textures problem under opengl

[o770]

the problem im getting is related to the textures when running SoF (opengl). after sometime launching rockets (fire effect) i get corrupted texture colors, psychodelic stuff, right when i push the button to shoot the problem starts. then i can only exit the game to solve it. my driver configurations r:
-page flip buffering
-S3TC
-anisotropy filter set to 2
-hardware accelerated lines forcing on
-buffer region extension

it doenst lock up. i doubt about the page flipping but running with the block transfer mode wasnt still good enough for me to be sure if it is page flipping or not. what is causing this?
thanks.

[redduc900]

I would try setting "Buffer flipping mode" to "Auto select" or..."OGL_FlippingControl" binary value in the registry to 02 00 00 00 (a value of "2"), the other settings look fine. Make sure the "OGL_BufferRegionExt" is set to a binary value of 01 00 00 00 (a value of "1").

[o770]

i did it but the problem persists.
what else could be causing this? could it be the hardware accelerated lines?
any help..

[redduc900]

What's your "AGP Aperture Size" set to in the BIOS? You might want to try experimenting with different values and see what happens. Also , if you have a setting for "AGP Driving Strength" in the BIOS...you might want to try increasing the value ( a little at a time) past the default.

[o770]

i havent that last option available. i could try out the aperture but it wouldnt help.
redduc900, do u think the hardware accelerated lines setting could be causing this? i asked about the problem in some SOF forums but no-one seems to know it. its something uncommon, maybe caused by an uncommon settings like the hardware accel lines.

[redduc900]

I don't think it's the addition of the "Hardware Accelerated Lines" ("OGL_NV15Alines", Binary value of "2" registry entry) thats causing your flashing textures problem...as this entry modifies how the OGL driver renders wireframe obj's. This is a quote from "Unwinder" concerning HAL...

Hardware Accelerated Lines is turned off by default on GeForce2 MX and GeForce2 GTS cards. Turning this hardware feature off will cause considerable performance drop when rendering wireframe objects (and that’s just the particular mode, which is being used in most professional CAD applications). To do justice I have to say that you can turn on Hardware Accelerated Lines for GeForce2 MX and GeForce2 GTS cards by using the registry key OGL_NV15Alines with the following values:

0... Hardware Accelerated Lines is on for Quadro2 MXR and Quadro2 Pro cards only (default value)
1... Hardware Accelerated Lines is always off
2... Hardware Accelerated Lines is always on
What drivers and which OS are you running? Depending on your board, you can use WPCREDIT to modify the "AGP Driving Strength" (even though it's not an available option in your BIOS)...which because of it's default value (probably set to a very conservative value by the board's manufacturer, more than likely "DA") could be causing the flashing textures problem you're experiencing.

...also, what card are you using and which board do you have?

[o770]

ive never heard of a compatibility issue for the hw acc lines but i think it must be something uncommon.
my cousin gets the same problem using the settings i tweaked for the opengl. it got to be some setting: im using W2k pro and 23.11 (tested 22.50 already), he is using W98SE and 6.50; we r both tweaking the driver settings with rivatuner.
shouldnt it be some opengl setting?
as i said (i guess) the settings i tried out already r:
buffer flipping mode: page flip, block transfer and auto-detect;
buffer region ext;
to use local video mem.

[redduc900]

Which preset are you using in RT, "High Quality" or "Best Performance"?...or are you creating your own preset by modifying the OGL entries manually? To get a better idea of your OGL settings, could you export the registry key and paste it into this thread? I'm not familiar with where the video settings are located in the W2K registry (just do a "Find" for "OGL_NV15Alines" if you're not sure either) and export the entire key (or at least the OGL section) to a file.

On my system (running XP), the registry key is located here...

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM | ControlSet001 | Control | Video | {29DF714E-2286-4797-B6C5-EE837129CFAA} | 0000]

In the above case, you would highlight the "0000" key | select "File" | and "Export" | select all the OGL text, copy and paste it into this thread.

[Sonny]

redduc900 - were do you get all this knowledge with video cards? is there some site that i can go to for learning it?

[Pinky]

Originally posted by sonny
redduc900 - were do you get all this knowledge with video cards? is there some site that i can go to for learning it?

LOL!! I was just commenting on that in another thread (http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=406939#post406939) ! :D

[Sonny]

Originally posted by Pinky
LOL!! I was just commenting on that in another thread (http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=406939#post406939) ! :D LOL!!! He is so d@mn sharp that it make me wonder if I know anything:eek: Didnt he make senior with less than 50 posts?(j/k but you never know)

[redduc900]

Well no, I'm not a programmer Pinky...LOL! (I wish I had a job doing something related to computers). No, I'm just a blue collar worker that enjoys fiddling around with his PC. I always joke about the fact that I have all this software loaded...but never use much of it because I'm more interested in tweaking my rig than I am in using it for what I built it for...hardcore gaming.

AFA the knowledge part Sonny, I just do a lot of reading and try to learn as much as possible about the inner workings of things like video cards and such. Then I apply what I've learned to things like modding my card's BIOS or the board's BIOS, etc. to the point that my PC won't boot anymore, then try to figure out why it won't.

Not much of a life I guess, but I enjoy it...PC's and their inner workings have always fascinated me, and I've always enjoyed learning as much as possible about them.;)

[Pinky]

Originally posted by redduc900
Not much of a life I guess, but I enjoy it...PC's and their inner workings have always fascinated me, and I've always enjoyed learning as much as possible about them.;)

That's right, it says you're a machinst/mechanic in your profile ;) ... but we know the truth Mr. Gates *nudge nudge* :p

I actually use my PC (for making music and such) which may be one reason I don't know half about driver configurations as you do. Most of my involvement here is either sheer boredom or fiddling from work (where I have internet access and the 'paid' time to surf)... and I think you had about 260 posts when you made senior if I remember...

[Sonny]

Redduc900 - :beer: I just started with computers this march 2001 & I probably will not stop learning with everything getting obsolete every few months. Never had the guts to mess with my cards BIOS but I have had Rvbedit & a self tweaked bios ready to test for a while now. When I get a pci vcard to get back up maybe I'll go ahead & try. Always wanted to have a safety net:o

Pinky - music recording huh? I took up Classical Guitar in college & one the reasons for buying myself a PC was to get back into music & record my stuff then I found out that software was expensive. I got this free thing from digidesign/pro tools for a week now but have no idea how it works:o

[redduc900]

When you're ready to tweak your card's BIOS, you can download the necessary BIOS files and Nvidia's Bios editor from Ray Adam's site here...

http://x-bios.3dgames.ru/modules.php?name=X_BIOS_FileArchive

If you want to read up on flashing the BIOS (using VgaBIOS, NvFlash, etc.), a good site to do that is here...

http://www.m3dzone.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=24

...show the threads for about the last 100 days, there's not too much activity in the "Bios's" forum lately...since they yanked all the BIOS files from the Downloads section.;)

[Sonny]

Redduc900 - I actually have everything I need except the PCI VCard & courage to do it:eek: A few :beer: (they should have one for JD) should do it;)

[Pinky]

Originally posted by sonny
Pinky - music recording huh? I took up Classical Guitar in college & one the reasons for buying myself a PC was to get back into music & record my stuff then I found out that software was expensive. I got this free thing from digidesign/pro tools for a week now but have no idea how it works:o

I use cakewalk and Acid Pro for most of my production... actually finished something last night.. for now it's all for learning and funsies... been in bands, didn't care much for that life, so now I work and play how I want...

[o770]

no, im not using presets.
i will paste the OGL entries here, hope u find something redduc, and thanks for your help.
all i found beggining with the OGL:

"Ogl_MaxPCITexHeapSize"=hex:00,00,10,00
"Ogl_DefaultSwapInterval"=hex:ff,ff,ff,ff
"Ogl_RenderQualityFlags"=hex:0a,00,00,00
"Ogl_DefaultLogAniso"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_MaxFramesAllowed"=hex:02,00,00,00
"OGL_MaxTexSize"=hex:00,08,00,00
"OGL_CmdBufSizeWords"=hex:00,00,04,00
"OGL_DLStagingBufferSizeWords"=hex:00,00,24,00
"OGL_CmdBufMinWords"=hex:80,09,00,00
"OGL_TargetFlushCount"=hex:10,00,00,00
"OGL_BufferRegionExt"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_BufferRegionUseVidMem"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_FSAAMode"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_ForceGenericCPU"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_FlatPanelScalerQuality"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_TexMemorySpaceEnables"=hex:03,00,00,00
"OGL_PalettedTexInVidMem"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_TexturePrecache"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_TextureDirectLoad"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_TexClampBehavior"=hex:03,00,00,00
"OGL_FlippingControl"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableForce16BitZ"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_ForceMultitexture"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_MaxNVAccel"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_ForceGeForce"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_NV15ALines"=hex:02,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableSingleBackDepthBuffer"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableWindowFlipping"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableOverlaySupport"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableStereoSupport"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_APIStereoMode"=hex:00,00,00,00

[o770]

in the case u know, what is that key "OGL_ForceGeForce"?
that seems to be disabled; im using a geforce2mx, should that be enabled?

[redduc900]

Try changing only these values...

"Ogl_RenderQualityFlags"=hex:08,00,00,00
"OGL_FlippingControl"=hex:02,00,00,00
"OGL_ForceMultitexture"=hex:01,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableSingleBackDepthBuffer"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_EnableWindowFlipping"=hex:00,00,00,00
"OGL_ForceGeForce"=hex:01,00,00,00

...with all other settings remaining the same.

[o770]

i expected you could explain me something about the changes you were going to suggest me to make. i can try that all in order to solve the problem but its something i dont like to do, doing something i have no idea about. i tested the buffer flipping already as i said above, others ill need to try. id appreciate any explanation you could give me about those settings you talked about.

[o770]

it was the hardware acc lines in fact, my first doubt. played for sometime and everything seems to be ok now. redduc, if you still have the patience id appreciate a lot any suggestion you could give me to tweak those opengl settings for the best img quality, also anything that could improve performance without losing the quality.

[redduc900]

I'm surprised to hear that disabling HAL improved your texture quality, glad it worked out for you though.

I would just use the "High Quality" preset in RT and disable "Hardware Accelerated Lines", since you're having problems with it in "SoF". You could always create a preset using the above settings, for use with "Soldier of Fortune", and then create similar presets for other games you play.

There's an excellent OGL reference manual that can be found here...

http://dmawww.epfl.ch/ebt-bin/nph-dweb/dynaweb/SGI_Developer/OpenGL_RM/@Generic__BookView

[o770]

redduc, will the preset adjust things that its not available in the GUI?
and no, disabling the HAL did not improve the quality of the textures but the problem i was getting with them was fixed.
so, i never care about using the presets because i always prefered to adjust everything by myself but if the presets will tweak things i dont have in the GUI i will consider using them.

[o770]

the problem is back. thought the hal had solved it...
its difficult to be sure but everything seems to run fine now if i disable the S3TC texture format inside the game. i have the options for low, medium, default, high, s3tc and dxtc. setting it to the high (i like that because the quality is even better than using s3tc) the problem goes away in the parts of the game it uses to start. why isnt the s3tc working normally?
redduc ill ask for your help again, is there anything in my ogl settings that could give s3tc any problem?
thanks.

[redduc900]

I didn't realize that "Soldier of Fortune" had the options to select S3TC or runtime DXT1 texture compression from within the game itself. The "OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:01,00,00,00" setting forces the OpenGL driver to create DXT3 compressed textures instead of DXT1. I think that this setting may be conflicting with the game setting (when you have S3TC enabled from within the game).

DXT1 quality is a problem with all currently existing NVIDIA GPUs. The DXT1 decompressor uses 16-bit texel interpolation and it often causes horrible banding effects on the textures, which contain smooth color gradients (e.g. sky textures in Quake III). The rest of the texture compression formats use 32-bit texel interpolation and don’t exhibit banding effects.

I would say, leave the S3TC setting disabled from within SoF and leave the "OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:01,00,00,00" registry setting as is (enabled) or...disable the registry setting ("OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:00,00,00,00") and run the "S3TCFixPack" patch script that's included with RT.

[o770]

Originally posted by redduc900

I would say, leave the S3TC setting disabled from within SoF and leave the "OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:01,00,00,00" registry setting as is (enabled) or...disable the registry setting ("OGL_S3TCQuality"=hex:00,00,00,00") and run the "S3TCFixPack" patch script that's included with RT.

i did that redduc. i tried the high quality and there is still some problem, its quite lower: things with corrupted colors r very few using the high quality setting instead of the s3tc from inside the game. with s3tc large textures get corrupted. i also tried disabling the quality trick for s3tc using rivatuner to no avail. im sending activision's support a note relating the problem and hope get something from them soon. thanks for all your patience.

[o770]

the time i tried activision's website was down. i made tests for the whole day and it seems that when running the ogl driver settings in TNT compatibility mode the problem goes away.
im sure all this is so complicated because the game has settings for every single opengl feature, i can enable or disable from within the game anisotropic, s3tc, dxtc, bilinear, trilinear, mipped bilinear etc. one - or some of those settings must be conflicting with the driver settings.
the problem with running in tnt compatib mode is that the game runs slower because the driver loses the support for hardware T&L and stuff.
now the most stable thing i got without using the tnt mode is to disable the anisotropic and enable it inside the game.
i just think its too strange i havent still noticed any common solution for this. if the game sets everything, its highly possible that conflicts like mine will occur.
gotta call activision!