rec.autos.simulators

> Just after my last post about getting a Voodoo3 2000 PCI and having
> trouble with it (turns out Voodoo3 cards will not work if a system
> previously has had only a Voodoo1 card; they want a clean system or
> one that had Voodoo2 previously), I got the opportunity to purchase
> a Pentium III 450MHz chip and Intel BX-2 motherboard.  The person
> who had it (a co-worker who won it at the Intel Pentium III training)
> wanted $500.  I offered $400.  He offered $450.  I offered cash.
> He offered $430.  It's mine!

> So on Saturday, after getting a new case, a 64MB PC100 DIMM, and
> exchanging the Voodoo3 2000 PCI for a Voodoo3 3000 AGP, I built
> my new computer.  Once it was stable, the first thing I tried was,
> of course, Grand Prix Legends.

> Alas, one still has to limit texture memory to 2MB to get it to
> look properly, but wow.  Driving a car I'm entirely unaccustomed
> to -- the Eagle -- I set my best-ever time at Zandvoort on my
> third lap.

> I don't think it's just the jump from 20 fps to 36 fps.  I think
> it also has to do with how much more frequently the game port is
> polled.  I unchecked the "poll with interrupts enabled" box, so
> the port is being polled at ridiculous speeds, and it makes the
> calibration arrows remarkably smooth, even on my overused, four-
> year-old T2 wheel.  The result of perhaps both this and the better
> frame rate is that I can throw the car around a lot more, and keep
> control where previously I was doomed to spin out.  I never expected
> that an upgrade of this nature would do so much for my ability to
> control the car.  I always figured 20 fps (or higher at times) was
> plenty, and never considered the game port polling frequency as
> having any impact.

> My previous system was an AMD K6 300MHz chip on a 75MHz bus, with
> Diamond Stealth II S220 (4MB Rendition V2100) video card (and,
> briefly, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI (16MB 3Fdx)) and 40MB of fastpage
> RAM.  Still pretty speedy, but the difference between that and
> the new setup was well worth the approximately $600.

> Now I wonder what kind of difference getting a wheel unit with
> dual-axis pedals would make.  Being able to brake while still
> rolling out of the throttle must make for much less drastic
> weight distribution, thus making the car more stable entering
> turns.  I'd have to train myself to trail brake like that,
> though, after having learned to drive on the T2.  (In Real
> Life, I have never driven a four-wheeled vehicle larger than
> a go-kart.)

> As for the Voodoo3, there still is the driver bug whereby the
> gamma correction slider for Glide only makes the 3Dfx splash
> screen darker or brighter, leaving the games unaffected.  So,
> for now, I only can race on a few tracks in GPL if I don't mind
> not being able to see the flaggers or any cars in the distance.
> The rest of the tracks might as well be at night.  My monitor
> just doesn't have the kind of brightness output the video card
> expects by default.

> I'm also still unable to get Viper Racing to recognize the
> Voodoo3 as a 3Dfx card.  It runs only in Direct3D mode.  But
> with the benchmark now at 48 fps, and with Direct3D gamma
> correction sliders operational, I'm not complaining, though it
> does concern me, and I wonder if other games I couldn't get
> to work in Glide mode with the 2000 might still not work
> in Glide with this new card.

> The BX-2 motherboard has an onboard sound chip.  I don't like it
> because its wavetable is horrible compared to my Montego sound card.
> However I worry that if I disable the onboard audio, it might
> disable the onboard game port as well, and the Montego port might
> not be as accurate as the onboard one.  Does anyone have familiarity
> with this kind of situation?

> Now I just wanna go out there and buy racing games!  Been looking
> at Powerslide.  Heard that people liked the demo, and saw in a review
> that it has a regular ol' dirt oval in it.  How's it handle?

> But, 3Dfx, PLEASE fix the drivers!  I want to be able to SEE when
> running Glide applications!!

> Oh yeah, I haven't tried OpenGL with the new setup, but on the old
> setup with the Voodoo3 2000 PCI, GPL ran at about one frame every
> four seconds.  It looked beautiful though!  I guess the beta OpenGL
> drivers for GPL don't agree with the Voodoo3, or maybe it's just
> the old PCI bus card or something... Guess I should try it on the
> new setup and see what happens.

> But anyway, the point to writing this was just to let people who've
> been pondering an upgrade in order to improve their experiences with
> sim racing know: Faster computer, faster car.  It's that simple.

> --

#2159831
> http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc.
files
> http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 5
Dec.

> Alas, one still has to limit texture memory to 2MB to get it to
> look properly, but wow.

> > Just after my last post about getting a Voodoo3 2000 PCI and having
> > trouble with it (turns out Voodoo3 cards will not work if a system
> > previously has had only a Voodoo1 card; they want a clean system or
> > one that had Voodoo2 previously), I got the opportunity to purchase
> > a Pentium III 450MHz chip and Intel BX-2 motherboard.  The person
> > who had it (a co-worker who won it at the Intel Pentium III training)
> > wanted $500.  I offered $400.  He offered $450.  I offered cash.
> > He offered $430.  It's mine!

> > So on Saturday, after getting a new case, a 64MB PC100 DIMM, and
> > exchanging the Voodoo3 2000 PCI for a Voodoo3 3000 AGP, I built
> > my new computer.  Once it was stable, the first thing I tried was,
> > of course, Grand Prix Legends.

> > Alas, one still has to limit texture memory to 2MB to get it to
> > look properly, but wow.  Driving a car I'm entirely unaccustomed
> > to -- the Eagle -- I set my best-ever time at Zandvoort on my
> > third lap.

> > I don't think it's just the jump from 20 fps to 36 fps.  I think
> > it also has to do with how much more frequently the game port is
> > polled.  I unchecked the "poll with interrupts enabled" box, so
> > the port is being polled at ridiculous speeds, and it makes the
> > calibration arrows remarkably smooth, even on my overused, four-
> > year-old T2 wheel.  The result of perhaps both this and the better
> > frame rate is that I can throw the car around a lot more, and keep
> > control where previously I was doomed to spin out.  I never expected
> > that an upgrade of this nature would do so much for my ability to
> > control the car.  I always figured 20 fps (or higher at times) was
> > plenty, and never considered the game port polling frequency as
> > having any impact.

> > My previous system was an AMD K6 300MHz chip on a 75MHz bus, with
> > Diamond Stealth II S220 (4MB Rendition V2100) video card (and,
> > briefly, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI (16MB 3Fdx)) and 40MB of fastpage
> > RAM.  Still pretty speedy, but the difference between that and
> > the new setup was well worth the approximately $600.

> > Now I wonder what kind of difference getting a wheel unit with
> > dual-axis pedals would make.  Being able to brake while still
> > rolling out of the throttle must make for much less drastic
> > weight distribution, thus making the car more stable entering
> > turns.  I'd have to train myself to trail brake like that,
> > though, after having learned to drive on the T2.  (In Real
> > Life, I have never driven a four-wheeled vehicle larger than
> > a go-kart.)

> > As for the Voodoo3, there still is the driver bug whereby the
> > gamma correction slider for Glide only makes the 3Dfx splash
> > screen darker or brighter, leaving the games unaffected.  So,
> > for now, I only can race on a few tracks in GPL if I don't mind
> > not being able to see the flaggers or any cars in the distance.
> > The rest of the tracks might as well be at night.  My monitor
> > just doesn't have the kind of brightness output the video card
> > expects by default.

> > I'm also still unable to get Viper Racing to recognize the
> > Voodoo3 as a 3Dfx card.  It runs only in Direct3D mode.  But
> > with the benchmark now at 48 fps, and with Direct3D gamma
> > correction sliders operational, I'm not complaining, though it
> > does concern me, and I wonder if other games I couldn't get
> > to work in Glide mode with the 2000 might still not work
> > in Glide with this new card.

> > The BX-2 motherboard has an onboard sound chip.  I don't like it
> > because its wavetable is horrible compared to my Montego sound card.
> > However I worry that if I disable the onboard audio, it might
> > disable the onboard game port as well, and the Montego port might
> > not be as accurate as the onboard one.  Does anyone have familiarity
> > with this kind of situation?

> > Now I just wanna go out there and buy racing games!  Been looking
> > at Powerslide.  Heard that people liked the demo, and saw in a review
> > that it has a regular ol' dirt oval in it.  How's it handle?

> > But, 3Dfx, PLEASE fix the drivers!  I want to be able to SEE when
> > running Glide applications!!

> > Oh yeah, I haven't tried OpenGL with the new setup, but on the old
> > setup with the Voodoo3 2000 PCI, GPL ran at about one frame every
> > four seconds.  It looked beautiful though!  I guess the beta OpenGL
> > drivers for GPL don't agree with the Voodoo3, or maybe it's just
> > the old PCI bus card or something... Guess I should try it on the
> > new setup and see what happens.

> > But anyway, the point to writing this was just to let people who've
> > been pondering an upgrade in order to improve their experiences with
> > sim racing know: Faster computer, faster car.  It's that simple.

> > --

> #2159831
> > http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc.
> files
> > http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 5
> Dec.

> >Alas, one still has to limit texture memory to 2MB to get it to
> >look properly,

> Not true! Just start GPL with this small Batch File:
> [ Section: 1/1 File: GPL_for_voodoo3.bat UUencoded by: Turnpike Version 4.01  ]

> begin 644 GPL_for_voodoo3.bat

> `
> end

> sum -r/size 45467/90 section (from "begin" to "end")
> sum -r/size 63568/37 entire input file

> > ...  I think
> > it also has to do with how much more frequently the game port is
> > polled.  I unchecked the "poll with interrupts enabled" box, so
> > the port is being polled at ridiculous speeds, and it makes the
> > calibration arrows remarkably smooth,

> GPL polls the game port at the same frequency regardless of the setting
> of the "poll with interrupts enabled" box.  See my recent post about
> this curious little checkbox for an explanation of why things are now
> smooth.

> Randy

> Eric

> > For whatever it's worth, I'm running GPL on the Voodoo3 3000 AGP,
> and
> > I've never had to check the "limit texture memory to 2 MB" to make
> it
> > work properly.

> > Can't seem to find it Randy... can you do a cut-and-paste from your
> > previous one (possibly in your *sent* box)??

> w.r.t. "Poll with interrupts enabled"

> I believe that this setting will only have an effect on the computer
> while you're running a program that is using DirectInput to read the
> joystick.  So you don't need to worry about it messing up Quicken or
> Excel or whatever.  While running games, having this box unchecked can
> cause a couple of anomalies...
> (1) It's possible that your system clock may run a little slowly while
> running the game.
> (2) If the game uses any devices that require frequent and/or timely
> attention by the CPU (the serial ports are most notorious for this),
> these devices may not operate very well while the box is unchecked.  So
> if you find you're now having more disconnects, or jumpy on-line game
> performance, you may need to adjust your serial port settings.

> Now, some background...

> The computer reads a standard PC gameport joystick by timing how long
> it takes to charge a capacitor on each axis.  When you move the
> joystick, you alter the resistance on the axis, and thus how long it
> takes for the capacitor to charge to a certain level.  A compliant
> joystick will use variable resistors (potentiometers - a.k.a. "pots")
> that yield a maximum charge time of about one millisecond.  This may
> seem to be almost instantaneous, but on a 400MHz machine, it's an
> eternity!

> To read the joystick, the CPU will tell the gameport "Discharge your
> capacitors now, and start recharging them."  The CPU will then sit in a
> loop that tests each capacitor, noting when each one has recharged.
> The "when" here may be "how many times have I tested the capacitors so
> far?", or "How many clock cycles have passed since I told the
> capacitors to discharge?", or some such.

> While the CPU is sitting in its loop waiting for the capacitors to
> recharge, some other device in the computer may generate an interrupt.
> For example, the serial port might say "Hey! You need to feed me more
> characters to transmit!", or "Hey! I've received a bunch of characters,
> and my buffer is getting full!  You better read them out of my buffer
> soon, or I'm not going to have anyplace to put new characters as I
> receive them!", etc.

> If this happens, and if the joystick reader hasn't turned off
> interrupts, the computer will go off and service the interrupt.  So,
> the joystick reader won't necessarily have an accurate idea of when
> each capacitor has recharged, giving you "jumpy" joystick reads.

> They will be particularly jumpy if the reader is using the "how many
> times have I tested the capacitors so far?" method of timing.  In this
> case, its timing will be thrown off if the interrupt came in any time
> after it discharged the capacitors.  If it's using the "How many
> machine cycles have passed..." method, then it will only be thrown off
> if the interrupt comes in just as a capacitor is about to become
> recharged.  Either way, by disallowing interrupts while reading the
> joystick, you give the joystick reader a better chance of coming up
> with an accurate read.

> Randy