Nascar 4 Performance Problems - plz read on

hello there. I bought the game a while back and I have had massive problems with the speed of it.... I have a AMD K6/2 P350,64mb RAM,Voodoo 3 2000 AGP graphics card and I'm trying to play in 648x480 @ 16bit (as apposed to 32 set in the opengl.ini file in the nascar folder - whenever I load the game the menus have a REALLY slow response time so I click on a menu and have a 3/4 second delay and it just runs very slowly - and when I finally get in the game it runs @ 5-10 fps constantly! and if there is a crash well it runs so slowly it looks like its impersonating a snail - the fps dropped to 2 ! during a wreck - I also noticed in some wrecks cars seem to go into the track and disappear and on some replays the camera moves back to the pits for a few seconds and then goes back to the wreck and some cars seem to go airbone and @ lightning speed go up the track through the fence and disappear and re-appear on the grass below the track... am I the only one experiencing these problems (and no I havent been drinking when trying to play hehe) I dont think its good enough - I know my PC is a bit crap but surely it must be able to play a bit better than it does - I turned ALL the details down! I've tried Direct3D Mode too and I have the same sort of performance level... I have the latest Voodoo 3 Drivers and Please find attatched my dxdiag.txt file which may be of use. Oh yeah for the 3dfx drivers I have there is a little program included where it has a menu system with the + signs that open up options. I was just wondering if someone could tell me what settings were best.... on the menu is Direct3D and OpenGL settings areas Please fill the gaps below so I can set mine like it and see if it makes a difference - thanks guys and sorry for the length of this post... Direct3D --------- 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High? Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother? Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and that is for Best Performance. Z-Buffer Optimization = Enable or Disable? OpenGL/Glide ------------ 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High? Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother? Depth Precision (16 Bit) = Disable,Fast or Faster? Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and that is for Best Performance. Limit Texture Memory = Software Controlled or Limit Texture Memory To 2mb ? Maximum Buffered Frames = 1 Pending Buffer,2 Pending Buffers or 3 Pending Buffers? MIP Map Dithering = Disabled or Enabled? Triple Buffering = Disable or Enable? Vertical Sync = Disable or Enable? Thanks guys! and please e-mail me replies as well as on here so I dont miss them Simcut [email hidden]

I have a similar (maybe marginally more powerful) PC: PII 333, 128MB RAM, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP. I was able to run N4 at 800x600 at around 20fps. I never had any problems with delays in the menus. Have you tried any other racing games - GPL, Nascar 3, Need For Speed, etc.? Those 3 should all run well on your PC, they did on mine. If not then there is something significantly wrong with your setup. I have to tell you though, that even if your PC is running at its max capacity, N4 isn't gonna be very playable. I uninstalled it to wait for an upgrade. People are having frame rate problems on PIII 500's, so you and I are well behind the curve :( "Simon Cutmore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:998joi$7c$[email hidden]... > hello there. > > I bought the game a while back and I have had massive problems with the > speed of it.... I have a AMD K6/2 P350,64mb RAM,Voodoo 3 2000 AGP graphics > card and I'm trying to play in 648x480 @ 16bit (as apposed to 32 set inthe > opengl.ini file in the nascar folder - whenever I load the game the menus > have a REALLY slow response time so I click on a menu and have a 3/4second > delay and it just runs very slowly - and when I finally get in the game it > runs @ 5-10 fps constantly! and if there is a crash well it runs so slowly > it looks like its impersonating a snail - the fps dropped to 2 ! during a > wreck - I also noticed in some wrecks cars seem to go into the track and > disappear and on some replays the camera moves back to the pits for a few > seconds and then goes back to the wreck and some cars seem to go airboneand

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> @ lightning speed go up the track through the fence and disappear and > re-appear on the grass below the track... am I the only one experiencing > these problems (and no I havent been drinking when trying to play hehe) I > dont think its good enough - I know my PC is a bit crap but surely it must > be able to play a bit better than it does - I turned ALL the details down! > I've tried Direct3D Mode too and I have the same sort of performance > level... > > I have the latest Voodoo 3 Drivers and Please find attatched my dxdiag.txt > file which may be of use. > > Oh yeah for the 3dfx drivers I have there is a little program included

where

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> it has a menu system with the + signs that open up options. I was just > wondering if someone could tell me what settings were best.... > > on the menu is Direct3D and OpenGL settings areas > > Please fill the gaps below so I can set mine like it and see if it makes a > difference - thanks guys and sorry for the length of this post... > > Direct3D > --------- > > 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High? > > Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother? > > Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the > lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and > that is for Best Performance. > > Z-Buffer Optimization = Enable or Disable? > > OpenGL/Glide > ------------ > > 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High? > > Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother? > > Depth Precision (16 Bit) = Disable,Fast or Faster? > > Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the > lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and > that is for Best Performance. > > Limit Texture Memory = Software Controlled or Limit Texture Memory To 2mb

?

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> > Maximum Buffered Frames = 1 Pending Buffer,2 Pending Buffers or 3 Pending > Buffers? > > MIP Map Dithering = Disabled or Enabled? > > Triple Buffering = Disable or Enable? > > Vertical Sync = Disable or Enable? > > Thanks guys! and please e-mail me replies as well as on here so I dont

miss

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> them > > Simcut > > [email hidden] > >

Several items come to mind....first READ the README! it explains that opengl is SLOWER with 3dfx cards like your V3. I think if you compare, D3d will outperform opengl.. So use D3d first. 2nd..32 bit is out...make sure your desktop is also set to 16 bit...with a V3 it already should be...just checking. next...CPU is the driving force with GPL and N4. You are barely making the grade anymore...time to save for an upgrade...(sorry can't sugar coat that one) 64mb of memory will run it...but it will work marginally better with 128 or 256...but memory alone won't speed up your system much as long as the K6 is in there. Next use a program called enditall to turn off all the background programs windows may be using. now in the game...CUT the # of cars in the race down by at least half. Limit the viewable cars to 10 or 12. Limit viewing distance to just past your bonnet(sorry kidding) to as short a distance as you can use..turn off EVERY fancy graphic you'll most likely end up driving a road floating in space... If you are using the new drivers that were built for the V4/5 cards, you might have an option in both Opengl and D3d for a Level of Detail (lod) slider...move that to the faster side, as far to the right as you can stand(the car's decals will get VERY fuzzy) "Simon Cutmore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:998joi$7c$[email hidden]... > hello there. > > I bought the game a while back and I have had massive problems with the > speed of it.... I have a AMD K6/2 P350,64mb RAM,Voodoo 3 2000 AGP graphics > card and I'm trying to play in 648x480 @ 16bit (as apposed to 32 set inthe > opengl.ini file in the nascar folder - whenever I load the game the menus > have a REALLY slow response time so I click on a menu and have a 3/4second > delay and it just runs very slowly - and when I finally get in the game it > runs @ 5-10 fps constantly! and if there is a crash well it runs so slowly > it looks like its impersonating a snail - the fps dropped to 2 ! during a > wreck - I also noticed in some wrecks cars seem to go into the track and > disappear and on some replays the camera moves back to the pits for a few > seconds and then goes back to the wreck and some cars seem to go airboneand > @ lightning speed go up the track through the fence and disappear and > re-appear on the grass below the track... am I the only one experiencing > these problems (and no I havent been drinking when trying to play hehe) That sounds like your cpu collasping under the strain of N4's code...plus memory limitations discussed above. I

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> dont think its good enough - I know my PC is a bit crap but surely it must > be able to play a bit better than it does - I turned ALL the details down! > I've tried Direct3D Mode too and I have the same sort of performance > level... > > I have the latest Voodoo 3 Drivers and Please find attatched my dxdiag.txt > file which may be of use. > > Oh yeah for the 3dfx drivers I have there is a little program included

where

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> it has a menu system with the + signs that open up options. I was just > wondering if someone could tell me what settings were best.... > > on the menu is Direct3D and OpenGL settings areas > > Please fill the gaps below so I can set mine like it and see if it makes a > difference - thanks guys and sorry for the length of this post... > > Direct3D

There is a good tweek guide for the settings at slottweek.com(spelling?) it will explain most of these settings. > --------- > > 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High?normal or high won't change much0 > > Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother?sharper > > Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the > lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and > that is for Best Performance. move that sucker to the far right > > Z-Buffer Optimization = Enable or Disable?this is a software hack for Transform and Lighting. (T&L) which N4 can take advantage of..however the 3dfx cards produce a ton of corupted graphics using the T&L settings...but it does improve framerate some. Enable but regular d3d or gl settings most likely won't benefit from it's use. > > OpenGL/Glide > ------------ > > 3D Filter Quality = Automatic,Normal or High?high > > Alpha Blending = Automatic,Sharper or Smoother?sharper > > Depth Precision (16 Bit) = Disable,Fast or Faster?don't know but try faster... > > Level of Detail Bias = there is a horizontal slider that u can move the > lowest number is -2 and that is for Sharper Image the highest is 2.00 and > that is for Best Performance.move it +2 > > Limit Texture Memory = Software Controlled or Limit Texture Memory To 2mb? software > > Maximum Buffered Frames = 1 Pending Buffer,2 Pending Buffers or 3 Pending > Buffers? > > MIP Map Dithering = Disabled or Enabled?disabled I think > > Triple Buffering = Disable or Enable?disabled > > Vertical Sync = Disable or Enable?disabled > > Thanks guys! and please e-mail me replies as well as on here so I dontmiss > them the 3dfx hub that comes with these drivers also has an option for overclocking.. don't try it if you are unsure but you possibly could coax your V3 up 5 to 10 mhz and see a tiny improvement...any faster is dangerous to your card with out mega cooling added. good luck dave henrie > > Simcut > > [email hidden] > >

I agree with most of these suggestions. I've got a similar system [1]. Direct3D works fine. You want to turn down most of the detail. However, I can't imagine playing the game with track-side objects at minimum. As Dave says, it's literally a road floating in space. The desktop resolution is not relevant. The Voodoo3 does 32-bit in 2D, and it has no effect on N4. Honestly, you just have to experiment. Here's how I test frame rate. Start a single race and sit on the track until you get hit from behind. Check the minimum frame rate at the start, as the cars roll away, when the green flag drops, when you can't see any cars, and when you get hit, but don't worry too much about the slide show when the whole field wrecks. Try to get up to 20 FPS or so when everything is moving. _____ 1. K6-3+ 450, V3 3000 (1.07 drivers, DX 8a), 128 MB, Vortex 2. Overclocking to 550 only buys a couple FPS. I haven't tried overclocking the video card. "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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> Several items come to mind....first READ the README! >it explains that opengl is SLOWER with 3dfx cards like your >V3. I think if you compare, D3d will outperform >opengl.. So use D3d first. 2nd..32 bit is out...make sure your >desktop is also set to 16 bit...with a V3 it already should >be...just checking. >next...CPU is the driving force with GPL and N4. You >are barely making the grade anymore...time to save >for an upgrade...(sorry can't sugar coat that one) >64mb of memory will run it...but it will work marginally >better with 128 or 256...but memory alone won't >speed up your system much as long as the K6 is in there. >Next use a program called enditall to turn off all the background >programs windows may be using. > now in the game...CUT the # of cars in the race down by >at least half. Limit the viewable cars to 10 or 12. Limit viewing >distance to just past your bonnet(sorry kidding) to as short a >distance as you can use..turn off EVERY fancy graphic >you'll most likely end up driving a road floating in space... > >"Simon Cutmore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:998joi$7c$[email hidden]... >> hello there. >> >> I bought the game a while back and I have had massive problems with the >> speed of it.... I have a AMD K6/2 P350,64mb RAM,Voodoo 3 2000 AGP graphics >> card and I'm trying to play in 648x480 @ 16bit (as apposed to 32 set in >the >> opengl.ini file in the nascar folder - whenever I load the game the menus >> have a REALLY slow response time so I click on a menu and have a 3/4 >second >> delay and it just runs very slowly - and when I finally get in the game it >> runs @ 5-10 fps constantly! and if there is a crash well it runs so slowly >> it looks like its impersonating a snail - the fps dropped to 2 !

[...] >> dont think its good enough - I know my PC is a bit crap but surely it must >> be able to play a bit better than it does - I turned ALL the details down! >> I've tried Direct3D Mode too and I have the same sort of performance >> level...-- Jon Willeke <j dot willeke at verizon dot net>

thanks for the suggestions..... looks like I'm going to have to fork out well over �200 to get my PC in working order for this game and yes I tried the game with ALL details down and it still ran like crap