New Computer - Old Games?

On Jan 7, 4:56 am, Peter Knutsen <pe....DeleteThis@sagatafl.invalid> wrote:
> Jim Seay wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > You will get the biggest benefit from a new video card, like the 8800GT.
> > Not only will you be able to use more eye-candy, but you will be better
> > able to run Morrowind at higher screen resolutions. If you do get the
>
> I have some kind of 6800 graphics card, bought 2 years and a couple of
> months ago (back then the card was supposed to be quite good, but not
> absoutely state-of-the-art), and I can already run Morrowind in
> 1600x1200 pixels without any problems.
>
> Of course that's on a 2 GB RAM system, and with (IIRC) 256 MB on the
> graphics card, and a 3 GHz CPU. I did try to go for a "muscle system"
> back when I bought the computer
>
> > video card, look for a program called Morrowind Graphics Extender. It
>
> I only installed MGE  recently, but I'm not sure it has helped much, and
> I've thought about trying to un-install it again. Doesn't seem to do any
> good, and it caused me some graphics problems which I had to tweak my
> way out of.
>
> > will help Morrowind run at screen resolutions higher than 1280x 1024, as
> > well as make some Oblivion style effects (as as making distant land and
> > buildings visible) available.
>
> --
> Peter Knutsen
> sagatafl.org

I generally don't run higher than 1280x1024 because the text box fonts
are too small--plus the graphics looks good at this resolution.
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

Jim Seay wrote:
[...]
> You will get the biggest benefit from a new video card, like the 8800GT.
> Not only will you be able to use more eye-candy, but you will be better
> able to run Morrowind at higher screen resolutions. If you do get the

I have some kind of 6800 graphics card, bought 2 years and a couple of
months ago (back then the card was supposed to be quite good, but not
absoutely state-of-the-art), and I can already run Morrowind in
1600x1200 pixels without any problems.

Of course that's on a 2 GB RAM system, and with (IIRC) 256 MB on the
graphics card, and a 3 GHz CPU. I did try to go for a "muscle system"
back when I bought the computer

> video card, look for a program called Morrowind Graphics Extender. It

I only installed MGE recently, but I'm not sure it has helped much, and
I've thought about trying to un-install it again. Doesn't seem to do any
good, and it caused me some graphics problems which I had to tweak my
way out of.

> will help Morrowind run at screen resolutions higher than 1280x 1024, as
> well as make some Oblivion style effects (as as making distant land and
> buildings visible) available.

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org
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DeAnn wrote:
> I generally don't run higher than 1280x1024 because the text box fonts
> are too small--plus the graphics looks good at this resolution.

I've tried running in 1280x1024 in order to make the text actually
readable, but I didn't do it for long, since I wasn't "engaged" with the
main quest, but simply exploring and gathering soulstones and so forth.
I switched back to 1600x1200, but I'll probably switch to low-res again
once it becomes time for me to try working on the main quest (which
would be the first time for me, ever).

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

"Natasha" <kodiak.DeleteThis@akk.net> wrote in message
news:13nvn9lpvid9q8c@corp.supernews.com...
> Hi there. I am on the brink of buying a new computer. Very exciting,
> after
> years of limping along on a beast so broken that I have not been able to
> play the kinds of games I love (Including all the Morrowind/IWD games).
>
> So, the question is.... How do I maximize being able to play the games I
> want to play (existing) without making myself immediately obsolete?
>
> Anything I should consider in terms of OS, hardware, video cards, etc?
> Will
> these games work with duo or quad processors? NVidia 8800 GT cards? SLI?
> Etc? Anyone playing on Vista? 32 bit vs 64?
>
> Sorry if this is off-topic, but.... I really want to take these issues
> into
> consideration and you guys are playing the games I want to play.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>

Bottleneck might continue to be loading CD-ROM / DVD so don't overlook
bandwidth / bus speed on mobo. What's use of more expensive SATA drives &
latest RAM SIMMs if your bus can't support them! SATA can offer faster load
times but probably won't help with faster rendering times, or higher frame
rates in games. Of course a RAID system would be the fastest in terms of
load times.

Probably not telling you anything you don't already know about RAM. It
offers biggest help with overall performance imo. I had 1 gig of RAM on an
aging 2 core Intel machine that was getting choppy on frame rate for games
like Oblivion. Getting an extra 1GB SIMM made a noticeable difference.

"Multi-threading" (dual or quad processor support) will probably be the way
of the future. Older games don't support it, & so I can't tell much
difference. I couldn't tell much difference after I'd "tweaked" Oblivion and
updated its multi-thread lines in the "ini" file. I suspect that most of the
time it's loading scenery & giving the GPU a workout while the CPU(s) are
probably idle until you get into combat or something.

SLI & dual vid cards might be debatable, but I don't think I can get into
too much trouble by saying that-- in general-- better to have a single card
than 2 of them. I agree with Jim on the 8800. After the holidays you should
be able to pick one up for a good price & it's a good card. Piggy-back a
couple of closeout 7600 cards or have one 8800? I'd go with the single
card.

Hopefully my opinion of XP (32 bit) versus Vista (64 bit) won't get me into
a geek war!

Problem might still be getting drivers for older peripherals & also how much
software is 64 bit right now? Just this last week, I had a friend who
installed Vista on a home network. It simply would *not* see his router & so
he had to go back to XP Pro. You might check around the forums & see your
favorite older games like Morrowind will run under Vista. (It reportedly
does in 32bit)

Here is a link to a vista forum. Under "Pinned" you can find a list of games
people have reported "work". Check out the discussion since the list is
being updated.

http://thevistaforums.com/lofiversion/index.php/f62.html

Another very helpful site for tweaking both XP & Vista: (he offers tweak
guides for MW and a number of other games too)

http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html

If it were me, I'd go with XP and put any money you save into your 8800 card
or RAM. I'm sure it sounds cliche', but RAM really does seem to make the
most appreciable difference. Caveat: eventually everyone will end up going
to Vista, but many are still waiting for "the rest of the world" to catch up
with M$... How many vendors will end up writing updated drivers or hold off
& say "obsolete - buy a new one" remains to be seen.

Good luck with your new system!

--Bruce
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"Peter Knutsen" <peter.RemoveThis@sagatafl.invalid> wrote in message
news:478292bb$0$7610$157c6196@dreader2.cybercity.dk...
> DeAnn wrote:
>> I generally don't run higher than 1280x1024 because the text box fonts
>> are too small--plus the graphics looks good at this resolution.
>
> I've tried running in 1280x1024 in order to make the text actually
> readable, but I didn't do it for long, since I wasn't "engaged" with the
> main quest, but simply exploring and gathering soulstones and so forth. I
> switched back to 1600x1200, but I'll probably switch to low-res again once
> it becomes time for me to try working on the main quest (which would be
> the first time for me, ever).
>
> --
> Peter Knutsen
> sagatafl.org

Been running MW at 1600 & haven't noticed any problems with fonts (journal &
dialgue w/npc.) What goes wrong with them?

From what I've seen, 1600 gives me more "real-estate" for inventory screens,
but I can't tell that much difference in graphics quality.

What is the MGE mod supposed to do? Jim says it gives larger player bubble,
but is it a texture replacement or a utility designed to help run the larger
texture files?

thx

--Bruce
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bbocquin wrote:
> "Peter Knutsen" <peter.TakeThisOut@sagatafl.invalid> wrote in message
> news:478292bb$0$7610$157c6196@dreader2.cybercity.dk...
>> DeAnn wrote:
>>> I generally don't run higher than 1280x1024 because the text box fonts
>>> are too small--plus the graphics looks good at this resolution.
>> I've tried running in 1280x1024 in order to make the text actually
>> readable, but I didn't do it for long, since I wasn't "engaged" with the
>> main quest, but simply exploring and gathering soulstones and so forth. I
>> switched back to 1600x1200, but I'll probably switch to low-res again once
>> it becomes time for me to try working on the main quest (which would be
>> the first time for me, ever).
>>
>> --
>> Peter Knutsen
>> sagatafl.org
>
> Been running MW at 1600 & haven't noticed any problems with fonts (journal &
> dialgue w/npc.) What goes wrong with them?
>
> From what I've seen, 1600 gives me more "real-estate" for inventory screens,
> but I can't tell that much difference in graphics quality.
>
> What is the MGE mod supposed to do? Jim says it gives larger player bubble,
> but is it a texture replacement or a utility designed to help run the larger
> texture files?
>
> thx
>
> --Bruce
>
>
The biggest feature of MGE is to add distant terrain and landmarks. For
example, with MGE you can see the summit of Red Mountain from Balmora,
or you can see Solstheim (if you have the Bloodmoon expansion) from
Khuul. MGE also allows users to apply custom shaders (such as bloom
lighting effects). It is even capable of using Shader Model v3 (for
those with a video card supporting DirectX 9) for the water effects.
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

In article <4782c6f7$0$16315$d94e5ade@news.iglou.com>,
Jim Seay <thorbin.RemoveThis@iglou.com> wrote:
>
>The biggest feature of MGE is to add distant terrain and landmarks. For
>example, with MGE you can see the summit of Red Mountain from Balmora,
>or you can see Solstheim (if you have the Bloodmoon expansion) from
>Khuul.

Does this give the impression of a smaller world to explore? Distant
land in Oblivion has this effect for me, making Cyrodil seem smaller
than Vvardenfell does, despite being larger in actual territory. "You
can go no further-- turn back." at the provincial borders doesn't help
either

Then there's the annoying "pop-up" effect, which seems to occur in
Oblivion even with all view-distance sliders maxed out.

>MGE also allows users to apply custom shaders (such as bloom
>lighting effects). It is even capable of using Shader Model v3 (for
>those with a video card supporting DirectX 9) for the water effects.

Hmm, this might be worth giving it a try.
--
Jordan.
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:27:32 +0000 (UTC),
jnh.TakeThisOut@VictorTangoEleven.net.invalid (Jordan Hazen) wrote:

>In article <4782c6f7$0$16315$d94e5ade@news.iglou.com>,
>Jim Seay <thorbin.TakeThisOut@iglou.com> wrote:
>>
>>The biggest feature of MGE is to add distant terrain and landmarks. For
>>example, with MGE you can see the summit of Red Mountain from Balmora,
>>or you can see Solstheim (if you have the Bloodmoon expansion) from
>>Khuul.
>
>Does this give the impression of a smaller world to explore? Distant
>land in Oblivion has this effect for me, making Cyrodil seem smaller
>than Vvardenfell does, despite being larger in actual territory. "You
>can go no further-- turn back." at the provincial borders doesn't help
>either

I find the main reason for things seeming smaller in Oblivion is that
the main map no longer uses artificially lengthened twisting paths to
get from A to B.
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

In article <fkhdp39nsr2nfss26kp0qdfc5cmon62gnr RemoveThis @4ax.com>,
Greg Johnson <greg.gsj RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:27:32 +0000 (UTC),
>jnh@VictorTangoEleven.net.invalid (Jordan Hazen) wrote:
>
>>In article <4782c6f7$0$16315$d94e5ade@news.iglou.com>,
>>Jim Seay <thorbin RemoveThis @iglou.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>The biggest feature of MGE is to add distant terrain and landmarks. For
>>>example, with MGE you can see the summit of Red Mountain from Balmora,
>>>or you can see Solstheim (if you have the Bloodmoon expansion) from
>>>Khuul.
>>
>>Does this give the impression of a smaller world to explore? Distant
>>land in Oblivion has this effect for me, making Cyrodil seem smaller
>>than Vvardenfell does, despite being larger in actual territory. "You
>>can go no further-- turn back." at the provincial borders doesn't help
>>either
>
>I find the main reason for things seeming smaller in Oblivion is that
>the main map no longer uses artificially lengthened twisting paths to
>get from A to B.

This is mostly from the geography of their respective land masses,
though, and doesn't seem very artifical to me. Perhaps the placement
of so many mountains, ridges and foyadas all over (not to mention the
Ghostfence!) could qualify as a means of deliberately lengthening
paths, but for a volcanic island, most of these seem natural enough
where they are.

Getting around Cyrodil by road can be a bit tedious as well...
especially that all-too-frequent trek around the Imperial City's
"beltway" when approaching from the wrong side. With no slaughterfish
or dreugh to worry about in those parts, I'd more often just swim my
way in and out.

There's Fast Travel, of course, but I much preferred the variety of
transport options in Morrowind... boats, silt striders, Mages Guild
Guides, Levitation, Mark/Recall, Divine and Almisivi Intervention ...
finding the best spots to take advantage of Divine vs. Almsivi anchor
points. Hmm, it looks like someone's written a mod to add some of
these back to Oblivion, though. Nice, finally Mysticism may be of
some real use again.

I know levitation is out of the question, with all the cities having
Mournhold syndrome (maybe for dungeons only, if that could be
rationalized). It was arguably one of the most unbalancing aspects of
Morrowind, but so much fun. With my latest character, I've thus far
resisted the temptation to make a Constant Effect levitation amulet...
using Azura's Star instead to keep my Wizard's Staff charged up on
cliff racer souls

Did Daggerfall or Arena allow levitation outdoors?
--
Jordan.
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On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:32:23 +0000 (UTC),
jnh.RemoveThis@VictorTangoEleven.net.invalid (Jordan Hazen) wrote:


>Did Daggerfall or Arena allow levitation outdoors?

I haven't ever tried it in Arena, but Daggerfall allowed levitation
outdoors.
--
Nyctolops
 >> Stay informed about: New Computer - Old Games? 

On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:32:23 +0000 (UTC),
jnh DeleteThis @VictorTangoEleven.net.invalid (Jordan Hazen) wrote:

>In article <fkhdp39nsr2nfss26kp0qdfc5cmon62gnr DeleteThis @4ax.com>,
>Greg Johnson <greg.gsj DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:

>>I find the main reason for things seeming smaller in Oblivion is that
>>the main map no longer uses artificially lengthened twisting paths to
>>get from A to B.
>
>This is mostly from the geography of their respective land masses,
>though, and doesn't seem very artifical to me. Perhaps the placement
>of so many mountains, ridges and foyadas all over (not to mention the
>Ghostfence!) could qualify as a means of deliberately lengthening
>paths, but for a volcanic island, most of these seem natural enough
>where they are.

Some of them are fairly natural, but take for example the road between
Caldera and the Caldera mines. You go a long way out, round a little,
and all the way back, but behind a set of rocks so you won't notice. A
character who's willing to go offroad can reduce the distance to the
mines by 3/4, without even any steep slopes. The distance between
Caldera and Ald-Ruhn can be cut similarly, but there are hills to jump
over in that case.

>Getting around Cyrodil by road can be a bit tedious as well...
>especially that all-too-frequent trek around the Imperial City's
>"beltway" when approaching from the wrong side. With no slaughterfish
>or dreugh to worry about in those parts, I'd more often just swim my
>way in and out.

Some of the mountain roads do approach the circuitous level of
Morrowind, but that's really the minority. When in sight of the
Imperial City, I tend to just use fast travel to the gates, as it's
not like cheating, just minimising tedium.

>There's Fast Travel, of course, but I much preferred the variety of
>transport options in Morrowind... boats, silt striders, Mages Guild
>Guides, Levitation, Mark/Recall, Divine and Almisivi Intervention ...
>finding the best spots to take advantage of Divine vs. Almsivi anchor
>points. Hmm, it looks like someone's written a mod to add some of
>these back to Oblivion, though. Nice, finally Mysticism may be of
>some real use again.

It's very useful, but be careful about using teleportation in caves,
as this can sometimes break scripted quests. My advice is to save
before you teleport in Oblivion.

>I know levitation is out of the question, with all the cities having
>Mournhold syndrome (maybe for dungeons only, if that could be
>rationalized). It was arguably one of the most unbalancing aspects of
>Morrowind, but so much fun.

I don't find levitation very much fun, as it's far too slow. Give me a
Jump 25, Slowfall 2 combination instead and my character will really
go places. It works in Mournhold, too

>Did Daggerfall or Arena allow levitation outdoors?

I really don't remember.
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