexen II what QuakeWorld did for Quake 1 -- it adds internet optimizations to compensate for lag, etc. You can get the 3.2 meg client file at HexenWorld, Redwood's, WarZone, or Playnet. The HexenWorld server file is necessary only if you want to run a HexenWorld server.
HexenWorld Servers
Pingtool (works with your browser) now supports HexenWorld and GameSpy promises HexenWorld support shortly. Check out HexenWorld (the site) for updates on server addresses if you want to connect manually.
Jazz Outlaw 3D Drivers
Jazz Multimedia released new drivers for their Outlaw 3D and their Bonnie & Clyde (I don't think the B&C - a v2200 with PCI and AGP support on one card - has even shipped yet).
Outlaw 3D Win95 v1.1 (302 Kb)
Outlaw 3D WinNT v1.1 (154 Kb)
Outlaw 3D v4138a BIOS Update (233 Kb)
Bonnie & Clyde Win95 v1.1 (305 Kb)
Bonnie & Clyde BIOS Update (233 Kb)
No doubt, the Bonnie & Clyde drivers are almost identical to the Outlaw 3D which is probably why the drivers were posted even though the product is not available. BTW, if you have an Outlaw 3D, please let me know if these drivers improve your 3D performance, which was a little rough with the initial drivers.
March 24, 1998 |
Ockham's Razor
Ockham's Razor is a principle that maintains that "what can be explained on fewer principles is explained needlessly by more." In deference to Ockham, I'm trying out a new, shorter URL. This site can now be accessed through the alias URL of http://nine3d.home.ml.org/. This URL alias is a free service provided through Monolith. Of course, this site can still be accessed through the old URL.
March 23, 1998 |
Quake2 Executor
This front-end for Quake2 simplifies the set-up and launching of Quake2, including the many GL options. It was designed to support a number of rendering options, including Default OpenGL and Vérité acceleration. Check out the Quake2 Executor Page.
GAMEPC.COM
I'm currently in the process of upgrading my system. In my search for value, I found Solid Computers, a.k.a GAMEPC.COM. I ordered my new PII-333 skeleton from them today and I plan on doing a review of their services and products when my new machine arrives.
Some initial impressions:
1) If you call their number, you get a real-live person who is technically informed!
2) E-mail response time is 2 hours or less.
3) Their prices are very competitive ($620 PII-333, $130 64-meg SDRAM, $245 for IBM 6.4gig UDMA).
4) They carry just about every conceivable form of v2x00 card out there (Stealth II, Thriller 3D, Outlaw 3D, AGP and PCI).
Somebody should tell these guys that they're doing everything wrong! ;-) I even asked them about ordering components instead of systems, and they told me they are actively considering that option right now. That would be nice as they have a Hercules Thriller 3D 8meg board for $205 and a Jazz Outlaw 3D 8meg AGP for $170.
Like I said, I plan on doing a review when I get my system. But in the meantime, check out their "Custom Rigs" section for a free drawing for a Monster 3D II 12 meg card.
March 21, 1998 |
New Alpha ICD
Rendition posted a newer OpenGL alpha ICD for v2x00 cards under 95 and NT. Many bug fixes have been included, but acceleration benefits over the miniGL are not supposed to be in place until a beta arrives. It's available in Rendition's download area. I'll give it a try when I get home later tonight.
March 20, 1998 |
Good News
GeoCities sent me a message today that they are giving an extra 3 megs of web space to each site. That's very good news because I was already down to just a few hundred kb left. Now I'll have some room to add some files and a screenshot gallery that I wanted to do. JPG screenshots lose too much detail because of the "lossy" compression used. I'll probably put up some JPG thumbnails with links to zipped-up TGA screenshots. On the plate: Quake2 screenshots from Rendition OpenGL, Rendition v1k renderer, Software-rendered, Voodoo Rush, Voodoo2, and if I can swing it, RIVA and PerMedia2.
3Dfx Emulator
I don't want to take down the link (see March 19), but a lot of people seem to think that the whole project is a joke. I'm inclined to agree, especially after reading their dreambook. Too bad, because I don't think that the idea is an impossible one. No, I'm not naive enough to think that you can have a software-only 3Dfx emulator that would give you anything but a slide show, but why not one that uses Direct3D, or even OpenGL? Real3D has a proprietary OpenGL-wrapper that maps calls to Direct3D for their i740-based card. S3 made a OpenGl to Direct3D wrapper. A Glide to RRedline wrapper is rumored to exist in the some dark basement... ;-)
In any case, I'm sorry if I wasted your time. You might still want to look at their website and read the dream book. Some of it is pretty funny -- in a sad, pathetic, twisted sort of way...
Marsupial Sheep
My Team Fortress Clan figured out that I have a web page, so I thought I'd say "Hi" to those that visit! If any of you would like to see our homepage or challenge us to a match, take a look here.
March 19, 1998 |
3Dfx Emulator
AFD inc. has created a 3Dfx emulator for Quake2. They also plan on doing an emulator for Carmageddon, NBA 98, FIFI '98, and F1 Racing. I've only played around with it for about 10 minutes, but I haven't been able to get it to work on my system yet. Maybe you'll have more luck. In any case, here is yet another possibility for v1000 users. The program is only fairly well documented, so perhaps some more tinkering will get this thing to run. If you figure it out, let me know for the benefit of everyone out there.
This program includes several default drivers labeled only by manufacturer name, so I don't know exactly what video cards they had in mind. If Rendition users demonstrate enough interest, perhaps they will include specific Rendition support in the future? I'd be careful spreading this news to the wrong people. Who knows? Maybe their project will end up sharing the same fate as the Glide to RRedline wrapper. :-(
March 18, 1998 |
Direct3D Wrapper
I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but there is another option for OpenGL support. This Direct3D wrapper (v 1.2) converts OpenGL calls to Direct3D. So as long as you have Direct3D support with any video card, it might work. It's freeware and totally unsupported. It also does not support all the OpenGL features. Dynamic lighting, for instance, is somewhat hosed. It's also not the prettiest or fastest way to get OpenGL in Quake or Quake2, but for some people it might be the only way (i.e. v1000 users?).
Just run this program and it will extract an Opengl32.dll into your game directory. Be sure to back up any existing Opengl32.dll first. I tested this with Quake and Quake2. It worked with Quake, but Quake2 kept crashing with an "out of texture handles" error. If you know of any newer version of this Direct3D wrapper or can point me to another one, please let me know.
March 17, 1998 |
New Thriller 3D Drivers
New Win95 drivers (v 0.77) can be found here and here. (1.58 mb)
New WinNT drivers (v 0.63) can be found here and here. (1.53 mb)
These drivers were released yesterday and supposedly address the "sound-stuttering while scrolling problem", although some users are already claiming it ain't so. The problem with animated cursors and Netscape is still a known limitation.
VHexen II Added
I've finished and posted the VHexen II section. GLHexen II should be coming soon. I may post the GLHexen II section without any benchmark numbers, just to make the preliminary information available as soon as possible.
March 14, 1998 |
Quake II Full Demo Released
This full demo includes single-player, deathmatch, and cooperative play. Not to be confused with the earlier Q2 Test Demo. You can get it from the following locations:
ftp://ftp.op3dfx.com/pub/game_demos/quake2/quake2_314.exe (corrected from earlier today)This full demo is about 39 megs.
ftp://ftp.avault.com/win95/q2-314-demo-x86.exe
Updated Quake II Patch Links
If you still need to update Quake II to version 3.14, here are the updated ftp.cdrom.com links:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2-314-x86-full-ctf.exe Full Upgrade with CTF (14 megs)BTW, "CTF" = "Capture the Flag". BTW, "BTW" = "By the way". ;-)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2-314-x86-full.exe Full Upgrade (9 megs)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2-314-x86.exe Upgrade for v 3.10+ (500k)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102.exe Full CTF (6.9 megs)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102.zip Full CTF - Expert Install (5.4 megs)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102upgrade.zip CTF Upgrade Only (270k)
John Carmack on Trinity
John Carmack updated his .PLAN with some notes on "Trinity" (i.e. "Quake 3") and graphics hardware:
The graphics engine is going to be hardware accelerated ONLY. NO SOFTWARE RENDERER, and it won't work very well on a lot of current hardware. We understand fully that this is going to significantly cut into our potential customer base, but everyone was tired of working under the constraints of the software renderer. There are still going to be plenty of good quake derived games to play from other developers for people without appropriate hardware.Sorry if that was lengthy, but it sounds like good news for Rendition v2x00 users. It's nice to know that Rendition included features that truly future-minded. Did you catch the part about how "renditions are the only current boards that can do 24 bit rendering with all the features"? Pretty cool...There are some specific things that the graphics technology is leveraging that may influence your choice of a 3D accelerator.
All source artwork is being created and delivered in 24 bit color. An accelerator that can perform all 3D work in 24 bit color will look substantially better than a 16 bit card. You will pay a speed cost for it, though.
Most of the textures are going to be higher resolution. Larger amounts of texture memory will make a bigger difference than it does on Quake 2.
Some key rendering effects require blending modes that some cards don't support.
The fill rate requirements will be about 50% more than Quake 2, on average. Cards that are fill rate limited will slow down unless you go to a lower resolution.
The triangle rate requirements will be at least double Quake 2, and scalable to much higher levels of detail on appropriate hardware.
Here are my current GUESSES about how existing cards will perform.
Voodoo 1
Performance will be a little slow, but it should look good and run acceptably. You will have to use somewhat condensed textures to avoid texture thrashing.Voodoo 2
Should run great. Getting the 12 mb board is probably a good idea if you want to use the high resolution textures. The main rendering mode won't be able to take advantage of the dual TMU the same way quake 2 does, so the extra TMU will be used for slightly higher quality rendering modes instead of greater speed: trilinear / dentil texturing, or some full color effects where others get a mono channel.Permedia 2
Will be completely fill rate bound, so it will basically run 2/3 the speed that quake 2 does. Not very fast. It also doesn't have one of the needed blending modes, so it won't look very good, either. P2 does support 24 bit rendering, but it won't be fast enough to use it.ATI Rage Pro
It looks like the rage pro has all the required blending modes, but the jury is still out on the performance.Intel I740
Should run good with all features, and because all of the textures come out of AGP memory, there will be no texture thrashing at all, even with the full resolution textures.Rendition 2100/2200
The 2100 should run about the speed of a voodoo 1, and the 2200 should be faster. They support all the necessary features, and an 8 mb 2200 should be able to use the high res textures without a problem. The renditions are the only current boards that can do 24 bit rendering with all the features. It will be a bit slow in 24 bit mode, but it will look the best.PVR PCX2
Probably won't run Quake 3. They don't have ANY of the necessary blending modes, so it can't look correct. Video Logic might decide to rev their minidriver to try to support it, but it is probably futile.RIVA 128
Riva puts us in a bad position. They are very fast, but they don't support an important feature. We can crutch it up by performing some extra drawing passes, but there is a bit of a quality loss, and it will impact their speed. They will probably be a bit faster than voodoo 1, but not to the degree that they are in Quake 2.Naturally, the best cards are yet to come (I won't comment on unreleased cards). The graphics engine is being designed to be scalable over the next few YEARS, so it might look like we are shooting a bit high for the first release, but by the time it actually ships, there will be a lot of people with brand new accelerators that won't be properly exploited by any other game.
March 6, 1998 |
Workshop Updates
I have just completed and posted a revised Quake2 Multiplayer (Net Play) Tuning section. The benchmarks include more testing of Vérité clock settings and differences between the various miniGL's. The tests were conducted this time with Brett Jacobs' Massive1 demo.
I also added a section for archived news and a recommendations section. Right now the recommendation section covers who I think should (or should not) buy a Rendition card and why I think FPS (frames per second) doesn't matter. The recommendations section will probably be expanded to include more issues in the future.
March 3, 1998 |
Quake2 and CTF Updated Once Again
Quake2 has been updated to v 3.14. For a list of fixes, take a look at John Cash's plan. Here are some options for an upgrade path (corrected from earlier today). If you have trouble logging into ftp.cdrom.com or one of its mirrors, you can also get the files from Blue's News, one of my favorite sites on the web.
If you are still at a version earlier than 3.10, you will need to upgrade to version 3.13 (which contains the new maps, etc.), then update that to 3.14:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2_313.exe (9 megs)If you've already upgraded to version 3.10 or later, you will need only the update to 3.14:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2-314-x86.exe (533kb)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/q2-314-x86.exe (533kb)When installing q2-314-x86.exe, be sure to overwrite the existing, older files.
Now, for Capture-the-Flag (CTF):
If you have never installed CTF, then you can get the full upgrade as either a Win95 automated installer program (.EXE) or a .ZIP file:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102.exe (6.9 megs)If you already installed CTF 1.0 or 1.1, then you need only 1.02 upgrade which you should extract to your \Quake2\ctf folder, overwriting any older files:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102.zip (5.4 megs)
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/idgames2/idstuff/quake2/ctf/q2ctf102upgrade.zip (270kb)I apologize if all that is confusing. If you don't know what you need, then take the first option for CTF and Q2 3.14 and download the biggest files. That is your safest bet. I just provide the smaller file listings for those who have already performed some upgrades and wish to save themselves from having to download anything extra.
And finally, these files are mirrored around the world. So if you have trouble with or get slow downloads with ftp.cdrom.com, try one of the following mirror sites:
As always, you can get the files from id software itself (ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake2/), but I haven't been able to log onto their FTP server in days!
Ohio ftp.lame.org/mirrors/quake_stuff/ Pennsylvania ftp.epix.net/pub/idgames2/ New York ftp.gamers.org/pub/games/idgames2/ UK sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/idgames2/ ftp.compulink.co.uk/pub/games/id/quake/ Sweden ftp.sunet.se/pub/pc/games/idgames2/ ftp.edu.sollentuna.se/pub/games/quake-stuff/ Finland ftp.sci.fi/pub/idgames2/ Austria flinux.tu-graz.ac.at/pub/idsoftware2/ Poland ftp.task.gda.pl/pub/games/idgames2/ Portugal ftp.telepac.pt/pub/idgames2/ S. Africa ftp.global.co.za/pub/quake/ ftp.is.co.za/games/id2/ Australia ftp.powerup.com.au/pub/games/quake/ Brisbane ftp.livewire.com.au/pub/idgames2/ Brisbane ftp.pnc.com.au/pub/idgames2/ Sydney ftp.questnet.net.au/idgames2/ Brisbane ftp.bf.rmit.edu.au/pub/quake/cdrom/ Melbourne Brazil ftp.iis.com.br/pub/mirror/Quake/