3dfx Voodoo (Graphics)

discussed in 7,584 posts, 1995-2006 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Key threads

• Delay of the NASCAR Racing 2 3Dfx patch 1998-01-20 · 172 posts
  A poster asked why Papyrus's promised 3Dfx patch for NASCAR Racing 2 was taking so long. Joe McGinn quoted a December Papyrus email promising a release date, and others said 3Dfx had done the port with Sierra holding it back. The thread grew into a 172-post argument about Papyrus's communication, Rendition versus 3Dfx and patch quality.
• The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war 1998-01-18 · 110 posts
  A link to The Pits' top-rated CART Precision Racing review led to criticism of its recommendation of the Stealth II over 3Dfx. The thread became a long, heated argument between Greg Cisko and Randy Magruder over 3Dfx versus Riva 128 and Direct3D, including Longbow 2 support and Riva's market share. Joe McGinn and others backed 3Dfx while some Riva owners reported problems.
• Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents 1997-12-08 · 105 posts
  Dean of Microsoft's CART Team listed the CART Precision Racing patch fixes: improved AI, 25-50% frame rate gains for all users, controller null zone, pit lane auto-pilot, gamma controls, larger steering ratio and better default setups, and said a new demo would follow. He explained that a native Glide version had been benchmarked but gave little benefit, sparking a long Direct3D-versus-Glide argument with 3Dfx owners. Later posts became a Voodoo versus Riva 128 hardware debate.
• Stealth II or Pure3D as stopgap before Voodoo2 1998-01-08 · 60 posts
  A buyer asked which card to get while waiting for Voodoo2. Voodoo supporters stressed its broad Glide game support, while others defended the Rendition Verite 2100-based Stealth II as cheap and capable, including native OpenGL for Quake II. An argument broke out over whether NHL 98 was a Glide-only or Direct3D game.
• Fantasy tracks posted; Sokoloff explains no 3Dfx NASCAR 2 1997-08-18 · 76 posts
  The Pits posted Papyrus-approved updated versions of the fantasy tracks, adding 4-bit MIPs for 16 MB Rendition systems. The thread turned to why NASCAR 2 had no 3Dfx version: former Papyrus programmer Jim Sokoloff estimated a port at about $150,000 and said it was not profitable to do in-house or contract out. He also revealed that the Rendition engine came from ICR2 and that anti-aliasing had been removed to meet the box's system requirements, and confirmed that he had left Papyrus to pursue other interests.
• Riva 128 versus Voodoo for sim racing 1998-01-22 · 56 posts
  David Green posted a comparison chart of the Riva 128 and 3Dfx Voodoo. Others cited reviews from Boot and Tom's Hardware criticising Riva image quality, while Randy Magruder argued those sources had factual errors and that drivers were improving. The debate became personal, with Nosferatu calling names and benchmarks being traded.
• Delayed 3Dfx patch for SODA Off-Road Racing 1997-11-18 · 47 posts
  Users asked about the 3Dfx patch for SODA Off-Road Racing promised before release. Papyrus said by e-mail it was still in the decision-making stage, and producer Steven Travers had reportedly said early 1998. Some refused to buy until it arrived, while John Wallace argued that SODA was fun and ran acceptably without acceleration, leading to a long frame-rate argument.
• Eric Busch's hands-on report of Grand Prix Legends 1997-11-22 · 75 posts
  After visiting Papyrus, Eric Busch reported that Grand Prix Legends was amazing and ground-breaking, ran smoothly in Rendition mode on a P200, and had far better graphics than NASCAR 2. He criticised CART Precision Racing in comparison, sparking accusations of bias. The thread also argued over whether 3Dfx or Papyrus was producing the NASCAR 2 Glide patch, and noted that Papyrus would sponsor a Toyota Atlantic car.
• CPR frame rates spark 3Dfx vs Direct3D argument 1997-11-03 · 40 posts
  Complaints about CPR's frame rate turned into a long debate over whether 3Dfx's Glide was becoming the de facto 3D standard and whether Rendition and Riva cards had caught up under Direct3D. John Browne of the CART team said Rendition had a known driver bug and that video drivers were the manufacturers' responsibility. Posters also argued about how many frames per second the eye can see.
• GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers 1998-10-12 · 125 posts
  A question about running GPL on an nVidia TNT card started a long argument over Papyrus supporting only 3dfx Glide and Rendition rather than Direct3D or OpenGL. Critics called it a business mistake and complained the box misstated requirements, while defenders said buyers should choose hardware for their software and that D3D was poor during development. The debate ended when Papyrus posted beta OpenGL drivers for GPL, and Eric Busch of Papyrus said the patch had been in the works and they would look at Permedia2 issues.
• PowerVR or 3Dfx card for racing games? 1997-11-05 · 30 posts
  A user asked whether to buy a Matrox m3D (PowerVR) or a 3Dfx card. Most recommended 3Dfx because new racing sims supported Glide, while Randy Magruder and Eric Busch argued that Rendition V2x00 and Riva 128 cards matched it under Direct3D. The thread became a heated argument over benchmarks and standards.
• Disappointment with the NASCAR 2 3Dfx patch 1998-03-18 · 36 posts
  Greg Cisko said the newly released NASCAR Racing 2 3Dfx patch looked blurry and ran slower than software mode in the cockpit view. Others defended the free patch, noting N2 was designed for Rendition, while some Voodoo2 owners reported clear improvements. Batch file settings for Glide were shared.
• Leaked Glide DLL for CART Precision Racing 1998-03-31 · 41 posts
  Operation 3Dfx posted a DLL that enabled a Glide mode in CART Precision Racing, apparently removed from the release. Users reported better frame rates, and Joe McGinn said Glide was faster though it used only D3D-equivalent features. Beta tester David Fisher said the site had no right to post it, while others accused Microsoft of withholding Glide for political reasons.
• Choosing a 3D card for F1RS 1998-02-24 · 26 posts
  A buyer asked whether a cheap Virge card would do for F1 Racing Simulation, and most said to get a 3Dfx Voodoo. Randy Magruder detailed differences between the Direct3D and Glide versions after patch 1.07. The thread covered accelerator sensitivity settings and Glide gamma at high refresh rates.
• Glide vs OpenGL vs Direct3D for CART Precision Racing 1997-11-25 · 27 posts
  A Diamond Viper 330 owner asked whether OpenGL drivers would let him run a 'Glide' version of CPR. Replies explained that Glide is 3Dfx-only while Direct3D and OpenGL are general APIs. Dean of the CART team said CPR already accelerated his card through Direct3D, and the thread became a debate over whether native Glide support or standard APIs should be preferred.

Busiest threads

• Delay of the NASCAR Racing 2 3Dfx patch (70 posts about it)
• The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war (64 posts about it)
• Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents (56 posts about it)
• Stealth II or Pure3D as stopgap before Voodoo2 (37 posts about it)
• Fantasy tracks posted; Sokoloff explains no 3Dfx NASCAR 2 (31 posts about it)
• Riva 128 versus Voodoo for sim racing (25 posts about it)
• Delayed 3Dfx patch for SODA Off-Road Racing (23 posts about it)
• Eric Busch's hands-on report of Grand Prix Legends (23 posts about it)
• CPR frame rates spark 3Dfx vs Direct3D argument (21 posts about it)
• GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers (21 posts about it)
• PowerVR or 3Dfx card for racing games? (20 posts about it)
• Disappointment with the NASCAR 2 3Dfx patch (20 posts about it)
• Leaked Glide DLL for CART Precision Racing (20 posts about it)
• Choosing a 3D card for F1RS (19 posts about it)
• Glide vs OpenGL vs Direct3D for CART Precision Racing (18 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed it was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

Greg Cisko · 213 Eric Busch · 190 Joe McGinn · 181 Dave Henrie · 106 John Wallace · 105 Doug Bur · 72 Randy Magruder · 58 Ronald Stoehr · 56 Steve · 54 ymenard · 53 Michael E. Carver · 52 Nathan Wong · 48 David Masten · 47 Tony Gaylord · 46 Mark Davison · 44 Nosfera · 43 papa.. · 42 P Gagg · 41 Don Burnette · 36 Richard Walker · 35

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