rec.autos.simulators

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me get my head around the topic of 3D
cards. Hopefully I can then help a friend out and others that have
similar queries when posting here. I'll use my friends example...

He has a P133 with a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 a VX motherboard and 16Mb
of EDO RAM.

He plays these games in order of how much uses (likes) them:

NASCAR Racing 2 - in Svga, Dos
ICR2 - vga, Dos
Sega Rally - lowest res
Daytona - ditto
Moto Racer - double ditto
GP2 - vga, dos
Die Hard Trilogy, low detail
Quake - vga, Dos
MDK
Rally Championship, Dos
Lots of other Driving games, Dos
Expecting to get lots of DirectX (Direct 3?) games for 95 in the
future.

So basically the question is what to go for. In this situation, he
would really like a Rendition card to be able to enjoy the Rendition
modes of N2, ICR2 and everything else that will be Rendition ready
including future Papy sims. The problem is that the Sierra screamin'
3D will not be out until Christmas in England. The other Rendition
card that IS easy to get hold of is the 3D Blaster from Creative.

So that's the situation, a Rendition card would be best as long as it
had good DirectX support and worked well with games like GP2. I would
really appreciate answers to these questions...

Is that card (3D Blaster) really that bad as I have heard, in
non-rendition games?

Surely not that bad? ;) It is bundled with F1 at a very good price in
Special Reserve.

Would it be worth waiting 'till Xmas for the Sierra, instead of the 3D
Blaster? How about the Intergraph?

Is N2/ICR2 rendition really so much better than SVGA?

If so, getting a graphics accelerater like the Orchid Righteous would
not be worth it, even though it has 3DFX and DirectX support for lots
of the said games?

Just how good will N2/ICR2 look and run (speed) with the said system
with a Rendition card in rendition mode?

If anyone has been in this position, has good knowledge of this area
or can help me out here, I would be very grateful. :)

Thanks in advance,

Jon

Guildford, UK

http://www.racesimcentral.net/~pegasus/nascar2/

All Verite cards, not just the 3D Blaster, stink in DOS VGA games. They
all perform well in SVGA and Win95 DirectX.  Canopus' Total3D is the best
Verite performer, about 10% faster across the board than the rest.  Driver
and bios quality and stability may be issues with the 3D Blaster -- many
3D Blaster owners use Canopus drivers and bios.

It would probably not be worth it to wait unitl Christmas, simply because
there will be newer, more powerful cards available by the end of the year,
e.g., Nvidia's RIVA 128, and Rendition's V2200.  Two other alternatives
for you friend may be the Canopus Total3D, and Miro's new Verite card, the
Crystal VRX.

Night and Day, especially with slower processors.  Rendition ICR2 is just
about flawless graphically; Rendition N2 is less stellar, but still much
improved, especially in the feeling of control you have over your car.

3DFX's strength is in console-type games.  A Voodoo will run most of the
3D accelerated games that your friend plays as well as or better than the
Verite, but there is no Voodoo support for either N2 or ICR2, which you
cite as his favorites.

ICR2 runs at >30fps, N2 at >25fps.  65k color pallette and bilinear
filtering make them look gorgeous.  N2's car textures, in particular, are
extremely clear and detailed in Rendition mode.

Guildford, UK

I would say if you are a ICRII and NASCAR nut.
(And I mean you love these games like I do) then
get a Rendition. I would say at the moment it looks
as though the shift in the software companies on
display at E3 in the US is towards the 3DFX technology.
I would have bought a Rendition but the 3DFX is very pretty!
and very fast and getting the software support. A good place to go and
look is www.Dimension3d.com all the card makers are listed and all the
software for that card is listed.

Mark

MDK does have Rendition support, and is also Direct-3D.  Also, a 3DFX card
does not speed up Direct-X.  It only "speeds up" games using Direct-3D or
the other 3DFX drivers.  I have both a 3DFX and a Rendition card.  Nascar 2
is awesome with the Rendition, as is ICR2.  Papyrus is making more games
that will support Rendition(such as SODA), but may/may not support 3DFX.
On games that use either card(Tomb Raider, MDK, Quake), the 3DFX is better.
 Not a tremendous amount, but it is better.