rec.autos.simulators

by **Jim Harm** » Thu, 17 Apr 1997 04:00:00

I downloaded Interstat 76 last night and thought it was pretty cool,
it reminded me of a 2D combat flight sim. However, on my system
(P150 2x75 w/ Hercules String 64/V 16MB Sound Blaster 16) I noitce a
horrible slow down in the framerate mostly when audio is playing. I've
also seen this with other DirectX games (Winter Race 3D and Rocket
Jockey). What's the cause? Could it be my Video card or my sound card?
I hope this behavior isn't normal.

by **Ryan Smar** » Fri, 18 Apr 1997 04:00:00

> I noitce a
> horrible slow down in the framerate mostly when audio is playing. I've
> also seen this with other DirectX games (Winter Race 3D and Rocket
> Jockey). What's the cause? Could it be my Video card or my sound card?
> I hope this behavior isn't normal.

I've found that there are significant performace hits when using
DirectSound over some other sound packages - on the order of a 15-20%
hit. Of course, these were only tests. But based upon my testing, it
doesn't seem all that strange to me that you'd have a performance hit of
somekind. Can you add more detail to your analysis of the slowdown
other than "horrible"?

I'd love to test out Direct3DSound as soon as it supports 3D sound
hardware - that'd be a real thrill.

Ryan Smart, a Papyrus employee, but not speaking as a Papyrus employee
and all the standard employee/employer disclaimer stuff.

by **Jim Harm** » Fri, 18 Apr 1997 04:00:00

>> I noitce a
>> horrible slow down in the framerate mostly when audio is playing. I've
>> also seen this with other DirectX games (Winter Race 3D and Rocket
>> Jockey). What's the cause? Could it be my Video card or my sound card?
>> I hope this behavior isn't normal.

>I've found that there are significant performace hits when using
>DirectSound over some other sound packages - on the order of a 15-20%
>hit. Of course, these were only tests. But based upon my testing, it
>doesn't seem all that strange to me that you'd have a performance hit of
>somekind. Can you add more detail to your analysis of the slowdown
>other than "horrible"?

>I'd love to test out Direct3DSound as soon as it supports 3D sound
>hardware - that'd be a real thrill.

Thanks for the response. I'll try to describe it a little better. The
game seems to be very smooth until the audio starts playing, it then
almost stops for a split second and then goes back to smooth. It looks
like the screen jumps after the brief stop and has to update things to
their new location. For example, if I was turning right when audio starts
playing it would stop for a split second and then I would be facing right
instead of seeing it pan to the right.

by **Justin Rya** » Sat, 19 Apr 1997 04:00:00

What version of DirectX are you using 3.0 or 3.0a?

by **Ryan Smar** » Sat, 19 Apr 1997 04:00:00

> Thanks for the response. I'll try to describe it a little better. The
> game seems to be very smooth until the audio starts playing, it then
> almost stops for a split second and then goes back to smooth. It looks
> like the screen jumps after the brief stop and has to update things to
> their new location. For example, if I was turning right when audio starts
> playing it would stop for a split second and then I would be facing right
> instead of seeing it pan to the right.

Without the benefit of knowing just exactly how they implemented their
sound, a good guess would be that you are suffering from problems
inherent to Win95, rather than DirectSound specifically. The behavior
you specified can also be noticed when using the Win95 native sound
playing routines (not-DirectX - DirectX is a package of which
DirectSound is a subset).

My advice would be to call up Activision and ask 'em if the problem you
have seen is normal for your platform - I've only seen/heard I76 once or
twice, and it was on my friends new P200.

ryan

by **Jim Harm** » Sat, 19 Apr 1997 04:00:00

>What version of DirectX are you using 3.0 or 3.0a?

I'm not sure, how do I check this?

Jim Harmon

by **Doug Bur** » Mon, 21 Apr 1997 04:00:00

> >What version of DirectX are you using 3.0 or 3.0a?

> I'm not sure, how do I check this?

> Jim Harmon

Jim,

Run DXSetup.exe that is on your I-76 CD -- that will tell you what
components are installed and at what rev level.

Also, Activision has posted a patch for I-76 to v1.05 -- when you start
I-76, if it doesn't say v1.05 at the bottom, you should patch.

I'm not sure exactly what the patch fixes though ...

Doug
--
=====
Are you concerned about the high cost of Long Term Care for your
parents, a friend, a family member or yourself? You probably should
be ... the average cost of a 3 year LTC stay is over $150,000 !!
Have you ever considered private Long Term Care Insurance? Visit the

by **Justin Rya** » Wed, 23 Apr 1997 04:00:00

The patch fixes some multiplayer issues

rec.autos.simulators

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)

I76 (DirectX)