A few simple things to check if you are having frame
rate problems, particularly if you have a "fast"
system, such as 486,Pentium etc.
These are suggestions that I use and my performance
is very satisfactory (to me).
1) WIN95 (or 3.X) - NOT!
=====
If you are using Win95, GET OUT OF IT to run the
simulation. I don't have Win95 (anymore), so I
can't tell you how, but you MUST do it to get
decent frame rates.
2) UNIVBE driver
=============
On my system, the UniVBE driver that comes with
the demo makes a BIG difference. Maybe it will
for you too. If it doesn't work for you, I don't
know what to tell you except to contact Papyrus.
3) BIOS
====
a) Be SURE your cache(s) are enabled in your system BIOS.
This sounds crazy. Why would they not be enabled? The last
5 systems I checked (3 new Pentiums at CompUSA (HP and DEC)
and 2 486 NoNames) did not have this enabled. Cold boot your
system and hit the DEL key or whatever your system uses,
to get into the BIOS settings. Under Chip Settings (or
something) enable your internal and external caches
if you have the options for them. This is a MAJOR
performance hit if they are not enabled.
4) AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS
=======================
a) NO memory managers. That means EMM386/QEMM etc. etc.
My autoexec.bat and config.sys look like this. If you have
additional lines in yours, ASK YOUSELF WHY... !!
You will want to create a separate bootdisk since there
is no SmartDrive etc. in these.
autoexec.bat
------------
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E
PATH C:\DOS;C:\GAMES\ICR2
config.sys
----------
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /testmem:off
BUFFERS=20,0
FILES=40
DOS=UMB
Lastdrive=Z
FCBS=16,0
DOS=HIGH
STACKS=9,256
---------------------------------------------
I use a SoundBlaster16 and don't need the normal
SB16 stuff in the autoexec.bat/config.sys. ICR2
works fine without them.
---------------------------------------------
5) VIDEO CARD
==========
I am not a technical wizard, but I would say that if your
video card is not a VLB or PCI then you will have BIG problems
getting any performance out of ICR2 (or anything else).
I won't comment further, except to say that a decent video
card costs money. The really good ones are not usually
provided in lower priced, prebuilt systems. You may have
to purchase a good one to replace the cheapo you have.
Currently, cards with an S3 chip are some of the best. Any
other recommendations? I use a Spider Tarantula 64 Bit card
with 4MB of VRAM. It is a good, fast card. Costs around $300.
There are many others that would work just as well for a lower
cost. ICR2 will not use more than 1MB of Video memory, so
increasing the memory will not help. The speed of the card,
NOT the amount of memory is the most important thing.
Check the hardware groups for recommendations. Also, you
may want to ask Papyrus how your card will run with ICR2.
6) README.TXT
==========
And finally, the readme.txt instructions from Papyrus:
To improve frame rate:
1. Run in VGA mode.
2. Reduce the number of opponents you race against in the
OPTIONS/OPPONENTS menu.
3. Reduce the number of opponents seen and heard in the OPTIONS/OPPONENTS
menu.
4. Turn off graphics options in the OPTIONS/GRAPHICS menu.
5. Start the game by typing INDYCAR -F <enter> to use FM sound.
6. Make sure your TURBO button is on (if your computer has one.)
------------------------------------------------
That's all. Maybe some of this will help.
Good Racin'
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