[Elowan]

hi there,

i try to install and play FS2O 3.6.12 with MEDIA VPs on my 12" PowerBook.
It´s the last from this series with G4 PowerPC 1.5Ghz, 1.28GB RAM and GeForce FX 5200Go 64MB Video-Card.
OS-X 10.5.8 (Leopard)

So, here is my story:

I got a pc (my win7 64bit gaming rig) and a proper running version of FS2 with all the eye-candy mods
and so on. I installed FS2 from the original CDs (copy some files from "media" or something like that)
and used the java-installer for windows to download the mod. (afair)

I took this files from my Win7 PC and transfered them to my powerbook, downloaded the java-installer
and run a complete "the works, absolute everything" install/download.

Additional, i downloaded a osx launcher (3.1.3) and the complete mac-port of Freespace 2 open (1.3GB)
and put this all together in one folder. So i got the Windows-Version, everything from the Installer, the
Mac-version and launchers and binarys plus some original files from CD.

Now, i can play FS2 (with and without mods) on my powerbook.

So, but here comes the issue :

The "normal" FS2 Open version (without any mods) runs at 50-60 fps, with everything ("Details") at maximum.
The "3.6.12 inferno" mod-version "runs", erm "crawls" at 3-4 FPS (!)

(afiak i got the "MEDIA VP mod" running on a netbook (1.6Ghz Atom, Intel GMA grapics) and it runs very playable...)

I tried to run the mod with all "eye-candy" options (env, bump, normal, spec,...) turned on
and another test with everything un-checked - but i makes no difference in FPS.. always 3-4, no
matter what resolution or settings.

In the launcher, i saw an option like "software rendering" ,can´t remember the name exactly, the
tool-tip says something like "software (very slow)" - so i guess it enables software-rendering.

If i check the "software-rendering option" in the launcher, the fps stays the same... but should
be lower than 3-4 then, i believe.

Ok, i got a suspicion: when running the MEDIA VP mod, maybe the engine is set to "Software-render" instead of
using the build in hardware. I mean, 3-4 FPS in the first training mission - can´t be for real!?


Summary:

The Mac-Port of FS2 Open runs perfect with max details in native (1024x768 32bit) resolution.
3.6.12 inferno with Media-VP mod crawls at 3 FPS, no matter what settings, 640x480 16bit makes no difference, also.


Questions:

Is there a way/cmd-line/debug option to test, if the mod really uses the hardware to render?
Or is it just impossible to run this nice MEDIA VP mod on a 1.5GHZ PPC with a 64MB GeForce Fx5200 Go?
(For example, Doom 3 is about 15-20 FPS on medium settings, CoD 1 runs above 40 on high settings)

Best regards,

Elo

[headdie]

hmmm, your hardware specs look a little low.  I am on 2.8ghz athlon 64, gig of memory and a GeForce 6600 GT and regular mediavps 3.6.12 gives me slowdown issues.

firstly a debug log would greatly help with identifying if anything is not loading correctly.  Also did you download the mediavps advanced? because this would also slow things down.

[Colonol Dekker]

(afiak i got the "MEDIA VP mod" running on a netbook (1.6Ghz Atom, Intel GMA grapics) and it runs very playable...)

How the flip can you be playing it on an Atom Netbook with intel GMA? When i first purchased my white Samsung NC10 I tried FSO and Windmills (less texture to process?) on it. The thing runs like POO.

[Elowan]

hmmm, your hardware specs look a little low.  I am on 2.8ghz athlon 64, gig of memory and a GeForce 6600 GT and regular mediavps 3.6.12 gives me slowdown issues.

firstly a debug log would greatly help with identifying if anything is not loading correctly.  Also did you download the mediavps advanced? because this would also slow things down.

sure, spec´s are a bit low... this is a late 2005 apple laptop afaik but i would expect something like 30-40 fps in 800x600 windowed - not 3

ok, i´ll post a fs-log later.

how can i tell, if i got the adv. MEDIAVps?

[The E]

If you a file named MV_Advanced.vp in your mediavps_3612 folder, then you have them. Delete that file. Also, if you have mv_animglows.vp, you should delete that as well.

Now, as others have remarked, that GPU really isn't that good. I think you should try and use the "-no_glsl" switch. It might improve performance by a lot, given that the FX series has really bad shader support.

[Elowan]

Ok, thx for the hints.

I'll check and report back, when i return home and got my hands on the mac again

Greetings

[Elowan]

Just in case... how can i check, if renderer is set to hardware, instead of software? Maybe fs-log will tell?

[MatthTheGeek]

Launcher, Video tab, under Graphics. OpenGL should be selected.

[Elowan]

Hmm, ok.

I guess, you are refering to the windows version of the launcher?

On the os x version, the menus are different and there seems to be no such option.

Any other ideas, how to enable hardware rendering per default
or cmd line option?

See, the fact, that the fps are the same, when setting the option for "software" is not that logic to me.

[The E]

Hardware rendering IS enabled by default. In fact, FSO probably will not start at all if it is unavailable.
The problem in your case is a) Your GPU is rather ancient, and has known faults when it comes to shader-based rendering (that's why I recommend using the -no_glsl switch), b) With only 64 MB of video RAM available, your GPU is severely hampered. I would recommend a card with at least 256 MB of video RAM for even basic mediavps usage.

At any rate, an fs2_open.log will tell us more about this.

And honestly, if you have better machines available to play FSO on, I would recommend using them instead.

[Elowan]

He he, like i said - win7 gaming pc with HD5870 2GB vram. But it's not that portable, like my 12" powerbook.

See, i just want some better models and textures for my fs2 and just looking for a way to archive this.

Ok, maybe it's not possible because of the fx5200 chip.

I test the no shader option in a few hours and see, what happens.

I really want to give it a try on my powerbook and test some options, before i give up on this shiny gfx.

[The E]

Well, you will _have_ to give up on the shiny graphics one way or another. That GPU is so bad, even modern Intel chips are laughing at it.

[Elowan]

hmm, seems you´re right.

tried the -noglsl option ... still 3 FPS
removed the advanced files in MEDIAVP... still 3 FPS

ok, failed

thx for your hints and answers