Graphics trouble

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ismael
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Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

Hello, I'm having trouble with graphics much the same way I had when I first played GP2 18 years ago. Back then I had a Pentium MMX 166; now I have an Intel Celeron N2840, 2,16 GHz; 4GB RAM; Windows 8.1 64-bit. But not only I can't play with SVGA, but even with VGA I can't always get the best performance. I do the usual tricks: remove mirror fixtures, bank, hill, medium or low trackside objetcs, and so on. I even play shutting down every other application on the computer. Processor ocupancy keeps above 100% if I have everything on. What could I do to fix this?
I'm using DOSBox through D-Fend Reloaded. Thanks
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rremedio
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by rremedio »

GP2 with DosBox is also very slow on my laptop (Win 10, 4GB RAM, i5 2.30 GHz) but on most tracks it is playable. When you say you can't play in SVGA do you mean it is too slow or is the option disabled in GP2? If it is disabled, you need to change your DosBox config (machine=svga_s3 works for me).

EDIT: the only option to DosBox seems to be install Win98 under VirtualBox. In my laptop is very fast, but I get sound problems and unstable frame skips.
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GP2tifoso28
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by GP2tifoso28 »

weird because my laptop is lower spec yet GP2 runs too fast, have you guys tried playing with your dosbox configuration files?
ismael
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

Not me. How could I do that?
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rremedio
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by rremedio »

I tried many tweaks, but nothing really helped. It is probably because of my crappy Intel HD chipset.
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Early 90s F1 forever!
roland ratzenberger
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by roland ratzenberger »

ismael wrote:Not me. How could I do that?
maybe your problem can be fixed through gp2 configuration and throug dos box cucles.. go to program files , find dos box and then open dos box configuration, then try to find cpu cycles. There are 3 options auto , max and the one that you can fix the cp2 cycles by yourself through experimentin. in my laptop i had the same problem. i put the cpy cycles to 300.000 and then the problem solved. try experimenting and then you will find the solution, i am pretty sure
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GP2tifoso28
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by GP2tifoso28 »

ismael wrote:Not me. How could I do that?
First I need to ask some questions.

The first alarm bell I see is that you are using d-fend reloaded. I have never used this and run straight from dosbox, with a backup copy of the original GP2 CD to preserve the original menu music in the game. I can see from watching a youtube clip that d-fend has the ability to change the dosbox settings. I dont like that because it could interfere with any changes you want to manually make to your dosbox configuration file. I think in your case it would be better not to use d-fend, and I can send you a copy of my configuraion file to copy and paste. With d-fend installed, do you know how (or are you able) to boot the game straight from dosbox?

Have you modded your GP2 install in any way? (gp2lap, gp2video, carsets, tracks ect)

EDIT
I just saw on youtube that d-fend reloaded comes with dosbox, its all one package. can you confirm if that's how you're running the game?
ismael
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

First of all let me thank you all for your interest. By now, I've been able to set DOSBox cycles to max and/or increase cycles with ctrl+F12. In some tracks, I can now play with VGA with everything I wanted: all trackside objects, all features, and smoke in the mirrors. I'm even adding sky and other fixtures with mirrors; this is now beyond my late nineties, teenage experience with the game's graphics.

In other tracks, it seems not so good, but better than what I was playing.

Regarding GP2tifoso28's note, yes, DOSBox is integrated with D-Fend Reloader. I edited the DOSBox Edit file and, after playing, the file keeps telling "cycles=max". I've modded it; I uploaded 11 non-original tracks and the 2015 carset, with some old cars in the pack. No GP2Lap, I've not been able to run it on Win 8.1 64-bit. If you can send me a copy of your configuration file to copy and paste, I'll be thankful, as I'm somewhat curious to finally try the game in SVGA (which I never really did in the nineties, with MMX166) or at least improve VGA even more. (But houw could execute DOSBox outside D-Fend Reloaded?)

A question: if we can put the cycles to "max", how can be better to inser a fixed number, that may be smaller than the maximum?
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GP2tifoso28
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by GP2tifoso28 »

I've done some research and it appears that the settings set in the profile editor of DFEND will override anything you manually enter into your dosbox configuration file. If I send you my file it will be useless.

Is there a particular reason you are using DFEND?

From here you have 2 options, I can try and mirror my configuration settings for you to input into the DFEND profile editor... which in theory should do the same thing as modifying the configuration file.

But my recommendation would be to start fresh with a virgin install of GP2, straight through dosbox 0.74 and then I can help you work from there with the configuration file and mods. I can tell you I run SVGA, full FPS with sky and mirrors off and with GP2LAP and GP2VIDEO running at the same time so it is definitely possible.

Let me know and I'll try to help.
ismael
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

It would be great! D-Fend Reloaded was just the first platform I found and it worked, but I would welcome an improvement. Actually, Win 8.1 allows me to run DOSBox 0,74 directly, without D-Fend Reloaded rprofile. What should I do there?
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GP2tifoso28
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by GP2tifoso28 »

ok mate take your dosbox 0.74 folder and copy and paste it to C:\
Do this so that nothing we try out will mess up your existing setup with dfend reloader

Also rename that copied folder from DOSbox-0.74 to just dosbox. This is to keep your commands nice and simple.
Now inside your new copied dosbox folder, create a new folder called C - this folder will serve as your emulated DOS PC.

Now, first we will try your current install of GP2 and see how it runs. Take your GP2 folder from where its installed and copy and paste it to C:\dosbox\C\. Rename it to GP2test. Go to the dosbox folder and copy DOSbox 0.74 Options.bat file to C:\dosbox\C\GP2test\GP2test.bat (rename it to GP2test.bat)

Now, go back to dosbox folder, right click on dosbox.exe and create shortcut. Send the shortcut to desktop and rename it to GP2test. We will program this shortcut to launch GP2 without having to enter text into the DOS command prompt every time you want to start the game. Right click on the shortcut and where is says Target: it should say C:\dosbox\DOSBox.exe
Now at the end of that copy and paste this text: -conf "c:\dosbox\c\gp2test\gp2test.bat"

So now your target box should say this:
C:\dosbox\DOSBox.exe -conf "c:\dosbox\c\gp2test\gp2test.bat"
What you have done here is told dosbox to read the custom configuration file every time you click the shortcut on your desktop.

Now you are almost ready to go. Before I send you my configuration file I need to know if you run GP2 with or without the CD, and I need to know if you want GP2 in the original aspect ratio (4:3, please tell me your screen resolution eg.1280x800 or whatever) or if your happy to have dosbox scale it in widescreen.
ismael
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Joined: 02.05.2016, 14:58

Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

Ok, it's done! Let's try the original aspect ratio, resolution is 1366x768.
ismael
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

Oh, and I have no CD, so I'm playing without CD.
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GP2tifoso28
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Re: Graphics trouble

Post by GP2tifoso28 »

OK mate, now delete whatever text is in your configuration file and paste this text into it. Notice right at the bottom of this are the commands that you would normally have to enter into the dos prompt every time you open dosbox. Now it will be automated and GP2 should launch just by clicking the shortcut you created on your desktop. Copy everything below and let me know how it runs.

# This is the configurationfile for DOSBox 0.74. (Please use the latest version of DOSBox)
# Lines starting with a # are commentlines and are ignored by DOSBox.
# They are used to (briefly) document the effect of each option.

[sdl]
# fullscreen: Start dosbox directly in fullscreen. (Press ALT-Enter to go back)
# fulldouble: Use double buffering in fullscreen. It can reduce screen flickering, but it can also result in a slow DOSBox.
# fullresolution: What resolution to use for fullscreen: original or fixed size (e.g. 1024x768).
# Using your monitor's native resolution with aspect=true might give the best results.
# If you end up with small window on a large screen, try an output different from surface.
# windowresolution: Scale the window to this size IF the output device supports hardware scaling.
# (output=surface does not!)
# output: What video system to use for output.
# Possible values: surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb, ddraw.
# autolock: Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen. (Press CTRL-F10 to unlock)
# sensitivity: Mouse sensitivity.
# waitonerror: Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.
# priority: Priority levels for dosbox. Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized.
# pause is only valid for the second entry.
# Possible values: lowest, lower, normal, higher, highest, pause.
# mapperfile: File used to load/save the key/event mappings from. Resetmapper only works with the defaul value.
# usescancodes: Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=desktop
windowresolution=1366x768
output=opengl
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper-0.74.map
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
# language: Select another language file.
# machine: The type of machine tries to emulate.
# Possible values: hercules, cga, tandy, pcjr, ega, vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_et3000, svga_et4000, svga_paradise, vesa_nolfb, vesa_oldvbe.
# captures: Directory where things like wave, midi, screenshot get captured.
# memsize: Amount of memory DOSBox has in megabytes.
# This value is best left at its default to avoid problems with some games,
# though few games might require a higher value.
# There is generally no speed advantage when raising this value.

language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=63

[render]
# frameskip: How many frames DOSBox skips before drawing one.
# aspect: Do aspect correction, if your output method doesn't support scaling this can slow things down!.
# scaler: Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes.
# If 'forced' is appended, then the scaler will be used even if the result might not be desired.
# Possible values: none, normal2x, normal3x, advmame2x, advmame3x, advinterp2x, advinterp3x, hq2x, hq3x, 2xsai, super2xsai, supereagle, tv2x, tv3x, rgb2x, rgb3x, scan2x, scan3x.

frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=hq3x

[cpu]
# core: CPU Core used in emulation. auto will switch to dynamic if available and appropriate.
# Possible values: auto, dynamic, normal, simple.
# cputype: CPU Type used in emulation. auto is the fastest choice.
# Possible values: auto, 386, 386_slow, 486_slow, pentium_slow, 386_prefetch.
# cycles: Amount of instructions DOSBox tries to emulate each millisecond.
# Setting this value too high results in sound dropouts and lags.
# Cycles can be set in 3 ways:
# 'auto' tries to guess what a game needs.
# It usually works, but can fail for certain games.
# 'fixed #number' will set a fixed amount of cycles. This is what you usually need if 'auto' fails.
# (Example: fixed 4000).
# 'max' will allocate as much cycles as your computer is able to handle.
#
# Possible values: auto, fixed, max.
# cycleup: Amount of cycles to decrease/increase with keycombo.(CTRL-F11/CTRL-F12)
# cycledown: Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=dynamic
cputype=auto
cycles=max
cycleup=10
cycledown=20

[mixer]
# nosound: Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.
# rate: Mixer sample rate, setting any device's rate higher than this will probably lower their sound quality.
# Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# blocksize: Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering but sound will also be more lagged.
# Possible values: 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 512, 256.
# prebuffer: How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.

nosound=false
rate=44100
blocksize=1024
prebuffer=20

[midi]
# mpu401: Type of MPU-401 to emulate.
# Possible values: intelligent, uart, none.
# mididevice: Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.
# Possible values: default, win32, alsa, oss, coreaudio, coremidi, none.
# midiconfig: Special configuration options for the device driver. This is usually the id of the device you want to use.
# See the README/Manual for more details.

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
# sbtype: Type of Soundblaster to emulate. gb is Gameblaster.
# Possible values: sb1, sb2, sbpro1, sbpro2, sb16, gb, none.
# sbbase: The IO address of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# irq: The IRQ number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 7, 5, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# dma: The DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# hdma: The High DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# sbmixer: Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the DOSBox mixer.
# oplmode: Type of OPL emulation. On 'auto' the mode is determined by sblaster type. All OPL modes are Adlib-compatible, except for 'cms'.
# Possible values: auto, cms, opl2, dualopl2, opl3, none.
# oplemu: Provider for the OPL emulation. compat might provide better quality (see oplrate as well).
# Possible values: default, compat, fast.
# oplrate: Sample rate of OPL music emulation. Use 49716 for highest quality (set the mixer rate accordingly).
# Possible values: 44100, 49716, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000.

sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=44100

[gus]
# gus: Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
# gusrate: Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
# Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# gusbase: The IO base address of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 240, 220, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# gusirq: The IRQ number of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 5, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# gusdma: The DMA channel of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 3, 0, 1, 5, 6, 7.
# ultradir: Path to Ultrasound directory. In this directory
# there should be a MIDI directory that contains
# the patch files for GUS playback. Patch sets used
# with Timidity should work fine.

gus=false
gusrate=44100
gusbase=240
gusirq=5
gusdma=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
# pcspeaker: Enable PC-Speaker emulation.
# pcrate: Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.
# Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# tandy: Enable Tandy Sound System emulation. For 'auto', emulation is present only if machine is set to 'tandy'.
# Possible values: auto, on, off.
# tandyrate: Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.
# Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# disney: Enable Disney Sound Source emulation. (Covox Voice Master and Speech Thing compatible).

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=44100
tandy=auto
tandyrate=44100
disney=false

[joystick]
# joysticktype: Type of joystick to emulate: auto (default), none,
# 2axis (supports two joysticks),
# 4axis (supports one joystick, first joystick used),
# 4axis_2 (supports one joystick, second joystick used),
# fcs (Thrustmaster), ch (CH Flightstick).
# none disables joystick emulation.
# auto chooses emulation depending on real joystick(s).
# (Remember to reset dosbox's mapperfile if you saved it earlier)
# Possible values: auto, 2axis, 4axis, 4axis_2, fcs, ch, none.
# timed: enable timed intervals for axis. Experiment with this option, if your joystick drifts (away).
# autofire: continuously fires as long as you keep the button pressed.
# swap34: swap the 3rd and the 4th axis. can be useful for certain joysticks.
# buttonwrap: enable button wrapping at the number of emulated buttons.

joysticktype=auto
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=false

[serial]
# serial1: set type of device connected to com port.
# Can be disabled, dummy, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of
# parameter:value. Parameter for all types is irq (optional).
# for directserial: realport (required), rxdelay (optional).
# (realport:COM1 realport:ttyS0).
# for modem: listenport (optional).
# for nullmodem: server, rxdelay, txdelay, telnet, usedtr,
# transparent, port, inhsocket (all optional).
# Example: serial1=modem listenport:5000
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial2: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial3: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial4: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.

serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
# xms: Enable XMS support.
# ems: Enable EMS support.
# umb: Enable UMB support.
# keyboardlayout: Language code of the keyboard layout (or none).

xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

[ipx]
# ipx: Enable ipx over UDP/IP emulation.

ipx=false

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

mount c c:\dosbox\c
c:
cd gp2test
gp2.exe
ismael
GP2 Racer
Posts: 395
Joined: 02.05.2016, 14:58

Re: Graphics trouble

Post by ismael »

The game is running, but has issues. At first, it started fine but then was crashing when I got to Car Setup. Then I thought I might be exxagerating in the resolution and chaged it to 1024x768. It works without crashing, but its sort like what I'm playing through D-Fend Reloaded, I can't add mirrors and no way trying SVGA. It's good for racing with All Trackside Objects and smoke in the mirrors, and cycles must be at 105%.

(Is it possible, and/or convenient, to make cycles higher than 105% with Ctrl+F12?
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