INTERESTING QUESTION ABOUT CPR & 3DFX PATCH

We figured TRI wrote CPR in glide and D3D but didn't release the glide version because of M$.Well one thing I find very funny about this "3dfx glide dll" file is that if TRI did code a glide version from the begining,how come it doesn't work with the original version of CPR?How come you have to have the patch installed which came out later for the glide version to work?.And doesn't it seem funny that this glide patch came out after the 101 patch.Very convienent if you ask me.You know just because you see the spinning 3dfx logo before a program doesn't mean that program is coded with the glide API.I just downloaded a program that plays movies,mpegs and avi extentions thru your 3dfx card.Even though the mpegs and AVIs I play are not written in glide,you still see the 3dfx logo before each one plays.How do we know we are really playing a glide version of CPR now?Even though some people claim to see a difference in the glide version,I don't and neither do any of my friends with different setups and systems.I know that it is very easy for me and other experienced users to tell a big difference between glide programs and D3D.If CPR was coded for glide the dll file would work with the original version.I smell a money motived invention scheme here.No wonder this "glide" version has not been made official by TRI or M$.Think about it.

(SNIP) I don't suppose you could give me the link for this program?

You don't get it.The glide patch is nothing more than a dll file, not a full patch.Its a small 54k file that by itself can not do much. Maybe it can bring up the 3dfx logo though.So if the glide code was already in CPR,then it should work without the 101 patch. Doesn't it seem funny that 1st the 101 patch came, then 2nd the glide dll file for it showed up? I don't think TRI would float a file that would***off M$ since they still want to program games for Microsoft in the future.M$ would know TRI floated it.The whole thing stinks if you ask me.

Here's the URL.Version 1.0 is a 16 bit program.1.1 is a 24 bit----------ftp://ftp.op3dfx.com/pub/3dfx_utility/directmovie_plugin/

>You don't get it.The glide patch is nothing more than a dll file, >not a full patch.Its a small 54k file that by itself can not do much. Sure it can, the program can check for it and issue Glide API calls (probably via translation functions in the DLL) instead of D3D. MTM2 works the same way, and it is offical Glide support from TRI. Since this is an updated version of the CPR engine, the Glide CPR support was clearly written by TRI. Nope, not at all. Obviously the Glide "patch" was updated as the game was, and just isn't compatible with the earlier version. Besides, as you pointed out above, it would be virtually IMPOSSIBLE for anyone without the CPR source code (and an extensive understanding of it) to write the Glide patch, and if someone did pull off such a miracle they would be crowing about it from the highest hills. The Glide support was written by TRI, there is no other reasonable explanation. That's why it went out the backdoor. It stank that MS wouldn't let them release it, but I do give MS credit, they learned their lesson and fully support Glide as well as D3D in MTM2. Good for them. Joe

Funny thing is, Microsoft sent me the Glide drivers for both CPR and the MTM2 beta. I guess this is where TRI's leak is, eh? ;) Cheers! Marc > I think that the Glide patch was written, by TRI, after the 1.01 patch and that > Micro$oft didn't want it released, so some (nice) person at TRI kinda floated > it out the back door.... -- (please remove '_*_' when replying) Sim Racing News - http://www.simnews.com The Sim Project - http://www.simproject.com * No animals were harmed in the making of this e-mail *

If thats true why does CPR and MTM2 look the same in D3D mode and Glide. If they used Glide it would "Look" and run much better. D3D looks so ugly, Jedi Knight, CPR, etc... Now look at WCP, NFSSE, Incoming...now thats glide. I think it just says 3DFX. I know a game programmer.. he is an expert... will ask his opinion. let you know what he thinks.

Here's the story on the glide file. There's no secret conspiracies and back door leaks going on. When beta testing of MTM2 began someone copied the glide file that came with it and dropped it in their CPR directory and then had CPR with glide. That simple. It floated around a couple months until some web site made it available. Some people just love to go way out of their way to believe MS is devious. Just this past week there were posts suggesting the MTM2 demo couldn't be run if you had a Netscape browser. Meanwhile 50,000 people (maybe more) have downloaded the demo, probably half of them with Netscape browsers, and are playing it at the Zone which now supports the Netscape browser. In this thread someone wrote the following: This is the interesting part of this glide file story. 6 months ago when CPR was released there was the great glide/D3D debate (mostly D3D bashing). Almost everyone here at r.a.s. who voiced an opinion said things like the above paragraph. Actually, most said it much less politely and used phrases like "D3D sucks!". If you load up the MTM2 demo you'll see that MS has done what the so called experts said couldn't be done. Looking at your monitor you CANNOT tell the difference between the glide and D3D version of MTM2. The tremendous graphics of MTM2 look exactly the same in both versions. How many people here at r.a.s. will yell just as loudly and as often that they were wrong about D3D now? I bet very, very, few. What's strange is "why" they won't. Dave (DmndDave)

>If thats true why does CPR and MTM2 look the same in D3D mode and Glide. >If they used Glide it would "Look" and run much better. No not necessarily, not if they were only using the Glide functions that haev D3D equivalents. In that case (as with CPR and MTM) the Gldie version looks the same but runs noticeably faster. Oh there are definitely more 3Dfx functions available in Glide than D3D, that will make the game look better if used. TRI isn't using them, but at this point I see it as a large step in the right direction for a Microsoft-published game to have Glide support at all. Joe

>BTW: You don't *really* believe that M$ backdoored this patch to us, do you? >If you do, I have some land in Florida.... Onviously "Microsoft" (as a business) didn't, but I could see an individual programmer leaking it (though a beta tester is the more likely source). Even Microsoft programmers are human, despite rumors to the contrary. ;-) Joe

The DLL that people are labeling as a CART DLL is from an early MTM2 beta. In the later MTM2 betas the DLL changed. The 54,784 byte DLL is definitely from MTM2. I just checked the CD. Dave (DmndDave)

> BTW: You don't *really* believe that M$ backdoored this patch to us, do you? > If you do, I have some land in Florida.... Tell ya' what I'm gonna' do, friend...I'll take that land you got in FLA (I hope it's the 'gator_infested_swamp' variety), an' trade ya' fer this piece o' bridge I got here...It comes from this lil' town called Brooklyn... On th' other hand, if it's 'beach_front' type, then fergetit...Got me plenty of that here in CA. -- (please remove '_*_' when replying) Sim Racing News - http://www.simnews.com The Sim Project - http://www.simproject.com * No animals were harmed in the making of this e-mail *

Is MTM2 compatible with Voodoo Rush using glide? Or does it have to use D3D mode? Also if the CPR triglide.dll came from MTM2 and now the MTM2 triglide.dll has changed in size and uses Voodoo Rush, then it might be possible to drop in the new triglide.dll into CPR directory and have Voodoo Rush support? This is probably just wishfully thinking, but maybe? Jeff

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> Here's the story on the glide file. There's no secret conspiracies and back > door leaks going on. When beta testing of MTM2 began someone copied the > glide file that came with it and dropped it in their CPR directory and then > had CPR with glide. That simple. It floated around a couple months until > some web > site made it available. Some people just love to go way out of their way to > believe MS is devious. Just this past week there were posts suggesting the > MTM2 > demo couldn't be run if you had a Netscape browser. Meanwhile 50,000 people > (maybe more) have downloaded the demo, probably half of them with Netscape > browsers, and are > playing it at the Zone which now supports the Netscape browser.

Well David, After DLing the MTM2 demo it told me I needed to install a compatible browser. I installed Com 4.05 and no go. I then installed IE4 and bingo! Maybe it was the result of a previous version of IE4 that I manually deleted since MS make no uninstall program available to clean the IE4 junk out of the registery. Very convenient is it not? I am now to frightened to delete IE4 again out of fear of nothing ever working again! There is no way that I know of to set Com 4.x as the default browser without installing IE4???? I used the instructions on the Netscape page to do this (edit prefs.js without IE4 installed) but no go! This is simply pathetic! My experience with MS since CPR is as follows. 1/ I am forced to DL IE4 to use CPR on the zone - 2 hour DL + install 2/ IE4 takes over W95 in ways I don't appreciate! 3/ Have DLed both CPR demos and installed - 3 hours 4/ Have spent countless hours tryng to get the steering in CPR right - no go. 5/ CPR is an unfinished product in many significant ways till this day so who cares about getting the steering thing sorted! 6/ I DL MTM2 and it wont install as outlined above. 7/ MTM2 is a good bit of fun with good graphics and weather effects but in hindsight was probably not worth the effort since the novelty has worn off after about an hour or 2 of use. It took me about 3 to 4 hours just to get it going! 8/ The one good thing to come of MTM2 is that I finally got around to upgrading from Netscape 3.0 to Com 4.5. Thanks MS :)) I remember being amazed at all the MS bashing when I first joined the net in Dec of 96. Not amazed at all now!