"Tom's Quick 'n' Dirty Gaming Troubleshooter"
This file was sent to me as a TXT file by Tom Bui on the 10th January 1998. I bear no responsibility for any invalid information contained in this file. I have posted this as a quick reference to solving common problems with the Riva 128 chipset in popular D3D games. Sorry about the messiness, When I get round to addressing everything in my performance guide I promise to include everything here (if it's accurate). If you have anything to add to this information, please be sure to let me know. Thanks Tom!
My Settings Enabled:
Z Buffer -- Determines the order polygons are drawn--this is the true 3d use of the card. Note that the resolution cannot go above 800x600 (full screen) with this setting enabled.
Bilinear Filter -- Smooths edges(?)
Dither -- Smooths textures(?)
Perspective Correct -- Compensates for texture distortion on skewed polygons
Triple Buffer -- ???
Q: How do I get rid of the texture cracking in TR2? Everywhere I turn, there are ugly white lines between the polygons!
A: Using the NV3 Tweak (the Riva 128 tweaking utility), set the mipmaplevels setting equal to 0. This should get rid of most of the cracking, but some people have reported that a little still exists. Reports indicate that this might be fixed in future drivers.
Q: TR2 seems to slow down in big areas--how do I fix this?
A: This seems to be a problem with either the chip itself, or the drivers. Other 3d cards have this problem too, but, judging from the negative posts, not as much. One solution would be to increase system memory. If you have 32 megabytes of ram, it is highly suggested that you increase this to 64 megabytes. Also, try increasing the Texture Memory Size using NV3 Tweak--but do not specify an amount over half your available system memory.
My Settings:
Min Texture Size = 4
Backbuffer in System Memory = Enabled *Note*: Not sure if this really does anything except suck up memory.
Q: The windows aren't transparent!? I thought this card supported that!
A: This has been fixed in the latest drivers.
Q: I notice some texture cracking, similar to that in Tomb Raider II--how do I get rid of it?
A: Using the NV3 Tweak (the Riva 128 tweaking utility), set the mipmaplevels setting equal to 0. The texture cracking should disappear after this.
Q: Everytime I play Jedi Knight, there are these pauses everytime there is a hd access...
A: This is perhaps the most difficult question to answer because there really hasn't been a solution yet. Most of the complaints have been from AGP card users, but it has not been confimred to be an AGP only problem. Here are some suggestions:
1. Some have suggested that using NV3 Tweak, set the Texture Memory Size to a multiple of 4. In any case, make sure this number is appropriate for your system (i.e. you are not taking precious RAM away from the application itself when it doesn't need it for Texture Storage).
2. If you have 32 megabytes of ram, it is suggested that you upgrade to 64 megabytes.
3. If you have a busmastering hd, this might be a problem with the hd interferring with the video card. This is speculation right now, but perhaps try turning off busmastering support for the hard drive.
4. A few people have suggested that a network card and its protocols might be slowing the system down (polling every few seconds). If you have a network card, be sure that you only have the protocols you need for your network installed.
Note: During CD access, such as changing of the music track, a slight pause is _normal_.
Q: During the cutscenes/movies, there is some pixelized garbage/leftover residue--how do I get rid of that?
A: According to some users with STB Velocity 128's, this problem occurs with the latest drivers, 1.21. The 1.16 version of the drivers did not exhibit this problems (apparently). Try using the alpha2 drivers.
Q: How do I check the framerate in Jedi Knight?
Answer:
1. You can download the Jedi Knight Patch Commander--it has some nifty settings, along with the ability to enable/disable patches with great ease--highly recommended.
2. During the game, press "t" and then type in "framerate" without the quotes.
Q: Hey, the colors are all funky! What the heck?
A: Apparently this problem occurs when 5-6-5 texture support is enabled. Try disabling this using NV3 tweak.
Q: They are still funky!
A: See next question.
Q: How come there aren't any transparent windows or anything?
A: You will probably need to reinstall MDK and the Direct3D version. The texture files may need to be rebuilt.
My Settings Enabled:
Absolutely everything.
Q: The textures look weird and/or funny colors.
A: You may need to reinstall Turok--apparently the texture file it built when it was first installed/configured has been corrupted.
Q: How come I can't enable fog or lense flares? I can see fog in other games.
A: Apparently Origin only programmed this into the 3dfx Glide version of the game, perhaps to stimulate sales of the chipset. These features are only available in the 3dfx version.
Q: All the ships are these interesting shades of purples, blues, greens, etc. ...
A: Try installing the latest drivers for your card.
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