Help for low FPS rates
jimbo4ever
Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4205Members
Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4205Members
in Tech Support
<div class="IPBDescription">Help eak out more fps</div>just downloaded and installed NS (on a 56k), and i thought id try out a lan game to get the feel of the mod.
without a doubt its the best looking mod ive seen, but i was wondering if there are ony console (or otherwise) tips on how to improve my frame per second, as im currently getting 20-30fps.
the reason for the low frames is because of my aging computer (but any help is appreciated!<!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->:
pII 450 mhz
128mb ram
2x VooDoo2 cards (in SLI mode = 16mb)
Creative labs sound blaster
Windows 98 S.E.
(please no 'you wanna get a 2.5ghx geforce 4 adsl like me!' replys)
Cheers
without a doubt its the best looking mod ive seen, but i was wondering if there are ony console (or otherwise) tips on how to improve my frame per second, as im currently getting 20-30fps.
the reason for the low frames is because of my aging computer (but any help is appreciated!<!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->:
pII 450 mhz
128mb ram
2x VooDoo2 cards (in SLI mode = 16mb)
Creative labs sound blaster
Windows 98 S.E.
(please no 'you wanna get a 2.5ghx geforce 4 adsl like me!' replys)
Cheers
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
***************this is the important bit..************************************************
Hi, few things you can try.. first check yer HD is defragged regular, then go to ...
<a href='http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk' target='_blank'>http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk</a>
check the startup guides and make sure you aren't running lots of unnecessary windows rubbish in the b/g
Get rid of <i>everything</i> that you don't need..
run/msconfig.exe etc..
************************************************************************************
this is (resident BY tweak-ninja) Goody's CS framerate guide, cs specific, but it should apply to most HL engine games, you dont have to apply it all, just play around till you get an acceptable balance between looks and performance.
Good luck and all that.
Fps guide
Ok not all of us have amazing pcs so i thought id write a good about how to squeeze the greatest fps possible for those of us too cheap to buy a new computer.
Firstly theres the simple things you can do to make sure your computers running at its best. Always keep your hard disk defragmented , and if you can try and install half life right after a defragment.
Always ensure you have the latest drivers for your graphics card . They can be found here-
Vodoo based cards : <a href='http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/cb.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/cb.htm</a>
<a href='http://www.wicked3d.com/technology/wickedgl.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.wicked3d.com/technology/wickedgl.htm</a>
Geforce based cards: <a href='http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers' target='_blank'>http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers</a>
ATI based cards: <a href='http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html' target='_blank'>http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html</a>
To ensure you dont get slowdown if youve had your computer on for a while download this handy utility-
<a href='http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/maxmem.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/s...stem/maxmem.htm</a>
which will wipe all programs from your system memory , making sure your computers always runs as fast as when you just start up.
This utility-
<a href='http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/cb.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/cb.htm</a>
will also help ensure your hard disk is running as fast as possible for games(recommended using power settings which come with this proggy).
Lastly some of the newer graphics cards dont run well in under 800x600 mode. experiment with which resolution gives you best fps , you may be surprised.
Theres also a couple of settings you can change on your graphics card to get better fps. Right click on your desktop , choose the settings tab , then advanced.There should be a tab with your graphics card displayed on it. Click on it then click on "additional properties" if its a geforce(may vary for other graphics card but it should be easy to figure out).Then click on "Open Gl settings" and ensure both "v synch" and "Anistropic filtering" are turned off.
There are player models which help your fps. Download the high fps player models here-
<a href='http://www.zeroping.com/main/engine_files.cfm?page=detail-page1&file=3543&game=9' target='_blank'>http://www.zeroping.com/main....&game=9</a>
which basically replace your player models with models with far fewer polygons and can significantly help your fps.
If your using xp you may need to download a xp refresh rate fix to get more than 60 fps.Availible here-Geforce based cards: <a href='http://file2.mydrivers.com/display/Win2k_XP_2832_comp.zip' target='_blank'>http://file2.mydrivers.com/display/Win2k_X...P_2832_comp.zip</a>
<a href='http://mitglied.lycos.de/ric_l/Win2k_XP_2832_comp.zip' target='_blank'>http://mitglied.lycos.de/ric_l/Win2k_XP_2832_comp.zip</a>
<a href="" target="_blank">ftp://files.realgn.com/pub....omp.zip</a>
Voodoo based cards: <a href='http://www.3dcht4u.de/3dc/11gwe7/voodoo-frequenz-selektor.zip' target='_blank'>http://www.3dcht4u.de/3dc/11gwe7/voodoo-fr...nz-selektor.zip</a>
ATI based cards: <a href='http://www.3dcht4u.de/3dc/11gwe7/ati-refresh-rate-fixer.zip' target='_blank'>http://www.3dcht4u.de/3dc/11gwe7/ati-refre...-rate-fixer.zip</a>
If you have a via motherboard downloading the latest 4 in 1's may also help performance , they can be found here :
<a href='http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2' target='_blank'>http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2</a>
Then we move onto config changes. Your config.cfg can be found in your cs directory . Some of the settings will already be in your config , in which case alter the value given for them ,others youll need to add in yourself.Once added its a good idea to right click on the config , go to properties and change it to read only. Half life has a habit of overwriting a lot of settings. The following is a list of all the settings that should improve your fps, what they do(if i dont know i reserve the right to make it up) , and the different values you can give them.
gl_picmip "0":Perhaps the biggest setting you can change ,it sets the rendering quality.Basically the effect will be to blur everything slightly , make textures simpler , the hud will be affected so at values above 2 it will be unreadable and your zoomed in crosshairs will suffer. "0" is default for this command and values above "2" will be very unstable in half life and cause a lot of crashes. Personally i use "2".Dont use this if you want cs too look half decent , it really does deteriorate graphics quality quite badly.
Hint:Your zoomed in crosshair for aug/sig may become invisible if you use this.To avoid this add this bind into your config.
bind "x" "sprite"
alias sprite "spriteon"
alias spriteon "gl_spriteblend 1; alias sprite spriteoff"
alias spriteoff "gl_spriteblend 0; alias sprite spriteon"
Where x is the button you want to press. This will change blending of sprites on and off , off for using the sig/aug , on for using the scout/awp/auto snipers.
gl_max_size "128": Sets the maximum size of all textures in the game including walls, player models , gun models ect. Default is "512". I use "64". Dont got below "64" and always use multiples of 64 , ie 64,128,256,512. Also gives a large boost to fps , although values below 128 will give extremly blocky textures. "256" is probably best if you want to improve fps without making cs look too bad. I use "64" for maximum fps boost.
gl_texturemode "GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_NEAREST":Another good command for boosting fps , controls rendering quality.The following settings are listed in order of speed , first being fastest but poorest quality , last being best quality but slowest.
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_NEAREST"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_LINEAR"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_NEAREST"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
GL_TEXTUREMODE "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
I personally use gl_texturemode "GL_NEAREST".
fastsprites "0":Controls the quality of smoke from smoke grenades. "0" is default with transparent smoke and slowest. "1" is white smoke partially see through. "2" is extremely blocky non transparent black smoke. Useful for if smoke grenades slow you down , "1" provides a good compromise of being able to still partially see through smoke but not dropping your fps too much , however if you still find yourself having bad fps drops use "2". I use "2".
hisound "0" Sets the sound quality , 0 being low and best for performance , 1 being high and best quality sound. On older computers setting this to 0 can make a large difference , but the drop in quality is extremely high
r_drawviewmodel "0": A big boost if you find your fps dropping during fire fights. Basically it turns off the gun model on screen, so you wont see it. Not good if your a fan of custom models but does stop some of the big fps drops in combat. "0" is off , "1" is on with "0" being fastest.
gl_keeptjunctions "0" Deals with the filling in of cracks between textures or surfaces.Set to "1" and high quality will fill them in , set to "0" and fastest it wont , resulting in dots appearing between the junctions but more fps.
gl_playermip "2":Sets the rendering quality of player models. Can be set at "0" which is best quality but slowest, "1" which is medium , and "2" which is worst quality but fastest. I use "2".
gl_smoothmodels "0": Controls smoothing of player models. Set to "0" to disable and get best fps , "1" to enable and look best. I use "0".
cl_highmodels "0":Toggles higher quality player models on and off. Set to "0" to disable and give best fps , "1" to enable and look best. I use "0".
max_smokepuffs "0":Sets the number of smoke puffs , as seen when bullets hit objects. Again useful to keep your fps up in firefights , set it to "0" for greatest fps boost and to totally disable smokepuffs. Can be set to any other number you want. I use "0".The lower the number the better the fps.
max_shells "0": Sets the number of shells on screen shown at a time (ie those ejected from your gun). Set to "0" to disable and give greatest fps boost. Can be set to any other number.The lower the number the better the fps.
cl_corpestay "0" Sets the time before bodys on ground start to sink into ground. 600 is default and bodys will stay throughout the round , 0 and bodys will start to sink within seconds.
cl_minmodels "1" Sets half life to use the minimum model set possible , "elite" a ct skin and vip . Use 1 for best fps or 0 to see all models
cl_dynamiccrosshair "0" Switches off the dynamic crosshair (expands and contracts depending on accuracy). Switching it off is useful if your fps is very poor as it takes a long time to return to normal.
gl_cull "1": Sets half life to only draw visible objects. "1" is on(ie only draws objects in view) , 0 is off. "1" for more fps.
violence_ablood "0" , violence_agibs "0" , violence_hblood "0" , violence_hgibs "0":
This set of commands controls displaying of blood.Set to "0" and no blood , improving fps.Set to "1" and blood will show. I use "0"
gl_round_down "100": Another one that controls texture quality.The lower the number the better quality graphics, higher the number the fastest. I use "10" for best fps boost , but can be set to any number.
gl_wateramp "0": Sets the height of waves in water. Only common cs map which will be affected by this will be aztec but it can give a nice boost especially if like me water+large open space kills your fps. Can either be "1" or "0" with 0 being the fastest. I personally use "0".
mp_decals "0": Sets the number of decals to be shown. Decals are used to draw bullet holes in walls as well as custom tags/sprays.Set to "0" to disable completely , "300" is default.I use "0". The lower the number the better the fps.
r_dynamic "0":Sets dynamic lighting(ie reflections ect) , "0" being off and fastest , "1" being on and slowest.I use "0".
r_mirroralpha "0":Similar to dynamic lighting , controls reflections on objects."0" is fastest and off , "1" is slowest and on.I use "0" for best fps.
gl_clear "1":Controls the blending of textures together. "0" is off and looks best but is slowest."1" is on and is fastest, however cracks between textures may show. I use "1".
r_shadows "0":Turns off player shadows. "0" being shadows off and "1" being shadows on. I use "0".
gl_dither "0":Turns dithering on and off. "0" is off , "1" is on. Use "0" for best fps , "1" for best quality. I use "0".
fps_max "50" , fps_modem "50" , fps_lan "50" :
These commands control the maximum fps you will get. Its best to set them all to the same to make sure works (modem is for 56k connections , lan is for better quality connections). You might think its better to put it to a 100 and get the best fps you can constantly , however fps drops during fire fights can make mouse control difficult. Its best to set this to something your relatively sure of being able to maintain the majority of the time.
Those are all the tricks i know to improve fps , if you know any more feel free to post them(not including the "buy a new computer" one <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> ) Thanks to tekkobra off the Dod forums for whom i ripped off a lot of the links at the top and all the other cs sites which ive mainly forgotten.
EDIT: this was designed for old CS..R_dynamic for instance no longer works, as valve decided to hard code it into CS from, 1.3 or thereabouts..if someone works out how to kill it in NS please let me know..there are known issues with onboard intel gfx cards and dynamic lighting...ie intel make crappy gfx cards...sorting your windows startups ( msconfig.exe..) and defrags will make more difference than all these tweaks put together..seriously, if you dont need it , ditch it. Desktop toys, real download, screen savers...if you don't need it , scrap it..
Add memory. At least another 128MB.
A few other things:
- Lower your resolution.
- Make sure your rate setting is correct for the type of connection you have. Dialup try 1500-3000 or so, dsl/cable 4500-5000. (but I have mine set at 9999 and it works great, but I have a newer system than yours and cable)
- set fps_max to 25 or 30 or 35 or something low.
- make sure you turn off downloads in game.
cl_download_ingame "0"
- turn off gibs
cl_gibcount "0" or some low number
- turn off hi res models
cl_himodels "0.000000"
- lower decals
mp_decals "10.000000" or some low number
There are other settings (please ask if you need them), and you can go to <a href="http://www.tweak3d.net" target="_blank">http://www.tweak3d.net</a> and visit their half-life config generator.
But with a mod that is cpu intensive (from what I understand), and given that your system is not as "efficient" (read:fast) as new ones, the hardware upgrade option would obviously solve the fps thing.
I'm sure that others will have excellent suggestions also, or correct what I've said above. ;)
HTH DSMIHNMA
~SOG~
<a href="http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2" target="_blank">http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2</a><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
GREAT POST!
Heh... much better than mine, since I was doing it from memory (and we know old folks and how good their memory is)...
But as to the VIA 4 in 1's....
The latest (443) may not work with Win98. The last ones that were stable and certified for Win98 were the 438 drivers.
I'm running Win98SE, and have the ones from my mobo mfg (439V), but I'd definitely check the motherboard manufacturer to get the latest ones specifically for their board.
Not through choice I might add..ever played JK2 on a 4mb video card? not easy. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
It always annoys me to see people reply to threads like this with " get a 2.1 P4! I have wun they R le3t!".
Not everyone can afford an upgrade, some people are broke. Everyone knows where to buy a" LEET noooo PC!!11!"...
In my case, the PC I use doesn't belong to me, so I can't go sticking parts in, in case I knacker their warranty or something, leaving software tweaks as my only option at least until I can afford to get my own system.?
Anyhow, those of you in a similar position really should check the first link for pacs-portal.
I was shocked to see how much useless ( to me )guff Windows and various applications insist on trying to run in the background. 15 minutes of work = 30%extra free system resources...
Not all cpu intensive, but they add up.
The tweak3d one is good too, as it covers disabling various other things to free up memory that aren't covered in Goodys guide.
And you're probably right about those drivers, I'm not on '98, so I have no idea about that sort of issue..
EDIT: btw, those of you with a better PC should take note of this sort of thing as well. Regular defrags and minimal background crap might just turn your "average" PC into a super-leet turbo games monster for free.
Don't care now? Fair enough....
You will once you try and run Doom3.
Do not run NS at 32-bit color with less than a GeForce3 64MB or equivalent (remove -32bpp from shortcut if present).
Try running at 800x600.
Get your drivers up to snuff (this includes video AND audio, which tend to eat CPU!).
Clean your disk and defrag defrag defrag.
Check out our <a href='http://www.readyroom.org/perfgde_1.html' target='_blank'>WinXP/2000 tuning guide at readyroom.org</a>
All of these things will make a very large difference. Add in the multitude of Hampster's fine tuning tweaks and you should be running smooth in no time. We have tested NS on as bad as a P2-350 with 32MB RAM and a TNT2 Riva and gotten 30-40 FPS in NS. While there are a lot more visual aspects in NS due to it having 10x the entity count of CS, it should still be very playable.
I have to ask, how the hell did you do that? I've been tweaking like crazy and the best I can do is hover between 10 and 16.
i discovered today when i didnt have my autoexec wif most of those tweaks from the 2nd guyz post compared to when i did have it didnt make ne difference. (in cs) on the net i get round say 20 t's spawn in dust but when i put ns on last night and tried it i cud only get 8 fps avg.
i have pentium celeron 866
nvidia aladdin tnt2
256ram
win 98
<!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Oh dont bring old Pc into it, got a brand new dell Dimention8200 Pentium4, 2.8Ghz 512ram...
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600
Got a Swiftech Opower Cooling system, clocked my comp x50% almost doubled my original speed
hehe <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
<img src='http://www.ocaddiction.com/reviews/water/qpower/gpumounting6_small2.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<a href='http://www.xtremesystems.org/?name=News&menu' target='_blank'>http://www.xtremesystems.org/?name=News&menu</a>
Nice Site if u got money to flush out hehe!!
Bak to subject I still get 500ping aarrgg think its my crappy aol !!!
Illd love it if someone was to show me some tweaks for my crappy 56kconnection which will make ns run better (please dont want stuff on tweakin comp mines already tweaked finely)
Cs dont give me this problems get 130 constant ping
Currenty findin that ns is running best on my comp with:
rate "4000.000000"
cl_updaterate "18"
cl_cmdrate "27"
Please HELP need help before i am forced to revert bak to CS!!!!!
<!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='mad.gif'><!--endemo-->
<span style='font-family:Arial'> </span> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> </span><span style='color:blue'> </span>
A Polish Guy tried to hack my comp got his I.P. (Checked it out on command P.)
Sent it to the BIG BOYS <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
So I do it all over again, and try your "read me" thing.
NOTHING IS CHANGED!! everything just resets AGAIN!!
Im not an idiot either, I've edited counter-strike graphics to improve my fps for cs. But NS obviously wont let you tweak with the graphics!
Unless you can give me a private tutorial, or control my computer over netmeeting and do it for me, I wont be able to play!
It runs at about 30 fps at the beginning, once buildings are being built it will be VERY choppy!
<!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='mad.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&::sentry::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='turret.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='siege.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::gorge::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='pudgy.gif'><!--endemo-->
I get fine FPS (20-30) until I come up on other people or machines we build (like turrets, research stations, etc). Once those come on-screen I get about 5-10 FPS. In quake 3 I get perfect 30-40 fps with ohter people on screen.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->pII 450 mhz
128mb ram
2x VooDoo2 cards (in SLI mode = 16mb)
Creative labs sound blaster
Windows 98 S.E.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
you said 56k too, right?
here's my system:
k6-2 500MHZ
256MB SDRAM 133
geforce4 mx420 PCI (dont have AGP)
no sound card
Windows 98se
DSL
I'm running OpenGL at 640X400, I tried 400x300, but it makes no difference.
you said you get 20-30FPS... I get 4-30... If there is more than 4 people and espicially if there are lots of thigns built I get extremely laggy.. sometimes so much I cant see my actions while attacking as aliens... When I play marines the first gun works, but the pistol fires with animation or sound and my bullets just go down.. it sucks... Not to mention even trying to attack enemies or being the commander (cursor goes very slow as commander)
If you ask em the guy who posted this should be happy he's getting that high of a frame rate.
everyone's saying "add mroe ram", but if thats the case why is my performance so low?
I think I am gonna quit this game until I get a better PC.. it's not worth trying.... what good is it if you cant help your team by fighting,healing them or being commander. all I can do is build..., but at least I am good at that.
<!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::gorge::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='pudgy.gif'><!--endemo-->
I have to ask, how the hell did you do that? I've been tweaking like crazy and the best I can do is hover between 10 and 16.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lets see them get a similiar frame rate on my 250 M cyrix II. That'll be a challenge I doubt anyone will conquer. But I have 8mbit ADSL and 256 RAM. Too bad my comps a bloody compaq, or I would go hijack a suppliar bus and get me a new processor. My vid is like 2 mb and my sound is emulated by my graphics chip (Nope, no cards.)
<ul>
<li>Intel Celeron 702 MHz
<li>312 MB Ram
<li>Voodoo 5500 64 SD-Ram PCI
<li>Windows Me
</ul>
Wich is way up the minimal specs, and still run at sometimes less then 10 fps mostly around 13 fps. And what hurts me the most is that I am good at commanding but when the server gets a bit crowdy I have to quit the commander seat since the commander view is being to harse on my system.
At counter-strike i usually have 40 till 30fps, I still find it rather odd that mods who claim to be playable at a pentium II and still have ferm fps why at my Intel Celeron 700 MHz (like a Intel Pentium III 400 MHz) it runs like total jackshit while when I play like Ut or Quake III I am able to run with 60 fps. Is it Half-Life? <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='mad.gif'><!--endemo-->
Part 1: Why do I lag so much compared to others with similar specs?
There could be many reasons.
The simplest one is that you are running in Software mode or have too high of a resolution. while playing any half-life game go to configuration>video> video modes and select opengl or direct3d from the top, this is a different and much better mode to run the game on as software mode doesn't use your video card, RAM, or CPU too its full power. another good thing is to try a lower resolution. If you are trying to run on 1000x800 or whatever the really high ones are and your computer is a few years old you are probably making a bad choice. Go to 600x480 or at least 800x600, if problems still happen with both after everything I tell you in this post is done try 400x300.
Make sure you run Disk Defrag, a virus scanner, and ad-aware regurally.
another common problem is other programs in the background using up your system too much so that your game will not have enough CPU usage. You can view some programs running by pressing ctrl+alt+delete, but others are hidden. I recommend downloading the program enditall to see every program your system is running. It allows you to get rid of many programs running on your system with one click. you can get it here: <a href='http://home.ptd.net/~don5408/toolbox/enditall' target='_blank'>http://home.ptd.net/~don5408/toolbox/enditall</a> before selecting "kill" or "kill all" find out what every program is and make sure it is safe to kill it. this site has a list of many things: <a href='http://WWW.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.htm' target='_blank'>http://WWW.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.htm</a>
If you have no idea what it is, lock it so it will be safe. Also do searches if you cant find the programs on that list.. I have found other things not listed there on google. You may even find some nasty spyware on your system that goes undetected by ad-aware and programs like it, delete those **obscenity**! There may even be programs you want to disable all the time (by going to start>run>msconfig>startup and un-checking the boxes of programs you don't want to auto start. Just remember, messing with this is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, but as long as you find out what everything is first you should be safe.
make sure if you have a video card that you disable your on board video (if present) by right clicking the my compute icons and selecting device manager. Under the display adapters it will list your video card and maybe on board video, if it has another one make sure you click properties and disable it.
Yet another problem can be that your video card settings are too detailed for your slow system. If it's old you want to go into your display properties and under direct3d change mitmap level to "blend" or one of the higher performance ones depending on how bad you run, go to opengl and disable anisotropic filtering and turn vsync OFF by default.
go to dxdiag in run and test direct3d and direct draw, both should work fine if your drivers are good.also it will say aprox. memory "_" MB and it should say how much your card really is... (most likely 32MB, 64MB or 128MB)
If you have errors there and are on a nvidia card try reinstalling the drivers from nvidia.com or if it still wont do it, uninstall those ones and go to and older version, because they put beta version up which don't always work.
you may want to change each setting one at a time.. I had problems when I tried to change both my direct3d and opengl settigns without restarting after doing one.
If you don't have any video card you may not be able to get opengl, just go to your counter-strike config and try direct3d or software mode.
make sure all your drivers are up to date, windows is up to date and you have the minimum requirements. One thing many people overlook while upgrading their systems is how low their Power Supply is, If you don't know open up your case, unscrew it and look at it. many new video cards need 250Watts, many older computers have less than that.
last off go into your configuration for natural selection and turn off high detail graphics
See the pinned topic about low FPS for many tweaks to Natural selection which will improve your performance.
part 2. OpenGL wont work/ video card not performing right
If you receive the message "the selected OpenGL mode is not supported by your video card" and you have a newer card please read below:
do the following:
go to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM and click the file named Opengl32.dll, right click it and select copy. now go to
C:\Sierra\Counter-Strike\gldrv (for Counterstrike retail) or C:\Sierra\half-life\gldrv (half-life) and delete the opengl32.dll from there, right click and select paste, this should copy the opengl32.dll from windows/system to this location
now while still in the gldrv folder: double click drvmap and edit it to say only the following:
"Default Default
3dfxgl.dll 3Dfx Mini Driver
gldrv/opengl32.dll opengl32"
the last part just adds a selection to the part of video config that says "opengl driver" make sure you select opengl32. you can name it whatever you want by changing the last word, but opengl32 will work fine.
I did that and now OpenGL will run, however I am not sure if that is what fixed it.. If that doesn't work reinstalling HL or CS may be the only solution that can be a problem if you don't want to lose maps though.
**you have to go into video mode in Half-life or Counter-strike, Natural-selection or whatever you want to play and select the video modes resolution and set it to "geforce 4" or whatever you wrote in the drvmap.txt after "gldrv/opengl32.dll" it will not work if you just keep trying to go the console and didn't change the video mode settings in the exe.**
.**there is no natural selection folder named gldrv, it is a file for the main game., so don't go looking in there.**
I found this out by searching the counter-strike forums at the website and found someone who said to put that text in the drvmap text and another person in a totally different post saying that the opengl dll was probably messed and to replace it.
The minimum requirements for Natural-Selection are real, they just don't consider people who have many background programs or Unhealthy PC's (bad drivers, hardware conflicts, don't run anti virus or defrag.)
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That was a lot, I hope this gets pinned because this will help many people. You would be surprised how many people over look these things., not everyone is a computer nerd.
good luck.
*I fixed a bunch of spelling errors with edit that I didn't notice before lol*
So I did all the tweaks I found in this topic (even tweaked my Windows 2k) but still my fps sux... yes, of course it's better, but still bad. It goes from 65 to 20 (that 20 is when I'm in a marine base with all those turrets etc.). I would have been happy if my fps became far higher than before but it's just a minor gain <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
Well maybe I'll restore the old settings, just without high-res textures, lighting and smoke, because the nice graphics are more important for me than a framerate of 10 fps higher <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
I put a lot of stuff in there that will hopefully help most of you guys.
If i can play with a celeron 400 mhz and a voodoo3 anyone can...
Intel Celeron 702 MHz
312 MB Ram
Voodoo 5500 64 SD-Ram PCI
Windows Me
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
( A bit off topic but it's for example )
My personal experience says, ditch Win ME. The comp I play on in Sony Viao Desktop 700Mhz which originally came with Win ME. When I first started using it I didn't like all the extra 'utilities' that came with it, and disabled most of them. Then I tried playing Mech 3 - It sucked. It played worse than on my 433 Mhz Laptop! The solution? I deleted my Windows folder (It refused to uninstall for a 'worse' version) and installed Win 98SE over it. Just by doing that my framerates in Mech 3 nearly <i>tripled</i>! That surprised the hell out of me, I still have W98 on here, and all my games are better for it.
<!--QuoteBegin--zoda+Nov 15 2002, 01:24 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (zoda @ Nov 15 2002, 01:24 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Part 1: Why do I lag so much compared to others with similar specs?
The simplest one is that you are running in Software mode...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The game is unplayable in Software more, the right-click menus as well as the hud and many of the sprites won't display properly. If someone was using software mode they'd be complaining about alot of other things besides lag, believe me. When they release a patch for NS client side they will probably remove this as an option among other things.
celeron 600hmz
256MB Ram
Geforce 3
Cable
I get like 10 fps in NS...
after doing some of the tweaking that the second post said...
i got around 30 fps or so i believe...
i think someone should explain all the things in the NS config.cfg file, or change it so its made for performance
like i have no idea what the following mean...
voice_scale "0.750000"
voice_enable "1"
voice_forcemicrecord "1.000000"
console "1.0"
fps_max "50"
fps_modem "50"
crosshair "1.000000"
gamma "2.500000"
brightness "1.000000"
con_color "255 155 50"
net_graph "3"
net_scale "5"
net_graphpos "1"
sv_voiceenable "1"
sv_aim "0"
...and so on
i mean the second post was good but it was made for cs and some of those commands dont even work...
well to those people who are currently working on writing up NS tweaks...go on writing <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
And if u have a **obscenity** old system and u **obscenity** it up who cares.. go out and get a night job or osmthing or have a life for a little while =D thats wat internet cafe's are for
the reason a lot of you people have computers that CAN play the game at a good speed, but it doesn't, is because there are a lot more factors involved than you think.
For one, your OS's settings may slow you down. IE: using XP with visual themes will slow down windows. there are many tweaks for windows that you can do.
Second, it's a LOT more specific about your hardware than you think.
1ghz and 256mb of ram doesn't mean a thing... .. there are bus speeds of hardware, and how fast the hardware can crunch data. not all ram is the same speed.. some motherboards ARE better than others. also some hardware *IS* crap. not all 1ghz processors are equal.-- Some hardware manufacturers DO lie.
Drivers .. most of the time, the newer the drivers, the better. BETA drivers are not always the case, though. as you were experience a lot more bugs, and possible slow-down because of small changes that they are trying out.
your hard-drive speed will affect games, too..
the more applications you have open at the time, will decrease performance.
OPENGL and/or DirectX versions will affect your framerate, also. even which one you use will affect it.
also, keep in mind that computers sold on TV are usually low quality (which is why they are cheap). even though they have 1ghz, and 256ram, and everything which is 2x more than you have.. it still might not be 2x as fast.
it's proven that 1.5ghz isn't much faster than 1ghz...
mainly because there arn't many things that need data processed.. THAT fast.
how hot your computer is will also affect speeds.. everything has an optimal temperature that it runs at.
Return your computer to where you bought it.
If you're getting that low FPS on that good a system, you've done something monumentally stupid.