A: Make sure none of the pins on the connectors for the monitor and the jumper between the 3D card and the 2D card are bent. If they are, carefully straighten them out with a small pair of needle-nosed pliers or tweezers. Be very careful not to break the pins off while doing this. When connecting the cable afterwards, take extra care to make sure all the pins go in straight.
If the colors look right but the image looks washed out or very dark then you probably just need to adjust the gamma. In Quake 2, setting the gamma too high will corrupt the palette making the colors look wierd and pixelized. Click here for instructions on how to set the gamma...
A: First, make sure you have your monitor plugged into the Voodoo 3D card and that the jumper is connected between the 3D card and the 2D card. Make sure none of the pins on the connectors for the monitor and the jumper between the 3D card and the 2D card are bent. If they are, carefully straighten them out with a small pair of needle-nosed pliers or tweezers. Be very careful not to break the pins off while doing this. When connecting the cable afterwards, take extra care to make sure all the pins go in straight.
If the monitor is shutting down when you start a 3D game (going into power saver mode), it's possible that you have the refresh for the 3D resolution you're trying to use set too high. Most modern monitors will turn themselves off if the refresh is set too high to protect themselves from damage. Go to the display settings for your 3D card and set the refresh for all resolutions to 60 or 70 Hz - any monitor should work just fine at these frequencies.
If you're using two Voodoo2 cards in SLI mode, then it's very likely that you have the monitor and monitor jumper plugged into the wrong card. Try moving them to the other card. In SLI one card is the slave and the other is the master. The monitor and monitor jumper to the video card ONLY get connected to the master V2 - nothing gets connected to the other (you DO NOT use both monitor jumpers to loop through both cards!).
There is also bug that causes this problem on some systems with a Voodoo1 card. What happens is that sometimes the 3Dfx card gets confused and either thinks it's supposed to switch the monitor to itself when it's not supposed to, or vice-a-versa. The fix is the same for both of these problems. You can download the fix here...
Make sure to read the included readme file. Unzip the files into a folder called c:\dos\fix and type the path to the file "fsdos.bat" (once you've customized it for your system) next to the "Batch file:" entry in the shortcut for all your DOS and 3Dfx games.
A: There is apparently a new set of drivers and support files required to run GLQuake on the Apocalypse. You can find the files at Videologic's web site drivers page by clicking here...
A: In DOS and WinQuake, you could use the console command FOV 91 to make the weapon you're carrying invisible. Some people preferred this because it gives you more visibility.
In GLQuake, there is an equivalent command. Type this in at the Quake console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while quake is running):
r_drawviewmodel 0
This toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+r_drawviewmodel 0
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe +gl_flashblend 0 +gl_playermip 2 +r_drawviewmodel 0
A: You have an old version of FXMEMMAP.VXD
The only copy of FXMEMMAP.VXD you have should be in your \windows\system folder. Delete any other copies. As far as I know, unless you're running NT, there should be not copies of this file in your Quake or Quake2 folders.
If you continue to get the error, delete FXMEMMAP.VXD from your \windows\system folder and re-install the very latest driver for you 3Dfx card. NOTE: Your manufacturer's driver may not be the latest one - check the 3Dfx web site and see if the reference drivers are newer.
NOTE: Early versions of the Voodoo1 drivers did not include the Glide driver (and Glide contains the FXMEMMAP.VXD file). You should download the latest 3Dfx Voodoo1 reference driver which does contain Glide.
OR
A: gl_polyblend a variable that controls weather you see the haze when you're underwater (also carrying the Quad Damage or Pentagram in Quake1), and the screen flash when you pickup items or take damage. This gives you much better overall and, as a bonus, improves your frame rate slightly. Setting this to 1 (default) enables the haze and flashes, while 0 disables them.
Type this in at the Quake console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while quake is running):
set gl_polyblend 0
This toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll have to add this line to your AUTOEXEC.CFG file.
A: This is a well documented problem often referred to as POD (Ping of Death). US Robotics doesn't talk about it much but USR modems that use X2 compression don't like QuakeWorld or Q2 very much. The same problem can occur even if you don't have a USR X2 modem, but your ISP supports X2 modems - the ISP's X2 modems at the local server are the cause of the problem in that case. Even more perplexing is the fact that this happens even when connected at speeds below 33.6K! This affects both regular QuakeWorld and GLQuakeWorld, but the problem seems much worse when playing on the latter.
Not all Internet providers that support USR X2 modems have this problem (ISP's are aware of the problem and there's a few things they can do to keep their Quake playing customers happy, if they care to). The problem can also come and go, which makes it even more mysterious and aggravating. Indications that you have an X2 problem are that you'll receive a lot of U_REMOVE errors during the game, along with wild ping variations of 1000 ms or more. Pings shouldn't fluctuate by more that 50 - 100ms or so during a game, with a rare occasional spike, but the POD bug causes major jumps in pings continously during the game. PLEASE NOTE: A bad phone line or poor network connection can also cause the same problems, so you'll have to see if the problem persists over a long time. If it only happens once in a blue moon, don't worry, just reconnect when it happens. If it happens just about every time you play, you likely have a POD problem.
Needless to say, if you're shopping for a new modem, I don't presently recommend you purchase a USR X2 56K modem if you want to play Quake. 56K Flex modems, and the new V.90 56K modems work fine with Quake. Remember, though, that even if you don't have an X2 modem, you'll likely still have problems if your ISP is using X2 modems.
If the X2 modem is on the provider's end, the first thing you should do is complain to your Internet Provider's customer support department. If enough Quakers bitch, they'll address the problem. Tell them you suspect that you're having a problem with their X2 modems. It is well documented that X2 modems can interfere with QuakeWorld's Delta compression. Find out if they have a secondary dial-in number that doesn't support X2 modems and try that out. There are some fixes that your ISP can perform to improve the situation.
If all else has fails, you might be better off shopping for a new ISP. Most ISP's don't charge for the initial setup and give you the first month for free. Sign up for a couple of different ones and try them out - you can always cancel them later. As a general rule, you'll get better performance for Quake netplay on a locally based provider than with a national company. Some of the smaller local companies over-sell their bandwidth, though, and this will show up as high pings, particularly during heavy traffic hours.
If the problem is on your end, before you go and toss your X2 modem in the trash, there are some things you can try that may help:
If your providor supports v.90 I'm told that you can disable X2 to force v.90 - here's a bunch of modem strings I got from the Quake X2 Workshop. If you still have problems, try disabling both X2 and v.90:
SPORTSTER:
Disable X2> S32=34
Disable V.90> S32=66
Disable X2&V.90>S32=98COURIER:
Disable X2>S58.0=1
Disable V.90> S58.5=1
Disable X2&V.90
S58.5=1S58.0=1
Enable V.90>S58.5=0
If you own a 56K, or an ISDN modem and you're running Win95, you should configure it to be COM1. I've been told there's a bug in early versions of Win95 that will prevent the other COM ports from communicating with a high speed modem at it's maximum speed.
Some people can get reasonably good gameplay using an X2 modem or ISP by doing the following:
Double-click on "My Computer" and then double-click on the "Dial-up Networking" icon. Right click on the Dialup icon for the Internet connection you use and select "Properties". Click on the "General" tab and click on the "Configure..." button in the bottom area next to the name of your modem. Click on the "Connection" tab, then click on the button labeled "Advanced". Check the following:
Make certain that "Use error control" does not have a checkmark next to it.
Make sure that "Use flow control" has a checkmark next to it and that "Hardware (RTS/CTS)" is selected.
Click "Ok" twice until you're back to the "General" tab of your Dial-up connection properties and click on the "Server Types" tab. Check the following:
Make certain that "Enable software compression" does not have a checkmark next to it.
Make certain, while you're here, that the only thing with a checkmark under "Allowed network protocols" is "TCP/IP"
This should give you reasonable pings in the 200's, hopefully with little fluctuation.
Another thing you can try is to reduce the framerate cap by placing this line in your autoexec.cfg file:
cl_maxfps 25
In Half-Life, this variable is called fps_modem and does the same thing.
This should normally be set between 31 and 45 for non-X2 modem users. (For more details on setting the fps cap properly, go here...)
The X2 Quake Workshop is a web site that is dedicated to a helping you solve USR X2 related problems. There's a lot more useful information there.
A: You're running an older version of the QuakeWorld Client. Download the latest version at QuakeWorld Central's Download Page.
A: This error can happen for one of several reasons:
A: Type this line at the Quake console (press the apostrophe ' key to bring down the console while quake is running):
_snd_mixahead 0.14
This should make the change permanent.
A: Add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file using Windows Notepad (the file is located in your C:\ root folder):
SET FX_GLIDE_NO_SPLASH=1
Then reboot the computer to allow the new setting to take effect. This will disable the 3Dfx logo.
A: By default, GLQuake has dynamic lighting disabled. Instead, objects that emit light, like rockets, are surrounded by an orange ball. This is a hardware lighting effect that renders much faster than normal dynamic lighting, but doesn't look as good. This doesn't look quite so bad when playing Quake solo, but it's damn annoying in deathmatch play, especially in Capture the Flag or Team Fortress. When players are carrying the flag, or repeatedly firing, they're surrounded by an orange ball that's hard to see through as well, instead of just lighting up the area around them as in regular Quake. Fortunately there's a way to enable the normal dynamic lighting effects (also known as real light). Type this in at the Quake console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while quake is running):
gl_flashblend 0
This restores the normal diffuse white glow for the lighting effects. It may cost you a couple of fps off your frame rate, but it looks much better. This toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+gl_flashblend 0
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0
OR
A: There's a lot of things that can cause this. It may or may not be related entirely or partially to your Internet connection. Some 3D bottleneck problems will also appear as a low or fluctuating ping. You should click here for information on how to check your Internet connection before going any farther, unless you're certain your Internet connection is good.
Make sure it's not your phone line or another device connected to the phone causing the problem. Pickup a phone on the same line and dial one number just to get rid of the dial tone. Listen for any noise. If you hear any crackling or static, this will cause problems with your connection. Have the phone company check it out.
Some devices, like certain computerized fax machines and caller ID boxes can also cause problems with you Internet connection. All these devices should be connected AFTER the modem so that when the computer is using the line, the other devices are taken off the line. Be aware some modems don't have a relay in them to disable the line when it's using it - these modems will not have the two phone jacks on the back labeled since the phone and line can be plugged into either of them. To eliminate the possibility of another device causing the problem, disconnect all other devices from the phone line temporarily so the modem is the only thing connected, and then see if the problem has cleared up.
If you're using a US Robotics modem equipped with X2 56K compression, or you're using an Internet Service Provider that is X2 compatible (even if you don't have an X2 modem), your lag is very likely due to the X2 modem (this is only a problem with USR X2 56K, not with other 56K standards) - either on your end or the ISP's. Click here for information on how to get around this problem...
A couple of things you should check is the server and modem compression settings for your Internet dialer. Open "My Computer" and double-click on "Dial-Up Networking". Right-click on the icon for the Internet connection you're using and select the "Server" tab. Under Advanced options, you may have a checkmark next to "Enable software compression". Usually you want server compression off - both QuakeWorld and Q2 generally work better with this off than on in my experience.
Now, click on the "General" tab and click on the "Configure" button at the lower right inside the "Connect Using" box. Select the "Connection" tab and click on the "Advanced" button. In most cases you want to have "Use error control enabled". You should also enable "Required to connect" as this will attempt to connect at a reliable speed only, if your modem supports this. You may be able to connect at 33.6 Kbaud, for instance, but you might be getting disconnected all the time because the phone line conditions can't support it. With this enabled, the modem will try to connect at a reliable speed only. The other setting to look at is "Compress data". On some ISPs, you'll get better pings in QuakeWorld and Q2 with this enabled, on others you may find that having modem compression enabled gives you a lot of lost data packet errors (the phone jack icon comes on a lot). You'll have to experiment to figure out what works best for you.
There's an excellent site
with very detailed information on how to setup the Win95 Dialer,
network and modem settings for the best connection to QuakeWorld
and Quake2 servers. It's called Crime's How to Get Good
Pings, and I highly
recommend it. If you follow Crime's instructions, particularly in
regards to the modem initialization string settings, you should
be pleasantly suprised with the results - I was. NOTE: Make
sure you document your current settings first so that if you're
not happy with the new setups, you can change things back easily.
All the following suggestions assume that you do indeed have a good Internet connection. Your Internet connection quality can change day-to-day and even during certain peak hours of the day. You should use standard SVGA Quake to log onto the same server(s) you're having trouble with to verify that the problem is indeed localized to the game and not your connection - if you have the same problems using running the game in 2D, then the problem is likely with your connection. If the problems only occur when running in 3D, then it's almost certainly a 3D setup problem. By-the-way, if you're playing over the Internet using regular Quake or GLQuake and not GLQuakeWorld, then you're wasting your time - it's WAY too laggy. You should be playing using QuakeWorld. Quake 2 incorporates most of QuakeWorld's player prediction and compression schemes, and plays over the Internet very well right out of the box, although full QuakeWorld support for Q2 is promised down the road sometime.
First off, if you're using GameSpy, make sure that Player Prediction is enabled. Pull down the "View" menu, click on "Options..." and select the "Network" tab. Make sure there is a check mark next to CL_PREDICT_PLAYERS.
While you're in there, make sure there's no checkmark next to CL_NODELTA, that RATE is set to around 2500 and PUSHLATENCY is set for -50. If you're playing on the Internet with a 28.8 on up to a 52K modem, these settings are ideal.
Cap your framerate at 30 fps. This is important for anyone playing multiplayer. No animations in Q2 run faster than 30 fps, but if your framerate isn't capped your client will request data updates at a higher framerate. This will flood the client and cause you lag. You should add the following line to all copies of AUTOEXEC.CFG:
cl_maxfps 31
Click here for an explanation of cl_maxfps and rate and how to set them properly...
Set your rate properly. Both QuakeWorld and Quake 2 have a RATE variable that needs to be set properly for Internet play. You should add the following line to all copies of AUTOEXEC.CFG:
rate 2500
In general rate should be set to 10% of the value of your average conection speed. For instance, if your average connection is at 28,000 baud then set rate to 2800. If you're lucky enough to get a 44,000 baud connection most of the time, set rate to 4400.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU SET RATE HIGHER THAN 5000! Even if you have a T1 or are playing on a LAN, setting the rate higher than 5000 will flood your client and cause you lag.
Click here for an explanation of cl_maxfps and rate and how to set them properly...
Another thing is to make sure you're not running anything else while the game is running - it needs all of your system's resources. Other than GameSpy, nothing else should be running, no matter how small you think the app is, or how much memory you have. Make especially certain that you don't have any programs installed that leave utilities running in the background. That includes, but is not limited to: Norton Utilities or other system utilities, anti-virus software, After Dark, Adobe Type Font's (TrueType fonts should be all you need!), memory doublers or managers (none of these things are needed by Win95, it's all a crock), e-mail notifiers (it'll major lag-out your game if an e-mail notifier queries your mailbox while playing!). Remember that those pretty 24-bit color photo-mural wallpapers can be 2 Mb or bigger! Unless you have more than 48 Mb or so, I'd lose the wallpaper as well - or use something simple that tiles. Personally, I don't like wallpaper - it slows down your Windows desktop considerably. Basically, you should have as clean and basic a system as possible for the best performance.
If you have Internet Explorer 4.0 or Win98 installed, disable all the desktop enhancements including the active desktop. This is not only a performance hog, but some people have had problems with it causing Quake 2 to crash.
If you're launching QuakeWorld from the QW browser plug-in, I'd recommend you switch to GameSpy because it uses less memory, or else close the browser after you launch QuakeWorld. Netscape and MSIE both use huge amounts of memory and resources - they're real hogs.
If you have only 16 Mb installed in your system, you shouldn't even leave GameSpy running (and frankly, you really don't have enough memory to run GLQuake or Quake 2 properly anyway). There's a setting in GameSpy that will close it automatically when you launch a game. In GameSpy, click on the "View" menu and select "Options". Under the "General" tab place a check mark in the box next to the label "Terminate GameSpy When Launching Quake". You should definitely consider buying more memory, though. The minimum you should have in your system is 32 Mb, but with prices the way they are, there's hardly any reason not to go for more. For serious netplayers, 64 Mb is the minimum for good performance.
You should
make sure the maximum available memory is assigned to Quake (this only applies to Quake
or Quakeworld - Q2 does this automatically). If you have 24 Mb or better you should add
this to the end of your QuakeWorld command line:
-heapsize 20000
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glqwcl.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0 -heapsize 20000
If you have 32 Mb or more, make the heap 28000. This allocates 28 Mb of memory to Quake for heap space. Basically, the more the better. The number corresponds to thousands of bytes and you can set it for up to 4 Mb shy of your total memory (36000 if you have 40 Mb, etc). Please note that tests have shown that settings above 32000 don't seem to improve performance.
You can also try running the game in 512x384 resolution as opposed to 640x480 (this only applies to Voodoo1 cards - Voodoo2 cards can run at up to 800x600 with little or no performance penalty).
-width 512 -height 384 -window +_windowed_mouse 1
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glqwcl.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0 -heapsize 20000 -width 512 -height 384 -window +_windowed_mouse 1 -zone 512
This will run GLQuakeWorld in 512 x 384 resolution, which usually gives you an extra 5-6 fps, and looks just as good as 640 x 480. I play in 512 x 384, and I love it.
You should
reduce the size of skin textures if using a Voodoo1 3D card with
only 2Mb of texture memory, such as the Monster 3D (this only applies to
Voodoo1 cards, Voodoo2 cards don't have this problem). You should add the following line to
AUTOEXEC.CFG:
gl_playermip 3
or else add it to the end of the GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+gl_playermip 3
For instance, your QuakeWorld command line might look like this:
glqwcl.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0 -heapsize 20000 +gl_playermip 3
This setting also works in GLQuake, but is unnecessary when playing a solo game. This setting should never be set below 2 when playing a net game. 3Dfx and Id both recommend a setting of 2, but I've found that if you're a serious netgame player, the performance is much better with a setting of 3.
Type this line at the Quake console if your sound seems to be laggy or choppy (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while quake is running):
_snd_mixahead 0.14
Typing this into the console will permanently apply the setting.
You can
optimize the settings for the 3Dfx chip to improve the framerate
of the Voodoo 3D card (this only applies to Quake or Quakeworld,
Q2 incorporates most performance settings by default). Netplay with GLQuake is much more
sensitive to framerate than regular Quake. While you can get by
with a framerate of less than 20 fps in regular Quake, anything
less that 30 fps in GLQuake will cause major lag. The better the
framerate the better the netplay. You can gain 5 - 10 frames per
second, or more, by optimizing the 3Dfx's chipset settings. Click here for my recommended performance settings.
You should
also consider replacing your missile and grenade models as this
will prevent lag during large rocket battles (this only applies to Quake
or Quakeworld). You won't
believe how this will improve Internet games. Click here for
more information on this...
OR
A: Annoying pauses during the game are usually caused by Windows accessing swap files. If you have enough memory, this will happen less often, or not at all. If you never want to see one of these pauses again, install at least 64 Mb of RAM in your computer. This will prevent Win95 from ever accessing swap files on the hard drive during a game of GLQuake or Quake 2. Memory is pretty cheap right now. Despite what you have been told, you do not have to pay a premium for memory made specifically for your computer. Any modern Pentium system will run just fine on generic 60ns EDO 72-pin simms, and all PentiumII systems will run on 100 Mhz SDRam.
Additionally, all Quake engine games demand 100% of your system's resources. There are also ways to improve gaming performance in general. Try these suggestions:
Keep your system clean: Make sure you're not running
anything else while the game is running - it needs all of your
system's resources. Other than GameSpy, or any other front-end
you might be using, nothing else should be running, no matter how
small you think the app is, or how much memory you have. Make
especially certain that you don't have any programs installed
that leave utilities running in the background. That includes,
but is not limited to: E-Mail notifiers, active web apps, system
utilities, anti-virus software or memory doublers and managers
(memory managers and doublers are not needed by Win95
anyway, it's all a crock). Basically, you should have as clean a
system as possible for the best performance.
If you're launching QuakeWorld from the QW browser plug-in, I'd recommend you switch to GameSpy because it uses less memory, or else close the browser after you launch QuakeWorld. Netscape and MSIE both use huge amounts of memory and resources.
If you have only 16 Mb installed in your system, you shouldn't even leave GameSpy running In GameSpy, click on the "View" menu and select "Options". Under the "General" tab place a check mark in the box next to the label "Terminate GameSpy When Launching Quake". You should definitely consider buying more memory, as well. The minimum you should have in your system is 24 Mb, but with prices the way they are, there's hardly any reason not to go for more.
Assign all available memory to GLQuake (APPLIES TO GLQUAKE
AND HALF-LIFE
ONLY): GLQuake & Half-Life
requires a lot more memory than regular Quake, but you have to
assign it (Quake 2 does this automatically). If you have 24 Mb of
RAM or more in your system, you should add this to the end of
your QuakeWorld command line:
-heapsize 20000
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0 -heapsize 20000
If you have 32 Mb or more, make the heap 28000. This allocates 28 Mb of memory to Quake. Basically, the more the better. The number corresponds to thousands of bytes and you can set it for up to 48000 (by most reports, heap sizes above 48000 don't have any benefit).
Increase
the size of your disk cache: If you have 32 mb or more
of RAM installed in your computer, you can improve your system's
overall performance by increasing the size of your disk cache in
ram. This will improve disk access:
Define your own virtual memory settings: This is a bit
tedious but it really does help Window's performance overall. HOWEVER, I DON'T
RECOMMEND THIS FOR SYSTEMS WITH 128 MB OF RAM OR MORE - LET WINDOWS MANAGE
VIRTUAL MEMORY INSTEAD.
This will create one continuous swap file on the hard drive that's fully defragmented. Normally Windows dynamically resizes your swap file. This saves hard drive space, but also causes a lot of disk accesses and keeps the swap files fragmented. By creating one big permanent swap file you will, in theory, reduce the number of times Windows will access it.
Also
keep in mind that in addition to space for your virtual memory,
you also need to keep at least 150 Mb free on your C: drive for
temporary files at all times. Windows gets unstable when free
drive space on C: falls below around 75 Mb and just printing a
big Word document can easily create a 75 Mb temp file.
You can disable certain
visual effects that will improve your framerate substantially -
especially on low-end systems:
You can make the weapons you're holding invisible. The weapon animations can dramatically slow down performance on low-end systems. You can use the following command to switch the "handedness" to the center position, which also makes the weapons invisible. Type the following command in the console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake2 is running), or place it in your autoexec.cfg file:
set hand 2
The one problem with this is that it makes it difficult to tell what weapon you're carrying, although Q2 does display a small icon of the weapon to let you know. Buzzkill's Quake Page has a interesting alias that gets around this problem. Try the following alias:
bind "MOUSE1" +fire
alias +fire "hand 2;+attack"
alias -fire "hand 0;-attack"This will allow you to see your current weapon as normal but when you press the "fire" button, the alias will switch to the "hand 2" setting with no weapon on the screen and firing from the center. After you fire, the weapon is visible again. This does improve performance since the weapon animation is not rendered.
DISABLE PARTICLES:
Disabling particle rendering in Q2 will substantially improve performance on low-end systems. The down-side is it makes it a little harder to tell if you've hit someone (you won't see the blood spray, and certain weapon projectiles are not visible). Type the following command in the console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake2 is running), or place it in your autoexec.cfg file:
set cl_particles 0
DISABLE DYNAMIC LIGHTING:
Dynamic lighting in Q2 looks pretty, but it does cost you a lot of performance, and really isn't necessary for deathmatch. Please note, this will not effect the colored room lighting, only the colored lighting cast by weapons fire, explosions, quads, flags and techs. Type the following command in the console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake2 is running), or place it in your autoexec.cfg file:
set gl_dynamic 0
USE 8-BIT TEXTURES
By default Quake2 uses 8-bit texturing. This setting is in the Q2 video menu - setting "Use 8-bit textures" to "yes" enables 8-bit and setting it to "no" enables 16-bit texture rendering. You should leave this set to the default of 8-bit unless you have a high-end system, you have a 2nd generation 3D card and you have the maximum memory available for your 3D card.
Under no circumstances should you use 16-bit texturing with any Voodoo1, or with a Voodoo2 8 Mb (even if it's SLI) - you just don't have enough texture memory and you'll get severe texture thrashing (slow downs due to the 3D card storing textures in the system memory instead of it's own memory).
DON'T USE SHADOWS
Enabling shadows in Quake2 - or any Quake engine game - gives you a very stiff 15 - 20% performance penalty. Even on a high-end system this is an unacceptable performance hit for netplay. Make certain shadows are disabled (they're disabled by default). Type the following command in the console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake2 is running), or place it in your autoexec.cfg file:
set r_shadows 0
Disable
the joystick (unless you're using it) and CD audio support:
Even if you're not using it, having joystick support enabled in
any game can slow it down substantially. Quake and Q2 also wastes
time polling the MCI device to play CD tracks between map
changes, even if the CD is not in the drive, unless you disable
it. Follow these instructions:
-nocdaudio -nojoy
For instance, your GLQuakeWorld command line might look like this:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio
Reduce
the screen resolution: A Voodoo1 runs much faster in
512x384 opposed to 640x480 - up to 25% faster (there is no
benefit, however, in using any lower a resolution). Serious
netplayers using a Voodoo1 card never use resolutions over
512x284 - there's just too much of a performance hit.
On a Voodoo2 card installed in a Pentium2 system, all resolutions but the highest available will run at about the same max framerate, and there will be a 25 - 35% penalty at the highest resolution. There's virtually no performance difference between resolutions on a low-end system (non-Pentium2) using a Voodoo2, so you might as well enjoy 800x600 on your socket 7 systems.
To see the difference in performance at different resolutions on a variety of systems, go to my Framerate Comparison Page...
Follow these instructions to change your resolution:
-width <width> -height <height> -window +_windowed_mouse 1 -zone 512
Where <width> is the value for screen width and <height> is the value for screen height. Legal screen sizes are 512x384, 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768 (Note: Voodoo1 can only display up to 640x480, and a single Voodoo2 card is limited to 800x600, while dual V2 SLI can achieve 1024x768). For instance, your quake command line might look like this for 512x384:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio -heapsize 20000 -width 512 -height 384 -window +_windowed_mouse 1 -zone 512
Or like this for 800x600:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio -heapsize 20000 -width 800 -height 600 -window +_windowed_mouse 1 -zone 512
This will also run GLQuake in windowed mode, which is preferable - some systems won't run that resolution in fullscreen mode anyway. Don't worry, Voodoo 3D cards can't really run in a window, so the image still fills the screen, but as far as the Windows GDI is concerned it IS running in a window and will no longer resize your desktop when the game is running and prevents crashes when the 2D card driver doesn't support the same resolution that the 3D card is using.
Reduce the player texture memory when
playing network games (APPLIES TO GLQUAKE ONLY): If your 3D card has only
2Mb of texture memory, 3Dfx recommends reducing the player
texture memory to 1/4 by setting gl_playermip to 2. However, you
can get even better performance by setting it to 3 at the cost of
blurrier looking player skins.
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a problem with the Canopus Pure3D, Obsidian, Voodoo 2, banshee cards or any other 3D card with more than 2Mb of texture memory - for those cards you can leave gl_playermip set to 0 with no performance loss and the best visual quality.
To reduce player texture memory add this to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuakeWorld or GLQuake, or add it to your autoexec.cfg file:
gl_playermip 3
or else add it to the end of the command line as:
+gl_playermip 3
For instance, your QuakeWorld command line might look like this:
glqwcl.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio -heapsize 20000 +gl_playermip 3
This setting also works in GLQuake, but is unnecessary when playing a solo game. This setting should never be set below 2 when playing a net game. 3Dfx and Id both recommend a setting of 2, but I've found that if you're a serious netgame player, the performance is much better with a setting of 3. Again, for 3D cards with more than 2 Mb of texture memory, such as the Voodoo2, it can be left at 0 with no performance loss.
Replace your missile and grenade models
to improve performance during Netplay (APPLIES TO GLQUAKE
ONLY): You won't
believe how this will improve Internet games. Ever notice how
Quake bogs down during major multiplayer rocket battles? No more!
Click
here for more information on this...
Optimize
the settings for the 3Dfx chip to improve the frame rate.
You can increase your frame rate by 50 - 100% by optimizing the
3Dfx's chipset settings and implementing some GLQuake performance
tweaks:
OR
A: There are several web sites dedicated to unsupported "tweaks" you can make to your 3D card. These are adjustments that are not recommended by the manufacturer, but can improve performance. One of these tweaks is called over-clocking. Be aware that over-clocking can actually damage the texture processor on a Voodoo or Voodoo2 3D card, so be very careful. Over-clocking is a means of forcing the Monster 3D's texture processor to run faster than originally intended. The reason this can cause damage is because the faster the processor runs, the hotter it gets. If you run the texture processor too fast, and your case is not well ventilated, you could damage it. This is no joke, it can happen and it will not be covered under your warranty! If you want to find out just how hot the texture processor can get, check out the very risky heat experiments conducted by a Monster 3D owner on The 3dfx Voodoo Heat Report Page...
The Voodoo2 in particular is a poor over-clocking candidate as it's very sensitive to temperature and clock speed instability (far more than the Voodoo1), especially when running dual cards in SLI mode.
Unlike some reports you may have read on Usenet groups, it's unlikely that you'll literally burn up the texture processor (although extreme heat can crack it) - but more likely you'll heat stress it. Heat actually reduces the lifespan of integrated circuits. The silicon that integrated circuits are made of naturally breaks down slowly over the years. Under normal use, though, the lifespan of these components is well into the hundreds of years. However, overheating dramatically accelerates this destructive process - A HOT CHIP CAN FAIL AT ANYTIME!. Remember that if the 3D card is running hot, the air in your computer case will be hotter and you could also overheat other system components like the CPU.
The fastest speed that 3Dfx recommends you run any Voodoo1 card at is 57 MHz, and 90 MHz for a Voodoo2 (check with your manufacturer to be safe). I've found performance quite satisfactory at the recommended speed, and I don't think there's any reason to risk setting it to a higher one. Tests I've performed show that over-clocking is of limited value anyway. Click here to see why...
I do not recommend you overclock your 3D card - the most you'll see is a 2 or 3 fps improvement, and this is just not noticeable by today's standards. Meanwhile you risk unstable performance, annoying crashes, and possible long-term damage.
If you do decide to run your 3D card faster, I would strongly suggest that you add extra cooling fans to your case.
Other safer tweaks enable faster memory access or screen updating techniques, but may or may not work on all systems, or may degrade the picture quality. One of the most authoritative tweaking guides is available is 3Fingers' Ultimate GLQuake Setup Guide and his Quake2 Tweak Guide available at Heron and 3Fingers' Hot Road Shop.
Tweaking GLQuake is an arcane science, but I found something that makes it very simple. I strongly recommend you download the GLQplus utility. It makes it very easy to setup your tweaks in GLQuake as well as all the visual adjustments I've discussed in this FAQ. Remember, this is only for GLQuake or GLQuakeWorld.
Click here for my recommended 3Dfx tweaks for GLQuake...
A: Oh yes there is! There are some beautiful effects that are disabled by default in GLQuake because they eat into your frame rate slightly:
NORMAL SOURCE LIGHTING:
By default, GLQuake renders an orange ball as the lighting for objects that emit their own light (ie: torches, flags, when you fire a weapon, explosions). This actually looks pretty cool when playing Quake solo, but it's damn annoying in deathmatch play, especially in Capture the Flag or Team Fortress. When you're carrying the flag, or repeatedly firing, you're surrounded by an orange haze that's hard to see through. It's also not very realistic looking. Fortunately there's a way to enable normal source lighting. Type this in at the Quake console (press the apostrophe ' key to bring down the console while quake is running):
gl_flashblend 0
This restores the normal diffuse white glow for this effect that you have in SVGA Quake. This will cost you a couple of fps off your frame rate, but it looks much better and you won't notice it if you're getting a decent frame rate to begin with. This toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+gl_flashblend 0
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe -nojoy -nocdaudio +gl_flashblend 0
In GLQuake all objects, including players, monsters and dropped items can cast realistic shadows. You just won't believe how realistic this looks! However, because GLQuake is still in beta and the feature isn't properly supported yet, it is not enabled normally. The nice thing is that it's really easy to enable it yourself. I'll warn you, though, that the shadows effect is still buggy and may occasionally produce a strange effect. Sometimes a shadow stays behind on the floor after the body of a player disappears in death match. Sometimes an object's texture is replaced with a shadow. It's rare, and not a real problem. I'm sure it will be fixed soon. I leave shadows on all the time - it looks too good with it on. The other thing to take into consideration is that shadows probably put a little more demand on your system, but I don't notice any appreciable slow down on mine. Here's what you do. Type this in at the Quake console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake is running):
r_shadows 1
This toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+r_shadows 1
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe +gl_flashblend 0 +gl_playermip 2 +r_shadows 1
You can also enable glass reflections. This will make some of the stained glass windows in Quake slightly reflective. As far as I know, it will only work on the stained glass window in the Easy hallway at the beginning of Quake and in some custom maps. Maps have to be specifically written to make use of this feature. You can bet it will be included in Quake II, though.
I wouldn't recommend using this in QuakeWorld, though, as it may increase lag and no maps that I know of support it yet. To try it out, type this in at the Quake console (press the apostrophe ' key to bring down the console while Quake is running):
r_mirroralpha 0.3
Again, this toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+r_mirroralpha 0.3
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe +gl_flashblend 0 +gl_playermip 2 +r_mirroralpha 0.3
Go to the "Easy" hallway in the entrance of Quake, and look at your reflection in the stained glass window. Aren't you a handsome devil? You can have a little fun with this command. Try setting it to 0 and the stained glass will be replaced with a perfect mirror. This is a cool way to see what your skins look like.
This effect isn't properly implemented in GLQuake or GLQuakeWorld with the original retail maps (although it is in Hexen II). You can turn it on, but unless you modify the maps it won't work properly.
If you just want to see what this effect looks like, but don't want to modify your maps, type these two lines into the Quake console:
r_novis 1
r_wateralpha 0.5
The r_novis command will demo the transparent water effect, but Quake will run very slowly.
In order to get true transparent water surfaces, your maps have to be VIS patched. VIS patching allows object behind a water surface to be visible - normally the water surface acts like a wall and this has to be redefined in the maps. There are VIS patches for most Quake maps and they can be downloaded from the SOD.NET Water VIS page. You need to download at least the standard Quake maps VIS patch, which also includes the VIS patch installer. The installer will VIS patch any maps you have VIS data for, so you might as well do them all in one shot. Unzip the installer and all the VIS patch files into an empty directory, then run INSTALL.BAT. and it will ask for the path to your Quake folder. If you're installing other maps, it may need to know what sub-directories they're located in (CTF maps are in \CTF, and Team Fortress maps are in \TF, etc.). When the patch is done (if you're doing a lot of maps it takes a while), you'll have to type the following line at the Quake console (press the apostrophe ' key to bring down the console while Quake is running):
r_wateralpha 0.5
Again, this toggle doesn't stay permanent, so you'll either have to add it to a custom cfg file that you execute when you run GLQuake, or else add it to the end of the GLQUAKE.EXE or GLQWCL.EXE command line as:
+r_wateralpha 0.5
For instance, your quake command line might look like this:
glquake.exe +gl_flashblend 0 +gl_playermip 2 +r_waterralpha 0.5
You can delete all the patch and installer files when you're done as they're no longer needed.
Something important to keep in mind is that when playing deathmatch, the server you're playing on must also be using VIS patched water maps, otherwise you won't see any items or players on the other side of the water surface (it'll be transparent, and you'll see the portions of the map that are under the water, but objects and players won't be rendered). Most servers using water maps will either have the word "water" or "GL" in the server name to let you know that they are using VIS patched maps.
By-the-way, the PainKeep QuakeWorld deathmatch conversion supports transparent water natively, and it does look very nice.
I will warn you, you should probably have a frame rate over 30 fps before changing to water maps. Tests I've performed show that you take a 5-8 fps hit on your frame rate when using transparent water maps. This may not bother you if you have a P2-266 and are getting 50+ fps, but anything under a P-166 may lag down pretty good when you get near a big body of water.
A: If you're having this problem, it means that you haven't upgraded to the latest version of GLQuake. This problem was cured in GLQuake v0.94 and GLQuakeWorld v2.0, both released on 8/9/97. Click here for info on where to download the latest versions...
OR
A: The brightness control in GLQuake has no effect. The brightness control in Quake2 does work but it is dependent on the gamma settings which are setup in the Windows Display Preoperties tab for the 3D card. Under no circumstances should you ever set the brightness slider to maximum (the extreme right position) in Quake2's video settings as this will cause the colors to be distorted.
When the gamma or brightness is set too high, the color palettes of dark textures will be distorted. These may appear as horizontal lines in dark textures, and rainbow or green and purple color shifts in other textures.
There is a utility that increases the brightness in both Quake1 and 2 called IDGamma. It's particularly helpful on NVidia chipset video cards.
A: If you use the default settings on your Voodoo 3D card, then in general, raising the vertical refresh will adversely affect your frame rate in GLQuake. You'll have to decide if the performance hit is worth the improvement in the image quality. Generally, there's no noticeable frame rate penalty between running at 75 Hz as opposed to 60 Hz. As a matter of fact, most Voodoo cards won't even run at 60 Hz in 512 x 384 resolution - 75 is the lowest. I know some people get eyestrain when staring at a monitor with a 60 Hz refresh for long periods of time, but 75 Hz is usually sufficient to eliminate the problem. Setting it higher will start to bring your frame rate down a bit.
There is a way you can run the refresh up to 120 Hz without a performance hit: by disabling the vertical refresh sync on the Voodoo card by adding this line to your autoexec.bat file:
SET FX_GLIDE_SWAPINTERVAL=0
With this setting, the Monster 3D will ignore the refresh rate and always redraw the screen as soon as it can. As a bonus, this setting will usually gain you 5 -6 fps, however it can cause some image tearing which some people may find unacceptable. I don't notice it - it looks fine to me, and I run my refresh at 120 Hz. (you can find more detailed information on this and other performance tweaks at the GLQuake: Our FAQ page). Please note, though, that this setting may make other games that use the Monster 3D, unplayable. This is why I recommend you use the GLQPlus utility. GLQPlus creates a custom batch file with the settings necessary for playing GLQuake. You run this batch file when you want to play GLQuake and the settings take effect only for that session - when you return to Windows, the settings revert to whatever they are setup for in your autoexec.bat file. This allows you to use the default settings for other games, while using the performance settings for GLQuake. GLQPlus makes it very simple to setup these performance tweaks.
You can change the vertical refresh frequency that the Monster 3D uses by changing the following line in your autoexec.bat file:
SET SST_SCREENREFRESH=75
Set the value at the end of the line to whatever you want, up to the maximum vertical refresh that your monitor can support (check your monitor's documentation - some only go up to 75 or 85 Hz). Then reboot the computer so this takes effect.
OR
A: Using Windows notepad, you can create a text file that contains all your custom console settings for Quake or Quake 2. For GLQuake it might look something like this:
gl_flashblend 0
r_mirroralpha 0.3
r_shadows 1
gl_playermip 2
Then save the file to your \QUAKE\ID1 directory as GLOW.CFG (or anything else you want to call it). For Quake 2, you place any config files in \QUAKE2\BASEQ2. Then, replace all the switches on your command line with this:
+exec glow.cfg
So your GLQuakeWorld command line might look like this:
GLQUAKE.EXE +exec glow.cfg -heapsize 20000
Optionally, you could add these command lines to you autoexec.cfg file.
OR
A: Anything you put in your autoexec.bat starting with the SET statement is a variable. There's only a finite amount of space available for these variables in DOS called Environment Space. You can make this space larger by adding this line to your CONFIG.SYS file:
shell=c:\command.com /e:512 /p
Remember to reboot afterwards to allow your computers to recognize the changes. If you need more space in the future, increase the number from 512 to 1024
A: A few people have this problem, although I understand it's rare. On some Voodoo cards, especially some of the cheaper ones, there's not enough filtering in the video pass-through electronics. This can cause a fuzzy image in 2D mode when viewing the Windows desktop. This generally only happens at resolutions over 1024x768. One possible way of fixing it is to reduce your vertical refresh in 2D mode- however anything less than 75 Hz will give you unacceptable image quality.
If you're lucky, you might be able to cure the problem by purchasing a couple of clamp-on RF cable chokes. You can buy these at Radio-Shack and other electronic parts suppliers. They may be round or square and they clamp on over a cable up to 3/16" in diameter. Your computer monitor likely has a choke already built into it's cable at the computer end, but it'll be molded into the cable. Buy two chokes and clamp one onto each end of the short jumper connecting your 2D card and your 3D card. They should be located right up against the connectors. If they're no a snug fit, use a couple of nylon tie-wraps to keep them in place.
A: This may happen the first time you run a total conversion that changes the weapons bitmaps. There's an easy fix. Delete all the files in the \QUAKE\ID1\GLQUAKE directory and run Shrak (or whatever total conversion you're playing) again. Don't worry, these files will be recreated by GLQuake. This should fix it for good, but if it happens again, just do it again.
A: Getting disconnected happens sometimes and you have to live with it. It can be due to a server crash or a network glitch. Without leaving the game, just type RECONNECT at the Quake console. This always works.
If you get a lot of network errors during a QuakeWorld game, especially "U_Remove On Update" errors, then you may have a poor network connection. Sometimes hanging up and reconnecting helps. A bad phone connection can also be the cause of this - especially if it's followed by your Internet provider disconnecting you. If you have a noisy phone line, you're going to have problems - contact your phone company and get it fixed.
Dreaded U_Remove errors can also be caused by using a US Robotics X2 modem, or if your Internet provider supports X2 modems (even if you don't have one). Click here for some solutions...
A: This means that your desktop's display color depth in Windows 95 is set for less than 65,000 colors (also known as 16-bit color or High Color). You must set your color depth to at least 65,000 colors. To do this, double click on the "Display" icon in the Win95 control panel, select the "Settings" tab, and select "High Color (16-bit)" under the Color Palette setting.
This is caused by a bug that's been with us for quite awhile, known as the sky texture bug. Apparently, having large portions of sky visible in a map is the problem. Fortunately, this problem was cured with the release of GLQuake v0.96 and QuakeWorld v2.10. If you haven't got the latest version, then click here for my files links.
On some systems, even with the latest version of GLQuake, you might still get a bit of a slow down in these maps. Type this in at the Quake console (press the tilde "~" key to bring down the console while Quake is running):
gl_subdivide_size 256
Higher values will result in smoother gameplay, but at the cost of reduced sky texture quality.
A: The Glide v2.4 driver installer always gives this message. It's just a reminder, and doesn't necessarily mean you don't have the right drivers installed. Basically, what it's telling you is that you need to have the latest version of the driver for your 3D card installed. If you have a Monster 3D, you can get the latest driver from Diamond's web site by clicking here...
Please note: The Glide v2.4 drivers may not install itself if you don't already have the latest version of your 3D card's driver installed first, so after installing the new drivers it wouldn't hurt to install the Glide drivers again.
If you're not certain if the Glide v2.4 drivers installed properly, you can check it very easily. Bring up the Display properties by double-clicking on the "Display" icon in the Win95 Control Panel, then click on the "Monster 3D - Information" tab. Check the version of the file called GLIDE2X.DLL - it should be 2.4
A: The DirectX installer will generally replace your audio, video and 3D drivers with it's own generic DirectX "compliant" drivers. These drivers generally don't work properly with the latest games.
The DX Tool utility has a button that will restore your original drivers, but I don't entirely trust it. I recommend you download and install the latest versions of your audio, video and 3D drivers. You can obtain them from the manufactures' web sites.
After re-installing the drivers, the DX Tool utility may report that some or all of them are non-compliant - ignore it. Unless your manufacturer tells you otherwise, or their driver is very old, it's almost always better to use it than the ones that come with DirectX.
In the case of Voodoo and Voodoo2 drivers, unless you own a Canopus Pure3D I or II, or some other Voodoo card with a video output jack, I recommend you use the 3Dfx Reference drivers as opposed to the manufacture's drivers unless the manufacture's drivers are newer.
A: You have to force Win95 to redetect the Monster 3D card so that the drivers are installed properly. However, you can't use the "Install New Hardware" icon in Control Panel because it won't find it.
The solution is to physically remove the Monster 3D card from the computer. You must then boot the computer to allow Win95 to clear any drivers you may have installed and free up resources. Shut down the computer properly and re-install the Monster 3D. The next time you boot, Win95 will detect the Monster 3D and ask you for the driver disk.
A: Ignore that. The Monster 3D driver IS the 3Dfx Direct3D driver disk. Just type in the path to the Monster 3D drivers and continue with the installation.
A: This is generally caused by trying to run GLQuake or GLQuakeWorld in 512 x 384 resolution in full screen mode. The problem is that GLQuake can only run in a full screen mode that is also supported by your 2D card (even though you can't see it, the 2D card has to switch resolutions to match the 3D card). Most 2D cards do not support 512 x 384 in Windows, however.
The solution is to run GLQuake in a window (please note that even though you'll be running it in a window, it will still appear to be a full screen image because the Monster 3D can't run in a window - confusing, eh?).
Add this to the end of your GLQuake or GLQWCL command line:
-window +_windowed_mouse 1 -width 512 -height 384 -zone 512
